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WINCBD! Gil’s Stack (9-22-10)

By | September 26th, 2010
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

You knwo the drill, here are my books this week. This week there are a lot of 5’s in my lists, with the fifth issues of Flash, Adjectiveless Avengers, and Legion of Super-Heroes here, along with the fifty-second issue of Green Lantern Corps! What a coincidence! The scale is as follows:

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

The Flash #5
WRITER: Geoff Johns
ARTIST: Francis Manapul
COVERS: Francis Manapul, Ryan Sook, Fernando Pasarin, and Joel Gomez

BRIGHTEST DAY continues with a shocking connection to the White Light as Captain Boomerang and the Reverse-Flash experience a bizarre event that ties them together. Meanwhile, it’s the Rogues vs. the Renegades with The Flash caught in the middle!

Last month when I reviewed The Flash, I was a little tough on it. I said the art was a little rougher than normal and it dragged down an otherwise fantastic book.

Well, then I was harsher than I should have been. I admit that. End here, the art is just as good if not better. Manapul upped his game for this issue, with innovative panel layouts and colors that pop off the page. You can see the frantic terror in Barry’s eyes as he realizes what is going on right now and how powerless he is to stop it. In any other artist’s hands, it would have come off clunky or cheesy, but in Manapul’s hands, it looks great.

And I’m not entirely sure what Geoff has been on lately, but he’s firing on all cylinders here and on Green Lantern. After some arguably weak few months during Blackest Night (I am not one of those people saying that) he’s back up the level he used to be at, telling ridiculously fun stories. I just hope that the fact this was entirely in Flash garb doesn’t take away from the fact he’s still Barry Allen and there’s an Iris Allen. While I still love Green Lantern, when’s the last time we saw a proper Hal Jordan being a pilot and hanging in Coast City? That’s what I’m really worried about. Especially with the Flash Point Arc coming up in just a little over six months.

But at least Flash Point seems to be taking shape in a real way. IT looks like it could be the Sinestro Corps War for Flash, which could bring him up to the prominence that Hal, Clark, Bruce, and Diana all enjoy.

The book is a great issue in a series of great issues. I know things change, but I don’t want Francis Manapul and Geoff Johns leaving this title ever. I just hope it stays grounded.

Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy

WRITER: Tony Bedard
ART: Ardian Syaf & Vicente Cifuentes
COVERS: Ardian Syaf & Vicente Cifuentes, Patrick Gleason

BRIGHTEST DAY continues as the final part of the “Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns” features a confrontation between Cyborg Superman and Ganthet! Will the villain finally get the eternal sleep he so desperately seeks? Meanwhile, the Weaponers of Qward attempt to tap into the White Energy from the construct left behind by Deadman’s battle with the Anti-Monitor.

Ever since Tomasi jumped ship from Corps to Emerald Warriors, I felt like there was something missing from the title that I once thought was the best in the GL Universe. The characters were the same, and the danger was still there, but it was just off. I felt like the narrative had stalled, and the art, while OK, was not up to the level of Patrick Gleason fantastic art.

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The problem with this series right now is that it really was in a holding pattern. Bedard had to take the time to set up the new status quo with a mostly new cast. Other than that, I don’t see this having any lasting effects. But for what it’s worth, he seems to have wrapped up the Alpha Lanterns arc once and for all, and we have a former Alpha Lantern on the team now. Which is nice, I’ve always liked the character.

Again, and I think this is a theme that runs throughout my reviews, but what seems to make or break these stories is the art. In this issue, I realized that Syaf, who is a worthy artist in his own right, looks like he’s trying to emulate Jim Lee’s style of art, and he doesn’t quite make it. As a matter of fact, his faces REALALY suffer. I’m talking Rob Liefeld levels of lame in this book. It’s remarkable how uneven this books art is as well.

That being said, I’m legitimately excited for the next arc, when GLC finally starts to interact with the rest of the Brightest Day universe with the Weaponers of Qward. Thing is that if you missed this arc, there’s not much you missed.

Final Verdict: 6.0 Browse

Avengers #5
WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
PENCILS: John Romita Jr.
COVER: John Romita Jr.

The Blockbuster Marvel series continues! The Avengers travel to the far-flung future to stop the timestream from ripping itself apart. But with time unraveling more and more with every second it may be too late to put the world back the way it was. All this plus a brand new chapter in the oral history of the Avengers!

Well, there’s an improvement.

I’ve made no secret of my distaste for Romita on this title. I’ve found his pencils to be really lacking what he COULD do, and it drags a great book down to middling. Seriously, Bendis has a lot of good ideas and execution here, and the poor art brings it down.

But I have something to tell you! It’s not as bad as it has been! The shallow pencils from the previous issues deepened, bringing life to the pages where there was originally none. Some of the panels were actually pretty damned amazing. They were the Romita of which I consider myself a fan! I was shocked!

But it’s still terribly uneven. One beautiful panel with the aged Tony Stark is followed by a panel where Bucky Cap might as well look like a 15 year old in the costume. And then the liberal use of lines on his faces makes characters look dirty when they shouldn’t, or old when they’re not. It’s so frustrating to see it happen go down like this. It’s just terrible.

But Bendis is money here. Say what you will about the man, but he set up what looks like YEARS of stories in a single panel, outdoing what Rip Hunter did in 52. You might think it’s a rip off, but it’s pulled off so beautifully and more logically than that here, and it genuinely brings up a lot of questions that I can’t wait learning about.

And then there’s Ultron. Ultron was one of the first Avengers villains I was ever exposed to, and I love the fact he’s the villain here too. He looks even more badass/scary than he ever has been, and that’s saying a lot!

This book is an improvement in the art arena, but I still feel like it needs a LOT of work in that department before it’s “good.” Shame.

Final Verdict: 7.0 — Buy

Legion of Super-Heroes #5
WRITER: Paul Levitz
ARTIST: Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher
COVERS: Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher, Jim Lee & Scott Williams

The final fate of Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad’s twin children is revealed here! Tensions between the team and Earth-Man come to a boil, and an all-new Green Lantern is revealed. Will it be Earth-Man — or someone else entirely?

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Legion will buck the trend that seems to have run throughout this article.

How, you ask? First off, the art is incredible. Cinay is a relative newcomer to comics, but the Turkish penciller already has a grasp on how to give characters faces that give them a unique personality. He creates some brilliant action scenes over breathtaking splash pages that you can get lost in while you’re reading the book. It’s that brilliant. Just an example, but when the Legion had a final showdown with the Xenophobic Earth Force, there was a page I just couldn’t help but stare at. It was that brilliant.

My problem with the book is some of the writing.

Don’t get me wrong, Paul Levitz is a great writer and he can tell a Legion story like no one’s business, but some of the dialogue is incredibly clunky and dare I say…stupid that I’m sitting here wondering “Would Earth-Man REALLY say that?” Some of the dialogue felt like forced drama that didn’t really amount to any real drama at all. Not to continue picking at one nit, but it felt like it came from the 80’s, and it made some of it feel dated, despite the decidedly new yarn for the Legion.

But that aside, the book is still a great book that might fly a little bit under the radar. It’s still a good team book starring one of the best teams in the DCU. Check it out. And guess what? Next issue the art is Phil Jimenez!

Final Verdict: 7.5 — Buy


Gilbert Short

Gilbert Short. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. When he's not reading comic books so you don't have to, he's likely listening to mediocre music or watching excellent television. Passionate about Giants baseball and 49ers football. When he was a kid he wanted to be The Ultimate Warrior. He still kind of does. His favorite character is Superman and he will argue with you about it if you try to convince him otherwise. He also happens to be the head of Social Media Relations, which means you should totally give him a follow onTwitter.

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