Hey all, its another weekly dose of comic book reviews. This is truly one of my favorite week of reads. This week I got a total of 7 comic issues to read, and every single one of them is worth a look. We see the conclusion and new beginnings of Spider-man, Grayson Batman's worse day ever, Carol Ferris hunting the Predator, Iron Man finally fighting, THOR leaving HELL, and Thor's drinking adventures. That's right, this week of reviews are Amazing Spider-man #641 and #642, Batman and Robin #14, Green Lantern #57, Invincible Iron Man #30, THOR #614, and Thor: The Mighty Avenger #4....with that lets begin. Quick note, I now add the issue chapter title to my reviews.
Amazing Spider-man #641- One Moment In Time Part 4, Something Blue
Story: The final part on the OMIT storyline, We see Tony, Reed, and Stephen in the astral plane discussing the possible ideas in how to ease Peter's troubles after the Civil War incident. Tony and Reed are hesitant at first because they did a mind-wipe on the Sentry, but that was because he was a threat, Peter is just a poor soul looking for a quick solution. They all come to an agreement and have a plan to make things right, which I won't spoil, its just so interesting as to how it all works. Stephen returns and tells Peter that he must stay in a special bubble to be the only one to bear the burden. Peter runs out and brings in MJ, feeling that she too must bear the burden. The world changes in an instant and MJ is fearful of this new feeling. As Peter and MJ reconcile, MJ does the most heartfelt thing ever, again I won't spoil...the issue ends with a reinvigorated Spidey saying its a “Brand New Day”...end
Review: Well.....that's it, after all that's occurred and has happened to Spider-man, we finally get closure on what many consider the greatest muck up ever. How did this 4 part series handle it...well to me it was handled pretty well. I for one think that this is the best issue of the 4. This is one of the longer issues in the arc but totally worth finding it all out. I felt the way they handled the wiping out was brilliant involving three Illuminati rather than the Devil. Now Peter does a cop-out by rescuing MJ from forgetting but this had to be added to give us that good and optimistic ending. My favorite scenes were with Reed, Tony, and Stephen, these are three of the greatest minds in the Marvel universe deciding how to handle a friends life and change it. My favorite quote in it is from Stephen Strange: “BECAUSE WE ARE ALL CULPABLE! And because while he may not be the most powerful nor the most brilliant amongst us, much like Steve Rogers------The Boy is truly the BEST of us”....that quote alone proves that despite everything Spider-man has been through, he is a true hero.
Art: The art is once again split between Quesada's work which takes place post wipe, which is your pretty well done artwork for this work. However the first part pre-wipe was pretty well done. Paolo Rivera has a retro style in the design of all the characters used in this book. Although Stephen seems to look like he has that black gunk they use in baseball under his eyes in this issue, but that's not a nitpick, its kinda funny. The art is done really well and the split in it is pretty clever.
Grade: I give this an A+, this is truly one of the best endings to an arc that I have ever read, this convinced me to no longer belittle the character in the comics, he is returning to being a true hero once again.
Amazing Spider-man #642- Origin of the Species: Part 1
Story: Following the events of OMIT, the rouges gallery of Spider-man have been all gathered by a mysterious benefactor who has given them a proposition, bring him what he wants and the person/people who do so, will be rewarded with what they always wanted. Meanwhile, its super hot in New York as Peter is getting his life back into order...slowly but its all coming back in time. Peter goes to a local coffee shop to meet his new date. When he arrives, Harry and MJ are both there talking with his date, a woman by the name of Carlie. As they are sitting and chatting, Harry's former girlfriend Lily crashes with one of the goblin gliders. She is screaming in pain and begging for help, she is giving birth as she was being chased by Electro, Hammerhead, and Doc Ock. Spider-man tries to fight them off but is overpowered by Doc Ock as he is delivering the baby.
Review: It's always tough when you come off a good issue, you want the next one to top it, this one doesn't but it is however, a good issue. The idea is premise behind having all of the villains team up for a single objective is a cool idea, this could in turn cause them fight amongst themselves, rather than having Peter fight them all off one on one. Now that's only speculation right now, but hopefully we see something like that. This is truly a follow up to OMIT because Peter and MJ do have a small talk about what occurred in Part 4. Seeing Peter's troubled life is a slight turn away since we are gonna see the return of the hero and worker that Peter is best known for. The action beats were pretty good and seeing all these villains teaming up in strange combinations were pretty cool. Also, thank one-above-all they didn't show the birth, we see the baby and that is all.
Art: The artwork for this is...different. This isn't Rivera's work, which I feel is the best suited for Spider-man and should be used for now on. Sadly he does not continue the work, instead we get Paul Azaceta. Who's work isn't that bad, but I never seen it used in this series. The characters, especially the villains and Spider-man look pretty cool, while MJ looks like she got lip injections, so this art work is really hit and miss, but still has some cool designs.
Grade: I give this issue a B+, its a good follow up to OMIT and the beginning of Spider-man becoming a hero again. The art is mixed but the villain designs are the best and spider-man gets a pass too.
Batman and Robin #14- Batman and Robin MUST DIE part 2
Story: The issue continues with Damian Robin beating the living tar out of the Joker. They have a talk and the Joker has an ace up his sleeve, or should I say in his nails, and gives the boy wonder a Joker grin poison. The Joker escapes and takes Robin hostage. Meanwhile Grayson Batman along with commissioner Gordon are attacked by the doll faced goons as a bomb countdown is happening. Gray-Bat fails to stop it and it goes BOOM!Grayson awakes several hours later back safely in the bat-cave. He gets a call from the Joker saying they need to team up to stop the villain known as Black Glove. Gordon is however held hostage by Black Glove and Pyg about to be operated on. When suddenly the crowd becomes poison by the Joker Grin. Gray-Bat is caught and unable to fight back.
Review: Man this arc is such a dark storyline. Nothing is held back, we see the Joker out smart yet another Robin, Bat-man failing to stop a simple thing, and teaming up with Bruce's greatest Foe. There is not one good part in this issue, we see nothing but just madness and chaos...and that is why it works. There is no other title that could pull this off, Batman is the only title where we see all these surreal moments and images because of the characters that are in it. Morrision is taking us for a ride, and its a ride we don't wanna be on but we gotta see how this all plays out. Its about the tension and the results that keep us reading. How are they gonna get everything back in order. Now this will obviously tie-in with Bruce returning but the way its being handled is great to see.
Art: As I mentioned, the artwork in this is surreal. Frazer Irving has artwork that you can look at and you could see some of the dark tones and misshapen look of this world and brings it to life. The look of the characters are extorted and shaded dark to give us, as I mentioned a distorted look into this dark world that Batman lives and fights.
Grade: I give this issue an A-, for such a strong, dark toned storyline and amazing artwork that makes us feel like we are look into a real dream world.
Green Lantern #57- THE PREDATOR
Story: The beginning of the issue deals with Hal and Larfleeze trying to get away from the Orange Avarice entity possessed Hector Hammond, who then flies off to search for Carol. Meanwhile on the Star Sapphire planet, the Lantern Battery is slowly dying, the queen sends a message to Carol to search for the Love Entity, known as Predator. Carol is in Las Vegas searching around. We see who it is, a man who has fallen in love with a girl working at a casino. As he looks at the photos, The Predator possesses him and grants him great power. As Carol is nearly caught off guard by it, she is saved by Hal. Carol finds a way to split the two apart, as she does she, Hal, and Larfleeze are taken back to the Sapphire's planet. Carol makes a plea not to place the Entity back into the Battery core, but there's a way to gather energy. As the Sapphire queen dies, she bestows Carol the title of QUEEN!!!!
Review: This issue is miles ahead from the last issue. I made some gripes about Hector because he is a greedy and mentally disturbed character. This was able to focus on a single character and their own progression in both story telling but in title. Giving Carol that new title gives her a new role in the Green Lantern canon, while it may be most likely a temporary position but still what a new step for her. The story is solid in terms of the villain of the issue. We got a villain who controls a person through a powerful emotion we have a hard time figuring out, love, and seeing how Carol was able to defeat it, was great. This is an issue where Hal takes a back set to Carol and we get some great story with her. Geoff Johns can handle female characters really well and this is once again, another great work of his.
Art: The artwork is very consistent with this title. Doug Mahnke's work with this title is really great. Everything in this issue has great detail and the coloring of the lanterns is the best example's in this. Every Lantern uniform design is truly unique to each member....especially Carol's * wink wink*
Grade: I give this issue an A, for a Geoff getting away from Hector for now, and focusing on the main characters in this story line and for the artwork showcasing the great uniqueness of each person on the page.
Invincible Iron Man #30- Stark Resilient part 6
Story: Stark is driving along with the young Hammer girl. She is curious why Tony is trying to drive faster. He tells her he is mad at her and her mother and thinks of killing her in a crash. Meanwhile, Pepper is stuck at the party trying to deal with all the new potential investors. Back with Tony, he tells the young Hammer girl how his suit and powers work. He tells us that its designed similar to a future heroes Iron Man like armor. The suit is pure liquid fused into his bones and powered by the Repulsor Battery in his chest. He has gained 360 degree vision and drives perfectly fine. As he tells Sasha all this, she tells him the Stane was to be the greatest mind ever and that she and her mother are not trying to destroy Stark, but to ruin his life beyond repair. Sasha reveals that she is infused with what appears to be bio-tech, she has long red energy threads that cut things with ease. She and Tony have a pretty cool fight. Then Pepper in her Rescue Armor comes in and stops the fight. After the fight, Tony and his new crew are about to test the new Repulsor based car when suddenly an explosion occurs on site.
Review: FINALLY SOME ACTION!, I made some mentions that Fraction's run is a techno thriller that's more on plot rather than action, but you need some action to break up the tension and this fight really did a good job. We see Tony using some sweet tools and weapons with his new suit. We see him use an awesome lightning cannon on Sasha. Speaking of Sasha, it was quiet a shock to see her have real power and be a threat to Tony. There were subtle clues but nothing that said SHE'S GOT POWERS. This issue is the setup for something only better to come along.
Art: This has some of the best color scheme in any comic out there. The use of red in this series is really amazing. I love the various shades used for each characters that wear it. The design of the weaponry and vehicles give us the feeling that this is a tech noir story.
Grade: I give this issue an A- for finally stepping up with some action beats in the issue and the artwork with the usage of Red is amazing.
THOR #614- The Fine Print part 4
Story: Thor's final confrontation in Hell. He tries harder to pull free the Eir-Gram, the sword forged by his brother Loki. As he tries, his armor is pushed to its limits. He begs Mother Gaea to free the sword from herself and grant Thor, the power to defeat Bor's warrior women. Mother Gaea pulls through and gives Thor the sword which he is able to defeat the warriors, as they fear him now, they beg for life. Meanwhile Tyr manages to outlast them horde and sees a revived Hela. Hela joins Thor in Mephisto's lair and tells him not to meddle with her lair again, he tells them he had no part in all of it. As Thor is about to leave, he asks to speak with Loki, Hela forbids it because Loki can never enter Hel, but can go to Hell. Thor returns to Asgard with the sword and stabs it into Kelda, which discover that as Loki tried to revive Kelda, he pulled from her a piece of her in the form of an ore to forge Eir-Gram, which Thor has now returned her to her former glory.
Review: We got two conclusions this week, first was Spider-man's OMIT and The end of Kieron's run on THOR. This is his glorious swan song, we have everything nicely concluded. I wanted to see Loki and Thor seek reconciliation and for once see them as brothers rather than foes. The action scenes were brief but were loud and bombastic, fitting to the Thor character. This run was about the story and various locations Thor has been through since the Dark Reign and Siege. Kieron kept the mysticism alive in this title and every arc had its share of magic and fantasy. As he ends with this story I wish him luck on his next title project, whatever it may be, hopefully something that can be worth a read.
Art: The look and feel of Hell in this arc has always been something to behold. The look is and feel is very open and cavern like in every area, including Mephisto's lair, it still has that feel. The look of Thor in some close up is just pure muscle and bad-ass.
Grade: I give this issue a B+, This is Kieron's swan song issue and is a great end to a fantastic run on THOR, and the artwork showcases the environment and the definition of the characters.
Thor: The Mighty Avenger- BOYS NIGHT OUT
Story: Thor + Warriors 3 + Tavern + Captain Britain= AWESOMENESS...alright this is a short but sweet story synopsis. Thor continues to find out why he has been banished to Earth. As he relaxes with Jane, he is greeted by his old and most beloved friends, the Warriors three. They are glad to reunite with Thor and give him only a slight clue as to why he's on Earth, He must learn humility. Jane lets Thor and the Three go to a tavern to have fun once again. As they lose where they are they arrive at a tavern where Thor is greeted by Captain Britain. Thor and Cap Brit have a fight, then the Warriors Three join in and then Cap Brit gives them a “stirring” speech. They all then celebrate and drink. Thor returns to Jane and Vandral gives Thor a mystical horn.
Review” I LOVE THIS TITLE!!!!....This is such a fun read, every issue is fun and full of great Easter eggs and subtle nods to the over all universe it exists in. This to me is the Comic equivalent to Batman: Brave and the Bold...but done RIGHT....this series actually has a set-up as to how and why Thor is meeting and or teaming up with these characters. I love the interaction the characters use and they feel much like how they are in the 616 universe, the early years mind you.
Art: I love the artwork. The character design of this title is what makes it a great selling point. They all look and feel like their old day counter parts. This Thor looks and acts much different than the Thor of 616 and has a charm to him that you can connect with. The Cartoon appeal gives it a sense of how simple yet loving it is to the story and characters. I hope I see more titles getting treatments like this sometime soon.
Grade: I give this issue an A+, for just a fun and great reunion of 4 friends and them fighting a fan favorite character. Plus the artwork adds to the appeal of this universe we are reading.
PHEW...that was a long one huh friends. This is probably one of my longer reviews in awhile. I hope you all get a chance to read these, I can't wait to see Destroyers OMIT part 4 review, he and I seem to have the same thoughts on the matter. So this has been fun as always, catch you guys next week back on Wednesday with only 5 issues to review. Til then Aki87 OUT!!!