Hey all, This is a fantastic week of comic books. We have stuff that was delayed, I don't know why, but all things should never be rushed. Today's readings are 10 issues, and as usual, are a must read. This week we have Spider-man gaining a new suit, Hank Pym's return to Ant-man, D&D fighting a new villain, Aqua lad and Firestorm in Brightest Day, Chaos War gets crazier, Thor does battle with the fragmented god, Hal vs Barry, Superman good again?, The origins of Ghost, and Wolverine vs Colossus. Plus Comic news on Marvel's upcoming “Fear” event. With that lets begin shall we.....
DC
Batman & Robin #18
Story: We are given the origin of the new villainess, Absence, a former girlfriend of Bruce's. She was killed but she discovered that she has Dandy Walkers Syndrome(a real syndrome), where her head has a gaping hole in it, which allows air to enter and increase her thinking greatly. She is seeking revenge on Bruce for not being their at her funeral and seeks to destroy all he loves.
Review: This was an interesting issue, I like seeing the origin of Batman villains and what leads them to a life of crime, which in her case, was all circumstances. Its good to see they explained why she had a hole in her head, a plus is that its based on something that exists in the real world, although in this they make it more over the top. Damian is funny even though he isn't trying to be, its all brutal honesty from him 24/7. The ending is a bit interesting, it seems kinda funny but in a darkish way.
Artwork: I like the artwork in this issue. The design of this new villain, is pretty original, she has a Gothic look to her. The scenes with Bruce in Japan, continues to give him a shadowed look, hiding him in parts to show he has influence, but some can't be seen.
Grade: I give this issue a B+, its a solid issue to read, its a well done and researched origin story for the villain. Along with some good artwork and use of angles.
Brightest Day #16
Story: The issue focuses on Aqua-man and Aqua-lad, Firestorm, and Deathstorm. With Aqua-man, we learn the origin of Jackson Hyde, he is supposedly a key to unlock or lock the doorway of the Bermuda Triangle. Jackson doesn't accept his role at first, so he and Arthur have a fight, Arthur wins and shows him that it takes a lot to become a hero. Jackson decides and dons the new armor and weapons, becoming the new Aqua-lad. With Deathstorm, he removes the father he took and coerces him to kill himself, however Professor Stein tries his best to stop it, it fails because Deathstorm tricked them. With Firestorm, they are with the JLA, who try to contain their unstable power, they suggest to have Metamorpho, join them to hold off their unstable condition, this fails as they ______________.
Review: This is a great redeemer issue from the boring issue that was issue #15. This had lots of action and great moments of actual character development. I love seeing the bonds being made with these mash ups. Its cool to see the new Aqua-lad doubt his capabilities, rather than just accept the role, he denies it and wants a normal life. Deathstorm is very sadistic and creepy funny, he has a small amount of pages but they show who he really is as a character. With Firestorm, it shows how unstable these two wielders are, and will they be able to come out of this and settle their differences.
Artwork: Amazing as ever, I love seeing Jackson's ability to form water into weapons. Deathstorm and his realm is just crazy and cool, plus the big moment with Firestorm is amazing.
Grade: I give this issue an A-, a huge leap forward from the last issue, good action beats, great character development and the artwork is amazing as ever.
Green Lantern #60
Story: Hal fights off the Parallax infused Barry Allen Aka The Flash, he gets beaten very easily by Parallax as they have banter about fear and that Jordan needs Parallax. Hal gains the upper hand and tricks Parallax out of Barry. Meanwhile, with Sinestro and Atrocitus are still seeking the red entity, but Sinestro is called away because his daughter has been kidnapped. Back with Hal, Parallax is stopped by the mystery person who can control all the entities, which he manages to gather the Indigo and Blue in one quick swoop. He reveals himself to be one of the lost guardians of Oa.
Review: Awesome Awesome Awesome, this was a great issue. It had lots of great fight scenes, some amazing writing, and the twists keep coming. Johns clearly has some great ideas involving the Lanterns along with including a new guardian, who seems to be the more powerful one of the guardians. Hal and Parallax infused Barry were some of the best writing I seen in any issue so far. Naturally because Johns writes for both characters and this had some great chemistry. The action scenes with Hal and Barry are just as amazing, they use both of their powers, like the Speed Force being used to outmatch the Lantern ring.
Artwork: Top notch as ever. The ring constructs and the entities are amazing. Also the design of Parallax with Allen is amazing. You can see his teeth behind Barry's, which is creepy. Also the introduction of this new guardian is cool, he looks totally different from the old ones.
Grade: I give this issue an A+, it's a must read, full of amazing fights, characters, and twists a plenty. The artwork is amazing as ever.
Superman #706
Story: The story follows Perry white dealing with an up and coming news company. He sends one of his employees in as a mole to find out the scoop they have on Superman.
Review: This is actually a much better issue than the prior one, it actually involves characters I like. Perry is a great character and hasn't been used a lot recently, so its nice to see him be the Editor he has become known as. The characters he has to deal with are interesting, and the ending is actually really clever. This is the first of the Grounded arcs “interludes” because JMS has left, so this was written by G. Willow Wilson, and its well written and the dialogue feels fresh.
Artwork: The artwork is nice, but sadly no real action scenes but this arc seems to be about character development rather than action.
Grade: I give this issue a B-, its a better step from the last issue, but still should focus on Superman, still nice to see others get the spotlight.
Marvel
Amazing Spider-man #650
Story: With the help of his new friends, Spider-man is able to get the new Hobgoblin who stole a piece of the reverbranium. Hobgoblin gives the piece to Kingpin, Peter calls Black cat to help him steal it back. Peter gets a new idea of creating a new suit, he is paused by this when Carlie and MJ come over. Peter meets up with Black Cat and shows off his new suit that makes him invisible to both light and sound.
Review: Much like GL, this was a great issue. The opening fight scenes were great and funny as ever, and of course Peters comebacks are just as funny as ever. This a fun issue to read, so much happens in one issue yet it works well. I like seeing when Pete, Carlie, and MJ are talking because they cover up techno babble with some funny lines and the same happens when MJ talks about Fashion stuff. Its great to see Peter using his science prowess to good use now, with this new spider-man suit, which I will dub The Spider-Stealth suit. Black has the best scene, when Peter calls her, she is bathing....in milk... O.O..............where was I going with this*Slaps* oh yeah...This is a great read, I'm so glad to be seeing Spider-man be really fun again.
Artwork: This is some great artwork, I love the design of the Spider-Stealth suit, which sorta contradicts the cover, The cover shows red while the Stealth is green. The Bath scene is.......ohhhh man what a scene. I love the design of Hobgoblins crazy and demonic look.
Grade: I give this issue a solid A, its a great read, furthers the character's abilities and shows off some great artwork.
Avengers Academy #7
Story: Hank and Tigra discuss her new child, Hank agrees to take care of him if anything happens to her. Hank has supposedly found a way to bring Janet back, but it may be really dangerous to do. The Students are transporting the Absorbing man, who manages to escape and does battle with the students, which is a one sided battle. Hank saves the day by returning to the original guise of Giant-man. He and the Absorbing Man battle in the microverse and a realm full of celestial beings, which hurts AM's mind beyond comprehension. Hank has returned to “normal” and lets Janet go
Review: FINALLY, this felt like forever since the last issue was released. This issue is done with telling the origin stories of the six kids, now we get some quick origins of how Hank changed his costume and name to find an identity he felt comfortable in. The beginning with him and Tigra was pretty touching and the end scene is actually sad. The battle with AM is really cool, but sucks because he's such a one sided villain. The aftermath for it was really cool and shows just how smart and focused Hank can be in battle. The students more or less take a back seat in this issue, this is Hank's story, and hopefully he remains as his old guise.
Artwork: The artwork is just as good as ever, The battle scene is the icing on the cake, its a battle of giants. The celestial gods are really well drawn and just show how huge they are compared to Hank and AM.
Grade: I give this issue a B+, its very good and has a lot of great moments with the exposition. Hank takes center stage, but it should focus on the students as well. The artwork is well done and the action scenes are the best I seen with this series.
Chaos War #4
Story: Athena has struck a deal with the Chaos King. Meanwhile Hercules meets up with the last remaining Gods of Earth. Amadeus and Galactus team up to create a device to open a way to a special realm outside of the multiverse. Hercules is taken to unlock his true power, just as Athena attacks him, he vanquishes her with ease. The Chaos king feels this and prepares for the final battle.
Review: This was a fun issue in this godly event series. We are preparing for the final showdown, so naturally this issue is about Hercules gaining his power and becoming a better person with it. Up til this point he only had one solution, but he had to realize the greater extension of his being now that he is an All Father. It's cool to see Amadeus and Galactus have the strangest team up ever, they are very unlikely allies, but in this event, its understandable. We also get a few cameos from the Dead Avengers and the Dead Avengers from their own issues in all this. Athena is a total witch with a B, she willingly joins with the Chaos king, rather than try and fight him as a God should.
Artwork: The artwork is good in this issue, the huge amount of gods on splash pages are amazing and just the sheer size of the Chaos King is amazing.
Grade: I give this issue a B+, its a good issue, great improvement of the character of Hercules and the artwork is still good and all the different gods are really cool.
Chaos War: Thor #2
Story: Blake and the woman run away from Glory. They somehow combine and bring Thor back into the fight. Glory grows to a ridiculous size once more and assimilates Thor, which causes glory to explode by the power of Prayer.
Review: This was an alright issue, anything with Thor(that is in the mainstream) I will always give a read. This two issue series mainly deals with the idea of religion and prayer, that its a key to salvation. Most of that is subtle in the reading, but the female lead in this, is supposed to be like the reader, she is experiencing all the things happening, also showing how strong the character can be in the moment. I think the “prayer” as a weapon was interesting, but seemed like a quick way out, so they didn't go one more issue.
Artwork: The villain of Glory is really cool, it reminds me of Desotroyah from Godzilla. The final battle scenes are really cool and the silhouettes with Blake and the woman are well done.
Grade: I give this issue a B-, its good but could have a bigger ending, seeing how it is Thor but it was good. The artwork is done really well and the action scenes are the best.
Thunderbolts #151
Story: Crossbones is removed from the Thunderbolts program, and they select a new member. The main story is about Ghosts origins, who he was and how he became a villain and attacked the corporations. Its a tragic tale full of love, betrayal and loss.
Review: This was a great issue and once again much like B&R #18, this is an origin issue. The entire origin seems really the most interesting, he is victim of the corrupted corporate system, willing to kill anyone that gets in the way of their own goals. I can't spoil much about it because any of you reading it will enjoy a trip into the mental doings that is Ghost.
Artwork: It's got some great artwork with the origin tale, we get it in these little bubbles, most likely to show how obscure the world Ghost perceives it all. They showcase Moonstones ass a lot in this issue, and I couldn't be more happy ^^.
Grade: I give this issue an A-, its one of the better origins told about a villain, his is a tragedy that deserves to be seen. The artwork is great and they are getting creative with how to showcase things, plus Moonstones ass.....gotta love it
Wolverine #4
Story: Wolverine continues to do battle with Satan to the point where he actually made the devil himself bleed. This causes a huge rebellion in Hell, where various demons come after Satan to gain control of Hell. Meanwhile on Earth, the demon possessed Wolverine is fighting Colossus, who he manages to cute enough to bleed. They battle and others try to get into the battle but are quickly defeated. Just before the final blow can be struck, Ghost Rider comes in and drags Wolverine away. Back in Hell, Wolverine crucifies the Devil and searches for an exit, he is stopped by his real father and they are about to have a talk.
Review: AWESOME, this is a great issue, Aaron shines with Wolverine. This is a great story line, I love how it interacts with the other X-men yet mainly focusing on the people Logan cared about. This issue is the 4th of 5th in the arc, so next issue will end the Wolverine in Hell arc, and this was a great way of ending the battle with the Devil, just shows how powerful and relentless Logan is. I wish GR would speak much more, but his actions are really great. The father moment was kinda anticlimactic but it shows they wanna bring some closure to the two characters.
Artwork: This has some very great artwork and its not intended for kids, especially with Angel. The battle in Hell is just amazing, I love seeing how brutal and gritty this fight is. This design of Satan is really cool and shows how demonic the character should be.
Grade: I give this issue an A+, its a great issue, has great action and interesting development with the characters, Aaron continues to shine with this series, I can't wait for the conclusion of this arc. Also the artwork is amazing and the character designs are amazing.
Comic News: Well this has been teased in recent issues of Marvel comics, a black page with text from a well known speech about “Fear” along with the date of April 2011. Recently on Comic Book Resources, Marvel has showed off teaser images of some characters and their fears. Spider-man's image has the line Do you Fear Tomorrow, Second came Cyclops and his says Do you Fear What You've Become, Third is Steve Rogers in his Cap gear saying Do you Fear loss of Faith, and today they released Hulk with the question Do You Fear Loss of Control. We also got two teases in the 5th issue of the Avengers involving the time line that was drawn out by Old Tony, the two were “Man without Fear and Fear without Man”, so this is following the events of this time line. Another hint as to what can be the source is that the borders of the image teasers have what appear to be some sort of mystical symbols, does this allude to some sort of Mystical battle Dr Strange mentions? We gotta wait for more images and of course the official releases of this new “Fear” Event, will it be bigger than Secret Invasion and Siege?, Stay tuned
Wells that all for this week's releases, it was a great week of must reads, Catch you all later, ComicCritic87 OUT!!!!