Welcome to another edition of Gil’s Stack! This week I have a lot of big titles coming. And I’ll get them all reviewed as quickly as possible, but I’m fighting a particularly nasty bug, so they’ll be a little slow this week (sorry!). But we have Superman #701, Daredevil #508, Avengers Academy #2, and Chew #12. Check it out behind the cut!
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
Superman #701
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Eddy Barrows & J.P. Mayer
Cover by John CassadayJ. Michael Straczynski begins his highly anticipated run on SUPERMAN! After the devastating events of WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, how can Superman possibly continue his battle for Truth, Justice and the American Way? Find out here in “Grounded” part 1 and get in on the starting line of a modern-classic SUPERMAN story!
One issue in, and J. Michael Straczynski’s run is already dividing fans right down the middle. Some people find it boring, others find it a welcome change from the overblown fantastical stories that have dominated any books within the “Superman” franchise.
To be fair, I’m somewhere in the middle. I don’t find it boring per se, but I’m not really connecting with it like JMS might have intended. While JMS certainly intended for Superman to connect with the common man, instead, for most of the issue Superman comes off mopey and self-righteous. For example, he encounters some drug dealers in South Philadelphia, and he does what he can do to disrupt their business. But here, it comes off as extremely awkward, like a white guy wrote people he can’t possibly relate to.
It’s also a rather confusing thought to keep Superman IN the Superman persona. One might think that Clark would take center stage. If he’s trying to reconnect with humanity, his human persona should actually BE in the book, right? Not so. The lack of a true secret identity is hurting the book. There are no interactions with Perry White or Jimmy Olsen, and even Lois is barely in it. It’s a sad thing to find out that secret identities have been rendered unusable except for a few select books.
But he does redeem himself. There’s a poignant scene later in the book; one that ends up being the climax of his time in Philadelphia. In a moment reminiscent of Grant Morrison’s run on All-Star Superman, Superman spends time with a jumper in what looks like Downtown. Here for the first time, he’s not self-righteous, he doesn’t judge, but he’s still so damned mopey.
The art has its up and downs too. Eddy Barrows is a decent storyteller, but his expressions come off as hammy and overwrought. But I suppose if you meet Superman, you might have the same expressions? I’m not sure. Even Superman has these expressions that are just strange. Superman surely has a sense of humor, but in a lot of panels, I don’t see a sense of humor, I see a sense of smug superiority. But Barrows brings it all together for that jumper scene. It’s was a lovely moment when Kal-El holds the young woman in mid air, as there was some genuine care in his eyes and some true despair in hers.
The book had ups and downs, but mostly downs. I can’t recommend it as much as I would like to as a Superman fan. Check it out if you like JMS or Superman, but it won’t endear you to either just yet.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 6.5 – Browse
Daredevil #508
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Roberto De La Torre
Cover by John Cassaday.“Shadowland” tie-in. Matt Murdock has long played judge and jury to criminals as Daredevil, but has he now become executioner as well?! Shadowland takes over Daredevil and his friends aren’t about to stand by and lose him on the path he seems destined for. A major player joins the battle as Hell’s Kitchen is about to live up to its name once more.
Did you read Shadowland last week? Did you see what happened? Well, if you haven’t, don’t bother with this title. But if you’re reading Daredevil, why WOULDN’T you be reading this Shadowland?
To be honest, the book just didn’t jive with me. I get the whole setup for the mini, but I’m not really buying Daredevil as the newest antagonist in the Street Level Universe. And in this book, Daredevil is barely in it. It seems like this will deal with the fallout from the goings on in Shadowland. I would imagine that Foggy and company will be the leads here.
The writing here isn’t bad at all, it’s just hard for me to connect to a series I’ve been largely disconnected from the Daredevil story that I just don’t buy it. The character is so different from when I last read the title that it’s definitely jarring to say the least.
But at least the art is done well. Roberto de la Torre has a style that reminds one of Alex Maleev, and the mood he sets totally works for the book. It’s dark, it’s rough, it’s moody, it just works. There’s a scene in the book, and one of the few scenes in the book where Matt Murdock actually does appear, but some thugs try to rob and elderly rabbi it seems (or just a guy with a large beard, it could be Matt for all I know.) and Daredevil and his gang of ninja intercept and obliterate these hooligans, branding a red hand on their forehead. It was a superbly written scene, elevated by the artist.
But while I do have an issue connecting with the series, it’s not bad by any means. But I will say that if you’re not a DD fan, it’s probably best to either sit this one out, or wait for trade. I’ll probably be doing the same.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – Browse
Avengers Academy #2
Writer: Christos Gage
Artist: Mike McKoneTIME TO MEET THE AVENGERS ACADEMY TEACHERS! Hank Pym, Quicksilver, Tigra, Justice and Speedball (that’s right, we said Speedball) are here to mentor the next generation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes…but is one of the students hot for teacher? Plus: Get a glimpse inside the mind of Finesse, the enigmatic polymath who can duplicate any skill but who finds human interaction the most baffling mystery of all! The return of the walking death machine known as Arsenal! Hints at a student’s possible connection with a well known Marvel character! Quicksilver gets old school! All this, and one of the kids makes a Faustian bargain!
I love this book.
I really do. As a matter of fact, I would put it neck and neck with New Avengers for my favorite Avengers book on the market. It’s a lot of fun, the characters are refreshing and I’ve always thought there was a distinct lack of electrically based heroes, and this book fixes that, and then some. I love the unique characters Christos Gage and Mike McKone created, and I love the status quo in which they’ve been placed.
My only real qualm is that it doesn’t focus enough on the teachers. While I love these new characters, I would like to see more of Hank in the forefront, as Dan Slott took a lot of time and effort to make him not only relevant again, but redeemable as well. I want more of him, and I want him now! I can accept that there are some threads continuing and will be picked up at a later date though. I just want to see more Hank.
Continued belowBut I guess I’ll have to make do with more Quicksilver. Gage is following up on a thread started by Slott where Quicksilver claimed to have been replaced by a Skrull before Secret Invasion, and even though it was a blatant lie, the public embraced it and he’s a generally accepted character once again. But one of our students (guess which one!) blackmails him into teaching her about things that would normally be forbidden to learn or teach. It was a wonderful moment that was just about the perfect way to end the book. The heroine in training is a real piece of work, and I love every minute of it.
McKone’s art as well, is a breath of fresh air. When he was sharing the workload with Immonen on New Avengers, it was a bit jarring going from one style to another, but here it’s perfect. The tone of the book and his character designs are brilliant. His storytelling is top notch as well, giving us a short but intense fight between the cadets and an old villain that wasn’t exactly one that was approved for use. All in all, it was a lot of fun.
If you want an Avengers book not bogged down by continuity with fresh young characters, you should be reading this book. Otherwise…I don’t know what to tell you
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
Chew #12
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Rob Guillory
Cover: Rob Guillory“JUST DESSERTS,” Part Two
The killer cock Poyo returns! Feathers will fly, and blood will spill! Plus: Tony Chu undercover!RETAILER WARNING: NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES
Along with Fables and The Walking Dead, this is one of the hardest books to review. It’s so consistently fantastic that I’m running out of ways to say as such while not repeating myself. But I’ll try.
Layman is some sort of mad genius. His story is very specific but so irreverent that it’s nothing else like anything on the market at all. It’s probably the best book Image puts out aside from The Walking Dead, and even then, I think Chew might be overtaking Kirkman’s classic sooner or later if he keeps telling this engrossing story. Why do I care about an overbearing FDA outlawing Chicken? Why do I care about a cockfighter named Poyo? I just DO. Especially when Poyo kills three gun toting maniacs with nothing more than his deadly beak. It’s awesome.
And Rob Guillory is just a genius too. I may not have given him much of a spotlight before, but the detail of his layouts are so insanely hilarious that I just have to give him props. I burst out laughing in one scene that probably wouldn’t have been necessarily for laughs when I saw a poster in the background saying “Kung-Fu Lessons — Tired of Crying?”
And that’s Guillory’s talent. The book is alternatively disturbing and hilarious, and this scene was a perfect example. It’s a lot like Buffy the Vampire Slayer in that there are these terrible villains, but then a snarky blonde who just throws out these one-liners that are just so inappropriately hilarious.
So really; pick up the book. You won’t be disappointed.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Buy
