Hey all, time for another helping of Comic book reviews. This was a fantastic week of my roster readings. I introduce one of a few new DC titles that will be joining my readings. This week sees the conclusion of Origin of the Species, The Avengers meeting with Ultron, The Secret Avengers go kung fu on our asses, Lois Lane takes center stage on Superman's walk across the country, The Teen Titans meet their new leader, The Thunderbolts fight off a ninja army, Wonder Woman fighting a burn victim, and Zatanna married? Also a slightly new format is being introduced. I'm gonna put each comic issue from their respective companies, So first will be DC then Marvel, with that lets begin.
DC
Superman #704
Story: This issue has Lois Lane taking center stage in her old hometown while waiting for Superman to make his way past the city. She meets an old classmate who has a normal life. Lois goes to his place for a dinner with his family. She and his wife talk about what is “normal”. She leaves and meets Superman, the make out for a bit and talk about how much they love each other.
Review: This being not a JMS written issue of Superman, this was actually a really good issue. We get better and deeper insight with what it is to be the wife of the Man of Steel or in their case, Clark Kent. This is more or less a filler issue that doesn't add much to the overall arc but it was a nice detour. The dinner scene's add in a nice moment of normality and shows that even regular people don't live “perfect” lives. The talks between Lois and Superman was probably one of the better moments, she questions him and their love, which he says that if not for her, he could never be human.
Artwork: The artwork in this issue is good for this title, the characters are bright and colorful, and the town itself shows it is small town flavor. Of all the Lois Lanes that have been drawn over the years, this one looks just right for this era.
Grade: I give this issue an A+, for having a fun detour into what it mean to be human and normal in a world of Heroes and Villains, along with colorful artwork that gives us a great looking Lois Lane.
Teen Titans #88
Story: This Jump-in issue begins with the the Team fighting off infected humans, they have no trace as to who and how they became this way. We get moments with all the members of the current team explaining the current situations; Kid flash is losing memories of the future, Raven can sense the emotional spectrum and has a hard time coping with her feelings for Beast Boy, Conner and Cassie question their relationship, and Rose trying to solve her family history. Meanwhile a teacher takes a student to his home and performs a science experiment on him(not what your thinking). The issue also introduces Damien Robin to the team.
Review: As a jump in issue, this is a good way of introducing newcomers like myself to this roster and who they are. They gave each character plenty of time to be seen and heard, so far my favorite is Bart Allen aka Kid Flash, who has a quick wit. The issue has a nice flow to each character jumping to each one with ease and gives us no spoilers about what happened prior to this issue, except the mention of Bart being in the future. I can't wait to see how Damien adds his influence and abilities to the team, who has been without a Robin for a good while.
Artwork: This has a great artist on this issue. Nicola Scott does some good artwork in this issue. I love the way she draws Raven, she draws her so that we can see her entire face even under the hood she wears a lot. The use of the emotional spectrum from the Blackest Night events was a nice addition.
Grade: I give this issue an A- for being a good jump-in issue that has great transitions from character to character, and with some great artwork to an amazing artist.
Wonder Woman #604
Story: Wonder Woman finally confronts the man who killed her mother and took the golden lasso. We learn that he loves to be where bad things happen and that his look was due to vigilante justice, but is spared death and can be restored to normal if he kills all the Amazonian women. Wonder Woman nearly kills him and herself, but her mother gives her advice to live on and continue to fight. She does so and awakes as the victor. She regains her lasso and as she chases a plane, she regains her ability to fly.
Review: talk about a step in a better direction. After last issue I was worried that it was gonna go even worse. Of all the issues so far, this is the best, but its not saying great. There are some gripes to be had here. For one we never know who this man really was and how he fits into Wonder Woman lure, we don't even get a name, all we know that this guy is just crazy about killing people. The second half of this issue is where the right direction takes place. She is slowly getting her powers and items back, hopefully returning to her original look and status. For now, we gotta trust and hope JMS gets us back on track and helps this character regain her popularity.
Artwork: The art for this title is still amazing as ever. Every issue I mention the sexiness of Wonder Woman, and that is always a plus. The fire artistry in this issue was amazing along with the glow from her lasso is impressive.
Grade: This issue gets a B-, its an improvement from the “controversial” arc JMS is presenting to us, hopefully he keeps this up and makes it better and not worse. Also for have sexiness and fire art that is great.
Zatanna #6
Story: Zatanna is trapped in a hypnosis spell as she is being forced to marry the human villain of this arc. Her cousin Zach sees through all this and rescues her. The demon Mammon comes to collect his bounty. Zatanna and Zach team up and fight him off. Mammon wants to collect on the greedy man's soul, but Zatanna finds pity on him that she turns him into a giant thing of gold. The demon chuckles at this and leaves them be. The cousins reconcile and Zatanna goes to Zach's show.
Review: This is what I love about Paul Dini, he has so far given us two arcs in the first 6 issues, to me the first arc was amazing. Its amazing and hard to pull off another one of equal caliber. I find this arc good but not as great as Brother Night, he was scary and had lots of accomplices. The villain in this arc is a regular guy who gets demonic assistance because he can't land a woman like Zatanna. I liked the interaction she has with her younger cousin and its nice to see them reconcile in this issue. The wedding thankfully was short and not dragged out in this issue, we could have had worse where it was a slow build up and final moments before the “I do” parts. Dini writes this character really great and I can't wait to see more from this series.
Artwork: once again we get another artist on this series. So far the first 3 were done by Stephane Roux, then it was taken over by two people: Chad Hardin and Wayne Faucher for issues 4 & 5. This issue is done by Jesus Saiz and he does a good job with the characters.
Grade: I give this issue an A- for having a good story with it well paced ending and concludes a silver place arc. The artwork is good even with all the artist changes.
Marvel
Amazing Spider-man #646
Story: Concluding the Origin of Species arc, Spider-man leads Doc Ock into a train tunnel after to the Lizards lair. They have battle of wits as they are attacked by The Lizard, who is slowly corrupting Doc Ock's mind into lower thinking. We get two big twists in this issue, neither of which I will tell but the first one is anti-climatic, the second one is at least more upbeat. Sorry Destroyer14...but no Venom in this issue either.
Review: I gotta say this out of all the issue in this arc its a true double edge. While the twists were interesting it was kinda in their own regard, it seemed more like a rushed idea. Like they had to finish before Big Change era takes over in two weeks. The fight scenes were pretty good, only two really, spider-man dodging Doc Ock's tentacles and Doc Ock vs Lizard. Its a pretty fast issue that wraps everything up for this arc. Does it end on a high note, kinda....not grand but really good and makes you feel good at the end.
Artwork: well the artwork finally got to me but now its gonna be over with. I have to say that all the looks of Spider-man reminded me of the Ditko era spider-man, not it terms of coloring but in design.
Grade: I give this issue an A- for giving us a great conclusion with two twists and for art that sadly will be overlooked
Avengers #6
Story: The Avengers meet with Ultron and warn it of the dangers of him and Kang fight. The entire team have a battle of wits and test each others knowledge to not fight off the villainous machine. He takes all things into consideration. The children along with Old Hulk and Stark are amazed by how the team from the past did it. Old Stark warns Young Stark of the dangers of Ultron, and that a Holocaust is gonna happen all thanks to them(or him...whatever...Tony is at fault). The time-stream is restored and the issue comes full circle with the begin of issue 1 at the end of this issue.
Review: Apart from the odd moments with all the time traveling they do and how it all fits in is confusing at first but this is still an amazing issue. Just the idea of the team facing Ultron without fighting him and trying to make him do something to help everything out in the end was amazing. My favorite part was with Wolverine, you will know what I mean too. The whole full circle thing threw me for a loop at first but its one of those shocking moments of how all events take place.
Artwork: Romita's design for Ultron is probably the best looking version of it. It appears to be based off of the Destroyer armor from Asgard and his classic form, both are deadly looking and combined makes him an even greater menace. There are subtle differences between this and Kick-ass, while small it is noticeable.
Grade: This issue gets a B+, while all the time travel jargon goes over my head I still enjoyed this story and has a thrilling conclusion that has a lot of build up for something great. Along with Romita continuing to perfect his craft.
Secret Avengers #6
Story: The Secret Avengers team up with Shang-Chi. He fears that his father has returned from the grave seeking a prized artifact that has the power to bring a person back from the dead....and that is pretty much it.
Review: I love Secret Avengers as a concept and this issue has a good build up, but thats all it feel like...nothing more than a build up for the next issue. We get some good action beats in the beginning and middle but the ending kinda comes in typical fashion, nothing hid the suspense. The characters have good moments of interaction but we don't get the full team.
Artwork: Deodato's art is what saves this issue from being sub par. The look of the characters and the use of the shadows always add a great sense of mystery and noir feel the title seems to be heading for. This is a much better use of his art than it was in Dark Avengers, he makes the darkness shine with this series.
Grade: I give this issue a B+, for have a predictable ending and some decent scenes. Deodato's artwork is what saves this issue
Thunderbolts #149
Story: The team fights off the first horde of Ninjas. Fixer is badly wounded and Songbird leaves the team to fend for themselves. They take out the first wave of ninjas. They head down and find an army. They fight it off. Crossbones happens to gain his power from the terrigen mist, only for it to disappear after his first use. The team leaves the cave and the issue ends.
Review: This was a great issue full of action and plenty of exposition with the team. The team actually worries about bad form and that could mean the end of the program. The strangest moment was when crossbones gaining his new power, which I hope doesn't become a true power for him later, so far he hasn't figured out how it works, but it is dangerous. This issue ends with what we assume is the end of the Shadowland event because issue 150 involves the Avengers.
Artwork: The art is still just as amazing as it has been with this series. Not as cinematic as the scared straight issue, but it has some great moments in the art design.
Grade: This issue gets a B+, it had a good story but an abrupt ending. The artwork is just as good as it has been since the first issue of this series.
And that is all for this week. I hope you all get a hold of these and give them a read. Another DC title joining is next week, the new series Superboy. Hope it is worth a read, you will see next week. Catch you all later, ComicCritic87 OUT!!!!