ComicCritic87’s weekly comic book reviews
Week of September 14, 2011
Greetings friends and fellow comic book readers and fans, the ever continuing reviews march on. Another batch of DCNU reviews has come in and it’s time to play the new game: where’s flashpoint lady, the mystery figure seen in a random single panel, who is she, what is she doing, we will eventually find out I suppose but this is a fun game since the new launch. Although I’m not picking it up to read, I’m going to skim through Mr. Terrific to find Power Girl, either in her civilian or heroic form (Just skimmed through the issue and it is her civilian form with no real showing she has power which totally blows, and I believe it appears Karen and Mr. Terrific are either roommates or a couple…..NO!!!!!!!) Also Fear Itself continues and Spider Island continues to spread in the Marvel front. One series this week will be ending soon, that is Herc, it will be ending with issue #10, I enjoyed it with the fun it was going with, yet sales dictate titles so this is one of those unfortunate casualties. Anyway with that said let us begin…..
Comics this week
DC Comics: Batman & Robin #1, Green Lantern #1, Superboy #1
Marvel Comics: Amazing Spider-man #669, Fear Itself #6, Ghost Rider #3, Herc #7, and Journey into Mystery #627
Other Comics: NONE
Top Picks of the Week
DC Comics: Batman & Robin #1 Writer: Peter J. Tomasi Artist: Patrick Gleason
Abridged Story: A mysterious killer is going around taking out the various members of Batman Inc. Batman and his son Damian go to where the night Bruce’s parents died and commemorate their death by ending that moment and embracing their Wedding day. The Dynamic duo fight off crooks taking irradiated rods but Damian kills them off by accident.
Review: This is the only Batman title I will be reading that focuses on Batman, no Detective Comics, Batman, or Batman: Dark Knight for me. This new relaunch of this title keeps true to the original series that was first created. There is a lot of exposition involving the past, it’s hinted that Bruce did die and was brought back; Batman Inc. has taken place, Grayson was Batman at one point, even Tim, and Jason as Robin were mentioned. The issue focuses primarily on Bruce letting go of the pain and now looking for a bright moment. Damian is still quite the brat as ever, always acting boastful and angst like he always has been. There is still some tension between Bruce and his son, which plays out even when they are fighting the crooks, who were pretty generic at best. The mysterious killer offing the various Batmen was pretty great to see, someone who sees this idea as a bad thing and taking them out with such gravitas and superiority.
Artwork: The cover of the issue is done pretty well, it features Batman leaping into action and Robin Spreading his cape to strike fear, however it appears to have been flipped, and I think Batman should spread his cape while Robin leaps into action. The inner artwork is pure Batman, its dark, stylistic in parts; everything has such rich detail even in the shadows. The action scenes are bright and colorful, a nice contrast to the dark and gloom. The mystery woman is seen very easily at a pool.
Grade: A-
Marvel Comics: Amazing Spider-man #669 Writer: Dan Slott Artist: Humberto Ramos
Abridged Story: Peter and Carlie are ambushed by a group of spider powered enhanced villains; Peter quickly ends it using his new fighting style. All of Manhattan begins to split as a cure is being created, some want the power. Reed Richards mentions that the virus has reached airborne territory. Carlie finds Spider-man and begins to question him on whom he really is. He leaves with her in tail as they arrive at a bank where Shocker has been mutated and begins to change into a more spider being, same goes with Carlie as the mystery woman is revealed to be…….THE QUEEN!!!!
Review: Well I called that out, Spider-man would be facing off against mutated Man-Spiders and that’s exactly what we got. I’m been digging this new event with Spider-man, so far it’s been fun seeing the scope of it all taking place in this one big city. There is so much going on in different areas. We see Anti-venom and Venom taking on their own in this infestation, even Madame Web getting weak from the many Spiders that are taking over. The Jackal has been a great villain so far in this event now seeing he is just a lowly pawn, he even jokes about Peter’s new girlfriend that she is no “Gwen Stacy” and wouldn’t clone her. I enjoy seeing Carlie finally tackling Peter and Spider-man connection, almost to the point where she practically knows they are one in the same. The pace for this series is pretty great; it does so much yet gives you plenty of breathing room for what is to come next.
Artwork: The cover pretty much shows what occurs at the end, Spider-man facing off against 6 armed Shocker. Ramos does a great job with this event and with the Spider series since he has joined it. The look and feel fits great, the way the spider powered beings move and interact with their abilities are greatly done. The transformation moments with Shocker and Carlie are nicely detailed.
Grade: A
Quick Reviews
Fear Itself #6: Steve and the Avengers take Thor back to Asgard where Odin heals him of his wounds. Steve tells off Odin he needs to help (awesome moment too). Odin tells Thor about the pending final battle, giving him his armor and sword that can kill The Serpent. Meanwhile Spider-man looks for May Parker. There is a lot of nice set up and pace for this issue before the final epic battle. Captain America telling off Odin was the highlighted moment. Matt Fraction is doing a good job with this event and the artwork is top notch. B+
Ghost Rider #3: Johnny Blaze and a new found ally flea the temple as Alejandra’s power is amplified to where she removes all the sin from within people. Johnny realizes the dangers of this and wants that power back. I enjoyed this new take of the characters, the new girl is impressive, I hope to see more of her. The writing and artwork is well done. B-
Green Lantern #1: Sinestro returns to being a green lantern and sees his home world has been enslaved by the Yellow Corps he created. Hal is having a hard time readjusting to normality until Sinestro comes in and “requests” his assistances. A new era in the Green Lantern saga felt really good but just enough oomph in the first issue. Not enough of a nice split between Sinestro and Hal. Artwork was pretty good, nothing special. B-
Herc #7: A group of the X-men help out in the events of Spider Island when they are suddenly attacked by Herc under control and possessing Spider-man powers. An average issue in my opinion, why are they attaching it to an arc and not a separate one shot seems pretty weak to me. C+ (still a tad enjoyable but can’t be considered weakest of the week)
Journey into Mystery #627: Mephisto takes over the issue as he tells a bartender the woes the various demons of the underworld are dealing with as the Serpent is overtaking Earth. I enjoyed this issue, finally seeing Mephisto in a different light but still being his devilish self. The artwork is pretty nice too. HUGE ERROR THOUGH, at the end it sets up Loki and his team going into battle….BUT it has the wrong date. It says 9/14/2011…..THATS TODAY!!!! WHOOPS!!!!...anyway…this issue gets an A-
Super boy #1: The most interesting of the launches. Super boy is created in a lab and runs through a VR mission to see how he handles situations. He is then given his first mission involving the Teen Titans. Not much to really spoil here, that’s all there is to this issue. It’s not that bad, we aren’t told who the human donor is but its most likely going to Luthor. Artwork is nicely done and the new costume of Super boy is awesome. B+
Well that’s all for this week friends, next week is a major amount of DC releases, 7, and most are the most hyped for me. Til then, catch you all later….