StuckInPanels Comic Reviews
Month- April
Week- #3
Date- 4/18/12
Greetings once again friends, It is I once known as ComicCritic87, formerly BlackAirs87. Now I have come again revived by my vigor for comic reviews, I have given myself the name of StuckInPanels, since I enjoy reading comics so much it feels like I become stuck in them while I do. This is a complete reinvention of me, not only in just name but in review style as well. I tried out many different ways and yet I haven’t found the one that truly defines me as a reviewer. I have seen many different ways of my fellow reviews Weed and Destroyer have done their style of reviews; I have tried to emulate their style but never feel it is on par with their way of doing it. So I have redone my review style once again, expanding the standard review to involve some more aspects. I will continue to review based on writing and artwork which are key essentials obviously, also a few new aspects will be added into my reviewing, such as character dynamic and plot, a change of the Pros and Cons into what Works and what Doesn’t Work.
As I made mention in my prior article that I will also be limiting the amount of stuff that I am reading due to my new work schedule being an assistant manager as well as getting back into my college classes to pursue a career in film making, getting me one step closer into making proper video reviews eventually. That being said it’s always tough to pick and choose which comics get to stay and which ones have to go. So after looking through all the stuff that I am currently reading which still quite a nice sized amount is and I must now choose ultimately what I can read now. This doesn’t mean I will stop reading them, of course with collected trades I can catch up with a series and remain interested. So first up will be Comics that I read, anything you see that has an X next to it means that they have been cut from my readings. I was very diplomatic about it and chose them based on everything up til now in terms of quality of writing and artwork. This mainly deals with ONGOING comics, I exclude mini-series in this.
Action Comics X
Amazing Spider-man
Avengers
Avengers Assemble X
Avenging Spider-man
Batman
Catwoman
Conan X
Danger Club X
Defenders X
Demon Knights
Incredible Hulk X
Journey into Mystery X
Justice League
Justice League Dark
Mighty Thor X
Saga
Scarlet Spider
Swamp Thing
Teen Titans X
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X
Thunderbolts (after issue 175 when it becomes Dark Avengers) X
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
Venom X
Wonder Woman
So those are the comics that sadly we be missed but I will continue to read them whenever I can. However this now clears up shop and that allows me to explore out new stories and comics to read. A lot of new stuff that is coming will be added to my readings as well. So far the list for that is pretty short. So far it is
Captain Marvel (Marvel’s version)
Earth-2
Godzilla
World’s Finest
So with my readings having now been slightly shortened it does make it a bit easier to decide which to review. I’ve worked on different styles, so I took some aspects from them all and formed them into a single article. Weakest of the Week will return, which is an issue or issues that aren’t on par with the other comics of the week. I will also keep the Top Pick of the Week which will be called worthy of the Week. Those between the weakest and worthy shall be under the title Neutral Zone, that’s pretty much self-explanatory.
My new redesign of my reviewing shall be like this (Only applies to WORTHY OF THE WEEK)
COMIC TITLE: WRITER/ARTIST
ISSUE SUBTITLE
ABRIDGRED STORY IN ONE SENTENCE WITH LITTLE SPOILERS
REVIEW
-Story
-Writing
-Artwork
-Character Dynamic
WHAT WORKS
WHAT DOESN’T WORK
HIGHLIGHT OF THE ISSUE
GRADE, return to the grading of A+ to F-
Now that we have all of that out of the way, everything explained properly let us begin the next phase of my comic reviews.
Comics of the Week
DC Comics
-Batman #8
-Catwoman #8
-Justice League #8
-Wonder Woman #8
IDW COMICS
-Rocketeer Adventures 2 #2 (excluded due to being three short stories)
-Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #4
MARVEL COMICS
-Amazing Spider-man #684
-Avengers #25
-Avengers Vs X-men #2
-Thunderbolts #173
WORTHY OF THE WEEK
AVENGERS #25: Written by Brian Michael Bendis/Artwork by Walter Simonson
NO SUBTITLE (not joking, no subtitle to this issue)
Story: Prior to the events of the battle between the Avengers and X-men, Captain America leads his team in an all-out battle against A.I.M. and Madame Hydra.
Review
-Story: I was pretty surprised that this wasn’t a tie-in issue with the huge event taking over most of the books, and this one was pretty fun in capturing an old-school Avenger comic story. This is a story that feels like it was lifted out of the 80s and yet it still keeps it modern relevancy.
-Writing: A lot of people harp on Bendis for being a mediocre writer, however in an issue like this he tones it down, keeping the character development down and focusing more action and plot.
-Artwork: Walter Simonson is pretty much one of the best artists in the industry, he’s done one of the best artistic runs on Thor. He is by far the best artist that Bendis has teamed up with. No offense to talent like JRJR or Acuna, its just Simonson has a great sense of design with these characters.
-Character Dynamic: The only slight amount of character dynamic shown is between Captain America and Thor about what Captain can do to make his image and the image of the Avengers look better.
What Works: One of the best artists on this title, Old School fun and action
What Doesn’t Work: takes place prior to the events AvX, slows down a bit.
Highlight of the Issue: Opening Splash Page
Grade: A-
Avengers Vs X-men #2: Written by Brian Michael Bendis/Artwork by JRJR
Round 2
Story: The two teams finally clash on the shores of Utopia, breaking friendships and bonds with every punch and attack.
Review
-Story: A very solid second issue, it ups the scale of the battle, showing us the essential destruction between the two teams. It’s a very action filled issue mixed in with exposition about each bond breaking.
-Writing: Bendis manages to tone down his own style and does a good job setting up the pieces for the other writers to continue.
-Artwork: JRJR is given the art reigns for this issue and he continues to do a manageable job with the character designs.
-Character Dynamic: We get LOT of character interaction, it’s all well done. The moments between Cap and Cy are really well done.
What Works: The amazing amount of fight sequences and number of characters filling the pages of this issue.
What Doesn’t Work: Spider-man surprised that the Avengers and X-men haven’t fought before, despite the various times they did.
Grade: A
BATMAN #8: Written by Scott Snyder/Artwork by Greg Capullo
THE CALL
Story: The Court of Owls begins their invasion across Gotham City, taking out key people that are influences. Batman sends out the call for the others and launches the counter-attack.
Review
-Story: This is one super awesome issue. From beginning to end this issue is nonstop action and thrills. The whole first arc of the New 52 Batman has been one of the best and this issue continues to showcase that. Batman finally has a true worthy foe to battle, its far better and more menacing than the Joker, Bane, Ra’s, or any other villain that has tested Batman’s abilities.
-Writing: Scott Snyder is the best thing ever to happen to Batman next to Alan Moore or Frank Miller. In my opinion he has topped their works far better with this tale. The way Snyder describes the city of Gotham makes it another character, full of life and personality. I always mentioned he should be writing an event comic and in a way this is one amazing start to something much bigger.
-Artwork: Capullo’s artwork is one of the best in the New 52 and continues to be a shining example of outdoing itself from issue to issue. Every issue offers something vastly new and improved, changing from dark and brooding moments to action filled excitement with just a turn of the page.
-Character Dynamic: This issue features a nicely expanded dynamic between Bruce and Alfred which has always been the strongest bond between two characters since their inception. Here we see Alfred being more protective of Master Bruce, going far enough to actually fight and defeat one of the Talons.
What works: The ever evolving world that is Batman, never simplistic, always expanding and growing into some much deeper than anything you can imagine. Snyder’s writing and Capullo’s art working together to create something great.
What doesn’t work: perfectly fine, nothing is wrong with it what so ever.
Highlight of the issue: GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE
Grade: A+
Wonder Woman #8: Written by Brian Azzarello/Artwork by Cliff Chiang
CASTING SHADOWS
Story: Wonder Woman heads down into the underworld to rescue her friend. But Hades has other plans for Diana
Review
-Story: This too has been one of the more interesting redesigns of the DC Trinity. Wonder Woman’s entire history is slowly being rewritten and altered into a more suitable. The new take on the afterlife was pretty well done.
-Writing: Azzarello has done a fantastic job with writing the series, changing the core of Wonder Woman into something so different yet it remains the same.
-Artwork: Cliff Chiang’s artwork has always been stellar and continues to be a shining beacon. The character designs are some of the best and the new looks of the Greek Gods are far better than any known interpretation
-Character Dynamic: Diana continues to evolve as a character here and there, she’s less Princess Warrior and more of a Warrior Princess.
What Works: The changes to the history and characters, the shocking ending, Diana being more bad-ass than ever.
What Doesn’t Work: Nothing
Highlight of the issue: Bracelets not deflecting mystic bullets.
Grade: A+
NEUTRAL ZONE
Amazing Spider-man #684: Written by Dan Slott/Artwork by Humberto Ramos
Story: Spider-man teams up with Black Widow and Silver Sable to battle Sand-man
Review: Pretty awesome issue with some minor issues to it. The event is well done so far.
Writing: Slott continues to improve with his run on Spider-man. The characters are always top notch
Artwork: Ramos returns and while it’s a slide change it still looks nice, the character designs are nice
Grade: B+
Catwoman #8: Written by Judd Winick/Artwork by Adriana Melo
Story: Selina and her partner plan a steal from the Penguin but are sidetracked with the court of owls.
Review: A solid issue that expands Selina from being just pure sex in a latex outfit. The CoO addition is interesting to say the least.
Writing: Winick does a fantastic job with the character, making her fun and sly once again.
Artwork: Melo’s art style is nice and solid but March is far more suited with the character
Grade: B-
Transformers-More than Meets the Eye #3: Written by James Roberts/Artwork by Alex Milne
Story: A scouting crew comes across a medical facility full of infected. Tailgate is forced to choose his side.
Review: A pretty fun series that keeps up the action and exposition in perfect balance.
Writing: Roberts does a great job giving every single character unique and diverse personalities
Artwork: Milne’s art designs of the Transformers are some of the best, ranging various animated forms
Grade: B+
WEAKEST OF THE WEEK
Justice League #8: Written by Geoff Johns/Artwork by Frank Cho
Story: Green Arrow tries desperately to join the Justice League, wackiness ensues.
Review: A terrible issue, I found it so boring following Green Arrow trying to joining the league
Writing: Johns does his best to make the character relatable but comes off whiny and pathetic.
Artwork: Cho’s artwork is nicely used, making each character look well done.
Grade: C-
Thunderbolts #173: Written by Jeff Parker/Artwork by Delcan Shalvey
Story: The two team of Thunderbolts unite to set things right. Fixer kills his past self but still exists.
Review: A mediocre issue that is taking the last arc of the Thunderbolts (in name) and just doesn’t live up to expectation.
Writing: Parker makes the characters memorable but the two different teams don’t mesh well.
Artwork: Shalvey does a good job with the artwork, character designs are always nice and top notch
Grade: C+
Well hope you all enjoy this new style of my reviews. Next week I will be taking a break due to only three issues are being released. I will post reviews depending on how busy my work and school life will take on me. Take care everyone