ComicCritic87 and Weedbeater Monthly Comic roundup
Month of September 2011
Greetings friends and fellow fans of comics, this month marks the beginning of a team up where myself and Weedbeater are doing a monthly review of each weeks releases. It’s pretty simple; we both select one comic from each week, and review it as we would normally would. For those who read my review style, I usually do a top pick of the week, well for this new type, it won’t always be the same as my top pick of the week, it might be from the quick reviews but more thoroughly talked about. Let’s begin the first team up review.
ComicCritic87’s Top Picks
Week #1- September 7th 2011
Justice League International #1
Story: Taking place in the new current timeline of the DCNU, a man, Andre Briggs, is talking to various dignitaries from around the world about bringing in their countries best heroes to create a team to showcase how united the Meta-humans can be. They begin to pick the various candidates which are: Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, Rocket Red, Guy Gardner, Batman, Vixen, Godiva, and August General in Iron. Meanwhile as this goes on, a group of scientists explore an area of the forest and are suddenly swallowed up by the ground. Back on the heroic front, Booster Gold arrives at the Hall of Justice where a big protest is happening, Booster wants people to side with them, not hate them. The team is introduced to one another and of course tension slowly builds as each tries to show up one another. Guy doesn’t want any part of this as Booster is selected to be leader. As Guy leaves he is stopped by Batman, who has his own motives for joining this team. They get their first assignment by looking for the Scientists. They explore the sight and soon get attacked by living earth creatures and soon attacked by a giant robot.
Review: This to me was the one of this week’s most curious and intriguing read, I never read any of the original Justice League International or the mini-series Generation Lost, yet since this is a reboot to the team where they brought together and learning to get along with one another. I’m not the biggest Booster Gold fan, yet this issue made him a pretty fun character, I enjoyed his funny moments about being a “sell out” for advertising anything. Of course this is the first issue we have to see the team slightly squabble with one another about who is better, to me this does it BETTER than the recent Justice League #1 where its slowly taking its time to create the team, here in one single issue the team is all together and doing their first assignment as a team. There is a nice pace to it all, we see all the various candidates for the team, all of which were great, although this might hint Power Girl is not a Meta, since she is not seen, let alone mentioned. The team as a whole is pretty fun, Rocket Red is hilarious like Booster Gold, the different sets of abilities really is showcasing true diversity.
Artwork: A really classic style cover features the team flying at the reader with Booster leading the charge. As for the changes with some of the characters, Booster Gold is the primary suspect, his new outfit is designed to be more of a heroic style, as opposed to his original attire, I do prefer him looking more like a Hero as opposed to a “poser”. Rocket Red is also changed his armor design; it’s less bulky in in some areas, making a more modern style. Everyone else looks much like their original selves. The one thing going for this artwork is the coloring. It’s very bright and beautiful in many panels, each hero has brightness to them, a great contrast to Jim Lee and his gritty tones.
Grade: A-
Week #2- September 14th, 2011
Journey into Mystery #627
Story: A tale taken over by Mephisto, in a Twilight Zone style issue where he goes to a closing Bar and tells the bartender all his woes about the Serpent, who Mephisto claims to have freed, is taking over the Earth faster than the other Netherworld kings that want it for themselves. Mephisto talks about meeting the “devil” from the recent Wolverine goes to hell arc, various other mystical beings that are hiding or running. He even meets Nightmare and messes with him to not do anything. Just before Mephisto leaves the bar, he offers the bartender a deal which of course he turns it in his favor, sends a letter to the Serpent and warns about Surtur being free from Purgatory.
Review: Well this issue was quite a surprise by how interesting and well done the issue was. The biggest surprise is that it’s a story that has a primary focus on Mephisto, one of the biggest controversial characters since he is entirely blamed for One More Day, which after that issue should be a footnote of his character since this issue shows you why this character is one devilishly great character. The way he talks and spins his words around to where he always ends up being the one who is right or gets his way. His talk with Nightmare is AMAZING; the way these two characters talk amongst one another is by far the moment of exposition dialogue I have read since Watchmen, yes, and their talk is one par with Alan Moore. Gillen takes a simple idea which is a takeoff of urban legends and superstition, which gives us great chemistry with the Bartender who in this issue is like the reader, wanting to hear the story but afraid of THE LORD OF ALL EVIL, it’s who and what he is that keeps the man and the reader from escaping, even at the end where Mephisto offers him a deal, it still ends up where the Devil wins in the end, I won’t spoil what it is but it’s quite a downer for the man. Mephisto really shines in this issue, not as a character but as a plot element, he has all these points of interest where he is tied to more than one event, and he is part of this collective world and still has a bigger part to play eventually.
Artwork: The cover is befitting of the issue, it features Mephisto in a red suit being poured a drink by the bartender. The inner artwork is pretty well done; the various landscapes of the underworlds in this universe are pretty cool and visually full of many creatures inhabiting it, showing how full Hell really is. All the various mystical beings are great; Shuma Gorath can be seen in one panel. The pages with Nightmare and Mephisto talking in the dark bleak emptiness is gorgeous in how little there is, showing just how….well….empty the realm of the lord of Nightmares really is, it’s a dark void where the only light is from these two evil beings.
Grade: A-
Week #3- September 21st, 2011
Wonder Woman #1
Story: The new series of Wonder Woman begins with one of the sons of Zeus at a party and a bunch of women partying with him, he tells them that his father is nearing his end and he will overtake the thrown once Zeus kicks in, he then tosses the women off a tall building. We then see a mystery person walk into a barn and kill two horses, which then cause the wound holes to morph. We meet the owner of the barn/farm, Zola, defending herself from a mysterious looking man, when they are both suddenly attacked the Centaurs that were created from the dead horses. The mystery man gives Zola a key which sends her off to London to meet Diana in her bedroom. Diana tries to calm the woman and dons her heroic persona Wonder Woman. They are whisked back to the scene of the crime and find the mystery man badly wounded, revealed to be Hermes, tells Diana to look out as the two Centaurs fight and flee, Wonder Woman saves Zola and we learn that Zola is bearing a child of Zeus, who will kill the man other son and be the true king.
Review: This was the relaunch I was most curious about; we heard that it was going to be more of a horror series that alone made me want to read it even more. I enjoyed the Odyssey arc prior to the reboot to the entire universe, it had its ups and downs, hits and misses from issue to issue but overall it had a good opening and a strong ending. So how does this new Wonder Woman worked out, not only is it one of the best of the reboots, it’s easily in the top 5 of the 52 (Red Hood and the Outlaws being at the Bottom of the 52). So story wise it doesn’t tell us an exact origin of Wonder Woman, she’s already doing the super hero thing for some time, much like the other books, you had to have known their backstories or else your lost. However, here with Wonder Woman, they seem to be focusing on the aspect of her being a warrior and a fighter, rather than a princess, which to me is a better idea, focus on the warrior who is a princess rather than a princess being a warrior. The villain we are introduced to doesn’t have a name yet, we are to assume its Ares since his demonic appearance (also for some reason he said SUN and not SON, good job editors), and so I can’t wait to see how this mystery villain fares against Wonder Woman. In the terms of writing, Brian Azzarello does a FANTASTIC job with the character, again it’s not her being a heroine, and she is a warrior, protecting the people that come to her. Azzarello has “humanized” the mystical beings, which adds to the characters, rather than being in robes. The pacing of the story is well done; we get a great amount of action panels with Diana fighting the two centaurs. The ending leaves more to the imagination though but impressive and leaving you wanting for more.
Artwork: Now here is where this issue shines, I’m a huge sucker for artwork; anything with a unique style to it gets major brownie points from me. Cliff Chiang does an AMAZING job on this title. The cover features Wonder Woman leaping into battle which pretty much is what she does in the issue to begin with. One great aspect that Cliff does is give the gods a more mystical and creature appeal, rather than the as mentioned robed gods, I always love when artists are creative with pantheons of gods. The artwork in the action scenes were nicely drawn with well angled shots. Also the costume design for Wonder Woman is done great here. I don’t have a problem with her wearing the original style of her outfit instead of the pants, call me old-fashioned; I just prefer the classic version with some minor tweaks to it.
Grade: A-
Week #4- September 28th, 2011
Venom #7
Story: The events of Spider-Island are still prevalent as Flash disguises himself as the Spider King and enters the lair of the Spider Queen who learns that Anti-venom is curing people from the spider infection. Flash uses this as an opportunity to save everyone, even if it means the venom suit will most likely go berserk seeing Eddie again. A man takes his daughter who is beginning the shift and change, he takes her to the church where Anti-venom is curing dozens of people but at the same time he gets weak and open to an attack. Flash walks in and hides himself in the crowd as Eddie tells the people to repent and suddenly leaps after Flash and the two venoms begin to attack one another, Anti-venom gets the upper hand at first, until he gets too weak to continue to battle and Venom uses this opportunity to leave Flash and bond with Eddie once more. Flash is able to convince the suit to come back to him because it loves the thrills Flash has given him. Flash takes Eddie to Mr. Fantastic where they begin to work on the cure. Flash heads to the Hospital to meet his father for the last time, as his father wish they could have done more and passes away.
Review: I have been a big fan of this new series with the Venom character, the way he is used and integrated to the story is effective and adds in some fun ideas as its used as a tool, rather than weapon for the most part. The events with Spider-Island has made the series that much better by bringing the best of the best to it, this is the best side story since the character has a strong connection to the Spider-man character. The fight between Venom and Anti-venom is pretty much the highlight of the issue, two of Peter Parkers rivals in opposing symbiotic suits fighting it out over conflicting interests. The conclusion with Flash’s suit leaving him to reunite with his second owner was very well done and when Flash lies to the creature to keep it from leaving him, they need each other whether the suit realizes it or not. The ending with the father passing adds a level of somberness to it, since Flash was hesitant to care since he knew what his father did to him all those years but it’s always about forgiving and moving on.
Artwork: The artwork has been nothing but spectacular. The cover features Anti-venom and Venoms face, as Anti-venom is “curing” Venom off of Flash. The inner artwork is really great especially with the battle between the two Venoms. When the suit forces itself back onto Eddie was great seeing him donning the iconic form once again but it was brief.
Grade: A
Onward to the second review Weedbeater and his top picks of the month
Week #1-September 7th 2011
Weedbeater’s pick: Animal Man #1
Story: Buddy Baker has spent some time away from doing superhero work as Animal Man and he decides to go back and do his work as Animal Man. His first case deals with a mentally insane man at a hospital. From there on, He is plagued by horrible visions with one weird twist at the end
Review: Even though Action Comics was pretty much the definitive number 1 for me, I really wanted to get more in depth with Animal Man. I recently read Grant Morrison’s famous run for the first time, and I found myself completely in love with it. Not only was it weird and trippy, it established the character of Buddy Baker as an activist for animals (even though I’m not vegetarian) and as a family man. This book for me was an extension of that. Jeff Lemire, probably the third best writer in comics today along with Grant Morrison and Scott Snyder, draws from his family-style storytelling roots in Sweet Tooth (which all of you should be reading) and Essex County and continues to enrich what Grant Morrison did while establishing his own original take on the book. It works wonderfully, and you see Buddy Baker as he was meant to be. Not only does Lemire work in his whole family here, he works in some great horror aspects with the twist ending and villains. That ending had me genuinely creeped out which no book or movie has done in a long time. Basically, this whole review is meant to praise this amazing book and it’s even more amazing writer. If you a fan of Morrison’s run, this character, or Lemire, I highly suggest you pick it up.
Artwork: Travel Foreman works with two styles here. One is a glossy, cartoony quality which reminded me of some trippy cartoon footage on acid that covers the first half of the book. The second is a grotesque, highly detailed and visually amazing style that permeates the dream sequence. It’s shocking but it evokes the way Morrison wrote the book; trippy yet detailed. The inking only makes it clearer. The coloring wasn’t as subtle as I’d like to be, but the gray sequence was an excellent use of heavy coloring
Summary: you should be buying this book, and if you aren’t shame on you. Get Sweet Tooth too ;)
Grade: A
Week #2-September 14th 2011
Weedbeater’s Pick: Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1
Story: The Creature Commandos are back! Frankenstein’s Monster is back with a group of other classic movie monster mercenaries. Their goal: Rescue Frank’s wife while kicking ass in a small town invaded by hellish monsters.
Review: Okay, I wrote a lot about this book back in my review for it. I gave it an infinitesimal amount of praise, and it deserved it. I reread it again, and it still deserves the gigantic amount of praise I gave it. It’s another Jeff Lemire book (you will see me plugging his work here often, so get used to it) and it’s just as good as Animal Man. Again, Lemire works in his skills of family dynamics and realistic human emotions in the book, and it works. Lots of badass fighting comingles with great character development that showcases Lemire’s amazing skills as a writer. The real draw of this book is the artwork though. It looks very muscular and sketchy, with tons of detailed line work and gritty drawings. Seriously, the muscles on these guys are fantastic. Both story and art work in conjunction with each other to create one of the nest books of the relaunch so far.
Art: As I said, lots of gritty line work complemented by some dark shading and thick inks. The coloring is sub standard here, but it’s the penciling and inking that draws you in.
Summary: Another great Lemire book for the relaunch of the DC Universe
Grade: A-
Week #3-September 21st 2011
Weedbeater’s pick: Red Hood and the Outlaws #1
Story: Red Hood breaks Arsenal out of prison and teams up with Starfire and they start a super team of sorts.
Review: Okay, I know Batman #1 exists, but I already gushed over it in my week 3 reviews. As good as it was and as great as Scott Snyder is, I felt I needed to give the spotlight to one of my personal favorites of the third week of the Dc Relaunch: Red Hood and the Outlaws. This book was jam-packed with everything. Story set-up, character development, an interesting team, cool action and great art; it’s all here. I’ve never been one to praise Scott Lobdell in any manner, but I love what he does here. He makes Roy Harper and Jason Todd have a sort of bromantic relationship while letting Starfire be liberal with her sexuality. I know the Starfire thing has caused a lot of controversy, but here’s the thing; she’s always been like that. It’s always how the character has been portrayed, so get over it. Besides, how could you not have fun reading this? The action scenes are awesome and the dialogue feels realistic enough for these characters and their personalities. It’s one of the few comics of the relaunch to actually embrace new readership and having fun, letting anyone jump into the story. I honestly love this book, and you can’t change my mind on it
Artwork: Kenneth Rocafort is definitely the best choice for this book. His pencils are complex and detailed without overindulging in it and the action sequences are well drawn. The panel layouts are easy to read as well. The coloring combined with the inks really brings a lively feel to the book, and with the pencils, creates an amazing dynamic between simple and complex. It’s really awesome and you should pay more attention to it anyways.
Summary: I know many will disagree with me, but this was definitely the most fun book of the relaunch that wasn’t JLI. Read it.
Grade: A
Week #4-September 28th 2011
Weedbeater’s pick: Kick Ass 2 #4
Story: The Ante is upped as the Mother[frick]er and his gang of Toxic Mega-[foo foo]s assault a neighborhood and defile a girl very close to Kick Ass. The superheroes are being hunted down as well.
Review: I know I put this as a pick of the week before, but I have to elaborate again: this issue was brilliant. After a couple of somewhat dull first two issues and only a hint at what could be done in the third, Mark Millar goes all out on us, giving us back the over-the-top-ness the fans deserve. Nothing is sacred in this series, and it makes it that much more enjoyable. With the escalation of super villains, we all knew something bad was going to happen and it did. (WARNING: SPOILERS) The Mother[frick]er shoots children, shoots Katie Deauxma’s dad, then proceeds to gang rape Katie herself with his evil pals. All just to provoke and damage Kick-Ass. (SPOILERS OVER) And you know what, I’m glad Millar did it. Why? Because this is exactly what a real life supervillain would do. They wouldn’t just wait around for the hero, they would go out and kill and rape people. It’s as plausible as real life costumed villains could get. And that’s why the Mother[frick]er is such a believable villain. He goes from being the loser Red Mist in Kick-ass to being this crazy psychopath in Kick Ass 2. You imagine that if he were real, that this stuff would really happen. I’m nominating him for the best new villain in comics. Apart from the villain’s and their memorable sequences, the story progressed itself nicely. The ante is upped, so the cops decided to fight back. (SPOILERS) they take in every superhero and put them in jail. (END OF SPOILERS) How does Kick Ass avoid this? I’ll let you find out for yourself. I’ve already said enough about thi book, but I feel like I must write more. This is the best issue of a series that’s had 2 average issues and one good issue so far. From here on out the last 3 issues should be incredible (Note: Issue 7 will be double sized instead of splitting it into 8 issues). The book was incredible.
Art: A little bit standard Romita here, but it fits the series like a freaking crown. His fresh, revitalizing art brings to life and enhances Millar’s disturbed thoughts on paper, and his crude, blocky style is only helped by the beautiful color palette on display here
Summary: The best issue of a series so far that looks to be pure fun and chaos in the next coming issues. I hope you all enjoy this one, because I certainly did.
Well I hope you all enjoy this awesome reviewer team up. We hope to continue doing this month to month. Catch you all later.