Comic releases of 5/18/11
Hey all, time for another fun round of comic reviews. This is another one of those huge weeks, these are some real fun marathon reads, and this week is 12 issues, with a new series that I am so proud that is being released, my all-time favorite comic book movie is getting a sequel comic from IDW, Rocketeer Adventures (YAY!!!!!!!). This is a big week let’s begin…..
Comics: Amazing Spider-man #661, Avengers #13, Avengers Academy #14, Batman & Robin #23, Herc #3, Heroes for Hire #7, Invincible Iron Man #504, Power Girl #24, Rocketeer Adventures #1, Teen Titans #95, Thunderbolts #157, Zatanna #13
DC Comics Top Pick of the Week
Batman & Robin #23
Abridged Story: Bruce and Jason Todd reunite once again to discuss matters that Jason is being moved despite his known killer intentions. Meanwhile Todd has managed to poison and maim a lot of prisoners just before his transfer until he is then rescued by some new looking criminals.
Review: It’s always a pleasure to see the return of Judd Winick to the Batman series after his Under the Hood story line, which this new arc can be considered the spiritual sequel to that story, while somewhat ignoring the prior events leading up to this, we see Bruce still trying everything he can to keep Jason close to him, in Arkham, which Jason perfectly calls Batman’s Kennel. What I like about this next step Winick has done is make Todd a sympathetic villain, someone who was doing what he thinks is good but was doing it in a wrong way. This is so far a great setup to his new arc, it has a great pace and had a great cliffhanger ending
Artwork: The artwork continues to be impressive. The cover of the issue is a take-off of the first issue of the series except with Jason Todd in his Red Hood get up with Dick and Damian on the ground, defeated. The interior artwork does manage to capture the look and feel of Batman and his universe of characters. The look and expressions of Jason Todd while talking with Bruce was really great, showing his nonchalant and relaxed nature. The issue is also full of some pretty bloody moment, so its nice to see the issue push some level of boundary.
Grade: A-
Quick Reviews
Power Girl #24: Karen and Bruce team up while her career is blossoming way too quickly that makes her a target for questioning with the government. Mixed into this is an Arab man who has control over weather. I enjoyed this issue, fun and shows more humanity, while it does bring up racial talks but its not too over the top. Artwork has been changed but still strong and familiar, also the cover is very striking to a prior issue. B+
Teen Titans #95: The group gets attacked by the new villain Rankor, he and his minions overpower the team and resurrects his true form. Not a bad issue but had some minor issues, seeing a team overpowered is good but the team is in a moment of conflict which is striking. Artwork is nice. C+
Zatanna #13: Z gets a vision that she and the Spectre are going to meet in the near future. Meanwhile Brother Night escapes from prison and we learn the true origin of detective Peck. Not a bad issue, love to see the return of a cool villain, Z is still a fun character to see and continues to shine. The artwork is also good and I like seeing them with different styles. B+
Marvel Top Pick of the Week
Invincible Iron Man #504
Abridged Story: Fear Itself has entered the Iron man comics, The Grey Gargoyle in Paris has discovered latest of the hammers of the worthy. Tony Stark discusses with Pepper about her to hire another Red headed girl to run his company. Iron man heads over to Paris to see the situation. He sees the entire population of Paris has been turned into stone. He gets attacked by the big bad version of Gray Gargoyle and getting his ass handed to him. He doesn’t get a chance to counter attack while being smashed into the various people that have become statues, thus killing innocent lives.
Review: This is where hits get real; we know how big the scope of Fear Itself has now taken a big hold with this issue. We see how much it has affected the overall world. Tony is shown to be devastated by a character much stronger and superior than his own power and technology. The worthy version of the Grey Gargoyle is just a beast and his hammer looks like it would decimate anything in its path. The overall feel and look of the issue is great and I love seeing the stakes rise much higher.
Artwork: I keep on loving this issue in terms of the art. The cover is Iron man seeing the various stoned people in Paris. The interior artwork continues to be impressive, the character designs of the statues is impressive, seeing all the various expressions on their faces is a beauty to see and just shows you how far the Grey Gargoyle’s power has spread.
Grade: A+
Quick Reviews
Amazing Spider-man #661: Peter leaves the FF and teaches the Avengers Academy and learns just how out of touch he is. We are just dicking around til the huge Spider Island event. Art is nice and well done C+
Avengers #13: The team talks about the various history they have gone through and takes place during the events of the American Blitzkrieg. Not bad but way too much exposition. Not JRJR artwork either. B-
Avengers Academy #14: The team goes up against the Sinister Six and gets their asses handed to them. Getting curious what the 6 are up to and hope it does pay off well. Artwork is nice. B-
Herc #3: Hercules is seen as an icon in the area and is asked to do many things he doesn’t want to do. He gains a new outfit and does battle with some villains that have escaped only to help them as the people have become influenced by fear and anger. Keeps getting better, love the action and artwork. B+
Heroes for Hire #7: Spider-man gets in way over his head as he handles all the things the other heroes have handled but all in one place. Misty decides to enter the fray. Better than the last issue but seeing Spider-man spread thin is getting old. B-
Thunderbolts #157: The team continues to battle the zombie Nazis as they are attacked by a creature that brings out their worst fears. The team fights back and head back to the Raft, leading into the events of Fear Itself. I love seeing how the world is shaping up to be greatly affected by this. Artwork continues to shine. B+
Other Comics
Rocketeer Adventures #1
Abridged Story: This issue contains three stories. The first is a quick damsel in distress, the second is we learn how Cliff has gain the new rocket pack and the third is Jenny as a nurse waiting to hear back from Cliff while he is on a raid in Japan.
Review: I have pretty much made it clear that I am a huge Rocketeer fan; I loved the movie when I was a kid and I still love it to this day. This series to me is the official sequel to the movies. Even the second tale of this issue is more or less the set up for the unmade sequel where Cliff goes to New York, so it was a good tribute to what could have been. I love that each story while separate has a flow to each one. The action moments in these stories keep tried and true to the days of the 30s and 40s pulp action comics that the character was originally based on. I love that each story is strong and keeps you interested in want to read. I can’t wait for more next month
Artwork: The cover is pure Alex Ross; the cover of the Rocketeer flying in the sky brings back fond memories. The artwork in this series does differ from story to story and each one fits in terms of that story. I like the one panel cover of Mike Mingola, from the Hellboy comics. The last page is very reminiscent to the famous V-Day kiss
Grade: A+
Well that’s all for this week, next week is another 12 issues of fun and excitement. Catch you all then, ComicCritic87 OUT!!!!!