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Randomish thoughts

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Walt

– I’ve passed on buying the Cry for Justice JLA mini-series partially for the cover price…but mostly because I am So. Freaking. Frustrated. with the FREQUENT use of splitting singular images across multiple covers…of the same stupid ISSUE. Make issues 1-2 go together for a single image. Spread an image across issues 1-3.  Spread an image across chapters 1-2, or chapters 1-3, or however many “panels” the image is made of. But darnit, DC…quit doing it across multiple single-panel/front-covers of the same issue!

– I’ve lost track of all the Marvel comics that I have passed on due to the $3.99 price.  Marvel, I assume you’re making plenty of money to cover for what I’m NOT buying. But I’ve been tempted a lot of times by random Marvel issues–whether Dark Wolverine #75 for a couple reviews I read, issues of Old Man Logan where I’ve contemplated picking up all the issues available so far, or any of a number of one-shots when I just want to add an extra comic to my stack or whatever. But I always put the issue(s) back or neglect to touch them when I realize/recall that hey…they’re $3.99, and that’s TOO MUCH in my mind for a standard (Marvel) comic.

– I’ve passed on the single issues of Astro City: Dark Age this time around…though I was sorely tempted to snag issues 2-3 this week just because they were there.  But they’re $3.99 and I see no point to the cardstock covers…just give me a paper cover and newsprint interior so I can read the darned story…save the high-quality cover stock and paper for the collected volumes!

– I’m debating whether or not to “pre-order” a “subscription” to the upcoming “Archie gets married” arc kicking off with Archie #600.  Saw an ad on facebook–one that was PROPERLY targeted (I’ve clicked on more comic-related and new-books-related ads than I have anything else–wish they’d get the hint and stick to those instead of the assinine personals/etc. ads!). Probably going to opt for the singles, provided I can find ’em. Missed on the Freshman Year arc because no one ever had the 1st issue of the arc, or a middle issue was missing (i’m NOT going to buy parts 2 and 4-5 without 1 and 3 at the same time, for example). If it was chapters 1-4 or 2-5, I might go for it and hunt the missing chapter as a single.

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

Green Lantern #42 [Review]

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Walt

Full review posted to comixtreme.com.

Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

Filed under: cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Green Lantern | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Unwritten #2 [Review]

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Walt

Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity: Chapter Two

Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Peter Gross
Colors: Chris Chuckry, Jeanne McGee
Letters: Todd Klein
Editor: Pornsak Pichetshote
Cover: Yuko Shimizu
Publisher: Vertigo / DC Comics

This issue continues to show us Tom Taylor and his quest for the truth–of himself, his dad, and what’s going on around him. He seeks out the woman his father had an affair with while he was a boy to ask her about his real mother. He’s referred to where his father was last seen, and heads there. The present-day story is interspersed with excerpts from the Tommy Taylor books, adding an extra layer to the story.

The art continues to work very well for the story, taking on the appropriate visual style for showing the ‘real world’ or the world within the Tommy Taylor books. No complaints from me there.

The story also continues to impress–there’s definite development of Tom, and forward movement to the story; between the pages showing excerpts from the books as well as “web activity” related to “current events” in the present-day part of the story, there’s a lot going on within these pages that help to make it feel like a longer read than it is–one cannot simply flip through the pages skimming the words as one can with some comics these days.

I’m not as blown away with this issue as I was with the first, having extremely high expectations after enjoying the premiere issue so thoroughly (plus, this issue managed to sneak out two weeks ago and I didn’t even notice it the week it was released).

While certainly not a done-in-one story, I do feel like I’m getting a decent value following this as single issues (for all two issues out so far)–I hope it continues that way, making the collected volume feel like less of a necessity for enjoyment of the story at hand.

If you can find that first issue still, I highly recommend snagging both issues–especially if you’re a fan of Harry Potter or have any interest (even academically) in the nature of the “phenomenon” surrounding the Harry Potter books.

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

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, DC, The Unwritten, Vertigo | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Wonder Woman #33 [Review]

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Walt

Rise of the Olympian part 8 (Finale): Monarch of the Dead

Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Aaron Lopresti
Inker: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Associate Editor: Sean Ryan
Editor: Elisabeth Gehrlein
Cover: Aaron Lopresti & Hi-Fi (variant by Bernard Chang)
Publisher: DC Comics

In a time where the standard story arc wraps in six issues, this arc has taken eight issues. As such, it’s seemed a little long…but at the same time, it’s made up the entirety of my Wonder Woman purchasing of the last few years. It’s also–at 8 issues–made up probably the single longest stretch of my buying a Wonder Woman title, ever. All that being credit to Simone’s writing and grasp of the character, presenting both character and goings-on in an interesting light sufficient to keep me coming back month after month.

This issue opens with the Amazons finding the broken/battered body of their champion and then entering battle with Zeus’ male warriors. Wonder Woman–Diana–enters the fray, and takes on Ares–the god of war–who has long plagued her and her sisters. By her actions, the status quo for Diana as well as her mother and sisters is changed, as we clearly see what gave this arc its title.

The story in this issue is quite good–though some parts seemed a bit forced, and I didn’t enjoy it in and of itself as much as I would have hoped. Nothing seems to come out of nowhere, everything having basis in what’s been established in earlier issues. I do feel almost like I missed an issue, and nearly didn’t even READ this issue, thinking that I really HAD missed an issue. The visuals continue to hold up very well, and I have no complaint on that aspect of the book.

If you’ve not followed this story in single issues, I would definitely recommend the collected volume, as this seems likely be one of THE Wonder Woman stories…and certainly is poised to be integral to the character moving forward in the near future.

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

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Wonder Woman | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Superman #689 [Review]

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Walt

The Tourist

Writer: James Robinson
Penciler: Renato Guedes
Inker: Jose Wilson Magalhaes
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: John J. Hill
Asst. Editor: Wil Moss
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover: Andrew Robinson
Publisher: DC Comics

This issue focuses primarily on Mon-El exploring the world and encountering trouble all across the globe. He tries to visit one place, and winds up in the middle of a metahuman conflict; he goes to help with a conflict and gets to visit something significant. Meanwhile, the Guardian deals with Morgan Edge calling out the public on Mon-El’s presence…something which Edge then spins back into his own favor once again. We also see General Lane interacting with the Prankster about getting another hero out of town…and preparing for yet another of Metropolis’ heroes to take the big dirt nap.

The art as usual isn’t much to my taste, not really enjoying Guedes’ style, nor that of the rest of the art team surrounding his pencils…though that’s personal taste, and is not to say that the art is horrible: it just doesn’t suit me, and thus detracts from my enjoyment of the book. It still gets across what it needs to–and does so effectively.

The story itself gives me mixed things: on the one hand, it’s doing a good job of keeping me interested in Mon-El’s development as well as the Guardian, especially as the two outright take the place of Superman in his own title for the fourth or fifth issue of at least a year’s worth. On the other hand, I find myself more and more skeptical of the General Lane subplot–whatever the character was depicted as prior to Our Worlds at War, now he seems like a derivitive rip-off of General Ross from the Hulk book(s)…and by his associations in this issue, begins to feel like he’s being shoehorned into the role of a new Lex Luthor quasi-archetype…the primary human enemy of Superman/Kryptonians, including having metahuman “lackeys.” We also get a return of a character at the very end that I didn’t care for the first time around.

If you’ve been following the title, may as well stick on with it–this shows Mon-El experiencing the world he’s sworn to protect as he avoids facing the fact of his mortality. If you’ve not been following things…well, you may not really care for this.

Story: 5/10
Art: 4/10
Whole: 4.5/10

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

Action Comics Annual #12 [Review]

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Walt

Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Pere Perez
Colorist: Mazi
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Asst. Editor: Wil Moss
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover: Renato Guedes
Publisher: DC Comics

I bought this comic out of a combination of “habit” and the fact that it is part of the ongoing narrative of the Superman family of books these days (even though it sports a black “S” in place of a number for this issue’s place in the overall sequence of things).

This issue’s story details how Chris Kent went from the kid we saw in “Last Son” to where we saw him during the initial New Krypton event as the new Nightwing. It also details how Flamebird got to be what/where she is. Since the point of this annual IS the filling in of those gaps in info, I’m not going to dance around the plot being all vague and such beyond what I’ve already said.

The art works quite well on the whole here–I especially liked the depiction of the Phantom Zone as compared to the 3-D crap foisted on us with the Last Son arc. The way it was depicted here gets the same effect across without resorting to the stupid stunt of needing 3-D glasses to see panels clearly and such. I’m not a fan of the newer costumes for Nightwing & Flamebird…something about the looks just doesn’t work for me, regardless of the in-story explanation for them. Despite that complaint, the way they’re depicted is about as good as I suppose I can expect of these costumes.

While this story sheds further light on the characters (even adding a bit to Non, which I liked) it doesn’t seem entirely essential. One could almost see it as one of those guides to a new DVD player’s remote: the buttons on the device are fairly intuitive and you can get by without the guide…but the guide fills in that much more and does give you a different overall experience for having read it than not.

However, I do think the $5 price tag on this issue was just a bit steep–even just the difference to $4.50 would be preferable, steep as that is as well. If the price doesn’t bother you too much, this is a good issue to pick up.

Story: 7.50/10
Art: 8/10
Whole: 7.5/10

Filed under: Action Comics, Action Comics Annual, Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Brave and the Bold #24 [Review]

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Walt

Last Time I Saw Paris

Writer: Matt Wayne
Artist: Howard Porter
Colorist: Tom Chu
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor: Chris Conroy
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Howard Porter
Publisher: DC Comics

Though I’ve “heard” that Static’s been appearing in the Teen Titans book, I’ve not been reading that corner of the DCU…so this is one of the first times I’ve seen the character interact directly with the other DCU characters. Offhand, the only other instance I’ve seen of Static in the mainline DCU was a reference somewhere by Black Lightning about being asked about his relation TO Static. So seeing the two teamed up for this issue was something that seemed interesting enough to check out.

Story-wise, some super-powered villain called Holocaust bursts onto the scene, and both Black Lightning and Static are present and leap into action to protect those around them and deal with the threat. The relationship between the two changes during the issue, winding up with a mutual respect.

The visuals aren’t bad–at some points, they seem a bit “off” to me ever so slightly–but on the whole make for a solid visual experience. The story itself is ok, if a bit cliched. However, given that this is essentially a one-off issue–we have a complete “story” told in this one issue that does not require one to have bought the previous issue nor a need to buy the next issue for continuation/conclusion. Your $2.99 cover price investment nets you the entirety of this particular Black Lightning/Static story.

On the whole given all that, this was a nice fun issue and well worth its cover price. I’d been under the impression that this title was still doing ongoing arcs, just with different pairings of characters taking the lead/spotlight. As a book that gives complete done-in-ones spotlighting such pairings, I’d totally be on-board. After the Booster Gold/Magaog issue last month and now this, I’ll be keeping my eye on the book.

Well worth picking up if you’re a fan of either/both characters.

Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Whole: 8/10

Filed under: Brave and the Bold, Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Supergirl #42 [Review]

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Walt

Who is Superwoman? conclusion: epilogues & homecomings

Writer: Sterling Gates
Penciller: Fernando Dagnino
Inker: Jamal Igle
Colorist: Nei Ruffino
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Asst. Editor: Wil Moss
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover: Joshua Middleton
Publisher: DC Comics

We see more wrap-up on stuff from the Who Is Superwoman? arc here as Supergirl faces Lana and Lois–telling the latter about the death of her sister. Lana fills Supergirl in on the relationshp between Lois and Lucy, while we see General Lane dealing with the death of his daughter.

This issue worked a lot better for me than the previous issue–while I don’t totally “buy” Lucy’s military career and role as Superwoman, it’s a lot easier to “buy” the fact that something horrible happened (her death) and someone having to break the news to Lois. This also adds a bit of depth (cold as it is) to General Lane’s character as he comes to grips with what he’s lost.

Gates seems to hve a good handle on these characters and the relationships they have between one another–such as in Lois’ handling of the news she’s presented with. Though on the book less than a year now, Gates has turned this from an outer-rim sorta book almost embaressingly tied to the Superman family into one integral to the family of books, making Supergirl into a real-seeming teenage girl (albeit alien and with tremendous super-powers). Igle’s style continues to work very well with the stories–though my sole gripe continues to be the way ears are drawn, for whatever reason.

All in all, another strong issue of this title, well worth reading if you’ve been following the book. If you’ve not been following it, you’ll likely be fairly lost, as much of the action in this issue comes from what’s transpired in the last few issues.

Story: 7/10
Art: 7/10
Whole: 7/10

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Supergirl | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 [Review]

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Walt

Full review posted to comixtreme.com.

Batman: Streets of Gotham
Story: 4/5
Art: 4/5

Manhunter
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 3.5/5

Overall: 4/5

Filed under: Batman: Reborn (event), Batman: Streets of Gotham, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Booking Through Thursday: Fantasy and Sci-Fi

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Walt

Booking Through Thursday.

One of my favorite sci-fi authors (Sharon Lee) has declared June 23rd Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Day.

As she puts it:

So! In my Official Capacity as a writer of science fiction and fantasy, I hereby proclaim June 23 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day! A day of celebration and wonder! A day for all of us readers of science fiction and fantasy to reach out and say thank you to our favorite writers. A day, perhaps, to blog about our favorite sf/f writers. A day to reflect upon how written science fiction and fantasy has changed your life.

So … what might you do on the 23rd to celebrate? Do you even read fantasy/sci-fi? Why? Why not?

I’m not sure I’ll do anything to ‘celebrate’…I’m not much for the “big” holidays, even.

Fantasy/Sci-Fi is the primary genre I read in.  I haven’t read many of the “classics” in Sci-Fi; Ender’s Game is probably about the most “mainstream” sci-fi I’ve read. (Then again, I’ve read a number of Star Trek novels as well…)

I’ve enjoyed the Battletech books I’ve read, and I’ve read some of the more recent (2002-ish) Mechwarrior volumes (in part due to a brief period of time involved with the Mechwarrior: Dark Age miniatures game with some friends in my college days).

I’ve mentioned the Aliens series several times in earlier BTT posts–I’ve read the novelizations of the films, and about 2/3 of the novels based on the comics, and several of the Dark Horse Comics Omnibus volumes.

Some Star Trek, Stargate, Highlander, and a Star Wars novel or two can be added to the stack; and I’m sure I’ve read plenty of other sci-fi I’m not thinking of offhand…especially from the Science Fiction and Fantasy and Tolkien and Culture courses I took my junior and senior years of college.

Fantasy-wise, I’ve read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings; the primary series I’ve read in the genre, though are Dragonlance and Magic: The Gathering.

Comics-wise, it seems that a lot of the superhero stuff can be in one or both genres without being so overtly.  Superman involves plenty of science fiction elements (and certainly the same sort of “suspension of disbelief”) and yet would probably be classified “comics” or “super-hero” before “sci-fi.”  Ditto Green Lantern, and pretty much any of the “cosmic books” from DC or Marvel (or any smaller publisher. Runners, or the TMNT for example).

It’s also interesting to note that what was once only science fiction in some cases either IS–or is close to being–science reality.  And that while something may be fantasy, that does not render it un-real.

Now, despite my opening statement…perhaps–assuming I remember–I WILL blog on the topic in recognition of the day. Time’ll tell.

Filed under: Booking Through Thursday, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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