Superior Spider Man Volume 4 Necessary Evil Review

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Looks like it is time to check out a volume in the Superior Spider Man run! That series definitely made a lot of waves back in the day and there was virtually no way that you wouldn’t have heard of it if you were following comics. After all, it was a big move to get rid of Peter Parker and have someone else put on the suit. Considering that Slott tried to make Peter as unlikable as possible before finally getting rid of him, Ock certainly did look good for a while. Of course, you do have to consider the fact that he’s not quite as heroic.

Things are going well for Ock. Life at Horizon Labs seems to be easy enough and he’s able to balance his civilian life with his hero one. That changes though when a time disturbance starts to shake up his life. Spider Man 2099 has arrived from the future and he needs to protect the man who is trying to ruin Ock’s reputation and the company that he’s in. Ock has vowed to end this threat once and for all, but now he’s going to have to go through another Spider Man to do this! Moreover, he’s still wrecking Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane while taking his life in a new direction. When and if (Heh heh) Parker returns, he’ll certainly be coming back to a rather chaotic life. Hey…at least he’ll have more money now!

Doc Ock is actually doing a reasonable job of keeping Peter’s life alive. Perhaps not socially, but definitely economically. Once Peter Industries manages to hit it off, Peter will be in the clear for quite a while. The stakes are high though as his Aunt’s friend has put a large investment into this and Ock has thrown in all of the money that he currently possesses. For a man of his brilliance though, this should not be a problem. (Of course, we know that Peter starts to mess this up in the ASM issues that are soon to come) Ock is also developing a strong bond with one of his friends and the romance is surprisingly gradual so far. It’s certainly much better than the romance that you will have come to expect from this title. It’s going to put Peter in a really bad spot soon, but Ock’s doing well with this.

On the iffy side, Ock is still not the law abiding citizen that Spider Man was. He doesn’t mind threatening people in public and doing whatever’s necessary to keep himself safe. Things get dangerous for him a few times, but he typically manages to solve everything in the end. He did die at one point though, but comic heroes can never die for long so he’s still in the clear. It is fun to see a bold Spider Man though so Ock’s change of pace is a good breath of fresh air. He’s completely confident in his abilities and he has certainly made many upgrades. Nobody will ever pass Peter as the definitive Spider Man, but Ock is certainly giving this his all. Even if nobody trusts him anymore.

Carly has a subplot as she finally realizes that Ock is posing as Peter. That’s impressive since she figured it out before all of the telepaths and metahumans on the blog. Unfortunately for her, she wrote it all down in a journal and didn’t make any copies of the pages. Now, the Goblin Gang has the info and you can be sure that they will be putting it to good use. I believe that their plot really starts to heat up in the next volume so they are mostly planning in this volume. Green Goblin is really kicking Hobgoblin around so you can tell who’s in charge. This makes sense though as Green Goblin has always been the bigger threat in the past.

One subplot that is also starting to form is the one that just ended with the Spider Wars. Morlun wants to destroy them all and a telepath/precog is trying to warn the humans, but nobody will listen. That’s some early setup though because the arc didn’t happen until quite a while from this arc. Slott certainly likes to plan ahead, which is good. It’s one of the few areas where I can safely say that the series succeeds. That Spider arc did get a lot of hype and supposedly it was actually a lot of fun. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be reading the actual event anytime soon, but something leading up to that isn’t out of the question.

Spider Man 2099 gets a big role during the first few comics of course and it’s always nice to see a familiar face. He doesn’t understand why Ock doesn’t recognize him thanks to the fact that Ock’s done a great job of taking over Peter’s body so we get the hero fight that we’ve been waiting for! 2099 actually does manage to put up some resistance, but it’s hard to gauge who had the upper hand since the fight is interrupted very quickly. Suffice to say, I’m confident that Ock would have ultimately win. Peter Parker’s body is simply a huge advantage and it’s not something that 2099 can overcome. 2099 did seem like a reasonably good character though and it is cool to see him stick around. That’s likely a bad thing for the future, but the Age of Heroes can always use another good fighter.

I feel like I should at least mention the fact that nobody knows that Ock has taken over Peter’s body to be a little iffy. I don’t care how complete the body switch is, there are tons of meta humans who should have noticed this by now. I feel bad for Peter since his friends didn’t do a great job of being observant. Imagine being stuck in limbo because nobody could tell that you weren’t in control of your body anymore. Spider Man’s personality is totally different, but almost no one even suspects that a change has occurred.

The art style is certainly still a mixed bag. The way that the faces are drawn is a little odd. It just feels sloppier than some of the other comics. On the bright side, the fight scenes still look really good. The art’s just a little slippery as the characters will get stretched out, but that doesn’t necessarily hurt the fight scenes. It’s certainly no Avengers or Justice League, but I suppose that the art will still get it done for you. It’s actually fairly unique at this point as one glance is enough to tell you that this is Slott’s work. (Slott isn’t the actual artist as far as I know, but this art style seems to always be with Slott in the Spider Man series)

Overall, Ock keeps squeaking by danger, but sooner or later it is going to catch up to him. When Peter comes back, he is definitely going to be in for some surprises. This comic may have been written by Slott, but it was actually good. It’s certainly much better than the Amazing Spider Man trade that I read a while back. The Superior Spider Man run was definitely an interesting one and Ock certainly isn’t like your average lead. He’s like the Punisher as it is hard to call him a hero, but he’ll still deal with the villains in his own way. It may not be heroic, but at least the city can rest easy for now. This is a quick collection to get through and aside from the 2099 arc, there’s a quick comic at the end where another villain shows up. We get to see some of the upgrades that Ock’s made to the suit. I recommend checking this out and Spider Man fans will be intrigued at the thought of Spider Man’s old enemy being behind the mask.

Overall 7/10

Sonic Universe Volume 2 30 Years Later Review

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It’s time to head back to the good ole Sonic Universe series! I’ve sporadically read a few volumes already and I can safely say that more are on the way. By the end of this batch, I should have read almost all of the Sonic Universe comics! They have been fun although they can be a bit more of a mixed bag since Sonic isn’t always the main character and these comics like to have fun with the typical format. After all, these are universe stories so they don’t necessarily have to be about Sonic…right?

Well, it is 30 years from the current comics. Shadow took over the world and enslaved everyone, but then Sonic mysteriously appeared 25 years from the present and dethroned him. He now rules the kingdom alongside Sally and they have led Mobius to a new era of peace. Everything seems to be going well, but Shadow’s army of enforcers are not pleased. They aim to get Shadow back on the throne of Mobius and they will use any means necessary to achieve their overall objective. Does Sonic still have enough strength left in him to take these villains down!?

One plot point that is mentioned a lot, but never elaborated on is Sonic’s fate. It’s intentional of course since this is still a future story so the authors should leave themselves a little wiggle room for future stories. Although, with the Mega Man crossover that altered the timeline, that may not be a problem anymore. Either way, Sonic states that he had to write himself out of the timeline and then he chose to come back at this specific moment in time. He still aged the full 25 years, but he was apparently out of the time stream. I’m not sure how this affects past events, but it does make you wonder what threat was so big that Sonic had to leave time. For now, I’ll assume that it was some kind of time bomb that Eggman made or something of that sort.

It doesn’t have anything to do with the plot, but it’s something to think about. The concept of a future story has always been a fun one, but it can be tough to execute. That’s simply because it typically feels pointless to the reader. Whenever a comic tries to show us the future like Marvel, DC, or Archie, we know that the present will never reach that point. Anything that happens in the future comics would likely not happen once the comics eventually reach that point. 100 years from now, I’m sure that the comic world will look strangely similar to the current ones even though the in world time will still match our own. It’s simply how comics work, characters can’t age past a certain point or the readers would leave. We’d just get a reboot if things were getting too hairy.

So, the future comics shouldn’t try to feel to relevant, but they should still be exciting. Batman Beyond is a prime example of that. You can really treat it as more of a what if than anything else and it’s cool to see how everything turned out for the heroes and villains. I treat the Sonic comic in the same way, but it’s not quite as exciting. The comic puts a lot of emphasis on the new designs and status of Mobius. Potentially too much as there isn’t a lot of action or fun banter to make it quite as good as the typical Sonic comic.

Naturally, it still has its pros though. Sonic is still a good fighter and he really hasn’t changed in all of these years. He’s still the Hedgehog that we’ve always known and he’s always ready to fight for his friends. I’m not a fan of the redesigns for the characters of course, but they’re meant to look worse since everyone is old and robotic at this point. Julie Su is one of the main characters here and now she has some actual Chaos Control abilities. She manages to defeat Shadow off screen, which is certainly impressive. She does a good job of protecting the kingdom here.

Mobius doesn’t have many defenders anymore so they’re lucky to have her and Sonic around. The rest of the Freedom Fighters disbanded long ago, but they still live in the city. They just live as normal citizens now since there has been peace in the land for so long. It’s interesting to also see the villain’s side of things. Shadow’s minions are interesting although they should have known that they were in over their heads. Shadow is the guy whose development may surprise you because he’s always seemed so happy and chipper in the comics. What made him turn back into a total villain after all of these years?

He makes a brief speech about how he tried to lead by example and when that failed he turned to force. I guess he was just disappointed that villains were still popping up everywhere back when he was a hero. That’s sad and all, but certainly not a legitimate reason to turn into a villain. He actually decides to destroy the world at the end, which is certainly pretty far out. I have a tough time believing that Shadow would go this far off the deep end, but maybe Sonic’s disappearance had something to do with his losing hope.

The final boss of the comic is neat as Perfect Chaos has merged with Tikal into the ultimate fighting force. The odd part is that Tikal’s inclusion doesn’t really make Chaos any stronger. If Chaos is more powerful, the change isn’t very obvious on the outside. The new Freedom Fighters have to deal with him and in the end, Sonic’s not enough to win this time. Actually, that reminds me that Chaos does have one new skill involving his energy projection skills. That is a decent improvement I suppose.

Naturally, we also get to see a lot of the next generation here. Most of the characters had sons and daughters so they are the ones who will protect Mobius in the future. It’s interesting to see that some of the main characters of Sonic Underground have decided to join the fray. Manic and Sonia are Sonic and Sally’s kids so I guess that’s their origin in this world. Most of the other kids are around too of course, but those two had the biggest role. They were crucial in the final fight as they both have super speed and knew Chaos had a weakness thanks to the supporting characters.

I almost forgot one supporting character…Silver! It’s safe to say that his fans will not be pleased as he really doesn’t do so well here. For starters, he’s outsmarted by Sonic when it comes to time travel and then he refuses to even say what threat is approaching until it actually appears. He got one shotted by one of the evil minions and you have to wonder why he is here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that he was as his role is pretty humorous, but his fans will likely want to avert their eyes. Silver is hardly as experienced as he lets on and he still makes many rookie mistakes. I look forward to seeing how he handles himself in his own arc. (Sonic Universe Volume 7!)

The art is solid as can be expected of a Sonic comic. Everything is bright and vibrant so you can easily see what is going on. Typically, the panels are very large, which means that there are fewer of them per page, but we get some great art. I typically like big panels for these kinds of stories as they work very well for talking scenes, but many other series use smaller panels which works as well. Each style has its merits to be sure.

Overall, This was a decent volume of Sonic Universe. It likely will not come as a surprise that I did enjoy this one a little less than most of the other volumes. I think that the future could have been shown to have been more exciting. Most of the villains may be gone, but I would have liked some cool references to the past or something like that. The most interesting plot is certainly Sonic’s travels through time and I would have liked to have seen more of that. Nonetheless, this is a good Sonic comic that’s worth checking out and I would definitely recommend it. Everything else aside, you will be sure to have a good time as you read this adventure and Sonic has always been a great lead. He doesn’t disappoint here. You can also expect more Sonic Universe stories coming up soon!

Overall 6/10

Batman Beyond 2.0 Volume 2 Justice Lords Beyond Review

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It’s time for another volume of Batman Beyond 2.0 and this was certainly an exciting one. The cover is easily the best that we’ve seen in Batman Beyond and it’s one of the best covers that I’ve seen in a comic. This really makes you want to open it so that you can find out just what is happening. Well, the wondering is over and now you can really jump in and watch the epicness unfold! It certainly lives up to the cover.

For the plot, Batman Beyond is still wondering why the heroes are so unnerved by Wonder Woman’s sudden appearance when she defeated Brainiac. Superman explains about how the Justice League met the Justice Lords a long time ago and they believe that she might be the Justice Lord version or worse…she may have been corrupted. Batman Beyond is tasked with going to the Justice Lord’s dimension and finding out what happened over there. This is no small task, but Batman Beyond has to make sure that there isn’t an invasion being prepared by the villains. So, he heads out on what could be his toughest mission yet!

This volume definitely has a lot of action and it’s cool the Justice Lords plot return. I had always wished that we could have gotten a sequel episode in Justice League so a comic version is naturally the next best thing. As this is the future, the roster has certainly changed, but we find out what happened to the old timers. Superman’s still around and that’s certainly the important thing. His personality is a little intriguing and I’ll touch on that in a moment.

Before I go into that, it’s certainly refreshing to have some good art here. Batman Beyond typically does though so I wasn’t surprised. Superman looks a tad skinny, but it works for the fight scenes since Superman is more streamlined this way. The style certainly works for the series and all of the characters look accurate to their TV show counterparts. The only time where the art dipped was in the final few pages. It seems like the final mini comic suddenly got a new artist, which didn’t go over so well compared to the rest of the collection. It was sudden and more than a little odd.

One part of the comic that was a little dicey was how corrupt Lord Superman became. The main Superman emphasized that the Lords were the Justice League, but then they got corrupted. Still, they aren’t just evil duplicates from a parallel world, they’re merely a what if. Lord Superman definitely doesn’t look like that though as he jumps past the line into full blown villain territory. It certainly wasn’t very subtle and I suppose that the message is about how you will just get worse and worse as you break the rules. It is true that once you do one bad thing, it is easier to do another. I understand the logic.

That being said, I just don’t see Superman going this crazy. You’d think that you were watching Injustice For All or something. This is a Superman who already had quite a few years of experience under his belt and he was a seasoned veteran. Certainly not just your run of the mill fighter. To see him fall so low is just sad. The rest of the Justice League also looks pretty bad. They’re all savage and/or crazy. They grew up in a pretty messed up planet, but I like to think that some of them would have made the choice to still be heroes. After all, it’s just the right thing to do right? Hopefully, they will learn to be better heroes now. Although, their farewell to Wonder Woman suggests that this may not be the case.

We find out that Lord Batman and the normal Wonder Woman did try their best to keep the peace on Earth though so they get kudos for that. Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl (I think) are the ones who deserve some blame. Apparently, they just couldn’t take the war and decided to get off planet. It’s good that they didn’t want to be villains anymore, but running away from the problem is never the answer and it just makes them look bad. They should have helped to restore law and order on the planet instead of running off. I thought that they were made of sterner stuff!

In the present, Bruce Wayne still looks good. He figures out Wonder Woman’s scheme (Even if she didn’t know about it) right away and he gets a good hit on Superman. Unfortunately, he is still very old so he doesn’t get to help out with the fighting that much. It’s all right, he had his day. Batman Beyond does a good job of making the most of his opportunities. His new Kryptonite suit is definitely good and he’s even able to fight Superman with it. He’s naturally on the losing side, but it is good to see him try. He is still a really good main character and hopefully he’ll stay that way for the duration of the series. I still think that he’s wrong in blaming Bruce Wayne for the guy’s many secrets, but at least Terry isn’t being petty about it.

The comic came close to making me take a step back when Superman stabbed Lord Superman with a chunk of kryptonite, but Superman still made the hero call so I was fine with it. He did a good job of stopping Lord Superman even if they didn’t get to personally fight. Settling for Superman defeating Shazam and the underlings is a good consolation prize. Superman may be old, but I would still pick him over any of the other heroes. It was certainly very dicey to see the Justice League get thrashed so badly by the Justice Lords, but I’ll just assume that they were surprised. It should be a fairly even battle although one side would ultimately claim victory. The comic didn’t exactly have time for prolonged battles, which is a decent reason for rushing it. There will just be some power level inaccuracies, but nothing major.

A movie could easily be made out of the explanation near the beginning of the collection as Wonder Woman discusses what happened in the past. The Justice League did get to have a rematch with the Justice Lords, which would have been awesome to have seen on TV. Another movie could even be made about Lord Batman and Wonder Woman’s battle against Lord Superman and Lord Wonder Woman. There’s a whole lot of potential in the backstory, which would be a lot of fun to check out. The comic did a great job with the story telling and it actually managed to make the flashbacks just as interesting as the current story.

I think that I’ve essentially discussed all of the major points that I wanted to touch on. As this is part of the rich DCAU continuity, there are so many interesting things to note in the comic. These characters really were quite good and it’s always nice to see them revisited. If only more comics could take place in this timeline along with extra shows and films. If any part of DC deserves this treatment, it’s certainly this continuity.

Overall, Justice Lords Beyond is a great collection to read. Whether you’re a longtime DCAU fan or someone who is just getting into the Justice League, this is a great story of parallel universes. There is a lot of action to be found here and Batman Beyond even gets a new suit, which is stronger than his old one. The pacing never slows so there’s always some kind of excitement going on. I don’t think that Batman Beyond is going to be able to top this collection, but there’s always a chance. If we get a time travel adventure going….there is always a chance! My library definitely seems to have more Marvel comics than DC, or at least from the ones that are checked out so reading a great comic like this one is always enjoyable. I look forward to seeing what DC adventure is next!

Overall 8/10

Batman Li’l Gotham Volume 2 Review

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Well, Batman’s back! I definitely didn’t care for the last volume all that much and I can’t say that things have improved here. It simply isn’t my style and the art certainly hurts its chances of ever joining the other DC elites. The series is over with this volume and its quick ending will likely tell you all that you need to know about this review. Still, at least I can add this series to my very short list of full comic series that I have read in their entirety. That list shall grow with the one shot Convergence titles as long as they all get separate trades!

There’s no plot of course as the volume is filled with various short stories. Each one sees a character try to do something only to find that they’re outclassed by Batman or that it is in their best interest to give up. One story that I remember vividly is about a carpenter who keeps getting calls from villains and it’s really bringing down morale. She finally gets Batman to give her a job by guilt tripping him. This story is certainly memorable because I had been reading it for three days before I was finally able to finish it. It is a short story, but it went on for quite a while. I think the problem with that one was that the gag gets old extremely quickly.

See, the joke is that she’s getting calls from villains and being very matter of fact about it. The problem is that you figure out this gag by the second call and then it continues and continues. There’s no real punchline moment at the end either so you’re really left hanging. That’s why my favorite stories are the ones where there is a lot of action and/or excitement. Like the team deciding that Alfred is evil and they have to stop him now! That’s the kind of story that I can certainly get behind and it was easily the best one of the batch. The ending is a little predictable, but there’s really nothing else that the writer could have done with the comic so we may as well end this way right?

Unfortunately, the art has not improved from the first volume. It’s still downright terrible at times and it’s the main area that holds the comic back. You can only get so far without good art after all. You can have the best writing in the world and an onslaught of cool characters, but if the art isn’t up to snuff…it’s game, set, and match! This style is simply too chaotic and undefined at times. I still believe that just about any teen who is into art could likely top this style or at least emulate it. I want streamlined epicness like X Sanction or Justice League. Upgrade this art into something like that and then we’ll talk!

As with the last volume, the other aspects of this comic are still good. The writing is on the level and we have a good cast of characters. It’s always fun to see the various Robins join in on the action. Jarvis is a likable supporting character as expected and Batman’s always a fun lead. The series certainly had some potential. Not a whole lot of course given its style, but with decent art I could see this matching up to the Tiny Titans. I wonder if this will ever get a sequel series. I really don’t see that happening, but you never know sometimes right? There’s always more time for Batman comedies.

I wonder how the series would have been if it had included more guest stars. I’m inclined to think that it would have at least helped the series out a little bit. Throwing in Superman and the rest of the Justice League for more than a few panels would have been fun. It may have distracted from the rest of the Bat Family, but it would also open the doors for a whole new array of jokes. That’s a lot of potential right there and Batman just didn’t tap into that power. This graphic novel was fairly short and without much of a plot to go on or characters to talk about, this review is fairly short as well. No worries, the next comic review is back to the norm of in depth comic reviewing! Get ready for Superman to return!

Overall, Batman Li’l Gotham is still not my cup of tea. If you’re looking for some light hearted Batman stories and don’t mind some pretty difficult art, then you should be okay. That being said, I really wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking for a great Batman story. I actually haven’t read many good Batman comics, which is a little sad. I recommend Batman Chronicles or some Batman Archives, they collect stories from his golden years in the 40’s-60’s. If those are a little too old for you, then check out a volume in the Grant Morrison run of JLA. Batman definitely got his props there and Morrison gave him the correct balance of crazy and insanely brilliant.

Overall 5/10

Dragon Ball Z Rebirth of F Review

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To celebrate the upcoming DBZ movie, they made a three chapter mini series that covers the first 20-30 minutes of the film. It naturally ends right when the big battles are about to get started so that you can actually see the film. I look forward to seeing is when it is dubbed in the summer, but until then this teaser is pretty fun to check out. The action scenes are good and it gives you an idea of what the film is going to be like. So, it’s brief, but fun.

Frieza has returned and he is preparing to demolish the Earth. First, he wants revenge on Goku for what happened on Namek so he has dispatched an army to attack it. He is now biding his time for Goku to show up. Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta are training with Whis so that they can reach new levels of power. It’s slow goings though and they simply don’t have enough time to learn as Frieza appears on Earth. The series ends with Frieza about to unveil his new form and the heroes must now be prepared for the fight of their lives!

The art here is very good as can be expected of something in the Dragon Ball franchise. The designs are simple, but effective and likewise with the rest of the art. The pages never feel cluttered and it is always clear as to what’s happening on the page. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve always liked the art so much in Bleach and it works just as well in Dragon Ball. The fight scenes really look great as well, which is a nice combo.

The series is very short so there’s not a whole lot more to say about it. That being said, there are some elements here that should have you a little worried. For one thing, I feel like Goku and Vegeta are being really downplayed lately. We can’t ignore how sad it is that Frieza just trained for a little while and was able to surpass Vegeta and Goku’s normal forms. There’s no way that he should even be close to their level of power no matter how much he trained. Has everyone forgotten that Saiyans are the best at training and getting power ups? Surpassing them is no easy feat and I think that this new movie is really downplaying that feat.

It gets worse when you consider that Bills and Whis are drastically stronger than Goku and Vegeta now. I seriously cannot buy that for an instant. It’s wrong and simply not right. I don’t mind Bills being decently strong, but not after he gave Frieza so much hype last time. Even then, Goku should have utterly stomped him in the actual fight. Since he wasn’t able to do that, the ending was very disappointing. While Goku will likely wreck Frieza more than Bills, it’s still sad that Bills and Whis are shown to be so much stronger than Goku and Vegeta.

The Saiyans actually get nervous around those two villains, which is really embarrassing. Also, this does not just affect those two as Gohan gets hit rather hard by the nerfs as well. He can barely enter Super Saiyan mode anymore and he is shown to be incredibly weak. Even if he never trained, he would never have lost so much power. He’s still Gohan and his abilities were incredible back in the day. Seeing him take on less minions than Krillin and Roshi is a little embarrassing. I’m sure that he’ll look more impressive in the film, but he seems like “just another saiyan” rather than being acknowledged as one of the heavy hitters.

Jaco joins the cast to fight Frieza and it’s cool to have a guest star on board. I’m a little skeptical as to how he can keep up with these guys at all though. Seriously, his power level is just sad and his jet pack can only go so far. Even if his gun can disintegrate the villains, he shouldn’t have a chance of keeping up with them. Dragon Ball’s never been the best in terms of power levels, but we’re really starting to push the envelope here.

Of course, the power levels debate may be a little sad for this part of the franchise, but it’s still a really fun read for the action and excitement. You just don’t want to focus on the logic of it all or you may start to fall into the “Superman is stronger than Goku” trap and we wouldn’t want that! On the bright side, we are finally seeing the Z fighters become Sun busters and they’re even getting cool abilities. Whis can move through time, which is really good since time travel is about as overpowered as you can get. If Goku can learn this trick, that will certainly be fun. It won’t help him feel any stronger to me, but it would still be a fun ability to have.

Overall, This manga will only take you about 10-20 minutes to read so you’ll be done with it really quickly. Naturally, it never drags on and you’ll actually be wishing that it was a little longer. I’m eagerly awaiting the film now. There are certainly a few plot holes involving Frieza’s new strength, but Dragon Ball has never been a series full of logic so we don’t have to take that too seriously. Either way, we’re still getting a new Dragon Ball Z adventure. No matter how the logic goes, the sheer fact that DBZ is still going is always a great thought. I still highly recommend checking this manga out and you will not regret it. Goku better win with ease in the end!

Overall 8/10

Marvel Masterworks Doctor Strange Volume 6 Review

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I don’t think that I have read a Doctor Strange comic before now so it was great to get this collection from the library. He’s a character who used to be among the strongest in Marvel history as he has gone toe to toe with foes like the Living Tribunal in the past. This collection certainly sees him go up against some cosmic threats, but we also get to see him get used to being a weaker fighter. This comic is sound in all areas and makes for a fun read.

There are quite a few adventures to be found here. One of the mini arcs involves a test that Eternity decides to give Doctor Strange. Strange must defeat himself as he meta physically fights against all of his personalities to show that his strength of will has not deteriorated. If he fails, Eternity shall end the planet! Later on, Strange decides to take a field trip to the past to meet with Ben Franklin and other retro figures. Unfortunately, someone has been following him around and Strange must learn not to believe his eyes, but to feel the truth. Finally, Strange is stripped of his Socerer Supreme title and goes back to just being a good magician. This comes at a bad time as Xander has come to attack Strange on behalf of his masters. Clea has also been tainted with evil and she is on a rampage in the city. Life never gets dull for Doctor Strange!

Doctor Strange is a very fun main character. He was certainly someone that you could root for here and he was also interesting. Strange was certainly a deep character who had been through many experiences and didn’t feel like your average hero. As with many heroes, this was likely the best portrayal of him as it would be very hard to top. His abilities are so numerous that even he has trouble remembering exactly what he can do at times, which makes sense. Magic is essentially unlimited so once you know it, you can really do just about anything. It’s easy to picture Doctor Strange actually tangling with cosmic beings. He met the creator in an older comic and here he gets to meet Satan and Eternity. He really hangs out with the best of the best and it would be fun to see Dr Strange at his height go up against Thanos with the Gauntlet. There’s actually a good chance that Strange could do more than simply put up a fight.

Eternity is certainly a fun character to watch since he’s one of Marvel’s heavy hitters. He is literally the universe so he is everywhere and always knows what’s going on. How can he be defeated? Well, you’d be surprised at just how many other heavy hitters Marvel has stashed away! Eternity is bested in both of the fights that he engages in here. One of them was a little surprising while I suppose that I can buy the other one. Still, in a battle of hype, one character must always lose right? I definitely consider Eternity to be below the Beyonder and Living Tribunal in power after this, but he’s probably still ahead of Death even though they are essentially half and half. At the very least, you’ve got to love Eternity’s personality. He reminds Doctor Strange that he is not above anger and he certainly proves it. You simply don’t want to mess with him!

Those were the two characters who really stuck out for me. Clea is a supporting character who gets a bigger role in the second half of the collection, but it’s still relatively small when you really think about it. I think the writers sometimes forget that she is still a sorceress though. Sometimes, she’ll simply go down without a fight. It’s a little odd and even the foreward by the writer for the first half mentioned that she probably should have left already. Things just didn’t work out very well for her, but at least the ending shows that things are starting to look better. Dr Strange’s assustant’s role is even smaller than Clea’s though so things certainly could have been worse.

As for the villains, most of them are simply sorcerers or tricks by Eternity or Strange’s mentor. Nightmare appears and he gets a pretty incredible feat, but Dr Strange disposes of him rather quickly. This shows how strong Strange was at one point. We’ve also got Xander, but he looks surprisingly weak. I’m assuming that the writer wasn’t sure exactly what to do with him and just threw the villain in for the lulz. We also have the the two queens who fought in the annual, but there’s not much to say about them. The dynamic was similar to the two Queens in Friendship is Magic, but with less development of course.

The art is a little inconsistent. It’s not a problem of the artist I believe as they switch during the comics. For most of the graphic novel, the art is very good and it does a good job of capturing the cosmic scope of Strange’s adventures. Towards the end with the annual and the final issues, the art just takes a big dip. The faces tend to vary a lot and Strange appears to have a head of gray hair on more than one occasion. I probably wouldn’t think that the art was so bad if it had been like that the whole time, but there’s no comparison when you look at the first half and then the second. Still, the first half definitely keeps it in the clear and the art certainly won’t take you out of the adventure.

The writing is engaging and you’re constantly reminded of how they simply don’t make comics like this one anymore. The adventures were great fun and Dr Strange made for a good lead. His strange adventures into other realms and planets are what made his comics so unique back in the day. The current Doctor Strange is hard to pinpoint as I haven’t read many comics with him, but he’s certainly less impressive nowadays and he doesn’t feel quite as determined as this Doctor Strange. It’s something about retro comics that allows each character to dip deep and really give the battle their all. That kind of determination doesn’t show up quite as often anymore.

Overall, I definitely recommend checking this collection out! It’s a blast and a half. Moreover, it’s a good way to get you prepped for the Doctor Strange film that will be coming out at some point in the future. You may not want to expect the film’s version to be quite as awesome as the lead in this collection, but it’s very likely going to be a good film so it should not disappoint. Watching Eternity actually get into a physical brawl is very exciting and the stakes are much higher here than you would expect from the average comic. This version of Dr Strange could likely defeat the Avengers and the other teams of the day as long as he had enough time to think of his spells. He could really do anything back in the day. Hopefully I’ll get to read another one of these collections for Doctor Strange someday. That being said, there’s another graphic novel that I’ll be reading soon, which has Strange in it so that’s the next best thing.

Overall 7/10

Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Play Time 3h 44m
23/51 Trophies
A Rank License
40% Game Complete
109 World Tour Stars
19/23 Characters Unlocked
1/10 Grand Prix Wins
2/160 Staff Ghosts Beaten
31/100 Stickers Collected
18/138 Mods Earned

Stage Stats

Sunshine Coast 16/32
-Race 2/4
Race 2/4
Drift Challenge 2/4
Race 2/4
Race 2/4
Versus 2/4
Boost Challenge 2/4
Race 2/4

Frozen Valley 22/40
-Race 2/4
-Traffic Scurry 2/4
-Race 2/4
Ring Race 2/4
Boost Challenge 2/4
Race 2/4
Versus 2/4
Race 2/4
Battle Race 4/4
Race 2/4

Scorching Skies 19/40
Race 2/4
Traffic Attack 2/4
Race 2/4
Pursuit 2/4
Sprint Challenge 2/4
Race 2/4
Drift Challenge 2/4
Sprint 1/4
Pursuit 2/4

Twilight Engine 20/40
Race 2/4
Boost Race 2/4
Pursuit 2/4
Versus 2/4
Battle Race 2/4
Boost Challenge 2/4
Versus 2/4
Ring Race 2/4
Sprint 2/4
Race 2/4

Moonlight Park 20/40
Versus 2/4
Traffic Attack 2/4
Drift Challenge 2/4
Boost Challenge 2/4
Ring Race 2/4
Boost Race 2/4
Race 2/4
Drift Challenge 2/4
Boost Challenge 2/4

Superstar Showdown 12/40
Boost Race 2/4
Versus 2/4
Traffic Attack 2/4
Race 2/4
Battle Race 2/4
Ring Race 2/4

Grand Prix Stats

Dragon Cup 13m 52s
Rogue Cup –
Locked –
Locked –
Locked –
Mirror Dragon Cup –
Mirror Rogue Cup –
Mirror Locked –
Mirror Locked –
Mirror Locked –

Character Stats

Sonic lv max
Everyone else lv 1

Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed Review

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sonic_allstars_racing_ps3
All right, it’s time to look at the sequel to the other Sonic racing game! I got the other one not too long ago so you’re probably wondering why I got this one so fast right? I got the first one for Christmas and I bought the sequel at the beginning of March so that’s only about a 2 month gap between the two games. What can I say…the first game was just that good! I knew that I needed the sequel and I have seen some declare that it is one of the greatest racing games of all time…maybe even ever! (By default as some have said that it possibly defeats Mario Kart 8. That was before the DLC though so maybe things have changed)

This game has more of a “story” mode than the other title as the main menu is called World Tour. There is no plot or story, but you do have to complete levels to unlock the next ones and you go from world to world. So, it’s a story mode without the actual story. I always liked this kind of set up because it really feels like you got to complete the game after you wrap it up. No worries though, we’ve still got Grand Prix Mode as well. There are quite a lot of levels in World Tour mode so you’ll likely be here for quite a while. Depending on what difficulty level you beat the game on, you can earn 1-4 stars per level.

That’s where the artificial replay value comes in. To unlock some of the final, extra levels in the last world, you must get a whole lot of stars. This means going back and doing a lot of the older missions on tougher and tougher difficulty levels. I thought that this was certainly a bit much, but for many fans that won’t be a problem. The gameplay is pretty fun after all so going back and playing the events again isn’t bad. Replaying the tournament missions is another story, but you don’t need to have literally every star to beat the final levels as far as I know.

World Tour is also where you unlock a majority of the characters and mods. The more stars that you get, the more gates that you can open for unlockable secrets. It’s a nifty system and it always feels particularly thrilling to unlock a new character or custom mod. As I mentioned earlier, we also still have Grand Prix mode, where you can play all the stages as they were meant to be played. Time Attack Mode is a given and naturally, we’ve got the multiplayer option as well.

There’s certainly a lot to do in this game so even without going back and doing old levels, you’ve got more than enough content here to warrant the 60 dollar purchase. Of course, you can likely get this game for a third of that at this point. The PS3 trophies to collect is also another piece of the puzzle to consider. I don’t plan on getting the Platinum here thanks to those tricky online trophies, but I got a decent amount of trophies before I put the game back on the shelf. Perhaps I’ll go back and get some more at some point, but for now I’m definitely satisfied. Each character gains exp when you race as them and you can work to max everyone out. I got Sonic to the final level as I used him for almost all of the World Tour events, but I didn’t get around to the other characters. It’s a nice incentive to make you want to play as every character. There’s even more things to do here that I haven’t touched upon so content is not a concern.

As for the actual gameplay, it’s definitely more arcade styled. The game definitely lives up to the billing there and that will decide whether you prefer it to the previous game or not. I actually liked the style in the other game more, but they’re fairly similar and this one’s still a blast. This game does introduce two new features, which are the boat and plane gimmicks. You can transform during the race at designated spots, which results in a fun change of pace for the gameplay and you get to really zoom through the courses. Perhaps a little ironic, but I prefer the traditional car gameplay to both the plane and the boat, but they are still fun methods of travelling around. You can grab items as you go through the course and naturally, the goal is to get to the finish line first. That doesn’t sound too hard right?

The A.I. is actually much better in this game than the previous one. I think it’s at a pretty good level. It’s tough enough that the levels are not a walk in the park, but it’s not too difficult that you will find it to be a little cheap. The controversial decision to make the computers input readers in Smash Bros was dicey as it is, but the computers here seem relatively fair. Just be prepared to bring your A game to the table for each round and you should be okay.

Graphically, this game certainly looks stunning. You can instantly tell that this is a PS3 level title as all of the details look flawless. Sega spared no expense for this title and you can tell that it came out back when Sonic was still a prominent figure in their plans. All of the levels are crisp with a great amount of detail and the oceans look especially good. You will certainly miss the graphics once you turn your TV off.

Audio wise, the game fares just as well. The stage themes are nice and cheerful, while also being fast enough to keep up with the gameplay. Sonic’s themes are typically the best by far, but we also get some more opera styled themes for the final levels. As this is a cross over, you can expect music from other games as well. While I know all about Monkey Ball’s themes, the rest of the series are all new to me so hearing their music is always fun. The city levels tend to have some really fun themes to listen too.

After a lot of thought, I do think that the first Sonic All Stars Racing game beats this one. At least, in terms of gameplay. That being said, it certainly loses in just about every other area and it can probably be tough to go from Racing Transformed to just Racing. The first game simply doesn’t look quite as good and there are less guest star racers in that game. Pure gameplay is typically what counts the most so the older one still takes the lead, but Transformed is certainly on the same level and deserves the hype that it has gotten. Now, if only they could throw Mario in the game so that we can call it a crossover!

Overall, Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed is a great follow up to the first game. The racing is as fun as ever and the graphics are intense. Aside from racing, some of the events will have you fight other racers or even dodge traffic. Dodging traffic is always a lot of fun for me and it’s easily one of my favorite events in the game. If you plan on doing everything that there is to accomplish here, you should be prepared to spend a lot of time playing this game. It’s certainly worth the money and I can only hope that Sega decides to make a third game to finish up the trilogy at some point. Sonic has definitely proved that he can hold his own racing title and Mario Kart has a legitimate rival now. I definitely recommend buying this game when you get the chance!

Overall 8/10

Excitebots Trick Racing Stats and Records

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Stats time!

8 Stars
Lifetime Stars 5008
7/12 Cars Unlocked

Tricks

Air 54
Red Bar 25
Tree Run 15
Drift 19
Bot Throw 3
Air Spin 0
Sandwich 0
Bar Release 24
Backflip 4
Ring 5
Bot Smash 6
Leg Smash 1

Best Stunts

Air 2157.50
Drift 1132.76
Tree Run 14
Air 360
Jump Combo 5

Stage Stats: Time, Rank, Stars

School Cup

Mexico 2m 22s B 95
Fiji 2m 51s A 215
Canada 2m 22s A 130
Finland 3m 15s S 192

Bronze Cup

Ehypt 2m 32s A 181
Scotland 2m 7s B 129
Mexico 2m 15s S 197
China 2m 16s A 167
Kilimanjaro 4m 23s A 240

Silver Cup

Mexico 2m 12s S 176
China 2m 21s B 144
Kilimanjaro 2m 35s S 197
Finland 2m 19s S 187
Egypt 3m 36s B 212

Gold Cup

Tasmania 3m 25s B 222
Fiji 3m 13s S 216
Scotland 3m 19s S 212
Mexico 3m 22s A 277
Guatemala 3m 2s S 244

Platinum Cup

China 3m 15s B 223
Fiji 3m 19s B 239
Canada 3m 32s S 269
Guatemala 3m 55s B 222
Tasmania 3m 5s B 232