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Captain America: Reborn #4 [Review]

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Walt

By: Ed Brubaker, Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Covers: Hitch, Guice and Mounts; John Cassaday and Laura Martin, Joe Kubert and Laura Martin
Assoc. Editor: Jeanine Schaefer and Sankovitch
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

I’m not 100% certain I bought/read issue 3 of this, offhand. Even if I not only read issue 3 but also reviewed it, I don’t at present recall issue 3. Despite that, it’s almost an irrelevant point as this issue finds Cap still bouncing through time, the Skull and crew still getting things assembled, and Cap’s allies still playing catch-up.

Skull and crew arrive in Latveria at invitation of Doctor Doom. Doom fixes their time device, while Cap’s allies are finding out what happened with Sharon and how she–and her blod–hold the key to what’s going on with Cap.

As Doom’s device is activated, things come to a bit of a head as a body is present, though all may not be quite as promising as it appears.

The art’s easily the best part of this story. Hitch draws a great Doctor Doom, and I found myself enjoying the visuals even as the story sped through its own pages. Brubaker’s done a great job overall with the Captain America saga. This series seems just a bit much, though, and something feels a bit “off” from what I enjoyed in reading the first omnibus and the 1.5-year saga following up on Steve’s death and Bucky’s installation as the new Cap.

If you’re specifically a fan of Brubaker’s work you’ll probably enjoy this; ditto if you’re a fan of Hitch’s art. If you’ve been following this mini thus far, probably worth finishing out the story. Otherwise, you’re probably just as well holding off for a collected volume.

Plus, with a collected volume…you won’t have two different titles for the same story (three, if we count the fact that this essentially IS the Captain America title right now, outright replacing the main title for its duration).

Story: 5.5
Art: 9
Overall: 7

Filed under: Captain America: Reborn, Comic Reviews 2009, MARVEL, Marvel Universe | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Doom Patrol #4 [Review]

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Walt

Dead Reckoning; The Coming of…The Clique!

DOOM PATROL
Writer: Keith Giffen
Penciller: Justiniano
Inker: Livesay
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Colorist: Guy Major
Cover: Justiniano, Andrew Mangum, Guy Major
Associate Editor: Sean Ryan
Editor: Elisabeth V. Gehrlein

METAL MEN
Plot: Keith Giffen
Dialogue: J.M. Dematteis
Art: Kevin Maguire
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
Associate Editor: Sean Ryan
Editor: Elisabeth V. Gehrlein

It took me 3 attempts to make it all the way through this issue. The first two, I got hung up in the main feature. At the third attempt I managed to get through the main feature, and then all the way through the co-feature with no trouble at all.

I’m not entirely sure what was going on in the main story. To my knowledge all the characters are new to me–none of them rang any bells for me. We’re introduced to a bunch of characters contextually, though to be honest–I’m not sure if those are characters that are part of the current book, or references to the previous incarnation of this title, or what.

But as standard in Blackest Night comics so far, we see dead rise to elicit emotional response from the living, the aim being to ripen a heart with strong emotion before the subject is killed to power up the Black Lanterns.

The art’s quite good, to keep it simple. Though I’m unfamiliar with the characters, there’s no trouble telling them apart nor in following the action. And nothing to the visual style gave me any pause to contemplate quality.

The story itself was not enjoyable for me. I was not interested in the concept of this Doom Patrol before, and I’m not now after reading this issue. That’s not to say the story itself is bad–it’s not–but it doesn’t appeal to me.

This reminds me a bit of my early days in reading X-Men comics: being entirely unfamiliar with the characters and having no real sense of continuity, who characters were, and so on. While the story structure seems good, it just doesn’t interest me. However, for sake of following the entire Blackest Night event, I still intend to pick up the next issue.

If Doom Patrol’s your thing, this’ll be well worthwhile I think. If not…it doesn’t seem like it’s going to–from this issue, at least–add much to the Blackest Night event. Moreso the other way around–the event’s inserting something into this title’s story.

The Metal Men co-feature has nothing to do with Blackest Night, and seems quite timeless. A group of “female” robots have been activated by an arrogant creator seeking to outdo Magnus’ Metal Men. These girlbots proclaim themselves The Clique, and stir up trouble that gets the Metal Men involved (though they were quite happy enough to begin with, shopping with Magnus for a birthday present to give Tina–aka Platinum.)

I’m somewhat familiar with Magnus from 52, as well as the Metal Men from same as well as elsewhere around the DCU. They’re hardly my favorite characters; basically a take ’em or leave ’em situation. However, something about this story kept a sense of fun about things with some goofiness and the fantastic.

I was more engaged by this story than the Doom Patrol, and while I find The Clique to be a stupid/stereotypical element, it still works overall.

As a whole, I’m not entirely satisfied with the purchase as just a comic. In addition to simply being a Blackest Night crossover issue–the first tie-in of the event that’s not a Green Lantern book or mini-series–this issue is the first of several that are part of DC’s “ring promotion,” wherein retailers could order a bag of rings for every X number of copies of this issue they ordered. This issue came with a Yellow Ring. My inner fanboy was almost giddy at receiving the ring at no additonal cost–and for sheer enjoyment of starting a collection of the colored rings, this issue was more than worth its cover price to me.

Doom Patrol
Story: 4/10
Art: 7/10

Metal Men
Story: 6/10
Art: 7/10

Whole: 6/10

Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Doom Patrol | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Superman: World of New Krypton #9 [Review]

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Walt

Full review posted to comixtreme.com.

Story: 3/5
Art: 2.5/5
Overall: 2.5/5

Filed under: cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Superman: World of New Krypton | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Plastic Ring quest #1

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Walt

Goofy as it might seem…some things very easily amuse me. I got the biggest kick out of receiving this cheap plastic black ring back in July with the release of Blackest Night #1.  All the more because it was “big,” thick, and ACTUALLY FIT.  I could wear this thing, and not uncomfortably at that.

And I was quite excited at the prospect a couple months back at more rings, one for each of the Corps. The rumour was confirmed, and I’ve been looking forward to these.  Yesterday, I obtained the Yellow Lantern ring with my purchase of Doom Patrol #4, the first of the “traditional” crossover/tie-in issues of the Blackest Night event.

Pictured below are the two rings so far…

Lantern Corps: Black and Yellow

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Expectations of the Stack: November 4, 2009

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Walt

This may or may not become a regular feature with this blog, but I thought it’d be interesting to try in the short-term. This probably-weekly piece will be brief thoughts I have regarding the comics I’m looking at purchasing, based on the week’s shipping list from Diamond. If nothing else, I’ll be interested in seeing for myself how my expectations, sight-unseen, hold up to what I think of the books after I’ve read and thought on them for a bit.

Now, for the week of November 4th, 2009…

DOOM PATROL #4 (BLACKEST NIGHT)
Only reason I’m planning on getting this issue is that it’s an official Blackest Night tie-in. Also admittedly looking forward the the plastic ring that I’m hoping I’ll be able to get–they may be cheap hunks of plastic, but honestly…they’re just about the coolest promotion I can recall.

SUPERMAN WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #9 (OF 12)
Been getting this series, as with the other Superman titles. Almost seems a shame that it’s “only” 12 issues…but at the same time, better a finite-from-the-get-go series than yet ANOTHER supposedly ongoing series getting chopped hardly a year into its run. If anything of New Krypton (the planet) survives the arc, I hope they keep the numbering of this, even if they drop Superman’s name from the title…

HAUNT #2
Picked up the first issue thanks to blatent online promotion of the book. Wasn’t horrible, wasn’t wonderful. But given the “star power” behind it, I want to give it a couple more issues to grow on me…it’s got plenty of potential, and all that.

DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #899
Though I tend to complain a lot about Marvel’s numbering (among many other things), I take the numbering of this as tongue-in-cheek, and given it’s Deadpool (and the nature of the character) I actually find this series’ numbering fairly amusing. The sheer audacity of the “countdown” numbering (as if it’s gonna last the next 5 years, let alone 75-some) fits nicely. The absurdly-high number will also keep this at a higher number than any other of the longest-running and recently-renumbered Marvel books out there.

DONALD DUCK AND FRIENDS #347
Speaking of numbering, I love the fact that even though they could simply start the numbering from scratch on these books/concepts, Boom is keeping the old numbering and CONTINUING these Disney books. However, I certainly hope this does NOT have some 2-part cover split across editions of the same issue. I don’t like variants to begin with, but so long as I can get a copy with the cover I prefer of what’s out there, I’ll simmer in relative silence.

All in all, looks to be a decently-small week for me. Also one of the most diverse weeks, with 2 DC books, an Image book, a Marvel book, and a Boom book. Most weeks I seem to be all-DC with maybe one exception, if any.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Rest of the Stack: Rise of the simultaneous dual format release

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Walt


November 3, 2009

Based on this week’s shipping list, the Rise of the Olympian arc from Wonder Woman is being released tomorrow in collected-volume format. While this in and of itself is NOT odd…what’s odd is the fact that it is being released SIMULTANEOUSLY in both Hardcover AND Softcover.

JUL090244 WONDER WOMAN RISE OF THE OLYMPIAN HC $24.99
JUL090245 WONDER WOMAN RISE OF THE OLYMPIAN TP $14.99

Now, I’m curious as to why such a difference in price. Seems that lately, the price difference between a hardcover and softcover is only $5-6. A $20 hardcover becomes a $15 paperback. The $25 or $30 hardcover becomes $20 or $25, respectively. Here it’s a whopping $10.

If I recall correctly, the original arc was 8 issues, at $2.99/issue…which puts the hardcover at a mere $1 above cover price of those single issues. And the softcover is priced such that you’re getting the contents of each single issue for about $1.88, $1.11 cheaper per-issue than the singles which had ads breaking up the story and with a month’s wait between chapters.

While this is frustrating–particularly for having given the title a chance with that arc, and then not being engaged ENOUGH to stick around for the single issues (in part for seeing both collected volumes solicited several months back). Had I simply waited, I’d get a nice, huge story at an EXTREMELY reasonable price! (I suspect some of my feelings might have more merit if one places Spider-Man: Noir vol. 1 TPB on the shelf next to Rise of the Olympian TPB, both at the same retail price).

Despite the frustration mentioned, and having zero real clue about the reasoning of the price points and both versions being put out together (and not having noticed ANYthing like this in books thus far solicited down the road)…the prices are how I’d like to see more collected volumes.

1. I’d rather have stuff in paperback, so it all goes together on the shelf; the old and new material. Not waiting during an extra long gap to buy a paperback because of the hardback having to have its turn on the shelf first.

2. Either way, the paperback should be significantly cheaper. Especially on the bigger books (I’m thinking of Planet Hulk and the Marvel: Noir books in particular), if I’m going to actually buy the book, I’d gladly pay the “mere” $5 to “upgrade” to the hardcover. If I’m already going to spend $30, $35 isn’t all that bad for a book so much larger physically. Same goes for the digest-size Noir paperbacks compared to the full-size hardcover counterparts.

But this Wonder Woman book…for the $10 difference, and the paperback being like getting almost 3 issues’ content “free” compared to the single issues’ cover price…I’d absolutely be all over buying the paperback just to get the story!

If books were REGULARLY released this way, it would allow for more choice in “collecting format.” Buy the singles as that’s the traditional format. Buy the collected (hardcover) for about the same price, perhaps slightly more, to have a nice hardcover for the bookshelf. Or go the cheapest route, and get a likely lower-quality of paper, but get to read the story without constant ads interrupting the flow, and getting the contents of comics for effectively the price of comics a decade ago. (Yeah, this doesn’t consider the stuff from the publisher side or the actual production costs and all that stuff.)

Despite all this…I’m a sucker. That $15 for the expected size of this book is rather appealing, especially for the ability to read everything in one volume. And add Wonder Woman to the shelf, s I’ve somehow never wound up with a Wonder Woman collected volume despite my 20+ years as a comics reader.

Filed under: The Rest of the Stack | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

World’s Finest (2009) #1 [Review]

Posted on November 2, 2009 by Walt

World’s Finest Book One: Nightwing & Red Robin

Writer: Sterling Gates
Penciller: Julian Lopez
Inker: Bit
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Assistant Editor: Harvey Richards
Associate Editor: Sean Ryan
Editors: Elisabeth V. Gehrlein & Michael Siglain
Cover: Phil Noto
Publisher: DC Comics

Granted, Tim Drake/Wayne lives in a world of the fantastic, where men and women with powers and abilities beyond those of Mortal Man abound. But in the half-year of comics (presumably far, far less than 6 months’ in-continuity time), this is AT LEAST the second time he’s up and jetted back home for one crisis (Black Lanterns) or another (helping Chris Kent in this issue). Seems somehow a bit disjointed to me.

This issue sees Red Robin dealing with a motorcycle gang, with a last-minute assist from who he assumes to be Connor (Superboy), but turns out to be Chris (Nightwing). Chris convinces Tim to return with him to Gotham to free Flamebird from Penguin’s captivity. The two have to work together to deal with this foe, who is aided by the Kryptonite Man (I do long for the days when Kryptonite was rare and precious commodity in the DCU!).

This is but the first issue of four, spotlighting interactions between the various characters that make up the “Superman family” and the “Batman family.” It’s a bit early (too soon, really) to know for sure where the overall story is going to go. As-is, I can’t help but wonder if this will read more as a series of one-shots than a single direct narrative.

The writing itself is quite solid, though–Gates seems to have a good feel for the characters of BOTH “families,” within the current status quo (though it’s beginning to seem like Flamebird and Nightwing are spending almost as much time being knocked out and one, the other or both being taken prisoner as Adam West and Burt Ward’s Batman and Robin did in the 60s tv show!)

The art’s good stuff here, and captures much of the feel of the characters involved as I’d tend to expect them based on reading them in their respective series of late. I do like the art, and find it a good fit for these characters in and of itself. Really no complaint there.

Since World’s Finest is here purpoted to be a mini-series–and thus one should be able to assume self-contained to the mini’s run–this would seem to be a good point to jump aboard and get a look at the various characters in the status quo of late, without having to invest in multiple lengthy, over-arching stories. Just four issues, peek in, get a feel, and go from there.

Based on that, this is worth giving a look-see. The creative team is strong, and we are given a glimpse at the potential held in bringin the characters from both “families” together. In some ways, this might just be “Superman/Batman Lite,” teaming the characters up without hijacking the individual titles.r

Story: 6/10
Art: 8.5/10
Whole: 7/10

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, World's Finest | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Superman #693 [Review]

Posted on November 2, 2009 by Walt

7734

Writer: James Robinson
Penciller: Fernando Dagnino
Inker: Raul Fernandez
Colorist: Blond
Letterer: John J. Hill
Asst. Editor: Wil Moss
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover: Cafu, Santiago Arcas
Publisher: DC Comics

There’s a tone about the Superman family of titles lately. A lot of it’s visual–or at least, the visual that is associated with the unfolding story. More and more, I find my surface opinion, my initial thoughts toward these books colored by a disinclination TO like them in the first place. DC set out to do something that would drastically affect the feel or tone of the Superman books, and in that, they’ve succeeded. Whatever my feelings about the individual writers and/or artists, I’m beginning to feel like it’s a bit of a chore, following the main books.

This issue sees General Lane confronting Mon-El, trying to recruit him into the group made up of Metallo, Major Force, the Parasite, some magical character newly-introduced, and Atlas. When a plan to rebel is executed, a more “human” (or would that be “humane”?) side of General Lane is seen, with words exchanged between the two (and an editorial note indicating that Adventure Comics #2 takes place between the pages of this issue).

I have to admit I’m gladdened at the tighter continuity in the Superman books; the fact that while it’s not the same sort of direct continuation we had for over a decade with the triangle-numbering we’re still getting a larger well-connected narrative. At the same time, there’s a lot that I’m just not buying into. Chief among these elements is the “ressurrection” or “retcon” of General Lane’s being alive now, after the character’s fitting end in Our Worlds at War a few years ago. Though we see some of his human-ness here in this issue, it doesn’t do much to round him out, make him more than a caricature at present. To a large degree, this reads as “What If… General “Thunderbolt” Ross opposed Superman instead of The Hulk?” And while there’s no overt reign of darkness, the gathering of these “supervillains” as a military unit/black ops squad just reads as fairly ridiculous.

The art of the issue is not bad–it’s got its own style that sets it apart quite distinctly from others, and maintains a definite consistency with prior art teams on this book. While it admittedly not bad art by any means…the style just is not to my liking, which continues to taint the story as I have a hard time really getting into it, for noticing the art. If the visual style doesn’t bother you, or you’re a fan of the specific style, it may well be a great selling point. To the creative credit, I found myself quite surprised to discover that the creator credits on this issue seem to match those of the previous issue: something that seems quite rare in contemporary times, and as such, worth noting toward the positive.

This issue’s cliffhanger felt entirely out of nowhere–after an issue full of Mon-El dealing with Lane and 7734, we’re suddenly taken back to Metropolis and the Guardian leading the Science Police to engage the randomly-just-now-showed-up character likely to be the focus of the next issue. (We couldn’t get another couple pages of of Mon-El dealing with his place in the current status quo and end on that sort of note, with these last couple pages serving as a jumping-right-into-the-story kickoff for the next issue?)

Whatever the case, I find that it is presently the recollection of the last couple times I’ve tried to drop the Superman books that keeps me coming back–the idea that since it’s gotten GOOD within about 6 issues of my dropping the titles, hopefully I have but to wait out a few more issues.

As-is, if you’re not particularly invested in the current status quo flowing through the Superman books, this issue’s probably going to do nothing to “sell” you on the status quo nor to hook you into this title, to say nothing of the whole family of books.

Story: 3/10
Art: 5/10
Whole: 4/10

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Superman, World Without Superman (event) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Superman: Secret Origin #2 [Review]

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Walt

The Boy of Steel

Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciller: Gary Frank
Inker: Jon Sibal
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Steve Wands
Assoc. Editor: Wil Moss
Editor: Matt Idelson
Covers: Frank w/ Anderson
Publisher: DC Comics

The silver age is apparently back. This issue–while including smaller moments of Clark and his parents, and of Luthor and his own life, as well as some of LUthor’s interaction with Clark (establishing them as acquaintances if not exactly best buds)–primarily focuses on the Legion of Super-Heroes and their first meeting with Clark, and allowing him to tag along “back to the future” with them. While in the future, recently-introduced elements (I believe from Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes) are established as being present from the get-go of things. It’s also pretty easy to fit the original silver age story of the characters’ first meeting between the pages here. The issue’s finale introduces another character whose presence means the current Superman is all the more NOT the character I grew up on.

The story itself isn’t bad–Johns has a great handle on things. However, I’ve bristled for years now at elements being “snuck” back into the Superman mythos that I’ve thought make him too much “super” and not enough “man” and this story really puts aside any sneaking and is quite overt at putting things back into the mythos. At the same time, I imagine that going back to re-read Superman and the Legion will reveal references to what is shown in these pages.

I’ve been curious as to exactly what is and is not official cannon in the Superman books of late, so I’m glad to see his secret-since-Infinite-Crisis origin revealed at last. The execution seems to be working quite well, even if I don’t like the content all that much.

The art team provides fantastic visuals. Even Clark as “Superboy” comes across as pretty realistic–he looks rather awkward in the costume and it’s easy to see that he’s not entirely comfortable in it yet. At this point, Frank is pretty much my favorite Superman artist, and very certainly in the ranks of Dan Jurgens, Jim Lee, and Alex Ross.

Again, while far from enamored at the undoing of so much of the Superman I grew up with from 1989 to present…I can’t deny that in and of itself, the story and art are both of high quality, and taken apart from my preferred continuity, this issue has some of the best Superman work of the last decade.

Story: 8/10
Art: 9/10
Whole: 8.5/10

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Superman: Secret Origin | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Blackest Night: Titans #3 [Review]

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Walt

“When Doves Cry”

Written by: J. J. Krul
Art: Ed Benes
Inks: Scott Williams & Ed Benes
Colors: Hi-Fi Design
Letters: Rob Clark Jr.
Assoc. Editor: Adam Schlagman
Asst. Editor: Rex Ogle
Editors: Eddie Berganza & Brian Cunningham
Cover: Benes, Rob Hunter, & Rod Reis (variant by George Perez)
Publisher: DC Comics

In a way, when you get right down to it, there isn’t a whole lot to describe for this issue. The various Titans continue to deal with their respective Black Lanterns, who are dredging up some very specific and painful emotional reactions from the living heroes. However, as we see the Black Lantern Hawks accosting Dove, we witness an interesting reaction that is likely to play a key role in upcoming chapters of the Blackest Night event.

As a mini-series–as with the Batman and Superman ones that also ended this month–this doesn’t have a very satisfying conclusion, as we’re basically left with a lead-in to these characters joining the bigger party of the event now that their “foundation” and “connection” to the overall story has been established. While the incursion of the Black Lanterns was saved for the actual kickoff of the event with Blackest Night #1, this first wave of minis seem like they would have been better-served as either prologues, or triple-sized one-shots, to launch the respective characters into the event as a whole.

Despite that, as a reader not steeped in Titans knowledge nor invested in the ongoing series, it’s great to have a series that is reasonably accessible to chronicle the characters’ involvement in the event without having to have ongoing plots in the main book competing with the story elements of the event I’m following.

Donna Troy is forced to face her dead husband and child, and must overcome what her eyes tell her to act based on actual knowledge. Beast Boy faces the same challenge with his lost love, and has some self-realization in handling things. Dove (who seems to be the same character I recall being killed in Armageddon 2001 almost 20 years ago) is in a similar predicament as then, but doubled.

The visuals are very well-done, and really accentuate the story itself. The “big moment” of the issue with Dove is something that would not come off the same way with bad visual work. There’s also a bit at the end of the issue that really illustrates the way story and visuals work together in a comic in a way that isn’t possible with the same subtlety in a prose work.

As the final issue of a 3-issue arc, I don’t recommend this issue unless you can snag the first two; but taken with those first two and as its own story tied to Blackest Night, this is well worth your while. I suspect the older Titans fans more familiar with the characters and their history will appreciate things more; but for me, this has exposed me to characters I haven’t had much exposure to in awhile–if at all, and has put down groundwork for me to care about their involvement if they continue to play much of a role in Blackest Night.

Story: 7.5/10
Art: 8.5/10
Whole: 8/10

Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), Blackest Night: Titans, Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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