Batwing #7 Review

Batwing and readers alike learn the atrocious crime committed by The Kingdom in Batwing #7. Unfortunately, the crime isn’t so atrocious. The problem here isn’t necessarily the idea behind writer Judd Winick’s big reveal, but rather a matter of bad timing. This is a time of increased awareness of problems throughout the African continent, from the film Kony 2012 to the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign banners that appear at the top of DC’s comics this week. In light of these real-life horrors, the actions of the Kingdom don’t seem all that wrong (some might argue that their actions were reasonable). This one flaw in the story does temper some of the buildup in the series, but Winick ups the stakes a bit with the issue’s ending.

Taking over art duties this issue is Dustin Nguyen. The stark contrast between Nguyen’s style and Ben Oliver’s is striking, but the change in setting and the heavy use of flashback keeps the change from being overly jarring in terms of its place in the overall story. Nguyen’s line work plays well with the edginess of both Gotham City and the actions of the Kingdom, and it also allows the book to look more like a superhero title, assisting the feel of the story.

Overall, Batwing #7 is a half step in the right direction. There’s nothing wrong in the issue, but it doesn’t really help the pacing of the series as a whole. The series is closing in on the end of its first arc, but the buildup isn’t exactly working.

My rating: 7/10

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #8 Review

Miles Morales’ journey continues in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #8 with a visit from Uncle Aaron. The story that Brian Michael Bendis is crafting here is interesting enough on its own, but the parallels between Miles’ story and Peter Parker’s certainly adds a great deal.

While Peter’s relationship with uncle Ben was largely positive, Miles’ uncle is a criminal and well aware of Miles’ superhero identity. The tension between the two is palpable, though perhaps Uncle Aaron comes off a bit too much like Doctor Facilier from Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

Sara Pichelli is back on art duties this issue, and her style really helps the comic during its emotional moments. Her lines are fantastic, with a particular highlight being a page where the reader follows a contemplative Miles throughout his week as his friend Ganke looks on in pained silence. Pichelli’s lines really capture Miles’ focus, as well as Ganke’s pain and longing to reach out.

Equally important, especially to readers who followed this comic prior to Miles’ arrival is the opening scene which shows Aunt May and Gwen Stacey learning that there’s a new Spider-Man. Bendis and Pichelli keep the scene short, tight – and perhaps most importantly – the drama is understated. There’s no real melodrama, and Bendis’ dialogue allows enough room for Pichelli’s art to convey the emotion of the moment.

If there is one complaint to be made about this series, it’s that Miles has yet to fight his own villains. Brian Michael Bendis has done a great job of implementing Miles into the Spider-Man mythos while maintaining his uniqueness as a character, Miles has yet to face threats of his own “creation,” instead being forced to face the villains of his predecessor. The character of Miles Morales was a great creative endeavor, and one hopes that creativity also applies to his universe.

My rating: 8/10

Action Comics #7 Review

Issue seven of Action Comics is where the series finally begins to feel like what fans expected from the title’s creative team. Grant Morrison’s script is tight and entertaining, and the art of Rags Morales is not only consistent in its quality, but it actually blends together with Morrison’s scripting.

A sign that this creative team is gelling is the sequence that runs from pages two through five, showing Superman’s ascent into space. These pages are silent, devoid of both sound effects and dialogue, leaving Morales to do all the storytelling through his art. The pacing is perfect, and the way this still-flightless Superman makes his climb is refreshing. Readers are used to a Superman who’s near capable of everything, so it’s nice to see Morrison stick to a more grounded (no pun intended) hero.

The issue has some interesting reveals, from the way Superman acquires his costume to the fact that this Brainiac was the internet on Earth. In addition to these reveals is the small scene between Lex Luthor and Lois Lane as they enter a bar in the miniaturized Metropolis. This character development from Morrison goes a long way to adjusting readers to the New-52 version of these characters. Also, credit must be given to Rags Morales for creating a Luthor who is overweight but not obese. Superhero comics tend to feature characters on one end of the health spectrum or the other, so it’s nice to see a character who falls somewhere in the middle.

The back up story in this issue is written by Sholly Fisch with art by Brad Walker. “Meanwhile” follows Steel as he attempts to rescue the citizens in the remaining portions of Metropolis. As one might imagine, when a large section of a city disappears, it tends to cause havoc. While the premise of this back up is nice, Fisch’s script falls a little flat, especially when compared to the scripting by Morrison in the main portion of the issue.

Overall, this issue is solid, with both Morrison and Morales both getting into their comfort zone. The series has been enjoyable as a whole, but this is the first entry without any real hiccups.

My rating: 8/10

The Pull List

The following is my pull list (alphabetized by title). There will also be a few things that I just pick up each month that you’ll hear about, but these are the titles you can expect me to review every month:

Action Comics

Amazing Spider-Man

Aquaman

Astonishing X-Men

Avengers

Batman

Batwing

Batwoman

Demon Knights

Fantastic Four

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.

Green Lantern

Green Lantern Corps

Incredible Hulk

Invincible

Secret Avengers

Swamp Thing

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man

Uncanny X-Men

Winter Soldier

Why I Review Comics So Late

This post is a bit more informal than my previous entries, but it’s a less formal subject. In short, one could chalk up my lateness to lack of time, but it’s a bit more complicated than that.

For starters, I’m not a staff. I’m an individual who loves comics as a medium, and so I choose to write about them. Unfortunately, this blog isn’t my job (actually, considering my absence the past two weeks, it’s probably a good thing it isn’t my job) – the point is, I’ve got to make money, and this blog isn’t a source of income for me. So, combined with my work day, I typically don’t get my comics until about 6:30 Wednesday night. Then it’s home to make and eat dinner and all of a sudden it’s 8:00 before I finally get to reading the comics.

So why don’t my reviews come on Thursday?

The answer lies in me being a fan of the medium. I love comics, and I’m often engrossed in the stories. As a critic, I like to have my distance from the emotional impact of the content I’m reviewing. So I typically only write my reviews after my second or third reading of an issue. What results is that I typically spend an hour or two examining an issue and then another hour writing the review for it. The result is that a single review actually represents about three hours of work. Which is time that I don’t have during my week.

This is why my reviews will tend to show up on the Saturday or Sunday after the issue is released. My hope is that this blog presents well written, succinct reviews that critique each issue both on its own merits and its place in the medium as a whole.

Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #529 Review

T’Challa’s most recent series comes to a close with Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #529. Final issues are hit and miss in comics, but David Liss’ last arc has handled the cancellation with style by addressing one of the main complaints of comic book aficionados: this is Daredevil’s book.

By pitting T’Challa and company against the Kingpin and the Hand, Liss has effectively turned a negative into the best type of positive and rebuilt the Kingpin into a global player. Liss also infuses his characters with a feeling of intelligence. The chess like maneuvering of T’Challa and Kingpin feels real, and though the outcome is predictable, Liss makes the journey exciting. Liss’ T’Challa feels like Sherlock Holmes, constantly one step ahead of his opponent, and almost overly-confident in his decisions.

The art is handled in this issue by Shawn Martinbrough and Jefte Palo. While the art in this series has oft been criticized (the lack of a consistent artist likely contributing to it), the style employed by Martinbrough and Jefte Palo closely resembles the pulpy style used by Michael Oeming last issue. This style elevates the story Liss is telling, and though it isn’t the most eye-catching, it works.

It’s unfortunate that this series comes to a close. Liss’ run on Black Panther offered a take on T’Challa that hadn’t been seen since Priest’s run. T’Challa will return, but given the current economic woes hitting the comic book industry, it is more likely that he will return as part of a team title, rather than in his own book.

My rating: 9/10

Green Lantern #6 Review

Green Lantern #6 is one of those issues that will likely mean more in hindsight. As it stands, Geoff Johns’ sluggish pacing in an already slow series is a downer, but one also gets the sense that Johns is simply getting the seasoning prepared to make some good barbeque.

Food analogies aside, the content provided in this issue is intriguing, as Sinestro learns of the Guardians’ plans for the Green Lanterns (a plot point that has more immediate relevance in Green Lantern Corps). One of the admirable things Johns has retained from his pre-New-52 run on Green Lantern is his layering of subtext. It should not be lost on readers that neither of the series’ protagonists wants to be a Green Lantern. That Johns has convincingly made Sinestro’s will the driving force of both Hal Jordan’s fate and his own is commendable.

Sinestro’s encounter with Starstorm and Lyssa is a great microcosm of where it appears that Johns is taking this story. While characters like Starstorm and Hal Jordan have relinquished their duties to confront their inner fears (or in Starstorm’s case, be consumed by them), Sinestro seems to have left his fears behind in order to rid himself of his past misdeeds. The result is that, should Johns not make this into an epic ala Blackest Night, he’ll still have a nice character piece.

In the art department, Mike Choi comes on as a guest artist. The change in art style is fairly dramatic, but Choi’s delicate lines allow for some nice facial expressions in the scenes with Hal and Carol. The brief battle in the center of the issue, however, falls a bit flat as Choi’s art doesn’t convey the gravity of what’s occurring.

With issue six of Green Lantern, Geoff Johns begins to hint at the scale the series will be taking. While the pacing can seem tedious at times, if Johns can build upon the themes he’s building here, these issues will be looked at in a warmer light.

My rating: 7/10

The Incredible Hulk #5 Review

Jason Aaron’s The Incredible Hulk finally reveals the individual responsible for splitting Banner and Hulk. Though the reveal occurs at the beginning of the comic, this review will refrain from spoiling it for those who wish to read the comic first. Nevertheless, the reveal provides a slight hope for those worried that Aaron’s taken on Banner might make Bruce irredeemable for readers.

The use of back story helps Aaron’s script transcend the “Hulk Smash!” tone of the present-day scenes. Aaron also brilliantly juxtaposes his characterizations of Banner and Hulk, with it becoming increasingly more apparent that Banner was the true monster of the two. The new dynamic harkens back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, with Hulk trying to outrun his crazed creator.

Whilce Portacio provides the line art for issue five. Portacio’s art is fairly similar to Marc Silvestri’s so it won’t take older readers off-guard. The style employed by Portacio gives a savage feel to the book, which matches the primordial locale of this first arc. However, one wonders how this style will adapt if and when the book returns to an urban setting. The flashback scenes of the Hulk/Banner split are vaguely drawn, with a focus on characters rather than setting, offering no real clue as to how a technological setting might appear in this book.

That pseudo-criticism aside, this book is solid with Jason Aaron hitting the right beats, both in terms of character and plot.

My rating: 8/10

Resurrection Man #6 Review

Resurrection Man is one of those titles that suffers from being too serial. That may sound like a strange criticism for a comic book, but unfortunately, it’s the case here. The first five issues of the series seemed to be building to some sort of showdown as the characters introduced revealed consistent increases in scope.

However, with issue six, that’s all abandoned to tell a standalone story of Mitch in Arkham Asylum. While the contents of the issue aren’t disappointing on their own, one has to wonder what the point of the issue is when looking at the series as a whole. This issue feels like a reintroduction to Mitch Shelley, a thing this series didn’t need.

The story within is serviceable, as writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have a good grip on Mitch’s attitude. The art by Fernando Dagnino is visceral and exciting, which works nice with the tone of the book. Dagnino seems to have fun drawing the freakish characters in Arkham, and even the backgrounds of his panels relish in the macabre of the Asylum. Also of note is the reveal of Mitch in his new “Dr. Manhattan” appearance. The power he appears to wield is impressive, if understated, and one wonders how he might deal with the supernatural foes that appeared earlier in the series.

Resurrection Man is a title that hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations of its unique premise. With issue six, it remains a man-on-the-run story, which is disappointing considering the scale of those hunting Mitch.

My Rating: 7/10

Secret Avengers #22 Review

Rick Remender’s run on Secret Avengers gets its full start in issue twenty-two. Remender fully discards the done-in-one format that previous scribe, Warren Ellis, used on this series. That’s not a detraction however, as Remender uses the space to his advantage by reintroducing readers to Captain Britain and the role he plays in protecting the omniverse.

Brian Braddock (Captain Britain for the uninitiated) provides Remender with a “window” character with which to bring about a series of new changes to the title (namely Hawkeye’s role as leader, as well as their new base, The Lighthouse). The irony here is that issue #22 actually makes for a better jump-on point for Remender’s run than the point-one issue released one week prior.

One of the highlights to Remender’s writing is his ability to imbue characterization into his scripts. Hawkeye and Beast both have their moments of wit, but as a reader, you’re never left wondering whose wisecrack it is.

While Rick Remender joined the series last issue, this is artist Gabriel Hardman’s series debut. Hardman’s line art brings an edge to the series without making it overly “gritty.” Each character is given a distinct look, which is nice considering the amount of blonde guys in this title. If there is one question mark to the line art, it’s the overly simian appearance of Beast, who has been in feline form for a decade now. The colors here are done by Bettie Brettweiser, who compliments Hardman’s art nicely, providing cooler tones and washes that aid the covert nature of the titular team.

Secret Avengers #22 is a strong beginning to what will hopefully be a steady run by Rick Remender. This title has seen its fair share of creative teams, so it’d be nice to see this one remain intact for the long haul, especially considering the scale of the reveal on the final page.

My Rating: 9/10