Unlike previous weeks, this week I decided to try and only read books that I thought I’d really love. Normally I try and get my hands on smaller titles that I have the chance of disliking, but these books are almost all a shoe in for positive reviews from me. Or are they? Who knows!
So before we dive in, here’s a look at our rating system:
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
This week my reviews include Batman #702, Legion of Super Heroes #4, Fantastic Four #582, and Thor #613. It’s a fun and eclectic mix this week, featuring a line-up by some of my favorite authors, so the reviews are bound to be positive.
Check out all the reviews after the jump.
Batman #702
This is it. This is the final piece to the Final Crisis puzzle and the story of Batman. This is what is supposed to be the biggest clue in the mythology Morrison created between Batman, Darkseid, and his death.
But does it pan out? Yes and no. On the first read of the issue, I found some of the language Morrison chose to use to be a tad esoteric. This issue is definitely less straight forward than the previous issue, but it also moves at a faster pace. The first 7 issues of Final Crisis are literally covered in a few pages and panels, with the main focus really being on the final confrontation between Batman and Darkseid that puts him on the adventure captured in Return Of Bruce Wayne. However, despite some language seeming a tad odd (even for someone like me, who is used to Morrison’s more obscure writing), this issue does illuminate some of the odder elements of the Omega Sanction. In fact, the explanation of what exactly happened when Darkseid blasted Batman is really quite straight forward in my opinion. While it does make certain elements of the time line seem … slowed down, so to say, the ending of the issue does pretty much lay everything out there for you.
The first issue was more straightforward, and was the logical “what happens next story.” This issue was a bit more in depth with Morrison’s story. I feel like ultimately this issue is a win in terms of Morrison’s story, because it really does fill in some helpful gaps of Final Crisis and RIP. I remember a lot of people complaining that all of RIP had just been a dream sequence, and despite my best efforts to convince otherwise, the time line gap was always a problem. However, aside from showing that Bruce Wayne didn’t really die, I’m unsure why they waited so long to bring out this part of the story (unless this wasn’t really part of the plan and rather a last minute addition, which is highly likely), but the second half of the issue does generally make it feel “worth it” to me.
Though, one thing that strikes me as odd here – Tony Daniel seems to be slacking in the art department. It’s especially noticeable in the beginning with his Superman and Wonder Woman. It just seems like Daniel’s work is rather unfinished here, when normally it comes out rather polished and sleek. The issue looks better in the latter half, but a lot of it just seems rushed, and in stark contrast to some of the more detailed work we saw in the previous issue and during the Black Mask arc Daniel wrote and drew.
Continued belowNever the less, this issue paired with it’s former make for quite an additional story. While I do believe that it wasn’t an essential tale (because honestly Final Crisis made sense to me), the ending does make a very nice transition between Final Crisis and Return of Bruce Wayne. In fact, it’ll be interesting now to read the series in order, as it were, to see how things begin to get more in sync. While it’s not one of the better Morrison Batman issues, it’s an interesting little entry into the ever expanding saga of the Batman and the ultimate challenge.
Final Verdict: 8.2 – Buy
Legion of Super Heroes #4
Legion was a story I was really amped about when it initially relaunched, but four issues in and I’m already beginning to get a tad tired of it. I suppose my issue with the title is that there doesn’t seem to be a clear sense of focus yet, and with four issues under our belt I feel we should be knee deep in some epic space arc that Levitz has concocted. I mean, this is the guy that wrote the Great Darkness Saga, and this issue pays tribute to it (or, at the very least, mentions it on the cover and inside during dialogue). So why hasn’t anything really worthwhile happened yet?
I love science fiction. The Legion is not a group that I grew up loving, but when I got into DC I got into the Legion because the whole concept behind the team was awesome. In fact, Legion of 3 Worlds – the Final Crisis tie-in – is probably one of my favorite comics that I won and especially that tied in with Final Crisis. The book is just terrific. But with all the effort put into making the Legion a team worthwhile again, I feel like Levitz is squandering his opportunity to reignite that glory again. The biggest threat/foe to the team, Earth Man, is being painfully underdeveloped, and the Darkseid element of this issue is washed over pretty quickly with a happy ending for all. It seems like quiet plot elements are being put together without a real sharp focus to it.
Other than that, I think the title is fairly solid. There are three different artists on the book, which initially seems really curious and odd, but upon reading it works well enough. The art flows well together and the book still looks great. And despite the meandering plot, it is a well written book. I like Levitz’s throw backs to older Legion stories while at the same time not trying to play around it for newer fans. A less talented writer would probably spend too much time on prose explaining the history, but Levitz jumps right in and delivers a relatively action packed issue split into three connected storylines. The different storylines does actually factor into my earlier complaint, but you can see Levitz wants to build something here slowly. I just can’t put my finger on it yet.
Legion has definitely slowed down since it’s start. The first issue was dynamite I thought, and since then the book has definitely cooled off. It’s not as fun of an action/science fiction story anymore, but slowly is becoming more political in nature. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if the conspiracy angle is what Levitz wants to focus on then I think he needs to have it be more clear and he should then focus on that. I’m ready for a plot to begin to emerge rather than have a series of events split apart inside each other. It reads well enough, but this issue definitely wasn’t as exciting for me as issue #1 was, and with this only being the 4th issue of the book, that’s not a good sign.
Final Verdict: 7.2 – Buy
Fantastic Four #582
You know, I used to think the Fantastic Four were generally disinteresting characters. I hadn’t found a writer doing anything truly inspired and interesting with the characters in the various stories that I had been reading. But when Hickman took over… man, now they’re one of my favorite teams/books on the market today. .This two issue arc is a great example of why.
I’m a big fan of high concept stories that don’t attempt to pull any punches. There are writers out there who like to think “big and spacey,” but they don’t actually efficiently write anything along that line. Hickman has brought a sense of intellectualism to his run that is unparalleled with his peers right now. The elevator pitch concept is brilliant (every parallel universe version of Reed’s father Nathaniel fighting for dominance) and the execution even more so. I loved the fight between the last two, and the dialogue held between Doom and Immortus is amazing. I know that Hickman wanted to shy away from bringing Doom too much as a staple villain into his run, so to have him bring a younger Doom into play is pretty clever. I also love that even though these characters haven’t been exposed to any of the events that made them who they are in the future, Hickman wrote their stories in a way that makes the past inevitably connect to the future.
On top of all that, the final moments between Nathaniel, Val, and Franklin are wonderful. Hickman has done a wonderful job on really focusing on the family elements of the Fantastic Four, and making Franklin and Val so important and key to the plot is really nice to see. Their future selves are also so well written, and the final pages are such an excellent prelude to the upcoming “3” arc. Hickman does a great job at mixing these touching moments into what is otherwise a dark prelude.
Neil Edwards is also great in the art department. Following up Eaglesham and being right before Epting is a tough act to pull, but Edwards manages to do it with a similar style and just as great art. He really nails the more existential moments of Hickman’s story as Franklin smashes through a point in time, and the pages that fade between future Val being with Sue and then Franklin are wonderfully set up.
Fantastic Four is currently one of Marvel’s strongest book on the shelves. Every issue plays into each other so well, and the longer story being told is sure to be nothing short of astounding. If you haven’t been reading the book for whatever unknown reason, then I don’t know what to tell you here – you’re missing out on a dynamite version of Marvel’s First Family, and you should do everything you can to correct this ASAP.
Final Verdict: 9.5 – Buy
Thor #613
Reviewing this issue of Thor is going to be rather hard, but I will do my best. The reason it’s going to be hard is because the issue is one of the better books of this week, yet it feels like it’s own brand new entity. It’s still definitely part of Gillen’s Thor world, but with a new narrative technique comes a brand new style of issue, and with that I find it hard to review the issue without simply just gushing over it like a fanboy.
To put it simple, this is an Asgardian epic. This is a classical tale in it’s own right as well. Thor trapezes through Hel in search of this special sword to help him defeat the Disir and save Hela. Mixed with impressively large scale sequences, this is a true tale worthy of the God of Thunder. Everything about it is so fitting that it astonishes me how we haven’t seen a Thor story like this in I don’t even know how long. You truly get the epic sense of the tale, and it’s almost as a tribute to classical epic poems via it’s narrative. Gillen truly loves what he’s doing here.
The story is a lot of fun, to be honest. Mephisto’s snide remarks coupled with Thor not uttering a single word throughout the issue make for a veritable counter point sequence of events that portray the characters wonderfully juxtaposed. Gillen certainly has brought Thor back to the stoic God who should be feared almost as much as he is idolized. You have to love what Gillen is doing here with the character, because it’s so timeless and appropriate to the mannerisms of what a God should be. Thor finally feels less like a guy with a hammer and a ponytail, but rather an entity of life itself, waging war against an opposing force.
Continued belowAnd of course there is the fantastic artwork by Richard Elson. Elson has been doing wonderfully on this arc so far, but with this issue it’s like a whole other level. His skeleton Hela still retains her dark beauty, and in one sequence he provides an epic beast of frightening proportions to battle against Tyr. His artwork allows for the epic scope of the issue to be told in full, and his Hell is a horrific place. If Hell is real and looks anything like Elson draws it, I can already assure you I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near it.
There’s also a sequence that I found endlessly amusing in which a character speaks to an ear in his coat pocket, with the sound coming out of a mouth to another character miles away. Now that’s great creativity.
There’s only one issue left in two weeks, and I can’t wait to see what happens. I have an inkling of an idea what to expect from the story, but I can assure you this: if Gillen plans us out as well as he’s been pulling us along throughout this story the next issue is going to be outrageously great.
Final Verdict: 9.2 – Buy
