Comic Reviews by Walt

The Rest of the Stack is my general mini-review coverage of new comics for any given week. It’s in addition to (or in place of) full-size individual reviews. It’s far less formal, and more off-the-top-of-my head thoughts on the given comics than it is detailed reviews.

BATMAN #8

So, Night of the Owls begins. I’m totally torn on this event: I can’t quite decide if I want to jump in with both feet like I have with AvX, or wait for some inevitable collected edition. I did miss this the week it came out, so picked it up this past week–something I rarely do with comics anymore. The art holds up well–Capullo has a style that I’ve really come to associate with current Batman and for better or worse, owls. This issue’s story kicks things off with talons invading Wayne Manor, forcing Bruce and Alfred into defensive mode; in a way that seems quite appropriate for kicking off this sorta multi-title story. I absolutely do NOT like the $3.99 price, and the backup seems a bit of a waste–something that should’ve simply been published separately and given away to entice folks into things, or been “free” and that thing at the back of all the Bat-books for the week. I’d just dropped this title from my pull list and have none of the others on it…this tempts me toward Night of the Owls, but I may wait for reviews myself and backtrack or pick up the collected edition in a couple years when DC actually puts one out. (7/10)

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #9

Hard to believe this title is already at 9 issues. While I continue to quite enjoy it (and the assorted tie-ins/minis), it does seem it’s taken awhile to world-build. This issue sees April introduced to the turtles, who once introductions are finished follow a lead to track down their kidnapped father. Meanwhile, Splinter finds himself at the mercy of Old Hob, and then the force behind the mutated cat, and a new foe significantly dangerous to him and his sons. Visually, this issue continues the stylized take on the Turtles. ANd as usual, I like the style overall…though there are a few panels where it looks like the turtles could be green blobs wearing cardboard turtle-bellies. Story-wise, we get some good forward movement on the title with references to the recent solo-turtle one-shots to tie them firmly into the main story. Assuming the 2nd official arc was 4 issues like the first, this begins the title’s third arc–and given the last page, promises plenty of action and a certain familiarity to old fans despite being a new continuity. (8/10)

AVX: VS #1

This thing is quite upfront at what it is–FIGHTING. This title is not to advance the plot of the crossover, no particular reveals, and all that…this is just simply a couple of expanded fight-scenes detailing more of the fights seen in the main AvX title. This issue sees Iron Man vs. Magneto and The Thing vs. Namor. The Iron Man vs. Magneto fight was sorta interesting in a way–moreso than it probably ought to have been. But there are some REALLY far-fetched details that made me wonder if I’m reading a published-in-2012 comic or a published-in-the-1960s comic. Nothing particularly memorable in the Thing/Namor fight for me. The art for both segments worked well enough for me–and I really liked the full-page of Magneto–but overall, this was total fluff, hardly worth its cover price. Not bad, mind you, but this is entirely geared towards folks who want the fights and no plot. I’m thankful this is only 6 issues and not 12 alternating with the main title. There’s a bit of “fun” to this in a way–to see the characters really lay into each other. But I’m not really a “who would win..?” sorta guy, so this is more incidental than anything else…and simply proves to me that “who would win” is answered by “whoever the writer WANTS to win!” (6/10)

SECRET AVENGERS #26

This issue sees some of the Avengers in space, taking the fight TO the Phoenix. We get some team bonding as they head to the encounter, and some of the action of the fight itself. We also get a side plot involving the commandeering of the Phoenix for it’s “rebirth” faculty, which leads to a final page cliffhanger I actually saw coming thanks to an ad I’d already seen for the next issue. Story-wise, I liked this issue well enough; it has direct ties to the point of the crossover, sees the fight taken to the Phoenix instead of the thing merely looming over everyone. The art, though…absolutely NOT AT ALL to my taste, especially with a beautiful cover for contrast. This is another issue I’m jumping in on solely for the AvX crossover, and other stories be darned. For my intent, this is not a disappointment. (7/10)

UNCANNY X-MEN #11

As with other titles involved with the AvX event…I picked this up solely for the tie-in. The issue is primarily focused on Hope dealing with making her own decisions and not having them made FOR her, while Red Hulk and “Colossunaut” square off. We do get a nice moment at the issue’s end that sets some stuff in motion from Cyclops that is sure to play into the overall story. For having snagged this issue, it’s cool to see such a moment kicked off here…but it’s the sorta thing that can really be just an incidental detail to the core AvX, something that happened, but you don’t need its actual moment on-panel for the main event. Story’s not too impressive, but the art’s not bad at all. I’m increasingly disappointed that these issues are not all coming with the code for the digital version…that would really be a nice offset to the $3.99 cover price I so despise. (7/10)

NEW AVENGERS #25

This issue is almost entirely “flashback,” inserting the Phoenix Force into the past of the Iron Fist and his mythology. I don’t normally care for this sort of thing, but the way it’s done works well enough for me…though that may be because I’m not all that invested in the character, and am primarily familiar with him from a short (2-issue?) mini-series in the late 1990s, and whatever bits ‘n pieces of detail I’ve picked up since. Though the story and art aren’t bad, this issue has a lot of silent, huge panels and full-page/double-page splash images, including one that’s quite reminiscent of AvX #1, which does feel like a shortchanging on story content for the despised $3.99 cover price. I’ll be interested to see how this does affect Iron Fist in the next issue, assuming I don’t get disgusted with virtually every single tie-in being $3.99 and the constant full-page/double-page splashes of the Phoenix Force. I get it: the thing’s huge, and freakin’ powerful. It’s a cosmic entity. But for me, picking up all the tie-ins so far, the size/scope of the thing is cheapened a bit when it’s constantly shown in such huge panels. (7/10)

Filed under: Avengers vs. X-Men (event), AvX: Vs., Batman, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW), Uncanny X-Men | Tagged: avengers, Avengers vs. X-Men, Avx, AvX Vs, Batman, Comic Reviews, New Avengers, Ninja Turtles, Secret Avengers, TMNT, Uncanny X-Men, x-men | Leave a comment »