Reviews 

Wednesday Is New Comic Book Day! (Reviews 03-31-10)

By | April 1st, 2010
Posted in Reviews | % Comments


Welcome back, friends of all ages, races, sizes and species! We’ve got a great round-up of comics for you as well as two titles for our book(s) of the week slot. I’d also like to remind you, you can check out our rating system below:

0: Uwe Boll will direct the adaptation of this comic
0.1 – 1: Burn upon touching
1- 1.9: Abysmal
2.0 – 2.9: Art. Writing. Editing. All bad.
3.0 – 3.9: You’d be a masochist to pick this up.
4.0 – 4.9: “I’ll give it another month…but that was not good.”
5.0 – 5.9: “Really? The Watcher? In the face? I guess it was fun.”
6.0 – 6.9: “Hmm. That was decent.”
7.0 – 7.9: Well made but a few problems
8.0 – 8.9: Nearly flawless
9.0 – 9.9: Outstanding
10: Perfection. Issue of the year contender

For those wondering, Pass would be anywhere from 0 to 3.9, Browse would be 4 to 6.9, and Buy would be from 7 to 10. So what are you waiting for? Hop on past the jump and enjoy!

Also, are there any books you’d like to see us review? Let us know in the comments, and one of us will get right on it! We’ll also keep those books in mind for future weeks!

Book of the Week #1: Blackest Night #8

Matt’s Thoughts: Blackest Night… where to begin…

In preparation for Blackest Night #8, I thought it would be a fun idea to go through the past 7 issues and see how it matches up. Long story short, not well. As far as a single event goes from front to back within the pages of it’s main book, Blackest Night reads pretty poor. There is a lot that happens OUTSIDE the main story, which bugs me to no end. I feel like this is the biggest fault of Blackest Night – it wasn’t centralized enough. From front to back, Blackest Night really just feels like filler for Green Lantern, and it definitely should have been the other way around.

On top of that, the ending is (expectedly) underwhelming. I expected a lot of events in Blackest Night that just never came to be. One thing I was greatly looking forward to was heavy exposition from Nekron, which Johns has been known to do with his villains. One might give him accolades for breaking from his traditional mold, but in reality Nekron feels like the most glossed over element of Blackest Night. He was the Big Bad, yet I never really felt like he was the threat at all. In fact, for all the build-up to his appearance, I’ve gotta say I’m really saddened by Nekron’s appearance at all. This issue was incredibly odd in that Johns, who is such a stickler for continuity and bringing back old ideas, somehow had Jordan forget how he defeated Nekron the FIRST time. Where was Kyle during all this? Certainly he might remember going up against the Big Bad of Blackest Night (in Green Lantern Annual #11)?

Finally, I’m not sure I like where this book leaves us. There are a lot of cool moments in the end, but I also feel like with the finale of finding out who lives and who stays dead, some of it is just too awkward and doesn’t exactly make sense. Granted, a lot of this is to build up for the upcoming Brightest Day book, but at the same time I wish there was a bit more closure to certain elements. The ending is basically, “Hey! This was the worst night ever! Oh shit, look at that! Anyways. You guys wanna go grab a coke?” Honestly: why is Digger alive? After all of Blackest Night: Flash, why Digger? And Thawne? Maxwell Lord? The Anti-Monitor? Yes, villains have to come back, but of all the villains to bring back… and HAWK? Osiris I get because Johns created the character, but even that is pretty odd considering Johns also just ended things for the Marvel Family in the pages of JSA. Maybe it’s just me, but I am very torn on that whole element. Add that to the amount of questions we are left having, as well as now continuity errors between this and Batman and Robin, and you’ve got a pretty sore reviewer.

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However, Ivan Reis is obviously the champion of this book. There are quite a few amazing pages contained within this book. The reveal of who lives is fantastic, and a true triumph of his talent. There are so many images in here I would love to cut out and frame on my wall, and I am not sure if there will be a better looking book this year. If nothing else, Blackest Night has been a complete testament to what a fantastic artist Ivan Reis is, and the man deserves all the work in the world.

So Blackest Night is over. I went in with a positive attitude, and I did enjoy the book to a certain extent, but when I compare this book to the previous event that Johns penned (Infinite Crisis), or even something like the Sinestro Corps War, I can’t help but frown and feel let down. The first issue kicked us down and grabbed us by the junk, and the final issue apologized and gave us a lolipop. Well, the lolipop is nice and all, but our junk still hurts and you could’ve done more to sooth that ache.

As bad of an analogy as that may or may not be.

Gil’s Thoughts: He’s thinking, hold on!

Book of the Week #2: X-Men – Second Coming #1

David’s Thoughts: When we were splitting up the Book of the Week duties between Blackest Night and X-Men: Second Coming, I leapt at the chance to review the latter (well, not literally). As one of the long time X-Fans at Multiversity (Brandon and I bleed Blue and Gold – you’ll get that if you’re a long time X-Fan), I live for the days of the classic X-Over. Given that the last big one was the supremely awesome Messiah Complex (which also happened to be co-written by Second Coming’s Craig Kyle and Chris Yost) I was excited for this event. Evidently not excited enough, as this issue knocked me on my ass with its greatness.

Before I get started on reviewing the book, I wanted to mention something that is particularly great about this event. It begins and ends with one-shots, and every part in between are individual issues from Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants, X-Men: Legacy and X-Force that all work in concert to tell one story. We’re not getting one story with a ton of tie-ins that have no merit or are just money grabs. We’re not getting a central story with two other series that are required reading as well. We’re just getting one story starting at the same point and ending at another point. In short, it’s event heaven from a concept standpoint.

Kyle and Yost were the writers on the much loved New X-Men and the recent X-Force, so they’ve gotten a lot of experience writing these characters before. Still, the grasp they have for each character’s voice and the relationships they’ve developed is superb. Whether it’s a major character like Wolverine or Cyclops or someone far less known like Pixie or Magik, they completely nail them. Even a character like Namor (who I don’t think they’ve ever written) is captured perfectly, as they send up his massive ego in a highly comical way. Their dialogue and character abilities allow the events that unfold to proceed in a very organic manner, never taking you out of the action or lowering the tension even for a second.

Their pacing is also extraordinary, as each event that transpires is told in precisely the right manner to maximize their effect. When you think of it, a lot goes down in this issue. You have Cable and Hope’s return, the X-Men mobilizing to find them, the rest of the X-Men realizing something is up with X-Force, and the reveal of the big villains of the series (which, awesomely enough, is like a who’s who of 90’s X-Men event villains) all going down in these pages. Kyle and Yost have such a strong feel for this story that every moment realizes its potential in the most powerful way.

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Their feel rubs off on superstar artist David Finch, performing his last duties as interior artist for Marvel with this book. What a way to go out, as Finch completely kills it throughout. The figure work and layouts are stuff of beauty, but there is one moment that encapsulates the entire issue for me. In the one two page splash (versus six from Blackest Night!), Finch illustrates the X-Men’s assault on the Sapien League forces that are after Cable and Hope. It’s a jaw dropping page, as Finch’s scene design and just insanely kinetic action work take a relatively simple page and turn it into a masterwork.

To me, this is how you make an event comic. High quality, organic storytelling with an artist working perfectly in concert…it’s made of the stuff every comic fan hopes for when they open a comic. You can have your Siege‘s, your Blackest Night’s…I’ll take my Second Coming any day of the week.

Brandon’s Thoughts: FUCK YEAH!

I just wanted to get that off my chest. That is an X-Men title. Matt Fraction take notes cause Yost and Kyle are schooling on a college level here! That was the best issue of an X-Men title since Messiah Complex ended without a doubt in my mind. You had action, intrigue, big bads and teams! That’s right, defined teams! Holy shit when is the last time we saw that kind of business?!

With Yost and Kyle letting me down so epically with Necrosha it was great to see the best side of them here in this issue. The writing was engaging and showed us the best sides of an X-Men comic such as character interaction (Colossus and Illyana) and action (two page ass kicking Alpha X-Men spread). This issue had it all.

I also want to state that if we don’t get an X-Men Alpha team book following Cyclop’s Alpha team we are all getting massively screwed. That team was epic…EPIC! The character combos were rich and the team dynamic would make for years worth of solid stories. Please no more undefined teams. Please give us back our teams that grow together and rely on one another.

This was a great issue and I can’t wait for the rest of this event to play out. I haven’t been this excited for an X-Men title since, again, Messiah Complex. So high standards are set lets hope Second Coming lives up to them.

MATT’S REVIEWS

New Mutants #11
I’ve been a big supporter of the New Mutants book. The first arc was a bit meh, but the Necrosha arc was the best part of Necrosha in my mind. I absolutely loved it. What followed helped solidify the book in my pull list. Of course, Marvel announced that the 11th issue of the book would basically be a one shot that, for some odd reason, would bring New Mutants into Siege. Or rather, it would bring Dani Moonstar/Valkyrie back and end a loose thread from Utopia. On top of that, it would be written by Kieron Gillen (Phonogram, SWORD) and be drawn by Niko Henrichon (Pride of Baghdad, that one awesome issue of New X-Men)! With that, the anticipation on my behalf rose greatly.

And boy, did this issue pay off! Continuing the trend of great New Mutants issues, this was by far my favorite book to read this week. In the issue, we see Hela contacting Dani in order to make her Hel’s Valkyrie for Siege. Dani rises to the occasion, and we see Siege from a brand new angle. This is due to what I can only say is the greatest collaboration between writer and artist this week:

In the right corner, we have Kieron Gillen. Gillen picked up the reigns on Thor and has been doing a FANTASTIC job with incorporating the Thor mythos into an excellent but ultimately short run. So what better way to let him have a bit more fun than give him two one-shots to show off his talent (the second being the unreleased Siege: Loki)? The story, as much of a “one-shot” as it is (in that you don’t have to have read New Mutants to get it, but it doesn’t really effect your reading of Siege), reads fantastic from beginning to end. Definitely some of the most fun I’ve had in the book since it began, and I was already a huge fan. Gillen also does what I love him best for: taking a character I didn’t think I’d ever care about beyond a surface level and reigniting my interesting in them, i.e. Hela. Now I want to see Gillent write more myth characters, and I’m actually fairly bummed he’ll be leaving the Thor title.

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In the left corner, we have Niko Henrichon. Henrichon is an artist who I’ve adored since I first read Pride of Baghdad. Unfortunately, the man does not have a lot of mainstream comic work. He has a second OGN on Vertigo called Barnum, and did an issue of New X-Men in the past, but other than that I’m scraping the barrel for comics from him. So to have his magnificent talent on a book like New Mutants, which I’m already digging, is fantastic. Henrichon does an amazing job in this book as is to be expected. His lines look fantastic and the inks and colors provided by Sarra Mossoff and Stan Goldberg respectively do a fantastic job bringing it all to life.

Needless to say, this should have been in everyone’s pull this week. As much as New Mutants hasn’t had the chance to really grow off on on it’s own due to constantly being part of one crossover or another, that doesn’t make this issue any less great.

Final Verdict: 9.2 – Buy

Adventure Comics #9
Adventure Comics started off as one of my favorite new series that I recommended to everyone, and now I pretty much just shrug it off and read it when it comes out. It’s gone down in my pull a bit in order of importance, and this issue pretty much is a perfect example of why. I’m not one of those people who are just so upset that Manapul and Johns went on to another book – it bugs me, yes, but I figured the book could sustain itself without them. Apparently not.

Since their departure, the book has merely served as a tie-in tool. It was in Blackest Night and now it’s giving snap shots of events happening around the Last Stand of New Krypton. That’s all fine and dandy, but I hate buying a book knowing that it’s pretty much just a spot for filler – ESPECIALLY when it’s using GREAT characters! Superboy and the Legion are some of my favorite characters to read in the modern day DCU, and in all honesty, Adventure Comics needs to pick one group and focus on them. To bounce between stories is just .. awkward.

That said, the issue is still fairly well written. Robinson’s portion with Travis Moore features some backstory on Brainy 5, and while it’s ultimately unnecessary for fans of the book and feels like excessive filler, it’s well written filler. The Sterling Gates story, with art by Eduardo Pansica is pretty good as well, featuring a portion of the book that is – again – ultimately dismissable, yet still well written and featuring some awesome Supergirl/Superboy/Legion teaming up. Of course though, just like last issue, I don’t care for the Awake story by Eric Trautman and Pier Gallo. I just don’t see the point of it at all, and I can’t say I care about these characters at all. There is a huge war going on over on New Krypton – why do I care about sleeper cells on Earth anymore? Isn’t that the point of reading ACTION Comics, not ADVENTURE Comics?

Ultimately, I’m pretty disappointed in the book. I just hate filler issues, and when you have not only a filler issue but an anthology filler issue, it better be GREAT or I’m going to be bored by it. It doesn’t matter that it’s well written or features characters I like because, while I can appreciate those aspects, it still a) feels like a waste of my dollar and b) leaves me bored. In all reality, though, I feel like I’m just killing time until all of this over and we can get on to some kick-ass Legion stories. I’m willing to wait, but I can’t say I care as much as I used to about this book.

Final Verdict: 3.5 – Pass

Detective Comics #863
This is the final issue of Greg Rucka’s run on Detective Comics, and it’s a very sad occasion for me. This will mark the first time in quite a while that I will stop buying Detective Comics. It was my favorite non-Morrison Batbook, and with Rucka’s fantastic job bringing Batwoman to life as a fully functional character able to operate on her own, I can’t say I really want to read this book without his (or her) involvement.

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This issue marks the end of the cutter arc. Juxtaposed with the story of Bat-past, Kate faces against the more modern and deadiler Cutter. Of course, now we see how the two arcs truly do match up, and Greg Rucka pulls it off wonderfully. The story is great, and this issue greatly brings the crossover effect to the forefront. Rucka even does a great job of matching dialogue from the past and present, helping the story to flow and show the changes in temperament between Batman’s era and Batwoman’s. It’s really wonderfully scripted to be quite honest, and while the arc overall isn’t as good as the original arcs, it does make for a great “final” story before Detective Comics moves off in a new direction (though why anyone would think that’s a good idea is beyond me).

The art is a bit odd. I like it, and I’m not trying to saying anything against it, but let’s look at it objectively. Jock had been doing his best JH Williams III impression since joining the book, and it looked especially great in the previous issue, but with this book Scott Kolins comes in to finish it off. At first I didn’t even notice as I was so drawn in by the story, but upon my re-read of the book it became quite a bit jarring. This isn’t like the Fantastic Four where Immonen did his best Hitch impression, this was a HUGE change in characterization that I just didn’t quite grasp. Of course, Jock’s art and Kolin’s art both look great, and I love their blue vs red overtones. Even without JH Williams III, Detective Comics is still one of the best books visually.

I will miss Greg Rucka on Detective Comics, and it is pretty clear that he has more left to do with the character of Kate. Where we will see her again I’m not quite sure, but I can only hope that it is soon. It’d be a shame to lose such a creative book which really pushes a “new” character to the forefront. And considering that, even if people don’t take to Kate as much as they are taking to Dick, Detective Comics is a staple in the Bat-verse, so it won’t be cancelled any time soon.

So let’s keep up the good work and just skip the whole Arkham arc, ok? Please?

Final Verdict: 8.9 – Buy

Justice League of America
I’m going to start this off by pretending that the first few issues of James Robinson’s run on JLA didn’t happen. That first issue, as well as the Blackest Night stuff? Nope. Didn’t happen. James Robinson’s issue was the first issue of the current arc, and that’s all there is to it, ok?

With that in mind, this was a very up and down first arc. These “new villains” are pretty poor, and the overall mystery of the story is quite odd. That and the constant teasing about the “new Justice League”, and THIS is where we end up? With FOUR MEMBERS? I understand that this is all tied into the “Rise and Fall” hooplah, and next it’ll be part of Brightest Day, but seriously? I’m NOT part of the James Robinson witchhunt and I still enjoy his work, but I did not apreciate that ending. Three issues is a good amount of issues for arcs and all, but Robinson did not pull it off.

That said, the ending of this issue was GREAT. It’s tough to write a comic that is so clearly in a transitional period, especially when a writer obviously has to stick to certain editorial edicts. We’ve seen it happen before in comics, and we’ll see it happen again. With Robinson’s JLA, he is very clearly filling in some “necessary gaps” in the story that he has to. Did he do a good job with it? Not really. The Blackest Night stuff was REALLY poor (and full of sour continuity errors and editing goofs), and this has just been rather poor. But I’ll be damned if I don’t flat out say that the last page isn’t one of the most fascinating last pages I’ve seen this week, and I am most definitely intrigued as to where this book is going. Needless to say, I will be following it.

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The oddest thing to me is Mark Bagley’s art, though. I expect good work from him – whether it’s his 90’s work in Venom or Ultimate Spider-Man with Bendis. Even his brief pages in Alias dealing with Jewel’s encounter with the Purple Man. This? This just looks fairly poor. Almost rushed even. The lines are a tad uneven, and most of it just appears sloppy. I know Bagley is capable of more refined work than this, so I can’t honestly understand why he’s phoning it in so much in this book.

Needless to say, I’m torn with Justice League. I don’t hate it as some do, and I want to see where it’s going very much. As I said, that last page is definitely killer, and brings back a lot of solid DC ideas that aren’t explored enough. However, the poor writing by Robinson in his first (technically, second) arc as well as phoned in art by Bagley… it’s not boding well.

Final Verdict: 6.5 – Browse

DAVID’S REVIEWS

Fantastic Four #577
Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham’s Fantastic Four is the Fantastic Four book we’ve been waiting for since Lee and Kirby left the title…or at least since John Byrne. Since they took over, they’ve established the FF as a family and explorers of the unknwon first and foremost. They took the team back to the basics and gave them a heart again, and it has made this title a joy to read again.

One of the most amazing things that Hickman has done so far is refreshing a lot of ideas and traditions from the Lee/Kirby era. In this “Prime Elements” arc, we’ve been given three aspects that were created or built on during the Lee/Kirby run (Atlantis, Moloids/subterranean life on Earth, the Inhumans), except with the evolution of those species for a modern era. Really, that word encapsulates what makes Hickman’s imagination on this book so incredible: evolution. His FF, to me, is the evolutionary equivalent of Stan and Jack’s team from oh so long ago. You’d think this is what you’d get with every team, but it really isn’t. It’s refreshing to read something like this if only for that reason.

The momentum from the previous three issues continues to build, as the third of the four prophecied (by future Franklin Richards) cities was revealed in the form of a city-ship filled with Centaurians, Badoon, Kymellians, and Dire Wraiths. The story is told in a tense, slow burn fashion, giving us all kinds of intriguing story beats like the introduction of Dal Damoc (an Inhuman who calls himself The Summoner), an appearance by The Watcher, a subtle new wrinkle to Sue Storm’s power set, and of course the ultimate plan of this Inhuman clan. It’s wonderfully well told, and something that effortlessly captures the balance fans of the FF have yearned for in the past couple decades.

Dale Eaglesham’s art…man. I really just can’t say enough about the guy. You can tell by the design work he does here that he was probably a Kirby fan, as his character models have a real classic feel and he seems to have a blast designing machines, space ships, and all of the extraordinary things the team comes across. It’s like a kid who has always dreamt of playing in a certain sandbox, and now that he’s finally gotten his chance he’s making it count. This is one absurdly beautiful sand castle.

Hickman and Eaglesham’s Fantastic Four is Marvel’s best team book. With the exception of possibly Criminal, it’s their best book period. If you’re a fan of comics, I can’t think of a single reason why you wouldn’t be reading it already. If you aren’t, I suggest start catching up sooner rather than later.

Final Verdict: 9.5 – Buy

RASL #7
In my review of the last issue of this title, I lamented some difficulties I had with it. Because of the stretched out release schedule, I found myself not really understanding what was going on in the issue and withdrawing from it as a reader. While I fully admitted Jeff Smith’s writing and art was of a high quality, not being able to fit this puzzle piece in the whole made the experience a maddening one. I even went as far to say as this book is one that you are better off trade waiting on.

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Somewhat predictably, this issue happens to be the best one yet, and one that already is making me backtrack at high speeds.

This is an impeccably designed issue, giving us three primary plot threads that really pushed the story along in the short span of this issue. Smith expands on the Tesla connection from last issue, reveals the details of RASL’s disillusionment of his former scientific partnership, and continues the exploits in the present with RASL and Sal. The latter plot thread was particularly revelatory when observed in conjunction with the other two, as we quickly find out how all of chess pieces stand on the board in relation to each other when taken with a birds eye view. The pacing of the story was elegant, with the three story threads dovetailing effortlessly to bolster the strengths of each individual one. It’s just phenomenal storytelling throughout.

Smith the artist was his standard self…you know, gorgeous visuals with a clean look that doesn’t quite look like anyone else. One section worked well in particular, as the last three pages really floored me. The last five panels are entirely silent, just images of RASL at two points in his life and a clever visual cue that shows the interconnectedness of his life and the events that transpire during it. It’s beautiful work, and work that elicits an oddly emotional response from me.

While this series was very good before, to me, this is the issue where it takes the leap up to great. I went from recommending waiting for trades on this title to wholeheartedly saying you should buy the issue. To me, this is Smith’s best work since the culmination of Bone. That’s a hell of a thing.

Final Verdict: 8.8 – Buy

Unknown Soldier #18
Unknown Soldier‘s Moses Lwanga is perhaps the most complex and interesting protagonist in all of comics. I mean, this is a guy who started off as a world renowned doctor and activist originally from Uganda and has now transitioned into being the spectre of death and retribution for the Acholi people, as well as someone who hears voices in his head and perpetually wears bandages on his head. This month’s cover illustrates the character about as well as any, displaying a dark half of the character holding a rifle while a light half holds a baby – he’s a man who is constantly at war internally to a (quite possibly literally) degree.

Joshua Dysart choice to develop this charitable and caring man into a blood thirsty one who will do anything to achieve his goals was an extremely powerful one. One of the central themes of the story is the idea of whether or not solving violence with violence is just, and whether or not it’s worth it in the long run. In one particularly devastating sequence, Dysart has Moses confront his recent charge Paul as the boy begs to take him with. In this heartwrenching scene, Moses confronts his fate and what he hopes for the boy (“you’re going to be saved and I’m going to be damned, and that’s the way it has to be”) while also humorously confronting his own degrading sanity. It is remarkable work from Dysart, who has earned every bit of the praise that has been given to him for this book.

He’s found the perfect collaborator on this book in Alberto Ponticelli. Ponticelli’s artwork works superbly in concert with Dysart’s script, like in the aforementioned scene where Ponticelli solidifies its power with a real gift for subtle storytelling. This book is beautifully told in every way possible.

Unknown Soldier has really taken its place in the upper echelon of Vertigo books for me, rivaling the likes of Fables, DMZ, Scalped and The Unwritten for the best book in their arsenal. It deserves that spot, just like it deserves a spot in your pull list.

Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy

The Terminator 2029 #1
I originally hadn’t planned on picking this book up. I actually didn’t know it was coming out until I saw Dark Horse talking it up on Twitter, and armed with the fact that it was a) a Terminator comic and b) written by Zack Whedon, I dove in headfirst. Why not…I’m trying to be more adventurous with my comic purchasing.

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I’m very glad I did, as it turns out Zack has a real gift for dialogue and character development just like his brother Joss.

Right off the bat, we’re introduced to two new characters on guard duty outside of a colony of humans in the world where Terminators won the war. Paige and Ben aren’t given a lot of dialogue, but they quickly win us over with distinct personalities and a real charm imbued into them by Whedon. By the time Kyle Reese (aka Michale Biehn from Terminator and Anton Yelchin from Terminator: Salvation) shows up, we’re hooked already on this triumvriate of leads. When everything goes wrong (as things normally do in this world), I find myself really caring for their survival.

The story itself is a classic take on the “oh my god, they look like us now!” formula from the movies. Thankfully, it seems as if Whedon eschewed Reese’s first experience with a humanoid Terminator from Salvation for the one in this book. It allows for the story as a whole to work way better and for us to get a more exciting moment of revelation than that film provided (even if I enjoyed it more than most).

Andy MacDonald provided art in this issue, and while I’d never heard of him before I can say I genuinely enjoyed his work. While nothing about it really jumped off the page, he did everything well. He is a strong storyteller, aiding Whedon’s cause instead of hamstringing him. His character design and action sequences are well done and all in all I really liked it. There was one panel in particular that was rough (the “Terminators are invading!” scene with four THOOM’s), but for someone I’d never heard of in a book I didn’t expect to grab, I’ll call that a big win.

Overall, I’m going to call this a damn solid book. Whedon and MacDonald did really nice work here and made me into an evangelist: for those that are looking for an intriguing new book, check this one out. For Terminator fans, it gives you another look at one of your favorite worlds. For non-fans, it’s just a really great book about a dystopian future and how one survives when the world is so dark.

Final Verdict: 8.5 – Buy

GIL’S REVIEWS

Sword #23
Review pending, check back soon!

Amazing Spider-Man #627
Review pending, check back soon!

Cloak and Dagger #1
Review pending, check back soon!

Dark Wolverine #84
Review pending, check back soon!

BRANDON’S REVIEWS

Teen Titans #81
This title finally shows some promise after a long spell of mediocre to bland issues. Having said that I still don’t feel this issue breaks that trend as much as it starts the title on the right path. The beginning of the issue to just before the last five pages or so was pretty hard to swallow.

One of my problems is I just can’t find myself caring about Static or his hometown. He is not a character who I grew up loving nor is he a character that has come even remotely to growing on me since the Milestone characters were brought into the DC fold. He has potential but so far he comes across as nothing special.

The other problem is the writing through the issue just doesn’t read we. The first few pages especially had be scratching my head and rolling my eyes. The first page is filled with word balloons filled with overly punctuated sentences. I know it was for effect but the only effect it had on me was to wish the issue had concluded.

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The last problem I had was the characterizations. With a gaggle of Teen Titans held by Holocaust they al find the opportunity to bond and have a laugh. While this isn’t too far fetched a concept it does come across rather abruptly out of the blue. I just wasn’t buying it one iota.

The art here is a plus though and is one of the few things keeping this issue afloat. I enjoyed the renderings of the characters as well as their facial expressions. Even when the emotions seemed far-fetched Joe Bennett gets them across clearly and with style.

So what gets this title back on track? Well the big guns are coming back. While I do enjoy some of the lesser-exposed characters like Blue Beetle and Miss Martian I is always nice to have Superboy, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl together. Not to mention you have Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy there too. Now, if only they could get an A-List creative team behind the title or at least a new writer this title may be back in the solid title category. Until that time though this title has a lot of work to do.

Final Verdict: 4.6 – Pass

X-Force #25
With Blackest Night ending and Second Coming starting this little issue seemed to fall through the cracks. The funny thing is it fits somewhere in between these two stories. It is an X-Men story with characters returning from the dead to torment our heroes. So, X-Men: Blackest Night essentially.

So why did this issue seemingly end up in the land of forgotten titles. Well, I’d imagine because it just isn’t a very good conclusion to a not so good mini event. That’s just if I had to guess off the top of my head that is. It just doesn’t come through with much and doesn’t provide many holy shit moments like a concluding issue should.

The only thing I enjoyed was the confrontation between Wither and Elixir! As a New X-Men fan this is something I had been waiting for with bated breath for quite awhile. While the fight wasn’t amazing the dialogue was satisfying. It was a plot I thought we’d never see put to rest so I was, if anything, happy to at least see it occur.

One thing I really disliked though was the off-handed nature in which the end of the book tells us that some people escaped. So basically we now have an open plot device to bring back dead mutants? Also, Blink is out there and now we probably won’t see AOA Blink for a lot longer. These things bother the hell out of me. I guess the upside is my beloved Maggott now has an open window to return! Someone please make this happen!

Final Verdict: 4.4 – Pass

Wolverine: Origins #46
This is probably my favorite issue of this series. This doesn’t say a whole lot considering I have been a heavy critic of this series but I still rather enjoyed this issue. I felt for the first time Daniel Way tapped into the heart of the character. He found the soul of Logan and conveyed it beautifully. Now why couldn’t he have done this throughout his tenure on the title? Why did it take this long?

The way Wolverine bared his soul through this issue to Nightcrawler just felt right. From the beginning to the very end where he tries to leave instead of confronting his emotions with Nightcrawler’s help it just was solid stuff. I can’t offer up many complaints here to be honest.

The art from Scott Eaton helped to make this easily my favorite issue of the series as well. I have never denied I am rather fond of his art style and I am constantly excited when he pops up on a title I am reading. Now can we get this guy a consistent gig on a top-notch title? Get him back with Carey on Legacy or even put him with Fraction. Either way this guy needs to draw more X-Men!

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Final Verdict: 8.0 Buy it

Justice Society of America #37
Days of Future JSA anyone? This issue was not the most original concept with the heroes retelling how they got to this terrible future but it was still a fun read. I know a lot of people who just don’t enjoy this title like they did under Geoff Johns but I find that this title has been great if you like running plot threads. I do so this is a fun one for me.

This issue starts showing some great payoffs from early issues that even I didn’t necessarily think were stellar. The reveal of what keeps the Nazi’s superhuman depowering machine was a total, ‘Ohhhhh…nice!”, moment for me. It made sense and paid something off that I didn’t think would ever payoff. It really opened up the entire run in a way I don’t think it has been before.

The surprise ending with all the guest stars was really neat. I especially enjoyed seeing one underrated hero pop up and offer to sacrifice himself potentially for the greater endgame. The end of this issue really was a cool alternate future moment. I’m interested to see how this all plays out and where our heroes will go from the end of this arc. Until then I’m just going to continue enjoying this book.

Final Verdict: 7.5 – Buy


Matthew Meylikhov

Once upon a time, Matthew Meylikhov became the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Multiversity Comics, where he was known for his beard and fondness for cats. Then he became only one of those things. Now, if you listen really carefully at night, you may still hear from whispers on the wind a faint voice saying, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine is not as bad as everyone says it issss."

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