Comic Book Weekly Reflection: 4/26/13

Sorry about no weekly reflection or any reaction last week, my laptop has been acting up (for example, with actual smoke coming off of it).  As such, I lost my ability to type anything up.  The problem extends into this week as well, but I managed to work around the problem slightly.  However, I only had two reactions for comics this week.  So not much this time around, but let’s try to enjoy what was available regardless.

 

Be warned, there will be spoilers below!

 

FF #6: In this issue, Darla Deering gets into trouble with the Yancy Street Gang.  The gang really looks up to Thing (or just likes to screw with him) and takes real offense to Darla taking on his role while he’s gone, so they resolve to make her life completely suck.  However, with Scott Lang, the two of them turn the tables on the gang and properly deal with them.  Meanwhile, Medusa and Bentley are missing in action for some reason.

 

I had a lot of fun with this comic as always, with its fun characters and enjoyable dialogue.  What really stood out to me the most though was the art.  For a good chunk of the comic, I did not even notice there was an artist change and honestly, I like that sort of thing.  It helps give the comic a consistent feel throughout it, especially when you read it all at once.

 

My only problem with this comic is that it is taking its time getting anywhere.  I’m not sure when this kill Doctor Doom storyline is going to kick in or if we are going to deal with Medusa issue soon.  It’s kind of annoying in that regard.  Despite all of that, it is still a really enjoyable comic and worth checking out.

 

Justice League Dark #19: This issue was reviewed over on Adventures in Poor Taste, so you can head over there and check it out:

 

Is It Good? Justice League Dark #19

 

Talon #7: Continuing from last issue, Casey discovers that Sebastian Clark was the former Grandmaster of the Court of Owls and who had originally picked Calvin for becoming Talon.  She’s nearly caught by the old man, but she and her daughter manage to escape.  With Calvin, he manages to destroy all of the data the court has in their main computer system and escape the current Grandmaster.  However, when he reaches Clark, he is attacked and has his neck snapped by Bane, who is working with Clark for some reason.

 

This was a very good ending to the first arc of the comic and what amazes me the most about it is how the writing evolved over time.  While it could have been described as Scott Snyder lite during the first two issues (not including #0), it has become its own thing, placing more emphasis on the characters and less dialogue in some scenes.

 

I really have no complaints about this comic in particular.  I had a great time and I’m thoroughly excited to see where this goes, especially with the writer flying solo without Snyder and with an artist change too.  This is my pick of the week and I’m hoping you guys check it out as well.

Comic Book Weekly Reflection 4/12/13

I’ve been feeling lucky this week!  I’ve gotten a couple of A’s in my homework, books I ordered came in, I have done shockingly well playing Marvel: Avenger Alliance, and most importantly; every book I read this week (besides one) was very good.  No mehs or nays to be found!  As such, let’s dive in.

 

Be warned, there will be spoilers below!

 

Avengers #9: Okay, this is the one book I mentioned that I thought wasn’t good.  It continued Hickman’s tradition of slow pace story telling that’ll end up putting you to sleep while you wait.  However, this was one of the comics I reviewed for Adventures in Poor Taste, so go check out my full thoughts of there on this one:

 

Is It Good?  Avengers #9

 

Batman #19: The comic starts off with a bank robbery committed by none other than Bruce Wayne himself!  It ends with him running over Jim Gordon with a motorcycle at the end.  Flashback six days and we find Batman investigating the unexplained suicide of a friend of his.  Through his research into the case, he discovers that Clayface is responsible and has been impersonating his friend, even managing to match his DNA!  The issue ends with Clayface attacking Bruce Wayne, preparing to steal his identity.

 

Now this issue was very different than usual in comparison to the rest of Snyder’s Batman run so far, with it being rather small in focus and focusing more on Batman’s detective skills.  Also, the comic isn’t has overwritten has it usually is for once, focusing more on letting the images tell the story or normal dialogue scenes between the characters.  Sure, there are some of parts that tend to get over-wordy, but those moments are less and some of them are very interesting (like the stuff about Clayface for instance).

 

All of this change is actually rather refreshing and highly welcomed by me.  Sure, I have enjoyed the longer and bigger stories this comic has offered, but this smaller scale tale was really good.  Snyder really shines when his Batman stuff is like this, harking back to his Black Mirror tale.  Add in some great looking artwork and you have easily the best issue of Batman this year.  I have little compliants towards this and I’m proud to give this comic the pick of the week for me.

 

Constantine #2: Like Avengers, I covered this comic over on APT, so you can check it out over there.  I will say though that this comic was an improvement over the last one:

 

Is It Good?  Constantine #2

 

Saucer Country #14: And so the series closes out for now in this issue as the election night has been finally reached and the votes start to be tallied.  Like before, I’m going to keep quite on this, but I will say the final outcome was surprisingly to me.

 

I have really enjoyed this series while it lasted.  All the mystery, the characters, the interactions and dialogue, and world building in this series has been completely topnotch from start to finish in my book.  This issue continued this trend, though I do admit the ending still leaves a lot on the table and many questions left unanswered, which can be disappointing.

 

Still, the writer Paul Cornell promises us that the series will return in the future when he gets the rights back from Vertigo.  As such, this is not a real true ending, but a conclusion to one part of the series.  When this series returns, I’ll there and ready to return to its world.  I highly recommend this comic and hope you guys enjoy it as well.

 

Team 7 #7: Team 7 heads to a small island nation to put a stop to its leader and his growing metahuman weapons.  The team is backed by their new pilot, Steve Trevor, and their newest weapon, Majestic.  All seems to be going well until the team learns just how dangerous their mission is and ends up being in the way of Majestic ultimate plan to defeat the enemy, by wiping out the island with a giant tidal wave.

 

With one issue left after this, a glaring problem can be seen.  This comic feels extremely rushed as it tries to squeeze in every last bit of plotline and answers it can before it is cancelled.  It succeeds, but it’s kind of clunky.  There’s no time for character development, emotion, or other building of any kind as this story.  Heck, it ends feels a bit disjointed between this and the last issue, like we jumped ahead at least three issues.

 

Not to say this is an awful comic by any stretch, it’s just stretched far too thin.  I enjoyed the dialogue bits, the action, and how this is all coming together.  It’s just not completely firing on cylinders liked I hope it would.  Still, if you are still with this comic, I say stick it out to the end to see how it all finishes out.

 

The Fearless Defenders #3: Last issue we had Hela, Queen of the Dead, resurrecting the former leader of the Amazons, Hippolyta, to help aid Valkyrie’s mission of creating a new set of Valkyries and to now fend off the threat from the Doom Maidens.  Reluctant, Valkyrie and the others agree to letting her join them and track down where the Doom Maidens are being resurrected.  When arriving on the scene, they are a bit too late and the evil warriors have been resurrected, though they do manage to rescue Moonstar.  During their fight with the baddies, Valkyrie is shocked when they refer to her as their long lost sister, another Doom Maiden.

 

This issue was not as good as the last one, but was still enjoyable in my book.  The characters are all memorable and work great together, their interactions and dialogue scenes being a true highlight.  The action is good and the evil Valkyries all do have a nice and interesting look to them.  I do admit though that the true villain that resurrected them, Caroline, isn’t all that deep of a character, and that the facial expressions are extremely limited in the art.  All I kept thinking was: Dull Surprise!

 

Still, I would be lying if I was not enjoying this comic.  It’s quickly become one of my favorites that Marvel is producing and one that I really hope everyone is checking out.  It’s probably the best all female team book out there right now.

Comic Book Weekly Reflection 4/5/13

With me writing for Adventures in Poor Taste now and as my college semester is coming to a close, I am sad to report that I’ll be doing less and less reaction shots each week for a while.  I still promise to hit up the big and important comics for each week, but I’ll only be doing that on Thursdays now.  Anyhow, enough about that, here’s what I read this week.

 

Be warned, there will be spoilers below!

 

Action Comics #19: I actually went over that comic on Adventures in Poor Taste, so click the link below to check it out.

 

Is It Good?  Action Comics #19

 

Animal Man #19: This issue felt more like a true epilogue to the Rotworld then the last issue (which in turn felt more like an ending than the issue before it), dealing with the fallout after Cliff’s death.  Buddy hits an all-time low as his family cuts themselves off from him and the Avatars of the Red kick him out of their kingdom (he still works for them, but he can’t visit or talk with them unless they say so).  The whole issue is a downer if there ever was one.

 

There really isn’t much to say about the issue other than that.  The writing is fine, the characters and emotions are fine, and the art is fine.  However, there’s no real current direction for this comic to go now that Rotworld is over and with the family broken up.  I’m sure something will present itself, but not at this moment.  Still good, but not as last month’s issue.

 

Detective Comics #19: Or in reality, Detective Comics #900 if DC was still continuing with the old numbering.  Regardless, this is a meaty and packed issue with a bunch of stories written by the current writer, John Layman, and a bonus story by James Tynion IV that connects to the Talon issue this month.  The stories written by Layman all connect to a Man-Bat outbreak on the 900 Block in Gotham City in some fashion, whether seeing how Batman is dealing with or how Emperor Penguin is using the event to his advantage.  There’s too much for me to go over, but they are all pretty fun and enjoyable reads, even with a new version of the Man-Bat himself.

 

Every story here has a different artist drawing it and they are all pretty good looking, with maybe the exception of Jason Masters’ art for the last story, which does not fit with the tone from the rest of the book.  There’s also a couple of pin-ups from various different artists that draw Batman, which are nice and all.

 

While I liked this issue, it honestly does not feel like an anniversary issue to me, celebrating how long this comic has been going on for.  It feels more like a big annual, where the writer gets more room to continue his story than usual.  Also, the ending of the main story with how the Man-Bat plague is stopped is kind of anti-climatic honestly.  It does open the door for some interesting stories in the future on the flipside (honestly, a lot of the stories in the comic left groundwork for future storylines, which I do appreciate).

 

Not the best way to celebrate 900 issues, but still a fun and enjoyable read none the less.  I’m going to give this comic my pick of the week (a week that was honestly not as good as usual for me).

 

Indestructible Hulk #6: This is the start of a new arc where Bruce Banner and his scientist team heads to Jotunheim to find some rare metal that could be beneficial for their little science projects.  However, the trip takes a rather unexpected turn when Thor shows up and it’s revealed when the team traveled to the world, they also went back in time and now Thor doesn’t recognize any of them.  The issue ends with everyone getting attacked by Frost Giants, the Norse God getting knocked a couple miles away, and the Hulk picking up Thor’s hammer to fight off the monsters.

 

This issue was rather… average.  There’s nothing particularly bad about it, it’s not doing anything particularly special either.  The story is fine but rather slow moving, the dialogue is average (with one occasional good line), there’s not much in the way of character development outside of a very brief bit at the beginning, and the action was nothing memorable.

 

One thing I noticed when checking the reviews on this comic was that everyone loved the artwork, done by a comic veteran named Walter Simonson.  Honestly, I’m not seeing what the big deal is here.  His art looks rather dated with the line work and flat coloring.  It’s not all that visually appealing and makes this comic feel like a relic from the past in a way.  He’s not a bad artist, it’s just this art is just so jarring after coming off the last artist from the book, giving the book a weird inconsistent tone in a way.

 

I had high hopes for this comic when I first heard about and especially after reading some of Mark Waid’s Daredevil stuff.  However, this comic never seems to really ever get off the ground or truly impress me in anyway.  It’s never bad, but never amazing; especially highlighted by this issue.

 

Miss Fury #1: Another review done for Adventures in Poor Taste, so check out the link below to see what I had to say on this piece of crap.

 

Is It Good? Miss Fury #1

 

Swamp Thing #19: After the event of Rotworld, Alec Holland as Swamp Thing has started doing his duties as the Avatar of the Green.  He’s going around the world protecting plants and trying to correct any problems he’s hearing about.  One particular issue he’s running into is someone called the Seeder, who is messing and exploiting the Green Kingdom for some unknown reasons.

 

Taking a break from his duties, he heads Metropolis to relax a bit.  There he runs into Scarecrow of all people, who is trying to harvest some flowers for his fear toxin.  When confronting him about it, Swampy gets hit by a bad dose of the toxin and starts freaking out, causing gigantic vines to grow out of the ground and cover skyscrapers.  The issue ends with Superman appearing and looking rather unamused by this turn of events.

 

This comic marked the beginning of a new writer and a new change of direction for the series, with the focus more on shorter stories and about Alec now as Swamp Thing.  I find it a nice change of pace and quite different from before, even noticing how new reader friendly it is.  The character stuff here is very good with Alec feeling less and less human as time goes on and starting to worry about what he is doing.  The dialogue and voice of the characters are all very good as well.  The story didn’t really progress much and kind of ends abruptly.

 

The artwork is also very appealing and easy on the eyes.  There’s lots of great detail, use of color, and even some subtle things that you might not notice.  My only nitpick complaint with it is that Swamp Thing at points looks a bit… silly with some of his facial expressions.

 

In general though, a pretty solid and good start here for this comic.  I definitely recommend this comic, especially to people who jumped off during the Rotworld arc because it was too long.  This should be more of what they are looking for now.

Comic Book Weekly Reflection 3/29/13

So yeah… not much this week from me!  Sorry about that folks, but I ended up having a ton of work I needed to get done in my college classes.  As such, I wasn’t able to get to comic I really wanted to check out this week; like East of West, Young Avengers, and Justice League Dark.  I’ll be checking out their next issues hopefully.  Still, I did cover some comics, so let’s talk about them!

 

Be warned, there will be spoilers below!

 

Batman Incorporated #9: This is the aftermath after Damian died and how the Bat family is dealing with it.  Sort of.

 

By sort of, I mean it’s only one of many other things going on in this comic.  We got what is going on with Jason Todd, what Squire is up to now that Knight is dead, Heretic meeting with Talia, a funeral, and some other scenes.  It’s really hard to describe the plot of this since it’s honestly all over the place.  The pacing and narrative flow are terrible in this comic.  Barely any moment is given enough time to develop before quickly jumping to something else.

 

The emotion in this comic is quite… complicated.  The funeral scene is quite fine, though a line within the eulogy was a bit questionable.  Damian choosing to be Robin?  Sure, but to do so he tried killing off Tim at the time.  Not really the best memory of the kid.  But that’s nitpicking.  What isn’t though is some of the cheesiness in this comic that takes away from sadness.  Having Batman doing a Darth Vader “Nooooo!” pose, a reaction shot from a cow (who really doesn’t fit the tone of this issue at all), and some cheesy lines that don’t really work.

 

One of the odder things in this comic is how much it crams story elements and subplots into it.  There’s just so much happening like I said, but what’s weird is that the story did not advance at all.  So much going on and yet it’s strangely decompressed at the same time.  I didn’t know that was possible.  Plus, some of the elements in the comic, like Squire becoming the new Knight, are not really all that developed.  It is like, “Hey! I could become Knight now” and BOOM!  Next page she is and with a costume that fits.

 

Then there is the art!  We got two different artists on this comic, Chris Burnham and Jason Masters, and man are their styles different.  Burnham goes for a messier and dirtier look with his art, while Masters is much cleaner.  The change is extremely apparent and really throws me off while reading this.  Top it off with awkward and weird looking faces and bodies, and got yourself a strange looking comic.

 

I spent way too much time on this comic already.  It was bad and no emotion or decent character writing can save it from its other problems.  Morrison, what the hell has happened to your Batman run?

 

FF #5: Now wait just a minute!  I never did a reaction for this comic you may ask.  Well, you are right.  I did not.  However, I did go over this comic in a review on another website.  Check out the link below to hear my thoughts on this comic:

 

Is It Good? FF #5

 

Five Weapons #2: Last we left Tyler in the comic, he was about to face down the club president to the blade club (or was it knife?).  In a rather interesting and quite clever display of intelligence, he figures out her weakness and disarms her without a single weapon.  From here, he continues to defeat the other club leaders and make a reputation for himself among the students and the teachers, all who are really not impressed with him.  However, he may be getting in over his head as he runs afoul of the club president for blunt weapons and that he may not be able to keep up the charade that he is not a Shainline after all.

 

If you remember my reflection where I talked about the first issue, I made note that I was concerned with Tyler becoming too invincible.  Luckily, this issue makes it clear that it won’t be a problem.  He really has no chance against these people unless he figures out their weaknesses and he constantly acknowledges he won’t last long here as well.  It allows us as readers to be worried about him and get more into the character, who is already rather complicated character from all the stuff we’ve learned about him in this issue.

 

Everything else continues to be quite strong with new characters being introduced, dialogue being engaging and amusing, the art is appealing and makes everyone distinctive, and the comic also surprised me by breaking my expectation.  I assumed the whole comic was going to be solely about him beating each club one at a time, with one club each issue.  However, that’s not the case since we find out he defeated a bunch of them off screen.  It looks like it’ll be developing into something else, which I’m real clear on yet.

 

Outside of a lack of action and the comic didn’t leave me with the same amount of excitement for it like the last issue did; this was still really a lot of fun to read.  I’ll be sticking with this to the very end.

 

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #5: Finally!  I get to read this damn comic and see how it is.  Wish I could have read the last issues on a particularly darker week when they were more needed, but whatever.  This issue kicks off with a new writer and a new arc; with the main six ponies have been having nightmares and restless nights for the past week.  When having a sleepover together, Rarity is kidnapped by black smoke/fog that had been invading all of their dreams.  They meet with Princess Luna, who informs them the smoke is the remains of Nightmare Forces that had previously turned her into Nightmare Moon and is after all of them for defeating it last time.  Now they must team up and head to a nightmare dimension to rescue Rarity, who may be in a lot of trouble.

 

Having read the comic now, it’s a lot of fun like I hoped it would be.  Characters are memorable and distinctive, outside of Applejack who really does not stand out much, with their lines and quirks.  The art is nice looking and has its own unique style that is different from the show.  The plot is rather interesting and definitely has appeal for the fans with it going back to Nightmare Moon from all the way back in the first two episodes.

 

It’s not really deep, thought provoking, or even the greatest comic ever.  What it is a purely fun and enjoyable comic for all ages, something I do not see enough.  For the fans of the show or parents who want to get their young kids into comics, this one is highly recommended and also my pick of the week.  Hopefully my luck keeps up and I’ll be able to read the rest of the arc.

Comic Book Weekly Reflection 3/22/13

One of these days, I’ll finally be able to read that damn My Little Pony comic.  I never seem to get my hands on it or the Micro series.  However, despite that setback, I still got the chance to read a bunch of other comics I wanted to.  However, due to time constraints, no recap of the events from the comic like I do most of the time.  Just straight up my thoughts on the comic itself.

Be warned, there will be spoilers below (possibly)!

All New X-Men #9: This series continues to move along at a very slow pace towards the idea that the old X-Men from the past are needed to prevent this mutant genocide that current Cyclops could cause.  It’s very annoying on that part, especially considering we are nine issues in and barely much as actually happened in the comic outside of them arriving in the modern day.

However, unlike another comic, I do not mind this sort of thing.  We get very enjoyable character moments and dialogue bits between everyone, a new plot thread is being developed with the villain Mystique and her acquiring a new ally, the art is just gorgeous and beautiful to look at, and we get to see the team in action a bit.  They aren’t good mind you, but still it’s nice to see them act like a team in a team book.

The comic needs to speed up a bit, but currently, it’s still doing quite well and I highly recommend checking it out.  Also, like how it connects on the final page to the one from Uncanny X-Men.

Avengers #8: Now has a very similar problem that All New X-Men has.  It’s too damn slow with its plot.  I get that the writer is playing long game, just like ANXM’s writer is doing, but come on!  Get on with it already!  This comic is barely moving and has been barely moving for the past 4 to 5 issues!

This comic, unlike ANXM, does not have saving graces to make the wait tolerable.  The dialogue is completely dull here and can be overly repetitive (not like last issue thankfully).  I get it, the machine is frickin’ broken, anything else broken?  The characters aren’t really likeable or all that interesting, especially Thor and Hyperion in this issue.  Bonus points for Captain Universe making things worse with dealing with a kid who has planet destroying powers by telling him he’s a weapon and killed everyone in the area when he’s in a very overly emotional and confused state.

But what cements my problem with this issue in particular is that the Avengers… are really bad at their jobs.  At first, they tried to talk the kid down or relax him a bit considering the situation and I like that.  Then Captain Universe opens her mouth and then Hulk goes in to try to hurt him, and it all spirals out of control from there.  What eventually stops the kid from killing everyone?  Nightmask, a brand new character, who is the only one to try to be reasonable after Hullk starts smashing.

I should also point out that after reading this issue, I get the feeling the writer has really no interested in the main Avengers at all.  He’s more interested in new characters and trying to bring in the New Universal stuff than the Avengers themselves.  You know, we are buying an Avengers comic here and I expect the writer to actually care about the main characters!  New people are fine, but if you want to write about them more than what we paid for, than go make a comic about them!

Birds of Prey #18: Let’s ignore the issue with Jim Zub originally being slated to write this comic before he was removed before he even wrote the first issue and was replaced with Christy Marx.  That has no bearing on the quality of this comic (I think), so let’s just talk straight up about what’s in it.

This is a bit hard for me to talk about since I only really follow the comic in trade format.  The reason for me trying to read it now is because of the writer change.  As such, I’m not sure if this comic is an improvement over what came before.  That said, this comic, as is, is okay.  It’s not bad, but it’s not really all that amazing.  Everything about this comic feels average, from the character writing to the action to even the art.  Nothing really stands out about it so I’m probably not coming back to this until the Talon crossover in June.  Maybe it’ll be better by then.

Captain Marvel #11: This comic is was just absolutely wonderful to me.  The writer on this comic really brings our main character to life and makes her distinguishing and likeable, along with the rest of enjoyable side characters that are a part of this world.  The dialogue is also top notch with it being so natural and human that you really start getting into what everyone is saying.  Not sure about the villains with their characterization, but everyone else is great.

The story is fine and very interesting, especially with seeing how Carol deal with her situation.  Pacing is good, having enough of everything with the dialogue and action without having an overabundance of just one aspect.  It’s just a well written comic through and through.

However, I really cannot stand the art on this comic.  The people in it are so ugly and unappealing with their small faces, oversized lips, skinny noodle arms and legs, and weird expressions.  It even works against the art because you get the feeling anything someone throws a punch, they’re contorting their bodies in unnatural ways or going to break their fragile looking limbs.  The only time the art seems to work when it showing the neighbor girl (who is absolutely adorable) and the flying scenes with the motorcycle, but otherwise is quite distracting.  It’s this fact that prevents me from being able to give this comic my pick of the week, because the writing just so good.

Constantine #1: First of all, I am aware that Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes took over this comic when the first writer left before the first issue came out.  However, they only took over because that guy was swamped with work, so there’s nothing shady about this comic on that part.  Also, I am aware that Hellblazer was cancelled probably because of this comic.  I did not let that cloud my judgment on this comic though and wanted to judge it as is to be completely fair to it.  It was clearly doing something different than the original series was (as such, I don’t get why they needed to cancel it since it would only put a target on this comic’s back).

Despite being completely fair to this comic, it’s nothing really spectacular.  Don’t get me wrong, I did like it, which is why I said yay when I referred to it my reaction.  I put a question mark next to it though because I’m less than excited about it.  The writing was perfectly fine and I did like the stuff about magic Constantine talked about in it.  The story seems interesting enough to me and the art was perfectly fine, if nothing really amazing enough to stand out.

The rest of the stuff was rather average in my mind with the dialogue between characters just okay, the main villain for now not really fleshed out, and everything just being there.  I did enjoy my time with the comic, but I’m not overly thrilled with it either.  I’ll follow this for a while and see where it goes.

Justice League #18: This issue just focused on the team expanding their roster and feels more like a setup issue for the next.  However, that’s just fine with me because the writer on this, like with ANXM, manages to make it a highly enjoyable experience.

Lots of great character moments, especially really funny ones with Goldrush and Element Woman, really steal the show here and demonstrate why everyone who is here as a new candidate could be wanted by the league.  The action is solid and the fill in art is also really nice looking (though must the artist really emphasis everyone’s lips?).   The story, again, did not advance much and was just setup, but the main focus of the issue was the characters and it really shined through here.

Justice League of America #2: This comic was even better than Justice League for me.  It had the great characters moments and humor as the other did, but it also managed to move the plot further along while also setting up a bunch of elements and mysteries for the future issues to come.  The stuff at the beginning with the Scarecrow was really damn good.

Toss in some great art (David Finch was a lot better here than with Batman: The Dark Knight), an exciting cliffhanger, and a wonderful backup story with the Martian Manhunter, and you got a near perfect second issue in my book.  My only complaint is that Catwoman needs to zip up her jacket.  Seriously, why does she do that in this book and not in her own book?  Still, my pick of the week and I hope you guys check it out as well.

New Avengers #4: Let’s get straight to the point.  This comic is better than Avengers for the simple fact that the writer actually seems to care about characters and focuses on them.  Plus, this feels like a team book with everyone working together and you seeing why everyone is important or needed for this team.  There’s also a good turn around for our heroes at the end of the issue, deciding to put their world destroying plans on hold to fight a bigger threat.

That being said, this comic is BORING.  This is an extremely dialogue heavy book and that normally doesn't bother me.  I read dialogue heavy books like Saucer Country and The Unwritten and I get very into them.  This is not like those books because the dialogue is dull and lifeless.  It’s like being at a boardroom meeting with Ben Stein doing all the talking as he explains the important things going on.  This stuff is all key and very important, but you just end up wanting to take a nap as the character drones on and on.

There’s no action until the very end, the art is rather bland with its color schemes, and until the end, nothing really happens.  This is such a damn boring comic that I barely focus on it.  I’ll keep going with it in hopes of it returning to the enjoyable level presented back in the first issue, but man is this comic testing my patience.

Comic Book Weekly Reflection 3/15/13

This week went better with the fact that I was actually able to read everything I wanted to.  Nothing from Image this week, just good old DC and Marvel (there’s a Vertigo comic as well, but that’s sort of attached to DC in a way).  Also, this blog is now one month old and there hasn’t been too many difficulties.  Let’s hope it stays that way.

 

Be warned, there will be spoilers below!

 

Avengers Assemble #13: This issue is the conclusion to a two part.  We have Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Spider-Woman discovering what happened to that missing girl and also coming across an entire group of lizard people, who used to be normal until they start abusing this drug.  I won’t say much about it is kind of interesting in how it all goes down.  The issue ends the heroes winning obviously and it being revealed that Hawkeye has this mysterious chip from Black Widow that can guarantee her help for something in the future.

 

To me, this comic feels like it has what I want out of an Avengers comic.  Great characters, enjoyable action, interesting missions, solid dialogue, and that it feels like a team book.  The characters are all working together and showing why they are important to the mission.  Add in some funny lines, an interesting mystery at the end, and great art; and you got yourself probably one of the most underrated Avengers comic currently putting out.

 

It’s a great example of showing that comics don’t always have to epic and large in scale, they can be small and enjoyable little tales that feature our favorite heroes being the characters that we love.  I really wanted this issue to be my pick of the week, but there was an even better and much more enjoyable comic this week.

 

Batman #18: This picks up where Batman & Robin left off this week (which we’ll get to as well), with Batman just pushing himself to the limits and putting himself more into his work since Damian died.  He’s been going five days straight without any sleep and his reaching his limit while also becoming more violent.  All of this has caught the attention of teenager Harper Row, who we last saw in issue 12.  Since then and becoming inspired by him, she’s been training to do some crime fighting of her own.  Of course, Batman rejects the idea and pretty much explains easily why the hell she should not be involved at all (while also shouting it at her).  However, Row is able to get through to him enough for him to calm down and start slowing down so he doesn’t get killed.  The issue ends ultimately with two of them meeting again and making peace, but I still get the impression he doesn’t want her to be a vigilante.

 

Lots of people had been wondering if Harper Row will be the next Robin and honestly, I don’t think she has earned it yet and be the end of issue, I don’t think she’ll be getting the position anytime soon as well.  Could she become Robin in the future?  It’s possible, but not anytime soon at least so I’m going to play the waiting game and see how she develops overtime.  Other things I heard were that people were saying this was very much like A Lonely Place of Dying, which brought about the introduction of Tim Drake as Robin back in the 90’s.  I never read it, so I can’t compare this to that old story.

 

The comic was perfectly fine as far as I’m concerned.  Harper Row is slowly being developed and we are getting a better understanding of her now.  She’s rather likeable and amusing, so she was just fine.  Batman was a bit of dick in this issue, knocking her through a wooden fence, though I get why considering his situation considering he’s been going for 5 days straight without stopping, he’s a bit unstable, his emotions all over the place after the loss of his son, and he does not want her to get involve and decided to show & list how unprepared she was.  Batman seems to be settling down after this issue, so he’ll probably back to normal somewhat next issue.

 

Dialogue was fine and there were a couple of good lines (especially between Harper and her brother), though Scott Snyder does tend to overwrite with tons of dialogue and inner thoughts from the characters.  While the story was ultimately fine and about more of an outsider looking at how Batman is on the brink of self-destructing, it’s kind of boring.  Not much happened with Batman sort of returning back to square one with his emotions, so this rage didn’t last long.  Not much action and some scenes kind of drag on or don’t add anything to the story.  There’s also the art with has the duo of Andy Kubert and Alex Maleev, which both do a fine job of drawing.  However, the change between them is extremely jarring and through me out of the story a bit.

 

So really, I liked the issue just fine but there were problems with it.  I don’t think it was good as Harper’s real debut issue back in number 12 despite developing her more as a character.  I think Snyder blew all of his skill on closing out Swamp Thing last week, so we were left with something that was just alright.  Oh well, maybe next month.

 

Batman & Robin #18: This issue is just pure silence; with absolutely no dialogue of any kind (whoever letters this comic got a nice break this time around) outside of a letter at the end of the comic.  It basically just shows the aftermath with Bruce, Alfred, and Damian’s dog Titus and how it has affected them.  Though it’s mostly just focusing on Bruce, as we see him constantly see Damian everywhere during his patrol, but not really being there.  It ends with him unleashing all of his rage and anger on the crooks of Gotham, and then leaving them all piled up on the roof of the Gotham P.D.

 

Batman & Robin has been one of those comics that I read, but kind of forget about later on after I read it.  It’s fine, but never really does anything to make an overall impression on me.  This, however, did for once.  I don’t often see silent issues where the comic just relies on the art to tell its story (I think the only time I ever saw anything like this was when I read Negima), so it was rather interesting.  I found the emotion to be quite strong and the story itself just as strong with how it’s portrayed.  Some of the layouts with the panels were pretty nice looking at well, especially when Batman finally starts attacking criminals.

 

The only real problems I have with this comic is that it is a very breezy read, going by really quickly with the lack of dialogue, and also my own issues with the art itself.  I’m not that really that big of a fan with how the artist draws faces.  Still, it’s all rather nitpicks in a rather well put together comic.  Definitely worth a look if you don’t normally read it.

 

Fearless Defenders #2:  The issue begins with us meeting Dani Moonstar, who is captured by Caroline le Fey, villain we saw in the last issue, who wants to make her into a Valkyrie for some reason.  Then from there we focus on Valkyrie, Misty Knight, and Dr. Annabelle Riggs heading to Asgardia to seek some help on their current situation.  It is learned that Valkyrie is supposed to create a new Valkyrior, otherwise the Dommaidens (evil Valkyries) will return to fill the void.  The issue ends with them meeting Warrior Woman, who may be just the woman they need for the Valkyrior.

 

Now this issue was just plain fun through and through.  All the characters are awesome and so us why they are so great, with Moonstar fighting waves of baddies to Misty Knight jumping in to Valkyrie fight Hela, the Asgardian goddess of death.  There’s tons of great dialogue and these fun little caption boxes that have a funny line that describes a character when they first appear.  There’s some great action and the story progresses (not a lot mind you), allowing us to see why exactly this new team is needed and being formed.  It’s all really just great.

 

If you noticed my reaction shot, you’ll see that I didn’t really I have much to say on the subject.  It’s certainly not badly drawn and everyone looks good, but it’s also really not noteworthy.  It’s serviceable and gets the job down, but it’s really not what will leave an impression with you after this issue ends.  You’ll be remembering how great the characters are and the amount of fun you had with it.  This was my pick of the week and something you should be checking out as well.

 

Saucer Country #13: With the series almost over and the mysteries & conspiracies growing, I’m going to refrain from revealing the plot of this and the next issue.  You’ll have to read that for yourselves.  However, I will say that I really dug this issue.

 

The dialogue is still as strong as ever and I find myself still hanging on every word they say.  The characters are still great, with Harry having a particularly great moment during this issue when someone reveals to him that he knows that Arcadia thinks she was abducted by aliens.  The plot continued nicely and I’m really excited to see the Election Day results turn out.

 

Not much to say other than that since I’m trying to keep hush hush about it, but it was really good.  Too bad that Vertigo is cancelling the comic next month, but what can you do?  I’m going to miss this political and sci-fi thriller…

 

Team 7 #6: Speaking of comics heading for the chopping block, here’s one of them now (though it’ll be cancelled in May)!  In this issue, Team 7 heads for the Advanced Prosthetic Research Center to see what the hell is going on there, with Alex Fairchild going there in particular to rescue his daughter.  However, things go to crap as they discover the place has been overrun with robots that have transformed the humans into metal machines like them.  Also, a couple start dying off and by the end of this run, I’m pretty sure more of them will be dead as well.

 

This issue was not as good as last month’s but still fine regardless.  It had solid action, good character moments, a few good lines, an interesting final page to keep me curious until next month, and a rather sad and depressing scene where my favorite character gets killed.  Also, this issue raises a very interesting question.  Caitlin Fairchild gets robotized and killed in this issue by Slade.  This comic takes place back in the past, but in modern times and in another comic called The Ravagers, she is perfectly alive.  I don’t think it’s a writer screw up at all, but a rather interesting mystery that I hope gets addressed here.

 

Not much else to say about this comic.  It was fine and read well, but that’s pretty much it.  I’ll continue with this comic to the end to see where it goes, but I’m hoping for something rather epic to wrap everything up here.

 

Uncanny X-Men #3: Cyclops, his pals, and his students have a run in with the Avengers in this issue.  The Avengers are there to arrest Cyclops for killing Professor Xavier, but he tries to B.S. his way out of it by making a speech and showing off for the cameras in the area.  Before both teams can fight each other, Eva, a mutant with the power to stop time in certain spots, freezes the Avengers in place, allowing for the mutants to escape the scene.  Feeling confident about this encounter; Cyclops takes Magik, Emma Frost, and Magneto to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning to possibly do some recruiting for his side.

 

This issue is odd for me to say the least.  On the one hand, a lot of these characters in the comic are jerks or egoistical pricks, including our main characters.  It kind of makes you want them to lose in a way just so you can see them fall extremely hard and get a much ass kicking, especially Cyclops and Hawkeye in this issue.  On the other hand, this is issue was really enjoyable to read.  Great dialogue and humor (love those guys reaction to the Hulk and Magik’s evil plan of clogging toilets), solid character bits, improved artwork with a better splash of color to it, and an overall interesting ending that makes me want to know where this will go.

 

Uncanny X-Men is pretty good and is slowly improving in my mind, despite the silly costumes the heroes are wearing now and how jerkish the characters can be.  I still like All New X-Men more, but this is slowly growing on me.  I’ll be sure to check out the next issue.

 

Wolverine #1: Our issue begins in a mall where some dad is holding the place hostage with an alien ray guy and Wolverine on the ground, slowly healing from getting hit with the ray gun earlier.  The intensity builds until the dad kills off most of the people in the mall and Wolverine finally healing enough to kill him.  However, the trouble isn’t over when the guy’s kid gets ahold of the ray gun and goes evil himself, causing Wolverine to chase after him and find out what the hell is going on.

 

Written by Paul Cornell, who also writes Saucer Country, this was a very big surprise for me.  I never really expected to like this all that much since I’m not a huge fan of Wolverine.  He’s cool and all, but I like other characters in the Marvel Universe more than him.  However, the writing here was really solid, presenting him as a very likeable character and setting up a situation that makes you wonder how he’s going to deal with it.  There are also some good character bits and dialogue that really makes this rather enjoyable to read.

 

The story didn’t really move quickly and the art is just decent, but nothing special.  However, this was a surprisingly good comic and has my attention.  Whenever I see the next issue, I’m definitely going to give it a shot and I do recommend you guys to try it out as well.