Mega Man Rock of Ages Review

Posted on August 12, 2014 by dreager1

It’s time for another batch of Mega Man comics! Mega Man has been a consistently good comic series just like Sonic The Hedgehog and that doesn’t change with this volume. It is a little light on the action, which can be a little sad, but we do get some foreshadowing at things to come. To be honest, we probably got a little too much foreshadowing, but it’ll be nice if it all happens at some point.

The first two parter is about the origin of Proto Man. Dr Light built him after the government wanted to see some progress on their funding. Unfortunately, Dr Light got a little too excited about the concept and he became friends with Proto Man. His coworker…Dr Wily, quickly showed Dr Light the error of his ways. Unfortunately, Proto Man short circuited during the demonstration. Fixing him would be tricky and he may have lost some of his personality. Dr Light doesn’t help matters by complaining to one of his friends that he wishes he could take out part of Proto Man’s rebellious streak. Proto Man streaks off and Dr Light quickly claims that he was kidding. (A little too late for that…) Now, Proto Man has to come to terms with the fact that he is dying. It’s pretty emotional.

The next issue is about Roll and her friends as they head to the Beach. Their vacation is quickly interrupted when they notice that a ship is sinking. They quickly call in Oil Man and Splash Woman. Now, they have to try to save everyone before it is too late. Unfortunately, Tempo is one of the robots on the scene and she isn’t very good at this kind of thing. If only Mega Man was around!

The final comic features a lot of time travel. Mega Man gets thrown into the future and he continues to accelerate during the years. We get scenes from Mega Man and Bass, Mega Man 7, Mega Man 5, and so on. He has to find a way to stop going further into the future if he wants to even stand a chance at living through this. It’s a fun comic full of homages, but it can be a little dicey for fans who just want to see what’s going to happen next. It’ll really take years to adapt all of this, which is a little sad, but I can only hope that these events will occur soon.

So, this was a pretty solid volume. I will admit that I did have two main problems with it. The first is the startling absence of Mega Man. He doesn’t really get to appear until the final comic. I’m all for the side characters getting their own plots, but we really need Mega Man to get a larger role. He deserves it and I have to say that he’s more interesting than the others. Even Proto Man lacks the raw ability that Mega Man has at his disposal. Mega Man basically steals the show once again when he re appears.

The other would be the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of action in this volume. There is no actual villain for the first three comics and the final issue with Mega Man is the only exception. That one definitely had some pretty solid action scenes, but they all get interrupted before the fights can really get going. That’s a little disappointing right? I want a full fight where we really get to see how Mega Man stacks up!

Mega Man’s role may have been small, but it was definitely a good one. He essentially stole the show and showed why he is a natural born leader. It can be a little sketchy to see Mega Man lose his cool so quickly in the time travel story since he was supposed to have already gone through that character development, but maybe he’s just going to end up being the next Sonic. I’m cool with that, as long as Mega Man continues to rack up those wins. He is really the only hope for the heroes at the moment since the rest of them aren’t very powerful.

Proto Man is really in his human persona for most of the collection, but he’s a pretty good character. I don’t blame him for leaving during the first misunderstanding, but he shouldn’t have left the second time. He’s a hero through and through. Proto Man kept trying to help everyone even when he was dying from the effort. He’ll be a good partner for Mega Man down the line, but that likely won’t happen for a while. His ending is definitely hinting at the reverse.

Tempo was easily the worst character in the batch. She’s pretty worried the whole time and she really lacks confidence. She’s still a robot master though so she needs to act as one. It’s not like she couldn’t survive a fall from a super large height. These robots are super durable after all and she mostly spent the whole time embarrassing Roll. She has no role in the comics so far so I’m hoping that she’ll develop into a good character. I’m hoping….

Roll gets her own comic and it’s good to see her get a big role. I do wish that it had been a combat role since I’m sure that she can quickly be modified to fight. Still, this was good enough I suppose and she got to prove that she’s great at rescue operations. Dr Light tried to stop her, but nobody can really stop a robot master when they get serious. If Roll had not been around, things definitely would have gotten dicey.

Splash Woman and Oil Man are really just guest stars in the rescue comic. They have some pretty good team work and their abilities do go together pretty well. They don’t seem to be very powerful, but things could change. In the future comic, we see that Splash Woman is fighting Mega Man since the hero seems to have been framed. Of course, Mega Man is holding back so that he doesn’t hurt her.

Dr Light is a main character I suppose, but he’s pretty unlikable for the most part. He doesn’t want Roll to live up to her full potential and it’s really his fault that Proto Man is gone. We also find out that he (possibly) installed the engine wrong, which is why Proto Man is dying. He’s technically a nice guy, but he’s way too oblivious at some points and there’s no reason to really become a fan of his. He’s just too distant and protecting of the heroes..even though they already surpassed him.

Bass is the main reason why the final comic is epic. He has finally arrived! It’ll be quite a while before he gets a role in the main series at this point so I’ll take what I can get. He has a quick fight with Mega Man and then he proceeds to talk tough the whole time. He doesn’t back down from anyone and that’s what I always liked about Bass. I’m not sure if I’d say that it’s my favorite interpretation of the character, (Giga Mix portrayed him better) but it’s not bad. Hopefully Bass gets some big roles in the future.

The art is pretty solid as always. Everything is very clear even if it’s a little on the bland side. The artist may need to add some effects to spice up the battle scenes. They’re just a little too clear…even for me. Of course, that is what makes them so easy to read so it’s a mixed bag. Either way, the art is definitely very good.

Overall, This is another good batch of Mega Man comics. It may have been the weakest entry in the series, but it can only go up from here. You can definitely draw a lot of similarities from the Mega Man comic series to the Sonic one. Both of them are very up beat and the personalities of Sonic and Mega Man are starting to get a little similar. This is the kind of comic that’s easy to pick up and read at any time. The plot is pretty light after all as there are no plot twists or big cliff hangers. I do expect the next batch to have a lot more action though since I don’t want the series to start losing steam. I have heard that the crossover with Sonic is pretty awesome though so I can’t wait to read it! Bass is on the cover of that one so I’m confident that he will get a roll. I definitely recommend this collection and the story is fun enough that you can get past the lack of action.

Overall 6/10

X Men Days of Future Past Review

Posted on August 12, 2014 by dreager1

How many of you clicked on this one thinking that it was a review for the film? No worries, I already reviewed that one. This is the comic version where it originally took place. I’m sure that there are many tie ins and stories to flesh out the event, but this is the meat of the Arc. It’s only about 2-3 comics long so it’s fairly short, but you can definitely see some of the similarities. It’s good to finally read the famous event and we’ve also got a few stand alone issues here as well.

The first issue is a very large recap told from Cyclops’ point of view. He explains how Professor X has merely been using the X Men this entire time and he never saw it until now. The Professor was unreasonable and now Cyclops has taken a leave of absence. The Professor doesn’t seem to notice how upset Cyclops is, but Cyclops is keeping to himself. Will Cyclops ever join the team again? Only time will tell. This is all after Phoenix died in the Phoenix saga so he is definitely under the weather.

The next comic is the first big mission for the X Men without Cyclops. It’s Nightcrawler’s birthday and it should have been a happy one, but one of his presents blows up and destroys him. Professor X calls in Doctor Strange to see if any magic was involved. (I guess he suspected magic for some reason…) Strange announced that Nightcrawler’s soul is gone and they follow him into the depths of Hell. Doctor Strange believes that there is something wrong with the place since it has changed a whole lot, but he can’t quite put his finger on it. Ah well, it’s time to go save their friend!

The Days of Future Past arc starts off in the future. We see that the resistance isn’t doing so well and the Sentinels are just too powerful. Franklin Richards, Wolverine, Shadow Cat, and Storm are some of the last fighters still alive. They decide to use Rachel’s abilities to send Shadow Cat back in time to stop the madness before it ever begins. Rachel Summers is able to transport Shadow Cat’s mind into the past and she must stop Senator Kelly from being assassinated. Will the Xmen believe her and can time really be changed!? Meanwhile, the future X Men may be doomed on their end since changes in the past don’t always affect the future…but create new futures.

There’s also a comic involving the Alpha Flight. Wolverine never officially left them so he has to go and clear things up. Unsure if this will end up being a peaceful venture, Professor X tells Nightcrawler to go with him. This turns out to be a good move since the Wendigo is in the area and he’s not going to be satisfied with anything short of a win.

Finally, we have a Christmas issue. The X Men all head to their respective homes to enjoy their Christmas break while Shadow Cat has to stay at the mansion since she has nowhere to go. She takes her mind off of this by working in the danger room, but she hears a crash. A dangerous creature that looks like a Xenomorph has broken into the mansion and it’s headed for her. This monster is as smart as they come and it’s very powerful as well. This could be Shadow Cat’s final Christmas!

That was definitely a decently good batch of comics. It wasn’t quite as action packed as usual and I did miss Cyclops, but we still got our share of fights. The best issues were definitely the Days of Future Past ones even if it did feel like there was a lot of plot hax. The saving Nightcrawler comic would probably be last despite the guest star as that one didn’t even have much of a physical enemy to defeat. You always need someone to punch!

The art is pretty good and you will be reminded of the 90’s Xmen TV show. The Uncanny roster is pretty good although I would have liked to see Cyclops a little more. It’s easy to discern what’s happening and things never get too chaotic. This collection is fairly short and it doesn’t crack 200 pages, but it’s still a decent amount of value. 5-6 comics is the norm for most of the shorter comic collections anyway. Just take a look at any New 52 collection or recent Marvel book and this is the size.

Shadow Cat may as well be the main character of the collection since she plays a big part in the Days of Future Past arc while getting her own Christmas comic. She’s a decent character, but I can’t say that she really does anything to set herself apart from the crowd. She’s mostly just trying to fit in during this stage and she hasn’t really mastered her powers yet. We do know that she will be a lot tougher in the future though and there’s no reason to dislike her right now. She just needs a little more personality and she’ll be set.

Dr Strange doesn’t look that good this time. He’s the Sorcerer Supreme, but he’s really getting pulverized in the magic battle by this new entity. He puts on a brave face and he does get some good magical blasts off, but it’s heavily implied that he is being toyed with. Professor X called him into protect the X Men, but it appears that this is not what really happened. It was surprising to see him on the losing edge since Dr Strange is all but invincible in the older comics. Not even he can beat cosmic entities I suppose.

Wolverine is as good as always. He still launches right at the opponents and he was critical in the mission to save Nightcrawler. It’s easy to see why he became a fan favorite and he was definitely the best character in the collection. Protecting his friends is his first priority even if he won’t admit it and he’s probably the most experienced fighter on the team. His healing factor isn’t as good as it is in today’s comics, but it’s good enough for him to be a threat. I really had no complaints with him.

Storm is faced with the pressures of being team leader so she’s pretty stressed out for most of the comics. She’s also wary of a new dance instructor who is helping Shadow Cat and I’m sure that there is a reason behind this. Hopefully she remembers to keep her guard up. Storm is a pretty powerful fighter, but her abilities completely depend on her location. She’s not very good at fighting in closed placed since her powers need space in order to work properly. As a last resort, she is very good at hand to hand combat. She has one of the toughest ordeals in the collection since she is forcibly turned into a snake and changing back is pretty painful. She’s doing a decent job at being team leader, but there are times when we can all admit that Cyclops is missed. Hopefully she can keep the members together until then.

Colossus serves as the nice member who has a rage out moment every comic for shock value. He definitely talks a good game, but Colossus is typically outmatched. It would be good to see him use his super strength a little more effectively, but it never works. Either he’s paired up with someone that can absorb physical attacks like the Blob or he’s fighting a Sentinel who can just blast him away. Colossus is still a good character, but he needs to fight more and talk less when the going gets tough. He has potential to be one of the X Men’s all time heavy hitters after all.

Nightcrawler doesn’t look very good. His sob story is pretty dicey. He murdered someone by mistake since he had meant to spare the person, but he then says that he would do it again if need be. He’s also a little…petty in some issues. He tells the team to their faces that he was almost disappointed since he thought they had forgotten his Birthday. Not really the best thing to say aloud. He’s also the weak link of the team, which means that he is beaten up in just about every comic. The Wendigo takes him out in one shot and the team is forced to go into a fake hell to save him. He definitely gets the team into a lot of trouble and he’s just not very likable here. At least he is trying to make friends with everyone and he’s a nice guy; Nightcrawler just needs to work on his abilities and get his priorities straight.

Cyclops has finally learned to make his own decisions and the character development is good for him. He’s in a pretty sad mood the entire time, but it’s excusable due to the previous circumstances. He seems to be performing odd jobs as he walks across the world and I’m sure that he’ll be back to pwning as the X Men leader in no time. The Wendigo made for a decent villain in one of the stand alone comics. He’s definitely as tough as always and he defeated Nightcrawler pretty easily. I’ve never really considered him to be a match for someone like the Hulk, but he’s definitely played off to be that strong. If his strength were to increase like the Hulk’s, then it would be more of a fight. Still, he may be the toughest villain in this collection.

Professor X doesn’t get a huge role this time. He tries to help out when chaos breaks lose in Days of Future Past and he’s quickly caught up on the events thanks to a quick mind scan, but he forgot to actually use his abilities and Mystique quickly took him out. That was definitely a poor showing by the Professor and we can only hope that he will keep his guard up from now on. He still seems like a pretty good leader, but the X Men definitely trust him a lot less than they used too. I guess it is hard to trust someone who can read your mind so it’s always going to be tough for the Professor. Let’s hope that he can prove his loyalty to them when the time comes.

It’s really good to see the classic Sentinels back in the spotlight. As cool as it is to see the newer variations, nothing beats the classics. It’s really nostalgic to see them tossing the X Men around and they definitely get a lot of props in this collection. One blast is able to completely overwhelm Wolverine’s healing factor and take him out for the count and Colossus was similarly defeated in quick succession. I don’t really believe that these guys would end up taking out the Avengers and Fantastic Four, but they’re still fun villains to have around. There are thousands of them after all so they can’t lose right!?

N’Garai is the name of the demon that attacked Shadow Cat. It’s just one of the N’Garai of course as the name only refers to the species as a whole. That guy was definitely pretty brutal and it was a lot more durable than I would have guessed. Aside from plot convenience, Shadow Cat really had no chance against him. Thanks to his soul damaging abilities, the N’Garai can actually damage the opponent through their intangibility. That’s a pretty nifty ability to have. I would say that this creature is instantly cooler than the Brood and it’s probably in the top 3 best random Marvel aliens that has no mind. So, only counting the beasts that can’t talk and are basically like monsters.

After reading Days of Future Past, I am surprised at how well known it is. I guess the plot was definitely very unique at the time, but it’s just so short. I was expecting it to be at least 5 issues. We still had the President Assassination plot at least and it’s essentially a condensed version of the film with different characters. It was a good two parter to be sure, but not quite legendary. At least we got a classic team fight between the Brotherhood and the X Men. Those are always pretty fun.

I can’t say that I cared for the hell comic all that much. It’s always interesting to see how it is portrayed of course, but it’s mostly lacking in action. Colossus mentions that hell is one of the reasons why he doesn’t believe in God, since it would mean accepting such a place as real. It’s an intriguing point since it almost sounds like he does think there is a God, but he doesn’t believe it because of hell. Meaning…that he does accept that God exists, but doesn’t accept Hell. Can’t really go halfway though since not believing in it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. It was a little sad to see that Nightcrawler had no comeback during their debates and he was quickly silenced each time. He needs to prep his answers ahead of time I suppose. The other comics were pretty standard, but fun adventures.

Overall, This is a pretty solid batch of comics. They definitely aren’t quite as action packed as usual, but they’re pretty good. I think they could have been a little more engaging at times since the Days of Future Past arc was pretty interesting while the others were really just there. I enjoyed them of course, but you weren’t very intrigued by what was happening. The fights were fun and that’s just about it. The Alpha Flight don’t really make you think about anything deep and the Christmas comic was just a fun chase. I still say that a little more action would have helped. I recommend this collection to all X Men fans and especially if you haven’t read Days of Future Past before. If you have, then it’s time to check out X Sanction for more future conspiracies!

Overall 6/10

Showcase Presents Sgt. Rock Volume 4 Review

Posted on August 7, 2014 by dreager1

It’s time for the next big Showcase Presents review. DC has a lot of popular superheroes who were around back in the day and then went on to become super heroes. At the same time, they also had their classic war veterans and Sgt. Rock is arguably the biggest one around. Some would argue that he was more memorable than Nick Fury and I could hardly disagree. Sgt. Rock is a fighter and as with Judge Dredd in another comic, this collection made me an insta fan. He’s pretty cool!

This collection brings a bunch of comics together, but it’s hard to really say what the plot is. Aside from the fact that they’re fighting in World War II of course. If you’ve read any of the old civil war issues from either Marvel or DC, you would know why. Just about every issue is a stand alone. The Nazi’s try to take out Sgt. Rock and his pals only to be quickly broken. Once in a blue moon, they will actually gain the upper hand, but Sgt. Rock is always ready for their tricks.

It’s easy to think that this could get repetitive after a while, but I can’t say that I ever felt like that. Each comic is fun to read and it’s partially because the writing is so good. Today’s comics tend to have some pretty generic trash talking at the ready, but not this collection! Just about every line is a pretty good pun during the battles. (Then again, with a character named Ice Cream it’s what you may expect) The fighters are all pretty heroic and they have a lot of respect for Sgt. Rock. It’s hard not too considering how good he is.

Sgt. Rock really makes the comic. Sometimes, the cast and story can only be okay and the comic will still be great as long as the lead is rock (get it?) solid. That’s the case this time. Without Sgt. Rock, I can safely say that the collection would not be the same. He doesn’t believe in superstitions and he’s easily the best GI Joe of the bunch. He has good instincts and battle experience that help him overcome all challenges that go his way. His personality is basically like Fury’s in the old days, but he’s a little more intense and willing to do whatever it takes to win. He’s a great hand to hand fighter and the only time that he was defeated was when it was 8 to 1.

Even though the plots are mostly one shots, I’ll give a few examples of what a plot could be. One involved a guy who had these magical tarot cards that told him whenever someone was about to die. People began to die left and right to Sgt. Rock has to figure out a way to show his men that there’s no such thing as magic. In another comic, the army men had to team up with the French Cadets to stop a bunch of explosives from going off.

If there were any characters that I didn’t care for aside from the Nazi’s, it was definitely the cadets. They aren’t bad characters per say, but I think that it’s stretching it a little bit to have them there. They’re just kids so I can’t really picture them taking out whole squadrons of soldiers. They also never really get to say any puns. They’re very serious during the battles and the heroes always end up acknowledging that the cadets did good by the end. They appear in quite a few comics as they lend their support.

Another comic had Sgt. Rock and his men find many clues left by an unknown soldier. These clues warned them of danger and liked to playfully insult Sgt. Rock. This happens in a few different issues and they never really find out who’s leaving them there. One comic says that it’s more or less meta, but I’m waiting for a real reveal. This guy seems to be pretty cool so far and meeting him would be epic.

One of the more emotional comics is Sgt. Rock’s origin stories. Luckily, it only takes place before he got his stripes instead of showing us how he grew up. 3 of his allies died and he inherited their stripes. Another sad comic was the one where a solo act joined up with them and he refused to work with the team. He learned better…but he learned the hard way. There are many other comics that I could mention, but you get the jist of it.

Luckily, this was a little after the good ole horseback riding days so we don’t really get any animal violence that I could remember. There is one scene where Sgt. Rock is painfully interrogated, but it is luckily completely off screen except for a few hits so it’s not as bad as it could be. We know that Sgt. Rock is the kind of guy who will never talk so it could have been a potentially long scene.

I almost forgot to mention, but Sgt. Rock’s group is named Easy. It’s a pretty great name since it provides them with extra enthusiasm. There are so many puns that they end up making about the name. To enemies, it sounds like the group is made up of pushovers, but they learn better once the fights start. The team is especially good during the close combat brawls as they can all fight in their distinctive style. They would be dead against the airplanes without Sgt. Rock though because they don’t tend to see them quick enough. “Eat Dirt, Easy” is an example of what Sgt. Rock says as the airplane approaches. I’m not sure how effective that is to dodge the gunfire, but I suppose that you are making a smaller target out of yourself.

The artwork is pretty solid. I can’t say that I liked the formatting for the graphic novel at one point though. It’s in black and white, but that’s not really a negative. What I’m talking about is the size of the print. It’s good for most of them, but there must have been a malfunction somewhere as one of the comics is really unclear. It’s still readable of course, but it can be a bit of a strain to read it. This won’t really affect the score and it could have just been this particular collection and the toner was just a little off.

Overall, This was a very fun collection to read. If you like the World War II stories (and even if you didn’t) then you’ll like this one. Sgt. Rock is a very good character and the writing is easily 5 star material. I can’t say that I had very high hopes for this one coming in, but it was definitely very well done. It’s too bad that Sgt. Rock hasn’t appeared all that much i the modern comics, but maybe it’s for the best. He will always be remembered for his World War II adventures and his reputation will stay untarnished. I highly recommend this collection and it is definitely not a bad deal financially considering how many stories are included. Go Easy!

Overall 7/10

Sonic Saga Series Volume 4 House of Cards Review

Posted on August 6, 2014 by dreager1

Well, the legendary Sonic Saga Series continues with this electrifying volume! To be frank, this volume wasn’t quite as exciting as the last few, but it was still pretty fun for the most part. I definitely preferred the first half, but the cliffhanger definitely hints at cool things, which are to come. We will see if Sonic has what it takes or if he will be quicklu defeated by this threat.

The first half concludes the big Eggman event. Eggman has followed Sonic and his pals to their new home. After Sonic was casually crushed in their first encounter…does he really stand a chance!? He hasn’t gotten any stronger after all and he’s still pretty fatigued from their last bout. Luckily, Sonic has a plan, which may turn the tides against Eggman and his army. It’s going to have to be a doozy at this rate!

The second half is mostly an arc to help you pick which side you’re on. Team Sonic or Team Tails. It’s a clear choice right from the get go as far as I am concerned. Tails looks pretty bad for the entire volume, but more on that later. Tails’ (shady) parents have decided that the place needs a new ruler and they want the King to step down so they create a mob and attack the castle. The King arrests the parents, but Tails helps them to bust free. While the parents go to dispose of the King, Tails stays behind to take Sonic down. Sonic is going to have to choose between the country’s safety and his friendship with the kid in this big climax. How did it come to this!?

Sonic is the main character and that’s how it should be in a Sonic collection. He does pretty well throughout and it reminds me why I’ve always been a fan. One part that I didn’t care for was Sonic’s resolution against Eggman. In the end, Sonic basically admitted that he couldn’t win. He did get wrecked during their first battle, but I like to think that Sonic would find a way to use his speed to his advantage and secure a win. Let’s face it, ~~if it is to be it’s up to me~~ Sonic will always be able to crush Eggman’s robots when the going gets tough. The other part would be the ending to his battle with Tails. He’s being nice to Tails of course, but the stakes were decently high so I’m not sure how great that was. If something had happened…well, it would have been very dicey for Sonic. The whole issue wasn’t really his fault at that point. Nontheless, Sonic definitely did well in these issues and I look forward to seeing how he’s going to deal with the next threat. The Sonic comics definitely wouldn’t be the same without him since Sonic provides most of the laughs.

Well, Tails definitely goes through a lot of character regression in this volume. They’ve been hinting at it for a while now so it’s not like the issue came out of left field. Unfortunately, everything finally blows to the surface in the comic as Tails has his big fight with Sonic. Now, Tails is doing all of this to break his father out of prison, but the guy deserved to go there. He organized a mob and basically made everyone crazy. Tails has to realize that justice must come over his personal feelings at times. Sonic naturally arrives to stop Tails from making this mistake and the fight begins. It should be noted that Sonic is trying not to fight Tails, while Tails is getting in every cheap shot that he can muster.

It’s definitely not a very effective way of accomplishing things. We also find out that Tails is mostly mad at Sonic because of the whole Fiona incident. Tails should have spoken up about it sooner and it’s not quite as serious as he makes it out to be. Romance should never come before justice and teamwork. Tails talks tough to the end, but I can’t say that I liked him at all in this volume. Hopefully, he will put this behind him and become a better Freedom Fighter for the next collection.

Eggman returns after his big victory in the last volume. He continues to explain how he has been toying with all of the heroes up til now. Even as he leaves, he explains that the heroes are basically doomed when he comes back to get them. He doesn’t really get to have a rematch with Sonic in this volume since a few others decided to jump in. It was short, but Eggman’s big run is already over. The collection ends with him making a truce with the Freedom Fighters so that they can combat the next menace. Eggman still makes for a solid villain and he’s much better than how he looks in the video games. At least, the newer ones. He was pretty decent in Sonic DX and Adventure 2 Battle. I would argue that he went downhill from there with the exception of Shadow The Hedgehog.

Scourge and Fiona only get a small cameo. They’re mostly just here to show us how powerful the new villain is. Hopefully Scourge has another fight with Sonic coming up and Fiona will likely toy with the heroes’ emotions for a while. It’s what she does best after all. Again, the next volume sounds pretty intense!

I personally blame Snively the most for the fact that Eggman didn’t win this round. He had an army at the ready so blowing up the forcefield should have been extremely easy. Not accomplishing this feat was pretty embarrassing at best. I’ve never really cared for Snively no matter how emotional they try to make him. He’s still more of a two bit villain and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

The very ending of the collection was definitely pretty intense though. Knuckles is finally going back to his island, but we see that things have definitely changed since last time. Is he already too late? Moreover, one of Sonic’s deadliest foes is about to return and that’s not good for the unsuspecting heroes. It may be time to call in the mighty Shadow The Hedgehog! (He is seen on the cover of the next volume so this guess may be validated…..)

It should also be noted that there is a mini comic at the end about how Sonic met Tails’ parents. They were a lot nicer back then and they didn’t have so many hidden agendas. The times have changed them as they have changed many of Sonic’s friends. Luckily, Sonic’s held himself together all these years…that’s why he’s known as one of the greatest heroes of Mobius! This story was all right, but nothing really noteworthy happens in it.

The artwork in the collection is as solid as always. We don’t get any real dramatic moments like the last volume and things aren’t quite as serious. This means that we can’t test the artwork as much as we may have wanted too, but it still looks solid for the characters and action scenes. Archie definitely knows how to stay consistent.

One big criticism that I had with the first part was that Eggman’s army probably should have won. Sonic and Knuckles were the only two heavy hitters left and Eggman proved to be more than a match for Sonic. With the power of friendship, the heroes manages to prevail, but it was still a little hard to really believe. Snively not being able to penetrate the barrier with all of his warheads was also hard to swallow. No matter how you slice it….Eggman should have won this battle. He came in with the better plan and the better tech. Better luck next time I suppose.

The resolution to the other part was also a little suspect. Tails’ parents were completely unreasonable, but the comic tries to show that they were at least partially in the right. They agree to a reasonable compromise of having a committee for the residents to help in important decisions. They could have merely asked for something like that instead of demanding it. The current King is very reasonable and he would have had no suggestions. I don’t like the way that they went about it so I can safely say that I’m not a fan of those two characters.

Overall, This was a solid Sonic collection. The second half definitely has a lot of weak points, but it was still good overall. The first part was definitely a lot more exciting. The collection is a little lacking in the action department, but I’m confident that the next collection will change that. It’s time for the next big villain after all! I definitely recommend this collection to all Sonic fans. Their is a lot of dialogue, but it’s all pretty interesting since the writing is very good. I may not agree with the things that some of the characters say, but it’s not the fault of the writer’s. Some characters have to be the fall guy once in a while. At least we can be confident in the fact that Sonic will always be a solid character.

Overall 7/10

Sonic Universe Volume 1 The Shadow Saga Review

Posted on August 4, 2014 by dreager1

It’s finally time for another Sonic review! Sonic Universe has been pretty fun so far. I dare say that the Sonic Saga Series still has the edge, but this spinoff is a great way for the side characters to shine. As you can see from the title, Shadow is the main character! That’s pretty great since he’s easily one of the greatest Sonic characters out there! This collection contains 4 stories.

The first comic deals with Shadow’s battle against Metal Sonic. He has followed him to another dimension and Shadow’s mission is to get the Chaos Emerald and report back to base. Unfortunately, Metal Sonic doesn’t want to come in quietly so Shadow’s in for a fight! Luckily, Blaze and Marine happen to be passing by and they join the fray. Will their combined might be enough to stop Metal Sonic or will the flaming fighter turn against Shadow!?

Shadow’s next mission sees him team up with Sonic and Rouge to prevent a missile from being fired. There’s not much to say about this comic’s main plot since it’s pretty straight forward. What makes it more interesting is that we also get some flashbacks to the Adventure 2 Battle days where Sonic and Shadow fought to the bitter end. As expected, Shadow had the edge in the flashback. Still, stopping this missile is going to take every bit of their strength!

This next adventure is one that I’m a little more familiar with. Scans of the Shadow vs Omega fight could be found everywhere back in the day. It’s fun to finally get to see the comic in action. G.U.N. orders Shadow to find Gamma and recruit him to the cause. Unfortunately, Eggman has also sent out Omega to finish Gamma off for good. Shadow’s in a race against time and this new robot might prove to be more than he can handle! Shadow’s ultimate fight begins here!

Finally, the collection ends with another mission for Shadow. He is to go to the special zone to get another Chaos Emerald. Unfortunately for the Ultimate Life Form, Feist now rules the land. He has unlimited power at his disposal and he refuses to hand over the emerald unless the heroes play along with his games. Luckily, Shadow is not alone and his teammates, Rouge and Omega, arrive to help out. Can the three of them overcome this cosmic panda?

Shadow gets a lot of screentime, but that could also be dangerous for the writers. He is really cool as the dark rival to Sonic, but as a main character, they would need to make sure that he doesn’t become too cheerful and heroic. Luckily, this portrayal of him was a lot better than the ones that we’ve been seeing recently. He’s still in a pretty sad mood throughout the collection because he keeps failing his missions and letting allies be destroyed. It’s decently understandable though so it could definitely be worse.

Aside from that, this is the Shadow that we grew up with. He’s always ready for combat and he’s acknowledged as the Ultimate Life Form. We get to see him go up against Metal Sonic, Sonic, Omega, and more. He definitely looked a little weak in the first comic, which was a little dicey, but he looked better as the issues went on. He could and should have been a lot stronger, but I just have to assume that they’ll continue to work on this. After all…he actually couldn’t defeat Omega? I’ll admit that the scene did not make any sense, but they had to force the plot through somehow. Shadow doesn’t make as many wisecracks as Sonic and he’s definitely more serious, but Shadow is a very good main character. He can hold his own comic much more than any of the other Sonic characters. (Aside from Sonic)

Rouge is a part of Shadow’s team the entire time, but she only gets her screentime in the second and fourth comics. She’s a pretty solid fighter, but she doesn’t have a whole lot to do here since the enemies are either cosmic or unliving. She does give her assistance to the hedgehogs against the missile and it comes in handy. She’s a pretty good character in these issues and she likes to take a lot of shots at Shadow. It’s too easy to pass up I suppose. She also had a team up with Sonic in the flashback, which was an interesting interpretation of the Adventure 2 Battle storyline.

Sonic’s role in this collection is very small. He only appears for one of the issues, but he looks pretty cool. He ends up saving Shadow and he talks big right from the start. In the flashback to Adventure 2 Battle, Sonic was pretty reasonable and called off the fight until they could save Rouge. In the present, he saved Shadow from making another heroic sacrifice for the team. Any way you slice it, Sonic’s a pretty cool character. He’s great as a main character and he also does well as an assist.

Omega is a bit of a mixed bag. He definitely looks better than he did in Treasure Team Tango, but I’m still not a huge fan. He talks tough and he has a bunch of explosives, but he’s really just another robot. He does undergo a personality shift during the issues due to a big event that happened to him. He makes for a strong ally to have at your side, but I dare say that Gamma was a little cooler in this collection. Omega will need to prove himself and show the world that he has what it takes. He’s supposedly on Shadow’s level in terms of power…we shall see. At least he loves to fight! (Always a good sign)

Gamma is pretty cool in this volume. I can’t say that I was ever a huge fan of the guy, but you can’t doubt his power. He’s a good robot at heart and it was nice to see him defect from Eggman’s organization in Sonic DX. He made the hero call and it’s pretty rare for one of Eggman’s robots to do this. His storyline is actually pretty tragic in the collection and it definitely gets Shadow down for a while. Gamma’s portrayal in this collection was rock solid and I can safely say that I gained a little respect for him. I would have gained more, but I didn’t like how he basically gave up in the end. You should always keep on fighting to the last breath no matter what the obstacle is. I would have liked to have seen him join shadow’s crew.

Metal Sonic doesn’t get a huge role in this collection and I have to say that he wasn’t very likable. He’s basically just following Eggman’s orders and he doesn’t have any free will of his own. Shadow tries to reason with him, but Metal Sonic just won’t hear it. The collection has a nice index of all previous Metal Sonic versions in the back, which was fun to see. Technically, this one is typically my favorite Metal Sonic since he’s the one that I grew up with. I hope that he sees the error of following Eggman soon so that he can try to crush the world on his own. He made quick work out of Shadow so we know that he definitely has the power to do this. I hope we see him again soon.

Blaze’s abilities are definitely fun to watch. There aren’t many elemental fighters in the Sonic multiverse. That being said, she’s a little out of her league against Metal Sonic. She was nice enough to give Shadow the Chaos Emerald though and she’s definitely a reasonable person. I’d say that she’s another solid supporting character. Marine is also there, but she really gets no respect from the heroes. Shadow is pretty mean to her the whole time and Blaze can’t even defend her. Marine is all heart and she’s just enthusiastic, but she appears to be misunderstood at the moment. She definitely got their hopes up since she was talking so big. It never pays to boast…

Feist may be one of the stronger Sonic villains out there, but I can’t really take him all that seriously. It could be that he looks like a Panda, but he’s also just very generic as an opponent. He likes to mess with the heroes and I guess I can see why. That being said, he’s just not interesting. Cosmic abilities aren’t fun to look at unless they throw in some magic or energy. Feist will need to have an actual fight for me to recognize him as an intense villain.

Well, this was definitely another fun batch of Sonic comics. They were all very good issues and it’s why this collection managed to nab the elusive 8. Giving Shadow the lead role was a wise move on Archie’s part as he needed some more screentime. The collection also has a lot more action than normal with each issue providing us with some exciting moments. This is easily the best Sonic Universe yet and it’ll be tough to top. That being said, I know that a recent arc in the series saw Shadow become the main character again…so anything’s possible.

The Sonic Universe series is all about mini arcs so there aren’t any subplots that are left unexplored. The stories all tie up together through Shadow’s subplot and how he eventually learns to trust the others and remember that he’s a part of the team. The plot may not be very deep, but that’s never been a problem for Archie. Just seeing all of the fan favorite characters get together to brawl and have some friendly banter is great. The comics are very similar to the Mega Man ones and that makes sense since they share some staff. (A crossover also happened recently)

The art is pretty solid as expected. Everything is pretty streamlined and the fight scenes are easy on the eyes. This is probably the first time that we’ve gotten a fight scene as intense as the Metal Sonic vs Shadow battle. At least, power wise anyway. Gamma vs Omega is also pretty interesting and Shadow gets a nice piece of the action. The art holds up pretty well for all of these scenes. The cover art makes it look like Adventure 2 Battle, which is a great tough. The artist definitely remembers the greatest Sonic game out there!

Overall, this was a great Sonic Universe collection! The action was fun in each of the comics and the art was dynamite. Just about all of the characters were likable and I thoroughly enjoyed the homages to Adventure 2 Battle. That’s definitely how you get the fans interested in the plot. It’s cool to note that this is the first Sonic Universe collection so it is definitely a memorable pack. Starting off with Shadow adventures is the way to go. I highly recommend this comic to all Sonic fans and to anyone who wants a fun comic. It’s not very complex and anyone can get into it. You can expect another Sonic review in the neat future.

Overall 8/10

Showcase Presents Strange Adventures Volume 2 Review

Posted on July 26, 2014 by dreager1

It’s time for a Showcase that I just finished! This is basically the DC equivalent to the Marvel Essential series. Surprisingly enough, this collection doesn’t have any “real” comic book characters as it is really a collection of short stories that tend to revolve around aliens. It’s an interesting change of pace and naturally I tend to prefer action stories, but these issues hold up pretty well.

The collection brings around 20 comics and each issue brings about 3-5 stories within it. The stories tend to only be a few pages long so the climax ends up occuring near the beginning. It’s pretty fun at times since the main characters are extremely clever. They can solve just about any problem in an instant…I miss those good days. New Yorkers really seem to know their stuff in these comics.

One instant change that you’ll notice in this comic is the Government. By “change” I mean that they look a whole lot different here than they do in the modern comics. A lot of the situations force the main character to run to the government and warn them that the planet was about to be blown up. In a modern comic, they’d either A. Not believe him or B. Kidnap him because they already know about the aliens. In these comics, the government takes it in stride and they usually believe him without reservations.

There are essentially no criminals on the planet in this continuity so everyone on Earth is basically trusted completely. If someone tells the cops that they need to spray a new gas over the planet to save the world…they’ll drop everything and get right too it. The whole collection has a lot of friendship themes scattered around and teamwork is typically essential to success. It makes for pretty good reading.

The one problem with having so many stories (or the main problem anyway) is that a lot of them start looking pretty similar. The Earth is tricked into by evil aliens into lowering their guard at least 2-3 times. Aliens invade Earth and are only driven away by trickery a few more times. A heroic alien arrives on Earth to help the humans avert disaster a number of times as well. A handful of the intros are identical as we start with the main character explaining that he’s a science fiction writer, but he never could have written something as fantastic as the adventure that he experienced.

Now, the stories may be pretty similar sometimes, but maybe it’s for the best. After all, the alien stories are typically the best ones. The one subject that tends to really compete with the Alien comics are the time travel ones. One comic sees a man get to look at the future through a machine and he keeps avoiding death by plotting how he’ll escape while also getting rich. There’s a pretty big twist at the end and it’s basically a tragic ending, but the main character wasn’t a hero so it’s supposed to balance out. That was easily one of my favorite stories. After all, I would certainly dodge my death if I knew that it was coming. (I’d skip on the get rich part or do it in a harmless way…)

There aren’t a lot of fist fights in this collection, but I do remember one of them. A Martian invades the main character’s base and attacks another Martian. The main character gallantly jumps into the fray stating that he’ll hold him off, but he’s defeated in less than a panel. It’s sad for the human race, but I suppose that aliens are supposed to be pretty powerful. They tend to outfight the humans physically.

That being said…it’s a different story when you count the American’s Atomic Weapons. It differs from comic to comic on that angle. Some of the enemies do not fear our weapons because they can easily block our attacks or they have something even better. Others are completely defenseless against these powerful objects and that is why they attempt to win through trickery. The government was definitely pretty trigger happy in this era as we discuss the option of nuking the aliens in just about every comic. We actually use the nukes quite often, but they typically don’t work or we chase the aliens off with them.

It would be interesting if all of these stories took place in the same continuity. The Earth would have been invaded by Aliens every week. We even gave up in one comic and ended up selling the Earth for a little sand. Obviously, it was a trick on our part, but it was definitely a risky gambit. We can’t forget the issue from the cover. Those Snowmen aliens definitely meant business! The way that they were defeated was definitely a bit of a stretch for me, but it would be tough to stop them. They were invulnerable after all so we really can’t underestimate them. Get this….The Snowmen actually survived getting nuked by the government! That was easily one of the best moments in the entire collection because the stakes definitely increased at that moment. No more fun and games….things had just gotten deadly.

They were probably my favorite aliens if I had to pick a best villain. They were the best fighters and they nearly came through on their big threats. We had a few giant villains, but they weren’t typically fighters as they came in peace to help us misguided humans. Most of the aliens had a lot more tech than the humans, but we consistently proved throughout the comics that are intellect is second to none. We don’t have telepathy, but we can typically outsmart the villains by faking our thoughts and using witty puns. The Aliens never stood a chance!

The art for the collection is pretty good. All of the characters look pretty solid, but that’s one of my issues with the art. The main characters from the various stories tend to look similar. At least 10 or more comics had identical main characters. One of them even had a Clark Kent lookalike as the main lead. It’s not really the art’s fault per say since thinking up over 40-60 main characters would be difficult, but the designs are definitely reused a whole lot. It’s one of the few ways that modern comics have improved from the older ones. That being said, the art is still pretty good and all of the comics can clearly be understood even though they are in black and white. It also helps the giant insect stories to feel like retro kaiju films.

Finally, one issue also had a homage to Transformers. (Assuming this came out after Transformers…it may have preceded the immensely popular franchise!) Two of the aliens were able to transform into cars and then back into their humanoid forms. They kidnap the main character, but they didn’t count on his car toll expertise and he was able to get the police to stop them. The aliens weren’t very confrontational so they fled, but it was a pretty humorous comic since they looked just like Transformers.

Overall, This is a pretty fun collection of comics. It definitely has a lot of human empowerment messages as we overcome every obstacle from natural disasters to alien invasions. I don’t mind in this case because it works well. Each comic will leave you feeling pretty good about the human race and it was definitely a simpler time back then. I can’t imagine a world where everyone was a genius and there were no criminals. It definitely sounds like an intriguing place, but there isn’t a lot of individuality. The stories can be a little similar so you may not want to read it all in one shot. It is over 500 pages after all so even I had to take a few days to finish it. Some comics are simply better in batches than in one shot and why rush right? This collection should last you for a while and it’s a lot of content for such a great price. Plus, the tried and true formula of the alien invasion never gets old. It’s no Justice League or Avengers, but the stories are fun and that’s what counts. I would definitely recommend it to any comic reader looking for a little danger mixed with supernatural elements in a very lighthearted atmosphere. You’ll also get to see a lot of interesting designs for the various alien species present throughout the issues.

Overall 7/10

Transformers Classics Volume 5 Review

Posted on July 26, 2014 by dreager1

The final of my retro, retro reviews is the 5th volume of the Transformers Classics series. The original Transformers series was definitely a lot of fun and I’ll miss it. There are still a few more volumes to go before the series is concluded, but it could be a long time until I read volume 6. As always, the Autobots are in a pretty bad spot in this volume. Their numbers have diminished while there always seem to be more Decepticons on the loose. It’s a pretty fun collection with some solid stories.

There are many stories featured in this collection and while Transformers has always done pretty well with keeping a strict continuity in place, we also get some issues that don’t really add to the plot. They’re still entertaining though so it’s not a huge loss. Most of the others do have reprucussions that directly affect future comics as well so you really want to stay sharp as you read through them. I shall briefly give a synopsis for several of the comics included.

The first comic follows good ole Spike as he hikes up a mountain. He doesn’t want to be a Transformer anymore and he’s rejected that way of life to be a normal person once more. Unfortunately, Decepticons show up and Spike’s friend is put in danger. Can Spike really risk their lives just because he doesn’t feel up to the task at the moment? It’s time for Spike to make a choice! I can’t say that I cared for Spike in this issue since he should always be ready for a fight and heroes have no time to worry about being normal. It’s a tough world out there and they need to stay alert. The next comic was a pretty big change in tone as a few Autobots head into an amazonian lair. They were using their humanoid mirages so the Amazons thought that they were not human. Men are not allowed of course, but the Autobot passes the test to prove that he is worthy. Unfortunately, he then lets them know that he’s not human and he basically loses his head during the discussion. Is this really a safe refuge for the heroes? The concept of that comic was pretty intriguing, but it didn’t really have a lot of action so it wasn’t one of the best ones.

The next issue was probably the best one in the collection or it definitely ranks up there at the very least. A few of the Autobots quit the group and decide to strike out on their own. Roadhandler is challenged to a wrestling match and he obliges. He doesn’t want to throw the fight so he wins and then he proceeds to keep on winning the matches. He gets a pretty large following, but then the Decepticons come over to town. They kidnap the fans so that Roadhandler will have to throw the fight against one of them. It’s a diabolical plan, but it;s definitely an effective one. I know that Wrestling fans won’t like the fact that Wrestling is supposed to be fake in this comic, but the battles are still fun and I’m glad that Roadhandler didn’t throw the fight. All’s well that ends well and we even get a moral at the end of the comic. Not bad!

The next story is the meat of the collection as it’s a 4 parter. (Debatably, it could be said to be 5 parts since the issue afterwards deals with the aftermath) Ratchet is feeling guilty about the deaths of his comrades and he has not been able to fix them. A group of new Autobots tell Ratchet that they may have an idea on how to help so Ratchet follows them. He doesn’t contact any of the other Autobots to let them know where he was going and that turns out to be a pretty deadly mistake as the Autobots lead him to Megatron! It was a trap and Megatron intends to revive Starscream among others. Ratchet’s mistake may have ended the war.

Meanwhile, The fake Autobots lead the Autobots into a battle with Scorponok’s forces. Neither side is really in the mood, but it’s hard to exit such a battle once it has started. Both sides clash and Optimus Prime’s group definitely has the edge. Nontheless, Prime realizes that Megatron is up to something so both groups are forced to join forces. Prime is pretty upset about the whole thing and he’s not holding back any longer. The climatic battle against Megatron will resume once again!

One comic gives us the “true” origin of the Transformers. Primus and Unicron had an epic battle and Primus tricked Unicron into merging with a planet so that he wouldn’t be a threat anymore. The problem is that the plan worked a little too well and he also got trapped. Primus built some normal Transformers and that’s how things started. An energy blast hits him in the modern day and he wakes up…this could be tricky for the Transformers. There are a few stand alone issues after that where Autobots travel to various planets to try and find the Matrix, but it’s all for naught. Maybe it just cannot be found anymore.

Aside from the issues, one reason that I really like the Classics series is the fact that the volume does a good job of giving the reader a lot of extra info. Before each comic, we get a fun foreward by the author explaining details about the comic like what they were thinking when it was written or scenes that were cut out. Likewise, there is a lot of writing after each issue where each panel is discussed. It’s a very fun way to read the comics since you really get the maximum amount of enjoyment since you can safely say that you’ve seen the comic from every angle.

The art for the issues is pretty good. The Transformers Wiki typically has an error relating to the art in most of the issues, but it is easy to miss them so it’s all good. A few mixed up colors definitely won’t stop the rest of the collection from looking good and I really miss some of these designs. Bumblebee’s has changed for the better, but the rest of the fighters have never really looked as good as the G1 designs.

One thing that I did find interesting was the use of the “Fake Autobots.” I believe that they called these Decepticons “Pretenders” and it’s an apt description. It’s really a brilliant move on their part and I’m surprised that it hasn’t been tried before. Switching emblems is likely difficult, but I’m sure that it would be easy for Shockwave to invent something to make it possible. The plan worked and the only oversight was that the Decepticons should have expected Prime to quickly take down Scorponok and then put a wrench in the plans. If there were more Decepticons then it would have definitely been a pretty crushing win. I would like to see more robots use this tactic in the future since it could make for a pretty great plot. Especially in the newer comics since there are so many fighters on either

Just about all of the characters were pretty solid. Ratchet was a lot better than usual and Megatron/Optimus Prime are always great characters. The rest of the Autobots and Decepticons were decent and they played their roles well. I can’t say that I really cared for Spike since he really didn’t make the right calls as quickly as he should have. Trying to leave the Transformers just isn’t that responsible when you are the leader of a team.

Overall, This was a solid addition to the Transformers Classics series. We got to Megatron return to fight the good fight and the 4 part epic with Ratchet was pretty exciting. The wrestling issue is an example of a great story that may not work quite as well in the modern comics. It was played seriously and yet it felt like a parody from the start. I highly recommend checking out this comic if you’re a Transformers fan or if you just want some action. It will be a little tougher to really get into the volume if you’ve never read Transformers before, but you have to start somewhere right? We are definitely reaching the climax and it appears that Unicron will definitely be joining the action in the next volume. That definitely sounds fun!

Overall 7/10

Essential Avengers Volume 9 Review

Posted on July 25, 2014 by dreager1

It’s time for another Esssential review and this time we’re taking a look at the 9th volume of Avengers! Their new film is coming up soon so it’s always good to revisit the classics and the stories were pretty solid. The Avenger comics were typically my favorite ones from back in the day as far as Marvel is concerned. This collection does bring an infamous Ms Marvel comic with it as well, which I shall definitely discuss. Even without Comicvine to back me up on this retro review, I definitely wouldn’t forget that one.

There are many comics and plots contained in this Essential. As with the previous reviews, I shall not mention all of them, but I’ll make sure to give as many plots as possible. The first adventure that I shall mention was a mini Vision story in the Tales to Astonish series. The Vision has to help the passengers of a plane, but then he learns of a murder that is about to take place. He has to decide whether to stay in the plane and help an old man prevent a heart attack or he could go and stop the murder. The Vision may have to make the toughest call of his life. Is he more machine than man? That’s the question that we have to think about.

The Avengers Annual featured a story with Arsenal. Arsenal is definitely a powerful Marvel villain and he made for a really good villain. The Avengers find out that this unstoppable beast is in their mansion and now they will have to stop it. The only problem is that this villain’s power is almost immeasurable and Iron Man only barely managed to stop it last time. Luckily, he’s brought along Captain America and Thor (among others) so they are ready this time. It made for an interesting comic and Arsenal was cool. I guess he’s more of a one shot villain than most, but the world’s never too small for an extra powerhouse.

An interesting comic saw the Avengers head to Russia to combat a supervillain threat. The enemies were a group of elemental villains who didn’t seem natural. The Avengers would have to find out how they were created and react accordingly. The villains aren’t what made the comic interesting, but the Avengers’ attitudes about it were. Captain America initially did not want to help because Russia was being attacked. After all, he’s Captain America and he believes that the Avengers are country based. The Beast (considering that he’s typically an Xman and not an Avengers makes things interesting as well) defies Captain America and he says that it’s the Avengers duty to help out anyone in trouble. Captain America grudgingly agrees in the end and then the group goes off to help. (They’re ultimately chased off, but only after they’ve solved the problem) This could have been the first comic where Captain America didn’t act as heroic as we are used too. (Pre AVX days)

The next comic arc proves once again why the Avengers can be a little annoying. Wasp ventures to an asylum after hearing a story from one of the guys who escaped and his tale turns out to be true so she is quickly kidnapped. The Avengers head there, but decide that they can’t bust in because of legal issues. I can’t help but wince whenever I see one of the Superheroes saying that. They should worry about the consequences after they bust in and save the day. Instead, they send in Antman and Yellow Jacket to secretly check what’s happening. They’re quickly defeated soooo….time for Plan C! Who could defeat three Avengers anyway?

After that, the Avengers get locked in their elevator, which makes for an amusing story. This was the calm before the storm as the infamous Ms Marvel comic occurred shortly after. Uh oh….herrrrre we go! Well, as you may already be aware, Ms Marvel quickly has a baby and the process only took a few hours when it should have taken months as in the real world. The Baby immediately begins to grow up and boss the Avengers around as he tells them to gather some tools. The Baby then builds a dimension or time machine. (I forgot, but it doesn’t matter all that much) The baby grows into an adult and he tells the Avengers about how he basically turned his essence into a baby and put himself in Ms Marvel and he’s the one who originally had the baby with her. Now that he is an adult again, he wants to go away with her to his realm. Ms Marvel doesn’t really object to this and she leaves with him, but we have to remember that the guy seems to have some form of telepathy so the whole thing was very suspicious. He did make Ms Marvel forget about their affair after all.

Naturally, the worst part about this is the fact that the Avengers didn’t really do anything about it. They just wished the two of them well and forgot about the whole affair entirely. I can definitely see why fans can’t stand this comic and I have to agree that it was poorly written. I’m not sure what the writing staff was thinking when they wrote it. Nobody is in character and the Avengers should have at least gone with them through the portal or quickly begin preparations to find them. They just forgot the entire matter and it didn’t seem very heroic. This was definitely one of the largest errors that the Avengers have made.

Next, we got to see the iconic Jarvis comic. A bully enters his old neighborhood and it’s up to Jarvis to put him down for the count. What’s a regular teenager going to do to a man who’s helped the Avengers take out guys who could destroy planets? Jarvis is going to show him that you never mess with an Avenger! We also get a comic where Ultron returns to plague the world with his greatness, but it was surprisingly uneventful. Just a typical day with the Avengers.

The final comic was interesting because the Human Torch got to make an appearance. Unfortunately, his flames were not potent enough to put out the chemical flame inside of a warehouse and it was actually draining his abilities. The Avengers are forced to go in, but is this place really safe? One thing’s for sure…this was not a natural disaster!

The art is pretty good and it’s classic. All of the character designs are clear and easily understood. The comics are all in black and white of course since this is the Essential series. I definitely wouldn’t say that there was anything wrong with the drawings and sometimes I miss the good ole days. The facial expressions were definitely a little more life like at times back then.

One thing that always made these Avenger comics fun was the amount of suspense and drama that was added. The characters would always be at the limits of their abilities. The headlines would be startling and the heroes weren’t afraid to panic or say their thoughts aloud. It was a different era and the heroes were typically pretty cheerful. The Vision was not, but he had his own subplot with the Scarlet Witch that was present the whole time and they were at odds for a bit. The Falcon also had a subplot where he felt like the team was excluding him. I can’t say that I sympathized every time. There may have been a few times where I felt bad for him, but the Falcon did overdo it on several occasions. He was mad that they didn’t ask his opinion before going on a dangerous mission, but the Avengers typically don’t ask for opinions. Guys like Hawkeye and Iron Man just volunteer their thoughts whenever possible since they love to be at the head of the group. Falcon just needed to be more proactive in his attempts to let the team know what he thought they should do. Ironically enough, the Avengers asked his opinion next time, but the Falcon gave a mean retort like “What does it matter what the new Avenger thinks!” since he needed to let more missed opportunities go as he flew off…..you can probably tell that I’m not a huge Falcon fan either. He can be all right, but usually he’s just not very likable for me.

Overall, This collection was pretty good and all of the comics were basically enjoyable except for the controversial Ms Marvel one. The Beast and Wonderman team up wasn’t that interesting either, but it was all right. I would definitely recommend the collection to comic fans and it would be interesting to see what you thought of the Ms Marvel issue. The art is solid and you get to see a lot of the classic Avenger villains test their mettle against the heroes. I would say that Thor’s role is a bit smaller than usual since he is not always around in these issues, but he did turn up for the big battle against Arsenal so that was good. Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor are definitely three Avengers who should always be around. (Of course, Steve Rogers will be passing on the mantle in the current comics and Thor is no longer Thor…but that’s another story of how the current comics like to change the status quo for a few months to draw in fan rage and sales) We are drawing to the end of the retro reviews that I’ve had on the backburner for quite a while. Only one left and then the other reviews will be back to being a lot more thorough and point by point since I can evaluate them better. Nevertheless, this is one collection that you should obtain!

Overall 7/10

Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01 Review

Posted on July 22, 2014 by dreager1

Judge Dredd is a fairly big name in the comic world, but I have to say that I was never familiar with the character so I can’t say that I was impressed. He was just another variation of Batman right? This collection showed me that Judge Dredd is definitely a legitimate character and he’s very well written. He definitely shares some traits with Batman, but his heavy usage of the classic handgun is already one big difference. This is a great way to become a fan of the character and get started on the franchise!

This collection brings together dozens and dozens of Judge Dredd issues. Maybe even 100+! This is because most of the Judge Dredd comics were only 2-4 pages back in the day so the adventures were very quick. As you go deeper and deeper into the book, you can see how the issues started to get longer and longer. One thing is for certain, continuity was always important to the series. Past issues are constantly references and no character development is lost. These issues are very tightly connected so it makes for a great read in this collection form.

The setting for the story is that everything is taking place in the future. The Earth has been reduced to three cities and Judge Dredd is stationed on Mega City 1. There are 800 million civilians living there and most (if not all) of them are criminals. Luckily, the city is kept safe by an organization of judges who fight to keep the peace. They have been granted virtually unlimited power to deal with criminals and Judge Dredd is known as the best of the best. This reputation is well deserved as Judge Dredd continues to prove why he is the best throughout the collection.

The first big arc in my opinion is the one about Call Me Kenneth. He is a robot who breaks free from the current robot code that no robot may hurt a man and they must obey humans no matter what. The humans are pretty smug about this and they love to tell the robot to blow themselves up or melt themselves. Call Me Kenneth won’t have any of that and he quickly frees many other robots from this code. It becomes a full scale war between the Judges and the Robots as things escalate quickly. The battle is no joke as thousands of civilians perish and over 100 Judges as well. It’s safe to say that this was the toughest battle that Judge Dredd and the other heroes had to face. I was also surprised at how many casualties were involved and they don’t lessen as the comics continue. The villains definitely aren’t playing around here.

Call Me Kenneth is a pretty good villain and one can mildly sympathize with him. You can’t really sympathize with his actions by the end, but he does have a point that robots should have freedom. Very few do and most of them are essentially treated like slaves. Unfortunately, Call Me Kenneth goes too far when he enslaves his own robots as well. It basically makes the whole thing pointless if you think about it. So, that really hurt his character development and he wasn’t quite as likable after that. I do like his design though and he made for a powerful enemy.

Another reoccurring villain is Whitey. He’s the very first villain to appear in the collection and he takes out a Judge with ease. Judge Dredd makes short work out of him, but Whitey got his 5 seconds of fame. He later appears again when he breaks out of jail, but it’s a very short escape since Judge Dredd is always on the job. (The man doesn’t even take Christmas breaks!) He was a pretty interesting villain since he stands for the one shot villain who one would expect to never appear again, but he didn’t stay down for the count. I also find the name to be a little humorous and I may have him battle on this site’s fight section soon.

Judge Dredd is a great main character and he’s much better than I could have guessed. He does destroy many of his foes, but this is typically by accident. Usually, he shoots his enemies, but he doesn’t aim at any of their vitals so they get to limp off with dignity as they’re sent into prison. He’s as serious about crime as Chase is from Transformers Rescuebots and I’ll admit that I read all of his lines in that voice. Judge Dredd is portrayed as an expert in the collection and that never really fades. Throughout all of the adventures, he’s only defeated a handful of times. He typically defeats his opponents with ease or with a pretty great plan at the ready.

Judge Dredd’s passion for the law is a great advantage to have over the common miscreants, but it can also be a dangerous weakness. An example of this is when he allows a few criminals to run amok because he had to wait for a new badge. Knowing that it is illegal for an average citizen to take the law into his own hands, Judge Dredd had to wait until he was reinstated. He also quit when the other Judges would not deactivate the various robots. They were too confident that they would never turn evil…right before the war started. Judge Dredd’s punishments for crime are pretty serious as he fines someone over 200000 credits just for stepping on the curb. It is a crime though so you are supposed to do the time…

Judge Dredd may have one other weakness and that’s his selection of friends. He’s a Judge so he’s as emotional as stone, but he did allow a few to get close to him. One was his best friend at the academy, but I forgot his name. Unfortunately, the friend became corrupted and he started to murder people while disguised as a mutant. Dredd was forced to destroy him and strike his name from the school’s honor roll. Deja Vu occurred when Dredd’s cloned twin arrived and Dredd quickly mowed him down as well. Luckily, Dredd did make one really good friend although he’ll never admit it.

Walter is Judge Dredd’s best friend and it means a lot to the robot. Walter is the only robot who has been granted freedom I believe, but he doesn’t care for it. He just wants to be with Dredd and he even gives him presents at Christmas. Walter definitely gives the Judge a lot of trouble since he’s certainly not one of the stronger robots out there, but he gets the job done. Without Walter, Judge Dredd’s social life would truly be nonexistent. He does have a cleaning lady who is around to help from time to time, but her role is incredibly small and she’s basically written out of the series once Walter appears.

Half of the collection is spent on Mega City 1, but the scenery changes when Dredd is assigned to the Moon. It makes for an interesting change of pace. I definitely prefer Mega City 1, but Judge Dredd’s new uniform is pretty cool. It’s also good to see him slap the local authorities into shape as he began to uphold the law once again. The Moon Saga had many plots including illegal super races and an evil Santa Clause.

Once Judge Dredd made it back to Earth, he had to deal with the ultimate car…Elvis! Elvis manages to snap away from his coding when it got damaged and he quickly went the Call Me Kenneth route as he woke up many other cars to the realization that destroying humans was fun. The Judges now had to deal with another war, but this one was likely not as lethal to the local civilians. Elvis isn’t quite as smart as Call Me Kenneth, but he does get the jump on Judge Dredd when he invades the latter’s home. He uses this as a shield against the authority and it’s a pretty bold plan. Can the authorities put him in his place?

The art for the collection is in black and white as per the norm, but it definitely works very well for this series. Everything is pretty clear so you can tell what is going on and the only characters who can appear to be very similar at times are the judges. I don’t care for the book’s actual binding because there were a few times where it was impossible to make out a few words because they were exactly in the middle of the collection. You can always tell more or less what the characters are saying because it’s only a few words, but the words shouldn’t be so crunched up together.

The dialogue is one of the strong points in this collection. Just about every line from Judge Dredd tends to be pretty epic. He’s really focused on making sure that everyone acts in accordance with the law and it’s cool to hear the various laws of the future. The villains are also ready with old slang and new terms to combat the Judges verbally. It’s a good way to stall for time I suppose.

Overall, This was a pretty great start to the franchise. I can certainly see why Judge Dredd has a lot of fans and I can safely say that he’s a lot more likable than Robocop. Mega City 1 is certainly a rough place since there’s always someone out to get Judge Dredd, but that’s what makes the issues so interesting. The universe is built pretty well as there are already many plots that can be explored in the future. The other two Mega Cities, The mutants underground, the whole robots issue, etc. The cast is relatively small as well, but the main heroes are both likable. Walter grows on you as the issues go and you almost feel bad for him. (Maybe not always…) I hope that Call Me Kenneth and Whitey return soon since that would make for a fun rematch. I highly recommend this collection to any comic fan and it really has no weaknesses. You can finally meet one of the bigger comic book characters and find out what true justice is!

Overall 8/10

Showcase Presents Justice League of America Volume 6 Review

Posted on July 19, 2014 by dreager1

I read this volume almost half a year ago, but the backlog of reviews doomed it to take a while as with the Essential X Men review. Luckily, I happen to be a little more of a DC fan and the comics didn’t have a huge plot back then so with the help of Comicvine, this review will be more thorough as it’s supposed to be. You really can’t go wrong with the Justice League and this collection was just as good as I could have hoped.

There are a whole lot of comics in this collection since it brings about 25 of them. Most of these comics contain different plots entirely, although there are some multi parters. The first two part comic is the one from the cover. Nazi’s have somehow won the war so everyone acknowledges that they need the real Justice League in order to win. Naturally, the Justice League and the Freedom Fighters are eventually forced to fight due to misunderstandings and one of the ultimate fights in comics is quickly started. We also get a comic where Hawkman decides to part ways with the Justice League and this isn’t pleasant news for the other members. They aren’t given much time to react as Eclipso strikes!

We get several more comics in the collection until we reach the saga where the Equalizer attacks. All of the heroes begin to equally share their powers so they are all as fast and strong as each other. This means that Superman is a pale shadow of who he once was and Batman can’t really think too well. He’s actually pretty scared and worried the whole time because he’s not used to being average. (I find this a little hard to believe) The League won’t be able to take on such a threat so they’re going to have to call in an ex Justice League member. Is this a good move or will it merely bring about their doom. It’s definitely a very risky gambit.

Now, I have to reference the Equalizer plot once again. That was the one comic where all of the portrayals were a little off. Batman shouldn’t really lose so much confidence even if he has been equalized and I would like to think that everyone would still be pretty strong since Superman’s strength is just that great. They also lost a lot of their abilities to the Equalizer himself so it’s a little arguable, but I like to think that they would still be pretty big threats in the long run.

There was a mini arc with Adam Strange, but it wasn’t very note worthy.
A fun comic was where Dr Light switched the civilian identities of each of the heroes. Now, they all had to live out a day as someone else and that was pretty fun. Will they be able to master their new abilities in time to stop this treacherous villain and will some secret identities finally become known to the public? This is an issue that’s a must read! One issue that was…interesting was when two real life DC employees find Flash’s treadmill and jump into the Comics world. One of them quickly gets corrupted and turns to evil while the other one must try to stop him. I can’t say that I cared for either character, but it was definitely a big change of pace from the typical issue.

Another comic finds Green Lantern in a dangerous position as he continues to charge his ring during the night without being aware of it. A villain seems to be controlling him so he quickly contacts the League. Hopefully the heroes can stop him before it’s too late! Wonder Woman finally rejoins the League during one issue, but finds out that they have all quit. The new villain is far too scary for them and she has to help them get their courage back. What kind of villain could intimidate the League so thoroughly? Those are just some of the plots, but you can see that we definitely have a lot of interesting ones in the mix.

From the characters, Green Arrow and Hawkman had most of the banter. They were constantly insulting each other and it made things interesting. They don’t actually want the League to fire the other person, but Green Arrow loves picking fights and Hawkman prefers to directly defend himself while the other Leaguers just ignore the archer. Batman and Superman are pretty great as always and any comic with them is usually fun to read…meaning that all of the comics in this collection are pretty great if I recall correctly. They usually make up some kind of reason as to why Superman would lose to a random giant monster each time. Wonder Woman gets a really small role since she is mainly with the Justice Society instead of the Justice League, but she looks pretty good in her guest star role. She ends up saving the team, which gives her some serious bragging rights. The Flash’s role wasn’t very big although he had a role in the issue where he and Hawkman merged with an alien and fought the League. His super speed ensures that he’s a good match for any opponent…assuming that he doesn’t get tripped up while running of course. Green Lantern is a solid character as well and at least he went to the JLA for help right away when he suspected that something was using his body for evil. Most heroes would just keep it to themselves and call it a day. He didn’t look too great when he allowed himself to be blindsided, which allowed Twoface to escape, but I suppose that he was really concentrating on flying at the time. Willpower is what runs the ring after all so it’s almost believable.

I definitely don’t buy the League all becoming cowards because of the fear that the villain emitted. Surely they have the strength of mind to resist such an attack and to become great heroes again right? Wonder Woman had to snap them out of it in the end and use her Lasso to get them into action. No wonder Earth gets worried sometimes….surprisingly the government doesn’t really appear much. It’s hard to believe that they used to wholeheartedly trust the League. Nowadays, there is always a shadow cabinet out to get them or even the President himself when the time is right.

Of course, it still makes for a fun plot. The collection has more continuity than you may have guessed given how long ago it came out. The Hawkman plot came several times and there are definitely a lot of references to the older comics. The cast is pretty large since the members are always rotating and we even got to see the Freedom Fighters and Justice Society. I felt bad for the Justice League when they met the Society because they got fooled by a villain into destroying the heroes. I’m not completely sure if it actually ended up that way or if there was a plot twist, but I do remember the Spectre intervening so I’m pretty sure that they actually died. As a result, the villains took advantage of this and used costumes of the Society so that the heroes would believe that their ghosts had come back to haunt them. Batman didn’t believe it of course, but he still couldn’t fight back since it was too emotional. The League definitely got pummeled once again, but we can definitely say that they are the strongest group. The Freedom Fighters certainly didn’t stand a chance against them.

The art is very easy to follow which is always a good thing. This collection is in black and white as per the norm so you can actually use it to try and draw the characters yourself. No colors to distract you after all. I still prefer color for the comics, but you can still follow the fight scenes and that’s what counts. The current DC art in the New 52 is amazing, but I’ve always loved the art from these days as well. It’s just crisp and easy to read.

Overall, These adventures really are timeless. It never gets old to see the witty banter between the heroes and the villains. Back in the day, a simple trick like an incoming box was enough to take out a Green Lantern and every villain worth his nickel had a chunk of Kryptonite up his sleeve. The heroes had to face some pretty tricky villains while also dealing with the occasional alien. All of the comics are pretty interesting and any big DC fan should definitely appreciate how fun the adventures can be. I would go as far as to say that any comic reader should get a kick out of this comic. The black and white style may turn off a few, but I’m sure that they would enjoy it if they only gave it a chance. Since this is volume 6 of the JLA Showcase series, the comics are a little more modern and you can tell by Superman’s design. (His is the most notable in my opinion) I definitely suggest checking it out!

Overall 8/10

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Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01 Review

Showcase Presents Justice League of America Volume 6 Review

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