Sunday, November 19, 2006
Recent Comics I Have Read
52 #28: Eh, more space-opera. The Crime Bible cannibals are silly. The scene in Australia was interesting, though I'm curious how faithful it was to actual Aboriginal beliefs. It now seems pretty apparent that Montoya will become the new Question.
New Avengers #25: The entire premise (a Stark employee hacking the armor) is pretty much ludicrous, but this is the first multi-dimensional portayal of Maria Hill we've seen yet. Excellent Bendis dialogue, as usual, and great art by Cheung, though everyone seems rather young. Maybe it's just me.
Civil War #5: Eh, sigh. Where to begin? The glass that's Spider-proof but not bullet proof? The "Spider armor" that shreds like cloth? Two D-List villains shitting the beat out of Spider-Man? The same guy who a few pages earlier PUNCHED IRON MAN THROUGH A WALL? The same guy who is fast enough to DODGE LASER BEAMS but not pumpkins tossed at him? Captain America, in addition to being reduced to a crotchety old man ("Damn SHIELD units") now can't even make a decision? Daredevil carried a frickin' silver dollar around IN HIS MOUTH, presumably through combat, just so he could insult Tony Stark? That coin better turn out to be a tracking device or a neutron bomb, but given the horrible track record of this series, it will likely never be referred to again. Is no one editing this train wreck? Why exactly does Marvel pay Tom Brevoort if not to catch insanely obvious inconsistencies and contradictions? I tried REAL hard to like this series, or at least maintain an open mind, but this is just simply awful. If Marvel was trying to suck harder than Infinite Crisis, they've succeeded.
Ultimate Fantastic Four #36: Ultimate Thanos is an excellent villain, with creepy powers and living in a fascinating and well-developed home universe. As I've said numerous times, I really don't like cosmic, but this is as good as I've seen it done. Artwork a little iffy this time around.
Green Arrow #68: The end of the island saga and pretty much a non-stop battle from start to finish. Green Arrow, at least since the Kevin Smith resurrection, has always been a fascinating character to me, with a pretty unique personality and motivation; this comes out brilliantly during the interior monologue/narration. I still think the sword is silly, though.
Invincible #36: Scooby Doo and the gang check out a mystery! Not really, but it was a refreshing reminder that Invincible is just a teenager and teenagers frequently come up with elaborately stupid plans that go badly. The parallel story, featuring the Guardians of the Globe, continues to interest me in that team, though they really need their own book. Their appearance seemed kind of awkwardly shoe-horned into this issue. The backup Capes feature is, as always, badly drawn and ridiculous.
Iron Man #13: Okay, okay, we get it; Tony Stark is the next director of SHIELD. Spymaster appears, in a MUCH less sucky costume than I remember. Happy Hogan was just starting to get interesting, so I hope this isn't the end for him. Tony Stark is conflicted and plagued with self-doubt? Wow! Never saw that before. How unusual!
Ms. Marvel #9: I have to admit, this was a pretty cool plot twist. Parallel dimensions, Warbird vs. Ms. Marvel, and a personal epiphany gained by beating the crap out of one's quantum doppleganger. If only my therapy sessions were like that! Wieringo's art suffers under Von Grawbadger (if that is his real name)'s inks, making it look excessively cartoonish, almost like a Bruce Timm feature. Beast, in particular, looks awful. And Carol looks too young to be in a bar, much less drinking in one.
Union Jack #3: Again, a good story with cleverly-presented characters, definately not A-List but obviously professionals. The accent still bugs me, particularly Jack's. He is clearly supposed to be working class, but his accent is all over the place, and I'm certainly not any expert on British accents. It's sort of like when Colossus used to exclaim "Lenin's Ghost!" You didn't need to be a Russian literature scholar to call bullshit on that.
New Avengers #25: The entire premise (a Stark employee hacking the armor) is pretty much ludicrous, but this is the first multi-dimensional portayal of Maria Hill we've seen yet. Excellent Bendis dialogue, as usual, and great art by Cheung, though everyone seems rather young. Maybe it's just me.
Civil War #5: Eh, sigh. Where to begin? The glass that's Spider-proof but not bullet proof? The "Spider armor" that shreds like cloth? Two D-List villains shitting the beat out of Spider-Man? The same guy who a few pages earlier PUNCHED IRON MAN THROUGH A WALL? The same guy who is fast enough to DODGE LASER BEAMS but not pumpkins tossed at him? Captain America, in addition to being reduced to a crotchety old man ("Damn SHIELD units") now can't even make a decision? Daredevil carried a frickin' silver dollar around IN HIS MOUTH, presumably through combat, just so he could insult Tony Stark? That coin better turn out to be a tracking device or a neutron bomb, but given the horrible track record of this series, it will likely never be referred to again. Is no one editing this train wreck? Why exactly does Marvel pay Tom Brevoort if not to catch insanely obvious inconsistencies and contradictions? I tried REAL hard to like this series, or at least maintain an open mind, but this is just simply awful. If Marvel was trying to suck harder than Infinite Crisis, they've succeeded.
Ultimate Fantastic Four #36: Ultimate Thanos is an excellent villain, with creepy powers and living in a fascinating and well-developed home universe. As I've said numerous times, I really don't like cosmic, but this is as good as I've seen it done. Artwork a little iffy this time around.
Green Arrow #68: The end of the island saga and pretty much a non-stop battle from start to finish. Green Arrow, at least since the Kevin Smith resurrection, has always been a fascinating character to me, with a pretty unique personality and motivation; this comes out brilliantly during the interior monologue/narration. I still think the sword is silly, though.
Invincible #36: Scooby Doo and the gang check out a mystery! Not really, but it was a refreshing reminder that Invincible is just a teenager and teenagers frequently come up with elaborately stupid plans that go badly. The parallel story, featuring the Guardians of the Globe, continues to interest me in that team, though they really need their own book. Their appearance seemed kind of awkwardly shoe-horned into this issue. The backup Capes feature is, as always, badly drawn and ridiculous.
Iron Man #13: Okay, okay, we get it; Tony Stark is the next director of SHIELD. Spymaster appears, in a MUCH less sucky costume than I remember. Happy Hogan was just starting to get interesting, so I hope this isn't the end for him. Tony Stark is conflicted and plagued with self-doubt? Wow! Never saw that before. How unusual!
Ms. Marvel #9: I have to admit, this was a pretty cool plot twist. Parallel dimensions, Warbird vs. Ms. Marvel, and a personal epiphany gained by beating the crap out of one's quantum doppleganger. If only my therapy sessions were like that! Wieringo's art suffers under Von Grawbadger (if that is his real name)'s inks, making it look excessively cartoonish, almost like a Bruce Timm feature. Beast, in particular, looks awful. And Carol looks too young to be in a bar, much less drinking in one.
Union Jack #3: Again, a good story with cleverly-presented characters, definately not A-List but obviously professionals. The accent still bugs me, particularly Jack's. He is clearly supposed to be working class, but his accent is all over the place, and I'm certainly not any expert on British accents. It's sort of like when Colossus used to exclaim "Lenin's Ghost!" You didn't need to be a Russian literature scholar to call bullshit on that.
