Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: Brightest Day (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Green Lantern | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, brightest day, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Diogenes Neves, emerald archer, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, J.T. Krul, man of the people, Mauro Cascioli, oliver queen, queen industries, Rob Leigh, Star City, Ulises Arreola, VIcente Cifuentes, White Lantern | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Action Comics
Story: 2.5/5
Art: 3/5
Captain Atom
Story: 2.5/5
Art: 2.5/5
Overall: 2.5/5
Filed under: Action Comics, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Action Comics, Alex Garner, Apocalypse Rao, Bit, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Eric Trautmann, Flamebird, Greg Rucka, Javier Mena, Matt Idelson, Nightwing, Pere Perez, Rao, Rob Leigh, Truth to Power, Wil Moss | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 4/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Green Lantern | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Blackest Night, Carrie Strachan, Christian Alamy, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Doug Mahnke, Eddie Berganza, Gabe Eltaeb, Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, Keith Champagne, Life Blood, Nekron, Randy Mayor, Rebecca Buchman, Rob Leigh, Sinestro, White Lantern, Xanshi | Leave a comment »
Fastest Man Alive
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciller: Ethan Van Sciver
Inkers: Ethan Van Sciver & Scott Hanna
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Colorist: Brian Miller of Hi-Fi
Colored by: Brian Miller of Hi-Fi
Cover by: Ethan Van Sciver
Assistant Editor: Chris Conroy
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Published by: DC Comics
This mini started out billed as a 5-issue series. Then it got expanded to 6 issues. This sixth/final issue comes basically 10 months after #1 shipped. Frankly, the issue–while something I’d like to…well, like…seems to be something that ought to have been wrapped up long before now.
Story-wise, we open on Barry and Wally chasing Zoom through time–the latter has vowed to kill Iris, the former are trying to stop him. Of course, the duo catch the villain and ensure he won’t threaten anyone ever again (well, for the rest of THIS issue, at least…it’s a comic. He’s gonna come back!). Then they return home where there’s a parade for Barry…I believe the one he was nervous about way back in issue #1. And what would a re-insertion of a classic character into contemporary continuity be without the “validation” of the Justice League affirming the return and his place with them?
The art for this issue–while good–lacks a certain sense of greatness, and isn’t nearly as appealing as I’d’ve hoped. Perhaps the lateness of the issue would suggest time was taken to really make it pop, or something. Even on a couple of the huge full-page/double-spread shots, I’m not entirely clear what’s being shown, though they make a little more sense when I take time to go back and “study” them, looking for what they COULD be, beyond what simply looking at them AS I read the story gives me. There’s one that I’m not sure if it’s being suggested that this chase through time IS the lightning that gave Barry his powers in the first place (which would seem to be a time paradox), or if they’re just viewing it, or if it’s just there to fill out the page and clue us in that they’ve reached the earliest time OF Barry’s time as The Flash.
The story itself mostly ties up the broadest of loose ends, but already sets the stage for not only the return of Zoom to active status, but also someone called “Doctor Alchemy,” who I presume is some largely un-used silver-age Flash villain that’s gonna be raised up to show us how awesome he can be, much as was done with Black Hand in Green Lantern (though I’m not expecting lightning to strike twice, in this case). Johns seems to have a definite love for the character, which I applaud…but this series in itself has done far too little to “sell” me on Barry as the primary Flash character (seems if anything, it’s been Johns using Barry to such good effect with Hal in Green Lantern and the core Blackest Night book that’s sold me at all on the merit of having Barry around.
Obviously, if you’ve already bought the first five issues, this issue’s one that you might as well consider picking up for the sake of completing the series. It’s in no way a selling point in itself though for the series, and based on this issue alone I’d suggest ignoring it. The collected volume will probably read much better, with the wait between issues stretching a mere turning of a page or two rather than months, and the whole of the story will be fresher in one’s head and thus probably feel more coherent.
As a whole, this issue’s quite a disappointment, a lukewarm ending to what should’ve been a hot series.
Story: 4/10
Art: 7/10
Overall: 5.5/10
Filed under: DC, DC Universe, Flash: Rebirth | Tagged: Barry Allen, Brian Miller, Chris Conroy, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Ethan Van Sciver, Fastest Man Alive, Flash, Flash: Rebirth, Geoff Johns, Hi-Fi, Joey Cavalieri, Rob Leigh, Scott Hanna, The Flash: Rebirth, Zoom | 1 Comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Green Lantern | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Blackest Night, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Doug Mahnke, Eddie Berganza, Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, New Guardians, Parallax, Parralax Rebirth, Randy Mayor, Rebirth, Rob Leigh | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 2.5/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 3/5
Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), Blackest Night: Flash, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Barry Allen, Bart Allen, Blackest Night, Blackest Night: Flash, blue lantern, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Flash, Geoff Johns, Kid Flash, Michael Atiyeh, Rob Leigh, Scott Kolins | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Action Comics
Story: 3/5
Art: 3/5
Captain Atom
Story: 0.5/5
Art: 2/5
Overall: 2.5/5
Filed under: Action Comics, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Action Comics, Bit, Book of Rao, Cafu, Captain Atom, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Divine Spark, Eric Trautmann, Fernando Dagnino, Flamebird, Greg Rucka, James Robinson, Javier Mena, Matt Idelson, Nightwing, Pere Perez, Raul Fernandez, Rob Leigh, Santiago, Santiago Arcas, Wil Moss, World Without Superman | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 4.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Green Lantern | Tagged: 50, Adam Schlagman, black lantern, Blackest Night, Christian Alamy, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Doug Mahnke, Eddie Berganza, Gabe Eltreb, Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, Mark Irwin, New Guardians, Parallax, Pete Pantazis, Randy Mayor, Rebecca Buchman, Rebirth, Rob Leigh, Spectre, Tom Nguyen | Leave a comment »
The Big Noise, part one: Rumble Face
Writer: Joe Casey
Pencils: Ardian Syaf
Inks: Vicente Cifuentes & David Enebral
Color: Ulises Arreola
Letters: Rob Leigh
Cover: Syaf, Cifuentes and Arreola
Assistant Editor: Rex Ogle
Editor: Eddie Berganza
I wanted to like this issue. I was even looking forward to it, on hearing the book would come back into continuity with stories revisiting previous events. In this case, Summer 2001’s “Our Worlds at War” crossover event. I couldn’t remember which issue would begin this new “format” or “focus” of the series, but when I saw the Our Worlds at War banner across the top, I was excited. A bit of nostalgia flooded in seeing the tag “Casualties of War!” included–several of those Casualties of War issues back in 2001 were among the most powerful comics I read that year. So to say that I had high hopes for this issue would probably be an understatement.
And as one might expect from my phrasing…this issue was extremely disappointing in its execution. Other than the time-frame it’s supposed to be set in, and references to the world having just been through a war, there’s not much that seems to solidly place this issue’s events as coming on the heels of Our Worlds at War itself.
I suspect this is another “standard” story arc…that is, six-issues and well-paced for the eventual “graphic novel,” which might even have some sales crossover with the 2-volume collected edition of the event, or the large “omnibus” TPB. As a single issue, though…this is entirely forgettable.
The story doesn’t even begin to hook me–the “hook” was the OWAW tie-in. The hope that I’d see something that would make this feel like a long-lost chapter of that story. That expectation never did deliver. I’m confident that once all 6 issues are assembled, and read in one-go, possibly following a re-reading of the original event…the OVERALL story is likely to come across much better.
The art is very solid throughout, and not at all a bad depiction of Superman nor Batman. I really have no complaint with the visuals…they’re actually quite good overall. Nothing memorable, exactly…just good, clean work.
Unless you don’t mind a slow build, and an issue that’s nothing more than introduction to a standardized-arc format, I’m highly disinclined to recommend this issue.
Story: 4/10
Art: 8/10
Overall: 5/10
Filed under: Comic Reviews 2010, DC, DC Universe, Superman/Batman | Tagged: Ardian Syaf, Batman, Big Noise, David Enebral, DC, DC Comics, Eddie Berganza, Joe Casey, Our Worlds at War, Rex Ogle, Rob Leigh, Rumble Face, Superman, Superman/Batman, Ulises Arreola, VIcente Cifuentes | Leave a comment »
Divine Spark, part 3
Writers: Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann
Artist: Pere Perez
Colorist: Javier Mena
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Cover: Cafu with Santiago Arcas
Asst. Editor: Wil Moss
Editor: Matt Idelson
With Chris safe (for now) from the aging that was killing him, Nightwing and Flamebird confront The Guardian and his Science Police as well as Mon-El. The confrontation sees revelations shared as to what the two are doing on Earth, and new alliances as the “true” “enemy” emerges. Lois confronts her father, and everyone’s lives are in jeaopardy at issue’s end.
I continue to hope for another spark of enjoyment of this title like I had during the Brainiac arc. While I still don’t like that Jonathan was killed off, there was something to Johns’ story then, and Frank’s art, that as a whole made for a very enjoyable product. Fair or not, that’s the standard I find myself holding this title to, and it’s a standard that–for me–is not met.
The story itself is fairly straightforward, and well within the bounds of the overall story being played out in the Superman family of comics from the past year-plus. It continues to hold potential, but somehow just doesn’t quite fully take off and actually do anything with it.
The visuals also are pretty solid, but not much to my liking–but as with all art, that can be very subjective. Characters are all recognizeable and no one comes across as particularly abnormal-looking, and there’s little trouble following the action. The art certainly fulfills its role that way…it just doesn’t have anything that leaves me in awe or particularly marveling at the issue’s visuals.
Taken in a vacuum, the story’s worn thin and worn out its welcome with me–I’m ready to see Superman restored to the blue and red as well as to his own title and this one. Taken in context of solicitations, previews, and the like…it’s great to know that the “status quo” is about to change, if only to see what the next “phase” of the overall Superman corner of the DCU will be like.
Captain Atom, Chapter Seven
Writer: James Robinson
Artist: Cafu
Colorist: Santiago Arcas
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Asst. Editor: Wil Moss
Editor: Matt Idelson
In this issue’s second feature slot, Captain Atom battles a number of other DC super-heroes in typical fashion before ultimately having a chance to explain himself and what he’s doing here. Others then step in, leaving us on a “cliffhanger.”
Visually, this segment isn’t all that bad, though the characters all come off with a somewhat generic appearance, almost a lack of some sort of detail I can’t quite put my finger on. The story is typical and seems to break no new ground, and really just serves to fill in a continuity hole, bridging events involving this character over the past six years.
While Captain Atom’s story is presently tied to the Superman books by story itself as well as being a second feature, it seems that his segment shortchanges the lead story, taking valuable space from that. It’d be preferable to have a separate bi-monthly or quarterly regular-sized-issues series to tie this character into things.
As a whole, this is another standard issue of the title. If you’re already following things, it’s worth continuing. If you’re on the fence…I can’t say this issue would really convince you to hop on in. I’m obviously not blown away by the issue…but neither am I convinced to drop it. Just disappointed that this doesn’t in any way feel like required Superman reading.
Action Comics
Story: 4/10
Art: 5/10
Captain Atom
Story: 4/10
Art: 5/10
Overall: 4.5/10
Filed under: Action Comics, Comic Reviews 2010, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Action Comics, Cafu, Captain Atom, Chris Kent, DC, DC Comics, Divine Spark, Dr. Light, Eric Trautmann, Flamebird, Greg Rucka, Guardian, James Robinson, Javier Mena, Matt Idelson, Nightwing, Pere Perez, Rob Leigh, Santiago Arcas, Superman, Wil Moss, World Against Superman | Leave a comment »
Comic Reviews by Walt 