Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
Filed under: Codename: Patriot (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Superman: World of New Krypton | Tagged: Brad Anderson, Codename: Patriot, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Greg Rucka, James Robinson, Krypton, Matt Idelson, New Krypton, Pete Woods, Steve Wands, Superman, Superman: World of New Krypton, Wil Moss, World of New Krypton | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Blackest Night, Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, Bleez, Blume, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Ed Benes, Eddy Barrows, Gene Ha, Geoff Johns, Larfleeze, Nei Ruffino, Pete Pantazis, Peter J. Tomasi, Rob Hunter, Ruy Jose, Sal Cipriano, Steve Wands, Tales of the Corps, Tales of the Orange Lanterns, Tales of the Red Lantern Corps, Tales of the Star Sapphires, Tom Mandrake | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: cxPulp.com, DC | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Blackest Night, Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, Chris Samnee, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Ed Benes, Geoff Johns, Hi-Fi, Indigo Tribe, Jerry Ordway, John Kalisz, Mongul, Nei Rufino, Peter J. Tomasi, Rags Morales, Rob Hunter, Saint Walker, Sal Cipriano, Steve Wands, Tales of the Blue Lantern, Tales of the Blue Lantern Corps, Tales of the Corps, Tales of the Indigo Tribe, Tales of the Sinestro Corps | Leave a comment »
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: Batman, Batman Reborn, Batman: Streets of Gotham, co-feature, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Derek Fridolfs, Dustin Nguyen, Georges Jeanty, Ignition, Janelle Siegel, John Kalisz, Karl Story, Manhunter, Marc Andreyko, Mike Marts, Nick Filardi, Paul Dini, Sal Cipriano, Second Feature, Steve Wands, Strange Bedfellows, Streets of Gotham | Leave a comment »
Mr. WHo? Mr. Atom!
Written By: Art Baltazar & Franco
Drawn By: Byron Vaughns
Inks: Ken Branch
Colors: David Tanguay
Letters: [no credit given]
Asst. Editor: Simona Martore
Editor: Dan Didio
Cover: Mike Kunkel
Publisher: Johnny DC (DC Comics)
This issue, just by not being by Kunkel seems to lose some of its magic. It’s still a solid, fun issue…but for one thing, it felt like I just sped right throughout in about half the time it’s taken on previous issues. While I don’t have the prior issues onhand for immediate comparison, I think a large difference is in panel size and action–the panels seem larger than I remembered for this series, and far more open with less action…almost as if the previous issues were super-compressed compared to this issue’s “standard” sort of appearance.
Billy and Mary battle a giant robot. That’s really the main plot here. Familiar elements are present–the kids’ living situation, Billy’s job, etc. The story’s fairly simple without being overly simplistic. The visual tone remains kid-friendly (as it should, given it’s part of the kids’ line). The art is also quite reminiscent of Kunkel’s…while the interior is not Kunkel’s, it does not seem all that far off from Kunkel’s cover image.
If you’ve enjoyed this book thus far, this issue is a bit of a step down from what it was…but it’s still a good book, and much more enjoyable than a lot of fare out there. With Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade done with, I daresay this is my favorite of the Johnny-DC line. We do have a “To Be Continued” on this issue…but it seems more one of those ominous “Not the End” types, not so much a “the-hero’s-in-danger” cliffhanger. As such…this makes for a fine one-off issue….from introducing the main characters and their status quo, introducing the threat, dealing with the threat, and winding down on the action, you needn’t have read prior issues to enjoy this, nor does it make one anxious for the next issue.
Recommended.
Story: 7.5/10
Art: 7.5/10
Whole: 7.5/10
Filed under: Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam, Comic Reviews 2009, DC, Johnny DC | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Billy Batson, Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam, Captain Marvel, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Jann Jones, Johnny DC, Magic of Shazam, Mike Kunkel, Shazam, Steve Wands | Leave a comment »
Emerald Eclipse part five
Story & Words: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inkers: Rebecca Buchman & Tom Nguyen
Colorists: Randy Mayor & Gabe Eltaeb
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Adam Schlagman
Cover: Gleason, Buchman & Mayor
Publisher: DC Comics
Sodam Yat uses his Ion powers to transform Daxam’s sun into a yellow sun, thus granting all the Daxamites super-powers so that they can fight back against their oppressors. Meanwhile on Oa, the Lanterns continue battling the excaped sciencell prisoners, with some fairly unlikely alliances forged in the midst of battle. Finally, Scar throws off pretense and sets into motion what she’s been building toward for awhile now.
All in all, a decent issue story-wise. It’s cool to see what the GLs are doing all over the place and not just one or two specific GLs on a single planet. We get to see Yat continue to do spectacular things worthy of the tremendous power he harbors..and the fact of his doing it fits perfectly with a cosmic-level book such as this. Seeing things deteriorate on Oa adds a bit of desperation to things–again giving cause to wonder how the GLs are going to fare against the Black Lanterns soon to rise if they’re having this much trouble now without the Black Lanterns invading/attacking.
As usual–such that I feel completely repetetive even talking of it–the art is not at all to my tastes, and is a serious detraction to the book. I’m sure the style has its place, but for this reader at least, its place is not this book.
Given the story elements, I do recommend this issue for those already following the book and/or following everything related to Blackest Night. It’s not a great jumping-on point in and of itself, though if one wants to jump in amidst the ongoing action, this isn’t a horrible point to do so, either. Still…let’s just get to the “main event,” now, can we? I’m almost ready to just dive on in, and let a “flashback story” fill the gap later.
Story: 7.5/10
Art: 6/10
Whole: 6.5/10
Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Green Lantern Corps | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Blackest Night, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Emerald Eclipse, GL, GL Corps, GLC, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi, Prelude to Blackest Night, Randy Mayor, Rebecca Buchman, Steve Wands, Tom Nguyen | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 3/5
Art: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Filed under: cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Superman: World of New Krypton | Tagged: Brad Anderson, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Gary Frank, Green Lantern, Greg Rucka, Hal Jordan, James Robinson, John Stewart, Krypton, Matt Idelson, New Krypton, Pete Woods, Sodam Yat, Steve Wands, Superman, Wil Moss, World of New Krypton, Zod | Leave a comment »
Emerald Eclipse part four
Story & Words: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inkers: Rebecca Buchman w/ Prentis Rollins
Colorist: Randy Mayor
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Adam Schlagman
Cover: Gleason, Buchman & Mayor
Publisher: DC Comics
Soranik confronts Sinestro at length about their relationship and what the Green Lanterns mean to them–and to Korugar. Meanwhile, on Oa the GLs deal with a riot of loosed sciencell prisoners, with all the new changes to the Book of Oa in full effect. Also meanwhile, on Daxam, Sodam & co. face off with the Sinestro Corps. folks, and Sodam takes drastic measures seeking victory over his foes.
I continue to be unimpressed with the art on this title. I keep reading because of the story, because I’ve been drawn into pretty much everything GL-related the last couple years–particularly heading toward Blackest Night. But I just don’t like the visual style…it’s too cartooney somehow…it almost puts me in mind of “Americanized manga” where it’s not quite a “full” cartooney look (like a kids’ tv show) nor is it realistic-looking enough to shake that sense of “cartooney.”
The story is quite good; setting up logical relationships, expanding on concepts introduced the last few issues (and years). Events are unfolding in a fairly organic way that makes sense, and though we know this is headed toward the next “big story,” things don’t feel forced.
We’re really into the heart of this story now, so unless you’ve picked up the last couple issues, this won’t be the best point for a new reader to jump on. At the same time, if you’re just looking for grand-scale GL action, you certainly get that here. Characters are interesting and more than 2-d; the Sinestro/Soranik relationship makes perfect sense; even Sodam’s actions make sense and show us a bit more of who he is as a character…and acknowledges characters’ major beats from the last several years.
Recommended.
Story: 8/10
Art: 6/10
Whole: 7.5/10
Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Green Lantern Corps | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Blackest Night, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Emerald Eclipse, GL, GL Corps, GLC, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi, Prelude to Blackest Night, Prentis ROllins, Randy Mayor, Rebecca Buchman, Steve Wands | Leave a comment »
A Matter of Anti-Life or Death!
Writer: Kevin Vanhook
Pencillers: Julian Lopez & Fernando Pasarin
Inkers: Bit, Norm Rapmund, & Fernando Pasarin
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Steve Wands
Assistant Editor: Harvey Richards
Editor: Michael Siglain
Cover: Guillem March
Publisher: DC Comics
Oracle and her new friends take on the Calculator on a high-tech, virtual-reality front. Their battle eventually shifts to the real world, as “the cure” stands revealed.
The art for this issue is consistent with the earlier issues. It’s not a style I’m all that thrilled with–there’s something to the art as a whole that doesn’t quite do it for me; that seems just a bit inconsistent from some panels to others (leaving aside obvious changes to represent what characters are seeing as ‘virtual reality’ in the game-world/internet log). The art is not horrible, but is not what I would seek out, and would not sell me on the issue.
The story is a bit of a cop-out; I’m not sure how much of that is that this series is so SHORT after half a decade of being groomed into acceptance of the 6-issue arc as “standard,” and how much is other stuff. The events seem to be within the realm of what I know of the title character, but at the same time, I just don’t feel that there’s any real enormity to stuff going on; I’m not sold on the necessity of this mini’s existence. You can certainly find worse stories, and probably worse depictions of the character.
As far as story arcs go, and mini-series in general, this seems little more than a weak attempt to “test the waters” for some ongoing series, while tying into/capitalizing on the Battle for the Cowl “event.”
Unless you’re a die-hard Barbara Gordon fan interested in any/all starring-role appearances, I don’t think this series has been essential to the character as yet; if you’ve bought the first two issues of the series, and enjoyed it, no real reason to avoid this final issue.
Story: 6/10
Art: 6/10
Whole: 6/10
Filed under: Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon, Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Oracle: The Cure | Tagged: Barbara Gordon, Batgirl, Batman, Battle for the Cowl, Bit, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Fernando Pasarin, Guillem March, Harvey RIchards, Hi-Fi, Julian Lopez, Kevin Vanhook, Michael Siglain, Norm Rapmund, Oracle, Oracle: The Cure, Steve Wands | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 3/5
Art: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Superman: World of New Krypton | Tagged: Brad Anderson, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Gary Frank, General Zod, Greg Rucka, James Robinson, Matt Idelson, New Krypton, Pete Woods, Steve Wands, Superman, Wil Moss, World of New Krypton | Leave a comment »
Comic Reviews by Walt 