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Post by Hoosier X on May 26, 2017 10:29:09 GMT -5
Batgirl #11This is the conclusion of the "Son of Penguin" storyline. Through the chapters of this story, Barbara Gordon meets and goes on a few dates with the son of the Penguin. He's cute! But is he a bit of a bad boy? Or is he as awful as his father? Barbara has her suspicions but she's torn between trusting him and the consequences of not following every lead as the Gotham neighborhood of Burnside is menaced by computer apps that don't quite do what they say they do. So Batgirl goes into action! This could have been a cutesy disaster, but I enjoyed it OK. I especially liked the Penguin here. Sure, I miss the old rogue of the Bronze Age, but that had run its course. So I wasn't too concerned when the Penguin was re-imagined as a night club owner who surreptitiously operates a crime organization with the club as a front. I still think all the best Penguin stories appeared before 1985, but he hasn't done so badly since his transformation. "Emperor Penguin" was a highlight of the early issues of New 52 Detective Comics. So Rebirth Batgirl has been pretty good. My only quibble is that I liked Gail Simone's Batgirl so much that I'm always a little disappointed with Batgirl of Burnside. I thought Batgirl of Cherry Hill was one of the highlights of the New 52. Barbara's ongoing conflict with James Gordon Jr. is ones of my favorite comic-book storylines of the last ten years. And it's a shame that it's been completely sidelined without any resolution.
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 26, 2017 15:42:33 GMT -5
Power of the Dark Crystal #3 Written by Simon Spurrier Art by Nicole and Kelly Matthews Summary: The Skeksis have returned, but this time the Gelfling will not be taken so easily.
Plot: After two issue of careful world building and deep characterization action breaks loos as the crystal is cracked, and after that slower pace it was a bit jarring but it certainly got things going. What really interested me was the Skeksis' remark that they had been imprisoned in the crystal; at the end of the film when the crystal was healed and they merged with the Mystics to create those celestial beings whom I believed simply left this plain of existence but this new development would seem to say otherwise. It's possible that's only the Skeksis' feeling and not the reality of the situation but it's hard to say either way, still it was fun to see that there's a lot to discover about Thra.
Art: The soft, fuzzy lines of the Mattews' sisters art is beautiful, and the bright contrasting colors against the muted eart tones look right at home with the look of the film making it the perfect sequel.
Grade:9/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 26, 2017 17:02:28 GMT -5
Rebels #3 Written by Brian Woods Art by Andrea Mutti Summary: John Abbott heads Caribbean to help outfit the merchant navy with arms in the quasi war against France.
Plot: Woods has skipped time in Rebels previously but the gap between the last issue and this one had me scratching my head as the exploits of the last issue about John getting caught up in the political whirlwinds of Boston seemed like an important character moment for Abbott, so skipping the consequences is a huge disconnect. That said, this little insight into the Quasi-War with France during the Adams presidency was a fun addition as it's a very little known bit of history so any service to that period is welcome which is why I love Woods' look at early United States history in this book.
Art: This was kind of a ho-hum issue for Mutti as there was little enough for her to show as most of the issue concerned Abbot discussing technical issues with others.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2017 22:48:25 GMT -5
Star Lord Annual #1: Peter Quill finds himself on a western style planet complete with a bandit taking money from the residents. Of course, Peter gets involved and assists the folks. This was quite a departure from the Star Lord title that recently wrapped up. That series had a lightness to it, but this story has a more somber tone complete with darker, heavier art. The colors lend to the isolation of the locale, washed in yellows, orange, browns, and gray. There's a twist at the end that I didn't see coming. An interesting read and not at all what I expected.
8/10
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jun 6, 2017 11:04:16 GMT -5
Action Comics #980: Action continues to showcase great stories and art--although this issue may be classified as filler, what filler it is! The Revenge Squad assembles to free Zod from Belle Reve. Superman pursues and gets trapped in a weird barrier with properties from the phantom zone. Eradicator and Cyborg Superman use this to continue looking for Zod, free of Superman. There's a cameo by Batman, Lois and Superman talk with Jon about moving to Metropolis (an idea he hates), and Cyborg Superman's origin retold. The art is solid throughout with sweeping splash pages and excellent colors. This issue read like a Bronze Age story to me. 9/10 It definitely feels like filler to me... or maybe their just going for a different town after the continuity-altering 'Rebirth' story. It seemed weird to me for Superman to be so concerned, then refuse help... not at all his usual MO. Of course, the current Justice League Batman has goin' on would be totally outclassed here, so maybe they just didn't want to admit that in print. It definitely feels Bronze Age-y.. even to the point of editor notes for another story. Not as good as some of the more recent ones, but definitely good art and nothing heinous, just sorta feels like filler. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jun 6, 2017 12:00:50 GMT -5
Batgirl #11This is the conclusion of the "Son of Penguin" storyline. Through the chapters of this story, Barbara Gordon meets and goes on a few dates with the son of the Penguin. He's cute! But is he a bit of a bad boy? Or is he as awful as his father? Barbara has her suspicions but she's torn between trusting him and the consequences of not following every lead as the Gotham neighborhood of Burnside is menaced by computer apps that don't quite do what they say they do. So Batgirl goes into action! This could have been a cutesy disaster, but I enjoyed it OK. I especially liked the Penguin here. Sure, I miss the old rogue of the Bronze Age, but that had run its course. So I wasn't too concerned when the Penguin was re-imagined as a night club owner who surreptitiously operates a crime organization with the club as a front. I still think all the best Penguin stories appeared before 1985, but he hasn't done so badly since his transformation. "Emperor Penguin" was a highlight of the early issues of New 52 Detective Comics. So Rebirth Batgirl has been pretty good. My only quibble is that I liked Gail Simone's Batgirl so much that I'm always a little disappointed with Batgirl of Burnside. I thought Batgirl of Cherry Hill was one of the highlights of the New 52. Barbara's ongoing conflict with James Gordon Jr. is ones of my favorite comic-book storylines of the last ten years. And it's a shame that it's been completely sidelined without any resolution. I agree with you on the New 52 stuff... Gail Simone deserved to get to the end of the story. I get they wanted it less dark, but it actually worked well with Batgirl. As far as 'Son of Penguin' goes, I thought it was a little too much to have him be able to do mass mind control with data from phone apps... I get it, but too much, even in a comic. I agree Penguin was very cool, and I do hope it all comes back around sooner rather than later. I am missing Batgirl's corporate intrigue (which was a neat twist), though... hopefully that stuff sticks around too. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jun 15, 2017 16:07:21 GMT -5
Infamous Iron Man #8  Weird issue... at no time do we see Reed as the Maker.. nor do he and Doom meet... instead, we get Riri Williams going to Latveria, and finding out Doom is kinda a nice guy now. Meanwhile, Reed (the Maker version, I assume), finds Ben Grimm, and tell him he MUST kill Victor Von Doom, no matter what, without explaining how he's alive, or where Sue is. It's unclear if Ben is going to listen. Back in Latveria, Doom has Riri blast him so he'll be stressed and have another vision.. the vision is of the future, and he sees an aged Tony Stark in an outfit that looks alot like he's the Sorceror Supreme... to be continued! Not sure what that was all about.. talk about a 100% left turn! Marvel seems a bit focused on combining magic and science right now, which is fun, but I suspect will get old fast. I'm still curious as to where this is going, but it really need to get somewhere soon. 7/10  |
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