Category Archives: Comic Reviews

Green Lantern Volume 6 The Life Equation Review

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Alright, we’re back with more Green Lantern comics! In this one, the New Gods step in so we take a little break from the main plot that’s been going on. It’s just how it goes with Tie ins, but as long as the event is really good this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think Green Lantern is a little underpowered here and it shouldn’t be so easy to develop a counter weapon to the Power Ring imo. This volume has a lot of action and is setting things up for the Darkseid War so it is a must read.

The New Gods hack into the Green Lantern database to find out more about the rings and they also want to take Kyle Rayner since he may be helpful for the Anti-Life Equation. The Green Lanterns decide to retaliate which leads to a full scale war with the New Gods. They will need some backup though and this quickly results in the Sinestro corps, Black Lantern Corps, Star Sapphires, Blue Lanterns, and all of the others to emerge. Can they get along long enough to deal with these guys though?

We really see just how strong Orion and the other New Gods are in this comic. It is good to see them look so powerful because they honestly should be. If they were lightweights it just wouldn’t make that much sense. There is still a lot of plot hax in how they are able to bust through the Green Lantern constructs so easily with their anti ring weapons though. It is consistently said to be the greatest weapon in the universe so there shouldn’t be any kind of counter to it.

At least it helps to strengthen my opinion that Hal is easily the best Green Lantern. He reminds the others that their constructs can always come out on top as long as their Will Power is on point and he never backs down. He does lose to Orion in their initial meetup, but it was hardly a fair fight. I’d like to say that he would have won in round 2, but then the Black Lantern had to wreck it. It was a bit of a low blow although Hal didn’t seem to mind, which was a little iffy. Hal’s done a great job of leading the GL Corps while the Guardians have stepped down and attacking the New Gods immediately was certainly the right move. Getting some backup was also wise since they would have been completely overwhelmed with sheer numbers otherwise.

It was a really awesome scene when Black Hand (Leader of the Black Lanterns) was able to animate the Source Wall and reawaken all of the people there. That included the big villains from the previous GL arcs and a lot of legendary monsters who were known as the strongest of the strongest. Even the New Gods really paled in comparison to these guys and they were soundly defeated. Naturally Black Hand couldn’t keep control of them for very long and he started to perish due to the Source Wall effect, but even for just being temporarily it was impressive and the best visual in the collection.

I focused on the New Gods part a lot, but the final 3 issues do go back to the main plot. Hal decides to take a little vacation to relax from the galaxy threatening situations of late, but soon realizes that it is hard to get away from it all. The Flash and Guy Gardner effectively remind him that his job as a Green Lantern is something that he can’t get away from. After having a talk with Star Sapphire as well, Hal makes a bold decision. He’s going to quit the Green Lantern corps. The universe is still very upset at the group for the Power Ring controversies so Hal decides to pose as the villain to clean the rep of the group.

He stages a betrayal with Kilowog and flees with one of the Power Batteries. Only Kilowog knows the truth so now he is on the hunt from every single star system and galactic group across the universe. For all we know, even the Justice League will be against him. It is going to be very hard for Hal to survive for long on his own, but he’s a survivor so he can take care of himself. I’ll admit that I’m not super thrilled about this decision. Hal was just coming into his own as a leader and we could have certainly had many great stories that could have come from that. Well, the idea of Hal being a loner as a while can be cool too.

As for the other characters, Sinestro had a good role in this collection. He aided the Green Lanterns when it counted even if he proved that he still can’t be trusted to stick with the mission in the end. His main goal is still to protect his own interests, but he did make a difference. He’s a fun rival to have for Hal. Kilowog’s also a pretty nice mentor and at least Hal can always count on him. Star Sapphire’s decision to part ways with Hal, but still leave him with some hope seems a little dicey, but hopefully that drama is essentially over now.

Orion was surprisingly likable in this issue. He knew that the All Father was being very unreasonable and corrupt. He didn’t mind mentioning this to the guy’s face either and it’s why rebellious characters can be good to have at times. He can also back up his tough talk and there’s no unnecessary romance with Wonder Woman to keep him down here. Mogo is cool as always and the rest of the Green Lanterns are fairly useful. The comic has a good cast and even the All Father may have learned his lesson. He claims that he will go back to his original mission of protecting people from Darkseid rather than becoming another villain so we’ll see if he is true to his word.

As always, the artwork for the Green Lantern collection is nothing short of excellent. All of the fights are really fun to look at. No other title does space fights quite as well as the Green Lantern series and that’s good since this series needs a lot of space action scenes. Adding in the New Gods also helped to connect this to the rest of the DCU and while that’s not necessary for a good GL comic as the previous graphic novels have shown, it is always fun to see. I’m definitely ready for the Justice League to show up as guest stars, that would be a blast! There is not a single panel where the artwork looks off.

Overall, Green Lantern continues its run of quality issues with this collection. The stakes may not have literally been as high as some of the older ones since the Galaxy was on the brink, but nonetheless they felt just as high. The war between the New Gods and Darkseid will surely have universal ramifications and the fact that both sides seem fairly corrupt is a sign that the Green Lanterns are going to have to work overtime to stop them all. As long as Hal is the leader of the Green Lantern corps, I’m sure that they are going to go far. Of course, with Hal no longer being the leader, the status quo is certainly going to be shaken up. I wonder how long the series can possibly go without Hal going back to his role. It’s an ambitious decision, but this series can pull it off. Hopefully by the time Hal joins up with the Corps again they will have beefed up their tranks a little. I want the Corps to be a universal threat like the good ole days. Right now they are really light on manpower so I’m thinking that some new recruits are in order. Maybe bringing in Supergirl and Cyborg for starters. Even better….another Hal Jordan from a different universe!

Overall 8/10

Godzilla in Hell Review

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This comic review is a pretty big landmark for me because it is the first Godzilla comic book that I have ever read. That is probably a little surprising to hear since I’m such a big Godzilla fan, but my library simply doesn’t order the comics very often. I’m a comic reader, but not necessarily a collector. It’s the opposite with video games. When I saw that the library had picked this trade paperback up, I grabbed it instantly. I heard that this comic was quite different from the average Godzilla adventure and that is certainly true, but I suppose that it’s as good a way to enter the Godzilla comic part of the franchise as any other. It is a good comic although I feel like it could have gone a lot farther with this ambitious concept.

On the back of the book they have a quote from legendary comic reviewer Daniel Alvarez of Unleash The Fanboy about how this is the most unique Godzilla tale of them all. It is a little…sketchy how they completely took the quote out of context although I certainly agree with it and would argue that the reviewer would as well. This is the most unique Godzilla tale of them all and there will likely never be another one quite like it. That doesn’t mean that it is the best Godzilla tale of all time. Certainly not, but it’s a good one and that’s why I feel this mini series should have ran for a little longer. Another 5-6 issues would have given it time to really explore Godzilla’s time in hell. Who knows, if this sells well enough then maybe we will get a sequel.

As the title outright states, this series is about Godzilla being in Hell. (Or is he really there?) It works as a bit of an anthology as each issue has a different team behind it and Godzilla faces a new threat each time. The stories are still held together by the loose plot of Godzilla trying to get out and most anthologies have some kind of string holding the plot together, but for all intents and purposes, the comics are all separate. As such, I’ll review this in the style of an anthology with a paragraph for each individual issue rather than talking about it as a whole until the end.

The first issue sees Godzilla literally fall into Hell where he fights off a Dark version of himself who turns into a very deformed version of Biollante and threatens to eat him whole. Godzilla fends off his attack and makes his way into the next layer of Hell. It is a solid start to the collection and I dare say that it is the most compelling issue of the bunch. It doesn’t have as much action as some of the issues coming up, but it handled the concept better than the others. The big sign saying to abandon hope is something that you would expect to find in Hell, at least conceptually. Once you are in Hell, there is no hope at all. Simply put, the race is over and you made the wrong choice. Of course, Godzilla is not dead yet so he is not truly out of time. Plus, let’s face it, Godzilla doesn’t feel fear. The art for this issue was solid. It did a good job of showing the facial expressions for Godzilla and the fight was well done. This is really what a comic version of Godzilla should strive to look like and I definitely liked the design of the made up villain.

Following that strong start was the worst comic in the collection. The series tried to go for a live action look and it didn’t work. As far as I’m concerned, if DC’s Kingdom Come event couldn’t pull it off, nothing ever will. The fight scenes are very choppy and it’s a shame since this issue could have had the most action. This level of hell has demons transform into lookalikes from Godzilla’s past. Fake Rodan, Anguirus, Varan, and Ghidorah all attack the hero. Godzilla fends them all off and it should have been a really good issue. The art just takes you out of the adventure. I do like the use of the word bubbles here as they add more context and hint at what is actually going on here. Godzilla passes this trial with flying colors as he proves that he is more than a match for any demon. Of course, the trials will get stronger from here.

The third issue was the most colorful and went for more of a cartoony feel than the other two. This made for a great fight between Godzilla and Space Godzilla, but the facial expressions could be a little odd at times. It was uncharacteristic for Godzilla, but the fight scenes were worth it. Space Godzilla is definitely a worthy opponent for the King of the Monsters. This was also the strangest issue in the collection. So, this trial is essentially that Godzilla must defeat Space Godzilla without resorting to the temptations from both sides. Half of Hell wants him to become their god and rule while the others want him to work for Hell. You are led to believe at first that half of them worship God and want Godzilla to join, but they quickly switch to believers of Godzilla and also don’t seem trust worthy. Regardless, Godzilla eats them all and crushes the rest, but neither side seemed to have a clue as to what they were doing.

They were yelling about submitting to peace the entire time. Godzilla just kept on blasting them which is probably a safe bet. Why would angels be in Hell anyway unless they were fallen ones? I guess some Earthlings tried to come here as well since we saw that Moguera was toasted. It was an odd comic, but it also helps support the argument that this is all real and not simply a dream the most in my opinion. I don’t have a lot of concrete arguments to support that, but this issue felt like it could be real. More on that at the end.

Issue 4 also had some pretty nice art. It was a little more realistic, but still pretty vibrant which is good because the whole issue is a big fight with King Ghidorah and Destoroyah. Godzilla has to use his wits to defeat these two since their combined might is far greater than his. It is cool to see him actually using strategy like dividing the opponents and taking them out on at a time. He loses though and the second half of the issue sees him die over and over again. The problem is that since he is in Hell, he cannot die for good. He has been cursed with immortality and it is a somber thought. At the end he breaks out of this part of hell and makes his way to the final challenges. This was my favorite story. As a big action fan, it was fun to see some fights here and Godzilla being portrayed as more than a mindless monster is always good.

Finally, the collection ended with Godzilla facing off against the elements and the actual demons from Hell. In their true forms, they were finally playing for keeps here. Unfortunately, they got a little too overconfident and after destroying Godzilla, they reanimated him with fire, which was enough to jump start his body and allow him to regenerate. They should have quit while they were ahead. It ends with Godzilla rising out of the water and you have to ask, did this all really happen or was it in his head? The answer will come in a moment. Meanwhile, the art here was not as good as the last few issues. The final shot with Godzilla rising it great and it’s better than the live action issue, but it is too gray-scale for me. Comics don’t always have to be vibrant, but it just didn’t look that good and everything was just too faded. Still a good issue, but it’s always sad to see Godzilla lose due to sheer numbers. It is part of why I don’t like the Megaguirus film.

In the end, my answer is that this was all a dream. The final issue does state that winning against yourself is greater than a thousand victories. It said that such a win can never be taken away and those lines of dialogue really support the fact that this was in Godzilla’s head. It is still a little iffy as Godzilla is not the type to ever doubt himself and I don’t think he would need to conquer his inner demons. Still, I suppose that even Kaiju have things that they need to think about so it is not totally unreasonable to believe that Godzilla has to come to terms with himself now and again. I’ve never been all that opposed to reading a series that ended with the plot twist of it all being a dream so it is not all that bad. It is open to interpretation so feel free to choose another theory to follow, but this is definitely the one that I follow.

Overall, I think this series definitely could have benefited from being longer. Of course, it could have had the opposite effect as it really depends on an issue to issue basis. If the writers started to run out of ideas, then it is always best to quit while you are ahead. I definitely recommend this to any Godzilla fan. The concept is simply too priceless to pass up. I think the average comic reader should be able to enjoy it as well. There is very little dialogue here so it is more of a visual experience than anything else. That’s something that everyone can ultimately appreciate in a comic as long as there is some kind of interesting plot/good characters to go alongside it. I’ve finally entered the world of Godzilla comics, hopefully I am able to read another one someday!

Overall 7/10

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes Review

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Any of you remember Calvin and Hobbes from the good ole days? I’d say that they were pretty popular when I was a kid and the name still rings a bell even if I did forget the actual characters entirely. Well, that’s what an essential collection is good for at any rate, now I can say that I definitely know each character and most of the running gags. It’s a pretty fun comic with the parents actually being the most interesting characters. They certainly keep Calvin in line. Each story ranged from 1 panel strip to a full 2 page event so the gags have to come in quickly and get right to the point. There is quite a bit of continuity though as supporting characters continue to show up and grudges are always held. Especially when the Babysitter comes into play.

The basic premise of the series is that Calvin is essentially your average kid. He has an imaginary friend named Hobbes who is actually his stuffed tiger. Calvin claims that he is real though and the story does force you to decide whether he is real or fake. I personally say that he’s fake since the Mom has actually sewn him back together a few times and he always turns back into a stuffed animal when other people are around. It’s possible that he is a magical tiger who can shift from being alive or a stuffed animal, but that seems a little far fetched so I may as well stick with my original theory. Calvin and Hobbes have a lot of adventures while they try to defy authority and have a good time. There are definitely a lot of similarities that can be drawn between this series and Peanuts.

Of course, Calvin is nothing like Charlie Brown. Charlie’s a model student who always does the right thing. Calvin aims to be the exact opposite and one subplot is that he’s always insulting one of his classmates. As a result, she doesn’t really get along with him although Calvin thinks that insulting her is a way to flirt. The logic is quite sad. Beyond that, he’s mostly a likable character although that’s a big “beyond that” I suppose. He’s always letting the Dad know how he can become more popular. The Dad doesn’t listen since he is the smartest character in the whole series. Calvin loves to try dangerous stunts so he will often race his way down a mountain or shoot himself through a few trees. He’s nothing if not brave.

As mentioned earlier, the parents are the most intense characters. The Dad always takes Calvin’s ideas in stride. When Calvin transformed into a Tiger (in his imagination) he asked the Dad what was different about him today. The Dad asked if he had a new haircut so Calvin quickly yelled that he was now a tiger. The Dad recovered by saying that he thought Calvin meant any differences besides being a tiger. Calvin’s trick questions just don’t fool the guy. He also reminds Calvin that he doesn’t need to worry about the opinions of the voters since being a Dad is a dictatorship. He doesn’t answer to Congress. The Dad consistently gets all of the best lines throughout the collection and his subtle sarcasm can always do wonders for the story. The ones without him present just aren’t quite as fun.

The Mom also likes to remind Calvin who’s in charge by slamming all of his ideas back down to Earth. She doesn’t use sarcasm as much as the Dad unfortunately, but sometimes the direct way is the best way. She did get the bully to stop picking on Calvin by calling his parents so that saved Calvin a lot of grief even if our noble main character would never admit to this. Naturally, the baby sitter is also pretty intense. Since the parents are never around at this point, she basically just threatens Calvin into following her orders all the time. She even gets extra money for it. You’ll feel bad for Calvin during the first round though because he is basically locked int he garage for the entire day. That’s definitely the saddest part for him in the whole collection when you really think about it. Seriously, the whole day in the garage with only his stuffed tiger as company….yikes!

We can’t forget about Hobbes either. He’s not quite as good as Calvin which means that he’s not really a great character. He’s essentially a broken compass to try and help Calvin make the wrong moves with his bad advice. He definitely fights with Calvin a lot as both of them threaten each other with the Baseball bat. Needless to say, both of them are always on their guard. They do team up to fight ghosts and help each other with boredom though so they’re still friends…they just have to always watch their backs.

The artwork is simple and effective. All of the pages and panels are clear which makes for an easy to read story. It holds up very well to this day and certainly beats some of the artwork that you see in today’s comics, which is an impressive feat for a comic this old. (Or a put down to the current ones. Depends on how you look at it of course) I’d like to see how the artwork would hold up for a fight scene, but that’s not in the cards at the moment.

As this series was always a rival to the Peanuts, I can’t finish this review without comparing the two of them a little now can I? I’d actually say that the Calvin and Hobbes comics may be a little more fun to read than Peanuts. Snoopy may be much better than any character in the Calvin series, but beyond that I’d say that the Calvin and Hobbes cast is still a lot better overall. They simply have better dialogue to work with and more personality as well. Purely as far as comics are concerned, I’d say that Calvin wins this rivalry. Granted, I haven’t read a great deal of comics from either side so this could always change.

Overall, Calvin and Hodge is a pretty fun batch of comics. I could see why they would be pretty popular in the Newspaper strips. The stories are engaging and the small cast allows for each character to have a lot of personality. There aren’t a whole lot of collections available at the moment so if you see this one then I’d definitely recommend it. It’s a fun little way to spend a few hours. There’s no action or a deep plot to speak of so it’ll bring you back to the simple days of old. Where you just read comics for a few laughs and the good dialogue that was brought along with it.

Overall 7/10

Green Lantern Volume 5 Test of Wills Review

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It’s time for one of the newer Green Lantern volumes. Hal’s had a rough time, but the last volume saw him taking over the Corps. He definitely didn’t really want this to happen, but now that it has, he might as well make the best of it! His decision to limit the use of the Power Rings really heats things up here and the villain groups aren’t afraid to use this to their advantage!

The main plot of this graphic novel involves a group of shapeshifters who infiltrate Mogo. They manage to knock Hal Jordan out and go on Galaxy TV to declare (While posing as Hal) that the Green Lanterns will hunt down anyone who uses the Lantern energy as it all comes from a supply at the end of the universe and if it runs out, everyone dies. (At least their emotions will) Technically, this story is true aside from the Green Lanterns all being extremists, but the universe quickly panics. The Lanterns must die now! Just about every planet turns against the Green Lanterns and this seems like it could be the status quo for quite a while. It’ll be hard to get people to forget this.

The shapeshifter problem isn’t over yet either. There lies a planet very much like Krypton in the universe and its citizens gain incredible amounts of super strength and speed when exposed to the sun. The shape shifters want to copy their forms and then bathe in this legendary sun liquid on a planet that will complete the transformation. These shapeshifters are really hard to detect because the transformation is just about 100% authentic. Hal needs to figure it out quickly though because having a lot of Evil Supermen in the universe would definitely not be a good idea.

Shapeshifting plots are always interesting because it’s very hard to stop those guys without plot hax or a lot of specific scenarios. Let’s just say that the heroes are not successful here and the shape shifter has her way for quite a while and even gains the Superman abilities, which was interesting to see. The Green Lanterns are powerful, but they are out of their league against someone like this. The group had a pretty good plan for dealing with the villain though and while I think they probably should have gotten owned, it didn’t feel to plot hax’d and their plan was a good one. I didn’t care for the villains aside from the one that got the cool super powers, but it’s always intriguing to see more alien species. I currently know of more Marvel kinds than DC ones so this helps to even the odds.

Another plot during this collection involved the Red Lanterns as the Green Lanterns find an enraged Supergirl while in space. Since when is she a Red Lantern? Well, in the comics it felt like that happened for a while, but to the characters it probably seemed random. Even worse is the fact that nobody knew who she was. Man, Hal Jordan’s seriously out of the loop right now and it just shows that he needs to get back on Earth. Too bad he’s effectively banned from going there since it’s Red Lantern territory now. Yeah…long story. It was great to see the Kryptonians get so much hype here though. Hal implies that Superman would completely wreck the Green Lantern core if something happened to Supergirl and he’s right. As it stands, I could easily see Superman decimating all of the Green and Red Lanterns teaming up. They’re simply not ready to fight him just yet.

The Red Lanterns got their own issue in this collection since it dealt with the Supergirl situation. It was interesting to see an issue from their series. I don’t think it’ll be nearly as good as Green Lantern since the cast isn’t quite as good and aside from Guy Gardner (Who’s not exactly the greatest main character) I can’t think of any real notable players. The fight against the Shadow Thief was neat, but Red Lantern abilities never look as good as Green ones. Seriously, those guys are always coughing. Atrocitus is coming closer to Guy’s faction though so it’ll be interesting when they fight again. That guy was always a big threat so having him return would definitely up the stakes.

Hal Jordan is still my favorite Green Lantern and he does a good job of keeping everyone in check in this volume. You can tell that he’s more experienced and in control than he was in the old comics. Let’s ignore the Justice League issues in the New 52 since he lost all of his development and the whole thing is one big plot hole anyway. Hal realizes that he needs to listen to other opinions now that he’s the leader and he does that ASAP. He’s no longer the space flirt that he used to be and he’s only worried about Carol, not even to get back together with her, but because Kyle died so right now things are rough for her. I’m expecting them to fight though since the Star Sapphires are antagonistic towards the Greens. (For good reasons, since the Green Lanterns want to control the universe’s levels of light) We even get to see some of Hal’s family like his brother and nephews. They’re neat and it’s always good to see that a hero has someone that he can talk too.

For a while Spider Man had Aunt May and Superman typically has Lois. With his family around, Hal can spitball ideas and also get a grounded perspective. I definitely haven’t heard of his bro or nephews before, but they seemed pretty decent even if they were pretty mean to Simon Baz. Poor Baz, he never quite hit it off in the comics, but I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him. He is the last Green Lantern on Earth after all. John Stewart was also around and he’ll be having his own subplot for future issues as he needs to find someone who was replaced by the Shapeshifter a while back. The whole thing is super embarrassing for Stewart and it’s why I say you should always be careful where romance is involved. Still, what’s done is done and hopefully he’s able to find her quickly since the universe is a big place.

There’s a fairly big cliffhanger at the end here as the New Gods are finally making a move. They want the Anti Life Equation and they seem pretty shady so for the Darkseid War I wouldn’t be surprised if both sides end up being villains. It’ll be fun seeing the Green Lanterns take these guys on and I’m assuming that it’ll tie into why Green Lantern headed for Earth in one of the Justice League volumes that I read. Is it time to call in the Calvary? The Justice League can certainly tip the scales of any fight after all.

As always, the art is very good for this graphic novel. The fights are very eye catching and I never tire of the beam wars. I’m hoping that Hal completely forgets about trying to conceal light since that would mean the fight scenes can’t be as grand. He’s already starting to move away from that idea, which is definitely a good start. It’s always very easy to read through the comics since the art is so exceptional. It was also neat to see Batman on a few of the covers even if he didn’t actually get to appear in the issues. Ah well, I suppose that will have to do for now.

Finally, I’ve also got to note that it was impressive as always to see Hal hold his own in a fist fight against an opponent who by all accounts is stronger and faster. Note that this is without the Power Ring. Hal’s always had the most will power out of any Green Lantern and he always looks very skilled in his comic series. It’s one of the reasons why the Green Lantern franchise is one of the best parts of DC. Hal makes for a consistent main character and the plots are always interesting. This current plot about how everyone is dealing with the concept of limited energy is a good one and the universe is so big that there are so many plots to keep up with. We thought that Earth was a big place, but when you compare that to a universe, it makes sense that there are so many things happening. The Lanterns just have to tackle one problem at a time. Next problem on the list? Saint Walker. His refusal to help the others out is coming dangerously close to forfeiting innocent lives and that’s where you’ve got to draw the line between a cautious fighter and a bad character.

Overall, This is another solid Green Lantern comic. There’s a lot of action and the plot is very interesting. There are really no big negatives to speak of here. Hal Jordan definitely shouldn’t get one shotted from any blunt weapon and I still consider him to be one of DC’s power houses so that was a moment of plot hax, but it was a rare one. For the most part, Hal takes care of business and beats up anyone who gets in his way. I’m also glad that he keeps on springing into action instead of staying at the base like a leader is supposed too. That kind of thing has hurt many good characters and I don’t want to see that happen to Hal. An active main character is a good one! I’ll be reading the next volume very soon so stay tuned!

Overall 8/10

Alpha Flight Classic Volume 3 Review

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It’s been quite a while since I reviewed a comic hasn’t it? I admittedly read this a very long time ago at this point, but better late than never. The Alpha Flight has always been a fairly obscure team in the grand scheme of things and I can see why. I like just about all of Marvel’s retro comics and this one’s no exception, but it’s not exactly a page turner either. You’ll read through the adventures, but at the end of the day, a story about just about any other character would be more interesting. The team needs to either make the characters cooler or they should just add some new members. Either method would help to improve the comic series I’d say.

There are quite a few plot points here. One of them I had actually seen already. Due to the Hulk getting everyone mad at him once again, Dr. Strange banished him to the Crossroads. He was not thrilled, but at least he can’t hurt anyone there. Unfortunately, Box (Member of Alpha Flight) decided to help Sasquatch since he needed a new body but the probe brought back the Hulk, which lead to a devastating battle against the beast. As always, Hulk basically humiliated Alpha Flight, but I’ll give them some props for the effort. They gave it their all after all.

One of the big arcs is the one from the cover. The interesting part is that the cover spoils the big twist about the Guardian not really being the genuine article. Even I thought that he may have been real for a few seconds despite that, but it’s still odd. That was the best arc of the collection for sure. Omega Flight are the main villains and you can tell that there’s a lot of history between them and Alpha Flight. Their members seem fairly interesting as far as there abilities are concerned. I can’t say the same for their personalities, but that’s another story altogether. These guys were out of their depths, but they gave Alpha Flight a good fight and spiced up the collection a little. I’m always ready for a villain group that can be a nice counterpart to the heroes. Just look at the Crime Syndicate of America, even if Forever Evil really dropped the ball on this one by not letting the JLA fight them. Come on, the whole point of a group like that one is to watch Ultraman get to fight Superman. You’re throwing away easy money by not having that fight on screen!

Let’s talk about the characters. For the most part, each one gets a plot during this adventure, but most of them aren’t really interesting and don’t add much to the experience. Shaman is the wise member of the group whose mystical abilities let him get the team out of a hard spot once in a while. That being said, he loses his motivation after Talisman calls him out for tricking her into being a hero and who can blame her? There’s little reason to feel sympathy for Shaman and he’s under the weather for almost the whole collection. He’s just not a good character and if it wasn’t for the Beyonder, Talisman would be dead. Talisman got thrown into her Alpha Flight life and wasn’t prepared the way that the others were. She probably could have handled the whole thing a little better so lets not sugercoat things here, but she’s not a bad character. She can be a bit hard on Shaman, but he did permanently change her life and involved her in a game where the stakes are lethal, the superhero game. There’s little time for her to become a truly interesting character.

Puck is probably my least favorite member of the group and that’s saying something. It seems like he’s always looking for romance or at least pretending too as one scene hints that it’s all just an act. Either way, it’s an act that won’t help his character arc and his abilities are basically pointless in a fight so this guy needs an upgrade and fast. Heather is the new leader of the Alpha Flight since Guardian is gone, but I can’t say that she does a great job of it. She panics when Guardian appears out of nowhere and faints during a crucial moment which allows Omega Flight to fully infiltrate the base. The other members don’t respect her authority so she needs tyo find a way to get them in line. One problem with this is the fact that she has no powers and isn’t exactly at Batman’s level of hand to hand combat. I feel like the leader of a team has to at least be decently strong so maybe she really isn’t cut out for the job. At the very least, she needs to get over the Guardian’s passing and get a grip on the situation before it’s too late. Box can’t walk so he has to rely on a robot suit, which is definitely a rough deal. I’ll give him credit for never complaining about it and accepting the risks when in combat. If his robot body were to break, there’s a good chance that his psyche would as well so entering every battle can be dangerous.

Snowbird finally became a super powerful figure in these issues, which was interesting. Unfortunately, it also came at the expense of her personality as she became a little more distant and cold towards the other members. It’s hard for them to team up anymore because it’s hard to even trust Snowbird. Her new abilities are useful though and now she can attain the strength of the creatures that she turns into. She would really help the team now, but she quit right away so that she could learn what it means to be human. It’ll be interesting to see if this helps her to act more like her old self or if the new personality is here to stay. I’m fine with a distant Snowbird, but she may become a villain if she’s not careful.

Sasquatch gets a subplot with Aurora, but it doesn’t do anything for either of them. Sasquatch seems decently reasonable, but he should realize that Aurora barely cares about him as she’s always flirting with everyone else and really seems to have no class. Sasquatch can be a little mopey at times, but he’s not a bad member. I just feel like he made the wrong choice here. Aurora has a split personality so she’s almost like two characters. The problem is that none of them are likable. We have the really independent and free persona who is really terrible and then there’s the super timid form who can’t make any decision on her own. Both of them are annoying in their own right and she can’t really fight all that well. Her powers actually stop when she makes contact with Northstar due to an “upgrade” that she got so fighting solo is her only option now.

Northstar is portrayed as the rebel of the group. He quit the Alpha Flight and hasn’t looked back since. He likes his new status, but the Alpha Flight find him anyway and basically force him into some new battles. Aurora even calls him out for a crime that he committed over a decade ago. He really can’t get any peace. Northstar can be over the top sometimes, but I definitely have to say that he’s a lot more likable than the other Flight Members. She’s not a part of the group, but I have to give a shoutout to Pink Pearl. She has no super powers except for the fact that she is massive so she has the physical power of someone like the Blob. It’s hilarious to see her beat down the Alpha Flight. Just when I thought that the team couldn’t call any further…they ended up surprising me!

The art was solid. It had the retro feel that Marvel’s comics all had at the time. The fights are all easy to read and the character designs are spot on. You can always count on Marvel to deliver in this area and while the Alpha Flight stories may not have been the greatest, the art was still quite good. It’s a fairly short collection although not too short to the point where it’ll feel like half of one. There are a decent amount of comic and it makes for a more complete read when put next to the usual 4 issues.

Overall, This is a good comic book. It’s just not much better than good though and you could do better with just about any other title from back in the day. If you want a break from all of the super popular heroes though, then this is a nice change of pace. It still references those other teams, but it stays as a self contained collection for the most part. I wonder if these guys will ever get a film. Considering that so many heroes have gotten a title by now, I wouldn’t be totally surprised. Either way, you can expect my next comic review to be about a comic that’s a little more impressive!

Overall 6/10

Green Lantern Volume 4 Dark Days Review

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Time to continue the Green Lantern saga although it unfortunately does take a bit of a step down from the last arc. The first half is relatively down to Earth, which isn’t bad, but I don’t really care for the villain. The second half pops up out of nowhere and it’s pretty interesting. I definitely wouldn’t have minded that being the main part of the arc since things get cosmic once again. This plot sound intriguing to you? Well, let’s jump in!

Hal Jordan is alarmed to find out that the Power Rings are not working very well. It nearly costs the Green Lanterns everything in their fight against Larfleeze. Hal doesn’t need this extra stress because things aren’t going very well between him and Carol Ferris. The source of the ring issues are with an all powerful being known as Relic. Due to tie ins and other plot lines, he really pops up nowhere in this series. He’s suddenly in a portal vision kind of thing so Hal charges in to help along with Star Sapphire and most of the other Lantern types. This even includes the Red Lanterns.

Relic is an ancient being who was once just an ordinary guy. Unfortunately, his reality blew up because the universe ran out of light. After dying many times over, he found out that the universe inevitably ends because of the Lantern corps. The energies from their rings actually come from a big well in the Source Wall. He took it upon himself to take down all of the Lanterns to prevent them from ever using the energies again so he is storing them inside of these machines and then plans to bring it to the wall to replenish the well. It’s actually a fairly well thought out plan. He’s even made himself immune to the Lanterns through his high tech equipment and expendable drones. Hal has a tough choice to make since stopping Relic could mean the end of the universe, but not stopping him will mean that the Guardians of the Galaxy (That’s what the Corps do) will be powerless.

Well, no worries, Kyle and friends are here to help. Kyle remembers that he is essentially all powerful and steps into help by going through the wall and then Relic also gets stuck inside. That’s one threat down and Kyle is effectively written out of the plot for a while. At least that means there is less drama between him and Carol. It was a short, but good arc. Relic made for an incredibly powerful villain. He couldn’t quite top Volthoom, but it is cool how DC keeps on throwing in more cosmically powerful guys in the GL series.

Sadly, this experience basically traumatized Hal Jordan and he has decided to make it his job to stop Lantern users from using the rings unless absolutely necessary. Carol warns him that this is a bad idea since the Green Lanterns will essentially be making the laws without any say from the other colors and that will just lead to a tyranny. Hal doesn’t want to hear it though and it looks like the various colors may be gearing up for yet another war….that’s just great. Keep in mind that the well didn’t run out until several thousands of years had passed so these measures are rather extreme.

Moreover, the rings are necessary and there’s no way that Hal can police the entire galaxy. If anything, he’s just going to weaken the team’s morale. Already quite a few members have quit, granted those characters are all pretty cheap. It’s still not good to start talking about getting rid of the rings or limiting one’s use during a fight. That’s the last situation where you will want to be holding back since it can be the difference between life and death. After the Relic arc, there was a quick little scuffle as Hal and Kilowog apprehended a Star Sapphire who had evaded them earlier, but let her go in exchange for capturing her clan. It was an intriguing move, but technically one that saved them all some bloodshed so maybe it was worth it. I didn’t care much for the Star Sapphire as a villain as she mainly just messed with Hal’s emotions the whole time and didn’t strike me as much of a fighter.

The whole situation is pretty sad for Hal since Carol friendzoned him out of nowhere and basically traded up for Kyle. This will be good for Hal in the long run, but in the short term he’s definitely not taking it well. At least now he can focus on being the leader of the GL Corps in the meantime, which is another subplot. The Guardians realized that they messed up one too many times so they’re taking a step back for a while. Hal should make for a good leader, especially since he doesn’t care much for rules. That’s why it’s alarming to see him act so drastic about the rings issue.

Things are tough for Guy Gardner as well since he was sent to be a Red Lanterns member while undercover and became their leader. The place is very savage so Guy has to always be watching his back or it’ll be game over. With Hal set on taking away their rings, Guy’s going to have to come to blows with his old partner. Kyle got a huge power up here as he controlled all of the powerful ring entities for a brief period of time and he’s gone on another mysterious quest. It’s a shame that we don’t see Kyle as a fighter too often anymore since he’s always acting as an all powerful sage. It comes with the territory I guess.

Geoff Johns isn’t writing the comic anymore so I’m sure that the new writer has a lot of changes planned. Hopefully most of them are good, but I’m definitely not a big fan of the increased romance thus far or the new Lanterns who were just recruited since they don’t seem to be likable characters. John Stewart may become more of a main character though so that’ll be cool. I also like the fact that the Green Lanterns live on Mogo now instead of Oa. Having a home world that can actually defend and fight back is quite useful. Not to mention the fact that it can actually move.

As always, the art was extremely good for Green Lantern. The colors leap off of the page and it makes all of the fight scenes very exciting to watch. Space fights are usually awesome, but it still takes skill to not get sloppy during the action scenes and just throw energy blasts all over the place. The character designs are on point and everything feels right artistically. While the Star Sapphire wasn’t my favorite opponent, she did have some decent fights. The battle against the Orange Lanterns was great as well and likewise for the Relic fight. It had a cosmic feel to it that’s always great to see.

Overall, This was a good Green Lantern comic even if it could have been better. Things will get trickier for the heroes before the situation gets better so they better buckle up for a tough ride. It’s similar to how everything went wrong for Peter Parker in Next Chapter for the start of the series before things eventually smoothed out. I can see why writers want to start the heroes off in a tough situation as long as it isn’t at the expense of character development. I recommend this volume and it has a lot of action consistently throughout the adventure. I’m just wondering where Simon Baz is at this point. Also, how will Green Lantern balance his days as leader of the Corps and being back to active duty in the Justice League? Should be interesting that’s for sure. Either way, no matter who is writing the series (So far) Green Lantern is still the best space adventure series in all of comics and I don’t see him leaving that position. Even more controversially, I may consider him to be the strongest cosmic hero in all of comics…but that’s a story for another day.

Overall 7/10

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 Review

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Let’s take a look at the 2008 run of Guardians! Volume 1’s cover is pretty iconic even if the roster is certainly a little different from the film’s. Good ole Groot is still around, but he evidently could not make the cover. No loss there and Warlock is really the team’s power hitter anyway. It’s a cosmic adventure so the plot is very dynamic and keeps on changing throughout the run so a static summary can be a little tricky. Try and keep up!

The Guardians disbanded a long time ago, but Starlord wants to bring them all back together again to save the universe. There are quite a few threats that have risen up like the Badoon, Blastaar, and the Skrulls so the universe really needs the team. That being said, none of the members really like Starlord and by the end of the collection, they like him even less than usual. I didn’t think that was possible, but he does have a way with teammates. Can he keep the team together long enough to make a real difference or is he going to die first?

Debatably, the plot that takes up most of the collection is the Skrull one. The Guardians are currently based in Cosmo’s home. It’s a large Celestial head that also houses a small army of other people who aren’t thrilled that Starlord has decided to open up shop here. As tensions rise, someone is murdered and there seems to be a Skrull on board. The problem is that there is no longer a way to detect them (Even Professor Xavier could not do so in Secret Invasion) so everyone is a suspect. Drax quickly becomes the lead suspect because he keeps disappearing from time to time and even shows up with a bomb. It’s a rather drastic strategy that he uses and I don’t think I actually buy it (Involves everyone “dying” for a quick minute) but Drax was never one for subtlety.

That storyline wasn’t my favorite, but Skrulls can always lead to intriguing plot developments. We even saw Adam Warlock take on Cosmo. I’m confident that Warlock would have won had he kept on going. Another plot involves the Church of Universal Truth. These guys are fairly powerful and they believe that Adam Warlock is their chosen champion from prophecy who will lead them to conquest. That’s why they are a little confused. Adam Warlock may have appeared, but they still hold the cocoon where he is supposed to wake up from. One of the Warlocks is evidently a fake, but which one?

This was definitely my favorite plot. The church warriors have very cool designs and could actually fight quite well. Their powers stem from their belief so the stronger their convictions are, the stronger they become. Warlock was able to fight on par with these guys, but the other members didn’t fare so well. The Guardians were able to escape though and now Warlock is aiming to become their leader. We’ll see if his plan ends up working.

The reason why the members are separate is due to a plot twist from the Skrull arc. The reason why it seemed odd how the Guardians would all be willing to come together so easily..is because Starlord had Mantis telepathically mess with everyone’s minds to make them want to join up. Obviously this is very unethical and a terrible move on the leader’s part. No matter what his hopes and aspirations for the team were, there’s never a good excuse to invade someone’s mind like that. The team is right to be upset with Starlord so they are all having their own adventures. Unfortunately, I’m sure that they will join up again, but Starlord should definitely be kicked from the team after something like that.

Another plot involves Phyla and Drax going to stop an evil magician who had kidnapped Moondragon. The guy’s a decently tough sorcerer and he puts up a good fight. I’m confident that he could probably beat Drax, although I’m not sure about Phyla. Phyla was Quasar for a while and her energy abilities are second to none. When you consider her super speed, flight, and energy projection, she’s easily one of the Guardians’ strongest members. Even better is the fact that the real Quasar returned at the very end so we may see him more in the next few volumes. I was always a fan of that guy so it’ll be great to see him back.

Starlord’s plot involved being trapped in the Negative Zone along with Blastaar and being forced to act as a delegate for him. Starlord has to try and get the prisoners to team up with him to face off with Blastaar, but prisoners aren’t the most trust worthy of people at times. It’s a pretty interesting battle and Blastaar is definitely a tough opponent, although I see him lose a lot more than he wins. Things don’t go all that well for him this time either.

The PC (Politically Correct) police jump in at the end though with Moondragon’s pairing with the new Quasar. I don’t believe that this is a new development, but in the older comics, she was interested in characters like Warlock and a few others. Being a flirt’s a bad character trait, but the twist of her being bi, or in Iceman’s case, ignoring his whole comic industry, is always regrettable. DC and Marvel have definitely been adding in more gay characters in their comics and hopefully this isn’t too frequent. It will likely increase as the agenda goes further and it’s too bad. How many more characters will be turned gay or bi are the years go on? I feel like the number is only going to increase and that’s terrible. As a Christian, I still don’t believe in the gay movement and seeing it in the comics is no fun.

As far as the characters are concerned, Adam Warlock is still my favorite. He believes that the Guardians should not have a boss and delegating with other groups slows them down. His personality has changed somewhat and he’s a lot more eager to fight at all times. Mix this in with his great character design and he’s easily the best character here. I liked Quasar a lot as well and it’s great to see him return. Every character returns at some point so the waiting is the tough part. ( A few exceptions) Rocket Raccoon is all right I suppose, but he still can’t fight all that much, which is always a little dicey when in battle. He talks a good game though.

Groot…is Groot. He doesn’t have a whole lot of personality anyway. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I liked Gamora or Drax this time though. Gamora’s scene with Nova really says it all and technically that’s not even out of character. We’ve seen her have flings with many different characters, but it just makes her look so bad. There’s no way I can take her seriously after such a scene. As for Drax, I still miss the real incarnation of him. This warrior version just doesn’t do it for me. He’s barely even pretending to be a hero at this point and really just does whatever he feels like doing. If he was a little stronger, then that could maybe have helped him as a character.

For the most part Starlord’s a decent character. He’s charismatic, which is important for a leader, but he did mess with the minds of his teammates and that’s a big no no. He didn’t seem like the type of guy who would pull something like that. I suppose he was desperate, but it will make you lose a lot of respect for the guy. Mantis is just as guilty for agreeing to such a thing of course. She can fight a little, but she typically just acts as a communications officer so you won’t see her in the field all that much. Cosmo is cool since he’s a Dog, but he sure does like to play all of the angles and doesn’t take the right side often enough.

The art is very good. It’s like a mix of the current art with some early 2000’s where the colors were very bold. I didn’t like the cover art so I’m glad that it didn’t look like that in the actual comic. Iconic or not, the live action style just doesn’t work for any comic book. It doesn’t feel right if you ask me. This way, we can still get a lot of good action scenes and easily read through the adventures.

Overall, This was a good Guardians comic. There was certainly a lot action throughout. The Moondragon part at the end is regrettable, but besides that, the setup is certainly getting ready for a big volume 2. I look forward to seeing Warlock’s plot play out and Oblivion actually stepping into the ring will be great. After all, cosmic entities usually talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. It’s about time one of them decided to stretch his muscles a bit. I hope Nova appears some more because he only got a very brief cameo here. After seeing his teenage days, it’ll be great to see him in his prime. Maybe we’ll even get some cosmic guest stars since Marvel has so many of them at their disposal. Will the Guardians actually get back together or is the group gone for good in their own title!? As you ponder this question, just remember that the group needs Warlock to survive.

Overall 6/10

Nova Classic Volume 1 Review

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Boooo, the cover image is small, but it’s the best I could do this time. Richard Rider’s always been a pretty fun cosmic character so when I saw his classic comic on the shelf, I knew that I had to snag it. Another incentive was the debut of Megaman in the Marvel comics. I’m happy to say that the comic ended up being a blast and I never would have suspected that Nova turned out this way. There’s always time to learn something new after all!

Turns out that Nova used to be a normal kid who attended school and had rivals/friends just like Peter Parker. You can draw a lot of parallels between the two characters and it’s cool because I always assumed that Nova had started out as an adult. It’s always interesting because some characters like him and Spider-Man are currently adults while the guys who were already adults like Iron Man and Ant Man haven’t aged nearly as rapidly. It’s just how these things go I suppose. Nova has to quickly wrap his head around his new powers since evil never rests. The origin is similar to Green Lantern’s as the original Nova is destroyed while following a criminal and quickly transfers his powers to Richard.

Richard avenges him and decides to be a superhero, but he still has to deal with his real life dramas. There’s a bully who likes to pick on him and Richard’s “friends” don’t really do a whole lot to stop him. It’s probably the friendliest bully that I’ve ever seen though because everyone still talks and hangs out with each other even though the guy’s a bully. It’s all very intriguing to say the least. The main heroine is Ginger, but she hasn’t done a whole lot yet. There’s a slight chance that she figured out Richard’s true identity, but I we certainly won’t know for sure for quite some time.

Richard does have two friends though. A little kid who ends up getting kidnapped by Megaman and is one of the weaker supporting characters, and the kid’s pal. The pal is the trickster of the group and I have to admit that he gets a lot of really good lines throughout the comics. One of them was something along the lines of (When talking about the bully to Richard) “Don’t let him bother you Rich. Just remember that if you take away his smarts and his strength, then you get us…whoops!” He’s constantly insulting himself and Richard through his comebacks which makes for a very interesting style of humor. I can’t say that I’ve seen it done before or maybe I simply haven’t seen it done this effectively before. Either way, it’s definitely a blast.

Other supporting characters include Nova’s family. His brother’s a self proclaimed genius who can’t get any of his inventions to work, but he likes to remind Nova that he’s the smart one of the family. He’s always acing his tests. Nova’s Dad is usually busy with work drama so he’s always rather upset. Nova tries to keep him in check, but since he’s failing his classes, it’s been very difficult so far. The Mom is reasonable, but she only helps Nova in secret so as not to make the Dad more irritable than he already is. It’s tough being Nova, but Richard knows that he can take it.

He’s already amassed a bit of a villain’s gallery as well. Condor is the brains of the villain group, but he’s not as tough as you can think. He’s essentially the Vulture with Forge’s energy gun and 10% of Iron Man’s intellect. He puts up a good fight, but that’s mainly because Nova still isn’t very experienced. Once he gets his powers under control, he should be able to beat this guy with ease. Powerhouse is easily the worst villain of the trio. He’s constantly whining about how everyone is using him, but he’s the one who’s standing there and taking it. Now, blaming the victim is one thing, but I can’t even call this guy a victim since he’s clearly stronger than Condor. Yet, Condor slaps him about 40-50 times and it happens so often that it’s practically a comedy subplot by the end. The various heroes and villains keep commenting about it, but Powerhouse always ends up choosing the dark side over the light. Well, he made his choice and he’ll likely keep getting slapped around.

Diamondhead is the only true threat of the three and he’s impressively tough. His whole body is made of diamond so his physical strength is very impressive. Nova essentially broke his hand just by punching the guy. Even once Nova is more experienced, this guy was able to give him a good fight and he’s easily my favorite villain of the group. One thing that the three villains had in common was that they were all deathly afraid of another villain, the mighty Sphinx. It was cool to see the villains wage war against the super being and he easily bested all of the characters. If only Nova’s Power Cosmic had been a little stronger during his early years. It was a great ongoing plot though and it’s a shame that it ended so abruptly. As it stands, Sphinx was very overpowered compared to the rest of the characters, but it was always a blast to see him. He also wasn’t afraid to show his fear once in a while as his underling always tried to make him look at the future. (The villain is a mirror who shows you things that you don’t want to know) The other underling was a traitor who tried to destroy Sphinx so the villain placed him in a painful illusion.

What separates Sphinx from the average villain is that he inflated the body count right away. He punched Diamond Head so hard that he was partially merged into a Pyramid and supposedly he is effectively dead. Condor was turned into an actual bird so he’ll never mess with anyone again. Sphinx wasn’t playing games and he was definitely cool. The final notable villain was Megaman. For obvious reasons, I was very hyped to see him appear. Unfortunately, the guy is fairly petty and just wants revenge because his nephew ran off and left him to die. It was a salty moment, but a better man would have just kept on going. He doesn’t get to really have an ending in his fight because a futuristic being takes him away, but it was cool to see Marvel’s take on the iconic character. Nowadays, this kind of move would definitely generate a lot of headlines.

There were also two storylines for guest stars. The first had Thor appear to help Nova. Naturally, what’s a team up without a quick fight right? Thor was being mind controlled by a villain (I call plot hax here. At least it didn’t work on him a second time) and had a brief scuffle with Nova. Nova wasn’t doing too well, but at least he slowed Thor a little. The two of them fought a demon and then called it a day. The villain wasn’t great, but just seeing Thor and Nova go at it made the comic worthwhile.

The other team up was with Spider Man and that was cool. It was a classic mystery case as Nova’s uncle was murdered and one of the people in the room must have been the culprit. The suspects included an A.I.M. agent, a member of the Mafia, a corrupt business man, the Butler, A co-worker who believes that he was cheated out of fame, The Detective, and one more. Ironically, I think I may be missing the actual culprit in this description. Peter Parker is a suspect as well, but readers will know that it wasn’t him. It was a good feat for Spider Man though since he was able to endure a punch from an enraged Nova. Spider Man’s been in the game for a while so he held his own and I was glad that Nova listened to reason although I wouldn’t have minded an extended fight. Those are always a blast.

As always, Marvel’s retro art is really good here. It really helps reinforce the atmosphere that they were going with here. You’d think that this was a 60’s comic from how the characters talk and act. It can be hard to properly make a comic feel old without it also feeling old in a negative way, but the comic pulled it off quite well. The character designs are all on point and you’ll definitely be eager to keep on reading. I essentially read most of the comic in a single blast and it does have that Spider-Man feel where it’s all very interesting. I can never get enough of the retro adventures although they aren’t all equal. (For example, retro Fantastic Four comics were usually not quite as interesting) If I had to make a tier list, I’d put Spider-Man, Nova, Blue Beetle, Superman, Batman, Daredevil, Green Lantern, and Iron Man comics at S rank. A rank would be titles like Thor and Avengers. (Mainly due to the drought once the main members left) B would be some random titles, but it’s hard to think of them. C rank would probably be Fantastic Four, Captain America, Hulk, and most of the others that are remaining. They’re all essentially good comics, but some are just more fun than others.

Overall, I highly recommend reading the Nova comics. If you liked the old Spider-Man comics, then you are certainly going to like these. For the most part, Nova’s a very good character. He has one passing line that’s pretty wince worthy, but by and large he’s a noble hero who does his best even if it takes the kid a long time to really use his powers. He can take a hit and that’s the important thing. He even gets a lot of hype against Sphinx as he keeps on getting up after each blow. I hope that my library gets Nova Classic Volume 2 someday so I can wrap up the saga. Who knows, maybe Megaman will return since the series is running low on villains. Watching his ascent into one of Marvel’s toughest characters will definitely be intense!

Overall 8/10

Batman’66 Volume 3 Review

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I always liked Adam West’s portrayal of Batman. It felt on point and moreover..it felt natural. This is the Batman that I remembered, making lots of puns and having a good time while taking down villains. That being said, the serious Batman from New 52 or the DCAU is certainly a classic as well. Both versions certainly work well when given a good story to back themselves up. Volume 3 of Batman’66 plays out as you would expect it too. It doesn’t take any risks and simply follows the formula along. As such, nothing’s unexpected, but it’s still a good story like the first two volumes.

This one brings 6 issues so let’s take a look at hoe they fared. One of them saw an old Egg themed villain return, but he has now evolved to a level where he can use his mind for abilities like telepathy. Batman and Robin must now figure out a way to defeat this foe since the guy can basically defeat them with a glance. This won’t be easy…that’s for sure. My problem with this issue is simply the fact that the villain was portrayed to be way too powerful. Defeating the heroes with a glance is just too much and as a result, it’s hard to really believe the ending. It felt like plot hax was everywhere. That’s why you never want to make villains too powerful unless the heroes get some kind of power up as well.

One of the better stories definitely involved a big Batman robot that will help make Gotham city a nicer place. Batman trains the robot and decides to leave it to its own devices. The moral involves how robots can’t adapt to the situation, which you probably could have guessed from the get go. It’s obvious, but still fitting and I was glad that the robot didn’t randomly turn evil. I was actually expecting that the entire time so I was glad to be proven wrong. Maybe this was the best story in the collection.

Another issue involved a team up between the Penguin and Widow Black. These two are a dangerous tag team and actually defeat the heroes rather easily. The part that I don’t really buy is how quickly the Penguin betrayed her. Sure, Batman reminded him that he would be betrayed eventually, but didn’t he realize that from the get go? I feel like the writers had no idea on how to save the heroes since Batman and Robin were literally put in a sticky situation. Regardless of how realistic that ending may have been, it was good to see a new(ish) villain to the series. This isn’t her first appearance in media or anything like that, but I definitely don’t remember this villain so it’s probably been a while. She’s not the greatest, but more variety is a good thing.

Another all star is definitely the issue where a TV show of Batman and Robin is produced. This leads to a lot of dicey moments for the heroes since villains are beginning to fear them. They don’t want that. This isn’t the 90’s after all! They decide to shut down the program, but find out that it is being run by a villain. This was certainly an entertaining story and I always like the idea of villains using TV to wreck the heroes. It is a solid strategy and almost worked. If anything, the villain should have stayed undercover a little longer. The heroes wouldn’t have dared to have attacked him. A running gag was that the heroes would do “The Bat Business” to the villains, which makes them cower in fear. Considering that the heroes reluctantly hit the villains a little, it could be anything. I feel the comic was hinting towards tickling and that used to be a big joke back in the day, but thankfully that era has passed.

Next up, we saw the return of Batgirl! Batman and Robin are always eager to have another hero to help out, even if it makes Robin look a little worse in comparison. The Joker and Catwoman are teaming up this time so that means double trouble for the heroes. I’ll admit that this comic was surprisingly uneventful though. I can’t really remember the plot even after seeing the cover and the summary. I just remember Batgirl being in it and the quick team up as the heroes had to break up some fights. Not a bad comic, but not really a very good one either. Still, it is a Batman’66 comic that basically follows all the tropes so it’s your standard stuff.

Finally, Marsha decides to leave the Brady Bunch and make a name for herself. She wants all the jewels in the world and actually manages to enter the Bat Cave!!! Luckily for the heroes, She decides not to go for his secret identity since the cops could have been alerted. Not her best decision, but now the Dark Knight can rest easy as he takes her down once and for all. The villains weren’t actually that tough as Marsha can’t fight, but the tension of her possibly knowing his identity (Or coming close) really makes the issue.

It was a fine collection of issues. This volume’s definitely not as good as the Green Hornet crossover, but that…was a crossover. You can’t expect the normal volumes to come close. As far as going against volumes 1 and 2, I’d say that 3 is more of less the same. The thing with Batman’66 is that almost all of the issues are essentially interchangeable. It all comes down to whether you like the style or not. I still love seeing all of the puns and Batman ends up putting everyone in their place even when he only fights reluctantly. He wants to help all of the villains out after all. He makes for a great lead. Robin’s mostly just here to get humiliated and you can feel bad for the guy, but I suppose that he tries. He just tends to almost let the secret identity out a lot, which can certainly be disastrous.

The cover may be very underwhelming, but the art in the actual issues is still solid. It’s easy to really get into the flow of things and you’ll feel like you’re back in the 1960’s. The art does a good job of emulating the classic style and the overall comic is better off for it. I doubt it’s very difficult to draw from the artist’s perspective compared to other styles, but the finished product is really what counts.

Overall, This is a solid continuation from the first two volumes. At this point, you know whether you like the comics and its premise or not. It’s a lot of fun and is filled with many puns, but some Batman fans may still not be used to this happy version of the character. It’s a comedy over action volume as that is the direction that the series is typically focused on. It works quite well and I know what I want to happen in volume 4. We need Superman to appear. This series is typically very realistic, but now that it’s in comic format, I feel like adding Superman wouldn’t be super out of place. It could actually work if handled well…don’t you think?

Overall 7/10

The Batman Adventures Volume 3 Review

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Time to look at a Batman collection based on the hit DCAU series! This one brings 7 issues so we get a nice assortment of enemies and even Superman gets to show up! That’s what I like to see and it’s always fun to take a look at the good ole days of Batman. The DCAU may be gone, but that doesn’t mean that its legacy has to go along with it right? Also, I rarely actually read Batman comics so it’s even more incentive to read this one.

The first story is basically a brawl between monsters. Man Bat decides to come back into town and Dorian is also paying everyone a visit. (The Werewolf thing from one of the Catwoman episodes) Throw in a random scientist who turns into a monster and things definitely get dicey. It was an all right comic, but I can’t say that it really caught my attention the way that some of the others did. I was never a fan of any of the villains in the story and that certainly makes a difference. Batman’s always hardcore though and he knew how to end the dispute.

We can’t forget about the Two Face comic next! He broke out of jail and decides not to do the same for the Joker. Batman still wants to save Harvey since they used to be friends, but he is certainly long gone now. Batman still takes some risks that he doesn’t need too like getting in front of the gun and daring Two Face to shoot without his coin. That’s definitely quite the risk, but it works and one should never doubt the Batman’s methods. It was a fun story and with Two Face, it’s always personal.

Next up, we saw an Environmental Protector get poisoned so Batman realizes that the only one who can save him is Poison Ivy. The villain has to decide if she wants to help. The guy did play a big role in helping the plants and that’s her goal so it makes sense to provide some assistance, but it’s always fun to make Batman sad as well so it’s a tough choice for her. Not to mention that the assasins who were after the guy are still around as well. Will she make the right call? This was a decent story as well even if the villains were just guys with guns. Sometimes, even a villain can be helpful if you can find a shared goal and some are definitely more devious than others. Remember that Poison Ivy started off as an extremest before really going over the deep end. She’s not the same kind of villain as someone like the Joker.

Two ninja show up one day to take Batman down for the count. Batman’s one of the greatest hand to hand fighters of all time so he certainly has no reason to be afraid of these villains, but why do they want to hurt him? Turns out that it’s about revenge since Batman took one of their clan down back in the animated series. It was all for good reason of course, but they will hear none of it. This is the best story so far and it definitely has the most action from the bunch. An old man also gets a lot of hype here since the ninjas obey him without question. It’s a complete story and definitely one that makes Batman look good.

Next up is the big story and it surpasses the ninja one as the best in the collection. Superman and Lex are in town, which means that things will get dicey for Batman. Lex wants to strike a deal with the government, but so does Bruce Wayne. This means that both of them are making some tough deals. Meanwhile, Maxie Zeus is also back in town and his thunder “abilities” are no joke. Batman and Superman agree to work together, but Superman has to make sure that Batman doesn’t try to profit from this as Bruce Wayne. I feel like that part was a little iffy though since Lex basically is a villain so why shouldn’t Batman accept his government offer? Lex’s was clearly shady and basically illegal so I don’t see what was so unethical about Batman accepting the contract. Still, it does leave room for a little tension between the two characters. I also liked the confrontation between Batman and Lex Luthor of course. It was very well done and unlike the newer Justice League comic where Batman lost the verbal debate, he clearly won it this time. Batman had the upper hand from start to finish and he never let up on the pressure. I expect no less from the Dark Knight!

After that is the weakest comic of the bunch. Scarecrow decides to turn over a new leaf and becomes a teacher. He grows attached to one of his students, but found out that she has begun to hang out with the wrong crowd and decides to teach this guy a lesson. Batman arrives at the scene and takes down both of the villains. There’s no real action here nor are there any likable characters. The Scarecrow isn’t even one of Batman’s more interesting opponents. I want a super powered tussle or a mystery, not a random human who decides to use his power to attack people in more of a normal life situation.

Finally, we have a comic where another Batman shows up. Let’s just say that being Batman isn’t a game so you need to tread lightly when you take over the costume…or it could get deadly. I’ll admit that I don’t remember who the villain in this comic was. I do know that the new Batman underwent a strict training regimin under the real deal and even became a bit of a track and field expert. I feel like there may have been a tragic end here or the guy just forgot about being Batman, but either way it was a decent issue.

The art is fairly solid in this collection. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s not supposed to shatter what I thought was possible for a comic. It’s clear and that’s certainly the important thing here. The art is good and allows you to read through the stories. In the end, we can’t ask for much more than that now can we? With 7 issues included, I’d say that the collection is of a decent length. It shouldn’t take you too long to finish it, but long enough that you won’t feel cheated with the price.

Overall, Batman Adventures had more ups and downs than the Superman one. It wasn’t quite as consistently good, which is why it ultimately gets docked a point. The story with Superman was solid though and we had some other good stories while also having some clunkers. If you’re a Batman fan, you should enjoy this collection. I wonder if the library will be ordering the first two volumes anytime soon. There are definitely a lot of Batman Adventures to read and one day I’ll probably have read them all. Until then, I wonder how long it’ll be until I read an other Batman story. Hopefully not too long since he’s still one of the best comic book characters out there. It’s just that most writers don’t really know how to handle him and go for true grit instead of compelling stories.

Overall 7/10