Hey all, time for another helping of Comic book reviews. This was another fantastic week of my roster readings. This week we seethe conclusion of two major fan favorites, The Academy has found its leader, The chaos war gets crazier, Brightest day reaches the half way point, Superboy joins my roster, and Wolverine fights the devil IN HELL.
DC
Batman & Robin #16
Story: Concluding Grant Morrison's run, the issue reveals has Bruce a glorious comeback in which he, Dick, and Damian fight the 99s and takes them all out with ease. Bruce goes after the fake Thomas Wayne while Dick and Damian head off to stop Pyg. Bruce triumphs over Thomas, Damian saves the day and the Joker gets the last laugh, kinda. The issue brings the end of an era and sets up for a new one with Bat Inc.
Review: THIS IS THE BOMB!!!! I loved this issue, everything about it is just great. We have an amazing conclusion to the end of a great run by a mad genius writer. The story does everything it can to wrap it up and leave no stone unturned in the process. The best moments are towards the end where Bruce kinda explains Batman and how he is tie to it, and that this is the beginning of Batman Inc. Morrison does a great job with this issue, he brings everything together that could have make or break the new era. The story does a nice blend of focusing on Bruce and D&D without one outweighing the other.
Artwork: The art is split in this issue, We get Irving's surreal artwork in a few pages while the others were done by Alex Sinclair, who does a fantastic job with the characters as well. It is odd and disjointing with continuity when one page Bruce's bat ears are short and then they become long in the next. The funniest moment is with Irving's art, where Bruce Batman punches the Joker, the angle its drawn makes it look like he punched his head clean off.
Grade: I give this issue an A+ for having a terrific ending and a brilliant setup for the next stage in Batman's life, along with two great art styles, the blend well.
Brightest Day #13
Story: Another focused issue, this time involving the Hawks. Cater wages war all the way to his love Shiera, We see her and her mother discussing their previous lives and that the gate will lead her to a special place to wage war with a corps. We get another short story with Deadman and Dove, pointing out to an unlikely candidate for the White Lantern.
Review: Well we are half way into the event and this issue seems pretty weak. Of all the heroes and villains we are to follow, this is a pair that I was not really that invested in. Their history and continuity is very hard to figure out and keep track of, So I didn't know that much of who these villains were. Also I'm gonna call the ending a red herring moment, I highly doubt this is gonna happen, the person in question would be way too overpowered.
Artwork: The artwork is as always top notch with this series, I liked the gritty feel of Hawkman and the last page with the person in question feels much like his character in any artistic interpretation.
Grade: I give this issue a B-, for a meh arc with characters I have no investment in but for still having some killer art.
Superboy #1
Story: Kicking off a new series, Conner Kent(a clone) ponders his new life in Smallville when he is greeted by the Phantom Stranger. The Phantom Stranger warns Conner of upcoming events that will shape his future in the town. He takes the Strangers word and leaves for home. The next day during school he meets Luthor's cousin, who he leaves hanging. He goes into town and meets his friend who deducts that Conner is Superboy. This gets interrupted by Parasite who attacks Conner, want his power to..you guess it, kill Superman. Conner gets him far away from the city and finds a way to defeat him. No time to celebrate as they get attacked by a Eco-friendly villain.
Review: Well this makes the third super title that I'm currently reading(Power Girl, Superman, and now Superboy), how does this one fare, actually pretty good. The setup for the character fits well in establishing a new title, it has action and a story. The aspect of him being a clone dealing with a life he never expected living combined with living up to a heroic legacy. The inclusion of a familiar green fiend, adds that it's a much more connected universe and we may see lots more surprises as the series grows. The last page of whats to come, adds a tiny bit of spoilers and doesn't give us the anticipation effect comics should give us.
Artwork: The artwork is done by Pier Gallo, who is an Italian artist and my first time seeing his artwork so what do I think....its good, it's very bright and colorful artwork. The character colors are sharp and crisp, you can tell this is done by a good artist.
Grade: I'm giving this issue a B+, for a good start to a new series, has some hang ups with the school scenes, but the action made up for it. Along with having bright and crisp artwork done by a good artist.
Marvel
Amazing Spider-man #647
Story: This is issue is an anthology issue. We get a bunch of small story lines that only 2 are canon while the others are just for fun.
Review: This is a tough one to do, since its an anthology issue, do I review each one or just the whole. Well out of all the stories, my favorite are the first two, because they are actual canon to the story that leads into Big Time. One with J.J. Was a really funny one, but has nothing to do with any. Destroyer14 your prayers are sorta answered with a venom cameo in one of the stories. This issue is a nice send up to the characters and brings a nice end to brand new day and we finally head into Big Time next week.
Artwork: again this is hard do because each story has a unique art style that I feel I can't say which I prefer. One does feel out of place because its supposed to be older characters but the style makes them look younger.
Grade: I'm giving the first two stories a B+ each, and the others get a C+, because I feel the first two are pure canon and the others are just filler, along with mixed artwork that fits each story well.
Avengers Academy #6
Story: We get the final back story of the students. This time its with Reptil, who has just been named the leader of the students. We don't that much backs story of his life, we do find out that his power is actually mystic based, rather than mutant or serum based. Reptil tries his best at being the leader of the team but feels like he is not fit for it. He finds Finesse and Quicksilver talking and he worries. Reptil meets Cages wife and has a deep conversation and he overcomes the guilt of what Osborn did to him and his family.
Review: I actually liked this back story, we don't get a long over drawn history of how, we are left to figure this on our own. The idea of having the least likely being the leader is an interesting thing because he has doubt and lacks true strength. The conversation between him and Jessica is actually touching and its about how to overcome all kinds of guilt that these two have been through. There was only one action scene and that wasn't even long. The hidden chats between Finesse and Quicksilver are the best moments because you wanna know their agendas are in all this.
Artwork: The artwork is still top notch. The colors for each character them feel distinct, although the cover of Reptil and the interior seems off. His raptor form in the cover is purple but in the story is red.
Grade: I give this issue a B+, for finally wrapping up the characters, all 6 of them, back stories and giving us more to learn by adding things. Also with some good artwork but the cover is off.
Chaos War #3
Story: The chaos king attacks all the heaven realms while Hercules and the God Squad fights off a few of the Greek Pantheon. They manage to fight them off but then Zeus has a mess load of alien Slave Gods shoot out of his body along with the chaos king and attack a mess load of realms. The High Fathers seal themselves off but that's entirely pointless since the Chaos king owns them all in an instant. The heroes fail and get absorbed. The Chaos King is met by his cohort in all of this, and its quite a surprise who it is.
Review: What I love about this read is that I want to know how they keep topping themselves from issue to issue. I mean issue one was the set up, issue 2 had all the hells conquered and now all of the heavens have been conquered, so whats left? Well we got 2 more issues left to see how just more crazy and over the top this series can get. I like the emotional aspects of the fights, in this series. You feel so much weigh and gravitas when these characters fight each other, they don't want to but must in order to win, by all costs. Also I like to point out a major error, this issue says its 3 of 4 when the event is actually 5 issues in length.
Artwork: The grittiness of this issue is just amazing. My favorite moment is when Zeus has all the gods coming out of his chest and its just amazing how big they are, coming out of a small piece of him.
Grade: I give this issue an A-, for just upping the craziness with each issue and for having gritty art to add to all the craziness.
Wolverine #3
Story: Wolverine fights off Saber-tooth and learns that Saber-tooth is the Devils pet(gross). Mystique, the 2 ghost riders, Hellstrom, and Logan's current girlfriend find a way to free Logan from this nightmare. Meanwhile the demon that is in Logan's body heads to Utopia and starts to attack Kitty Pryde, until Colossus intervenes. The issue ends with Logan able to fight the devil, and its bad-ass.
Review: This is a really well thought out series and a concept. The mutant who is good at what he does, doing battling with minions of hell and challenging the devil could have been a ridiculous idea but the way Aaron does it, comes off as genius. The whole Hellverine character is really interesting because they are adding in a dangerous element, a mutant who heals along with metal bones with claws possessed by a demon is a dangerous thing. It seems this arc may last only a few more but its all how the outcome is reached will matter.
Artwork: This is some spectacular artwork when it comes to all the demons and the angle work is just amazing, especially when Colossus appears.
Grade: This issue gets an A-, for having amazing writing with a well thought out story and cinematic angles with the artwork.
Well that does it for this week's reviews. I will be skipping next week due to the releases being only 2, that's right 2 issues only, both being from Marvel. Those will be part of the following weeks reviews. Til then, catch you all on the comments, ComicCritic87 OUT!!!!