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Showing posts with label 52. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 52. Show all posts
Thursday, March 1, 2012
This Week in Comics
Thursday, February 23, 2012
This Week in Comics - Valiant, Star Trek, Night of the Owls & More!
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Thursday, September 15, 2011
New 52 - Week 2
The New 52 continues with the 2nd wave of new titles. After reading the first two weeks worth of titles, there's one word to describe The New 52: Dark.
Not that there's anything wrong with books that are dark in tone or material, but I'm hoping we see a bit more sunlight and hope peek through the books as the month continues. Too much of anything can be.. well, too much.
That said, there's some gems this week. Let's get to it.
Deathstroke #1 - Good introductory issue. An all-in-one plot for the character, plus a hook at the end. A bit of a surprise there, with his comment about not liking competition; it made me laugh. The one thought I had (and this has gone through my head a couple times in the last couple weeks) is that Deathstroke's outfit was a little too much 90's Image Excess. Sometimes simpler is better? (See Batwoman's costume). That said, solid first issue.
Grifter #1 - Oh, DC. Why must you take my previous Wildstorm characters, pour gasoline on them, and then make me watch as they slowly burn away, never to be remembered by those of us who loved them ? TELL ME WHY, YOU SADISTS.
Okay, got that out of my system.
Grifter was described as Sawyer from Lost meets the DCU. That pretty much hits it on the head. Grifter is a con man, but things go very bad, very fast. This was a good first issue.
Mister Terrific #1 - I was very happy to see the fan-favorite from JSA get his own book. It was a good story, but it felt a little write-by-numbers, y'know? It lacked oomph. This one might take a couple issues to come together.
Green Lantern #1 - Anyone who was reading GL before this month should be able to pick this up and jump right in. For new(er) readers, it might be a little tricky, trying to figure out why Sinestro is Green Lantern instead of Hal, who the guys in the yellow uniforms are, and what's going on. Also, isn't Carol still in-charge of the you-know-who's? BRING BACK COWGIRL, GEOFF JOHNS.
Sometimes I wish Geoff Johns would write just one book a month, instead of 2-4. Ever since he became head honcho/VP at DC, his writing hasn't been the same.
Batman and Robin #1 - Oh Damian, you lovable jerk. Why can't you and Daddy Wayne just get along?
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E #1 - Like Animal Man and Swamp Thing from last week, this one floored me. Great, strange issue. Franky's father is in the body of an 8 year old girl? I couldn't possibly pin this one down with one word, but I'll try: Must-buy.
(Yeah I cheated there. Whaddya want from me?)
Demon Knights #1 - I was both amused and disgusted by the "rough" comment. If you've already read it, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you'll understand. I have to confess, my expectations were low for this book, but they surpassed them. This was a "pieces and players coming together for the first time" -type first issue, and it was fun. Good read. Anyone who read Stormwatch last week already knows this ties into the history of the New DCU.
Resurrection Man #1 - With all my love for Abnett and Lanning, you'd have thought I read the original Resurrection Man series, right? Wrong. The writing on this was strong, and it felt like a "long read". Great value for $2.99. The art, though, was a little off. Sometimes the characters looked disjointed? Body parts not quite lining up right? It added a little atmosphere to the book, but it also took me out of the story sometimes, too.
Superboy #1 - Hey now, this was good. They've jettisoned all the previous Superboy stories (and Teen Titans, I'd imagine), and stated fresh. Solid first issue, one of the best from this week.
Legion Lost #1 - ... and now, one of the weakest. Yikes, this was messy. Too much talking about superpowers, and the costumes are so complicated I STILL don't know who's who. Or why I should care. Granted, it's easy to be intimidated by all the LSH characters, there's only a million of them. But "time-traveling super-heroes from the future, stuck in the present"? That's a pretty nifty concept, but all the language about the "Flashpoint wall/event/whatever" lost me. Hopefully next month is better, 'cause I'm going to hear about this review from loyal reserivst Gatti, that's for sure.
Red Lanterns #1 - And now, a big ol pile of Rage. As many of you already know, I'm a huge fan of the Red Lanterns (my rage issues are legendary, ask the employees at the Den), so I've been waiting MONTHS, nay YEARS for Atrocitus and the Almighty HATE KITTEH to get their own book. This was another strong introductory issue, and Ed Benes did a good job on the art.
Suicide Squad #1 - Like you could make this title anything BUT dark, right? Lots of blood and mayhem, but I have to confess, it was missing something. In the original Suicide Squad by Ostrander and it's spiritual successor, Secret Six by Gail Simone, the books were dark, but balanced with a little light comedy here and there. Halfway through this book, I thought to myself "Why isn't Gail writing this?" The voices in my head had no answer. The only other criticism is my own blinders: Anytime I see Harley in a comic, I automatically pipe in her voice and mannerisms from The Animated Series. This book didn't jive with the show. That's more me, than anything else, I think.
Batwoman #1 - This was awesome. The. End.
-Scott.
Not that there's anything wrong with books that are dark in tone or material, but I'm hoping we see a bit more sunlight and hope peek through the books as the month continues. Too much of anything can be.. well, too much.
That said, there's some gems this week. Let's get to it.
Deathstroke #1 - Good introductory issue. An all-in-one plot for the character, plus a hook at the end. A bit of a surprise there, with his comment about not liking competition; it made me laugh. The one thought I had (and this has gone through my head a couple times in the last couple weeks) is that Deathstroke's outfit was a little too much 90's Image Excess. Sometimes simpler is better? (See Batwoman's costume). That said, solid first issue.
Grifter #1 - Oh, DC. Why must you take my previous Wildstorm characters, pour gasoline on them, and then make me watch as they slowly burn away, never to be remembered by those of us who loved them ? TELL ME WHY, YOU SADISTS.
Okay, got that out of my system.
Grifter was described as Sawyer from Lost meets the DCU. That pretty much hits it on the head. Grifter is a con man, but things go very bad, very fast. This was a good first issue.
Mister Terrific #1 - I was very happy to see the fan-favorite from JSA get his own book. It was a good story, but it felt a little write-by-numbers, y'know? It lacked oomph. This one might take a couple issues to come together.
Green Lantern #1 - Anyone who was reading GL before this month should be able to pick this up and jump right in. For new(er) readers, it might be a little tricky, trying to figure out why Sinestro is Green Lantern instead of Hal, who the guys in the yellow uniforms are, and what's going on. Also, isn't Carol still in-charge of the you-know-who's? BRING BACK COWGIRL, GEOFF JOHNS.
Sometimes I wish Geoff Johns would write just one book a month, instead of 2-4. Ever since he became head honcho/VP at DC, his writing hasn't been the same.
Batman and Robin #1 - Oh Damian, you lovable jerk. Why can't you and Daddy Wayne just get along?
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E #1 - Like Animal Man and Swamp Thing from last week, this one floored me. Great, strange issue. Franky's father is in the body of an 8 year old girl? I couldn't possibly pin this one down with one word, but I'll try: Must-buy.
(Yeah I cheated there. Whaddya want from me?)
Demon Knights #1 - I was both amused and disgusted by the "rough" comment. If you've already read it, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you'll understand. I have to confess, my expectations were low for this book, but they surpassed them. This was a "pieces and players coming together for the first time" -type first issue, and it was fun. Good read. Anyone who read Stormwatch last week already knows this ties into the history of the New DCU.
Resurrection Man #1 - With all my love for Abnett and Lanning, you'd have thought I read the original Resurrection Man series, right? Wrong. The writing on this was strong, and it felt like a "long read". Great value for $2.99. The art, though, was a little off. Sometimes the characters looked disjointed? Body parts not quite lining up right? It added a little atmosphere to the book, but it also took me out of the story sometimes, too.
Superboy #1 - Hey now, this was good. They've jettisoned all the previous Superboy stories (and Teen Titans, I'd imagine), and stated fresh. Solid first issue, one of the best from this week.
Legion Lost #1 - ... and now, one of the weakest. Yikes, this was messy. Too much talking about superpowers, and the costumes are so complicated I STILL don't know who's who. Or why I should care. Granted, it's easy to be intimidated by all the LSH characters, there's only a million of them. But "time-traveling super-heroes from the future, stuck in the present"? That's a pretty nifty concept, but all the language about the "Flashpoint wall/event/whatever" lost me. Hopefully next month is better, 'cause I'm going to hear about this review from loyal reserivst Gatti, that's for sure.
Red Lanterns #1 - And now, a big ol pile of Rage. As many of you already know, I'm a huge fan of the Red Lanterns (my rage issues are legendary, ask the employees at the Den), so I've been waiting MONTHS, nay YEARS for Atrocitus and the Almighty HATE KITTEH to get their own book. This was another strong introductory issue, and Ed Benes did a good job on the art.
Suicide Squad #1 - Like you could make this title anything BUT dark, right? Lots of blood and mayhem, but I have to confess, it was missing something. In the original Suicide Squad by Ostrander and it's spiritual successor, Secret Six by Gail Simone, the books were dark, but balanced with a little light comedy here and there. Halfway through this book, I thought to myself "Why isn't Gail writing this?" The voices in my head had no answer. The only other criticism is my own blinders: Anytime I see Harley in a comic, I automatically pipe in her voice and mannerisms from The Animated Series. This book didn't jive with the show. That's more me, than anything else, I think.
Batwoman #1 - This was awesome. The. End.
-Scott.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The New 52 - Week 1
...and here we are.
After months of questions and teases and press releases and the occasional fanboy rage, The New 52 have landed at the Dragon's Den. After reading all of this week's books, I came away pretty impressed. All of the books are easy jump-on points; you don't need to know anything about the characters, but if you do, that's okay too. DC's done a good job of blending "jump-on point" without tossing away much of the continuity for the older readers.
Random comments:
* Most of the titles managed to end on a cliffhanger. Some more memorable than others (Detective Comics, for one)
* Several of the covers are different than originally solicited. That's not a bad thing
* I'm hearing many reports of stores under-ordering these books, across the country. This may sound crazy to you, but I'm just saying this now: I am fairly certain that all of The New 52 #1's will be go to 2nd printing by the end of the month. Get the 1st prints now. Trust me.
* Review Time.
Justice League #1 - Yes, this came out last week, but I'm including it here anyways. This was a strong first issue, but not a strong introduction to The New 52. On that level, it didn't succeed. But I'm not going to lie: It was great to see a Jim Lee-drawn comic again.
Action Comics #1 - My expectations were high for this book. Grant Morrisson's All-Star Superman is one of the landmark stories for the character, so we all know what he's capable of doing with the character. But this book... this is a very different Superman. This Superman is a bit more reckless, unexperienced, and a bit more anti-authoritarian. It was great to read a Superman who didn't come off as having a stick up his you-know-where.
It was great. Fresh. New. Innovative, while paying homage to the past. Plus the last page... so simple, yet brilliant.
Animal Man #1 - This book creeped me out. It really did, the whole issue made me feel anxious. How is that possible? I don't know, but it happened anyways. And the last page... wow. CREEPY. Don't give this one to your kids, they'll have nightmares (seriously).
Batman Detective Comics #1 - Sweet mary, mother of god, if Animal Man #1 creeped me out, this one made my jaw drop. The last page is... no, I'm not going to use any words to read it. But you Will Not See That Coming. This issue was dark, bloody, and then the ending? Wow. Just... wow. Okay Tony Daniel, you got my attention.
Batgirl #1 - Can I talk about Babs getting her legs back without the internet going crazy? Good. So yeah... Babs is back in the costume. They acknowledge The Killing Joke, and her paralysis, but they gloss over her time in the wheelchair. Ignoring the backstory, this is a younger, less-somber Babs, and I think this book is going to surprise the naysayers.
Batwing #1 - I didn't have a chance to read it. BAD SCOTT. BAD SCOTT.
Green Arrow #1 - Adios, beard. Adios, Black Canary. Neither are around, and this is a clear mix of the ornery Ollie we all know and love, and the poutier Green Arrow seen on Smallville. The art didn't do much for me on this book, but the writing was tight; That said, this book was fun, but didn't overwhelm me.
Hawk and Dove #1 - Don't hate. No, really, this wasn't bad. This amped up the tension and drama between Hawk and Dove, dropped a lot of hints about Dove's connection to the original Dove, acknowledged the relationship between Dove and Deadman that came out of Brightest Day. I had low expectations, but this was pretty fun. As for the art... Liefeld did okay here.
Justice League International #1 - As a huge fan of the original JLI/JLE run, this was a bit of a disappointment. The characters didn't quite mesh together as well as you'd like. Some of the ha-ha's were still there, but it didn't quite have the humor that made the original run such a classic. That said, I have faith in Giffen, as should you all. Noone does these characters better, it just might take an issue or two for him to get back into the swing of things.
Men of War #1 - This was a gritty-but-not-overbearing war story, featuring a character with the last name Rock. And although this isn't my normal cuppa... I really liked it. Fun and dark, but without being overly so. Color me surprised by how good this was.
OMAC #1 - I opened this up, prepared to dislike it, and came away satisfied. There's TONS of Kirby riffs in this, from the artwork to the layouts, to the writing, but done well. Another pleasant surprise.
Static Shock #1 - A fun yarn, right from the beginning. Fans of the character are going to enjoy seeing Static back in action. I never watched the cartoon, so I don't know much about the character, but this book jumped off the page. Great stuff.
Stormwatch #1 - As an old-school Wildstorm fan, reading this was painful: It's a clear re-boot of all the Authority and Stormwatch characters. As someone who knows nothing about any of them, or has not attachment, it was a decent read. I think I probably set the bar too high on this one for myself.
Swamp Thing #1 - ... But this book: WOW. Great, GREAT first issue. Scott Snyder's been killing it at DC, and this issue managed to give the character(s) a fresh slate, but still keeping Swamp Thing's history intact (especially the Alan Moore stuff). Great read, highly recommended.
-Scott