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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 17, 2018 0:07:55 GMT -5
Wonder Woman #40 by James Robinson, Emanuela Lupachino, Carmen Carnero, Ray McCarthy: Swan's Song concludes in a not absolutely terrible issue...but it is not great either. Wonder Woman and boring, useless Jason track Silver Swan to the hospital where she recovered as Vanessa. Silver Swan kills everyone-patients, doctors, nurses in the hospital. Later, she attacks Jason. She and WW fight. WW somehow restores her to Vanessa (in a coma like state). She takes her to ARGUS where we find another WW villain in disguise, posing as a dr. Steve appears in a totally useless scene in the middle of the book fighting the Female Furies. Jason is gone at the end of the book. There are moments when the story could have been really well done, but the execution failed and once again, the book reads like fan fiction. At least the art (the pages by Lupachino) are beautiful. 4/10 I was very disappointed by my three regular comics this week. I expect Wonder Woman to be pretty bad every week. Detective Comics has been a little better lately ... but this Victim Syndicate story has gone on way too long. I am hoping that the destruction of this (the worst) version of Clayface is permanent and they won't be all angsty about in every issue until the next reboot. But it looks like a major plot point in ginning up some drama around Batwoman and then turning Tim Drake until his future evil obsessed self. Boooo! I was really liking Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, but this issue was pretty bad. Batgirl was hacking the Calculator, but she didn't tell Canary and Huntress ... for some reason. Well, now things have gone wrong and she told them about hacking Calculator and they're mad at her for not telling them ... WILL THE BIRDS OF PREY SURVIVE THIS BREACH OF TRUST?!?!?? And it ended up with the new Oracle being killed ... and it's all Batgirl's fault! Yuk! I usually finish storylines before dropping a title but I think I may just drop it now and throw the latest issue away and pretend like I never read it. I cannot begin to understand why you buy a book you expect to be bad every month. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 17, 2018 2:22:55 GMT -5
I was very disappointed by my three regular comics this week. I expect Wonder Woman to be pretty bad every week. Detective Comics has been a little better lately ... but this Victim Syndicate story has gone on way too long. I am hoping that the destruction of this (the worst) version of Clayface is permanent and they won't be all angsty about in every issue until the next reboot. But it looks like a major plot point in ginning up some drama around Batwoman and then turning Tim Drake until his future evil obsessed self. Boooo! I was really liking Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, but this issue was pretty bad. Batgirl was hacking the Calculator, but she didn't tell Canary and Huntress ... for some reason. Well, now things have gone wrong and she told them about hacking Calculator and they're mad at her for not telling them ... WILL THE BIRDS OF PREY SURVIVE THIS BREACH OF TRUST?!?!?? And it ended up with the new Oracle being killed ... and it's all Batgirl's fault! Yuk! I usually finish storylines before dropping a title but I think I may just drop it now and throw the latest issue away and pretend like I never read it. I cannot begin to understand why you buy a book you expect to be bad every month. Because Wonder Woman is one of my favorites. I keep hoping that someone at DC will mention to Robinson that his comic is pretty crappy and he'll start improving it. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 17, 2018 21:34:34 GMT -5
Thrawn #1Written by Jody Houser Art by Luke Ross Summary: Discovered on an unknown world in the outer rim a member of the mythic Chiss race known as Thrawn is captured and then sent to Coruscant to be trained as a member of the Imperial Navy.
Plot: Adapted from the recent Thrawn novel by Timothy Zahn this first chapter of the Thrawn mini-series by Jody Houser digs into the introduction of the iconic blue warrior known as Thrawn. I've long been a fan of Zahn's Thrawn novels so I was greatly anticipating this look at the character's origin in comic form, but what's great is the fact that this book is also a great introduction for those just meeting the character for the first time as well. Though the plot itself may be familiar with the character's history Houser's dialog is all her own and her pacing and selection of scenes creates a great window into the characters and their world. Everybody has their own unique voice and the perspective of people in the Empire as actual people with positive attributes is very interesting. It's a six issue mini series and I'm usually wary of how the pacing will go on those but with the way she managed her time here I'm not worried about a mid series slump here.
Art: Luke Ross' crisp, realistic look works perfect for a military themed book like this and he totally captures the look of the technology of Star Wars with out looking photo referenced.
Grade:8/10 |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 17, 2018 21:45:27 GMT -5
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #16. Written by Jody Houser. Art by Nathan Stockman. Cover by Ryan Stegman.
I had dropped this after #13. I felt it was too juvenile with art that I didn't like. However I saw Stockman was back on art & I really like this concept & I really LOVED Spider-Girl so I tried this book again with this new arc...
First the writing. It is still a bit silly but not as juvenile as #13. Peter is now a substitute teacher at Annie's high school which sets up father-daughter conflict. Stockman's art? What happened? Instead of the art he displayed in #5 & #10 this style is a goofy distorted cartoony style. Not a fan.
After a year of decent stories Marvel has let this title decline rapidly. Off my pull list again.
3/10.
Valentine's Rating: heart breaker. I really don't get it.. if they wanted to have a teen age Spidergirl and Peter as a teacher, why not just stick with May? She was a great character and had a fun established world to play with. I guess Marvel feels the appeal is people oohing and ahhhing at whats different from the 'real MU and not the story  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2018 23:11:21 GMT -5
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #16. Written by Jody Houser. Art by Nathan Stockman. Cover by Ryan Stegman.
I had dropped this after #13. I felt it was too juvenile with art that I didn't like. However I saw Stockman was back on art & I really like this concept & I really LOVED Spider-Girl so I tried this book again with this new arc...
First the writing. It is still a bit silly but not as juvenile as #13. Peter is now a substitute teacher at Annie's high school which sets up father-daughter conflict. Stockman's art? What happened? Instead of the art he displayed in #5 & #10 this style is a goofy distorted cartoony style. Not a fan.
After a year of decent stories Marvel has let this title decline rapidly. Off my pull list again.
3/10.
Valentine's Rating: heart breaker. I really don't get it.. if they wanted to have a teen age Spidergirl and Peter as a teacher, why not just stick with May? She was a great character and had a fun established world to play with. I guess Marvel feels the appeal is people oohing and ahhhing at whats different from the 'real MU and not the story The cynic in me thinks Marvel really doesn't want this book to succeed. Conway & Stegman had a great run. But the realist in me thinks that doesn't make sense from a business standpoint. |
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Post by The Captain on Feb 18, 2018 9:04:52 GMT -5
Captain America #698. Written by Mark Waid. Art and Cover by Chris Samnee.
Remember Cap Lives Again from Cap (2002) #17-20 by Dave Gibbons & Lee Weeks? That was a pretty good story arc.
 
And don't forget Cap (2013) #1-10 by Rick Remender & John Romita Jr as Cap battles thru the dystopian Dimension Z?
This feels like Waid's attempt to retell those stories with a few twists. Basically Cap gets frozen again in the present & thawed out in 2025. America has been decimated by the 40 Minute War in which 90% of America's population was killed including most of the heroes. Rampart now controls the remaining population & life is hell. Cap decides to fight back & take back America for the people.
We have seen this story line before. Cap thrown into a dystopian society & thru his will & fighting prowess remaking that society. This feels too soon after the Hydra Cap story line IMO. I had high hopes for this title with Waid writing but with this arc I have some doubts. At least Samnee sells the story with his art.
6/10.
Valentine's rating: a reunion with an old flame that didn't live up to your expectations. Totally agree with you on this. The promise of the first issue is almost entirely gone, as it looked like Waid was going in a "Steve roadtrips the USA and helps the little guys wherever he finds them." If this book was designed to re-establish Steve Rogers in the MU after the whole Nick Spencer Hydra-Cap debacle, what is the purpose of sending him to an alternate future timeline? We all know Steve is a bad-ass military strategist and leader, so fighting against enemies in a world that will eventually not "exist" when he gets sent back to the present seems like an odd choice to rehab Steve's image in the present. Also, I don't get the weird talking dog character. I'm going to have to think that a nuclear explosion is going to fry Fido, not anthropomorphize him. Lastly, to Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, try not to be so freaking transparent. Freezing Captain America, a symbol of the past, to show that America can live forever? Drawing all of the "elite" as white guys in tuxedos? Even the poster "Support the State" on a building wall had the military forces in red and the victims in blue. If you want to make the villain in your story the conservative 1% (because while there are very wealthy liberals in the 1%, apparently they're OK) and Donald Trump, set the story in the present and just call them Evil White Folks and Donald Trump instead of Rampart and "King Baby". It would have more impact and be less insulting to the reader. I was so hoping after Nick Spencer left (particularly from the Falcon Cap series, but also from the Steve Cap series as well) that we could get a respite from the "wealthy conservative white folks are the villains", but nope, here we go again. It may be time for me to give up on any new Cap series and just revel in the stories of the past, because I'm definitely reaching a point of fatigue due to the previous and current direction. 3/10 - This book had me excited after issue #1, still intrigued after issue #2, losing interest after issue #3, and about to throw in the towel after issue #4. I doubt it's going to get any better during this storyline, so this might be the end of the road for me and Cap. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 18, 2018 9:35:10 GMT -5
Captain America #698. Written by Mark Waid. Art and Cover by Chris Samnee.
Remember Cap Lives Again from Cap (2002) #17-20 by Dave Gibbons & Lee Weeks? That was a pretty good story arc.
And don't forget Cap (2013) #1-10 by Rick Remender & John Romita Jr as Cap battles thru the dystopian Dimension Z?
This feels like Waid's attempt to retell those stories with a few twists. Basically Cap gets frozen again in the present & thawed out in 2025. America has been decimated by the 40 Minute War in which 90% of America's population was killed including most of the heroes. Rampart now controls the remaining population & life is hell. Cap decides to fight back & take back America for the people.
We have seen this story line before. Cap thrown into a dystopian society & thru his will & fighting prowess remaking that society. This feels too soon after the Hydra Cap story line IMO. I had high hopes for this title with Waid writing but with this arc I have some doubts. At least Samnee sells the story with his art.
6/10.
Valentine's rating: a reunion with an old flame that didn't live up to your expectations. Totally agree with you on this. The promise of the first issue is almost entirely gone, as it looked like Waid was going in a "Steve roadtrips the USA and helps the little guys wherever he finds them." If this book was designed to re-establish Steve Rogers in the MU after the whole Nick Spencer Hydra-Cap debacle, what is the purpose of sending him to an alternate future timeline? We all know Steve is a bad-ass military strategist and leader, so fighting against enemies in a world that will eventually not "exist" when he gets sent back to the present seems like an odd choice to rehab Steve's image in the present. Also, I don't get the weird talking dog character. I'm going to have to think that a nuclear explosion is going to fry Fido, not anthropomorphize him. Lastly, to Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, try not to be so freaking transparent. Freezing Captain America, a symbol of the past, to show that America can live forever? Drawing all of the "elite" as white guys in tuxedos? Even the poster "Support the State" on a building wall had the military forces in red and the victims in blue. If you want to make the villain in your story the conservative 1% (because while there are very wealthy liberals in the 1%, apparently they're OK) and Donald Trump, set the story in the present and just call them Evil White Folks and Donald Trump instead of Rampart and "King Baby". It would have more impact and be less insulting to the reader. I was so hoping after Nick Spencer left (particularly from the Falcon Cap series, but also from the Steve Cap series as well) that we could get a respite from the "wealthy conservative white folks are the villains", but nope, here we go again. It may be time for me to give up on any new Cap series and just revel in the stories of the past, because I'm definitely reaching a point of fatigue due to the previous and current direction. 3/10 - This book had me excited after issue #1, still intrigued after issue #2, losing interest after issue #3, and about to throw in the towel after issue #4. I doubt it's going to get any better during this storyline, so this might be the end of the road for me and Cap. Yeah, I'm right there with you; I really liked the idea of the road trip through America to re-establish Steve as a hero and I was on board for that, heck if he wanted to do a story about the divide between liberals and conservatives he could have done that within the road trip...but this? Nope. I think this is a pass for me, which is sad as my hopes were so high as the team seemed so right for the character. Maybe after this future story is over I'll try again but for now I'm done. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 18, 2018 12:26:20 GMT -5
Darth Vader #11Written by Charles Soule Art by Guiseppe Camuncoli Summary: Responding to an alert of a suspected Jedi sighting out on the fringes of the outer rim Darth Vader learns that he has been targeted for assassination...possibly by the Emperor himself.
Plot: With the introduction of the Inquisitors and Vader's relationship with them Charles Soule looked like he was on firm footing with his Vader series but the start of this new story line re-injects some doubt into his authorial control of the series. Although the idea of the Emperor not being wholly content with only one apprentice and testing several at once is interesting...it has already been done before, and not that long ago either as we last saw it broached by
Kieron Gillen just two years ago. Now maybe Soule has something interesting to say about the relationship between Vader and the Emperor with this story, or atleast a new way to tell the same trope but it's a little troubling to see it brought back so soon after it was last used. There's nothing troubling about this story in and of itself either, it sets up the premise well, and I liked the conversation between the inquisitor and Vader at the start but that rehashed feeling does nag at you. I'm still interested enough to see where Soule wants to go with this but I really think he should be looking for new ground with his book instead of following what came before.
Art: Camuncoli continues to be a great choice for art, he did a great job selling the action and I really loved the look of the aliens in the cantina scene.
Grade:6/10 |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 18, 2018 12:56:40 GMT -5
I cannot begin to understand why you buy a book you expect to be bad every month. Because Wonder Woman is one of my favorites. I keep hoping that someone at DC will mention to Robinson that his comic is pretty crappy and he'll start improving it. By buying it you're telling them they're doing a good job and producing something you like. If they ain't getting sales they'll more likely change it. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 18, 2018 13:09:54 GMT -5
Because Wonder Woman is one of my favorites. I keep hoping that someone at DC will mention to Robinson that his comic is pretty crappy and he'll start improving it. By buying it you're telling them they're doing a good job and producing something you like. If they ain't getting sales they'll more likely change it. Yeah, but if I stop buying it and they then make it better just because one person - me - stopped buying it, then how will I know it got better? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2018 14:10:14 GMT -5
Totally agree with you on this. The promise of the first issue is almost entirely gone, as it looked like Waid was going in a "Steve roadtrips the USA and helps the little guys wherever he finds them." If this book was designed to re-establish Steve Rogers in the MU after the whole Nick Spencer Hydra-Cap debacle, what is the purpose of sending him to an alternate future timeline? We all know Steve is a bad-ass military strategist and leader, so fighting against enemies in a world that will eventually not "exist" when he gets sent back to the present seems like an odd choice to rehab Steve's image in the present. Also, I don't get the weird talking dog character. I'm going to have to think that a nuclear explosion is going to fry Fido, not anthropomorphize him. Lastly, to Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, try not to be so freaking transparent. Freezing Captain America, a symbol of the past, to show that America can live forever? Drawing all of the "elite" as white guys in tuxedos? Even the poster "Support the State" on a building wall had the military forces in red and the victims in blue. If you want to make the villain in your story the conservative 1% (because while there are very wealthy liberals in the 1%, apparently they're OK) and Donald Trump, set the story in the present and just call them Evil White Folks and Donald Trump instead of Rampart and "King Baby". It would have more impact and be less insulting to the reader. I was so hoping after Nick Spencer left (particularly from the Falcon Cap series, but also from the Steve Cap series as well) that we could get a respite from the "wealthy conservative white folks are the villains", but nope, here we go again. It may be time for me to give up on any new Cap series and just revel in the stories of the past, because I'm definitely reaching a point of fatigue due to the previous and current direction. 3/10 - This book had me excited after issue #1, still intrigued after issue #2, losing interest after issue #3, and about to throw in the towel after issue #4. I doubt it's going to get any better during this storyline, so this might be the end of the road for me and Cap. Yeah, I'm right there with you; I really liked the idea of the road trip through America to re-establish Steve as a hero and I was on board for that, heck if he wanted to do a story about the divide between liberals and conservatives he could have done that within the road trip...but this? Nope. I think this is a pass for me, which is sad as my hopes were so high as the team seemed so right for the character. Maybe after this future story is over I'll try again but for now I'm done. I'm not quite at this point... yet. I will stick it out thru #700 before deciding. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 18, 2018 20:02:56 GMT -5
Giants #3Story and Art by Carlos and Miguel Valderrama Summary: Separated by the blizzard top side Gogi and Zedo's lives really start to diverge.
Plot: While the two previous chapters where about characterization and world building this latest entry was a study of opposites. We were told about the destruction the monsters created, and we saw the gangs that controlled the population in the under city but here we see Gogi explore a population that still lives above ground and their culture is vastly different that the grungy world below. On top of that the two friends who were so similar are now advancing in completely opposite directions with Gogi learning to put the needs of others above his own in the over-world while Zedo makes a grab for power over both gangs for total control over the city underneath. With a one year time jump coming with the next issue I'm really excited to how this contrast plays out further.
Art: I really love how Carlos and Miguel are really doing it all on this book; story, art, coloring and lettering. That level of passion and commitment really does show, each panel is earnest and meaningful; there's no filler here and it makes for a tight story.
Grade:10/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 18, 2018 20:06:37 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm right there with you; I really liked the idea of the road trip through America to re-establish Steve as a hero and I was on board for that, heck if he wanted to do a story about the divide between liberals and conservatives he could have done that within the road trip...but this? Nope. I think this is a pass for me, which is sad as my hopes were so high as the team seemed so right for the character. Maybe after this future story is over I'll try again but for now I'm done. I'm not quite at this point... yet. I will stick it out thru #700 before deciding. I'm not done for good, I just have no interest in this future story. It wasn't terrible, but as you said it's been done and I see no reason to read it again. I'm holding out hope that this story and the Kraven intro to it were just hiccups and we'll get back to the promise of the opening issues. |
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