Comic releases of 2/23/11
Hey all, it’s that time again for another weekly dose of comic reviews. This was a great week in the releases I read, and one of them is perhaps the best issue in this titles history. Also a slight change, I'm going to make the abridged story section shorter, do a quick paragraph of what happened.
Comics: Amazing Spider-man #655, Avengers #10, Invincible Iron Man #501, Power Girl # 21, Secret Avengers #10, Teen Titans #92, and Thor #620
DC Comics
Power Girl #21
Abridged story- Power Girl gets help from the two Batmen to solve the true death of Ted Kord. Power Girl's company is getting taken over by a woman Nicco knows.
Review: See it was that quick, and that’s how the issue felt, it was a good issue to see not one but two Batmen joining forces to solve the crime of a dead comrade. I liked how the gears were working in Grayson’s mind that prevented him from seeing the truth. This issue ties into the Generation Lost event also, bringing that to a close.
Artwork: The cover is very interesting, it features Power girl cradling the bagged body of Ted Kord in the cemetery with Batman in the background. So cover actually covers all bases with this issue. The artwork on the two Batmen are really good, both can be differentiated by the Bat logo, Grayson has the bat symbol across the chest while Bruce has the classic black and yellow.
Grade: Loved this issue, glad that this 10 issue arc has come to a close, can’t wait for the next arc. Artwork is impressive as ever. This issue gets an A-
Teen Titans #92
Abridged Story: The DC teen team along with Red Robin does battle with the Calculator and his army of robot drones. Damian sees this as a reason to leave the team and shows Grayson he learned something from them.
Review: This was an alright issue, it was an easy filler, nothing that big of a game changer for the team, we lose Robin but that seemed inevitable. The real conflict is with Cassie as she and Calculator, he blaming her for the death of Marvin and she is mad at him for killing Kid Eternity. The cool part was seeing two young robins with different styles yet mutual respect for one another.
Artwork: The cover features the team in combat along with Red Robin. The artwork is still good as it has been since I read. Nothing really that sticks out with this issue but still good.
Grade: A so-so issue for me, I like some filler, artwork is good. This issue gets a B-
Marvel
Amazing Spider-man #655
Abridged Story: Peter has a trippy dream after attending the Funeral of Marla Jameson. He vows that no one will die again.
Review: As I mentioned, this is probably the best issue I have read involving Peter Parker and his heroic identity. The true issue at the heart of his character is that he doesn’t kill, never crossing the line that many have crossed in the ideal of “for the greater good”. I like how this mocks his character but at the same time it frees him from that old way and now looking toward a new direction.
Artwork: The cover is Peter on his knees groveling over the death of a person with a red spider-web on the ground. The art has once again changed for a majority of the issue; it looks like artwork from the late 80s, some of it looks familiar from the OMIT issues, but actually used better here.
Grade: This was a GREAT issue; finally all the skeletons have been taken out of the closet. The artwork has changed but looks good for this issue. Highly recommended for Spider-man fans, this issue gets an A+.
Avengers #10
Abridged Story: The team splits into three groups to hunt for the last remaining Infinity Gems, each having to go against something in the way. Tony tells Rogers how he has handled things. The Hood finds one of the gems and meets up with one of the teams.
Review: I really enjoy this arc; it feels much like something so huge that they need this many characters. I like that its split between three groups, Namor, Xavier, and Tony, each with heroes for their location. There was some fun banter with O’Grady and Iron Fist keeping watch. Tony’s talk with Rogers was interesting because it still a conflict of ideals.
Artwork: I love this cover; it’s the Hood holding the Infinity Gauntlet high in the air victoriously over the fallen heroes. Romita continues to shine with this series, I hear the complaints but hey, this guy does great stuff. The group line in the sunset is one of the coolest things in this issue; there are lots of great parts
Grade: Love the fun of this series, this arc is the much better than the last one. Artwork impresses me every time. This issue gets an A
Invincible Iron Man #501
Abridged Story: Tony is held and forced by Dr. Ock to fix his brain condition or else a partner of Tony's dies. We also get a bit more back story on how the two have met.
Review: I like seeing how characters have met one another; especially these two considering that Tony Stark and Doc Ock are from two completely different comic titles until they made the universe more whole. I have seen this concept done before and I enjoy the way they have implemented it here.
Artwork: The cover seems like a repeated one, it’s Tony in the Iron Man armor in the dark with his lights glowing bright. The artwork is the same as it has been but seeing a different artist do the new looking Doc Ock, the same look and all, but given much more detail.
Grade: A good issue, very interesting direction they took it, always love a good fake out. The artwork is still good as usual, great character designs and set pieces. This issue gets a B+
Secret Avengers #10
Abridged Story: The covert team finds the place where Shang Chi has been taken to and launches an all-out assault. Valkyrie fights with John Steele and wins. Rogers and his team succeed and ask what happened to John Steele since the War.
Review: Well for the person who reads my reviews who hates Valkyrie, I think Dellamorte….well guess what she gets a moment in the spotlight. I love this series and this team, so far it’s been 10 issues and we haven’t had any changes in the roster, which is good, I like this roster, carrying some unique trait that sets them apart from other team books. This issue does great with wrapping up this arc, but not without its faults. The big baddy that was set up falters fast and John Steele was taken out not by Rogers. Still it’s a good issue, love Brubakers work.
Artwork: The cover is misleading; it has Shang Chi and Rogers fighting giant green dragon things. That does not happen at all in this issue. The fight scenes in the issue are great; they seem to let more light in this time and showed off more of the characters design. I loved how Moon Knight changes costume in a glimpse and no explanation is needed, he is that awesome.
Grade: A good issue, kind of felt like a rushed ending but still was good. I loved the artwork; much more light can show off the characters. This issue gets an A-.
Thor #620
Abridged Story: Odin takes on the people of the tenth world. Thor finally figures out what to do to stop them.
Review: You can’t go wrong with just pure straight up awesomeness. Odin is just a pure bad-ass taking on the hordes of the tenth world, along with his giant puppet things. I’m finally happy seeing this series getting underway with the huge battle. Sadly like many point out, Fraction takes long to get to the good stuff, and this will end his run on THIS title of Thor, but will do Mighty Thor instead.
Artwork: The cover is of Odin and Thor fighting off the Tenth world demons. Ferry is AMAZING with this title, the creatures and beings of Asgard look great but some of the other humans are less detailed for some reason. It’s hard to knock such great art.
Grade: Finally got to the goods and it looks great. Sucks this is going to end so fast. Ferry is just pure awesomeness, this issue gets an A-
That’s all for this week’s releases, next week will be smaller. Catch you all later, ComicCritic87 OUT!!!!