Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Story: 3/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5
Filed under: Batman, cxPulp.com, DC, New 52, The | Tagged: Batman, Comic Reviews, Court of Owls, cxPulp, DC, DC Comics, FCO, Greg Capullo, Jimmy Betancourt, Jonathan Glapion, Katie Kubert, Mike Marts, New 52, Scott Snyder, The Talons Strike | Leave a comment »
Animal Man and Swamp Thing were my final DC holdouts. From around 30 of the New 52 #1s in September 2011, these were/are my March 2012 DC pulls. And it’s with these that I’ve pretty much made the decision that on the whole, the New 52 is not for me.
In Animal Man, we’ve seen the reintroduction of Buddy and his family. We’ve been introduced to the idea of his daughter as the new champion of The Red, and that they’re all going to be facing The Rot. After an adventure in The Red where things have been set up, this issue finds the Baker family on the run, just trying to survive and figure out what comes next. Of course, any proactivity as to “what comes next” is out the window when they find a less than pleasing sight outside their RV.
In Swamp Thing, we’ve had the reintroduction of Alec Holland and Abigail Arcane, the reintroduction of The Green and the idea of them having to face The Rot. Seven issues in, and we seem to finally find Alec Holland once again being placed into his most well known form–as the Swamp Thing. And by issue’s end, something new has been set in motion, as this title finds itself on a collision course with events being set up simultaneously in Animal Man.
Where Swamp Thing was one of my original “picks” of the New 52, it was positive buzz over Animal Man and the realization of it tying in to Swamp Thing that helped draw me into that book. Yet, seven issues in with both titles…I find myself simply uninterested. The issues feel fairly short. I’m not a huge fan of the art on either title–the art on Animal Man is rather disturbing–in a way that fits this version of the title, but it’s not to my tastes; while on Swamp Thing it’s pretty to look at but still has something “off” about it. I don’t really want “surreal” in the visuals, and neither book seems to just flow visually, distinctively.
And at this point, I’d just as soon wait a few months and snag the issues from bargain bins, or perhaps sometime next year or in a couple years double back for the collected volumes–if there are any, at DC’s glacial collecting pace.
These aren’t bad titles–there’s loads of potential, and I still have an interest in where things are going. Just not enough interest…not for going month by month when I have to basically force myself to read the single issues.
Fitting, I suppose, that what look to be my final “regular” DC purchases for the foreseeable future were two of the first books to sport DC‘s new Get Glue-ish “hey, everyone’s all about these ‘stickers’ things!” logo.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Animal Man, DC, DC Comics, New 52, Swamp Thing | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Story: 2.5/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 2/5
Filed under: cxPulp.com, DC, New 52, The, Superman | Tagged: Brett Smith, Brian Buccellato, Comic Reviews, Dan Jurgens, DC, DC Comics, George Perez, Jesus Merino, Keith Giffen, Matt Idelson, Measure of a Superman, New 52, Nicola Scott, Richard Horie, Rob Leigh, Superman, Tanya Horie, Trevor Scott, Wil Moss | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Story: 2.5/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 2.5/5
Filed under: Batman: The Dark Knight, cxPulp.com, DC, New 52, The | Tagged: Bane, Batman, Comic Reviews, Dark Knight, David Finch, DC, DC Comics, Jeromy Cox, Joe Harris, Mike Marts, Paul Jenkins, richard friend, Rickey Purdin, Rise of Bane, Run Rabbit Run, Sal Cipriano | 1 Comment »
As I’ve not been blogging regularly lately, there are a number of things I’ve been thinking about, had thoughts about, and generally considered blogging about/retreading, but haven’t. I sat down Saturday morning for awhile and typed a lot more than I intended. So I’ve broken that into several posts (this is one of those posts).
NEW 52 IN GENERAL
I gave the “New 52” a much bigger chance than I’d intended to–I think I’d ultimately picked up 28-30 of the books. Dropped sharply for the #2s going down to only about a dozen, then I cut to Superman, Batman, Animal Man, and Swamp Thing; now I’ll be down to Animal Man and Swamp Thing…and even those are honestly on shaky ground with me. I don’t know if this “environment” of all these titles is anything like early post-Crisis on Infinite Earths DCU, but right now I’m not “sold” long-term for DC. I suppose I’m looking at the reboots of the entire Wildstorm line and wondering (still) if there’ll be another reboot, or a regression back to the “old” DCU (despite DC’s current protestations to the contrary). With the addition of the Earth-2 stuff, at the least there seems to be enough of a breakup of things that I don’t really “get” a feel of a “unified whole” for the current DCU…more a vehicle for various creators to tie in or not to stuff.
And frankly, rather than grudgingly purchase monthly titles and grouse that this isn’t “MY” DCU…since I’m so entrenched in the 1980s/90s/00s DCU, I may as well put my efforts toward tracking down runs of the Bat-books, and reading those instead.
I’m not actively opposed to the New 52/etc…but it seems to me DC should have gone “all the way” and fully relaunched even the Batman and Green Lantern books, such that the New 52 would be a truly full start. Because of the mixed bag of stuff, it creates a sense of half-assedness for me. I’m not actively opposed to giving parts of the New 52 a chance; the problem is that I am not all that actively INTERESTED in much of the New 52.
COMIC BOOK MEN
I watched Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men last Sunday, and will probably watch again this week. I’m not all that enamored with it…but it’s tv involving an actual comic store with actual comics and such. As so many others have said…it’s like Pawn Stars meets Comic Shop. I’m not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t really it. Still, it’s on immediately following The Walking Dead which I’m going to be watching anyway…so CBM has a prime timeslot to retain me as part of its audience.
UNINTERESTING SPIDEY
Two years after a friend loaned me a stack of comics (which I’ve been remiss in taking so long, but that’s another issue) I still can’t get myself truly interested in Spider-Man. It’s taken several spurts of self-forced reading to make any real headway into the “Brand New Day era” and even any positives I’m finding are pretty incidental. Initially I stayed away specifically because of Marvel doing away with the Peter/MJ marriage. But however solid the writing for the BND stuff may be, I’m just finding myself having a problem connecting with any of the characters; even if I don’t miss the marriage itself amidst the stories so far, this take on Spidey is just NOT INTERESTING to me.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Brand New Day, Comic Book Men, comics, DC Comics, New 52, Spider-Man | Leave a comment »
Finally catching up on my comics reading, neglected these past weeks for reading the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson, and George R. R. Martin‘s Game of Thrones.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: DC, DC Comics, New 52 | Leave a comment »
So…the long-rumored “Watchmen 2” is officially Before Watchmen, the collective heading for 7 mini-series and a one-shot. (Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre with 4 issues each; Minutemen, Comedian, and Ozymandias with 6 issues each, and Before Watchmen: Epilogue.
By my count, that’s 35 issues. Assuming all are $2.99 cover price, that’s $105. Whereas the original, complete story of Watchmen for the past quarter-century has been a single $20 volume. Not nearly as enticing for purposes of purchasing.
This project in one swoop makes the original a mere quarter of the whole. Though still a whole itself, it’ll now be PART OF a larger “universe.”
And DC does not have the greatest track record with me when it comes to collected volumes, and no comics company has any great record anymore with PRICING of collected volumes. (Collected volumes being my first thought, because I just cannot see spending 35 weeks trying to follow these in singles rather than a whole story for any given character). Heck, for the entirety of my awareness of comics (going back nearly 24 years), Watchmen has existed as a collected volume.
Yet despite any and all negative thoughts toward this…I have to admit…I cannot see avoiding these on any principle. I may avoid a FORMAT (singles), I may opt to get whatever collected volumes from the local library…but I’m fairly certain I’ll read these. And then I’ll go back to the original, and re-read that, and it’ll be in a new light. New details from the prequels to impact the emotional impact…worst-case, the original could be a palate-cleanser.
The official announcement of these minis came today, from DC‘s The Source blog. Interviews and cover images and such are scattered across media outlets…and the above constitutes my own initial thoughts/gut reactions to the basic announcement that these’ll exist. PLENTY of time yet for all the news and hubbub to “convert” me OR “sour” me on these. Time will tell.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Before Watchmen, Before Watchmen Epilogue, Comedian, DC Comics, Dr. Manhattan, Minutemen, Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Rorschach, Silk Spectre, Watchmen, Watchmen2 | Leave a comment »
Quick Rating: Fantastic
Story Title: Book Five
The Legions come together as their foes are dealt with and the story winds down.
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: George Perez
Inker: Scott Koblish
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letters: Nick Napolitano
Assoc. Editor: Adam Schlagman
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: George Perez & Nei Ruffino
Publisher: DC Comics
In some ways, I hardly remember the last issue. It hasn’t been as long as it could have been…but long enough as we’re something like a half-year out from the ending of Final Crisis itself. Despite that…the wait seems to be worth it: this was a fantastic issue. I imagine I must’ve used phrasing like that before, but it fits here. There’s so much action and the pages are just filled with visual details on top of what we’re given overtly in words from the story.
The previous issue saw the return of OUR Superboy–Connor Kent. This series has also seen the return of Bart Allen (Kid Flash). Together with Superman and three different versions of the Legion, the characters work together to (would there be expectation otherwise?) overcome their foes.
We see a bit of personality from each version of the Legions (if not on an individual level in all cases). We have a satisfying conclusion to the story that makes sense. And we get set-up for a new ongoing series featuring these characters.
Johns’ writing is on a high level here, making use of story elements from the past few years–and going back through the history of these characters–and crafting what for now is THE Legion of Super-Heroes story to me. The story draws from elements seeded across numerous other books, and though this is a Legion-centric story, it borrows elements from throughout the DC universe as a whole.
Perez‘ art is top-notch as well with a level of detail that continues to impress me. His rendition of most of these characters comes off as iconic–and in many ways, this is the best I’ve seen many of the characters look.
I got a real kick out of seeing Superboy-Prime’s ultimate fate as the character comes full circle (though one should be careful what one wishes for), and there’s some interesting subtext to be taken from it as the character speaks right to the reader–or at least the comic-reading audience as a whole. Whether this is to drive home a purpose for the character and his unique position for executing this dynamic or is a way of Johns speaking to the audience…or both…it makes for a very satisfying conclusion.
I don’t feel like this story really justified its having the Final Crisis tag, as any tie it may have had to that story seemed to be covered in the actual Final Crisis series. This story ends without sending characters into Final Crisis (late or otherwise) but rather sends them toward adventure taking place after that event.
Despite severe lateness and showing no real justification for the Final Crisis tag, this concluding issue is not to be missed if you’ve at all enjoyed the story so far. If you’ve not read it at all…whether you’re a long-time Legion of Super-Heroes fan or have never touched an issue of any version of the Legion, I’d recommend considering the collected volume.
Ratings:
Story: 4.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Filed under: Classic Reviews | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Comic Reviews, Dave McCaig, DC Comics, Eddie Berganza, Final Crisis, Geoff Johns, George Perez, Hi-Fi, Legion of 3 Worlds, Nei Ruffino, Nick Napolitano, Scott Koblish | Leave a comment »
Quick Rating: Fantastic
Story Title: Book Four
Members of the Legions of Super-Heroes battle Superboy Prime and the Legion of Supervillains, while Brainiac 5’s plans bear further fruit, and the Time Trapper stands revealed.
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: George Perez
Inker: Scott Koblish
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letters: Nick Napolitano
Assoc. Editor: Adam Schlagman
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: (Reg) George Perez & Tom Smith, (Sliver) George Perez & Hi-Fi
Publisher: DC Comics
I’m no fan of variant covers, and any kind of marketing ploy to con people into buying the same content multiple times. Thankfully (despite dual covers), this issue is not that. But this issue cements this Legion story for me as one that I absolutely want to get in hardcover. And given the trend with DC’s books…I will be shocked if this series does NOT get the hard-cover treatment out of the gate.
The battle between the Legions rages on, as they combat their enemies in the Legion of Villains. As the brawls unfold, we see the Time Trapper step into things in-person, no longer simply manipulating…and while he has planned things, we see Brainiac 5 pull stuff together as seeds he’s planted through time come to fruition at long last–including a major element that has taken 1,000 years to come to this very moment…though things look like they might not quite work out as he planned. Superboy Prime faces off with the just-returned/resurrected Kid Flash (Bart Allen), and sees that his ‘nightmare’ is just beginning. Issue’s end sets up stuff for next issue’s conclusion, and goes a long way toward making me interested in Superboy Prime and the Time Trapper.
The story in this issue feels like it flies along. Where earlier issues in the series felt really long, this one actually felt short…and yet, there’s still quite a lot unfolding, as we se so many characters doing so much in these pages. The foundation Johns put down in the earlier issues and pulling from prior continuity bear major fruit here, and the payoff more than offsets the long wait between issues (and at this point, I think of this story simply as Legion of 3 Worlds, and forget the Final Crisis tag as best I’m able). Johns certainly has a grasp on these characters–or at least, for a reader such as myself, he sure seems to have that grasp on ’em…without someone more steeped in Legion history pointing out individual flaws to me, I have no problem with the way characters are depicted here.
The art for the issue is fantastic as well…aside from the overt visual style, there’s something to the overall imagery (the art, the inking, the colors) that subtley remind me of past comics. The depiction of the Time Trapper really puts me in mind of his depiction in Zero Hour (the last I recall seeing much of the character), which to me marks an incredible consistency that just adds to the appeal of this issue. Yeah, it’s been forever between issues–and I normally would have let a series go by now in protest of the delay–but this is one series that really is too good to give up on.
I don’t know how things will play out for the final issue–nor how characters pulled into this story will work afterwards in terms of interaction throughout the DCU…but just the fact of their presence here makes me one happy camper, and gives me new appreciation for and interest in the Legion as a whole.
Obviously, the 4th issue of 5 isn’t a great jump-on point…but if you’ve considered skipping this and the final issue for delays, I’d encourage you to forego that and just pick it up if you enjoyed the earlier issues. And if you’ve not picked any of these up and have the chance to snag the whole story so far, it’s well worth it.
Highly recommended!
Ratings:
Story: 4.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Filed under: Classic Reviews | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Comic Reviews, Dave McCaig, DC Comics, Eddie Berganza, Final Crisis, Geoff Johns, George Perez, Hi-Fi, Legion of 3 Worlds, Nick Napolitano, Scott Koblish, Tom Smith | Leave a comment »
Quick Rating: Very Good
Story Title: Book Three
Legions good and bad fight a battle on multiple fronts while we learn more of the future and what it holds.
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: George Perez
Inker: Scott Koblish
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letters: Nick Napolitano
Assoc. Editor: Adam Schlagman
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: (Reg) George Perez & Dave McCaig, (Sliver) George Perez & Hi-Fi
Publisher: DC Comics
This issue is jam-packed with loads of action, revelation, and character development.
We begin on Oa with a confrontation with Sodam Yat who has just memorialized the last of the Green Lanterns…yet, fellow Daxamite Mon-El challenges him to make a difference in the universe, particularly in the Legion’s current battle with Superboy Prime. The battle between the Legions of Super-Heroes and Legion of Super-Villains in Metropolis continues as everyone squares off amidst much collateral damage. While that battle rages, other plans have been set into motion as part of a grander plan orchestrated by Brainiac 5. One plan comes to fruition, adding a not unfamiliar ally to the party.
This is good stuff. Though this issue is very, very late–something I really don’t like–one cannot deny the quality to the product itself. Story and art are both of high quality here, and continue to sell me not only on this series, but the Legion itself as envisioned by Johns.
The story keeps stuff moving forward; there’s plenty of action–AND smaller moments–with a bit of face-time for characters from multiple Legions (though probably not nearly enough for fans of any version shorted on the face-time). The other drawback to such a dense story is that–as a Legion newcomer–I wondered a couple times if I was missing a page or an entire issue. This is made up for with some satisfying pay-off at issue’s end.
The art is at least as dense as the story, perhaps eclipsing the story–virtually every page has loads of characters, dialogue boxes, and word balloons. In a day where many other comics might have a couple word balloons and a dialogue box for an entire page or a double-page silent spread, I’m lovin’ this.
Long-time DCU readers should find this issue of particular interest whether they’ve been following this mini or not. While not the best issue to have as one’s first, for continuing readers this should be a blast.
Very much recommended.
Ratings:
Story: 4.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Filed under: Classic Reviews | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Comic Reviews, Dave McCaig, DC Comics, Eddie Berganza, Final Crisis, Geoff Johns, George Perez, Hi-Fi, Legion of 3 Worlds, Nick Napolitano, Scott Koblish | Leave a comment »
Comic Reviews by Walt 