MattDemers

@spiderbat87 said:

@MattDemers: Hay Matt what do you think of there up-coming replacements?

• Batman Inc: Don't need another Batman title. Too many already.
• Earth 2: Robinson Justice Society should be good. Tentatively interested.
• World's Finest: I find Earth-2 versions of Huntress and Power Girl terribly boring; I prefer the "old DCU" version of both characters.
• Dial H: Has never worked in the past (besides that one psycho iteration), probably won't work here.
• GI Combat: Why cancel Men of War if they're going to replace it with "GI Combat?"
• The Ravagers: Don't know much about it, but the concept seems like a stale mix of Runaways and Avengers Academy.

[edit]: Evidently we don't have all the information about the books, so take the above with a grain of salt.

@Guardiandevil83: I have a feeling that Wildstorm characters are relatively safe due to the Jim Lee connection; they seem to have survived way longer than they should have.

The Good

This issue shows a great little romp of Wolverine in Japan, which brings back a lot of his prior history. I like lone wolf Wolvie, and seeing a "Gone to Japan, be right back!" note on his headmaster door made me chuckle.

The sequence with the Hand rising up to their former glory is refreshing, although it did end up with a bit of GI Joe-style absurdity at the end. "Sky Yakuza" bursting through the ceiling, while ninjas fight against mobsters? Not exactly what I was expecting, but it isn't necessarily bad.

The resurgence of the Hand is great, because they've hardly been a threat since way before SHADOWLAND; Wolverine and ninjas go hand-in-hand, so they look to be a formidable foe. The same goes for the Silver Samurai's son; he's been set up to be some kind of threat, so it will be interesting to see if he converts, so to speak.

The Bad

The back-up story with Cloak and Dagger completely ignores the brilliant SPIDER ISLAND: CLOAK & DAGGER, where the two titular heroes switch powers. Cloak now is an avatar of light, and Dagger an avatar of darkness; this isn't reflected in the story, which kind of disappoints me.

There isn't any reference to Sabretooth's demise besides a "Why don't you stay dead?" or a "I thought he was dead!?" The question on everyone's mind is how and why Mister Creed was resurrected, and it frustrates me that we are unlikely to figure out why for a long time.

The Verdict

I had a lot of fun with this issue because of the loyalty to the overarching Wolverine history that's present. If you'd like to take a classic Wolverine story involving Japan, this issue feels like it - that's a very good thing.

It will be interesting to see how long this book spends on this storyline, along with flashing back to the Cloak & Dagger side-story. Again, I think that Logan's solo series is spending too much time in situations other than the Jean Gray school, and they're missing out on a lot of great storylines in the meantime. However, that shouldn't stop you from enjoying this book: if you like classic Wolverine, here it is.

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The Good

The whole "introduction to the Fear Lords" segment was the right amount of humour and mystique. Seeing these ominous figures and hearing about their personalities have done more to endear me to them than entire issues of other series. I'm really looking forward to seeing what their continued role in this book will be.

Finding out that Loki torrents movies to his "pad of I" makes me chuckle a bit. While that section was a bit heavy-handed in its humour, I can appreciate the reference. I also enjoy other smaller things, like Hell-Mutt still being included in the narrative. The refresher we got at the beginning of the issue was wonderfully done, and kept us up to speed.

The Damian Hellstrom sections of this book were brief and well-done, limited to only a page or two each. I think this was a good move in order to keep those parts from droning on too long, as delving into horror-fantasy can be a bit overwhelming if you do it all at once.

The Bad

Not much! This book is a bit of a stepping stone into something bigger, so it didn't blow me away. However, it wasn't a bad introduction issue by any means. Last issue was a one-shot, so we got to cleanse our palette a bit in preparation for a new arc.

The Verdict

I've been really enjoying this book lately because it's consistently impressed me with its pacing and the characterization of Loki. It harkens back to the initial resurrection of Thor, when the gods were interacting with their (then) new neighbors in Broxton, and it wasn't the painful experience that movies make culture shocks out to be.

With the addition of a relatively new supporting cast, Gillen can mold the characters to his whim, instead of relying on preconceived tropes. Seeing Loki, Leah, the Maidens and Broxton come alive definitely makes this book worth reading.

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The Good

Allen the Alien's character evolution from messenger boy to emissary to hero to leader has kept me interested in this book, and I feel a little conflicted over how he's changed as a person. Seeing him make tough choices that I don't know how I would handle makes me feel that the times ahead are going to be tough. I don't want him to turn into a villain, but he's presenting some much needed conflict that's deeply rooted in the entire series' continuity.

Dinosaurus is quickly warming up to me as a character in this story, and I can see his involvement polarizing Invincible, adding some much needed depth in the process. Personality-wise, I'd like to compare him to someone in the DC Universe to Mark's Superman, but the personality is a little too off for a direct analogy.

I mean, if anything there's a bit of a Superman/Batman dynamic here, as the personalities are so different, but keep each other in check.

The Bad

While the book's final page had me intrigued, I think the reintroduction of major villains is just plain too soon; it's like having the Death of the Green Goblin, then having him show up five issues later. I think it's going to mess with the pacing of this book big time, and force some unnecessary drama when we have enough already.

After months upon months, I'm still not really digging Atom Eve; her role seems to be reduced to chastising Mark and playing the role of the reader, wondering what the hell is up with our intrepid hero. I remember the days where she actually had some depth to her, before her death and subsequent resurrection.

Also, how many times has the Image Universe been laid to waste, only for Mark to fly in an instantly correct the problem? You can't tell me that Dinosaurus and Mark are that powerful that they can instantly beat an opponent that took out two dozen other heroes.

The Verdict

While I haven't exactly enjoyed this book as of late, this book's on a track to improving itself. Props to Kirkman for making an effort to drag himself out of a pit of boredom, confusion and overcomplexity.

There was a couple issues where so many things were happening that I just couldn't bring myself to care. Now that there's some even development in characters and plot (and not too much of either), I feel like INVINCIBLE can progress.

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The Good

If this issue is anything, it's consistent. This is great, considering the series was mired in a little bit of a muck before Warren Ellis took over. There wasn't exactly much secret about the Secret Avengers, and Ellis added a much-needed bit of espionage and flair.

Beast's role as the "eye in the sky" in this mission was definitely a good fit for him. Seeing him in his element reminds me how smart Hank is, and that was something this team needed. While Steve was a valuable leader, we needed brains; this was how Beast should have been written since the beginning of the book.

The Bad

Not much. The art style in this book is gritty without seeming messy, and that's important, considering the characters and premise. Though the team is supposed to be a "black ops" team, they're not necessarily "wet work"; there isn't that murder-and-death that would warrant a messier style.

The Verdict

Keeping with the "done in one" formula of Warren Ellis' SECRET AVENGERS, we get another look into the true "black ops" role of this team. While I had extremely high praises for this book last month, it seems that it can't shake the feeling that it borrows heavily from GLOBAL FREQUENCY, another Ellis title.

The whole "super soldier, forgotten by the people that made it, deadly as hell" storyline is extremely similar to a FREQUENCY story, stunning conclusion and all. However, in that story it was a bionic man, and nukes were involved.

There was even the whole "end abruptly with a snappy quote" thing, which just left me with a weird taste in my mouth. If you're an Ellis fan, you'll enjoy this issue, but if you've read GLOBAL FREQUENCY, you might be left wanting something new. This is what ended up happening for me, which is reflected in the grade.

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The Good

Fraction is doing amazing things with the way his pages are being composed; they allow for a generous amount of captioning and dialog without bogging down the overall story. Never once did I feel that there was too much text, nor did I feel that the strange story was too complicated. I'm liking where the plot is going, and seeing an out-of-the-ordinary idea executed well makes me hope that Fraction will keep on doing it.

The Doctor Strange/Betty Banner moment was great, as it furthers the idea that the former Sorcerer Supreme is a bit of a creep. While I really like the character, I can agree that he needed some more qualities than "ornate", "powerful" and "dusty."

The pages narrating Nul's existence were great examples of well-written descriptions affecting how a comic is perceived. I went from not caring about the villain to interested with a few page turns.

The Bad

The only thing that baffled me about this issue is how the Defenders were captured so easily. In the franticness of the battle, we see the Silver Surfer imprisoned, Namor get bit on the arm by a tiger-man, and then they end up in a prison cell.

Did they surrender? How did either of those situations count as "subdued"? I just would have liked to see that transition scene, instead of "This guy's really powerful. We should stand down, now."

The Verdict

This books is solid through proper execution and a well-planned script; the pacing doesn't feel rushed, and there's enough action in each issue to keep you from getting bored with the somewhat-quirky plot.

The only reason I didn't give this a five (like I did with the last issue) was the not-so-heroic transition I mentioned above. Obviously, the book needed way for the cast to get into the baddie's castle, but the execution came off a bit awkward.

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The Good

Just when I thought I might be dropping this book because of the incessant time-travel storyline, Jeff Parker throws me a curveball and gives me one of the better character pieces I've read recently. I've never really felt for Luke Cage; besides his occasional appearance in Iron Fist I rarely get the feeling that he's changed in the time since being reintroduced to the mainstream Marvel Universe.

This issue changed that.

The whole "Mister Fear" scenario has been dozens of times with Scarecrow and Batman, but for some reason I got the intended effect instead of bushing it off as such. We got a good look into Cage's psyche, and with a killer ending to boot. Definitely enjoyed this issue's planning; it kind of all fell into place with ease.

I especially liked the Ghost segment, in which he shows Cage the supposed consequences to his actions. A lot of callbacks to the recent volume of the book make this a winner.

The Bad

My only real complaint is that this sequence was broken up by a lot of bureaucratic conversations between the remaining team members in this time period, and it all seemed expendable besides the kicker at the end. It dragged the book down from being absolutely amazing; instead, it's mostly amazing.

The Verdict

I don't want this criticism to affect the perception of this book. In my previous reviews, I've spoke of my hopes that Parker will take a break from the current time-jumping arc, and he delivered with this issue.

Like the FEAR ITSELF issues, this is what Thunderbolts is all about: a great character study of people who aren't quite perfect.

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The Good

I really liked the origin/dream sequence in this book because it introduced some much-needed depth to the character. Static's typical "Peter Parker" build is expanded to include a possible predication to violence, and having him almost shoot someone is better than actually doing it; it gives him something to ponder, and makes him wonder if he'll fall "to the dark side" again.

The Bad

I'll get into this more in "The Verdict", but the book doesn't feel like it's moving beyond very basic plotlines. Villains attack, Static stops them using something vaguely science-related, he goes home. Rinse, repeat.

So Static's robotic mentor shows up for what seems like the first time since the first issue. Where's he been since then? For someone that seems to integral to the whole being of Static, he seems kind of absent. If he's supposed to be a mentor of some kind, his involvement just seems a bit lackluster.

The Verdict

While the dream sequence origin was good, it took them five issues to give the reader something concrete. Five. On a monthly schedule, that's almost half a year of Static hinting at "Dakota" without giving the reader any meat. This meat is what keeps us buying the book beyond the initial surge of launch, and I think that it's taken much too long for us to get it.

This book is pretty disappointing because it seems to rely on an abundance of action to make up for Static being a pretty shallow character. The book hasn't changed much since the first issue: Static goes out and fights crime while the villains scheme behind the scenes, utterly focused on ridding themselves of the hero menace.

While this is pretty standard superhero fare, it doesn't get deeper. We're still left wondering about things mentioned in passing, and it's getting to the point where I just don't want to stick around to see what they end up resulting in.

To be frank, I'm utterly bored by this book, and this issue didn't change a thing.

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The Good

After the whirlwind of last month's issue, it's nice to see the pace of the story slow down a bit for some exposition and character discussion. There are few people who can make one car ride between two cops seem like such an integral event to comics. Greg Rucka is one of them, and this issue is his forte: gritty crime and gritty people at their finest.

Something I've noticed is that Rucka is also amazing at taking dialogless pages and turning them into something that's emotive, expressive and telling. Subtle changes from panel to panel (and not just facial expressions on a copy-pasted body!) highlight tonal shifts that set the mood of what is essentially an emotionally-charged, cat-and-mouse car ride.

By the end of the issue, we're given a lot of explanation for one of the cops' demeanor with a meaningful flashback and a piece of evidence that ties everything together. Heck, we even get a shout-out to another amazing Marvel title (Mark Waid's DAREDEVIL) in a way that's tasteful and well-done.

The Bad

Not much that I can see. The writing, art, composition, pacing and style blew me away with this book.

The Verdict

Basically, if you liked GOTHAM CENTRAL, you really need to read this issue. Every single page reads like it's straight out of the Marvel equivalent, and it does an amazing job of making two bit characters into something much more.

It's amazing to see one issue characterize two cops better than the entire runs of some series, and without bogging the issue down with text, text and more text. I cannot wait for more of this series, and look forward to next month.

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