Comic releases of 4/20/11
Hey all, time for another helping of my comic reviews. This was once again a big week of releases, 11 in total. This week I also got ahold of the second reprint of the new series Venom, which I heard was good, so you will know my point on it, much later in this review. This week was especially hard because many of these books were really good and it’s always hard picking the top picks of the week for both companies since I read only a handful from DC and Marvel I keep adding onto week after week. I will be doing special reviews of the huge event in the DC universe, Flashpoint, even though I haven’t read much of Flash, I will be covering this event, since it does look like it will be very interesting. Alright with that said, let’s begin with the reviews shall we.
Comics this week: Avengers #12, Avengers Academy #12, Green Lantern #65, Green Lantern Corps #59, Invincible Iron Man #503, Power Girl #23, Teen Titans #94, Thunderbolts #156, Venom #1, Wolverine #8, Zatanna #12
Top Pick of the Week: Power Girl #23
Abridged Story: Superman and Power Girl continue to battle the magical dinosaurs. Zatanna is held captive by a new villain called Siphon who can gain the powers of mystical beings. Superman and Power Girl rescue Zantanna and the three of them battle Siphon and the magical creatures. After the fight with Siphon, Power Girl shows off her new alter ego’s look.
Review: I chose this issue for the final act of this issue, this was something I was glad they brought up, addressed the issue, and have found a perfect solution to it. The rest of the issue is your standard affair; it has the characters taking on a strong foe, dishing out powers they themselves weren’t prepared for. They find a way to defeat him and all is well. Winick has done with this character so far has been great, they made her story more emotional and driven; now he has taken her to the next level with creating her a new persona while she is in civilian mode, which is a bold step in her new life.
Artwork: The cover is such a tease for me, it has Power Girl and Zatanna, two of the hottest DC female heroes, and Thank you DC…thank you…..As for the rest of the issue, Sam Basri continues to shine drawing the characters in this series. He does a great job keeping Zatanna sexy and beautiful, even in some of the crazy moments he puts her in. The best part as I mentioned was seeing Power Girls new look, you will not believe she is the same person, much better disguise than Superman.
Grade: Overall, this continues to be a fun series to read, I enjoy seeing a character evolve and this was a great moment of her evolution. The artwork continues to be impressive; this issue gets an A-
Quick Reviews
Green Lantern #65: Hal, John, Kyle, and Guy each brandish one of the rings from the other Corps. Cool premise, Johns is a mad genius. This issue gets a B+
Green Lantern Corps #59: Hal, John, Kyle, and Guy learn how to harness their new rings. Not bad, but doesn’t progress the war. This issue gets a B-
Teen Titans #94: The team is taken to the demon world where the evil lord of the realm wants to use their bodies to enter the real world. Not a bad setup, new heroine is very interesting, there’s something more to her. This issue gets a C+
Zantanna #12: Z has to battle a guy who can reverse time and make her powers useless. A well done filler episode and FINALLY Roux has returned to the title. This issue gets a B+
Top Pick of the Week
Venom #1
Abridged Story: Flash Thompson is on assignment to capture a weapons dealer from a war torn European country. He fights off a deranged Jack O lantern wannabe.
Review: I’m a huge fan of the character of Venom. I like that it’s a parasite wanting the thrill and action that Spider-man once gave it but now has a grudge against him, which is amplified via the people in Peters life that it has infected. With this new version as a covert black ops agent is a great take off of the character. I was hesitant at first since the character was turned into a weapon for the Military rather than being the obsession inducing creature. What I do like is that this Venom implements his tentacles much better, we see him using runs to shoot around randomly and even hold a grenade in place until it was needed. Flash Thompson’s character has gone through a great evolution now that he is being used more as a means for this weapon to be used, since he has what it takes but must overcome his temper. I like that its deviating from the Spider-man story lines, focusing on him going to different areas taking down people who are really dangerous, hopefully they bring him in during the Spider Island arc.
Artwork: The variant cover I got is the Joe Quesada cover with the hulking Venom. I’m very intrigued by this artwork, it’s very gritty and dark, sort of a mixture of Dave Gibbons and early Frank Miller, which is a compliment, I like that it befits the character, it’s not Peter Parker in the suit so it allows itself to be this grim and gritty style. The moments where the suit changes into more of a monster was my favorite moment because it looks just like the Brock Venom me and Destroyer prefer.
Grade: Overall this was a great first issue; it evolves the characters, both the hero of Flash Thompson and the Symbiote. I like the dark and gritty look of the artwork, bring more on. This issue gets an A+
Quick Reviews
Avengers #12: The team finally finishes off the Hood and has a great ending plot twist. Bendis does a great second arc; Romita’s art is still great. This issue gets a B+
Avengers Academy #12: The youths now in their Adult forms finish off Korvac and discover deeper aspects about themselves. The second half is much better as we see the characters go through great change. The artwork is great as ever. This issue gets an A-
Invincible Iron Man #503: Tony finally finds a way to win against Doc Ock and sees the beginning of Fear Itself. Great conclusion to the arc, but should have been released last week to keep in order with Fear Itself. Fraction does a good job as ever with Iron Man. This issue gets a B-
Thunderbolts #156: The team learns of a secondary team being formed, they head into a castle with Nazi Zombies with magical weapons. Satana has the best moments in this issue, love the conflict in the team. This issue gets a B+
Wolverine #8: Logan and his allies stop at nothing to purge him of the demons possessing him. He then sets his sights on those who wronged him. Aaron has made this bad-ass even more bad-ass. This issue gets an A
And with this week’s reviews come to a close. I hope you all give theses comics a glance at your local comic shops. Next week I will have the new Thor series, MIGHTY THOR and IDW’s Rocketeer Adventure(SCORE)….til then, catch you later all. ComicCritic87 OUT!!!!