Comic releases of 7/6/11
Hey all, time for another fun round of comic reviews. Well this was another big week, 10 issues this time around. The flashpoint titles continue to roll on out. However I do have to break my word on getting every single title. Money issues are about to befall me so I have to sacrifice some titles for a few weeks, stuff that I typically don’t read normally. Thankfully with things ending, there will be less handling on my cash. I know September is going to be the rough month but by then I will be fine money wise. With all that said, this was a good week, a nice amount of content that deserves a look.
Comics: Abin Sur: The Green Lantern #2, Batman & Robin #25, Batman: Knight of Vengeance #2, Fear Itself #4, Flashpoint #3, Heroes for Hire #9, Secret Seven #2, Superboy #9, Thunderbolts #160, World of Flashpoint #2
DC comics
Top Pick of the week: Batman: Knight of Vengeance #2
Abridged Story: Gordon goes on the hunt for the Joker with the help of this worlds Oracle, who is someone familiar but not Barabara. Gordon searches for the location of the Joker and discovers where it is. The ending of the comic is a shocker that continues to twist like a coil before Batman arrives and we find out who the Joker REALLY is.
Review: This is clearly the best of the Flashpoint Tie-ins, since it has one of the best writers working on it, Brian Azzarello, who has worked on Batman a few times and clearly his talent for it hasn’t vanished. The reveals in this one issue shows just how impactful the event of Flashpoint is. The dark and grittiness to the whole story leaves you feeling dirty. I didn’t see the ending coming. I can’t describe how twisted yet brilliant the ending is, especially in this context because everything is somehow connected and this does connect to another moment in Flashpoint. How this all ends I can’t wait to see and it will blow our minds.
Artwork: Talk about a creepy yet amazing looking cover. The cover features a skull with a J in blood, the red eternal smile and Gordon in a purple fade firing his gun, foreshadowing what is to come in the issue. The interior artwork has a strong vibe to it, harkening back to the Frank Miller days of dark and gritty characters. The last few moments are some of the best art I have seen in a comic. The lighting and shading they have done on Gordon is great, treating him much like a noir style character, which fits well in this twisted tale.
Grade: A+
Quick Reviews
Abin Sur: The Green Lantern #2- Abin Sur arrives on earth and is greeted as a savior. Sinestro comes to earth and tells of the Prophecy, then attacks Abin. A pretty cool issue and I liked how it connects to the first issue. Artwork is impressive still. B+
Batman & Robin #25: The Red Hood teams up with Batman & Robin to save Sasha, Jason Todd’s friend/sidekick. They have a big fight with the enemy and her army of Ninjas (it’s always Ninjas). Jason Todd escapes and flies off in the sunset. Fun issue, only one issue left in the Gray Bat saga, let it go out with a bang. The artwork is nice as usual. B-
Flashpoint #3: Barry Allen has regained his power and costume. He and Batman team up with Cyborg and go to find this worlds Superman. Not a bad issue, the reveal of this worlds Superman is interesting, not angry at it like others. Johns is having fun writing this and the artwork is great. A-
Secret Seven #2: Shade rallies more of his former allies as one decides to announce to the world of them. More trippy and interesting story, finally Zatanna is shown in the issue, and she is a biker chick (interesting choice), not a bad series and artwork is nice. C+
Superboy #9: The group goes underground and discovers a city. They split up and get ambushed by enemies. An interesting issue, it’s going for a crazy over the top style of ending leading towards the reboot. Artwork is still nice and done well. B-
World of Flashpoint #2: Traci 13 travels all over the world to see various old faces in this world seeking their help in some way. She returns to stop her father from using a powerful and dangerous weapon. An improved issue that has some fun moments and the ending is shocking (?) I guess. Artwork is done pretty well. C
Marvel Comics
Top Pick of the Week: Fear Itself #4
Abridged Story: Thor returns to Earth and reunites with Iron Man and Captain America. The chaos the world has been thrown into worsens. Steve Rogers grieves over the loss of Bucky and he don’s his old mantle. They split up and help the counter attack. Thor meets up with the Serpent and we discover the “true” origins between the Serpent and Odin, Thor tells that he is prophesized to kill a Serpent with the cost of his life. Captain lands in the battlefield and must fight Sin. Iron Man seeks Odin by giving him an effigy by sacrifice his sobriety. Thor is banished from the Serpents lair and is greeted by Hulk and the Thing to begin a battle of epic proportions.
Review: Man just when you think they can’t top themselves with this event, they continue the stride with issue #4. I mentioned prior that this event is like a summer blockbuster and this is the part where the main characters come in and begin to count a massive counter attack, and you see that with Thor, Cap, and Iron Man donning their armor and begin to do their parts in this war. The biggest two are with Iron man sacrificing his sobriety to get Odin’s attention on what is happening up there. Thor’s part is by far my favorite and has the best prophecy riddle ever “Nine paces fares the son of Odin. And, slain by the Serpent, fearless he sinks.” Matt Fraction has done an amazing job with this event, a true event worthy of the Marvel universe, the size and scope it has is amazing and what outcome is to occur is a great mystery.
Artwork: The covers are what still make it suffer in just how boring they are doing them. The top image is Rogers holding the Captain America mask and the bottom image is the Serpent. The interior artwork is still beautiful and just shows how big they are making this event. The action moments are amazing; the battles are big and awesome. The best images are the three icons of the Avengers leaping into battle, Tony drinking and Thor about to battle Hulk and the Thing.
Grade: A+
Quick reviews
Heroes for Hire #9: The heroes enter the fray of Fear Itself, a group battles the Thing and Elektra fights on the Raft. A great issue, finally bringing Fear itself into this series, a good amount of action. Artwork is nice and fits with this series. B+
Thunderbolts #160: The team heads to Chicago do stop the Juggernaut from destroying it. Satana takes the team into Juggernauts mind and sees the true face of the worthy. A very great issue, very solid and strong writing, one of my favorite team books. The artwork when in the mind of Juggernaut is beautiful and very unique. A-
And that’s all for this week my friends, hope you all enjoy and give these a read soon. Next week will be as mentioned Flashpoint Tie-in free yet I do bring in two more new Marvel titles, Captain America and Ghost Rider. I now finish my Marvel Trinity: Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man along with one of my favorite characters, Ghost Rider, I can’t wait to see how they will do with a female rider, we shall find out next week, til then ComicCritic87 OUT!!!!