Comic releases of 6/29/11
Hey all, time for another fun round of comic reviews. Finally I was able to get a Wednesday to myself, without my work taking away my afternoon of reading my weekly readings. This was another solid week of reviews. I’m more or less certain that all my reviews will at least be 10 issues since the Flashpoint titles continuing for the next three months, then post Flashpoint the new readings from DC will boost my collection from that company greatly; still it’s good to have a nice solid amount of readings week to week. With that said, this week was great and plenty of must reads.
Comics: Amazing Spider-man #664, Batman Incorporated #7, FF #5, Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #4, Green Arrow Industries one-shot, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #11, Hal Jordan #1, Project Superman #1, Rocketeer Adventures #2, Venom #4, Wonder Woman #612, Xombi #4
DC comics
Top Pick of the week: Batman Incorporated #7
Abridged Story: The latest Batman inspired crime fighter is in Lakotah region of the USA, we are introduced to Man-of-bats and little raven, the Native American Batman and Robin as they fight crime in a small desolate town. Man-of-bat tries his best for his hometown and his son, proving he is a hero and not a menace. He stops a local drug dealer and gets caught by leviathan agents and about to be killed. Meanwhile Little Raven is greeted by Wayne Batman and knows what it means. Just as Man-of-bats is about to be killed, he is rescued by his son and Bruce. They stop the agents with the help of the locals M-O-B has helped. They decide to team up and prepare for the war that is to come
Review: This was a FANTASTIC comic, out of all the Bat people we have seen, I want to see this version the most, Native American crime fighters that are like Batman and Robin, while at the same time being heroes on a budget, count me in. It’s great to see that these heroes secret identities are well known, people know that Man-of-bats is a well-known Doctor in the area and there “top secret” bat cave is only a barn and their version of the bat mobile is a pickup truck with the bat logo on it. I liked the idea and concept of heroes on a budget, making do with what they have. Grant Morrison has really gave these two characters great amount of personalities, Man-of-bats is a headstrong and somewhat inept when it comes to subtly as a Batman inspired hero, but he gets the job done and isn’t afraid of getting hurt, while Little Raven is the uninterested yet willing son to help his father fulfill some silly dream up until a certain point. The villains known as Leviathan are becoming a great threat, they have infiltrated the states by simple means and are hunting down the crime fighters, I cannot wait to see all the bats come together and do battle with these new villains.
Artwork: Chris Burnham has done an amazing job when it comes to creating these characters and these places. The cover is an awesome cover; it features the three heroes that are in this, Man-of-bats riding a buffalo, Batman on the bat cycle, and Little Raven on a horse. Sadly Man-of-bats doesn’t ride a buffalo in this issue. The artwork Burnham does in this issue is very detailed, and at times somewhat graphic. The beginning features a kid in a small mobile home covered in snot and messed pants (yuck, there is something called too much detail). The costumes of Man-of-bats and Little Raven are pretty simplistic yet at the same time are well designed. Man-of-bats looks like a bad-ass warrior chief while Little Raven wears a cool looking helmet.
Grade: A+
Quick Reviews
Green Arrow Industries 1 shot: Oliver Queen in the world of Flashpoint is a weapon manufacturer who takes villains gear and uses them to create his own profit for the government. Not a bad issue, I’m not a huge Green Arrow fan, but they do change him up a bit which I think they changed his personality entirely, not sure but it was a nice 1 shot. The artwork was well done and had some cool moments. B-
Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #11: A FILLER (oh boy) of Guy Gardner saving a princess only to be duped and has his power ring taken away. I didn’t hate this issue, it was nice but we are in the middle of a war, and I wanted to see the conclusion, not this. Artwork is pretty good. C+
Hal Jordan #1: an eerily similar take off of the Green lantern movie where Hal and Carol are in the skies keeping a tab on things. Hal discovers Abin Sur in the water. I was hoping this would be different but they pushed the retake origin too far. The artwork is meh. C-
Project Superman #1: A young soldier joins a program to become a new super soldier only to gain powers rapidly and becomes a potential threat. I liked this title but I know what’s going to happen, they don’t hide it well. Let’s just say it shouldn’t be called Project Superman but something else, read this to know what I mean, believe me you will know. Artwork is impressive and I enjoyed it. B+
Wonder Woman #612: Diana meets with the gods that have left her, they tell her that the power of a Woman is stronger than that of a god (figure that one out) and she enters the dark world to battle the evil known as Nemesis who looks like….Wonder Woman. I’m enjoying this arc, its nearing its end and I can’t wait to see how it brings it all together. Artwork is still as usual, good but not great. B-
Xombi #4: We learn where the girl from issue #3 came from, a floating castle in the sky where a man she brought there wants all the powers and mystery they hold. Surreal and creative, I love it so much. Irving is just pure gold with the art. A-
Marvel Comics
Top Pick of the Week: Venom #4
Abridged Story: Venom and Spider-man have a classic brawl in the burbs as Flash rushes to save Betty but unable to keep the suit under control. He finds a way to sedate him and give a slight clue to Spider-man so that he can get to Betty in time. Flash returns to base knowing the mission failed but still has to stop the product from being released into New York City.
Review: This is the story and rightful title for Venom; he deserves it after all these years. This is one of the best first arcs I have seen for a returning title. The great part of the issue was seeing the classic, monster looking (dare I say better formed than the Brock version) Venom rampaging against Spider-man, who in this issue is the one hindering Venom who has become a top secret hero. This has some amazing fight moments between Venom against Spider-man and then a rematch with Jack o Lantern. The ending with Flash, Betty, and Peter discussing what it means to be heroes and villains is done really well and pulled off without being corny.
Artwork: I love the artwork Tony Moore has done with this title. The cover features Venom wielding a hand gun and an assault rifle while the American flag is waving behind him. The interior work is just beautiful in a dark twisted sense. The look and tone, even in the city has this grittiness and 90s style to it, which compliments the action and scenarios. I love the way the suit is able to shift in and out of the monster and human form and the parts in-between. This is some of the best artwork I see in today’s comics, making it a strong front runner for best artwork of 2011.
Grade: A+
Quick reviews
Amazing Spider-man #664: Spider-man is held captive by Anti-venom as he goes to uncover Mr. Negative’s true identity. Meanwhile Carlie discovers who the Wraith really is. Pretty good issue, I like the nice twists they give us. I don’t mind this kind of filler since its prepping for the upcoming event of Spider Island. Artwork is nice and full of various style and color. B+
FF #5: Susan discovers one of the Reeds and gets attacked. Ben and Alicia have a heart to heat talk, and an old friend makes a comeback. This is a fun and enjoyable read. I like the cast of characters and the action is always fun. The artwork is solid. B+
Other Comics
Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #4
Abridged Story: We follow a new character, a man who talks about how the new world is horrible; no one knows sacrifice or compassion. The girls who are controlling Battra invade France and become the queens of France. Just then Godzilla and Angirius arrive in Hollywood and battle one another, laying waste to the city and citizens.
Review: Finally a likeable character in the mainstreamed continuity, this guy is totally awesome and sees the world much like I do. Once again the comic continues to throw in satires of our world with a Jersey shore style group with a guy named The Predicament (ugghhh so painful) yet what happens to them is one of the clapping with joy moments. It’s also about time for Godzilla and another monster to do battle with one of the other Monsters stomping about the world. The moment with the evil twins and Battra is pretty fun, I do hope we see its winged form and of course it’s counterpart, Mothra.
Artwork: The artwork continues to be impressive and some of the best IDW has to offer. I got one of the covers that feature Godzilla breathing his fire breath on Mothra. The design of the monsters and the battle sequences are really well done, almost like the more recent movies, rather than the older versions. The look and feel of the world feels much like ours and human characters as well as the monsters are designed really well.
Grade: A-
Rocketeer Adventures #2
Abridged Story: Three exciting tales of classic of old school pulp style that the character and series rightfully does. The first story is Cliff saving a Superman style man from trying to fly and being gunned down by a madman. The second is a movie serial style adventure of Cliff’s girlfriend Betty donning the rocket pack and saves the day. The third is an awesome aerial battle between the Rocketeer and a copycat who uses a helicopter style pack.
Review: Out of all the reads this week, I always get a joy reading these stories, they are full of so much love and dedication to the original creators work. Each story in this 4 issue mini-series does what it can to create a throwback to the golden age of comics. They are full of action, excitement, and even Betty providing the earliest known kinds of fan service. I love the first story for throwing a few jabs at the early comic book industry, where they bought a character to rake in millions while the creator gets paid off and gets nothing. The second is a fun twist and as mentioned feels like one of the movie serials where you had to wait til next time to see what happens next. The third is one of the best since it combines the battle with a Boxing match that is also taking place. If they decide to pick this up for a full ongoing series I will be so overjoyed, if not then this mini-series will be the best way to glorify one of my favorite characters.
Artwork: All of these stories and random pictures have of the best artists working on it. The first story is done in a bit more realistic, the second is done by Darwyn Cooke who is great at doing the retro style, the pin up picture is just epic, and the third story is a noir inspired art, all of them are great but I have to give Cooke the best in this issue since he does the artwork in the pulp style since he did New Frontier and the Spirit.
Grade: A+
Well that’s all for this week in reviews, I hope you all enjoy reading these and go out and read my selections. Catch you all next week, ComicCritic87 OUT!!!!