Modern Comics Review: Batman Beyond #3

I was really hoping that the Batman Beyond miniseries would live up to my expectations. I was hoping for a nice continuation of the TV series aimed at maybe a slightly older audience and, unfortunately, I’ve only partially gotten that wish. The first two issues were good, but felt less like a Batman Beyond comic, and more like a futuristic version of the normal Batman books. The rogues gallery of Terry McGinnis is being increasingly ignored for returns of rehashes of Bruce Wayne’s old enemies and this is really disappointing. It’s like the creative team can’t decide whether they are writing this more for the Batman or Batman Beyond audience. That does not mean that this a bad book, but it does have so much more potential.

Continuing where issue #2 left off, Terry is losing a fight against the man that seems to Hush as he tries to kill the aged Calendar Man. Unfortunately for Terry, he’s being hit both by Hush and sleep deprivation and has Bruce Wayne yelling in his ear. Things go about as well as you might expect for him. After Hush escapes, Terry heads home for some much needed rest and then visits Bruce only to find that Bruce isn’t exactly pleased with Terry’s performance as Batman. This continues to be the one area where writer Adam Beechen excels: he has absolutely nailed Terry’s voice perfectly. He reacts to any given situation exactly as you would expect not just the Terry McGinnis from the show, but also how any teenager in his situation would act. The fact that Beechen handles him well is a large part of the reason this book isn’t worse than it could be.

However, his other characters don’t fare so well. Bruce, though he was also harsh and critical of Terry in the show, was never as overly angry as he is represented here. Every little thing that Terry does bothers him and even when Terry almost gets himself killed from pushing himself too hard, Wayne still scolds him for not being devoted enough. This might have been acceptable if this series took place very early in Terry’s career, but this issue establishes that the series takes place after the movie “Return of the Joker” which is probably the point where Wayne thinks most highly of McGinnis as Batman. It’s a huge character inconsistency that I would like to see resolved somehow.

I’d also like to see that plot itself go somewhere. This issue really didn’t tell the read anything new. Really all that happens is that Wayne makes a particularly harsh statement about his lack of faith and we discover who Catwoman is running around for. This mini is at its halfway point and the story really hasn’t moved along at all. At this point, I’m just hoping that the resolution isn’t too rushed, but then again, there also isn’t too much to the plot either so, unless there’s a twist coming, there is not much that needs to be wrapped up at all. Either way, it’s a worrying sign for the series.

On the other side of the creative team coin, I’m trying really hard to like Ryan Benjamin’s pencils, but it’s just so inconsistent. Some of his panels look absolutely amazing and his Hush is actually frightening. He looks powerful and scary and like he could actually take Batman apart all by himself, which is really impressive for a guy that is only wearing a trench coat and bandages. I also really like how nimble he makes Batman look which is a necessity for the Batman Beyond version. However, at the same time, his faces still look odd, especially Terry’s, both in an out of the mask. And for some strange reason, Terry’s mother has gone from moderately-sized with red hair to much skinnier with black hair. I’m not sure if that was a conscious decision to separate a plot point about Terry’s “real parents” introduced in the last episode of Justice League Unlimited or just an error on Benjamin’s part, but it really bothered me.

Despite all the criticism I’ve thrown at this series, it really does have a lot of potential and that’s exactly why I’m being so hard on it. Honestly, most of problems might not be issues for some readers; some might enjoy the increased focus on the villains of the past and others may really like every panel of Benjamin’s pencils, but I think this could be so much more. There’s still time for Beechen to change this around and he shown that he knows the backstory of this universe well and can do (most) of the characters well, so I hope that the latter half of the mini can really make Batman Beyond into the powerhouse it should be.

Overall: 6.5/10

Modern Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #640

Well, I can say that the Amazing Spider-Man #640 is easily the best of the three issues of the “One Moment In Time” storyline. Unfortunately, this still isn’t saying much. The story continues to be Joe Quesada’s personal attempt to justify the events of “One More Day” and explain what exactly was changed by the deal with Mephisto a few years back. The events of this particular issue are definitely less ridiculous than the previous two and make more sense, but I still just don’t like the way this story is going.

This issue sets up the events that will lead to the more permanent break up of Mary Jane and Peter as well as how, in the post-OMD continuity, Spider-Man was able to make everyone forget his identity. Unfortunately, all of this once again hinges on the random henchman that has been behind all of the One More Day problems. The same guy that was Electro’s henchman and the guy that fell on top of Spider-Man to make him late for his wedding is the one hired by the Kingpin to try and gun down Mary Jane and her Aunt Anna. I don’t understand why Quesada is pushing this guy so hard; he’s just not that interesting of a character and certainly not a threat worthy of Spider-Man. Maybe Quesada wants to show how any bad guy can be a threat to Peter, but he just is not a well enough developed character to hinge so much on. Also, the use Doctor Strange gets in this issue just feels so uninspired. I was hoping that the plot thread he is being used to solve would have a more surprising and interesting person behind it.

One area that I do have to give credit where it’s due is in the art from Paolo Rivera. I know that I previously been unhappy with his work, but that was mainly when it was juxtaposed against pre-existing art from the Amazing Spider-Man Annual. Here it is actually very good and looks quite classic and like a modern version of the art from the 80’s and 90’s. It really does look good and I loved his take of Peter here. The only problem I had with his work was when the assassin almost shoots Mary Jane, I honestly couldn’t tell if she had been shot or not. It wasn’t until later when someone says she only has a concussion that I knew for sure. Quesada’s artwork is still and odd as always. His characters still look like blobs that are all connected together and his faces just look so odd. Luckily, he barely has to draw any panels this issue, so I didn’t mind as much as in previous issues.

All in all, this is far and away the best issue of “One Moment In Time,” but it’s still a mess of a story. This one isn’t as completely annoying as the other two were and it’s at least nice to look at (for the most part) and the story make more sense, but it still just feel as though Joe Quesada is just trying to make people think “One More Day” was a good idea to begin with. I really would have been fine with this story never being written and I don’t see it getting much better in its final issue, though hopefully it’ll be at least readable like this issue was.

Overall: 5.5/10

Modern Comics Review: Invincible Iron Man #29

I respect what Matt Fraction is trying to do in Invincible Iron Man, I really do. I love that he has managed to bring Tony Stark back from being one of the most hated characters in comics and establish as a hero again. I also love that he’s finally been able to add some much needed personality into Tony’s supporting cast and that he’s working to expand that cast at the same time. I even really like the idea of the new Stark Resilient company and it’s goals, yet for the past few months, I have been so bored with this series.

I recognize and even appreciate that the focus of this story arc is not Iron Man fighting a villain in an epic showdown, but it is just moving too damn slow. This isn’t even me just saying that there is too little action going on, it just feels like the story barely inches forward each issue. I want to see something actually happen. It doesn’t have to be a huge battle, but it’s about time we actually got somewhere and saw whether or not Stark Resilient could succeed and just what exactly the Hammer family is up to. I’d also really like all the female characters to stop being so annoying. They all come off as really grating to me, especially Pepper. Her constant whining about own Iron Man (sorry, Rescue) suit was not endearing and just turned me off. All that being said, that doesn’t mean there aren’t interesting parts to this issue. There’s a new twist shown in the Pepper and Tony relationship that makes sense and is an effective to create drama naturally. I’m also really beginning to take a shine to all of Tony’s new employees, even if they don’t get much time this issue. They all ave really human reactions to the things going on around them and it makes them much more interesting for it. I hope they stick around for the long haul and get some more screen time.

Despite the slowness of the story, easily the biggest problem remains artist Salvador Larocca. It pains me to say this as there was a period in my life where I counted Larocca as my favorite artist from any comic book company. He really had a knack for clean characters and great action, but here he just keeps getting worse and worse. His characters sometimes barely look human and all look downright ugly. Also, I know this had been mentioned plenty elsewhere, but his tracing of celebrities faces for his characters is so painfully obvious and only hurts the art that much more. Colorist Frank D’Armata only makes things worse too. His colors make everyone look really muddy, like he water colored them and all the colors ran together or something and he adds far too much shadowing that doesn’t look even remotely natural. I’m honestly not sure if there would be any answer to this short of replacing the whole art team, though Marvel seems to want them for the long haul. It’s really sad to see such a talented artist fall so far.

I would still argue that Invincible Iron Man is a good book. It may be slow, but Fraction clearly has places he plans to go and many of the ideas he’s had have been really great. If he could pick up the pace and just make this a little more interesting from month to month, he’d be in great shape. It says something for Fraction that despite all of the problems I’ve listed here, I still come back for every issue and probably will for a while. He is good plotter and he just needs to make everything get to where he wants it in a more interesting fashion. For anyone that’s interested in starting on this series, I would, without a doubt, say to wait for the trade as it is almost guaranteed to read better in that format. Also, I want the old Salvador Larocca back.

Overall: 6.1/10

Modern Comics Review: Superman #702

Since the started of the “Grounded” storyline, Superman has become such an odd duck of a series. I really can’t tell if I like it so far or not. It’s very charming in a lot of ways and really does have some nice scenes in it, and yet I’m having trouble getting myself entirely on board. I think I like the idea of the story more than I’m liking the execution. I wouldn’t call this a bad book, but it couldn’t definitely use some improvement.

I liked last issue largely because it took Superman away from the threats he normally faced. The problems he now had to deal with were, real street level ones that your average person might encounter going about their day. This is still true to an extent this issue, but this month there is also aliens that are encountered and a giant robot suit to be fought. I’m sure there are people out there that miss Superman having regular fights, especially since he did spend most of the last year not fighting, and this issue might appeal to them more. I, however, went into this storyline not looking for big fights, but instead to see how Superman, who is used to dealing with huge problems he can usually punch away, would handle everyday problems that he can’t use his fists to solve, so this issue appealed to me less for the robot suit fight. That being sad, it is a rather small part of the book and does end fitting into one of the more down-to-earth problems presented the issue. There’s a particularly great scene in which Superman interacts with an old man who used to work in a Detroit steel mill before it was shut down. This is easily the best part of the issue and is quite poignant at times.

What really bothered me here, however, was Superman’s voice. It seems strikingly inconsistent and can jump all over the place. One moment, he’ll be very humble and acting very friendly and as you’d expect, but other times he comes off as really arrogant and forceful, especially when dealing with some aliens living on Earth. I understand why he’d have to be more forceful with them, but he seems unusually aggressive towards them when they are really quite peaceful and it seems decidedly un-Superman-like. When Straczynski does manage to get Superman right though, it feels very right. Hopefully he can even that out more in future issues.

I’ve always been very on the fence about artist Eddy Barrows’ work; sometimes it is truly dynamic and great, but other times it is extremely muddy and his characters look lumpy. I honestly would never have picked him for street level story like this, but he actually pulls it off very well. His people look very diverse, as they should, and all of his humans look very human. That sounds silly, but a lot of artists can’t seem to draw regular people looking all that average, but Barrows does it admirably. In the scene I mentioned earlier about the steel mill worker, I’m not sure whether I should give the credit for that scene more to Straczynski or Barrows as he really sells this character and draws some stellar emotion on his face. It helps to make the scene as moving as it should be. He also draws one hell of a Superman. I’ve never seen any other artist make Superman look as kindly and innoccent as Barrows does here. There’s even one scene that is just Superman smiling and it is drawn so well I couldn’t help but smile myself. Eddy Barrows is truly bringing his A-game here.

I really do love the idea of this story. I’ve always been a supporter of the idea of Clark Kent being the real person and not just how Superman hides and that’s the idea that “Grounded” should be pressing. There’s so much potential and I know the creative team could do it justice, I’m just still waiting for that to happen. We’re only two issues in, so I’m really hoping to see the next ten issues to live up to what it could be.

Overall: 7.7/10

Modern Comics Review: Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #2

Whenever I read a comic that takes place in the past and claims to fit in between two previously established stories, I’m always worried that it won’t fit quite as well the writer thinks. Luckily, Christos Gage seems to have already mostly assuaged my worries in only two issue of Spider-Man/ Fantastic Four while also fitting some truly great character moments. Just like last issue, this an extremely entertaining issue that can easily be enjoyed by anyone whether they are familiar with this period in Marvel Comics history or not.

This issue jumps forward in time from the last one to right after Mr. Fantastic and the Human Torch helped Spider-Man to remove the future-Venom symbiote from his body. With a little help from the series’ overarching mystery villain, the symbiote breaks free and attempts to seek out a new host: Franklin Richards. The plot is a whole lot of fun this go around as the symbiote latches onto everyone from Mr. Fantastic to She-Hulk. Out of all the characters readers have seen be (at least temporarily) bonded with a symbiote, the Fantastic Four has never been among that number and it adds a unique freshness to the issue. There’s some great little continuity jokes thrown in well that only enhance the issue if you are familiar with the past of the FF and Spider-Man. The story doesn’t fit quite perfectly into continuity as the events of this issue seem like something that would have been mentioned in the comics since they occurred, but this is one of the necessary downsides that come with stories such as this.

Despite all this fun, where Gage really shines is in the voice he gives the characters. This particular issue focuses mainly on Spider-Man’s interactions with Reed Richards and there is some great stuff about how Peter Parker idolized Reed since even before he was Mr. Fantastic. Peter’s voice was handled expectedly well, but Gage really treats Reed’s with amazing skill. He manages to create a Mr. Fantastic that is both the smartest man in the room and family oriented without coming off as the cold, arrogant jerk he so often is these days. This Mr. Fantastic may be forgetful, but he is still concerned with spending time with his son and wife and does so lovingly. It’s one of the better depictions I have seen for the character in a while.

Meanwhile, Mario Alberti continues to prove himself better and better. This issue was absolutely gorgeous. His take on the symbiote is easily one of the most fluid and yet scary versions I have seen in quite some time. It looks truly fantastic on page and actually moves and acts like you would expect it would. And if you thought Venom was stretchy before, just wait until you see Reed Richards-Venom. It’s really entertaining to see each new version of Venom as he takes over new hosts. There’s even some really nice visual elements that Alberti adds for authenticity of the period this is set in, such as Franklin’s 4 ½ shirt and Sue’s hair.

Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #2 is even better than the first issue was. Both the action and characterization are ramped up to the next level and Alberti continues to bring his A-game. This was one of my personal favorite periods in Marvel history and Gage certainly did it justice. His characters even act similar to how they were characterized back then. If you have even a passing interest in any of the heroes involved, pick this book up immediately.

Overall: 8.9/10

A Couple of Comic Book Bin Articles

Hey everyone just wanted to let you know that I've posted a few comics up on Comic Book Bin too so definitely check them out!
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #1: http://www.comicbookbin.com/Green_Lantern_Emerald_Warriors_001.htmlThanos Imperative #3: http://www.comicbookbin.com/ThanosImperative003.html

Nancy In Hell #1: http://www.comicbookbin.com/Nancy_in_Hell.html

Modern Comics Review: Ultimate Comics Avengers 3 #1

I wasn’t exactly excited to hear that there was already going be a new ultimate Daredevil after the original was killed in Ultimatum. It just seemed almost too soon for Marvel to be hyping a new version and it certainly didn’t help the series for me when it was announced that Steve Dillon was going to be on art. I have never been a fan Dillon’s art style and then when I heard the villains were going to primarily vampires, I was even less interested. Basically, UC Avengers volume 3 had a lot of strikes against it in my book from the get go.

Surprisingly enough then, I enjoyed it well enough. The story this time mainly revolves around a vampire named Anthony trying to take over the superhero community by turning heroes into vampires. The opening scene with Blade is nothing special and pretty much what I expected from the character, but it’s a serviceable entrance to the character. Where the book really shines in once it makes its way to Ray Connor, the boy who will become the new Daredevil. I actually really liked the characterization of this kid, more so than I ever like Ultimate Matt Murdock. I was pleasantly surprised by this, though Ultimate Stick wasn’t quite as interesting. He’s the same tired, gruff mentor you’re sure to have seen a million times. I really didn‘t like the sudden retcon that Daredevils exist for a mission to kill vampires though. As far as I know there was no precedent to even hint at this ever in the UU‘s history; it was too out of left field. The Avengers themselves barely put in an appearance here, though one of them shows up in a rather unexpected way, but not in a way I like for the character. I hope it doesn’t hinder his presence in the Ultimate Universe as he’s one of my favorites of the Ultimate Avengers. The “twist” towards the end of the book also wasn’t all that shocking as solicits had spoiled it months ago. I am definitely intrigued by the two panels that show a seemingly very old Iron Man suit that anyone that knows that character will recognize.

Even though it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would, I still wasn’t a fan of Dillon’s artwork in this book. All of his characters feel very stiff, which is very bad for characters that are designed to be nimble such as Daredevil and, to a lesser extent, Blade. It made the action scenes quite poor and all of the people looked like stiff cutouts or action figures. His was also quite poor as well. Panels didn’t run from one to another very well. In one panel, Blade jumps out a window and looks like he’s flying and in the next he’s in a chase on car roofs. It all felt disjointed. There were some good moments to be had though. I actually quite enjoyed the training montage, though it only lasted a page, and Dillon rendered the Avengers themselves fairly well at the end of the book. Definitely not the worst I’ve ever seen from Dillon (*cough* Wolverine: Origins *cough*).

In terms of the plot, I’d say that this is easily shaping to be the worst of the first three arcs of Ultimate Avengers. It largely feels very unoriginal and it hasn’t really made me all that interested in seeing where it will go from here. It’s only real saving grace is that it has some strong character work with the new Daredevil. I hope the events of this issue don’t change him too much because he really is the best part here. I’m hoping Millar will have some of his trademark crazy ideas for future issues that will spice this volume up more in the future because otherwise I’m not sure if I’ll stick it out through the whole thing.

Overall: 5.5/10

Modern Comics Review: Doomwar #6

I’m not really one of the fans of the more recent depictions of the Black Panther. He comes off as too arrogant in most situations and it makes him a rather grating character for me to read. I recognize that his recent stories have allowed him to have a much greater presence in the Marvel Universe, and I do appreciate that, but I’m just not a huge fan of this interpretation. I also was not one of the supporters of his marriage to Storm as it just felt purely like a publicity stunt to bring exposure to the character and not like two characters that actually loved each other. Unfortunately, this has also carried over to the Doomwar miniseries that concludes with this issue.

This series didn’t feel nearly as relevant to me as it wanted to seem. I never once felt the sense of urgency all the characters seemed to display. They were constantly talking about how unstoppable Dr. Doom’s forces were, only to turn and start destroying them with little difficulty. When they did have problems with Doom’s soldiers, so deus ex machina, like shadow alchemy, was introduced so that they could immediately start winning again. That trend continues here, right up until the finale. Comics frequently use the concept of the heroes being in dire straits and suddenly turning it around, but it needs to be done in interesting way, and it just wasn’t interesting for me here. It may have opened story possibilities for all of Wakanda from here on out, but it just didn’t work for me. It didn’t even make the Panther look particularly smart or badass, he just got knocked around, pulled out his machina, and actually made himself look kind of stupid. I can’t help but feel that there better resolutions that could have been used here. Speaking of which, it wasn’t until the very end of this issue that I even remembered the X-men were a part of this series, which should not have been the case. It was almost as if they were forgotten entirely.

One area where writer Jonathan Maberry did suceed, was with the voice of his characters. He wrote each of the many characters very well, including the Black Panther who, as much as I don’t like it, sounded exactly as her modern depiction should. There were two characters I felt he wrote particularly well: Dr. Doom and, surprisingly, Deadpool. Maberry has crafted a truly regal and powerful Doom, even if his ultimate achievement in this issue seemed a little silly to me. However, Doom did seem to be clearly in control for all six issues right up until the ending and, even then, he won, in a way. His Deadpool actually reminded be of Joe Kelly’s version from his 90’s series, which is very high praise indeed. He wasn’t written as too, overly insane as he often is these days and actually came off as competent while still being goofy. The characterization was the best part of this series for me.

The other definite high point for all six issue was the artwork by Scot Eaton, He makes all of his characters distinctive in appearance and really made them feel powerful when they should. I especially liked his interpretation of The Thing, though I didn’t much care for his redesign for Doom’s new armor. Probably his most impressive characters were the women though; they all looked powerful without looking too muscular and they didn’t have the ridiculous proportions most artists seem to give female heroes. All in all, I was very impressed with Eaton’s pencils on Doomwar, though he did have one strange panel where Deadpool looked almost Hulk-sized. The colors seemed kind of muddy, but that isn’t Eaton’s fault, nor was it a huge distraction.

In terms of his recent appearances, I would say that Doomwar has been some of the Black Panther’s best. The story was a little disjointed and the ending was lackluster, but overall it was a very solid miniseries. There are certainly possibilities for future stories created here so long as it isn’t ignored by succeeding writers. It didn’t quite end on a bang, but it was a fun story with a decent conclusion.

Overall: 6.5/10

Good News, Bad News!

So, as the title says, I've got some good news and some bad news, but it's all really exciting!
The good news is a followup to a previous post. As of today, I've been officially brought on as a reviewer for the Comic Book Bin website! This means I'll be able to get some serious exposure for my reviews and reach quite a few more people than I could have ever hoped. Needless to say, I'm hugely excited. You can check out my first official review there at:

http://www.comicbookbin.com/Irredeemable016.html

That being said:

The downside of this is that I'll be devoting a lot of the little free time I have to working on reviews for them, so there might be a decrease in how many a put up here, but I hope it doesn't affect Wednesday Everyday too much. I still plan to add new reviews and updates here as often as I can just, don't be surprised if they are a little more spaced out. I'll always make sure to add links to my reviews at CBB here as well though.

Anyway, I'm excited about this and I hope you all are too! make sure you check out comic Book Bin when you get a chance. It's a great group of people with some amazing work on there.

Modern Comics Review: Marvel Universe Vs. The Punisher

I honestly don’t know why anyone felt this book needed to be made. This is exactly what you would get if you combined the 1995 story The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe with Marvel Zombies. I don’t think anyone at all out there was screaming to read this series and yet here it is. That all may sound negative, and it is and it isn’t. At least based on this first issue, this is an entertaining series. There isn’t anything particularly bad about and I actually enjoyed it a good bit, I just don’t get why it ever made it far enough for me to read since it’s basically covering ground that we’ve already seen before.

Don’t get me wrong, it may not be anything new exactly, but I was definitely never bored. Jonathan Maberry creates a version of Earth very similar to that of Marvel Zombies, though the infestation comes from a cause much different than “The Sentry crashes into Earth all Zombified.”I appreciated an actual reason for the outbreak here, even if it was fairly predictable. I also would have preferred the reason for Frank Castle’s immunity to be nearly anything else, but it isn’t a huge plot point so I don’t care that much. This issue largely consists of Frank recalling the outbreak to himself (a narrative cliché I’ve never much cared for), but I actually quite liked the story. In a lot of ways it was more gruesome than the origin of the Zombieverse and in a good way too. I liked how that virus could affect certain characters differently and I especially enjoyed what The Thing turned himself into. There really isn’t much else to the story other than the establishment of Frank’s real target, a certain major Marvel character, and that maybe there are other survivors. This issue is mostly setup as a result, but it’s never boring setup.

I’d never heard of Goran Arlov before he penciled this series, but I’m fairly impressed with his work here. He creates a suitably dark, somber version of New York City that really shows how bleak everything has gotten. His Punisher is a very grizzled character, even more so than normal, and his one-panel rendition of the Blob is very chilling and makes his brief scene truly haunting. That being said, his work is nothing super special and there are some characters I wouldn’t be able to name based on his artwork unless they were named in the story, but overall it’s serviceable art that rarely distracts from the story.

I decided to check out The Marvel Universe Vs. The Punisher mainly out of curiosity as to what new and original scenarios Maberry could come up with. By that, I mean I was most interested in the various ways that Maberry might have the un-powered Punisher take out the superheroes of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, neither of those are areas are made particularly original here. Most of the main infection story is derivative of one source or another at least at this point and we only get to see The Punisher kill a few heroes, and in relatively unspectacular ways. I will likely pick this series up again when the next issue comes out, admittedly largely due to the cover, but if Maberry can’t really make this world seem more interesting and unique and really take advantage of the playground he has, I likely won’t come back after that. It was fun enough for now, but it's gonna have to ramp up some to keep me entertained.

Overall: 6.1/10

Modern Comics Review: Superman: The Last Family of Krypton

I don’t proclaim to have read them all, but I’ve yet to encounter a DC Elseworlds that I haven’t enjoyed. I’ve always loved the idea of the non-continuity alternate dimension comics such as Elseworlds and Marvel’s What If? books because they offer free reign for a creator to be as imaginative as they want to be. The Last Family of Krypton, the first Elseworlds title in quite some time, uses this freedom in wonderful ways to create an imaginative and engaging Superman story, even if Superman himself never appears once in the issue.
The plot of Last Family is fairly simple. How would the world be different if Kal-El’s mother and father had come to Earth along with him instead of sending him by himself. Within short order, however, Earth has completely been changed from how it normally is in the DCU as the El’s adjust to and become a part of Earth society. Soon after arrival, Jor-El and Lara become Superman figures in their own right and quickly become celebrities across the planet. Jor-El starts a company to better human society and Lara founds a Kryptonian religion on Earth, while young Kal-El is voluntarily adopted by a familiar couple to learn how to better integrate into himself into Earth. This particular part read as a very organic way for Clark to grow up with his biological parents while still able to be raised as the Superman readers know him as. Admittedly, it did seem odd that the El’s would be so willing to hand their child out to adoption, but they do keep in frequent contact so it’s not all that bad. In fact, the dual-parent aspect is one of my favorite parts of the issue as Clark must try and form his own values based off of two completely different cultures being fed to him. It’ll be entertaining to see how this affects Clark in his adult life.
Cary Bates creates some very real, fresh voices for each of his characters here without throwing out the characterizations we’ve seen in the past. Though Jor-El has been dead chronologically since before Superman ever appeared, readers have gotten glimpses of his personality here and there and the Jor-El in Last Family reads exactly as those interpretations would have you expect him to. He is kindly towards the people of Earth, but also seems to hold himself above them as well. There’s a sense of hubris about him, but not one that is overbearing or that makes him unlikable. If anyone seemed out of character, it was the general population of Earth who seemed almost too accepting of the Kryptonians, though that could just be the pessimist in me speaking. I especially enjoyed how Bates chose to end the book, with a delightful new development for the El’s that uses his scripting freedom to its fullest while still feeling like a natural path for the story to take. It could certainly lead to some very interesting scenarios in the next two issues.
I haven’t encountered artist Renato Arlem many times before, but I can officially be counted among his fans now. His work on Last Family is simply gorgeous. Though human in appearance, his Lara and Jor-El have a distinct quality to them that clearly sets them apart from any other characters every time they appear; it comes off making them feel powerful and both alien and human. I especially loved the constant costume changes the El’s had an each outfit looked great. He has a truly splendid attention to detail and no panel was lacking background. It really felt like Arlem put as much effort as he could muster into every panel. If I had a complaint with his work here, it’s that, at times it seems like his faces’ only have two emotions: happy and serious. Everyone just sort of fluctuates between these and it makes some scenes look more awkward than they should.
I didn’t really have any expectations going into The Last Family of Krypton. I was hoping it would be as good as other Elseworlds tales that I had read, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been awful. There was certainly room for this series to be awful, but the combination of Cary Bates and Renato Arlem keeps the quality level high. If you came here looking for Superman-class action, you’ll be sorely disappointed, but if you want some in-depth characters and a well thought out, engaging plot, then you came to the right place. I very excited to see where Bates takes this story in the next two issues. Literally anything could happen, I just hope that the it stays this interesting the whole way through.

Overall: 9.0/10

Modern Comics Review: Secret Avengers #3

I had some amount of skepticism for each of the four Avengers series that launched as part of Marvel’s “Heroic Age.” Though I was excited for it after hearing the creative team and seeing the line-up, I found myself wondering if Secret Avengers was necessary. I honestly wasn’t sure why we needed this team with all the other ones running around, but it’s a testament to Ed Brubaker’s skill that after the first issue, I was completely sold on the series. It’s since moved to the top of my read list every time a new issue comes out. I may not know for sure where the story is going, but it sure is a fun ride getting there.

Issue #3 starts with a flashback to some Confederates post-Civil War. While I have next to no idea what this has to do with the story, it really shows artist Mike Deodato’s versatility and talent. We then cut back the Ant-Man as he finds out just where that strange doorway from last issue leads to. The answer isn’t entirely surprising, but it is still interesting in its own way and could give the new Ant-Man a chance to show how much of a hero he can be. My personal favorite part of the issue has to do with the Archon, the giant creature Steve Rogers and the Beast were fighting as he becomes a much more fleshed out character in this issue and we even get his origin here, though I find it hard to believe that the Watchers would create such proactive creatures, but that doesn’t have a huge impact on the story. Archon becomes a fun character and, for a bit, I was holding out hope that he might even join the team as a new member, but somehow I doubt it. My only other problem with this issue was the possessed Nova creating an oxygen atmosphere on Mars; I’ll admit I don’t know much about the Serpent Crown(s), but this seemed like a much larger display of power than I would have thought it capable of. Also, for those of you out there looking for a little more info on why Nick Fury is in this as a villain, you won’t find any answers here, though I’m doubting it’s actually Fury.

Mike Deodato really gets some great images to play with here. I really like his design of Archon and he gets a lot more chances to show us the character this issue. I especially loved his action scenes this month as his characters really seems epically powerful, as they should given the context of this series. For the first time, possibly ever, I actually buy Valkyrie as an Asgardian and not some lame imposter like her old Ultimate counterpart. He even gets some chances to draw some Celestials and other cosmic beings and they all look great, with the possible exception of the Watchers, who look even more freakish than they’re supposed to. Doubly impressive is how fun he makes this book to look at it when 75% of the backgrounds are all basically the same. You can only do so much to make Mars look interesting. In this department, props need to go to colorist Rain Beredo for making all the colors fit without appearing too strikingly different against each other. This is a truly gorgeous book.

I’m truly excited to see where Secret Avengers goes in the future. In three issue, Brubaker has made the stakes and the story fun and Deodato is making it equally great to look at it. I’d really like to see all the different plot threads start coming together more and see the team converge some more as they’ve moved pretty far apart in the past two issues, but it definitely hasn’t hurt the book. The pacing is fast and plot interesting and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Overall: 8.9/10

Modern Comics Review: Green Arrow #2

You know what this issue really made me miss about Green Arrow? His old trick arrows. I know some of them were utterly ridiculous (fountain pen arrow anyone?), but they were silly comic book fun and it was always entertaining to see what new ones he’d show up with. But most importantly, they prevented him for having to shoot at everyone with actual arrows. Between this issue and the last, there’s entirely too many people getting pierced by sharp metal points and way too much blood flying because of it. Maybe the trick arrows weren’t particularly realistic, but they resulted in a much more entertaining story, at least for me.

That’s really one of the biggest problems present here; everything is just too dark, gritty and violent, an oft-occurring problem of writer J.T. Krul of late from what I understand. I stated in the review of the last issue that the violence just has too much of presence and that I don’t much care for Green Arrow’s new position in life and that continues here. More people getting hit with arrows and more self-confinement to the forest. There is a slight revelation on the part of the new owner of Queen Industries, but I couldn’t really make myself care about it at all. The one part I did like was the inclusion of Hal Jordan into the story. While he ultimately doesn’t have a huge bearing on the plot, there are some nice moments of camaraderie between him and Ollie that feel genuine. My favorite part of their interaction was that Ollie actually smiled briefly due to it; it was just nice to have a little break from all his grimacing. The issue certainly ends on a cliffhanger that could prove interesting, but somehow I doubt it’ll actually be dealt with in a good way, but who knows, maybe I’ll be proved wrong.

I’m still not sure how I feel about Diogenes Neves’ art. At times he comes off as a truly talented penciller and at others his work looks so rushed and sloppy. Weirdly enough, it has a different feel to it than last issue. Where previously I called him a cross between Scott Kolins and Rags Morales, it now seems more like a cross between Jim Lee and Rags Morales. For some reason, this isn’t as much of a compliment as I would have thought. It looks downright sloppy at times and his characters end up in some very strange positions that don’t look quite natural. I do have to give credit to colorist Ulises Arreola though, for adding some truly vibrant colors that make the forest and especially the shades of green, pop. Neves has some real potential to become a great artist, but he needs to nail down his personal style and refine it first.

I’m starting to lose my interest in this book. If Krul can’t do something to make me care about these characters and make this new status quo more entertaining, then I’m going to be dropping this book soon. I get why Krul went this way with the plot, but it doesn’t make it anymore fun. I can’t make myself invest any interest in any of these characters and the fact that the events of the last two pages barely made care at all is a bad sign. This should have been a moment of surprise, but instead I felt little impact. The whole Queen Industries sub-plot is really pretty boring to me and I don’t see it improving much in the future. There were some decent character moments to be had, but for right now I only plan to stay for this first arc. There better be some amazing improvements if DC wants me to keep reading this books.

Overall: 5.5/10

Modern Comics Review: Incorruptible #8

I’m a big fan of Mark Waid and he’s been doing some excellent work over at Boom! Studios since he got there. The first book he had there that seemed to call out to me was his Superman-gone-bad comic Irredeemable. It quickly proved to be an interesting exploration of what could drive the world’s greatest hero, in this case the Plutonian, to become its worst villain. Not quite a year after the debut of Irredeemable, Mark Waid began to release an offshoot of the book that functioned as a side story within the same universe but exploring the opposite theme; this series was Incorruptible. The book follows Max Damage, previously one of the Plutonian’s greatest enemies and he has a sudden change of heart and tries to become the world’s new greatest hero to fill the gap left by the Plutonian. To my surprise, I found myself liking Incorruptible nearly as much, if not more, than Irredeemable.

Issue #8 begins right where last issue left off with Max having been shot after the Plutonian-worshipping Diamond Gang discovered Max’s main weakness and shot him. Luckily for Max, a girl he used/saved named Annie has taken up the role of his previous sidekick as Jailbait and saves him for being finished off. Max’s power making him super strong and invincible and he get more and more so the longer he’s awake, but if he sleeps, his powers reset to nothing. Here, he manages to heal thanks to some shots of adrenaline that artificially “wakes” him up allowing him to heal. This is all well and good, but it just made me wonder why Max doesn’t just carry adrenaline around with him all the time. It’d kinda solve his whole weakness problem if he just took a shot of the stuff as soon as he woke up after every nap. But I guess he’s super strong and not super smart though, so maybe he just never though of it. The rest of this issue follows Max and Jailbait as they try and figure out just how The Diamond Gang figured out his weakness. I was pleasantly surprised at the answer as it added a little bit more a connection between this series and Irredeemable, something it hasn’t had in a few issues. I am curious why this person would know his weakness, but maybe that’ll get explained in a later issue. I’m also already starting to like Annie more than Terri, the previous jailbait. She’s much less whiny and more take charge, which I like.

The art here, by Horacio Domingues, is cartoony fun, rather in the vein on Mike Wieringo but with Domingues’ own personal twist. Surprisingly, it suit’s the book despite it’s gritty feel. I still don’t like it as much as original series artist Jean Diaz’s artwork who seemed more suited to the feel of the book, but I’m still enjoying Domingues’ art here too. There are some odd proportions and continuity errors (I.e. the blood on the back of Max’s coat) and some faces can change dramatically change from panel to panel, but it’s not really all that noticeable. Once you get past how goofy it can look at times, it can be fun to look at, even if it’s nothing too spectacular.

Incorruptible has been in something of a rut for the past couple issues, losing quite a bit of the momentum it started with, but this issue seems to start moving away from this and adding a new plot that could prove to very interesting. I can understand why he’d avoid this only eight issues in, especially with how tight the plots seemed to be scripted, but I’m still hoping it’ll lead to the crossover with Irredeemable that’s been scratching at the back on my brain since I picked up issue one. Either way, this issue hopefully marks an upswing in the pace of the overall story, so I’m excited to see where it goes from here.

Overall: 7.7/10

Modern Comics Review: Fantastic Four #581

From the very beginning, I’ve loved Jonathan Hickman’s run on Fantastic Four. This book went a loooong time without a truly good creative team and it really suffered for it. Fantastic Four has been my favorite comic book since I was eight years old and was even the one that got me into comic books seriously so it really bothered me that it had been so long since I’d been able to call it “good.” Luckily for me, that all changed when Hickman and Dale Eaglesham came on board and it’s only gotten better since then. Since it was announced, I’ve been looking forward to this particular issue to see how Hickman would handle the character of Nathaniel Richards, someone who hasn’t been seen in about fourteen years.

As always, Nathaniel Richards proves to be somewhat of a confusing character. This Nathaniel looks nothing like the Nathaniel that readers last saw, one that was much older looking and had a prosthetic eye. Whether or not this detail will be entirely ironed out next issue is unsure, but we are treated to the story of this Nathaniel and his history stems directly from events in SHIELD #2. It’s an interesting twist that leaves the reader having to handle a whole lot of Nathaniel(s). Despite the complexity of the issue, it’s still quite a bit of fun. It’s every bit as heady as the rest of Hickman’s work on Fantastic Four and he has a great handle on college-age Reed, Ben, and Doom. It’s a lot of fun seeing their interactions and all the personalities are spot on. Some might cry foul on Doom’s involvement, but it really isn’t as out of character as some might think; Doom loves to see Reed beg almost as much as he loves to see him die. The issue ends on a fun cliffhanger that leaves plenty of room for crazy action next issue and I’m really excited to see it. I also can’t wait to see what future-Valeria wants with Sue, though I’ll guess it’s nothing happy.

After reading this issue, I had to go back and revise some of my opinions of of artist Neal Edwards. I had previously looked at him as a sub-par fill-in artist, but he has certainly proved me wrong. Edwards is really turning in some strong pencils on Fantastic Four and has clearly improved in his time on the title. He no longer seems like second-rate Bryan Hitch and is, in my opinion, now doing better work than much of Hitch’s recent work. He’s has a great grasp of all the character’s in the issue and really makes them look distinct from one another. He handles all of the crazy of the sci-fi ideas here perfectly and handles the quiet college moments just as well. His level of detail is truly impressive and I had a lot of fun just looking at the panel containing Evil Nathaniel’s “collections.” As much as I’m looking forward to Steve Epting’s upcoming work on this series, I’m starting to actually get sad that Edwards is leaving. He does still have some awkward faces here and there that look almost Mike McKone-esque (not something I like), but it doesn’t detract from the issue at all.

This issue was a whole lot of fun, despite the distinct lack of most of the FF, at least as we’re used to seeing them. I really like this Nathaniel that’s introduced here as he is much more likeable now than he was then, but I hope to see some connection or reference made between this one and the old version. Next issue promises some epic action, especially in the symbol on Evil Nathaniel’s chest is what I think it is and I’m really excited to see how it unfolds, especially with Edwards’ pencils. I don’t know how much effect these two issues will have on the “Three” arc that is coming up soon, but it really doesn’t matter because, even only halfway in, I’m having so much fun now that it wouldn’t bother me even if it turned out to be little more than filler.

Overall: 9.2/10

Modern Comics Review: Action Comics #891

Remember in my review of Action Comics #890 when I said “I’ll put my in Paul Cornell for another month?” Well I can say that after reading issue #891, I‘m glad I did stick around. This was just a really fun issue in so many ways. Cornell continues to explore Luthor as a character and really gets him just right and makes him unbelievably entertaining to read. It’s evident right from the cover that the focus here is squarely one Luthor from the moment you see the “Lex Luthor’s Action Comics” title stamped on it.

This issue actually utilizes one of my least favorite comic book plots: the happy subconscious world construction. This plot device involves a character having something create a perfect world for them in their mind with the idea that they would never want to leave and never realize they’re even trapped in a dream. Most often in the DCU, this happens when the Black Mercy plants are involved (a la, For the Man Who Has Everything). Here, however, it happens through the machinations of the telepathic Mr. Mind. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed this issue despite this tired plot, largely due to how fun of a character Luthor is. It’s a lot of fun seeing Luthor almost instantly realize what’s happening and how he overcomes it; and trust me when I say he does it all with a very Luthor method. The scenarios that Luthor’s mind creates are a fun to see even if we don’t spend much time in each. Mr. Mind was a very entertaining villain for the issue and he is used to setup another villain that’s to be revealed another issue. Cornell has a delightfully silly take on Mr. Mind and, as promised, the interplay of Luthor against other DC villains is already proving to be great fun.

I have to say, I even enjoyed Pete Woods art here more than in last issue. Maybe it’s because he’s given much more variety to draw this here than last month, but it was just a much more visually interesting issue. I especially loved his interpretation of Mr. Mind; I never thought I’d say this but he is one adorable little evil multi-dimensional worm. With panels that contain things such as Mr. Mind in a cowboy hat holding a gun to 1800’s Lois Lane’s head, you can’t help but smile and that’s high praise. I do still wish that Woods would add some more detail at times and he could have made each dream a little more visually distinctive, but overall it was a huge improvement from last month.

I’m really beginning to enjoy this book a lot. Two issues in and I don’t miss Superman in the slightest and I’m officially enjoying this story more than the “Grounded” storyline in Superman, though that story is only one full issue in. If Cornell can keep this pace up and keep Luthor consistently interesting to read without getting repetitive, this book will remain near the top of my pull list at least long as the Luthor arc continues. If you were hesitant to pick up yet another Superman book without the Big Blue in it, then pick up Action Comics: it just might change your mind.

Overall: 8.4/10

Modern Comics Review: Avengers #3

Without a doubt, Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers was the one comic I was most excited about coming out of Siege. As much as I enjoyed New Avengers, it felt fundamentally different than Avengers book of old. As much as I wish someone other than Bendis was writing it, I was okay with the choice so long as he had the right mood to the stories. Luckily for me, when it was announced that his first arc would be a time travel arc involving Kang the Conqueror, it seemed as though I’d gotten my wish. Unfortunately, looking at issue three, it doesn’t seem to be going as well as I’d hoped.

I was never completely sold on the roster for this main Avengers team. I was really excited to have Iron Man and Thor back and many of the other members really work; I’ve even really grown to accept and like Spider-Man as a member of the team. However, I still feel that both Wolverine and Spider-Woman have no place here and would really prefer that they stick to either New Avengers or other books entirely. I can get past these two as members for a good story and good use of them, but this hasn’t quite happened yet. So far, the story has quickly become a mess that seems to be going nowhere fast. This issue especially slowed things to a crawl as the entire issue is devoted to a fight scene with a future Apocalypse and his Four Horseman. This whole fight basically ends up as an excuse for Iron Man to scan Apocalypse for information I thought they already had. I should say, however, that the fight was fun and I was never bored with the issue, so it has that going for it.

Sadly, I also couldn’t really like many of the characters in it. Spider-Woman continues to have effectively no presence or relevance and most of the characters still talk like their Spider-Man. I know many people have brought this up, but not everyone needs to have jokey quips in every line of their dialogue; it just becomes annoying and Bendis seems to be relying on this more and more. That and Maria Hill just continues to annoy me more and more. That being said, I did actually really like Spidey in this issue and Thor was written very well too. I’m also really starting to like Noh-Varr as he has a more unique voice and personality, even if I’m still not sold on his new costume or name.

Although the plot for this issue felt like it went nowhere, it was at least still fun. Easily the biggest disservice to Avengers #3 is John Romita Jr.s art. It’s no secret that I strongly dislike Romita’s artwork. His characters always feel flat, almost as though they were cut from paper, and his art just looked rushed all the time. It’s really bad that I questioned who three of his Horsemen even were at various points in the book. Romita also draws one of the least impressive Thors I have ever seen in my life and his Iron Man is utterly awful. Even his Spider-Man, the one character I traditionally enjoy his artwork with, didn’t look right to me in this issue. Credit where credit it is due, though, in that Romita does have a great attention to detail and certainly fills in his backgrounds with various objects.

Avengers could still become the flagship Avengers book I want it to be. The plot could still be a lot of fun if Bendis will just allow it to move forward. I really do want to see this book succeed and I will continue to follow at least this arc in hopes that it does. Sadly, I don’t think there’s anything that could be done for me about art short of replacing Romita, but I tolerate if Bendis can really push things forward in a fun, exciting way. Overall: 6.4/10

Modern Comics Review: Batman Beyond #2

Well I got one thing I wished for with this issue. There is more a focus on Terry McGinnis as the titular Batman Beyond, although little to of that taking place outside his identity as Batman. Whereas last issue was largely setup and reintroduction of setting, characters, and story, Batman Beyond #2 brings us a little more into the action and the investigation that one would hope for in a Batman title. I’m still not sold on the villain, but their identity isn’t necessarily revealed either in last issue or this one so that could still go any direction.

This issue starts where the last one left off, with Terry leaving the hospital to bring the bandage and word of “Hush” back to Bruce Wayne for analysis. This leads to an interesting flashback of Bruce’s about the end of Hush during his tenure as Batman and I couldn’t help but find it comical. It seemed a little silly that a master tactician such as Hush would be dispatched in such a way, but even this is addressed in the issue and, honestly, feels almost appropriate given how crime-riddled a place Gotham is. It seemed strangely acceptable within the story and leaves the identity a little more open-ended. We’re also treated to an introduction of the Beyond version of Catwoman. As with last time, I can’t help but wish this was one of the Terry’s own Rogues or at least not a new version of a previous Batman villain, but making it Catwoman makes in the scheme of the story Adam Beechen is writing here so I have no real problem with this.

As I said before, Terry gets a little more focus time here and nothing has changed in how well Beechen is able to write Terry. I can practically here Terry’s old voice actor Will Friedle saying all of his lines and it goes a long way toward making Batman Beyond feel that much more authentic to the show it was based on. Bruce Wayne is also handled wonderfully. Though he comes across as overly harsh, even for Bruce Wayne, it’s all understandable given that he thinks one of his greatest opponents from his past may be back. I don’t blame him for being worried both for his city and his wet-behind-the-ears replacement. It actually goes a long way to making him feel more human than he did last issue. Even backgrounds characters a fun, with Calendar Man’s “Deathday” song being delightfully campy.

A continuing problem appears in the form of Ryan Benjamin’s pencils once again, however. Though he shows a wonderful sense of action with a particularly kinetic fight scene with Catwoman, his character work can still be very wonky at times. His Bruce Wayne has improved some but still doesn’t look like his TV counterpart. Terry however, has gotten worse with his face out of costume looking horrendously distorted and even Asian at times. His Batman fares better, but suffers from strange proportions as Batman’s body size and, particularly, height change frequently, making Terry look even younger than he is. Benjamin looks like he could be very capable, I just wish he could stabilize his art and maybe reference character designs from the show a little better. I did really enjoy his flashback as he really seemed to be channeling his inner Jim Lee at points, which is good given the characters being presented.

All in all, Batman Beyond still hasn’t lived up to the expectations I’ve set for it. This may seem unfair going from television to comic books, but the source material is just too good to be squandered on a mostly mediocre book. Despite this, Batman Beyond has managed to dig its claws into me and I will continue to come back to this series each month as there really is room to grow and I want to see it do just that.

Overall: 7.3/10

Modern Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #638

I wish Joe Quesada would stop writing (and illustrating) comic books. I respect that he was able to help bring back Marvel a decade ago and I’m grateful for it, but I wish he’d stop forcing his ideas into comics. I know it’s practically cliché to say this these days, but I hated One More Day. Even if you excuse the whole “deal with the devil” thing, it was just a mess of a story with some terrible characterization and ugly art. I know J. Michael Sraczynski technically wrote that, but it wasn’t his idea so I still heap most (though not all) of that blame on Joe Q. That being said, I have really enjoyed many of the issues of Amazing Spider-Man that have come as a result of this, but this issue, the first of the “One Moment In Time” arc almost undid all of that and just angered me.

“O.M.I.T.” has been announced as promising to explain what happened to stop Peter and Mary Jane’s wedding after the deal with Mephisto as well as to finally explain what MJ whispered into Mephisto’s ear at the conclusion of that story. First, let me say that the reveal of what was whispered is nowhere near as exciting as anyone will hope it would be. It’s extremely anticlimactic, though it does, however minutely, help take some heat off of Peter for making the deal at all. As for how the wedding is stopped, that’s explained too, but the story is absurdly dull and uninteresting.
(Spoiler alert!!!!!!!!!)


Having some chubby thug of Electro’s fall on Spider-Man and knock him out and make him miss his wedding is possibly the stupidest reason Quesada could have come up with. I honestly would have accepted nearly anything else other than this. It doesn’t help that huge amounts of unnecessary story were devoted to setting this up when no setup was really needed at all.

Surprisingly, these are actually the least of my gripes with the issue. What bothered me most was the inclusion of (many) pages from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, i.e. the marriage issue from 1987, to frame the flashback in. This idea in-and-of-itself isn’t bad, but Quesada picks and chooses specific pages that show Peter doubting whether or not he should marry MJ. Reading just the included pages would make one think Spidey barely cared for MJ, had no interest in marrying, and only wished he could have Gwen Stacy back. It doesn’t help that Quesada and artist Paolo Rivera add in extra parts to these pages to make Peter seem even more in doubt and it becomes obvious that Quesada picked these pages mainly to further his agenda of making others believe his stance on the anti-marriage. It all felt very childish to me in this sense, almost more like a fan fiction, and that is not a good thing.

The art also deserves quite a bit of criticism here. I have never, ever been a fan of Joe Quesada’s art. It’s unbelievably inconsistent and can makes it nearly impossible to recognize characters sometimes. Here, that’s not an issue, but he’s only drawing Peter and MJ, so it’s not all that surprising. His characters can change wildly in proportion as well and he has some serious problems daring Peter’s head. I thought his sequence’s were just painful to look at. Paolo Rivera fares quite a bit better, but is stuck trying his best to imitate the art from the 1980’s as he is only used in the extra scenes from the flashbacks. I admit, he does an admirable job, but it is still starkly obvious when he takes over and it’s a jarring shift at times. It made me wish that they would have just brought in Marcos Martin from the backup story instead.

It’s a bad sign when your two-page backup story is the best thing in your double-sized issue, but it really was about the only thing I enjoyed in this issue. I’m honestly hesitant about picking up the next issue, but I will in hopes there is something better about it. Not only did I not enjoy this issue, it butchered a very good issue from 23 years ago. I’m already excited for O.M.I.T. to end and hope it will be promptly “O.M.I.T.”-ed from Spider-Man continuity afterward. And yes, pun intended. A bad joke for a bad issue.

Overall: 2.0/10 (Mainly for the beautiful cover and Stan Lee and Marcos Martin’s backup, if you care)

Modern Comics Review: Time Masters: Vanishing Point #1

I can’t help but feel like I’m in the minority here, but since it was announced, I’ve been looking forward to Time Masters: Vanishing Point much more than Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne despite the fact that they are focusing a lot of the same material, albeit from a different perspective. I think this is largely because of the more recognizable cast, but also because of the involvement of Dan Jurgens on both story and art. Something about Jurgens has always appealed to me, especially his art, though I do have to say I haven’t been following him on Booster Gold for the most part. Due to all these reasons, I enjoyed the first issue of Vanishing Point quite a bit.

This issue mainly follows the narration of Rip Hunter as he travels through time with Superman, Hal Jordan, and Booster Gold looking for Batman. Rip himself doesn’t have all that unique a voice, he mainly comes off as a gruff loner that you’ve probably seen a million times, but he is still highly enjoyable in the way his character is bounced such huge personalities as Superman and Hal. It’s really just a lot of fun to see a man that has no powers at all, stand up to them like it’s no big deal. It’s also always obvious that he is clearly the smartest guy in the room and a few steps ahead of everyone. Things like this are what make his scenes easily the best in the issue. We also get some glimpses of Supernova and Goldstar dealing with other time traveling threats, though Supernova seemed a little…off to me. Whether this is just me or a plot I don’t know. Overall, it’s a lot of fun though. The end wasn’t as exciting to me as it seemed to want to be, but the plot could still go literally anywhere.

The highlight of the issue for me here was easily the art though. As I said before, I really like Dan Jurgens artwork and the finishes from Norm Rapmund only enhances this. I’m not sure if it was Jurgens improving his own art of Rapmund’s help, but each picture is very crisp and everyone looks suitably heroic. Characters that supposed to to look Silver Age-esque manage to pull this off without seemingly out of place too, which is a plus. Detail can vary quite a bit and some panels definitely look more rushed than others, but it’s mostly a good looking issue.

It wasn’t perfect, but I was definitely pleased with Time Masters: Vanishing Point #1. This issue read very quickly and yet, it didn’t really feel like too much actually happened. For some reason, it just didn’t seem like the story went too far from when it started, but it has a lot of room to grow. I’m curious to see if this series ever intersects with The Return of Bruce Wayne and if they ever end up covering similar ground. So long as the focus stays largely on Rip with the other heroes and things ramp up a bit, this has the potential to be an extremely fun story, but if it doesn’t I’m worried it will fall a little flat. At least the art should stay nice though.

Overall: 7.7/10

Modern Comics Review: Avengers Academy #2

When all of the Avengers books were revamped after Marvel Siege storyline, I knew the one that I’d miss the most, at least on an emotional level, was Avengers: The Initiative. I may not have followed that book in its entirety, but what I did read was full of interesting characters that had real heart to them and a great focus spanning both The Initiative’s recruits and its instructors. Christos Gage’s writing was key to this and was so heartfelt, I really felt connected to a character named Butterball for the first time in my life (admittedly a rare situation but I digress). Therefore, I was excited when Marvel announced the coming of the spiritual successor to Avengers: The Initiative in Avengers Academy, also written by Gage. But after two issues, is this book the worthy successor I’d hoped for?

Well…yes and no. As before, Gage excels in making characters feel distinct and human but that doesn’t necessarily I’m enamored of all the characters. In The Initiative, even the new trainee characters all felt well-developed before they were developed and they were all great fun here. Here, I only get the feeling of his once great characterization from the Academy instructors, all previously established characters; I don’t, however, much care for the students at this point and it detracts from my enjoyment of the series thus far. This may be a little unfair of a statement as most of these characters have only been seen once before, but they all just come across as slightly annoying and stereotypical here. This could be justified in that they are all teenagers dealing with issues and they are just acting their age, but it still annoys, especially Finesse, who takes the role of narrator this issue. This issue was largely devoted to her minds inner workings, but it fell flat for me as she annoyed me more than anything.

To be fair though, as I said, this is only the second issue and there is plenty of room for these characters to grow into something unique and I hope this is the case. Gage truly nailed both Quicksilver and Hank Pym and made them the most interesting points of the book for me. The Quicksilver subplot that begins here has potential to be quite interesting and could even elevate Finesse as a character as well if handled correctly, so I hope to see this happen. Meanwhile, few other characters get much screen time, most noticeable of which is the complete absence of Speedball, a character I was personally hoping to see featured a bit more. Again, this can be something for future issues to work on.

While the story and characters weren’t quite as well realized as I’d hoped, they could improve. What really bothered me the most this issue, as well as last, was Mike McKone’s art. It seems I’m in the minority here, but I hate McKone’s art style. I’ve really tried to like his work in the past, but I just can’t. Everything in this book just feels very static and undetailed here. I don’t get any sense of motion and moods carry very poorly; scenes that should be tense just come off as people staring blankly. Bodies either seem to big or too small and seem to very in size, especially in adults and just makes everything seem a little unnatural and lumpy-looking. Despite my staring blankly comment however, I do have to say that McKone is occasionally able to convey faces well, most noticeably in making it apparent just how much disdain Quicksilver seems to have for everything and everyone around him. If his style works for you, then great for you and I hope you enjoy it, but it does nothing for me.

Two issues in, Avengers Academy isn’t quite the book I wanted it to be. I never wanted it to be Avengers: The Initiative with a new name and, to its credit, it isn’t, but it also hasn’t developed quite as fully as I wanted. It does, however, have infinite room to grow and hopefully it will do just that. With a little more focus on honing the personalities of each of the students and some time outside whatever training facility these characters seem perpetually stuck in, the book could really take off. Even though I think it’s a little early for a crossover, next month’s crossover with Thunderbolts may do just that, so I’ll stick around, put my faith in Gage and see where he can take these characters.

Overall: 7.5/10

Modern Comics Review: Batman #701

I’m not going to lie and say that I completely understand everything Grant Morrison crammed into his story Batman R.I.P. a couple years ago, or even most of it for that matter. There’s no denying though, the Morrison has a great grasp on the characters of Batman and Bruce Wayne all throughout his history and that he had an ambitious story to tell. I also have to say that I’m not always the biggest fan of Grant Morrison; sometimes his stories just come off as unnecessarily complicated or heady to me. All that being said, I did enjoy R.I.P. back when I read it and was always curious just how Batman made it from the end of that story to Final Crisis #6, and that’s just what Batman #701 starts out to do.

Morrison wastes no time, focuses on Batman/Bruce Wayne immediately after his helicopter crash that he shared with Doctor Hurt at the end of Batman R.I.P. From here, the reader follows Batman as he tries to recover and follow up on these events both through his own internal narration and his interactions with others. I really do have to say, Morrison really does know just how to write Batman. His Batman is equal parts the calculating , strong character many see him as but also empathic and human, just as he should be. There are some truly great scenes of Bruce in this issue and in just his narration, it plainly obvious that Bruce is both determined to end the problems he’s facing, but also extremely tired, though he won’t let that stop his work. This is easily some of the best, and most faithful, characterization I’ve seen in a superhero book recently. There’s a particularly great panel in which Bruce is talking to Superman and thinks to himself “They sometimes forget I’m flesh and blood.” It’s really refreshing to see Batman treated as a human being and not some unstoppable machine.

Where I do have problems with this issue is in the art of Tony Daniel. There’s no denying that Daniel is talented, but his artwork can change drastically from panel to panel, and rarely for the better. Batman changes body shape and size every other page and sometimes the art is just plain unrecognizable. When it looks good, it looks great, but when it doesn’t, it really doesn’t. In one panel, it looks as though he channeling Frank Quitely, which is not a good thing in my eyes as I’m not a quietly fan. There are some truly stellar pages though and I love the cover.

This is easily one of the more straightforward issues I think Grant Morrison has ever written, but this makes it one his better issues for it. Even though the art is wildly inconsistent, the good pages and characterization make it all worth it, especially if you want some insight into both Morrison’s current stories and his from the recent past. I’m personally more excited for the next issue as the story heads into the events of Final Crisis, but this is still definitely worth checking out, especially for all of those that miss Bruce Wayne as Batman.

Overall: 8.1/10

Modern Comics Review: Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #2

Now here is a comic book! I have to say, when I first heard about Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine, I groaned at the idea of it just like I’m sure many other comic readers did. I couldn’t believe that Marvel would take two of their three most over-exposed and over-used characters (they left Deadpool out of this one) and were going to give them their own book, even if it was a mini-series. Even the creative team, the excellent Jason Aaron and the always-talented Adam Kubert, couldn’t keep me from feeling this was a terrible idea. Despite all this hesitation though, I’ll be the first in line to step up, get on my knees, and apologize to those who obviously knew better than me.

I should probably clarify a bit. When I think of comic books, I think of pure entertainment. That’s exactly what comics should be. Whether superhero, graphic novel, slice-of-life, or whatever kind of comic book it is, it should first and foremost entertain or otherwise captivate its reader and I’m not sure if I’ve been this entertained by a single issue of a comic book in quite a while. Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine is not trying to get a political statement or attempting to make any sort of message at all. There’s no deep psychology, though that’s not say there aren’t great character moments, but it is balls to the wall fun from start to finish and that’s more than all I needed.

Jason Aaron is one amazing writer. I already knew he had a great handle on the character of Wolverine, specifically from his current Wolverine: Weapon X run, but he also has a great handle on Spider-Man, who he writes both witty and intelligent, irreverent and thoughtful and all around excellently throughout this issue. Aaron manages to nail the interaction of the two characters as well making them seem to both really hate each other and yet, somehow, still have a deep friendship. It has some truly great character moments, something I wouldn’t expect out of a book with a planet full of Cro-Magnons, Doom the Living Planets, Phoenix Force powered bullets, and Spider-Man with “Lame” written on his butt. Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #2 manages to be both incredibly well written and absolutely zany all at once. I don’t think I’ve ever seen some many insane ideas in one place and yet they all work within the story and don’t detract from the primary focus on the characters.

The art is nothing to scoff at either here. I doubt many comic fans truly dislike the artwork of any of the Kubert family and Adam Kubert does not disappoint here. If I ever had a vision of what I thought a robot Devil Dinosaur or Ego the Living Planet with Dr. Doom’s consciousness in it looked like, then this is it. Kubert manages to completely nail this setting and make it his own, just as he did with last issues jungle setting. It’s entertaining just to examine a panel and see what little touches he’s added in for flavor. Last issue, it was Peter’s prehistoric inventions; this issue has all the items from around the Marvel Universe stored in Peter’s lab. I found myself pouring over these panels for quite a while just seeing what I could find. This issue was just as fun to look at as it was to read. If I had any problems with this issue, it’s that sometimes Kubert’s Spider-Man looks just a little off; he ranges from tall to very short to kind of stocky to very skinny. It isn’t a big issue, just something I noticed throughout and hope is addressed some in the future.

Overall, this was one exciting book. I had so much fun reading Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine and never knew what to expect next which as a huge part of the fun. This comic could go literally anywhere in the future and I’m excited to travel along for the ride.

Overall: 9.4/10