Tag Archives: Comic Review

Adventures of Superman Volume 2 Review

Posted on by
Reply

Adventures_of_Superman_Vol._2_TPB
It’s time for a good ole DC review! The Adventures of Superman is a decently fun series with the main drawback being that each story is a stand alone comic with completely different art each time. So, some stories are naturally a lot better than others so the important thing is to make sure that no comic is downright bad. They all need to at least a little entertaining if this trade paperback is going to work. It’s definitely not as good as the average Superman comic and the art does get pretty bad at some points, but it ends up being a (quick) satisfying read.

The first story starts the volume on a high note as Superman learns about his past and realizes that his father may not have been as heroic as he thought. There were some significant pieces left out in his story about how he warned Krypton of their upcoming demise. Superman also learns about the Phantom Zone and must decide whether he should be willing to use it on Mongul when the titan attacks Earth. This is definitely a solid premise and the artwork looks pretty good here. I was definitely satisfied with Superman’s decision at the end and the fight with Mongul was pretty fun. If the whole volume had continued from this comic it would have been great, but that’s the thing with short story collections. You can never get too attached since things end up changing. Still, this was easily my favorite story in the batch.

Next up was a comic dealing with the Church of Superman. Basically, a group of people started to think that Superman was such a great hero that they would jump off of buildings so Superman could catch them. If he didn’t, then they were just meant to die. Superman tries to convince them that this is off the walls crazy, but they don’t buy it. Meanwhile, Metallo is making his move! The art takes a slight dip, but it still looks reasonably good here. Superman’s portrayal is also pretty great as he shows that he’s willing to make the tough calls and yell the people the truth that they need to hear even if they don’t want too. The concept of a Church of Superman that got so widespread is a bit much and everyone deciding to jump off of their roofs will just make you shake your head. It’s sad that Superman has to deal with all of this. All in all, it’s a pretty entertaining comic even if it’s all a bit of a stretch.

Continuing on was a short story where Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter get brainwashed by Darkseid. Superman has to save them and quickly heads back to Earth before a kid falls off of a tree. The stakes have never been real for Mr. Kent and it’s a fun story. I could have done without the subplot of the kid, but at least we finally got some guest stars. The art isn’t very detailed, but it’s pretty fun and the fight scenes look pretty good as a result. That’s definitely what I like to see.

In the next comic, Superman gets word that Krypton is still alive so he heads over there. His father informs him that the explosion never actually happened and he was arrested for “scaring the civilians.” Superman manages to convince the court to let his father out of jail, but something feels pretty suspicious about the whole endeavor. If someone’s messing with Superman..they better watch out! You will probably assume that the whole story of Krypton surviving is fake from the start given that it always turns out to be a trap, but it’s still fun to see Superman interact with Krypton. It’s not quite as action packed as some of the other adventures, but it’s a good story. The art also holds its own so maybe our art worries were for nothing!

Bizarro got to have a big role in the next comic as a “cure” allows him to act and speak normally. Superman believes that Bizarro could actually be a good guy deep down so they team up to help the world. Unfortunately, Bizarro starts to revert to how he used to be. Why is this happening? This comic definitely wasn’t that interesting and I can’t say that the ending was very good. It was just really hard to get into. The art was also a little more sketchy than the previous ones and I guess I would call it average looking. The characters are still easily recognizable, but they typically just look a little off.

This next comic was easily the worst in the batch. Superman travels to a town after getting some mail from a kid telling him about a monster. Superman shows up and it turns out that the kid is the monster. Can Superman actually defeat this menace? The ending is pretty terrible and Superman didn’t look very good during the battle. The art was also easily the worst as Superman looks overweight and there is absolutely no detail in the art. Everything is just vague and not cool. Well, we got the worst story over with so it’s all uphill from here right?

Finally, we get a short story where Superman fights with Metallo, but the villain gets the upper hand when Superman has to protect some civilians who wandered into the line of fire. The ending is pretty emotional and it shows that Superman always cares about every individual. He’s not just a hero, Superman is The hero. It was a good way to end the collection.

So, it’s a pretty short read, but this collection did a good job of being entertaining. I don’t see it doing very well in terms of sales since this is the kind of collection that’s better to read at the library instead of paying the big bucks for it. My advice to DC would be to switch the format over to one continuing story and they could still keep this atmospheare of the good ole Superman days. It’s less risky and it could have given the comic an extra star.

Overall, Adventures of Superman was a pretty good trade paperback. I still prefer an ongoing plot series to one where each comic is a different story, but most of the stories were good, which was a relief. Most of the writers seemed to have a good handle on who Superman is as a character and it was fun to see so many of his adversaries pop up. From Mongul to the Toyman, they all tried their best to land a good hit on Superman. I definitely recommend this comic to Superman fans or to anyone who wants a casual comic to check out. By “casual” I mean that it’s short and simple. There are no large plots or character development to watch out for, but the stories are pretty fun and entertaining. In the end, that’s all that we could want from this right?

Overall 6/10

The Amazing Spider Man The Parker Luck Review

Posted on by
Reply

20898012
Well, it was finally time to take a look at what has been done to the Spider Man comics as of late and what better place to start than with the first volume right? Well, there has definitely been no exaggerations when I’ve heard about how awful Peter has become over the years because he is definitely a terrible main character. The comic would be decent without all of the constant love at first sight moments, but they are here so the comic takes a shot. Let’s see why it couldn’t become the definitive Spider Man series.

Well, the plot is that Peter Parker is back! Doctor Octopus wrecked most of his social life during the time that he had taken control of Peter’s body so now Parker finds himself in an estranged world. Unfortunately, he doesn’t actually remember what happened over those last few weeks/months so he is completely out of the loop. He owns a company so hopefully he knows what to do with it. Black Cat was defeated by Doc Ock so now she wants to destroy Spider Man. She teams up with Electro and they get ready to attack the Wallcrawler. Meanwhile, Spider Man learns of another kid who was bitten by the radioactive spider of his origin and frees her from her cell. Her name is Silk and now they will be teaming up while trying not to constantly fall for each other due to their spider instincts.

So, the main reason why this comic is pretty unenjoyable are the constant, unnecessary scenes that bring it down. We get a pointless scene where a new character appears and makes out with Electro only to be destroyed. The passionate embraces between Spider Man and Silk are also pretty bad and they really hurt the story. Spider Man doesn’t look like the seasoned veteran that he is and he looked a lot more professional back in the 60’s. Likewise, you can’t really become a fan of Silk when she’s also giving in to the instincts so easily. It’s just terrible writing and the series seems to be doing all that it can to quickly rack up some sales by having controversial moments like that one without actually worrying about the plot.

The actual writing is hilariously bad in the comic, but it could actually work if not for scenes like the ones that I just mentioned. One person actually says the word “hashtag” out loud as they upload pics to twitter and there really are jokes in almost every page. The writer definitely wants you to know that this series is supposed to be really funny. Again, it’s pretty bad, but in a funny way so I can deal with that. It could have still gotten a 7 if not for the fake romance. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

It should also be noted that the art is pretty bad here. The facial expressions will crack you up many times over. Captain America’s face is drawn like that of a child’s and J Jonah Jameson’s are even more exaggerated than usual. His big 180 change over the TV industry is one of the best parts because of how he’s drawn. I definitely would prefer some better drawings for this series, but at least it keeps up the humorous tone here. If only the characters were more likable.

Okay, let’s actually talk about the heroes. Spider Man was not officially retconned so we’re still supposed to believe that this is the same Spider Man from back in the 60’s. At least he did age about 20 years over the last 50 so his character progression is much better than the average hero’s. That being said, his experience and personality have certainly taken a big dip. Spider Man is only good at cracking jokes now and he’s simply not a good crimefighter anymore. He’s treated as a joke and this is justified because he keeps messing up. He really doesn’t look good against Black Cat and it makes you wonder how he has survived for so long. He may have his spider sense, but you can only dodge for so long before the enemy eventually gets a lucky hit. This portrayal of him is quite possibly the worst that I have ever seen and Parker has become the kind of hero that you will actively root against. He goes after so many women nowadays that he may as well be James Bond and that’s why I don’t see him becoming a very likable character in his series for a very long time. The ship has sailed and it did so without Parker.

Silk debuted in this volume, but she’s not a good character either. As much blame as I give Peter for their situations, she definitely deserves half of the blame. Nothing can happen without two people right so Silk should have also kept Peter in the legendary friend zone. She’s pretty tough and the comics are definitely trying to make her seem like the better crimefighter than Parker. I don’t know how long that will last, but just having cool super powers is not enough to instantly make you a likable character. Silk’s going to need a personality change and her overconfidence can be a bit much considering she only has the proportionate strength of a spider. At least her good luck counters Black Cat’s bad luck…but those powers were always a stretch anyway.

Electro doesn’t look great here. He was messed around with by Doc Ock and now he basically has to work for Black Cat. Things just don’t go his way, but at least the ending leaves some hope for him to hopefully become a better person. He seems tired of the whole villain gig so maybe he’ll just stay in jail peacefully until the next writer decides to grab him and make an arc around the thunder villain. Black Cat is now a total villain so gone are the days where she would ambiguously tread the line of what side she wanted to help. Either way, she was caught trying to steal something so she has nobody to blame but herself for being thrown into prison. Her reaction of wanting to destroy Spider Man is definitely a little exaggerated, but I guess Slott just wants her to become a villain once again. She’s still not very threatening though because Spider Man is physically more impressive than her and luck powers can only help for so long. I definitely don’t see her coming out on top for very long, but it seems like she may stick around for quite a while.

Jameson is still a pretty likable guy though and it’ll be fun to see how he tries to wreck Spider Man’s life from the TV station. The Spider Man universe is still pretty large and there are many plots that will likely be around for quite a while. That’s why it’s regrettable that the series has been handled so poorly as of late. Then again, you can argue that Peter Parker hasn’t looked good in his own series for years at this point. I miss the 80’s-90’s where he was arguably at his peak and things just went down for him at that point. I can’t say that volume 1 will leave you hyped for what’s to come next, but the bright side is that most of the other characters besides Peter actually look decent. If the series was to let go of the flirting with everyone scenes, it could actually go places.

Overall, This is one of those graphic novels that will definitely make you accept the possible upcoming Marvel reboot with open arms. I only say possible because depending how merged the universes get, there may not be a huge amount of differences to the Spider Man realm. It’s not the universe that has gone wrong either, it’s simply Peter’s character. Parker is the guy who needs a reboot and hopefully his personality will get a complete rewrite. It’s entirely possible that this is also the writer’s influence so he needs to go as well or this will not change. I definitely don’t recommend this volume. It may be pretty fun on the whole, but the romance scenes are simply too much and they make Peter look terrible. If you want a good Spider Man adventure, check out the Cosmic Spider Man arc!

Overall 4/10

Batman Beyond Batgirl Beyond Review

Posted on by
Reply

Batman_Beyond_Batgirl_Beyond_(Collected)
It’s time to read one of the Batman Beyond comics. I believe that this is actually the first one that I’ve checked out and it’s good to see the the characters once again. Even though the title talks about Batgirl Beyond, she only gets a quick comic and actually isn’t that important to the plot. So, this would definitely rank pretty high on the misleading covers list. It’s still a pretty good adventure though even if we don’t get many serious villains yet.

The first adventure is an 8 part comic that takes place after Joker’s mad onslaught against the city. Bruce Wayne is critically injured and Dana is still trying to work past the traumatic events that have occurred. She decides that she will help Terry from now on in his quest against crime. She doesn’t really get to appear after that, but I’m sure that she will be back. Batman deals with one of his old sonic themed foes before realizing that it is a distraction. The real villain has kidnapped one of his friends and intends to destroy the city..and maybe even the world. Batman will have to hurry on over if he’s going to make it on time.

It’s a pretty good adventure and we definitely get our fair share of action. A lot of the story is running directly from the Joker incident so it probably won’t have the same emotional impact that it would have if we actually read that comic. Dana’s bro turning evil must have been a big twist..although I don’t think we ever saw him before that so maybe we wouldn’t have been surprised. Terry’s doubts about being Batman aren’t that great though as I feel that just about every teenage superhero seems to go through that doubting period and it gets old after a while. Batman never doubted himself so often back in the good ole days. I’m fine with Dana knowing Terry’s secret, but I hope that they mostly stay in the friend zone or that the romance at least doesn’t become a huge part of the series.

After that the Batgirl comic starts and it seems to really be a stand alone title at this point. Barbara Gordan finds out that one of the neighborhoods is getting pretty violent and people are fighting in the streets. She heads over to investigate, but is quickly defeated by the crooks. She’s saved by the new Batgirl who lets her know that they have been turned crazy by some kind of poison. Barbara Gordan goes to the nearest company to get to the bottom of this, but she may be in trouble now. Batgirl will have to come to her aid once more, but can the vigilante be trusted!?

I’m sure that Batgirl will inevitably meet up with Batman Beyond at some point, but so far this comic was basically filler. Batgirl seems like a decent fighter, but only decent. I don’t see how she will be anywhere near Batman level anytime soon since she is self taught and you can’t become a grandmaster in a year or two like that. She does pretty well in this comic though and Batgirl seems like she isn’t crossing any lines yet. She’ll be a good supporting character to have and maybe she’ll even help Barbara stay more relevant in this series. Having the two of them team up could make for a pretty good subplot.

Finally, we also get a bonus comic at the end where Ink returns. She wants to be human so she gets someone to give her a serum, but what side effects will this have? Ink has no time to worry about this as Batman shows up so the two of them begin to battle. Ink will need to think of something quickly to turn the tides against this futuristic superhero!

That comic is pretty short and the art takes a dip. It’s decent enough and the adventure is fun, but it’s certainly a stretch to see how Ink gets away in the comic. She seems outmatched from the start and Batman had every possible edge. It should have been easy for him to have won the match, but I guess he just wasn’t prepared to get scratched. Ah well, it beats the average bonus comic that you see at the end of a trade paperback.

Aside from the last comic where I wasn’t a big fan of the art, the trade is pretty consistent in how it looks. It’s not going to go down as one of the greatest pieces in DC history, but the character designs and battle scenes look pretty smooth. The art definitely works and it helps kick in the nostalgia glasses that I always wanted. I definitely have no complaints with it.

We get some guest stars in the form of the Metal Men. It’s good to see them return to the front lines and they seem to be pretty dependable as supporting characters for Batman. They’re the kind of characters that I wouldn’t want to appear too often since they could get old very quickly, but appearing once in a while won’t hurt. They seem likely to appear again soon based on how their character arc ended.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne seems to finally be learning about the values of teamwork. I guess a near death experience coupled with Terry’s doubts has forced him to think of all the options at his disposal. Bringing in more and more allies will definitely keep the world safe as well as attract more super villain groups. Actually, that reminds me of another story in this comic and actually the best one of the batch. That would be the Batman vs Batman Beyond comic. Bruce finds out that Terry is slowly losing his mind and he’s forced to take out the hero before Terry can hurt someone. It shows that Bruce can still fight even at his old age and he will always have the edge over Terry. With prep time, I have no doubt that this is true.

There is some plot hax in the fight of course and without prep time, Batman Beyond should definitely win. That being said, I don’t mind a little plot hax here since Wayne is in the lead. Terry is a pretty decent hero and he still acts like a mix of Batman and Spider Man. Again, I don’t care for the fact that he is doubting whether to be a superhero or not, but I’m sure that he’ll get over this soon. All true heroes overcome their doubts at some point and now that he’ll have more allies, the fight against crime will be much easier.

Overall, Batman Beyond gives us a pretty good adventure here. The title is very misleading, but maybe Batgirl’s comic got a lot of buzz when it came out so they wanted to capitalize on that. Regardless, none of the issues are actually bad and we get a good amount of action. The villain who unleashes the giant metal monster is pretty underwhelming though and she has an anticlimactic end after such a strong start. She is probably a one shot villain who will never appear again and I hope that this is the case as we don’t need any more third rate villains. I want more guys like the sound villain and even Ink since these villains tend to put up a good fight or at least talk tough before taking the loss. I recommend checking this comic out and especially if you’re a fan of the Batman Beyond comics. Time to see if Batman Beyond makes the right choice to tough it out as Batman!

Overall 7/10

The Indestructible Hulk Volume 1 Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review

Posted on by
2

22ec873022f5f4317e8449569d2140d5_xl
Looks like it’s time to check out the first volume of another recent Marvel series. I remember the Indestructible Hulk getting a lot of praise during the first issues and then it started to fade into obscurity once more. Well, I can certainly say that the positive reception was justified as it’s a pretty great concept and this is easily one of Banner’s best portrayals.

Bruce has finally decided that the Hulk cannot be destroyed. Rather than spend any more time trying to cure himself, he’s going to use his time to make the world a better place. He intends to make a big scientific breakthrough every week and he starts off by making something that will keep our waters clean for the next few years. Things are going well for him and he makes a deal with Maria Hill. S.H.I.E.L.D. will give him some men and equipment so that he can get to work and whenever they need the Hulk, they can launch him at an enemy. It’s a win win situation for both of them so Maria Hill agrees to it.

First off, I definitely like Bruce’s reasoning here. Worrying about the Hulk has taken up all of his time for so long. He should be putting that energy towards something that is more likely to produce results and what better way than to build great inventions? There’s always a suspense for disbelief in the Marvel world when you have so many geniuses running around yet things are very similar to the real world. It’s because they can’t change things too much or the universe will lose its realism. Be that as it may, it’s always good to see some actual inventions being placed so the genius bit isn’t just all hype. I really like where the series is going with track.

That being said, it seems like Bruce will be getting sidetracked from that a lot. He’s already been sent out on several missions so he barely has any time to actually get work done. I suppose that it’s one of the dicey parts about working with such a large organization. There are always more villains to face so the Hulk is always needed. As much as I like a good fight scene, I also look forward to seeing Bruce bust out some more inventions.

Bruce seems a lot more strategic than usual in this volume. He’s pretty confident of himself since he believes that the Hulk can’t be destroyed so he’s not timid or mild mannered anymore. He’s typically confident, but still in a polite way. He gets a little full of himself now like when he thinks that he is intimidating Iron Man. (Stark acts like he is, but I’ll disregard that as a comedy moment that shouldn’t be given a lot of weight.) That can be a bit much, but he’s a pretty likable character overall. That being said, he comes close to wrecking that as he looks pretty terrible in the final issue. As per usual, his emotions tend to cloud his better judgment and stealing a kiss from someone is a sure way to corrupt your character. This is still a good portrayal of him, but another scene like that and I’ll have to reverse that statement. As it is, the Bruce Banner from the Avengers film is probably his best portrayal out there.

The Hulk looks about as tough as he should. His fight against Attuma was a little dicey, but he was not prepared and fighting under water is definitely not his strength. He’s crushed all of his other opponents so far and it’s safe to say that he won’t be getting beat anytime soon. The Hulk is still one of the strongest guys in Marvel and he seems to be pretty intelligent as well. This makes for a deadly combo that few villains can hope to match.

Iron Man guest stars in one of the first issues. That’s probably a good strategy to quickly increase sales and hope that the new readers stick with it. He looks pretty good since he’s in character. He tries to belittle Bruce’s inventions and show him up, but the new and improved Banner isn’t going to let that happen. They have a quick scuffle and I’m confident that Iron Man could defeat him, but it’s a battle that would last for a long time and neither one of them is probably in the mood for that. Iron Man’s black armor definitely grows on you and while it will never beat his true armor, it looks quite sharp.

One of the villains here is Attuma, but he’s more of a plot device than a character this time. He fights the Hulk and he has some motives using the new weapons that he has, but he’s really one dimensional here. He isn’t meant to have any personality, but the writers needed a villain for this comic so we got one. He’s not likable, but he’s not unlikable either. He’s just around. A.I.M. also makes an appearance with their ultimate mech. It only lasts for about a page, but I do like the design. We need more cool robots to fight the Hulk right? Even the Thinker appears and he built a mech using some of the properties that Ultron used in the past. It was a fun reference and its barrier abilities were pretty useful. You never thought that the Hulk would actually lose, but the Thinker gave it his all.

As you can see, the villains were definitely not one of the main focuses here. Banner is the main focus so the villains are here for the comics to have some action, but their role is as minimal as possible. From the supporting characters, Maria Hill is definitely the main one although I don’t think that she will be appearing too much. Once every issue or so to check in with Banner, but that’s about it. She’s pretty likable as the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I dare say that she’s less shady than Fury. I don’t think that she’ll betray the Hulk although launching him at Attuma was not very nice. He nearly died since he wasn’t prepared for the attack and that would have been a pretty wasteful move from Maria Hill.

The art is pretty impressive for the talking scenes. The style is pretty unique and I’m pretty fond of it. Its big weakness would probably be in the fight scenes. I think a little too much detail is added so it can be a little harder to follow the action scenes than it should be. Not enough happens or some of the action is obscured by the detail. It still gets a passing grade from me, but the artist will need to work to find a better balance. Keeping the talking scenes interesting with this style, but maybe adding less detail to the fights.

The writing is perfect and it plays a large part in why the series is so good. The issues completely ride on the writing since the fights are not very long. The dialogue must be spot on or else the series would be no good. Hopefully the writers do not change anytime soon since they are keeping the series on its pedestal. Who knows, this could end up being the definitive Hulk series although I don’t think that it lasted too long. Let’s just not make any more mistakes with Bruce like in the final issue.

We can chalk this up as another win for Marvel Now, but it still has some work to do if it wants to reach the New 52’s level of greatness. New Avengers and Hulk definitely get a pass, but I haven’t read many of the other big Marvel Now titles. Avengers sounds pretty iffy at some points and let’s not get started on Spider Man. The Iron Man series has promise. The Marvel Now initiative seems to have paid off with many of the titles and the art is very streamlined. I doubt that it will ever reach the New 52, but it’s good to see it doing so well.

Overall, The Indestructible Hulk is off to a very good start. It’s pretty impressive to see a Hulk series be so fun since he typically can’t hold his own series. I’m not really a Hulk fan and Bruce Banner is only good some of the time. He’s the kind of guy who needs a good writer to make him a fun character since many just make him a depressing/moody scientist who is not likable. There’s none of that here and the comic is good in all areas. (Writing, art, battles, characters, etc) I’m not giving it an 8 since getting to the great level is a really difficult feat, but this is a very fun comic book. I recommend this to all action fans and if you’ve been on the fence about reading a Hulk comic, this is a very good way to start. The next issue is the one where Thor appears if I recall correctly so it’s definitely the right time to get hyped up for volume 2.

Overall 7/10

Cable Classic Volume 3 Review

Posted on by
Reply

2536607-59bde78bc154d05d0d15e384f4739ce0
Time to check out a collection with good ole Cable as one of the main characters. Despite the title, you really couldn’t say that he was the main character for any of the Phalanx comics. That just leaves the opening one and the comics about the Morlocks. (The first one was about the Morlocks as well so it’s a bit of a trick sentence) Cable has definitely been one of the best Marvel characters when he’s at his best so let’s see if he can live up to that here.

The first comic is about Cable and Domino eating their dinner when they realize that the Morlocks are in trouble. Nothing really happens here, but this plot is resumed towards the end. The first half is mainly about the Phalanx. They have taken out the X-Men and they are ready to start assuming control over Earth. I’m not sure what the Avengers are doing, but maybe they’re just off planet. Regardless, it’s up to Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, and Cable to take the Phalanx down once and for all. They are prepared to do what needs to be done, but a secret that Cyclops and Jean are keeping from Cable could prove to be trouble.

After that big arc, the final comics involve Cable’s return to the sewers. Domino is still with him and they bring in Storm since she has ties to the Morlocks. They find out that the Morlocks and other mutants are being hunted by the Dark Riders. The heroes manage to fend them off, but the villains retreat for some reason. Cable doesn’t like this so the heroes decide to pursue the villains. Who is their leader and can the heroes really deal with such a powerful group of enemies?

The final comic is a really fitting way to end this collection. Legion has altered the past by destroying Magneto so now the entire universe is shattering because the M’krann crystal is acting up. It’s consuming galaxy after galaxy and the main one is next. Cable goes back in time (off screen) to warn Bishop and the others since the X Men lost their memories, but it’s futile gesture. The universe blows up and we’ll have to read another collection to find out what cop out/retcon allowed the heroes to survive this. I just have to give the collection some credit for ending here. It’s a perfect ending since everyone basically died. Imagine all of the super villains who had been planning to rule the world only to have it snuffed out so quickly. Same with all of the alien races and the Avengers. It’s just a little funny to think that all of their plans were spoiled just because a time traveler went to the past and altered it a little bit.

See, that’s why I’ve always found time travelling to be a little iffy. All it takes is one change for the multiverse to blow up. If you ask me, the multiverse should definitely not exist right now considering how easy it is to wreck time. Unless the One Above All or the Beyonder decide to fix it each time, oblivion should be the current state of the Marvel universe. Anyway, you gotta admit that it’s a pretty great ending.

Cable is a pretty good character here. He’s not quite as awesome as in X Sanction, but that would be almost impossible to replicate. He’s still a pretty determined hero here and it’s cool to see him keep pace with the other fighters when he’s just using his gun. As the issues go on, he starts to use his TK powers a little more, which certainly gives him a better fighting chance. He’s a pretty likable guy and he always puts the team first even if he doesn’t act like it. In his argument with Gambit, I was definitely on Cable’s side. That’s probably not very noteworthy since I really don’t like Gambit and I do like Cable, but it’s worth noting. Cyclops ends up blaming them both, but I think that Gambit was in the wrong. He was basically complaining for no real reason and he was certainly not helping the situation.

Domino gets a pretty large role here. Her luck abilities may not seem directly helpful in combat, but she continues to defeat any and all opponents who get in her way so it’s probably helping a lot in the background. I appreciate the fact that she tries to keep things platonic with Cable since that’s always the best thing to do in just about any situation. You don’t want to complicate things with your allies. The romance isn’t handled badly though so I won’t use it as a strike against the comic. It doesn’t take away from the rest of the collection and it certainly could have been worse. It’s handled in a civil way so kudos to the author. She’s a pretty likable main heroine and she’s always ready for a fight. She seems to be a little less sympathetic to the Morlocks than Cable is, but I suppose that it’s just how it goes when you’re used to being an assassin.

Cyclops is mostly only present in the Phalanc arc, but he looks pretty great. He’s portrayed as a superb leader who is always calm and collected. He makes the right choices and there’s nothing wrong with his character. He’s on par with Captain America on the leader’s best days. It’s easy to see why Cyclops is one of my favorite Marvel characters of all time and his portrayal is spot on here. Jean Grey also looks really good. She seems to have total control over her abilities so she is very good in combat now. She doesn’t get to fight all that often, but she plays a critical role in supporting the heroes when infiltrating the Phalanx. She lives up to her reputation as one of the strongest telepaths on the planet.

Wolverine’s role isn’t very big either, but he looks pretty good. This takes place at a time where he temporarily lost his Adamantium Skeleton so he’s in a weakened state. That’s definitely not great for him since he gets pounded a lot as a result, but he never backs down. Even without hie special abilities, Wolverine is a fighter and you can bet that he won’t go down without a fight. He’s definitely as likable as expected here and he still makes for a good rival to Cyclops.

Storm’s role isn’t huge, but she certainly helps a lot against the Dark Riders. One of those villains has elemental powers as well so it’s pretty satisfying to see her overpower him. Her weather abilities should certainly be a lot stronger than his and the comic doesn’t even make that debatable. She crushes him and she looks very good during all of the fights. As one of the senior X Men members around, I expect nothing less from this fighter!

Tyler gets a decent role as well since he is the final boss of the Morlocks arc. Let’s just say that he went off the deep end and you have to wonder what happened to him. Fans of the 90’s X Men show will definitely remember him and he’s certainly changed a lot since then. I like his new armor, but he’s a pretty generic villain once you get past that. His reasons for blowing up towns and hunting mutants are vague at best and there doesn’t seem to be much of a point beyond his actions. I don’t care for his character, but he makes for an intimidating villain. (When he has his helmet on)

The Phalanx is definitely one of the X Men’s more iconic foes. They usually beat their opponents through sheer numbers. It’s hard to really take them down in a physical fight so usually the X Men have to use some kind of electronic to disable them or just break their psyche. The heroes opt to do the latter this time and they do a good job of getting through the Phalanx’s defenses. I was actually expecting it to be more difficult for the heroes. The Phalanx make for good villains although none of their individual members appear to be likable. Luckily, this may change soon as he get a silhouette of a master Phalanx in space. He doesn’t like that his Earth forces were destroyed so he makes a threat about launching a real offensive there. That’s a cliffhanger that I can’t wait to see resolved since the leader looks really cool. Technically, I don’t see the X Men surviving such an assault so the Avengers better appear this time!

The Dark Riders used to work for Apocalypse and now they work for Tyler. They’re a pretty intriguing group, but I’m not familiar with any of their members. They’re fairly weak, which is why they typically go for Morlocks since those guys typically can’t fight back. I’m confident that the X Men or Avengers would have no trouble for them. None of the members are actually likable, but the designs are pretty good and I always like to see a super villain team.

The art is in that 90’s style so there are a lot of big splash pages where you have to turn your graphic novel. I was expecting it to be a little harder to follow than it was so that’s a good thing. Typically, you miss out on some of the action because it’s too chaotic, but the artist did a pretty good job of preventing that in this volume. Everyone probably looks a little too muscular and they can definitely be pretty exaggerated, but the art actually looks pretty good. This style certainly works pretty well for energy blasts. This will never be my favorite style though. It’s still hard to describe, but everyone is just a little too big and they all look pretty deranged this way. It’s pretty classic and there’s something about it that’s naturally appealing for fight scenes, but I’ll still take the streamlined X Sanction anyway. Long story short, the art doesn’t hurt the story.

The fight scenes are pretty intense. There are no real feats to be found here, but it’s still fun to see the fighters go at it. This collection is definitely a lot of fun. It’ll remind you of the good ole days from the Uncanny X Men. The writing is really good and the opposite of the Avenging Spider Man. It’s the type of collection that would have been a lot of fun even if the fight scenes had not been there, but they certainly help. Good writing plus good fights tends to result in a really good/great array of issues and that’s what happens here.

Overall, Cable Classic is a pretty good collection. The ending was perfect and the writing is really good. Just about all of the characters are likable and in character. The art complements the story pretty well here and it’s a very engaging read from start to finish. All X Men fans should get a kick out of this and I’d recommend it to DC fans as well since it’s a way to get introduced to the Marvel side of things. It may not be quite up to X Sanction level, but it’s definitely one of the better X collections that I’ve read. When you read this, get ready to see Cyclops as he was meant to be portrayed!

Overall 7/10

Avenging Spider Man The Good The Green and the Ugly Review

Posted on by
Reply

Couv_183624
Looks like it’s time to review one of the volumes in the Avenging Spider Man series. I’ve read many Spider Man comics and I’ve heard about how they have gone downhill recently. A solid team up series is a good way to gauge how good they were from this point in time compared to the old days. The writing is pretty bad, but the art is good and we get some action scenes so it’s definitely a mixed bag. That being said, this is certainly a good comic to check out, even if Spider Man’s portrayal is not great.

This collects a few Spider Man team ups so each adventure really has to stand up on its own. First, we get a comic with She Hulk. Spider Man decides to help her fight some villains for no reason in particular. It appears that he’s just bored so he tails her to a party that he wasn’t invited too. One thing leads to another and some villains appear. They unleash a Cat god who now wants She Hulk to be her herald. Let’s hope that Spider Man is up to the task!

It’s a decent comic I suppose, but Spider Man definitely looked pretty desperate here. He just wanted to follow She Hulk around no matter what, which was pretty out of character for him. The writing in this issue was the main reason why I disliked it in the collection. Some of the lines would give me a headache although I did read it pretty early in the morning. They just didn’t make sense or maybe it was the way that the font was set up. As far as team ups go, Spider Man can do better.

The next pair of issues revolved around a team up with Captain Marvel. (I prefer the old title) Spiderman and Captain Marvel are trying to bond by exchanging secrets when a mysterious girl appears. She is being chased by robots/the government. She claims to be Robyn Hood and she seems to be insane. Spider Man decides to handle her while Ms Marvel takes on the robots. The mysterious girl has some dark secrets that rapidly change the situation.

This comic was better, but it still suffered from its share of problems. Spider Man doesn’t look too good since he’s in total panic mode the entire time and he cops out on his secret. Captain Marvel says hers and then Spider Man avoids the question until the very end. The writers seemed to be unsure of what to have him say so it’s naturally not on screen. The villains were fairly generic and they didn’t offer much to the story. Robyn Hood was an interesting character I suppose and it’ll be interesting to see if she ever appears again. There wasn’t a lot of action here though.

The final comic definitely had the most fighting and Spider Man got to finally team up with Deadpool. This is certainly a duo that we’ve been wanting to see for some time. Deadpool lets Spiderman know that a telepath is trying to get into his head so they are 4 levels down in his dreams. They have to beat the boss at the end of each level to rise higher and higher until Spider Man is fully conscious. That shouldn’t be too bad, but can Deadpool really help Spider Man wake up or will he just make the situation worse.

This comic was probably the most fun one in the batch. Seeing Deadpool without his mask can still be nauseating though so I wish that he would keep it on. Some of the lines can definitely be a little unsavory or just gross as you may expect from an issue with Deadpool in it. That hurts the overall issue a little, but it still manages to be the best in the batch.

The artwork is pretty decent although it’s definitely not very good. It feels like a TV show tie in comic so the quality is just very low. They were probably able to make this comic really quick and the effort just doesn’t seem to be there. It’s easy to read and you can easily tell who everyone is, but the animation definitely won’t be causing you to take a step back in disbelief. It’s not the greatest, but it doesn’t hamper the story.

As I mentioned, Spider Man doesn’t look very good. He still jokes around a lot, which can be good, but he doesn’t do anything to dispel the rumors that he is pretty weak in the newer comics. She Hulk intimidates him a lot and he doesn’t handle the Robyn Hood situation well at all. He looks pretty good in the Deadpool team up, but it’s not really enough to save his character. Finding the right mix of strength and jokes can be tough and this author couldn’t pull it off.

She Hulk actually looked pretty terrible in her issue. She goes off the handle very quickly and she seriously overreacts when she grows a tail. She yells exclamations more than once, which doesn’t seem to be in character and she’s just not likable at all. I don’t know how she can keep her job as a lawyer after this case is all over. She wasn’t apologetic about wrecking the party.

Captain Marvel looks good in her issue even if she isn’t able to fight all that much. Her strength isn’t diminished, but there just aren’t many opportunities for her. She gets to talk tough to one of the robots though and she’s clearly stronger than the rest of them, but there was not an opportunity to take the villains down. They were protected legally after all. Captain Marvel just didn’t get a lot of character though, but that still beats She Hulk.

Deadpool was true to form and that’s always good to see. He’s still on top of things and he has an answer to everything. You can never tell what he will do next and he never lets an enemy try to pull the wool over his eyes. When the terms of his deal change, Deadpool doesn’t accept that and quickly gets down to business. He’s still a villain despite how sympathetic he can be at times, but at least he helps out for the money once in a while. Agreeing to get stabbed as part of the heroes’ plan was pretty nice of him since it was a bit much to ask for.

Robyn Hood was pretty insane and the writers didn’t seem to know what to do with her, but she was an interesting villain. She definitely needs more character if she’s intends to stay interesting for future issues, but she did all right for her first appearance. I definitely liked her more than the hypnotist from the final issue. It’s impressive that he did so well in the fight against Spider Man, but that was mainly due to a lot of external factors. His ability is definitely a great one and it will be fun to see him appear again some day. Depending on the writer, he could probably be a lot of fun. As for the cat god, I’m definitely not a fan.

This review probably seems more negative than a lot of Spider Man’s other comics from the past and a good reason for that is the simple fact that it isn’t quite as good as the norm. The writing just isn’t good and the art is sub par. Some of the characters just don’t look as good as they should and the collection is really light on action. That being said, it still earns a positive rating on the fun factor. It’s still pretty fun to read and while it may not seem that great in retrospect, you’ll be blasting through the pages. There are no real stakes here, but seeing what the heroes do on their downtime can be fun as well. The action scenes that we do get also have some potential to be better if not for the factors that were previously mentioned.

Overall, Avenging Spider Man is a pretty good idea, but Marvel fumbled a little in the execution. With a proper amount of hard work and a good staff behind it, this could have been the next Brave and the Bold. As it stands, it’s still a decent comic to check out if you want to see Spider Man team up with some of the heroes in a nice throwback to the old days. This certainly won’t make you a big Spider Man fan so take his portrayal with a grain of salt. I recommend this to all superhero fans who just want to see them fighting and having fun, but a Spider Man comic that you would prefer is his “Cosmic Spider Man” trade paperback.

Overall 6/10

New Avengers Everything Dies Review

Posted on by
2

NewAvengers1
Time to review volume 1 of the recent New Avengers series. The Illuminati have always made for a pretty interesting plot and Captain America has been the one to keep them in line. What will happen when they decide to go too far? It’s definitely a collection that is meant to keep you thinking and it’s a fun read.

The Earth is going to collide with an alternate Earth and the resulting explosion end up devastating the universe. Black Panther learns of this when he apprehends a mysterious figure who appears on his land. Her name is the Black Swan and she knows more than she lets on. He reluctantly calls the Illuminati to deliberate about what must be done. Black Swan lets them know that they ultimately only have two choices. Blow up the other Earth or allow the universe to end. She just finished blowing up a planet herself so she is not bluffing. What will the heroes decide to do?

Naturally, Captain America is against the notion of blowing up the planet. Since it is an alternate Earth, that would mean destroying billions of lives to save their own. It’s just not a good gambit and he knows that there has to be another way. He’s seen the Earth on the brink of extinction many times in the past so he knows what he is talking about. This is Captain America as he was meant to be portrayed. He is the moral compass of the group and he won’t even entertain the notion of using the bomb to take out the planet. Unfortunately, this means that the Illuminati can no longer have him around and they decide to erase his memories. It’s ripped offsimilar to what the Justice League did to Batman a while back. It’s sad for Steve Rogers since the others basically became traitors at that moment. The Avenger didn’t get to appear for most of the collection since he was taken out, but he looked very good in the scenes that he was in. I think he shouldn’t have been surprised by Black Panther’s betrayal though, but that’s a minor setback.

Black Panther is all for the idea along with Black Bolt. They’re leaders so they’ll do whatever it takes in order to save their kingdoms. Morals and honor will always be secondary to their overall goals. Namor is happy to do it since he’s essentially a villain at this point in time anyway. Dr Strange is slightly more reluctant to do this and he has a few spells ready, but none of them really seem like they’ll complete the job here so it’s moot. He ultimately agrees with the decision to blow up the planet. Mr Fantastic agrees pretty quickly since it’ll save his family and the Beast doesn’t even need a moment to think about it. He agrees wholeheartedly because he is the Beast and remains as one of my least favorite X-Men fighters.

That’s when the big cop out occurs…the planet is uninhabited. That does take away all of the tension and the stakes since they can now blow up the planet with a clear heart. In a way I would have preferred for this cop out not to have occurred since we would have seen whether these heroes were really heroes or not. No matter how they tried to justify it, destroying the planet would have cemented them as villains here. Destroying billions of people is far greater than any genocide feat in history and it always would be since blowing up planets is impossible in the real world. Naturally, a hero could top them by blowing up an inhabited galaxy someday, but it could be a while. On the other hand, it’s probably good that this did happen since I would rather not see these heroes taint themselves in such a way.

That was a big blow, but we got to see what all of the characters would have chosen (in theory. No guarantees until the final seconds right?) so that’s the important thing. Some subplots for the future have already begun. Black Panther has declared war on Namor and we can bet that Captain America will regain his memories and launch his own attack at some point. Dr Doom now has knowledge that could prove dangerous to the heroes as well. These plots should be pretty good and it’ll be interesting to see what the Black Swan does next as well.

The Black Swan makes for a pretty good villain here. She looks pretty similar to Emma Frost or Magik so I can’t say that the character design is pretty unique, but she’s a fun villain. We haven’t really seen what her abilities are (Assuming that she has any, but let’s face it…she will!) yet, but her plan is just getting started. She is pretty cooperative with the heroes since she definitely does want to keep on living. The whole situation is rather complicated and the heroes would have had a much tougher time without her. They should hopefully not trust her all that much at the moment, but she has definitely earned her freedom. Only time will tell if she saved the world for the better or for the worse.

The concept of the Illuminati is also pretty dicey and I agree with Black Panther for the most part. Deciding that they will take care of the Earth as they see fit is something that no group should be able to do. What about politics and Joe the Plumber? The heroes are starting to put themselves on a pedestal next to the average person and that’s definitely dangerous. Having the Infinity Gems in their possession is also a big display of power. at least the heroes claim to be doing this for the good of mankind and they haven’t overstepped their boundaries yet, but that day could definitely arise in the near future. We’ll see if the choices make or break them. After all, Captain America was the only member of the team who was a complete hero, without him…things could get very dangerous. The Beast will do anything to help the mutants and likewise with Black Bolt and Black Panther for their races. Namor doesn’t really care about anyone and Dr Strange’s motives are typically pretty clouded. Iron Man already has a dicey history of betraying his comrades like in Civil War so he certainly can’t be trusted. It’s only a matter of time until they fight the normal Avengers.

One thing about the premise that is hard to believe is how Black Swan says that nothing can stop the planets from colliding. The heroes try to use the Infinity Gauntlet and it actually doesn’t work. It’s possible that Captain America’s resolve just wasn’t strong enough, but it’s still a bit of a stretch. Even if that didn’t work there should be a bunch of other things that would. Remember how the Justice League made the Earth intangible during Doom? Something like that would work here or just warping it away from its current position for a few minutes. There are a lot of solutions that you can think of and it’s why I never believe in two choice scenarios in the Marvel world. Of course, you have to ignore that for the plot here, but it’s something to consider. It’s hinted that a high above being is forcing this to happen so that could become a plot soon.

The art is as good as I could have expected. Marvel has always been very sharp for the New Avengers and that doesn’t stop here. All of the character models look sharp and the proportions are right. The action scenes are typically pretty clear except for the Terrax one where a lot was happening at once and the art got a little fuzzy. Marvel continues to show that they can keep up with DC in the artwork game when they really put some effort in.

The writing is also very good for the collection. Regardless of how antagonistic the heroes appear to be, they are still written pretty well. It’s not necessarily out of character for any of the characters here to decide to blow up the planet. If Captain America had agreed then it would be a different story, but he didn’t so I give the comic some more props there. Galaktus and his herald do pop up out of nowhere, but it makes sense that they would try to do something in these final hours. The script alone makes the comic interesting so the fights and good visuals only help to improve the experience.

Overall, New Avengers Everything Dies is a pretty good comic arc. It’s a very fine start to the series since some of the sub plots have already started and we got to see the dark side of the group. The roster for the Illuminati is pretty good as well since most of the characters are interesting. I don’t think that adding in the Beast was a wise move, but maybe he’ll contribute something to the team soon. I think that the plot twist at the end was one of the biggest cop outs that I’ve seen in a while, but I suppose that it makes things a little easier on the heroes. It certainly prevents me from losing more respect for some of them, but it would have been nice to see if they would ultimately take the plunge or not. I recommend this to all Marvel fans or to anyone who wants to read a pretty good comic. Let’s see if future installments can keep this up!

Overall 7/10

Transformers Beast Wars The Ascending Review

Posted on by
Reply

transformers-beast-wars-the-ascending-20070816051408746
It hasn’t been too long since I read The Gathering so the characters are still pretty familiar to me in the sequel. It’s Transformers so I use the term “familiar” a little graciously since you’re probably not going to know all of the names by the time that you finish. I find it easier to just memorize the designs instead of the names since that usually sticks with you a little longer. It’s a pretty good comic and it really has everything that makes Transformers so fun.

Magmatron has been defeated, but he somehow survived the ordeals of the last volume. He is now trapped between dimensions so he exists as a pure energy being. He can travel through time instantaneously now, but he is unable to talk to anyone. It’s a pretty boring existence for him, but he learns of a plot to bring back Unicron. He must warn the Maximals or the Predacons before it is too late! Meanwhile, the Maximals and Predacons are still stuck outside of time during the Beast Wars saga as they try not to tamper with the original fighters and the original fighters try not to tamper with the Autobots and Decepticons.

This is why time travel can be tricky! Ravage wants to tamper and naturally help the Predacons win so fights ensue. Magmatron unleashes his plan, which helps other Maximals to arrive while at the same time making the new villain send his heralds to the planet to silence all of the plots. A lot of things are happening here and the volume is filled with nonstop action. Beast Wars is definitely getting off on the right foot with me.

First off, the art is very solid. That’s a must if you’re going to fill a collection with action scenes. Bad artwork would just wreck that effort and make the issues drag on. The designs are all spot on and everything is very clear. These may be giant robots, but they are able to fight with grace and finesse. Again, the artwork does a great job with that here.

One of the big positives is that the collection is just fun to read from start to finish. There aren’t any big names like Optimus Prime or Megatron here so the comics have to deal with minor characters to hold out intention. I guess Grimlock counts as a big character, but he’s more of a guest star or the one big star to keep your attention. He isn’t even needed since the writing is just that good. It’s definitely a pretty fun ride and probably one of the best Transformer comics on the market.

Shokaract is the big villain of this collection and he’s pretty cool. I definitely like his design and the Anti Matrix that he possesses is definitely powerful. I don’t see him taking on Megatron or anyone like that, but in this universe he is easily one of the strongest fighters on the block. He is already gone by the end of the collection though so we’ll have to get ready for the next big villain to replace him. (The guy gets a one panel cameo at the very end and he looks cool so far, but we’ll have to see how his personality is to know for sure whether he is a good character or not) Shokaract is being used by the villains, but he doesn’t know this so he still manages to talk tough the whole time. He’s a solid villain even if his amount of screen time isn’t very large.

It’s good to see the series still taking some nods from G1 like the Unicron is returning subplot. They’ve stopped that for now, but I’m sure that he will totally revive at some point. Once he does, I’m expecting a crossover since the Maximals will likely be thoroughly outclassed by this new threat. They’re good, but they’re simply a lot weaker than their G1 counterparts.

It’s hard to say who the leader is. The War is over right now so technically the Maximals and Predacons are teammates over in space. One of the robots who looks like Optimus Prime seems to call the shots or he at least has a lot of political power. On Earth, the war still rages on and the Maximals have the upper hand. There are 3 Maximals who looks like Optimus Prime at the moment. I like the one with fur and the tallest one whose leadership skills closely resemble that of the famed leader. I was pretty surprised when I saw the third one since he just jumped in out of nowhere, but he seems to be pretty cool as well. Some drama ensues as Razorbeast, one of the main Maximals, turns evil. His story is probably the only sad one in the batch since it’s pretty tragic. He was a good character so it’s sad to see him go.

One of the tools at the villain’s disposal is a king of liquid that infects whoever is hit with it. One blast will turn you into a mindless creature whose physical stats are now greatly increased. This happens to Razorbeast, but luckily he has enough strength of character to last for a while. It’s a great weapon for the villains, but it’s a little too potent if you ask me. Razorbeast was able to give the whole team a good fight so it was hard to believe that the weakened heroes teaming up with the villains could beat the heralds. They don’t due to some circumstances, but they held out for quite a while without getting hit. It’s a stretch, but I can live with it.

Ravage still makes for a pretty good Decepticon as well. He always looks out for his own skin, but he knows when it’s time to team up. His contributions to the team definitely help out a lot during the tough spots and he’s always been a pretty cool character. He looks better than his Autobot counterpart in Grimlock. Grimlock looks tough to be sure, but he just doesn’t seem as experienced as he should be. Ravage brings a lot to the table for his side, but Grimlock is really just extra muscle for the heroes. He comes in handy, but he should be able to help out even more.

The time travel aspect is a nice touch, but it does make things rather tricky for the writers going forward. Apparently, the robots have access to all point in time now so what’s to stop an enemy from messing with the timestream? Traitors are everywhere after all so you can’t count on any defenses forever. It’s one of the dicey parts about time travel and I guess it’s just better not to think about it. After all, this does open the door to some great stories in the future. I just think that it’s a path that needs to be walked very carefully.

Overall, Transformers Beast Wars The Ascending is a very good collection. There are mostly only obscure characters to be found here, but you’ll still find yourself enjoying the collection. It’s just one battle after another and it’s a lot of fun to read. It plays out like something from the 80’s. It’s a stand alone adventure by the end although I’m sure that some of the plots will ultimately continue. I recommend this to any Transformers fan or to anyone who likes a good action comic. I really can’t think of any negatives here and this is why Transformers has such a good reputation in the comic world.

Overall 7/10

The Amazing Spider Man The Movie Prelude Review

Posted on by
Reply

1061907
The Amazing Spiderman films never really smashed Hollywood with positive reviews. While I thought that the second one was great, I can definitely see why people would not care for the first. (Peter’s portrayal….) Naturally, a comic in that continuity would definitely be intriguing to read. It’s decent, but the backup stories are what really keeps the collection alive and kicking.

The story takes place at sometime during the first film. I forgot exactly where it takes place since it’s been a while since I saw the film, but it ends with Spider Man about to team up with the police to stop a serious threat. Spider Man is basically just chilling out until he is attacked by a group of guys with masks. Can he defeat them? Meanwhile, Gwen is trying to make Flash Thompson a better person by tutoring him.

Well, it’s a decent story, but there is nothing that happens here. Seeing Spider Man take on random humans is not going to sell very well. The author tries to make it dramatic by having Spider Man be on the losing side of the fight, but it’s pretty hard to swallow. Can Spider Man really lose to random humans? Let’s not forget that he has his Spider Sense and he’s probably an A rank fighter with it. There’s just too much of a suspense for disbelief here and it doesn’t work.

The artwork is pretty good for the two issues though. It’s not great of course and Spider Man’s design could use a little work, but I would still give it a passing grade overall. It’s good enough to let you enjoy the story in peace..of only we had more of a story. The subplot involves the fact that Flash is bullying another kid and Peter Parker doesn’t want to get involved. So, he dumps the responsibility on Gwen who quickly cleans up his act by agreeing to tutor him. If she can’t help him pass the test, then nobody can! Hopefully Flash gets with the program and soon if he wants to learn everything in time.

So, it’s not a bad story, but it doesn’t have the firepower that you would expect from a Spider Man comic. The backup changes that as we get a 3-4 part story about the Lizard. He has transformed once again so Spider Man decides to stop him without hurting the poor villain. He takes this a little too literally though as he barely fights back. Luckily the Human Torch arrives to take the Lizard down, but now Spider Man has to stop him from seriously hurting the Lizard. This could get dangerous for both of them!

I definitely have to give the backup stories some props since they were great. This the Spider Man universe that I remember. Spider Man doesn’t actually look as good as usual since he doesn’t want to hurt the Lizard, but at least his power level is pretty solid. He can really take a hit and the Lizard just can’t take him down for the count. His Spider Sense actually worked back in these days so it’s good to see.

The Lizard looks decently good as well since he finally overpowered his human persona. He’s a good villain even if I think that he is no match for Spider Man. There’s just nothing to dislike about his portrayal here. Of course, the Human Torch is the guy who steals the spotlight here. He just looks great! You can tell that he is a true superhero right from his opening scene and his confidence never wavers. He knows that the Lizard is no match for him and he doesn’t hesitate to fight even when the villain is under water. He wasn’t afraid of the water back then! He knows that it’s his weakness, but he has ways to get around that. The comics don’t portray him to be as resourceful nowadays, which is just too bad.

The art is also great for these issues since I loved the retro style of this era. The characters are all pretty vibrant and colorful while the battles are still pretty intense. The writing is also good and Peter Parker is concerned about the right things like stopping the Lizard instead of just thinking about Gwen the whole time. There’s a time and a place for romance and it isn’t when you’re in the middle of a battle.

This collection is worth it even if it was only the back up issues. It would be a very quick read, but the comics are too good to pass up. As it stands, the movie issues aren’t bad either. The portrayals for the characters aren’t quite as good as in the comics, but they aren’t bad either. There is no real action to be found so it’s more of a thought provoking issue with a lot of plot. It’s filler, but it’s still pretty entertaining so you’ll be cruising through the issues before you know it. That is the hidden power of a good Spider Man comic.

Overall, This is a pretty fun collection. There isn’t a lot of action in the main story, but the backup makes up for this. The old stories are as great as you may remember from the old days. This is probably the Human Torch’s best portrayal that I have seen in a long time. It definitely isn’t the greatest Spider Man collection, but it will definitely beat the average comic that you see in the stands nowadays. It’s good for a quick read and I definitely recommend it to my fellow comic readers. Of course, if you want to read the ultimate Spider Man saga, just go to your library and check out the Cosmic Spider Man arc. That collection is officially my favorite as far as Spider Man is concerned and I don’t see anything being able to pass it…it was just about perfect. Maybe I’ll find a Spider Man tie in for the second film soon…

Overall 7/10

Captain America Volume 4 Review

Posted on by
Reply

AUG120611_1
I haven’t read a whole lot of Captain America comics in the past. He has certainly been in a lot if Avenger issues, but I rarely check out his solo issues. He is a good hero, but his villain roster has never been the most interesting. So, it’s about time that I grab one of his collections and it seems to be the final one of the series or at least with this author. It is pretty good, but it does suffer from the issues that I expected in this collection.

New villains who call themselves the Discordians have declared war in the U.S.A. Captain America quickly heads in to stop them, but he doesn’t realize that the villains have the power of the press on their side. A new reporter is running a smear campaign against Captain America and it is working. Captain America considers retiring from the role once and for all. Will he really do this? If he does, then America may be doomed against this new threat!

It is a pretty fun story arc and one of the big factors at play here is the artwork. It looks really good and all of the character models are accurate. It is easy to see what is happening so we don’t miss any part of the fight scenes. Marvel is playing catch up when it comes to artwork thanks to DC’s brilliance and this title certainly helps Marvel’s rep. When Marvel wants too, they can definitely make a great looking comic, they just don’t give it 100% sometimes.

Captain America looks decent here except for the fact that he doubts himself a lot. Seeing the American public turning against him should not face this veteran. Cap’s seen this happen many times in the past and the citizens of this world are always pretty fickle. Especially in Marvel world since they’re always turning against Spiderman. It’s okay not to harm them of course, but rushing through the mob should be all right. Taking out the Discordians is still Captain America’s top priority so that’s what he needs to focus on. I actually do like him as a character, but some authors definitely can’t write him as well as others. I think that this writer has a good handle on the character. The doubting subplot just wasn’t needed.

Baron Zemo appears here, but his role isn’t very flattering for his fans. He looks pretty bad against Agent 13 and it’s like he can’t even fight anymore. The other villains are treating him like an underling and he never gets to betray them. At least he can ponder his mistakes in prison as he plots his next scheme. This is why Captain America’s array of villains are just not that good.

Sharon Carter does look pretty good though as she proves why she’s a more likable character than Black Widow and the Charlie Angels group. She doesn’t use any cheap tricks to complete her missions. She’s just a pro and that’s what counts. She handles a lot of the guards and she outfights Baron Zemo, which is a pretty decent feat in theory. She’s definitely one of the better S.H.I.E.L.D. agents out there. Dum Dum Dugan also gets his hits in as he lands the big blow on the reporter. He is pretty old so it’s always impressive to see him on the front lines.

The actual two villains in the shadows are pretty uninspiring. They barely even deserve a mention since their combined screentime may only be like 5 pages. They go down very quickly to say the least since they aren’t really fighters. The Discordians were a good idea though. They’re like DC’s Manhunters. They can only live for a short while so they try to cause as much mayhem and destruction as possible in that short amount of time. They aren’t really powerful, but their lasers can be dangerous when they manage to land a hit in. I liked their designs and they definitely have some potential. They should be brought back in a future arc since they make good opponents.

After the arc is over, we also get a one shot story to wrap everything up. It’s really just a flashback issue, but the writer was leaving so it was the end of an era. Steve Rogers basically talks to another one of the Captain Americas of the past about how tough it is to keep up the mantle and how someone will always be ready to replace them. He wants the past one to finally move on and enjoy his life. It’s a rather emotional issue and it’s a pretty good one. There aren’t a lot of fights and plot progression of course, but it’s still a good story.

In a world where dozens of superheroes are around at any given point in time, authors really need to make sure to reference this so that I can’t ask why the other heroes aren’t helping out. Well, Captain America mentions that the other Avengers are helping off screen at one point so I can live with that. There are thousands of Discordians attacking around the world so it’s totally plausible that we wouldn’t actually see the other Avengers even if they were helping out. It was just a quick mention, but I’m definitely glad that the line was included since you would think that the other heroes would want to fend off the alien invasion.

There is one part about the plot that is rather sketchy though. The villain is using the TV show to get to the public, but why doesn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. just jam the signal. They go to the source to stop the reporter, but they must have some great hackers or meta humans who could have done the job that way. The plan just didn’t seem like Hydra’s best one and it’s hard to really see it working. It’s a little embarrassing for the normal people since they lose their will so quickly. They never were the strongest guys in the lot, but I still expect a lot more out of them. Ah well, it’s a minor plot detail that won’t actually hurt the collection. It’s just something to think about.

Overall, Captain America is a pretty good topic. I do think that it should have a sub title on the cover or some other way to uniquely identify it from the other Captain America comics. Trying to find this one online would likely be difficult. There are no real good villains to be found here aside from the Discordians…and they are only minions. That’s why all of the pressure was on the plot and it came through. This arc was not Earth shattering, but it was very fun and I could read it again. That’s definitely a big plus for the graphic novel and it’s the main reason why I give it a 7. There’s just something about this arc that makes it easy to read. I definitely recommend it to any Marvel fan and especially to those who want to read about Captain America.

Overall 7/10