Browsing: Review

Waid returns, makes fans happy I know it has been out for a week now, but since I won’t be attending the Comic-Con this year, I thought I’d get caught up on a few reviews I’ve been meaning to get to. Up first is All-Flash #1 that features the returns of Wally West and Mark Waid to the series. It’s also a sad moment as Bart Allen leaves us, but as Zoom would say, “That which hurts us, makes us stronger”. Is that the case with Wally and this issue?

Or – “Somewhat Of A Mixed Bag…” In the wake of Civil War, a lot of hero teams have cropped up, most of which have a “hook” that makes them unconventional (and sometimes questionably heroic.) With fifty states needing super-teams, you’re eventually going to run a bit short on experienced super-types. After all, even Squirrel Girl has a steady gig now… But I can’t believe that anyone thought it was a good idea to protect the most populous state in the union with untrained celebutantes in the superhero version of American Idol. Sure, it’s an interesting hook, but the results…

Or – “If Your Power Was ‘Smartest Man In This Or ANY Room’, You’d Be Testy, Too.” The day that I have been dreading has finally come…  We’re turning our attention to a Legionnaire whose span of membership is essentially unbroken from 1961 to the present, a Legionnaire who was present for the battle with Computo, the Dominators first salvo, all three of Universos attempts to take over the world, the EarthWar, The Great Darkness Saga, the Five-Year Gap Legion, the SW6 Legion and Zero Hour, as well as being key to the reboot AND Threeboot Legion stories.  If there…

If it is happening in Countdown, it’s happening in Gotham City I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Countdown #41 this week to see if the creative team could go two for two in giving readers a story that didn’t cause massive brain hemorrhages from confusing storylines, and more importantly didn’t suck. Unlike some bloggers, I’m here to stay on Countdown and won’t be punking out after just a couple of issues. It’s too bad there are those leaving the series in droves, because right now the series is starting to take off.

Or – “Claustrophobia And Revelation…” Two things about this issue made me really think about the issues of Justice League to date. Brad Meltzer’s scripting has worked better for me in the quiet moments, the subtler character pieces, but if the writing can be said to have a failing, it’s in the huge plot reveals. My other thought (and I know this is a cruel and snarky thing to say) is spurred by this issue’s Gene Ha art: What if an artist of thiscaliber had been on the book from the beginning? Would the dramatic moments have worked better under…

Or – “I Never Realized George Clooney’s Head Was Quite That Big…” Well, after reading issue #1, turns out I was wrong in some of my previous assessments of the team assembled here. MODOK is the Danny Ocean archetype, that much seems clear, but it seems it’s Mentallo taking on the Brad Pitt/Rusty Ryan role, with Rocket Racer as Livingston Dell and Chameleon as Matt Damon. I was, however, seemingly on the mark about Puma being the Greaseman. Maybe I shouldn’t look for quite so many direct parallels, but what’s the fun of that? Besides, the Soderbergh movie is fun,…

Or – “Sometimes You Use Your Brain… Other Times, A Called Shot To The Spleen.” There are a few characters in the DC Universe that everyone agrees you shouldn’t anger. Starfire. Batman. The Martian Manhunter. But, in my opinion, the most impressive displays of wrath have come from those whose tempers are less feared, but no less formidable. Recall the moment where Superman awoke and said that single word to Mongul: “Burn.” Or the moment where Buddy Baker found the man who killed his family. I can now add to those fearsome displays the moment where Babs Gordon shook off…

Or – “Namor’s Credo: If Excessive Force Fails, You Didn’t Use Enough.” That’s one of the sonar images you never want to see, along with a close-up of a torpedo, or a sexually excited blue whale. In each case, even if you survive, you’ll never quite be the same again. Issue #1 of the Sub-Mariner mini got a pass when I thumbed through the Previews catalog, but I picked it up on a slow Sunday, just to kill time, and found myself engrossed by a political allegory with a uncompromising, principled, though unbending main character. Namor the first, scion of…

Or – “These Guys Sure Do Like To Introduce Themselves A Lot…” I have to hand it to Green Scar and his band of Merry Somethings-That-Resemble-Men… They’ve got the dramatic entrances down pat, and their tough-guy dialogue is top-notch. I’m a little confused by the timelines of the Marvel Universe right now, but thankfully, all we really need to know is that the beatdown of Iron Man came last issue, and Hercules and his amazing friends have not yet joined Hulk in his quest for vengeance. The Avengers are preparing to engage, but the Warbound have superior strength, vast determination,…

Or – “Worldmind Is A Fickle Omniscient Computer Program, Isn’t It?” Reviewing Green Lantern and Nova back to back was an accidental decision, but one that ends up illustrating both the similarities between the characters, and the differences in direction of the respective concepts. Heck, if you really want to overthink it, you can use it as a metaphor for the big two comics companies: Green Lantern is about togetherness, about the gestalt, the Corps coming together against their opposite number much as DC’s characters are being forced to work together building up to Final Crisis. Nova is about the…

Or – “Cry Havoc, And Let Slip The Translucent Yellow Energy Dogs Of War.” The first shots have been fired, and the GLC is forced to regroup from the completely unexpected attack of Sinestro. The inter-Corps Worps… Err, Car War… CORPS WAR, rather, has begun, and the first salvo was quick and brutal, fitting the personality of the vicious former Korugarian dictator who masterminded it all. With Lanterns by the dozens killed, the most experienced of the space cops sporting bloody noses, and even the Torchbearer himself corrupted, I (and more than a few of the GL’s) are wanting to…

You would think a mud bath would be good for you It was one of those weeks, where I was flooded with too many things on my plate (meetings, preparing for classes, meetings, writing for various blogs, meetings), and I didn’t even have time to sit down and read the latest issue of Countdown until Sunday evening. Mary Marvel continues to kick it in Gotham, the hunt for Ray Palmer kicks off, and what do you do when you find yourself at 30,000 feet without a parachute?

Or – “Somebody, Somewhere, Owes Daniel Rand A Rather Substantial Refund…” First off, I’d like to apologize for the lateness of this recap, and for the lack of the promised Brainiac 5 Hero History this weekend. Real life got the better of me as a weekend camping trip, a sprained wrist for my wife and a snafu with the State of Kansas combined to push Brainy back a week, but the reason that this is going up later than usual is simple, not to mention incredibly cute and preternaturally verbal for her age. My daughter’s babysitter has taken her vacation…

Or – “Finally Looks Like We’re Gettin’ Somewhere Now…” I’ve been whining about this particular series since the first issue, complaining about the name, about the pacing, about what I consider the almost-criminal misuse of Beta Ray Bill and Sasquatch… Recent discussions at the store (Gatekeeper Hobbies, Huntoon & Gage, Topeka! Ask us about Proxy Jason’s terrible demise in the chipper-shredder!) have convinced me that I may have been a bit too harsh. Rather than being bothered by what the characters are DOING, I’ve been focused on what they’re NOT doing that I think they should. So! Today, we have…