Browsing: Review

Because hey, can’t leave a saga hanging now can we? One of the problems that comes with of having a day job (or two) is some things fall through the cracks until it is time to update the inventory in ComicBase and you suddenly remember, with dread, you forgot to review the final two parts of the Ultimate Spider-Man Clone Saga. Fortunately, for those of you who have been anxiously awaiting the final two issues, you now have an excuse to run down to the local shop and pick them up from the “why didn’t you buy this issue two…

Or – “Back When Princess Python Was A Credible Threat… To Pastries.” There are few conditions in the English language that have more entertaining (and insulting) euphemisms than mental instability… Going ape, barmy, batty, berzerk, bonkers, certifiable, crackers, cuckoo, daft, delirious, demented, deranged, flaky, flipped out, haywire, insane, lunatic, mad, mental, moonstruck, nuts, positively fourth street, psycho, screw loose, screwball, touched, unbalanced, whacko, and let’s not forget “speed-dialling the bozophone” and “full-blown-wackaloon.” Granted, these are all very insensitive to anyone who has these sorts of imbalances, no matter how much fun they are, especially since the reality of the breakdown…

Or – “This Is The End, Beautiful Friend… The End.” I admit it. I initially only bought this title because of the presence of X-51, aka Mr. Machine, Sir MacHinery, Machine Man, and Aaron Stack. One of Kirby’s lesser-known creations, the big purple guy with the taillights for eyes first bowed in the 2001: A Space Odyssey series in 1978, and has never actually had a run that lasted more than 12 issues consecutively. His “Space Odyssey” run was three issues, his first book, titled Machine Man, ran 19 issues, but there was a break of almost a year between…

Or – “The 1970’s Never Looked So Good.” The arrival of an issue of Astro City is one of those rare treats, like a Peanut Buster Parfait, or perhaps seeing your favorite movie on cable on a Saturday night when you’re up anyway, and there’s nothing else on but Skinemax.  It’s quite sad that this kind of quality requires long-term slaving by master-level comic industry craftsmen to create, making the wait between issues much longer than the norm.  Busiek and Anderson’s masterpiece is knee-deep in history, dealing with one of the darkest periods in Astro City’s past, an era of superfreaks, backstabbers,…

Ralph beats the Devil The big build-up of Ralph’s journey to be reunited with his wife finally reaches its climax. And as suspected, all is not as it seems. Spoilers ahead!

Or – “Then The Door Was Opened And The Wind Appeared…” I really meant to pick up this series from issue #1, but I chose not to go in on Wednesday the week that #1 shipped. By the time I arrived for the Friday night closing shift, Mystery Theatre #1 was waaay gone, like a Ginger Baker drum solo in a dusty basement full of beatniks and hipsters. Most interestingly of all, nobody within a thirty minute radius had it either, which means that there’s a lotta love out there for Wesley Dodds. This pleases me, as kids today have…

Or – “The Calm Before The Storm Before The Even Bigger Storm…” After yesterday’s apocalyptic epic tale of destruction, conflict, death, (Contrary to my inital report, Marvel says that 53 people died during the course of the battle, including 6 costumed superheroes.  I fear for Nighthawk.) and crying Captain Americas, I feel the need to purge, to cleanse the palate with a nice fruity sorbet, as Wayne Campbell might put it.  And nothing’s better to get the taste of ashes and broken friendships out of your mind than some nice, straightforward storytelling.  When I want a breath of fresh air, I pick…

Or – “Much Ado About… Something…” It’s one of the most talked-about series in years… The final nail in the coffin of the Status Quo (at least until the next big series shakeup), the foundations of a new Marvel Universe, and the entire series has been filled with moments that you thought they couldn’t top. Marvel has set expectations incredibly high with this series, and after the lukewarm response (not to mention the lukewarm stories) of “House of M,” it’s a chance to show that they’re the industry leader for a reason. You’ve read about it, debated it, complained vehemently…

Or – “Superstar Is Such A Subjective Term…” This issue marks two separate benchmarks in the history of the New Avengers. We finally get to see the first glimpses of the post-Civil War lineup (and it’s certainly interesting), and we see the debut of Leinil Yu as penciller. Marvel Comics, Wizard, and six guys who read Wolverine have informed me how wonderful his art is, and I’m looking forward to finally seeing what the wunderkind has to offer. Bear in mind, however, that Wizard has also tried to sell me on the work of Rob Liefeld, Bart Sears, Steve Platt,…

Or – “Stand By For Matthew ‘Mark-Out’ Moment In Three… Two… One…” I realized something during this issue of USFF that I hadn’t realized before… The structure of this story is very much a classical “rags to riches” tale, with the characters starting at their lowest points (or in some cases, being INTRODUCED at an intentionally low point) and building towards heroism. The thing that masked it from me was, ironically, the one piece of the puzzle that stuck in my craw: Not all the old Fighters were dead. In fact, as I intimated last time, one of them was…

Or – “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got, Blah Blah Blah…” The Heroes for Hire have, so far, been very much on a rocket bus, with the first couple of issues racing through a Civil War tie-in (with Misty and Colleen taking a stand against Iron Man, and NOT getting beaten within an inch of their lives in the middle of a street, proving that if you want to get anything past Tony Stark, it’s best to have mammaries), then a second arc of high speed mayhem featuring Ricadonna, several supervillains who should be dead (a recurring them for this…

More tales draw to a close We are 41 weeks into DC’s 52, and naturally many of the storylines need to build to a conclusion if we are to get to World War III before May. This week, we get to see more Green Lanterns, see Renee fight a dragon, learn how T.O. Morrow made his escape, and get a brief cameo by one of the big three. I have a much better outlook on 52 this week, and was generally pleased with the results.

Or – “Dying Is Easy, Comedy Is Hard… And They’ve Tried One Already.” Okay, that’s probably not fair. After all, comedy is difficult, and many writers who have a good grasp of dialogue, story, and character can’t be funny. Heck, even the writers who are PROVEN funny (guys like Dan Slott, Kurt Busiek, even Joss Whedon) aren’t 100% universally hilarious. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the often-imitated, never-duplicated concept known as “The Funny” is trapped somewhere between the lens and the retina of the beholder, forever entombed in eye goop. Why do you…

Or – “Jamie Madrox, Agent of S.H.E.E.S.H.” Everybody knows what it’s like to be indecisive, unable to make a decision. I’ve spent the entire year 2007 barely capable of deciding fries vs. onion rings, one of the unpleasant side effects of the year from Aitch Ee Double Hockey Sticks. Imagine how much worse it would be if I could actually separate portions of my personality and let them fight it out among themselves… You really have to feel bad for James Madrox. Not only do his moods get the best of him, sometimes they go walkabout and dig holes that…