Blurred View

This user has not updated recently.

794 126384 39 162
Forum Posts Wiki Points Following Followers
User Reviews
Grid
List
5 (50)
4 (116)
3 (106)
2 (68)
1 (12)
3.6 stars

Average score of 352 user reviews

It's Sad, But the Krypto Thing Is Seriously My Favorite Part 1

Superman's tragic launch from his dying homeworld gets retold in this issue of Action Comics, and for once, it is actually a worthy retelling that dares to tweak the classic story in substantial ways without losing its important core aspects. This series continues to be one of the very few DC titles to hold true to the promises of the New 52, giving our familiar star framed in more modern ways.Superman's origin is one that gets retold all of the time with varying degrees of success. In fact, it ...

5 out of 5 found this review helpful.

This Was Almost Depressing 2

Spinning out from the recent Dark Angel Saga, this Point One issue attempts to make its case for the new Age of Apocalypse series. Unfortunately, all it really does is show that there is nothing left of the once popular alternate reality worth revisiting.To this day, Age of Apocalypse is one of my favorite X-Men stories. It was a story and a universe I have always wished could have been expanded on just a little more. There were so many more facets I would have liked seeing explored or more char...

4 out of 5 found this review helpful.

Atlas Does a Good King Kong 0

Better late than never, Wonder Man's rebellion against the Avengers with his team of Revengers concludes and serves as a surprisingly strong prologue to the current saga with Norman Osborn's return. It's a story that would have been much better had its parts come out in a timely manner, but the delayed pace doesn't completely rob it of its dramatic impact.As of the latest New Avengers Annual, Wonder Man's Revengers have stormed Avengers Mansion and defeated the New Avengers. Now, the Avengers re...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

Can He Get His Guns Back Now? 2

Nick Spencer brings his Palmer Addley saga and Iron Man 2.0 to an end, wrapping up a series that has objectively been rather good yet has never really been a good fit for its lead character.Spencer's big story ends with, reasonably enough, a War Machine versus Iron Man story that does fit naturally into the story of Palmer Addley's technology taking control of the population. This makes for a solid, action-packed confrontation, but it isn't one that is likely to be remembered as one of the more ...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

So These Are Like... Actual Skeletons From the Corps' Closets? 5

Unlike the other titles in the franchise, Green Lantern Corps continues to struggle to find anything new to offer readers, giving us yet another story that uncovers a dark underbelly of part of the Green Lantern mythos. Part of the secret of the Keepers is revealed, and frankly, this is just getting silly now.Taking a little piece of Green Lantern mythos and turning it on its head is storytelling method that has arguably already been overused by Geoff Johns. A secret pact with Larfleeze is the t...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

DC Really Shouldn't Even Have Bothered 0

Batman, Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes awkwardly wraps up Grant Morrison's latest chapter of his Batman saga, coming months too late only to hurry its way to a rather underwhelming reveal.It's issues like this one that leave me thinking sometimes stories would be better off going unfinished when circumstances work against them. Why? Because sometimes it feels even worse for a writer to try to end their story like they had planned despite no longer having the space do pull it off well. I would r...

4 out of 5 found this review helpful.

Yeah. Daredevil Has Good Reason Not to Like Babies. 0

The new Dark Avengers saga continues and only gets better as Brian Michael Bendis returns the spotlight to the actual New Avengers this issue while also further developing his new incarnation of Norman Osborn's team.Osborn rallies his new troops and launches a war of public perception against the Avengers, seemingly with Victoria Hand on his side. I expect a swerve coming with Hand's supposed loyalty to Osborn, but either way, it is an interesting path to take with the character. Bendis also jus...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

Watches the Storm, Huh? I Don't Get the Reference. Too Clever. 0

The creative new origin of Shining Knight is revealed in this issue as the character sinks into a vision with Merlin, the architect of how she came to be. Demon Knights' connection to Stormwatch comes to be revealed as well.As big of a fan as I was of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers project, I have no problem at all with Paul Cornell modifying Shining Knight's origin to suit this story. Going with Morrison's wildly different and complicate take on Arthurian lore would have been a mistake in the ...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

Yeah, I Think I Would Take Bullets Over Arrows Still 0

Grifter continues strong without missing a step despite a rather random guest appearance by one of DC's top heroes. It's an issue that picks up the pace and shows that it can do action as well as the best of them when it wants to as Green Arrow complicates Grifter's plans against the Daemonites.While I have to give credit to DC for not going the typical route of having Batman guest appear, I really do wonder why Green Arrow was chosen for this. Did DC originally think the new Oliver Queen would ...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

When Did Cable Become an Overly Elaborate Bond Villain? 2

Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness live up to expectations with Avengers: X-Sanction. Unfortunately, those expectations were that the duo would deliver a standard story heavy on action and flare while being light on substance and thought.Relative to the stories Loeb has produced lately, this is actually pretty good. There's really nothing painfully stupid in this issue. Oh, I know that is some seriously backhanded praise, but it's also my honest thought as I read through this. At no point in this issue...

6 out of 6 found this review helpful.

Dungy-Womb Women. I Have to Use That Sometime. 0

Even with just a Christmas-themed issue, Journey into Mystery continues to be the best Thor title around as Kieron Gillen keeps up the high quality of intelligence and wit to his writing of young Loki. An unexpected gift has come into the reborn god of mischief's possession, and he must scramble to deal with this litter of Hel-puppies by order of the All-Mothers.The story premise is simple and even a bit silly, but it is also incredibly entertaining, which is all that really matters. This is mos...

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Not Good to be the Kingdom 0

Batwing delves back into its lead character's history, doing an excellent job of fleshing out David Zavimbe and distinguishing him in important ways from Batman.The ongoing plot of Massacre hunting down the retired members of the Kingdom slows down to allow for a flashback that shows how David and his brother Isaac ended their lives as child soldiers. David's past as a child soldier comes as no surprise, but this is a case of predictability not really hurting the story. It is a strong idea that ...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

Who Will Avenge the Earth? Think Tony Stark Said He Would. 2

Despite having its best issue so far, Stormwatch remains a pale imitation of what it could be and what some of these characters have been. Why that is the case is made pretty clear here. What Stormwatch is trying to be exceeds the intelligence of Paul Cornell's writing.That may sound harsh at first, but I'm not commenting on Cornell's own intelligence. I'm not throwing out insults. This is about his writing and how it doesn't live up to the concepts he wants to handle. This issue features a mons...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Is Danny Rand Supposed to be a Young Richard Branson Now? 0

A solid but unremarkable new team book, Defenders puts together a pretty good lineup but lacks anything special that distinguishes it. Matt Fraction sticks to the standard first issue formula, giving us a vaguely powerful threat and a series of scenes recruiting each member of the new team. It does the job it needs to do but little else.Nul, Breaker of Worlds, makes his quick return as the threat that brings the Defenders together. How? I'm honestly not clear. I did read Fear Itself, but it seem...

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Sorry, I Don'T Care About Her. Get Back to the Interesting Stuff? 0

X-Men Legacy catches up with the rest of the X-Universe as its cast face the aftermath of Schism. It's an issue undercut somewhat by already knowing the characters' ultimate decisions but is made interesting largely due to Mike Carey's handling of Rogue on her journey to arrive at her own.Rogue's squad has returned to Utopia along with Havok, Polaris and Rachel Grey to find the X-Men divided. Now, this doesn't exactly line up with what we actually saw in X-Men: Schism with some of these characte...

1 out of 2 found this review helpful.

Hard to Care When the Creators Barely Do 0

Coming to an unceremonious end, the final issue of Herc plays out as a pale shade of what the series began as. The issue is hard to read without thinking everyone behind it had already quit early. It reads like an effort that has been phoned in by people left with no motivation after hearing the series was coming to a quick end.Perhaps the biggest shame about this issue is how good it could have been. Describing it on a basic level sounds like an awesome Hercules story. Zeus has been cursed with...

5 out of 5 found this review helpful.

Skinny, Right? It's Because He's Fat. 0

Voodoo's situation becomes more desperate as she crosses paths with Ron Marz's Green Lantern of choice, Kyle Rayner. It's not as satisfying of a guest appearance as it could be, but it serves enough of a role in Voodoo's overall story that it elevates it from coming off as gratuitous.I'm sure I have said this before, but I really find myself enjoying the slow and character-focused Wildstorm books like Voodoo and Grifter more than their big brother Stormwatch. Voodoo actually feels like it is try...

4 out of 4 found this review helpful.

Have to Admit. Kind of Let Down By That Tantric Sex. 0

Though the characters remain well written and the art is fantastic, Justice League Dark almost seems to have forgotten it has a story it is supposed to be telling. Here at the end of this third issue of the series, the story feels like it is in the same place as it was in the first.I praised the first issue for being a great and well paced first issue for a team book. It wasted no time in setting up the crisis and introducing us to the full cast of characters. What happened? The second issue too...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Aw, All He Wanted Was a Picnic 0

Answers begin coming in as Gail Simone and Ethan Van Sciver lay out their vision for the new Firestorm mythology in this issue. It involves mutually assured destruction and the superhuman equivalent of loose nukes. This is one of the few titles that can make a legitimate claim on being new and relevant as per DC's stated goals, but it still has a ways to go to really establish its ambitious new status quo.This issue ties Firestorm directly to the subject of nuclear weapons as the Firestorms of s...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

Kind of Wanted to See That Twins and Whipped Cream Memory 0

Red Hood and the Outlaws takes a closer look at its cast while the plot takes a back seat, making this the strongest issue of the series thus far. The strength of this book lies in its characters, so it can only be a good thing the more character-centric the stories get.The hook of this issue is that we get to see each of the characters' most cherished memories via circumstances that the plot provides. What makes this work so well is that, for the most part, Scott Lobdell doesn't go the predicta...

6 out of 6 found this review helpful.

Oh Just Have Another Drink, Tony 0

The final, final issue of Fear Itself turns out to be a hollow experience the lacks the substance of its previous two... final issues. Where the Captain America and Thor spotlight issues at least looked forward to give readers glimpses of what is coming next, this Iron Man issue looks back at Fear Itself and ultimately gives readers nothing but Tony Stark raging impotently over the meaningless of all that has happened, which is almost a metatextual analysis of the event.The story plays out by mo...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Wait, So Is the Other Team Officially Called "New Avengers"? 0

Brian Michael Bendis and Daniel Acuna debut a new lineup of the Avengers now that Fear Itself has ended, and though a mixed bag of choices, it is a welcome change for a series that really hasn't felt like it has had much of a clear cast since relaunching.Paralleling the latest issue of New Avengers in which Norman Osborn assembles his new Dark Avengers, this issue largely follows the same structure as Captain America puts together a new Avengers. It's not as comprehensive as New Avengers was, th...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

I Guess Sinestro Won't Be Sharing the Spotlight Next Issue 0

Green Lantern continues to be one of DC's better and more consistent reads, especially with Sinestro now in the starring role. This is not, however, an issue packed with much substance and story progression, making it a light read that is thankfully at least also an entertaining one.Much of the entertainment and intrigue value comes from Sinestro. This is nothing new to readers of Geoff Johns' Green Lantern run, though. In this issue, Sinestro spends most of the time berating Hal Jordan and gene...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Better Lineup Than the Revengers 0

The Dark Avengers rise again in this issue while the New Avengers take a break from appearing in their own book. Norman Osborn's recruitment of his new team is done well enough that it makes up for the lack of the usual stars in this one issue, though.This reads like the typical first issue of a new team book in which you have team members being introduced and recruited. This is the kind of issue Brian Michael Bendis has done well in the past, and that holds true here as well. Osborn, in believa...

7 out of 7 found this review helpful.

Mr. Generic 0

The third issue of Mr. Terrific pretty thoroughly crushes any hopes I had from the first issue for the potential of this series. From the first page to the last, you can almost see the book getting comfortable with the idea of being mediocre and giving up on the idea of trying to excel at aspect of its storytelling. It hands out generic, cliched drama and lazy science fiction in such a way that it's hard to believe Eric Wallace and DC are really even trying to make a success out of Mr. Terrific'...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Milligan's Red Lanterns Just Aren't My Red Lanterns 0

Peter Milligan continues his exploration of anger in Red Lanterns, and it unfortunately has really begun to read more like a long-winded, illustrated thesis than a compelling and exciting comic series.I think the Red Lantern Corps is my favorite of the colored corps, and i know Atrocitus is one of my favorite characters of the Geoff Johns era of the Green Lantern franchise. I've always liked Bleez and have been begging to see more of the other Red Lanterns. I even liked Vice and think it was a t...

2 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Wow. How Totally Not Surprising. At All. 0

With Fear Itself having finally dragged itself to a conclusion, Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice are free to continue their Captain America story which had to be put on hold to service the cheap drama of Marvel's latest big event. Though nothing that happens in this issue is really a shock, it is a welcome turn of events and satisfying to finally have this story moving once again.I'll say this now. Spoilers lie ahead. I figure if you haven't read this issue yet you at least already know or have accur...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

I Can't Express How Glad I Am This Doesn't Spell It X-Tinction 1

Serving as a counterbalance to Wolverine and the X-Men, Uncanny X-Men takes a more serious and intelligent approach to the fallout from Schism as Cyclops reorganizes what is left of his X-Men to drive forward his vision for the future of mutantkind. Kieron Gillen and Carlos Pacheco do well in quickly establishing this new status quo and bring about the return of one of the X-Men's better villains.I said it in my other review. I can totally understand enjoying the loose and fun nature of Wolverin...

7 out of 8 found this review helpful.

A Bad Event Doesn't Mean Bad Tie-Ins. Case in Point. 3

Rising above the ridiculousness of Spider-Island, Spider-Island: Cloak and Dagger manages to tell a very strong story that just happens to take place during the event. It's a story with such a firm grasp of the characters involved that it is practically begging to be a series in its own right and is, at the very least, owed a follow-up.I haven't exactly been shy about what I thought about the Spider-Island event itself. I thought it sounded pretty stupid when it was announced and being hyped. It...

4 out of 4 found this review helpful.

One Look At Kid Gladiator Makes Me Want to Hurt Things 1

When it comes to Wolverine and the X-Men, readers are pushed into deciding whether they have any threshold when it comes to just how quirky they want their X-Men. This is a book that goes full throttle for the silliness and is completely unapologetic about its total disregard for sense.In record time, the school in Westchester has been not only rebuilt but redesigned to a ludicrous degree as now every room is the Danger Room. Wolverine is now a headmaster. An unlikely group of X-Men are now prof...

7 out of 7 found this review helpful.

And No, I Still Don't Believe Bucky Is Really Dead 9

Fear Itself ends with not a bang or even a whimper. It ends with the sound of a head repeatedly smacking against a wall.in frustration at a story event that has been so dragged out and now manages to feel rushed and hollow as it comes to its conclusion.It is really hard to know where to even begin about this issue. You know how you (or someone you know) has two weeks to write a paper but doesn't really write it until the last day? I think that works as an analogy for Fear Itself. Matt Fraction s...

6 out of 6 found this review helpful.

I Know a Broodmother from Dragon Age When I See It 0

While not bad, Suicide Squad continues to not be great either as Adam Glass' ideas appear to be better than his ability to actually write them. This is an issue, and so far a series, where the premise is pretty good but both the writing and the art fail to really fail to elevate it in any substantial way.The plot of the issue is basically the Suicide Squad fighting a horde of techno-organic zombies, and that works well for what it needs to do, which is to provide a steady stream of action that a...

3 out of 4 found this review helpful.

So Where Is My Dazzler and the X-Kids Book? 1

X-Men: Regenesis picks up the slack of Schism and dives into the matter of which X-Men choose what side. It's largely a foregone conclusion since we mostly already know the casts of the post-Schism books, but this is more about trying to explain their positions than shock us with who goes where. In that regard, it is mostly successful even though some scenes don't do such a great job and there is overall the sense that a single issue really isn't the ideal way to try doing this.Since X-Men: Schi...

7 out of 8 found this review helpful.

I Wonder How Many YouTube Views "Spidey Beats Up Strippers" Got 0

Marc Specter comes face to face with the real Avengers in this latest great issue of Moon Knight by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. While it's not an issue heavy on the action, it is heavy on character as readers get further clues on just how crazy Moon Knight is and the Kingpin of L.A. starts getting his own hands dirty.It should be pointed out that this is slow paced issues of what is, overall, a slow paced series. People really should be aware of that before giving it a try, though I th...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

So Freaking Bland 0

Having been one of the most disappointing of the New 52 relaunches, Justice League International makes some small gestures toward improvement in its second issue but ultimately remains the same lackluster title that is both weak on character and on story.It seems to me there are two ways you could go with rebooting Justice League International as a distinct and interesting title. One way is to focus on character and comedy, which made the original JLI such a memorable entity. The other way is to...

3 out of 5 found this review helpful.

Well, It's Over. Not Sure What Else to Say. 0

X-Men: Schism overcomes most of its faults enough to arrive at a decent end for what was also just a decent story event. It's an event that you finish and think to yourself how there were some good parts but overall it could have been a lot better than it was.This issue largely just goes through the motions of the finale. Due to Marvel's hype, we already know so much about the new status quo that there's very little new information to be found here. We generally already knew which characters tak...

9 out of 9 found this review helpful.

Aw, No Glomulus 0

Kyle Rayner is back in a starring role in Green Lantern: New Guardians, and it succeeds in injecting some new excitement that had been missing from the relaunched Green Lantern franchise so far. Tony Bedard is working with a unique idea here and obviously has great affinity for Kyle as a character.Right away, Green Lantern: New Guardians surprises me by being the only Green Lantern title that genuinely feels like it cares about welcoming new readers because it starts with a nice retelling of Kyl...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

So... Why Would a Ghost Like Deadman Hide Around a Corner? 0

The name may not be great, but Justice League Dark more than makes up for that as it expertly sets up a new team of supernatural heroes in the DC Universe. Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin have really put together a high quality new book here that capitalizes on the new open season on Vertigo characters.This was a book I didn't know what to expect from. At first, the idea of throwing a bunch of Vertigo characters together on one team seemed like just a disaster in the making. Milligan's Flashpoint...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

I Like the Jeans and T-Shirt Better 1

Finally, readers get a good look at today's Man of Tomorrow in the relaunch of Superman. It's a mixed issue that leaves me with mainly just one impression. Clark Kent has found his voice, but Superman has lost his.The issue begins with the demolition of the old Daily Planet building and the rise of the new. I can understand some being annoyed by this move, but I really enjoy its not-so-subtle symbolism. It helps that the new building also doesn't look completely ridiculous. It's just a new build...

4 out of 5 found this review helpful.

It's Still Jonah Hex. What Else Do You Want? 0

All-Star Western lives up to people's expectations as Jonah Hex teams up with Amadeus Arkham to track a Jack the Ripper-style killer in old Gotham City. It is a different way of starting off a book like this, setting a western in the east, but it pays off.Rather than Jonah Hex, the story is told through the perspective and narration of Amadeus Arkham. This works really well for introducing Hex, though. Arkham spends a great deal of time trying to understand Hex, making himself a good vehicle for...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.