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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 18, 2018 21:06:08 GMT -5
I am LITERALLY going to kill somebody if the next issue is this bad! Hey, but atleast the cover is great. I nearly picked this up just because I liked that image of Wonder Woman though it sounds like I dodged a bullet. It is a good cover. I bought the other variant because this one is already priced $1 over the other one. On the first day! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2018 21:14:07 GMT -5
Hey, but atleast the cover is great. I nearly picked this up just because I liked that image of Wonder Woman though it sounds like I dodged a bullet. It is a good cover. I bought the other variant because this one is already priced $1 over the other one. On the first day! Who did the cover? |
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Post by Dizzy D on Jan 19, 2018 12:16:26 GMT -5
X-Men Gold Annual #1 Script: Mark Guggenheim and Leah Williams. Art: Alitha Martinez. Cover: Alan Davis (Backup story by Monty Nero, Djibril Morissette-Phan and Michael Garland)
Summary: Kurt, Kitty and Rachel are invited by the Braddocks to their old lighthouse (now rebuild) as Meggan has given birth to their first child, Maggie. Meanwhile, Starhammer, a D'Bari survivor, wants to take this moment to get revenge on the Phoenix by wiping out Earth.
Plot: This was bad, this was very, very bad. I got succered in by the cover, I haven't been reading X-Men lately, only Wolverine's solo-series and Grand Design (though I may be picking up X-Men Red), but an Excalibur reunion is something I'd enjoy.
The problem is that Guggenheim and Williams are in a hurry, so we get multiple issues worth of story in 1 issue at a breakneck pace. There are some good ideas here: Meggan's daughter Maggie (I'll get into that name later on), is a supergenius (as all superhero children tend to be) and is able to have intellectual discussions at only 3 months old. Meggan never received any proper education, because of her appearance as a child, and therefore feels that she can't be a good mother to a child that can already read better than her and is depressed. Understandable, but it's resolved 1 panel later by Rachel and Kitty talking to her, but not really addressiing the point.
There are many bad ideas here: The Starhammer plotline basically rehashes creatures from space coming for Jean/Rachel once again to punish them for the actions of Dark Phoenix. Rachel shouts: "I was not even born back then.", but with no result.
Brian just seems very stoked about being a new father and takes everything in stride. He's basically a beard with a smile this entire issue. The beard looks terrible though.
Meggan and Brian asks the three if they could be godparents to Maggie... I'd expect him to ask Betsy first, really.
Things I did enjoy: Kurt is pretty good with small children, I enjoy the way he's written here.
Art: The art is pretty basic all around, there are worse artist, but nothing of the art really stands out and the storytelling is off. Made worse by the Alan Davis cover, because it raises expectations.
3/10
Lesson to be learned: Don't judge a book by its cover.
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Post by String on Jan 19, 2018 13:36:05 GMT -5
X-Men Gold Annual #1 Script: Mark Guggenheim and Leah Williams. Art: Alitha Martinez. Cover: Alan Davis (Backup story by Monty Nero, Djibril Morissette-Phan and Michael Garland) Summary: Kurt, Kitty and Rachel are invited by the Braddocks to their old lighthouse (now rebuild) as Meggan has given birth to their first child, Maggie. Meanwhile, Starhammer, a D'Bari survivor, wants to take this moment to get revenge on the Phoenix by wiping out Earth. Plot: This was bad, this was very, very bad. I got succered in by the cover, I haven't been reading X-Men lately, only Wolverine's solo-series and Grand Design (though I may be picking up X-Men Red), but an Excalibur reunion is something I'd enjoy. The problem is that Guggenheim and Williams are in a hurry, so we get multiple issues worth of story in 1 issue at a breakneck pace. There are some good ideas here: Meggan's daughter Maggie (I'll get into that name later on), is a supergenius (as all superhero children tend to be) and is able to have intellectual discussions at only 3 months old. Meggan never received any proper education, because of her appearance as a child, and therefore feels that she can't be a good mother to a child that can already read better than her and is depressed. Understandable, but it's resolved 1 panel later by Rachel and Kitty talking to her, but not really addressiing the point. There are many bad ideas here: The Starhammer plotline basically rehashes creatures from space coming for Jean/Rachel once again to punish them for the actions of Dark Phoenix. Rachel shouts: "I was not even born back then.", but with no result. Brian just seems very stoked about being a new father and takes everything in stride. He's basically a beard with a smile this entire issue. The beard looks terrible though. Meggan and Brian asks the three if they could be godparents to Maggie... I'd expect him to ask Betsy first, really. Things I did enjoy: Kurt is pretty good with small children, I enjoy the way he's written here. Art: The art is pretty basic all around, there are worse artist, but nothing of the art really stands out and the storytelling is off. Made worse by the Alan Davis cover, because it raises expectations. 3/10Lesson to be learned: Don't judge a book by its cover. It was great seeing the band back together and the insights into Brian and Meggan's life right now was nice, even the circumstances surrounding Maggie and Meggan's parental concerns over her development. But the surrounding plot with Starhammer simply fell flat for me, really brought down what should have been a better anniversary issue/appearance. |
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Post by String on Jan 19, 2018 13:47:50 GMT -5
Champions #16 - by Waid with art by Humberto Ramos
After the events of their When Worlds Collide crossover with the Avengers, Vision tries to adjust to the new status quo with his daughter Viv. Meanwhile, distraught over what happened to Viv and unsure of her continued place on the team, the Champions decide to go on a membership drive with interesting results.
When Worlds Collide was a great crossover where Waid left Viv and her father Vision uncertain of what their future holds. Waid continues to examine the fallout of Viv's change here with scenes of both parties trying to come to terms with their new status quo. The Champions, being teenagers, have mixed reactions as well, some wanting to stand behind Viv regardless of what's happened to her while others feel the need to move on. It's an emotional drama wrapped up in great Ramos art.
8/10
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 20, 2018 9:48:33 GMT -5
Batman #38Batman has been pretty good lately. So it's understandable that we would get to an issue that's a bit, shall we say, disappointing? Lessee. Commissioner Gordon is in his office working late when he notices that the Bat-Signal is on and he gets REALLY MAD because he's the only one who's allowed to turn on the Bat-Signal and he says that he's LITERALLY going to kill whoever turned on the Bat-Signal, prompting me to wonder when Commissioner Gordon turned into a 14-year-old who doesn't know how to use the word "literally." Well, maybe he didn't turn into a 14-year-old. Maybe he turned into a modern comic book writer. And he gets to the roof and it was turned on by Wonder Woman. He asks her why she didn't use her JLA signal device and she said that using the Bat-Signal is something she always wanted to do because it looks like fun. Which seems kind of out of character for Wonder Woman, but that's OK because she's better written here than in her own book since Robinson took over the so-called writing there. So Batman shows up and Diana explains that there's this dimension where a guy called The Gentle Man fights off demons all the time. And these demons would invade Earth or something if not for somebody guarding the dimensional doorway or something. And Wonder Woman said that if he ever needed a breather, then she would make arrangements for somebody to take his place for a while. And now he's called in the favor and Diana wants Bruce to help her fight off the demons while The Gentle Man takes a little vacation on Earth. So Bruce and Diana go to the dimension and fight the demons while The Gentle Man hangs out on Earth with Selina and then goes to visit his wife. While hanging out with Selina, he tells her that many many thousands of years pass in the demon dimension (but you don't grow older) while not nearly as much time passes on Earth. So while just a few hours have passed on Earth, Bruce and Diana have gone through quite a long time, ten years maybe, and that's a long time. And the story ends with a break in the fighting and Bruce and Diana have both decided to start to GO FOR IT! Sigh. If an affair between Bruce and Diana causes an end to the upcoming marriage between Bruce and Selina, I will be most displeased. It's my favorite development in DC Rebirth. Was it King that did that in Captain America a couple years ago, with the whole Dimension Z thing, and raising a son that is suddenly an adult? It was kinda silly then, too. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 20, 2018 11:34:50 GMT -5
Star Wars #42Written by Kieron Gillen Art by Salvador Larroca Summary: Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie lead a last ditch, desperate strike on the Imperial drill in an attempt to save the partisans of Jedha.
Plot: I was enjoying the Ashes of Jedha pretty well so far until this issue. Gillen's character moments, like the scene with Luke discussing the sacrifices of Rogue One and the nature of heroism with the Partisan, are still really strong and the mix of humor and action is spot on but the over all plot felt too much like a retread of the first assault on the Death Star. While new "Death Star" level threats are a pretty common part of the extended Star Wars universe what makes this one egregious is the fact that the characters themselves are written as being self aware that it's a retread which just strikes me as bad writing.
Art: Larroca's continued reliance on tracing has gone beyond my levels of tolerance, the difference between the queen's face and her body in the last scene was laughable and really killed what could have been a cool cliff hanger.
Grade: 5/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 20, 2018 12:32:17 GMT -5
 Super Sons #12. Script: Tomasi & Gleason. Art: Tyler Kirkham. Cover: Giuseppe Camuncoli. Future Tim disappears into the time stream. After talking with Superman & the Teen Titans; Conner, Cassie & Bart also leave...back to the future! Superman then takes the TT to JLA HQ to let them meet/regroup since Titans Tower was destroyed. Batman shows up. TT vote on whether to allow Jon to join them. I am a bit disappointed. The ending was a bit "flat". I'm not sure what purpose this story arc had other than to show the Titans of Tomorrow again. The first few parts were entertaining but Tomasi & Gleason didn't "stick the landing". Kirkham's art was good. He does a pretty good job drawing kids as kids instead of miniature adults. I wouldn't mind seeing him on this title again. 6/10.Yeah, the Super Sons of Tomorrow story started off decently enough but it went of the rails at the end and the epilogue of sorts didn't really redeem it. The art was good though and I liked the character moments between Jon and Damian but the rest felt totally superfluous. I really hope things get back on track with the next issue. |
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Post by String on Jan 20, 2018 12:42:40 GMT -5
Batman #38Batman has been pretty good lately. So it's understandable that we would get to an issue that's a bit, shall we say, disappointing? Lessee. Commissioner Gordon is in his office working late when he notices that the Bat-Signal is on and he gets REALLY MAD because he's the only one who's allowed to turn on the Bat-Signal and he says that he's LITERALLY going to kill whoever turned on the Bat-Signal, prompting me to wonder when Commissioner Gordon turned into a 14-year-old who doesn't know how to use the word "literally." Well, maybe he didn't turn into a 14-year-old. Maybe he turned into a modern comic book writer. And he gets to the roof and it was turned on by Wonder Woman. He asks her why she didn't use her JLA signal device and she said that using the Bat-Signal is something she always wanted to do because it looks like fun. Which seems kind of out of character for Wonder Woman, but that's OK because she's better written here than in her own book since Robinson took over the so-called writing there. So Batman shows up and Diana explains that there's this dimension where a guy called The Gentle Man fights off demons all the time. And these demons would invade Earth or something if not for somebody guarding the dimensional doorway or something. And Wonder Woman said that if he ever needed a breather, then she would make arrangements for somebody to take his place for a while. And now he's called in the favor and Diana wants Bruce to help her fight off the demons while The Gentle Man takes a little vacation on Earth. So Bruce and Diana go to the dimension and fight the demons while The Gentle Man hangs out on Earth with Selina and then goes to visit his wife. While hanging out with Selina, he tells her that many many thousands of years pass in the demon dimension (but you don't grow older) while not nearly as much time passes on Earth. So while just a few hours have passed on Earth, Bruce and Diana have gone through quite a long time, ten years maybe, and that's a long time. And the story ends with a break in the fighting and Bruce and Diana have both decided to start to GO FOR IT! Sigh. If an affair between Bruce and Diana causes an end to the upcoming marriage between Bruce and Selina, I will be most displeased. It's my favorite development in DC Rebirth. Was it King that did that in Captain America a couple years ago, with the whole Dimension Z thing, and raising a son that is suddenly an adult? It was kinda silly then, too. I think that was Rick Remender instead. I could always see the possibility of Clark and Diana, which is why I never had any real beef against their Nu52 series together. (I mean, yeah, I'd rather he be with Lois but this was acceptable too) However, not once have I ever considered Bruce and Diana in such a scenario. It just seems far more implausible. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 20, 2018 12:50:40 GMT -5
 Thor #704. Script: Jason Aaron. Art and Cover by Russell Dauterman. A Jane focused issue. Jane is in a hospital bed while Dr Strange, the Falcon & the Odinson plead with her to give up being Thor & focus on fighting the cancer that is killing her. Meanwhile Mangog continues his destruction of Asgard. We also get to see Odin & his son reunited. 8/10. I loved the intervention scene here, and the internal struggle between Jane and the Hammer was great. I know there a lot of naysayers that hate Lady Thor but in my mind Aaron's run has been amazing so far, and it's shaping up to not only be my favorite run on Thor but it's also becoming one of my favorite run in all of comics period. I can't wait for the whole thing to be collected so I can read it all together in one sitting. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 20, 2018 12:52:15 GMT -5
Was it King that did that in Captain America a couple years ago, with the whole Dimension Z thing, and raising a son that is suddenly an adult? It was kinda silly then, too. I think that was Rick Remender instead. I could always see the possibility of Clark and Diana, which is why I never had any real beef against their Nu52 series together. (I mean, yeah, I'd rather he be with Lois but this was acceptable too) However, not once have I ever considered Bruce and Diana in such a scenario. It just seems far more implausible. I don't know I really liked Bruce and Diana together in the Justice League cartoon and the romantic tension between them in the Justice League film was pretty good too. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 20, 2018 13:04:36 GMT -5
Superman #39. Tomasi. Gleason. Kitson. Hanna. Superman & the JLA spend a day with some children with terminal diseases. The kids get to visit the JLA satellite & the moon. Hallmark Moment? Yes. Cheesy? Yes. Eyes get misty? Yes. Great uplifting done in one fill in issue. 8/10. It was a little smaltzy at times, and the bit with the rocks on the moon with the kids names on them came off as feeling darker than it was intended in my eyes but over all I really liked this story. Superman is a symbol of hope above all else so it was great to see a book focused on that. My favorite part though was the art, the colors were the perfect pallet of bright, primary colors and the line work was smooth and energetic. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2018 13:53:07 GMT -5
Superman 39: a wonderful issue showcasing what Superman means to the child in us all. No crazy plots here, just a story of Superman helping out some sick children.Beautiful story and I liked the Barry Kitson art, although some of the eyes looked a bit wonky.
9/10
Supersons 12: picked it up to see Conner, Cassie, and Bart-expecting some revelation about them and was very disappointed. Perhaps my expectations were too high.I did enjoy the moments at the end with Robin and Superboy. Superman letting the Titans meet in the JLA satellite was nice. I liked the art.
5/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 20, 2018 13:55:38 GMT -5
The Spirit: The Corpse Makers #5Written and Illustrated by Francesco Francavilla Summary: The Spirit busts the case of the crimson coal wide open in this final issue by Francavilla.
Plot: Francesco Francavilla is definitely the right man for the job here but even with his talent that the story is so good is a triumph as the getting the world of Will Eisner's Spirit is truly no easy task. That said the energy that ran through out the whole series was really thrown for a curve with the gaps between issues. They say that the proof is in the pudding, but in this case it's easier to say it's on the page so those reading it after release or in trade won't understand my critique of the pacing as they'll only have the thrill of the adventure the beautiful artwork to admire but for those like me that dug into it on its irregular publication schedule it lacked the impact it should have because of those gaps. Four months between issues really kills momentum and leaves you feeling like you're missing something even if you attempt to go back and refresh your memory, and not just a problem I have with this series as I’ve had the same problem elsewhere.
Art: I love Francavilla’s style both in writing and artwork but it’s the distinct look of his artwork that really made this book sing as beautifully as it did. Through each issue you can just leaf through the pages over and over again and each time as your eyes savor Francavilla's use of shadows and color you'll find something new to love. For me, what's so stunning is just how well his use of shadow brings out emotional tensions of each scene. Every panel is just exquisite.
Grade:7/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 20, 2018 14:43:24 GMT -5
Future Quest #6Written by Phil Hester Art by Steve Rude Summary: Birdman learns more about his past and encounters a new enemy: Mentok the Mind Taker!
Plot: When I first heard that there'd be a story without Jeff Parker I was troubled but I was surprised just how good this story by Hester was last issue and this issue doubles down on that and takes to an even greater level. The opening scene with a boy named Menton(who would become Mentok) being questioned about a disturbing picture he drew of his teacher and classmates being eaten by a monster was one of the best horror openings that I’ve read in a while. It was chilling in it's subtlety, and the juxtaposition of that familiar slight psychosis and the monster reveal made it really hit home. For those perhaps reading this with children it might come across as too intense for this series, which has mainly been all-ages, but perhaps it may be even more powerful for younger readers as it taps into the alienation and frustration many kids feel in school.
Art: Rude's art continues to be absolutely amazing. What I really loved was just how equally good he was at portraying the quiet scenes like the opening with Mentok and the introduction of Birdman's son and the crazy psycadelic scenes like where Mentok tried to bring down the god and when Birdman tried to tap into the true power of Ra. The difference between his style in those scenes is night and day, so much so that I wouldn't fault anyone for thinking that there were two artists, but they are both by one man and are both utterly perfectly suited for the story telling in those particular scenes. That ability to portray such diverse kinds of story telling is really what makes Steve Rude such an amazing artist.
Grade:10/10 |
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