I kept putting off last week's comic review...and then it got to this week and I still hadn't done it. So now I'm just blasting them all out immediately.
Ready? Let's go. And remember, thar be spoilers.
All-New Atom 17: This title is usually one of my quality favorites--I consider it very enjoyable every month, even if it doesn't always hit the "Top Books" spot. Still, it's very fun, and I enjoy a good fun comic once in awhile. In all honesty, I can't remember what happened. Is that bad? Probably. It's been a week though. I remember that the cover looked fun. And I remember enjoying it. Sorry. This is a horrible review.
Booster Gold 4: Wow. So Supernova is Booster's dad. I personally didn't see that coming (although apparently the Booster experts did). It doesn't matter, this title is always great. The writing is excellent, the art is top form, and Skeets is hilarious. Plus, we have promises of Ice appearing soon. That alone keeps it on my pull list.
Countdown to Final Crisis 25: Apparently DC loves to point out that the Pied Piper is gay. You'd think that after twenty-six issues we'd remember that, but no, they need to remind us once again. That's alright though, because the rest of the issue was pretty enjoyable for Countdown. Karate Kid's storyline meets Firestorm and the Atomic Knights, and we actually get some resolution to dangling plot points left open at the end of Firestorm's ongoing series (well...not so much "resolution" as "continuation", because the story hasn't ended.) The "Desaad becomes Firestorm" was unexpected, and actually felt like decent progression. In all honesty, if Countdown had been like this from the beginning, it wouldn't have gotten the horrible reputation it now has.
Countdown to Final Crisis 24: Take that, Desaad! The Atomic Knights prove up to the task, and are able to prevent evilFirestorm from destroying things. Meanwhile, Mary Marvel actually stands up to Darkseid, fighting him (and actually hurting him?) before fleeing. While it's a complete about-face from the Mary we've seen so far, it's still truer to her character than anything in Countdown has been previously, so I'll take it. Meanwhile, Superman Prime gets angry and destroys Earth. It's not New Earth, but it's still an Earth. And he does it while wearing the superior black-Superman outfit from "Reign of the Supermen". I love that outfit, I really do. I'm curious as to what part of the Sinestro Corps brings this on.
Supergirl 23: Well, the art was pretty enough? The opening sequence with Batman was enjoyable, but other than that, neither myself nor my sister have any idea what happened here.
Superman 670: The arc started out great, had too much exposition in the middle, and then ended with an above average final issue. Not bad--not incredible, but all in all a satisfying story. I really love seeing Power Girl as part of the Superman Family now--I was skeptical at first about reintroducing that origin, but they've done a lot of good with it lately. And I love Chris Kent. I'm probably in the minority here, but I think he brings new potential to the Superman titles. Some people love to see the same type of story over and over, but change is good sometimes, and I think this will bring us some good times ahead.
Teen Titans East Special: Anima is not a pretty princess. She is a grunge rocker. She is also unbelievably powerful and is protected by a primal spirit. I fail to see how Mysterious Villain #17 managed to take her out so easily...especially since it seemed as if he was blasting her from underneath, so she had to have seen the shot coming...but whatever. The story wasn't bad. It was just filled with slaughter. On the art side...leg hair + Robin's short-pants = funny for no real reason.
Wonder Girl 3: Young Justice cameos are delicious. I love Cassie's new costume and really don't want it to vanish at the end of the mini, even though it's going to. I'm a little of the New Gods saturating everything, though, and this is coming from a New Gods fan. Still, the story was solid enough to justify my purchase.
Wonder Woman 14: I read the issue, and it was alright...but I'm still not entirely sure what's happening yet. I liked seeing Lt. Candy (I'm assuming this is Etta Candy--which is fun, but I'm hoping she stays true to her current incarnation from the George Perez reboot), and Diana living with talking gorillas adds all sorts of hilarity. So I'm going to stay with this title for awhile, because I want to have faith in it. So we'll see. As a single issue though...there just wasn't enough to catch me. But I choose to have faith in Gail Simone, who has many more hits than misses in my eyes.
Marvel Rundown: Amazing Spider-Girl is always fun. Annihilation: Conquest ties up the prequel mini's and goes full speed ahead with an excellent first issue that I loved despite not knowing who half the characters were. Astonishing X-Men was awesomesauce, while in the mainstream X-titles of Uncanny and X-Factor, we head into the Messiah Complex in two solid stories that leave me wanting more. Ms. Marvel was a title I grabbed as a last minute addition, and I wasn't disappointed--it deals with plot points that have been going on throughout the entire run. Mystic Arcana ends with its final issue, a Sister Grimm tie-in that left me satisfied. New Avengers is of standard New Avengers quality--a fast, enjoyable read. Nova...is he about to meet some sci-fi Marvel Zombies? I'm confused, but the title is always excellent. X-Men: Die By the Sword is modernClaremont, which I am satisfied, but not thrilled, with, but I want to pick up New Exiles due to Tom Grummet on the artwork, so I'm following this through.
Independents: Buffy's Season 8 moves on with its incredible Faith arc. Is it blasphemy to say that I'm enjoying this arc more than the first one? Because I think I am. And Fallen Angel is always an excellent title.
This whole thing would be more interesting if I wasn't so tired. Sorry.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Showcase Presents: Superman Volume 1
On one hand, this collection is a strong representation of what the Silver Age was--full of ideas just being thrown onto paper without any consideration for what it would mean. And there were actually a few ideas that were referenced again. That part was surprising.
On the other hand, it took me weeks to read, and has single-handedly made me question this blog project.
There were a number of instances where Superman was referenced as the only powered person in the world. This made no sense when compared to DC continuity...or even the other comics in this collection where Superman fought against other super-powered people.
Batman made an appearance though. That was fun.
Once you get past the obvious corny feel of the issues, they're actually pretty enjoyable. The potential in most of these things is pretty incredible, and in today's comics there'd be so much done with it. Writers would have planned out where to go with the nuances of each issue, and, sadly, how to break it down into multiple issues. At the risk of imitating every other internet comics commenter, we've really lost the art of individual issues in most comics today. Building them so that a trade tells a fully story may make sense from a business perspective, I guess, but it also means that the medium loses a lot of "character development" issues.
I was already introduced to a number of these issues through a reprint that collected some of the most famous Silver Age stories (ones that introduced Lori Lemaris and Supergirl were the more important ones). Both characters have played roles in the Superman mythos, Supergirl much more than Lori, and their introductions are reprinted here. Very nice for a new reader.
Stories bringing in Brainiac, Metallo, Kandor, and more were included, and as someone who has seen them develop into prominent concepts in modern comics, it was interesting to read how they got started. Metallo died in his debut story, interestingly, so I'm actually curious as to when he returned to play a big villain.
All in all, this is a collection I'd probably recommend to someone interested in reading older Superman comics. Would I suggest it to someone I wanted to get hooked on comics? No, just because it would probably scare them away with the corniness. But for someone already interested in comics, this might be good to read.
Next I'll be reviewing...the first Legion of Super-Heroes Archive, according to my list. But I've secretly already read that, so I'll be using this time to read the Haunted Tank Showcase in my attempt to get into war comics.
Don't tell anyone.
On the other hand, it took me weeks to read, and has single-handedly made me question this blog project.
There were a number of instances where Superman was referenced as the only powered person in the world. This made no sense when compared to DC continuity...or even the other comics in this collection where Superman fought against other super-powered people.
Batman made an appearance though. That was fun.
Once you get past the obvious corny feel of the issues, they're actually pretty enjoyable. The potential in most of these things is pretty incredible, and in today's comics there'd be so much done with it. Writers would have planned out where to go with the nuances of each issue, and, sadly, how to break it down into multiple issues. At the risk of imitating every other internet comics commenter, we've really lost the art of individual issues in most comics today. Building them so that a trade tells a fully story may make sense from a business perspective, I guess, but it also means that the medium loses a lot of "character development" issues.
I was already introduced to a number of these issues through a reprint that collected some of the most famous Silver Age stories (ones that introduced Lori Lemaris and Supergirl were the more important ones). Both characters have played roles in the Superman mythos, Supergirl much more than Lori, and their introductions are reprinted here. Very nice for a new reader.
Stories bringing in Brainiac, Metallo, Kandor, and more were included, and as someone who has seen them develop into prominent concepts in modern comics, it was interesting to read how they got started. Metallo died in his debut story, interestingly, so I'm actually curious as to when he returned to play a big villain.
All in all, this is a collection I'd probably recommend to someone interested in reading older Superman comics. Would I suggest it to someone I wanted to get hooked on comics? No, just because it would probably scare them away with the corniness. But for someone already interested in comics, this might be good to read.
Next I'll be reviewing...the first Legion of Super-Heroes Archive, according to my list. But I've secretly already read that, so I'll be using this time to read the Haunted Tank Showcase in my attempt to get into war comics.
Don't tell anyone.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume One
And so, the project truly begins.
First, a bit about my relationship with Jack Kirby's Fourth World, and Jack Kirby's work in general. When I was growing up, I didn't like any of it. At all. When the New Gods would appear in the Superman titles, I was confused and disinterested. When I would try to read older comics with Kirby's art, I'd grow bored and want to read something else. I never caught the appeal of the characters.
Until now.
This collection, priced at fifty dollars (psst...on Amazon you can get it new for $31.49!), was something that came out several months before I began this project. I thought it was interesting, but had no desire to pay that much money for something I didn't care about. Around the time I changed my mind, I began this project, so I relented and placed the order. It took me a little bit, but I started reading.
This was not the first time I had tried to read Jack Kirby's Fourth World stuff. Several years ago, my parents got me the first Jimmy Olsen trade from this saga as a Christmas present, along with some other Superman comic trades. I found it tedious, boring, and uninteresting to look at. So I was skeptical about reading this.
Let's start from the beginning, shall we?
Right away, we're treated to a number of full page pictures that capture close-ups of various characters, full of the energy that Kirby pumped into his work. Already I began to change my mind about all of this. The introduction by Grant Morrison was excellent--say what you will about how crazy Grant can get (and I will, especially when I get around to finally reading his Doom Patrol run), but he has ideas, and I'm told that he's one of the few people who managed to do the New Gods justice. So kudos there.
From the first pages of Jimmy Olsen, we're tossed right into a world full of brand new characters. The Newsboy Legion aren't necessarily new, technically, but they've been reinvisioned here as children (later retconned into clones) of the originals (co-created by Kirby). We also get Morgan Edge, the Outsiders (no, not those Outsiders), and, going into later issues, the Project (later known as Cadmus), Dubbilex the DNAlien, the Hairies, the Guardian, and more. And let me tell you, as someone who grew up on 90's Superboy comics, seeing these characters really made my day. The revival of the Guardian was when I was really pulled into all of this.
The Forever People were surprisingly interesting. They were obvious hippies, yes, but the character interactions and insane names left me wanting more. And I'm intrigued by the Infinity Man--really, who is he? Does he have limits?
The New Gods begins with the opening sequence to end all opening sequences. We get the epic of the Fourth World introduced to us in stunning glory, and it races onward, focused on Orion. Knowing the secrets of his parentage sort of ruined the mystery here by default, but on the other hand it allows me to notice the clues and nod along with the story. Excellent stuff here.
Finally, Mister Miracle. I never knew how Scott Free acquired the suit, and I was actually surprised to see that he wasn't the original Mister Miracle. And now I know how Oberon came into the picture, too. I'll admit, I'm having a little trouble reconciling the Granny Goodness presented here with how she's been presented elsewhere--not because of her personality or anything, but because of where her orphanage is based. I thought all of that was set on Apokalips? Instead, we find it on Earth, right? Confusing.
The slow introduction of the characters felt masterful. In the first issue of Jimmy Olsen, we get hints that something isn't right, that something major is on the horizon. In later issues, we get tastes--what is Apokalips? Who is Darkseid, and why is he the mastermind here? What is the true extent of these characters? All of this explodes from the page with the beginning of the New Gods title, and to read these issues as they progress...it's powerful.
Do they really have to kill these characters off?
I can't wait for the next Omnibus. Really, I can't. It sits on my shelf, taunting me with pictures of Miracle. I want to read it.
But I won't.
Not yet, anyway.
Until next time...when we review Showcase Presents: Superman Volume One!
First, a bit about my relationship with Jack Kirby's Fourth World, and Jack Kirby's work in general. When I was growing up, I didn't like any of it. At all. When the New Gods would appear in the Superman titles, I was confused and disinterested. When I would try to read older comics with Kirby's art, I'd grow bored and want to read something else. I never caught the appeal of the characters.
Until now.
This collection, priced at fifty dollars (psst...on Amazon you can get it new for $31.49!), was something that came out several months before I began this project. I thought it was interesting, but had no desire to pay that much money for something I didn't care about. Around the time I changed my mind, I began this project, so I relented and placed the order. It took me a little bit, but I started reading.
This was not the first time I had tried to read Jack Kirby's Fourth World stuff. Several years ago, my parents got me the first Jimmy Olsen trade from this saga as a Christmas present, along with some other Superman comic trades. I found it tedious, boring, and uninteresting to look at. So I was skeptical about reading this.
Let's start from the beginning, shall we?
Right away, we're treated to a number of full page pictures that capture close-ups of various characters, full of the energy that Kirby pumped into his work. Already I began to change my mind about all of this. The introduction by Grant Morrison was excellent--say what you will about how crazy Grant can get (and I will, especially when I get around to finally reading his Doom Patrol run), but he has ideas, and I'm told that he's one of the few people who managed to do the New Gods justice. So kudos there.
From the first pages of Jimmy Olsen, we're tossed right into a world full of brand new characters. The Newsboy Legion aren't necessarily new, technically, but they've been reinvisioned here as children (later retconned into clones) of the originals (co-created by Kirby). We also get Morgan Edge, the Outsiders (no, not those Outsiders), and, going into later issues, the Project (later known as Cadmus), Dubbilex the DNAlien, the Hairies, the Guardian, and more. And let me tell you, as someone who grew up on 90's Superboy comics, seeing these characters really made my day. The revival of the Guardian was when I was really pulled into all of this.
The Forever People were surprisingly interesting. They were obvious hippies, yes, but the character interactions and insane names left me wanting more. And I'm intrigued by the Infinity Man--really, who is he? Does he have limits?
The New Gods begins with the opening sequence to end all opening sequences. We get the epic of the Fourth World introduced to us in stunning glory, and it races onward, focused on Orion. Knowing the secrets of his parentage sort of ruined the mystery here by default, but on the other hand it allows me to notice the clues and nod along with the story. Excellent stuff here.
Finally, Mister Miracle. I never knew how Scott Free acquired the suit, and I was actually surprised to see that he wasn't the original Mister Miracle. And now I know how Oberon came into the picture, too. I'll admit, I'm having a little trouble reconciling the Granny Goodness presented here with how she's been presented elsewhere--not because of her personality or anything, but because of where her orphanage is based. I thought all of that was set on Apokalips? Instead, we find it on Earth, right? Confusing.
The slow introduction of the characters felt masterful. In the first issue of Jimmy Olsen, we get hints that something isn't right, that something major is on the horizon. In later issues, we get tastes--what is Apokalips? Who is Darkseid, and why is he the mastermind here? What is the true extent of these characters? All of this explodes from the page with the beginning of the New Gods title, and to read these issues as they progress...it's powerful.
Do they really have to kill these characters off?
I can't wait for the next Omnibus. Really, I can't. It sits on my shelf, taunting me with pictures of Miracle. I want to read it.
But I won't.
Not yet, anyway.
Until next time...when we review Showcase Presents: Superman Volume One!
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