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Godzilla: Skate or Die Review

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They say that the artwork in a comic is the most important aspect…and they were right. Good writing is something you want to have too of course but when reading a comic you need the art to look solid. Unfortunately this is one of the worst displays of artwork that I have seen to the point where it is incredibly distracting. Nothing looks right and since the story didn’t have the greatest plot in the first place, the whole comic ended up being cooked. It’s not bad but it’s definitely not all that great either.

The comic starts with some skaters talking and having a good time getting ready to head to their favorite spot. They are not exactly grade A students but they are a close knit bunch who are all ready for some fun. Unfortunately it turns out that Kaiju are real as Varan and Godzilla both appear. They are heading towards at each other for a climactic battle. That’s not the worst part though, they will be colliding at the big skating area that the main characters set up. They will have to dash over there now to get one last skate session in and find a way to stop the Kaiju from tearing it apart. Will they be able to get past the government barricades and put a stop to this?

Now you may be thinking that the cops will make short work of the skaters but they’re actually kept on the back foot the whole time. They do their best like having the cop cars running around but the skaters keep on outmaneuvering them. We get some extra drama as the police guy in charge is the father of one of the kids. The comic doesn’t care a ton about this connection though which is fine with me since I am hear for the Kaiju. The problem is that none of the humans get a ton of development. They start out the adventure as your average skater dudes and don’t change much from there. They’re not over the top annoying or anything but they’re also not particularly good either.

Of course it’s always easier to point out the negatives there than to fix them. I’m not exactly sure what I would do to fix them for example. Maybe playing up their different characteristics a bit more. Like one of them was really into Kaiju so they could have had him show off his knowledge more or worked on the father-son tensions with the other one. At the same time it’s still all about the execution. So that leads me to my main solution, the comic should have leaned into the cheesy nature of the concept a bit more. Have Godzilla actually fight with the skaters. He tries to blast them while they keep jumping away and dodging every move. That would have made for a much better dynamic and then you would have a reason for them to get so much focus.

With their speed and all, readers could maybe buy into it a little bit and it’s not like Godzilla would be going all out using his nuclear wave to stop them or something. So me personally? That’s how I would have solved the issue and I dare say that it would have really worked. It’s just my two cents though and again with the art the way it is, it’s not like the score would be much higher.

I think Varan fans will be satisfied with his portrayal though. He actually has the edge against Godzilla for a good portion of their fight. You can even make the case that he would have ultimately defeated the King of the Monsters if not for the humans giving some help near the end. I like to think Godzilla would have gotten his second wind though. We don’t actually get to see most of the fight since it keeps cutting back to the skaters so for all we know, Godzilla had the edge for most of the battle.

The art still wasn’t good for the battles but at least it was something to catch your attention. I would say the main issue here is that the art was just too abstract. For the most part it was just severely lacking in detail and that’s never a good thing. A comic should be easy to read with everything being organized neatly. That was not the case here. It actually takes longer than it should in order to read through the comic because of how cluttered each page is. The artist really tried sticking everything possible onto the page and it just did not work.

If we ever got a sequel to this comic, they just need to switch the art style asap. There was enough foreshadowing where you definitely could do a sequel after all. Even a prequel I dare say since it was said that Godzilla has appeared several times in the past. It’s hard to say what kind of timeline we’re working with here but it’s definitely something where you could throw in a whole lot of fights. It’ll just all be futile if you can’t really enjoy the fights because you are deciphering the art. Also, the comic neglected to put Orga in the giant Kaiju splash page which was definitely a big mistake. That guy is iconic.

Overall, Skate or Die is definitely more about the skaters than Godzilla. Not necessarily a bad thing but you just don’t care about those guys. They’re all nice enough and all but don’t end up being all that memorable. I would say most of the issues are all amplified by the art though because if the art was really good then the characters would stand out more. Ultimately this whole comic is just a reminder of how important the artwork can be. If you really love Godzilla comics then you should probably check this one out as a completionist kind of thing but otherwise there isn’t much reason to check this one out. It’ll probably go down as one of the weakest Godzilla titles.

Overall 5/10

Sonic The Hedgehog: Bad Guys Review

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It was finally time for the bad guys to get a quick spinoff adventure of their own. Right now there aren’t a lot of big time villains on the loose so these are mainly the B tiers but in a way that works out so that the group isn’t too overpowered. It’s a fun enough adventure. I always like seeing the villains trying to work together even if I did end up missing Sonic and pals. You already know when Sonic shows up all of these villains are doomed. That’s how powerful Sonic is and why he is so feared.

The comic starts with Dr. Starline trying to figure out how to take over the world and get back into Eggman’s good graces. They had a big falling out which Starline mainly attributes to being Eggman’s fault but because of that he can’t just walk up to the doctor. No, he needs more power and so that’s when he decides on a prison break. He’ll get all of the villains out so they can help him bust into Eggman’s base and steal some key parts. With those, Starline will have everything he needs to achieve his goals…but can he trust the other villains?

Tensions are high the whole time since nobody trusts each other. Zavok in particular has good reason not to trust anybody since he was just double crossed about a week ago. To get around this, Starline says he will work for Zavok. Both of them suspect a betrayal is coming up but set up a partnership in the meantime. You have to decide which villain has the upper hand here or if they both end up looking a little too naive here. There is a whole lot of back and forth as every villain takes some risks but of course it does make sense why they all want to get out of jail.

Mimic is probably the coolest villain of the bunch. He still comes off as a really intense assassin who is always out for blood. By this point he is obsessed with taking down Whisper and as it stands he is probably still a bit stronger than her. She’ll need to watch her back, having the ability to shapeshift is always an extremely difficult power to overcome. No matter where you go, he could be around somewhere.

Then you have Rough and Tumble. I’ve always had a soft spot for these guys. They are fairly weak in the grand scheme of things but their catchphrase is a lot of fun. They really know how to get the rhymes in without any delay. They also may not be as strong as someone like Knuckles but they still do have some strength. I also like the teamwork and solid bond between them. Note, I wouldn’t want them to turn good or anything but I look forward to their next battle.

Of course Zavok is a big player here and I want to say that the comic is doing its best to make him a really hype figure. Does it work? Ehhhhh I’d say not so much. Ultimately he looks tough but as always falters down the stretch. There’s really no reason for him to be outsmarted yet again since he had a heads up here. It shows that he really needs to get better at planning. He also gets incredibly lucky with his escape at the end because Eggman really had him dead to rights. Only plot armor was able to help him.

As for Starline, you could argue that he is the only one to really get a win here. Perhaps not in the way that he hoped and it took some last minute improvising but things turned out well enough. I just still don’t find him to be a very interesting villain yet. Eggman’s really the only brainiac that we need. Starline can change this but for now he is relatively uninspiring. In a sense you can say the continuity is still young though so he can have plenty of time to prove me wrong. It would be good for him to rise up the ranks. Maybe some of his tech can help him get a decisive win over Sonic. That would be a good start.

Eggman is around a bit and I’d say he looks good. He does see through some of the obvious traps and shows why he is still a genius. He may lose to Sonic a lot but is still a tough customer. It would have been fun to have had a quick Sonic appearance but we got something close to a cameo so I suppose I’ll have to settle for that. I’d like to try another villain team up like this a few years down the line when they can include big fighters like Infinite, Mephiles, Black Doom, etc. You probably can’t do them all at once or the heroes would really be doomed but there is a ton of potential there.

As always the art is very good here. It’s very colorful and all of the characters stand out. The fight scenes are good and the pages are all easy to follow. The action sequences are solid as well so I really have no complaints at all here. Sonic never disappoints. Meanwhile the writing is solid as you would expect and the whole adventure is very engaging. It may not be really high stakes but it’s nice to get a window into what goes on while Sonic and friends are having a little break. There is always a little chaos somewhere.

Overall, Bad Guys was a fun comic to read through. It’s a self contained story that you can read cover to cover without having to rely on any other titles. It still sets up clear plotlines for the future as well with all of these villains getting another opportunity to show up. I’d say it’s probably good to space them out and give time for more villains to be introduced but all of these guys are definitely ready to really cause a stir. If you haven’t read this comic yet, you should definitely change that! This may feel like a light hearted spinoff adventure but it does end with some pathways back to the main series so you won’t want to miss out on that. Mimic, Zavok, and Starline definitely have some big plans up their sleeves.

Overall 7/10

Godzilla: History’s Greatest Monster Review

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How many of you all remember Godzilla, King of the Monsters? That guy was an absolute beast and so having a comic about how he is history’s greatest monster is a pretty good idea. It’s a pretty fun comic to be sure. At first it starts off a little slow for me and I never cared too much for the humans but that climax is absolutely intense. Space Godzilla really gets his props here and it has some of the best Kaiju fights that I’ve seen. This absolutely needs to be adapted into a movie at some point.

The series introduces us to Boxer, a guy who has a ton of combat experience and now works as a bodyguard. Unfortunately he is unable to save her when Godzilla shows up and trashes the place. This is the second time that he has lost everything and so he finally cracks. He is desperate enough to call up his ex, his estranged son, and a combat buddy of his. Boxer announced the unthinkable, this rag tag group of people are going to take down all of the Kaiju of the world. Godzilla, Anguirus, Titanosaurus, etc. They’re all going down and Boxer will be charging 10 million a piece. The question isn’t if he can take down all of the Kaiju, it’s just a matter of how long will it take him to do it?

Now you might be thinking that this is absurd. Kaiju can’t lose to random humans right? Well yeah you’d be right so lets just try and suspend our disbelief for a bit. The humans have invented something called a headache ray which works on almost all of the Kaiju except for Godzilla. So what they do is they hit the Kaiju with this and then drop a building on him. That works pretty well and then a government will show up later on to take care of the body. Sure it’s unlikely that this would work in practice but the humans get a whole lot of hype here.

To the comic’s credit, it’s not like this is portrayed as a super easy task either. Often times Boxer and his crew only win out of complete luck and are usually completely out of their depths. I still have my reservations about the whole thing and think they would be dead immediately but it’s all to buy time for the real plot. Some Kaiju are attacking from outer space which leads us to the big Kaiju war in the climax. It’s definitely a super high tier climax and the kind of thing you’d love to see in the movies.

Having Monster X show up for example is epic because that’s the best incarnation of King Ghidorah. Naturally Space Godzilla is another really big one because of how mysterious he is. How is it that this guy even exists right? Depending on the continuity there can be a lot of Godzillas so they even existed before the bomb but having one from space that can fly brings up a whole lot of questions. The 3 way battle with the two Godzillas and King Ghidorah is really excellent.

By this point the humans aren’t doing much but we do get to see Mecha Godzilla get some action in during the B fights to swing things a little bit. I thought the rich American guy looked really good there to be honest. Boxer may have been mocking the guy but I would argue his plan makes more sense than Boxer’s. Yeah he lost but at least he gave it a good try as opposed to a lot of other characters who were just hiding and waiting for the inevitable. That’s not a good way to pass the time with the world at stake. Needless to say, the government looks pretty bad here.

Boxer’s final appearance is definitely pretty funny I gotta say though. I know it’s going for themes and narrative and all that fancy stuff but at the end of the day he’s just jumping straight into his doom. For a guy who always had a plan and lots of contingencies, he really just threw it all away when it counted. So much for this guy eh? Even his partners all seemed a little taken aback for a minute there. Just when they were becoming a real team too.

The explosives guy at least saved a lot of people when he checked out. The son had his big man up moment which was good but for now I’ll need to see more of him. The ex is probably the most interesting character even if the romance itself is super cliche’d and kind of annoying. You have to actively ignore it because it makes no sense with how she and Boxer keep on bashing each other.

As for the artwork, it’s not bad. I don’t generally love a lot of the styles they use for the Godzilla comics. It’s a mix of trying too hard to be realistic and gritty without being streamlined and artistic enough to really make it work. It does still service the Kaiju fights really well though. Seeing the big blue energy burst when Ghidorah knocked both Space Godzilla and Godzilla away was epic. The fights are definitely where the comic comes alive and Rodan also gets a lot of respect. I was glad to see it. People forget but Rodan is one of the top tier alphas. He can hold his own with all of these top tiers.

Overall, This climax definitely sets the tone for what I want to see in Godzilla adventures. I could do without the humans, just give me tons of big battles and lots of Kaiju around every corner. That’s absolutely the best way to do this and I admit it’ll be tough to top this one. It basically went into Final Wars territory with how many monsters were around and all of the team ups. It’s such a great theme, you could have a whole series just dedicated to the Earth Kaiju taking on the outer space ones and it would work super well. I would be there right away when my library got the collection for sure. Either way this is a must read for any Godzilla fan.

Overall 7/10

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons Review

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I’ve always been a massive Godzilla fan ready to see who he will vanquish next. I tend to really prefer the stories of him defeating other Kaiju but the stories involving the government can work well enough. Unfortunately this one goes all in on him just stomping around and not doing much of anything since the story is a story within a story. For the first time I would say that this is a Godzilla comic that I …didn’t like.

The story starts off with a pirate about to be executed. He knows that he has to do something quickly and so he informs the guards that he knows of a conspiracy that even involves the queen of England. This is considered blasphemy because he is in England so they get ready to take him down but then a high ranking government agent shows up. He explains that they have to listen to this and the prisoner will regret it if the story is fake. So the pirate begins his yarn about a giant Kaiju known as Godzilla and other monsters that walk the lands. He has actually gotten to see them and lived to tell the tale. Pretty spooky eh?

Lots of problems here right off the bat of course. For starters, the entire comic follows this story format. It’s not even in the style of a true flashback where I can just forget about the current plot and enjoy the story. No, it’s constantly told through through narration so it’s never actually happening live. This is a framing device that I really don’t like. It means there really isn’t a story. The comic is about someone talking about stuff to a few people and that’s it. So nothing happens live, the fights aren’t fully there and it just ends up being rather boring.

At least whenever Godzilla is on screen I enjoyed seeing him roar and stuff but I really could not care less about the pirates stuff. There’s some in fights with different gangs and everything….but is that the best that they can do? It’s just so very dull and since you figure the pirate is an unreliable narrator at best, you don’t know how much you can even try to get engaged with all of this. I want to say I can see where the author was going with this but it was definitely not the right direction and ended up backfiring big time.

There is only one interesting part of this comic and it’s the very last page. It works pretty well as a twist and cliffhanger. This is a plot thread that I would actually like to dive into because there is a lot of potential here. It means no more flashbacks though. I want to see what is happening in real time like a classic comic. If that can be pulled off then we can work in a lot of espionage and political drama in a sequel. Seriously I don’t think that would be hard and the sky’s really the limit from there. That would be so incredibly hype! But of course lets not get our hopes up for now. Rather than banking on the sequel to be good after this, I would rather place my hopes in a brand new Godzilla comic with a new setting and everything.

In general pirates don’t add much to the Godzilla lore. In fact, I don’t see them as a selling point at all. It’s not like they can hope to fight the King of the Monsters, instead they would just get absolutely crushed. It’s not going to be all that entertaining to just see Godzilla step on them over and over and over again. That’s not a true cinematic experience. Instead what we need is to see Godzilla absolutely devastate every opponent in his path. That would be something to write home about without a doubt.

But yeah there’s not much more to say here. At the end of the day the story is just really boring and that’s the biggest taboo you can have for a comic. Even seeing the cameos from the other Kaiju couldn’t really save it. This barely feels like a Godzilla comic so much as it’s a pirate story that happens to feature him. I was definitely disappointed here and the artwork isn’t anything to write home about either. The art is okay so I’m not going to say that it’s awful or anything but it doesn’t touch a lot of the other stories. What I can say is that the comic ends very quickly at least even with all of the dialogue.

Overall, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons really made history because it’s the first time that I’m giving a downright negative score to the Kaiju. In general I haven’t given many comics a negative score either so it’s super rare. This one just made every kind of mistake possible. Seriously it’s just not fun and that’s a massive L to take at any point here. I want to have a good time and for that I need a story and some fights. It has to actually be happening though and not someone telling me how hype the whole thing was. So yeah…..this was not the way to go.

Overall 4/10

Wolverine: Snikt! Review

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It’s time to check out a Wolverine comic that has a very distinct look to it. That’s because it’s drawn by the guy who did Blame! and right away you can definitely see the resemblance here. I’d even say it feels like a crossover to a point because some of the villains have the same designs. That future dystopia is also so massive that you could in theory have all of this happening without it going against the canon but I’m not expert enough in the timeline to really be able to say for sure if that’s accurate or not. Either way it’s a pretty fun comic with a lot of action everywhere.

It starts off with Wolverine just minding his business when he is approached by a girl who asks him for help. He’s not exactly sure what is going on and before he knows it, she has taken him decades into the future. The human world has been conquered by the technological machines that they created and humanity’s final pockets are about to be exterminated. The only thing that can hurt these creatures is Adamantium which is in short supply at the moment. They only have one soldier left with a cannon that can even injure these guys and they can no longer make any more ammo for it. Wolverine is like a living weapon since his bones are reinforced with the stuff so he is their last hope. He doesn’t really appreciate how abruptly he was brought here but at the end of the day Wolverine is still a hero and so he will do his best to save the day.

Like I mentioned there is a whole lot of action here. Once Wolverine jumps into the fray that’s pretty much the ret of the comic. There is the occasional break to quickly go over the lore and objectives but otherwise it’s Wolverine against a bunch of these robots. He doesn’t have to hold back this time and as the fighting goes on you can see how he’s even enjoying it a bit. Wolverine likes a good fight after all and with the odds against him like this he can really show off a bit.

The art is pretty solid all the way through. The robots definitely look very sinister and it captures the spooky atmosphere very well. Wolverine himself is the only character that takes a bit of getting used to at first since he does look really different in this style. I think it’s the face but either way that’s just a character design thing. The action is what we’re here for and it’s pretty satisfying to have Wolverine diving into the fray and really taking names the whole time. The last soldier from the future side is also able to deal some damage and get one last win in so I was happy to see that as well.

The characters in the future are nice enough although there is no real time to develop them all that much. Once Wolverine is in the future and the story is established then it’s time to jump right into the action. Can’t say I have any complaints with that though, for a compact story you have to move fast. It is probably a bit hard to believe that the future would ever turn out quite this way though. Surely some heroes would still be around to stop the machines right? In the end I think the easiest thing to do here is just imagine that this is a parallel future. It’s not one that will ever happen to the main universe but it happened to someone else’s.

With the main girl’s ability to travel through time, she does seem to be the equivalent of a modern day mutant. Whether it’s the exact same thing or not is hard to say but in a way it doesn’t matter all that much. She has some special abilities and can use those to save her future. I wonder as a last resort though if she could have just brought everyone back to the past. That would have its own share of issues of course but at least would get her out of harm’s way. It feels like they wouldn’t have had much of a future left anyway if Wolverine had failed in his mission after all.

As for the robots, they make for pretty solid antagonists. They’re more on the mindless side but they do tend to strike back pretty hard with sheer numbers. Even for Wolverine and his healing factor it can be difficult to wade through that many enemies. I’m a little skeptical on his getting knocked out during the first fight but the characters mention that his healing factor may have been a little slower due to time travel messing up his system. It is at least an explanation so for now I can use that. I’m glad it was at least addressed since otherwise I would have had more questions there.

I’d definitely be game with more titles like this with Marvel heroes entering the Blame! type of future. The stronger ones of course could really just dominate but others on Wolverine’s level should have a decently tough time with some of the opponents. Wolverine was fortunate in a way that he broke into the main lair so quickly and got to avoid the stronger types of enemy units. Those would have really given him a tough time all the way.

Overall, Wolverine: Snickt is a pretty good comic. It definitely delivers on the action all the way through and the artwork is solid. This story works really well as a stand alone and quickly sets the stage so there is a real plot. I think this could have even gone on for much longer with more and more storylines/characters thrown in but not everything has to be an ongoing. I would definitely recommend checking this one out whenever you’ve got a chance. It’s good fun and shows how unpredictable the life of a hero can be. One moment you are just relaxing and the next you are back off to battle!

Overall 7/10

Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Review

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It’s time to jump into the big Godzilla vs Power Rangers crossover. It’s safe to say that crossovers are always a great way to catch my attention. Whether it be for the power level discussions or just the interactions between the characters, crossovers really take my enjoyment to the next level. I’ve read way more Godzilla comics than Power Rangers but I like to think I’m still fairly familiar with the franchise thanks to the video games and the movie. In the end this story was definitely a blast and I look forward to the next crossover.

It starts off with the Green Ranger defying orders and attacking Rita and her associates by himself. Not the smartest move to be honest and he’s quickly dispatched as they warp across time and space into another dimension. This is the world of Godzilla where monsters roam around freely and the only defender of the planet is Godzilla…and he is not a merciful ruler. As long as you stay out of his way you’re good, but the local aliens are always causing trouble and stirring him up. Rita sees this as her big chance to rule the world because there are no Power Rangers to worry about here. But is she really ready to take on the King of the Monsters himself? Additionally, the Power Rangers make their grand entrance later on.

First up, the art is definitely great here. It’s all very detailed and colorful. Every page really grabs your attention and you are glued in on the action. My favorite panel isn’t even an action one this time, but instead the splash page at the end of the first issue when the Power Rangers arrive. Their outfits just look extremely dynamic and it’s a really hype moment. I always like the grand entrance kind of moment and this really works out well. You know that the Power Rangers have never failed before but even for them Godzilla will be a tough opponent. I think that’s another big hype part about crossovers. When you have a matchup of say Superman vs Goku and assuming there won’t be a cop out, you have a hard time being able to guess who will win because both fighters are used to overcoming all odds and claiming victory. Superman defeating Thor for example was huge for that reason because a part of you just figured the fight wouldn’t end and other parts just thought maybe Thor would have the edge.

It’s always fun when you don’t really know who will win. Surprisingly, I would argue that the comic takes the stance that the Power Rangers are stronger than Godzilla. I do personally agree with this but I was expecting him to have more of an edge. It’s pretty well balanced though as the Godzilla verse Kaiju are shown to be much stronger than Rita’s legions of monsters. On the other hand, Rita and her friends basically humiliate the aliens from the Godzilla verse the whole time. So the Power Rangers may have had the edge as a verse here but it’s pretty close the whole time.

This incarnation of Godzilla leans more on him being a neutral party who destroys everything in his way. I wouldn’t call him heroic but he’s also not downright evil like other versions. Basically if you mess with him then he’ll blow you up but otherwise he’s not going around picking fights. He also does get his respect in the power department as he blows away Megalon and does hold his own against Ghidorah for a little while. I was also glad that he completely no sold the mind control from Rita. That would have been really disappointing if she had succeeded even for an instant.

Ghidorah also looks really good here. They really show him to be a top level threat and this seems like one verse where he’s even stronger than Godzilla. You do have to account for some factors like Godzilla already having been in several fights while Ghidorah was coming in fresh though. Gigan doesn’t look great though as he’s treated more like fodder compared to the other Kaiju. I also still don’t get the whole space chicken thing but I guess you either see it or you don’t.

The aliens on the Godzilla side weren’t too interesting but I enjoyed Rita and her crew. They all had solid designs and she seems like a good leader. She makes some questionable decisions (Like sending her B team out to fight Ghidorah and actually thinking they stood a chance. She found out the hard way that they really didn’t in very short order) but for the most part she is in charge. I like her confidence and would like to see more of her in action.

Then of course we have the Power Rangers who are great characters. They have great teamwork and actually feel like a complete unit. No bickering, insulting each other, second guessing orders, etc. I dare say they are one of the best led units I’ve seen in a while. It’s just rare to see the whole team buckle up to get the job done the way they did here. I always saw that as one of the appeals of the series and have no doubts that their comics are a lot of fun. The Red Ranger always has a plan and is ready to protect everyone. The Green Ranger may have been a little too headstrong in stopping the villains but considering that they were about to unleash their big plan, I totally get why he felt like he had to run in and stop that.

The Megazord also looks incredibly powerful. In the comics it manages to defeat Gigan, take out many of Rita’s monsters, and was also stalemating Godzilla and that’s before it merged with the Green Ranger’s own Zord to unlock its true power. I was very impressed and then apparently it can also self repair? Within a few minutes it was back up to 80% after sustaining massive damage so that is super impressive. Yeah the Power Rangers really got a lot of hype here and I dare say that it was all very deserved.

The writing is really on point here and this would make for a really fun movie someday. You could adapt it real easy and fans of both verses are bound to have a good time. Each verse gets treated with a lot of respect which is always important in a crossover so that everyone feels satisfied. I’d also say there were no real cop outs here. That’s probably a bit more subjective but to me they did answer the questions of who would win each fight. Whether you agree with the power levels is another issue of course but at least they put the scenes out there. There’s a lot of nonstop fights here and it’s got a whole lot of replay value.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this comic. It’s a blast all the way through and there are really no negatives to be found anywhere here. It’s rare for a crossover to happen more than once so I’m not sure if these two will meet again but there are definitely way more crossovers out there for me to check out. Godzilla vs the Justice League for example will be a fun one at some point. I’m sure the Power Rangers have had more as well, maybe they even met the Justice League as well. Either way I’m sure I will be seeing these characters again.

Overall 8/10

Sonic the Hedgehog, Volume 6: The Last Minute Review

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It’s time for the next installment in the Sonic series. The arc is still going strong here with more and more characters being turned into robotic monsters. Shadow was taken off of the board last time and Sonic is already infected so the heroes are really on their last legs. There is a good amount of tension here and a whole lot to enjoy overall so this was definitely a win/win all around.

This volume spends the first 3 issues showing us events from a few different POVs. You have Tails, then Amy, and then Sonic. Each of them were embarking on different missions to try and stop the virus. Tails was working on a vaccine that could reverse the effects of the bug and in theory bring everything back to the way that it was. Amy was doing her best to keep the townsfolk safe until Tails could get back and then Sonic was trying to capture his speed data to see if that could be a lead on getting other people immune. Unfortunately all 3 of them suffer some setbacks here.

By this volume Sonic has started to lose a lot of his stamina as well which makes a lot of sense since he has been running for so long now. He may be used to running a lot, but not for nearly this long without a single break. I still like the idea of how running is able to regress the virus’ effects at least for a while since his speed is the real deal. Even that has a timer though so if Sonic stops running then it’s all over. he still does a good job of trying to keep morale up though and taking care of business. At the end of the day, virus or not Sonic definitely has the edge here compared to the rest of the characters and can lead the way to victory.

Even though it didn’t work for Shadow, I still like to think Sonic could go in there and take all of the robots and Eggman out. The main problem is of course he can’t destroy the robots since they are all innocent so at most he would just be buying time. Then since we find out that even Eggman doesn’t have a cure in this volume, that doesn’t leave the heroes with a lot of options. It’s fair to say that Tails is really the last chance here. Either he makes a cure himself or the heroes are basically doomed.

Tails takes the situation pretty hard in this volume but overall I’d say he’s still looking good. Cream is definitely more on the weaker side here though as the whole situation really did break her. She stayed strong in front of Amy but not in front of Sonic. Whisper also had it rough as she finally broke down too. She’s usually the tough member of the group so I was a little surprised to see her lose her cool like that. Now’s the time to buckle down and get read because the situation will only get tougher from here.

I would say one of the highlights here would be Tangle. Now here’s a character who really put everything on the line and she never gave up. Her abilities may not be the strongest but she used them in a creative way to hold everyone back. I’d also say even Vector looked pretty good here. Yeah he ended up contributing to the situation but I’d argue that wasn’t entirely his fault. That’s more on the stowaway and otherwise his bubble may have lasted. When it didn’t work, Vector was ready with the sacrifice play.

Eggman fans should be a little nervous right now. He hasn’t been looking great so far and while he could still make a full comeback depending how his next scenes go, it’s also possible that this will be played straight in which case he would look really awful. With Eggman you just never really know and in that way the writer has done a good job of keeping things interesting. There are really 3 enemy factions at play here with Eggman, the Deadly Six, and Dr. Starline. Right now it’s hard to say who will have the last laugh. The story is framing it as Starline being the smartest and most prepared but in a way that might be too obvious. For now I’m counting on Eggman to stay on top but we’ll see if he can pull it off.

As always the art is really good here. All of the characters look like they were taken straight out of the games. The designs are all on point and the backgrounds are all very dynamic. The comic is a real page turner and it’s definitely easy to binge the whole time. The writing is also good. This would make for a great TV show someday and the series has always done a good job of really incorporating a ton of the Sonic mythos. The universe is really big so it makes sense to bring a lot of elements in right? The comics have not let me down yet.

As always I do have to throw a little show at Silver here though. The guy was crushing Sonic back when they first met and it seems like he is a true B leaguer at this point. The guy is never given a ton of respect. Yes he holds back a few of the mindless drones but that’s it. That’s not actually all that impressive as a feat and that’s the role he is stuck with here. I just miss his days of being really serious and powerful but so far that’s just not happening. Maybe at some point the tides will turn.

Overall, Sonic continues to product solid comics in each batch. This one’s a bit less action packed as it’s more of a zombie survival right now. The heroes just have to keep on moving and try to stay one step ahead which is no easy feat. It works well and I’m ready to see how the arc ends. I am hoping that we get a true final battle though. In a way you could end the arc without one but it’s always fun to have a big ending. Maybe have the transformed version of Shadow show up to fight Sonic. Now that would definitely be hype.

Overall 7/10

Sonic The Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper Review

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It’s time to check out one of the Sonic spinoffs. It’s about Tangle & Whisper as you could guess from the title and this is a good idea since they are some of the new characters created during this era of comics. So now they can get some extra character development and it works out well for them. I already liked Tangle so this was a good chance to bump Whisper up. I will say that she looks a lot better here than in the main series which works out well.

First up before we get into the actual mini series there is an annual issue which is basically a compilation of a bunch of small stories before we get to the heart of the matter. In one of them we actually get to see Jet and the Babylon Rogues which was a lot of fun. They always make for a really fun trio even if they were a little outmatched here. The group just can’t focus long enough to get the job done! We also get to see a museum owner who is nice enough but she can’t really fight and being a living diamond makes her an easy target. The Egg Golem from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle returns which was a nice tribute. In short all of the mini comics here are a nice tribute to the Sonic continuity as long time fans will really appreciate all of the guest stars and cameos. I wouldn’t mind if they toned down Silver’s pacifist personality and made him edgy like the Sonic 2006 game but we can’t have everything I suppose. He just always feels out of his depth and well….pretty sad tbh.

Now as for the actual mini series, it starts off with Tangle being bored at how there’s nothing to do. No enemies are attacking and yet she can’t leave the village to find adventure because she figures they will all be doomed without her. To be honest I don’t think she’s wrong about that. So for now she just waits and waits for things to change and that’s when an adventure does reach her! So Whisper is on the offensive against a villain known as Mimic. Mimic betrayed Whisper and her old group a while back and so Whisper has vowed revenge.

Mimic has the ability to shapeshift into anyone and has pretty solid combat techniques so Whisper doesn’t want Tangle to get involved but since when has something like that stopped the heroine from getting in on the action right? The two of them will have to work hard to take down Mimic and along the way we find out all of the details about Whisper’s backstory and how her personality changed from being fairly upbeat to as quiet as can be.

First off Mimic is definitely a fun villain even if not one of the more intimidating or cool ones. I always like the ole shapeshifter plot because there’s a whole lot you can do with that. Additionally there are few characters in Sonic who can actually see through a disguise. I’m betting Tails, Omega, and Eggman would have countermeasures against that but Tangle and Whisper? They have to figure things out the old fashioned way. Mimic also has some basic hand to hand skills and a whole lot of battle experience on his side. So there’s a lot to like there but his stocks do fall rather hard once we see how scared he is of Eggman and Metal Sonic.

Sure Metal Sonic would crush him in an instant but you have to have some kind of plan to deal with that. There’s been a lot of time since he was first threatened by Eggman and yet he’s still working as a lackey? The guy is definitely not seeing the bigger picture right now and needs to fix that as soon as possible. Hype design though and so I am looking forward to seeing this guy return someday. The comics have done a good job of creating new threats. The Metal Sonic mention does make me wonder why Eggman didn’t just send Metal Sonic to take out Whisper since that would be real easy…but we’ll sidestep that for now.

As mentioned, I liked Whisper quite a bit here. Her origin story is definitely a real tragic one next to the others and is a bit darker than you’d expect. I mean they basically stated that all of the members were viciously murdered which I was not expecting. Now granted they always could show up with a twist that they escaped or something but for now taking it at face value they are down for the count. So it’s a very valid reason for why Whisper is a lot broodier and more quiet than she used to be. All of that absolutely checks out.

I would like her to explode with rage a little more when going after Mimic but she does land a lot of damage either way. Her armaments are on point and she never ends up taking any of this out on Tangle. Whisper is patient when necessary and does always have a practical plan in place. So this comic did a lot to make her a more well developed character and I look forward to seeing her appear more. I hope she does still say very solemn but I don’t mind her dropping the guard a bit when around Tangle. Sort of the best friend exception you could say but with everyone else she’ll still be down to business.

Tangle also looks good here although far weaker. The comic does point out that she has no formal combat experience and so even though she is able to fight to a decent extent, she won’t be holding her own against the big shots. That makes a lot of sense. It was a good moment because sometimes it can feel like anyone can start fighting when you need some actual experience and techniques to really press the advantage like that. Tangle always means well even if she can be a little gullible and so I tend to like that kind of outgoing character.

As always the artwork is really solid here. The colors are all very striking and the pages really stick out at you. It makes for a very quick read too since you can just dive in. The art really matches the games and so I hope it can keep this style going for a very long time. The writing is on point as well and so far all of the comics have been very consistent. If this keeps up it very well could overtake the Archie saga.

Overall, This is a pretty fun spinoff that expands the world of Sonic. It may not have the end of the world stakes that the main series has but it’s a very good stand alone adventure with stakes that are really personal to the main characters. You’re invested all the way through and you feel like these are all plot points that could continue further in the future. I doubt this is the last we’ve seen of Mimic after all and it certainly isn’t the end for Tangle & Whisper. Now they will really be ready to dominate the opponents as a strong tag team.

Overall 7/10

Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 5: Crisis City Review

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The Sonic comics have been consistently great and this one is no exception. As someone who was sad when Archie stopped their Sonic comics, the new line has been so good that they’ve really caught the ball and kept on running with it. I hope to see this one continue to go on for a very long time and become a Sonic ongoing with hundreds of issues. However long it may take, seeing Sonic get all of these stories will be a blast!

This one takes place right where the last volume left off with Sonic dealing with the mecha virus that is poisoning everyone. Sonic can resist this with his speed but for how long? He has to protect his friends while trying to find some kind of cure to this but it won’t be easy. His friends are all slowly weakening and if the virus takes on any of his more powerful friends then it can be all over. Even Eggman isn’t able to control the robots at this point so his right hand man is starting to look into some backup options.

In prior volumes there were different plots going on with Sonic helping someone else in each issue but this time it’s a true ongoing plot. You could say we’re in the end in terms of there not being a whole lot of heroes left. Team Chaotix takes some hits as well as Team Dark. It’s definitely a pretty high stakes arc and so I’m up for it being as long as it needs to be. I’m guessing we’re approaching the end but I’d be cool with another volume or two.

This one’s starting to bring in more of the wider cast like Gmerl and Omega which were fun to see. Naturally a virus will not be able to take them over since they are machines which is helpful for letting them stay in the fight. Omega can be a little unreasonable the whole time with how he keeps firing on the civilians but this leads to the most embarrassing part for him where he is actually unable to damage them anyway. His firepower just isn’t up to snuff compared to the metal virus and I was pretty surprised about that.

Gmerl starts off by fighting Sonic but at least he is able to see reason. Once Sonic explains that he can turn back to normal with his speed and Cream also tells Gmerl to stand down, he does. The guy wants to protect her at any moment but he doesn’t close the channels for debate. So that’s what makes him a good protector here. Each character has their own idea of what to do in this situation and some have better idea than other. I think Charmy for example looked pretty bad here because he really had no plan. The guy let his emotions get to the best of him.

Sometimes I am on board with a character defying everyone to save one person. In fact most of the time this is the right option but the problem is there was no way to actually save her without dooming a lot of other people and then of course that isn’t worth it. If you have a plan to actually save someone then you gotta do it of course but if your plan is really just trying to make some kind of move with no thought behind it then that’s not good. So these are the kinds of things that you want to think about.

There is an infamous Shadow moment here though and so lets talk about that. The main problem with the moment is that Shadow is nerfed pretty hard and also acts out of character here. He would rather get completely absorbed by the enemy than run away to prove a point. They also swarm him rather quickly. The big problem with this of course is reaction times. Even if he thought that he couldn’t be turned, he was seeing this happen in real time. So he had many opportunities to start running rather than just letting himself be taken like that. There’s no way to have him lose here and you get the feeling the writer just needed to find a way to write him out.

It’s got to be tough working with a character like Shadow who is basically as fast as Sonic but a lot more powerful. So maybe this was all they could think of but all I’m saying is that it’s still very, very noticeable. They could have done better here without a doubt. At least it does lead to our next Sonic vs Shadow battle which is always fun. Since Shadow is being controlled Sonic does get to dominate a little more this time around.

As always Sonic is an excellent main character and that hasn’t changed. He does his best to save everyone and always has a plan at the ready. He feels like a true leader and is so much more than just his speed. I definitely love the portrayal and he continues to really shine with all of the screen time. Eggman’s going to need to come up with something big to really keep up. Losing control as always isn’t a perfect look for him and he needs to watch out since it looks like he may get betrayed again. It’s definitely not easy being an evil genius.

The artwork here is really solid as you would expect. The comics have always been great in this area just like they’re great in all of the others. The characters really pop out and the colors are sharp. Everything is always on model and that makes for a winning formula. The battles are also really sharp as a result even if there aren’t any super long ones in this volume. It’s more about moving around and trying to survive rather than a big 1 on 1. The series always still manages to sprinkle in some nice comedic moments while keeping the stakes high so the writing is also on point.

Overall, Sonic is continuing to blast through this comics run with a ton of great moments and a really solid story. There just haven’t been any down sides to the comics at all yet and each arc delivers just as well as the last. I dare say this arc may even beat the Metal Sonic one at this point but it does depend on the climax of course and how this all shakes out. Hopefully I get to check out the next volume soon and we’ll see how that goes. The amount of Sonic stories that you can tell is really endless.

Overall 8/10

Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 4: Infection Review

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Sonic The Hedgehog has been delivering a ton of awesome comics in this run and this volume is no exception. While the series transitions to the next big arc this is more of a setup volume but we still get some fun action scenes here. Sonic is a great main character as always and there’s just a lot to enjoy in every aspect of the volume. The series is really in good hands right now.

The volume mainly starts off with Sonic finally finding out that Eggman has really returned. No more Mr. Tinker alias or anything like that. Granted, Sonic does toy with a few ideas of what could be happening other than Eggman turning evil again but his friends point out that it’s pretty unlikely and he really has to agree. It’s just tough to realize that Eggman’s out there again. What he doesn’t yet know is that Eggman has a new ally in Dr. Starline who is a cut above Eggman’s usual help. They are developing a metal virus that can absorb and assimilate into any creature. If this gets to Sonic then all hope might be lost.

It’s a pretty solid plot since a widespread virus like this can really be difficult to deal with. Starline is also an interesting new villain. I wouldn’t say he stands out too much yet but Eggman should watch his back. I can absolutely picture Starline deciding to take him out at some point since Eggman seems to have a little more mercy and compassion than this guy. Starline really seems to look up to Eggman but I can see him being disillusioned soon. Who knows maybe Eggman will get the drop on him but he does have a tendency to be betrayed so I wouldn’t be surprised if he went down.

In the second issue we get the first big fight of the volume with Sonic and Silver teaming up to take on Starline and Metal Sonic. You’d think this would be an easy fight for the heroes right? Sonic can handle Metal while Silver beats up on Starline? Well unfortunately Silver is really just a burden in this fight as he can’t seem to keep up at all and is constantly on the defensive. Seriously I was expecting a whole lot more from that guy but it feels like he hasn’t kept up with his training or something. I have not been as impressed with Silver in the comics as I was in the 2006 game but maybe he can make a comeback.

Starline and Metal Sonic do make for a good combination to deal with though as the genius teleporting technology plus Metal Sonic’s speed is really lethal. I do miss Metal Sonic being able to talk though so hopefully he can get that back at some point. Definitely a really solid battle all throughout and the issue goes by in a snap. I love high speed battles like that and it also shows how Metal Sonic is still a threat with how fast he moves. It’s fair to say Sonic will always have the edge but when it’s 2 on 1 then he does struggle which makes sense.

Then we have Sonic’s team up with Amy against Rough and Tumble. Always good to see those guys returning. They may not be the most powerful villains but they’re actually rather enjoyable characters. I think their humor moments work rather well and it’s not like they are complete pushovers. Then with the metal mode they actually can do some real damage. The issue plays out as part mystery with the heroes learning more about Eggman’s plans and we see jut how far he is willing to take this. Right now you could even say he has the edge since he’s got this whole grand master plan going and nobody really knows what he is going to do next. Sonic is putting out the fires but nobody knows how to find and stop him just yet.

After that the final issue is more low key as the heroes try to figure out how this zombie virus works and how to stop it. The cliffhanger is pretty intense as it sets the stage for what will happen next. The heroes have a lot of resources around and their own resident genius in Tails so you figure things will work out. The comics have done a good job so far of making these big threats even while the heroes are so stacked in every area though. Right now the writing’s really been on point and Eggman has to cover a lot of ground since the heroes have really set up shop all around the planet. I suspect he is slowly going to start taking down the allies as he gets closer to Sonic.

Naturally the artwork here is top tier as always. I really like the bright art and the streamlined colors for all the characters. The high speed fights actually feel quick and all of the characters look like their video game counterparts. There are no cut corners here or low budget moments, everything is drawn with care. Mix that in with the solid writing and that’s why the comic is great. It really has no weak points that I can see and even the original comic characters for the series like the new doctor have worked out nicely. The continuity really feels tight which is massive.

Overall, This was definitely another great volume of the Sonic adventures. We got a good blend of action and the plot moving forward. It’s going to be tough to top the Neo Metal Sonic arc but this one already has a lot of players involved so I’m ready to see how it goes. Mainly we just need Shadow to make an appearance and then things will really start to get intense. As always I look forward to the next volume!

Overall 8/10