|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 24, 2019 6:44:45 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKS |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2019 19:15:42 GMT -5
 The Immortal Hulk #25. Written by Al Ewing. Art by Joe Bennett and German Garcia. I really did not like this issue. About a year ago in Action Comics #1000 there was a Superman story set at the time of Earth's "death" that was emotional and tugged at the heart. This story was nothing like that story. It was weird (not in a good way). It was abstract. Basically the Hulk is the only thing still alive at the end of the universe? Too much. Sorry but this was Ewing's first serious misstep on this title. At least next issue we return to the regular story. 2/10. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2019 19:23:26 GMT -5
 The Terrifics #21. Written by Gene Luen Yang. Art by Stephen Segovia. Bizarro and the Terribles have been armed with a time machine supplied by Lex Luthor. As a result the Terrifics and the Earth are going backwards in time to the 90's, 80's, 70's. Nice art. Neat concept but I can't stand Bizarro. He would have been great as a one off villain but I just can't get into any story featuring him. 4/10. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2019 19:28:21 GMT -5
 Aquaman Annual 2019. Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Vita Ayala. Art and Cover by Victor Ibanez. Amnesty Bay's Founders Day Festival is upcoming but relations between Aquaman and the people are strained. Aquaman's dog Salty has gone missing. Aquaman and Aqualad have to save the festival and find Salty. A nice light hearted story that "felt" good. I liked the story and Ibanez' art. 7/10. |
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 24, 2019 19:46:32 GMT -5
Hellboy and the BPRD: Saturn Return #3Written by Mike Mignola Art by Christopher Mitten Summary: Hellboy tracks don Liz while the Ghoul strikes again in New Hampshire.
Plot: A fully disappointing ending to what had the bones of two good stories. Mignola has done this twice now lately, combining two disparate stories into one to the detriment to both. The story of Liz feeling like a freak and running off on her own is an important story for her development and is rife with the possibility of drama...but when it's only a few pages an issue for three issues it doesn't get enough development and thus the ending with Liz and Hellboy playing checkers feels unearned. Likewise Hellboy doing actual occult investigating in the wilderness could have been amazing but neither he nor the creature he was tracking get any depth so it just falls apart. These each deserved their own time to shine instead of being crammed into this abortion.
Art: Poor Mitten got stuck with another stinker, I would have loved to see him get to do that ghoul justice.
Grade:5/10 |
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 24, 2019 19:55:04 GMT -5
The Immortal Hulk #25. Written by Al Ewing. Art by Joe Bennett and German Garcia. I really did not like this issue. About a year ago in Action Comics #1000 there was a Superman story set at the time of Earth's "death" that was emotional and tugged at the heart. This story was nothing like that story. It was weird (not in a good way). It was abstract. Basically the Hulk is the only thing still alive at the end of the universe? Too much. Sorry but this was Ewing's first serious misstep on this title. At least next issue we return to the regular story. 2/10. I really don't know what the @*&! that was. I mean seriously, that was a waste of ink and paper to print that. Your two is far too generous. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2019 19:56:26 GMT -5
The 2 was for some of the art. It was like Ewing was trying to channel Grant Morrison.
|
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 24, 2019 20:03:19 GMT -5
The 2 was for some of the art. It was like Ewing was trying to channel Grant Morrison. Grant Morrison is coherent though. I can do stream of thought, I can do abstract...that was neither. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2019 20:07:28 GMT -5
I agree. I can't believe an editor approved the story. The only thing that could have made it worse was if Liefeld did the art.
|
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 24, 2019 20:33:01 GMT -5
Return the Vader's Castle #4Written by Cavan Scott Art by Fancesco Francavilla and Nicoletta Baldari Summary: Stalling for time the Rebel prisoner tells Varne a story from Jabba's palace.
Plot: These kinds of books always have hits and misses and though the previous issues were decent this was more of a miss. The story never really sold us on the brains in a jar or how they got under Jabba's palace so there was no build up to create the fright over Jabba's cousin getting turned into one.
Art: More so than the story the art by Nicoletta was what really sunk this issue as her cartoony look with its pastel colors totally failed to create the appropriate mood for a horror story, I'm not sure what kind of editor would have seen her style and thought it would be a good fit here. On top of that there were serious issues with perspective and sizing of the characters, making it hard to tell if figures were moving away from the foreground ... or just drawn small for some reason, as a Hutt should never appear smaller than a standard human unless it's a child. Francesco's framing pieces were great as usual and I loved his Inquisitor design at the end
Grade:5/10
|
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Jan 31, 2021 7:09:25 GMT -5
The Immortal Hulk #25. Written by Al Ewing. Art by Joe Bennett and German Garcia. I really did not like this issue. About a year ago in Action Comics #1000 there was a Superman story set at the time of Earth's "death" that was emotional and tugged at the heart. This story was nothing like that story. It was weird (not in a good way). It was abstract. Basically the Hulk is the only thing still alive at the end of the universe? Too much. Sorry but this was Ewing's first serious misstep on this title. At least next issue we return to the regular story. 2/10. I really don't know what the @*&! that was. I mean seriously, that was a waste of ink and paper to print that. Your two is far too generous. A clear example of "YMMV", I've been debating whether this series deserves a 7/10 or a 6/10 is enough. After reading this one I have to lean on the 7/10. This issue was brilliant and dispels all previous doubts I might've had about Ewing as a writer. Also, the change of artist for this one was spot on. |
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 31, 2021 8:38:37 GMT -5
I really don't know what the @*&! that was. I mean seriously, that was a waste of ink and paper to print that. Your two is far too generous. A clear example of "YMMV", I've been debating whether this series deserves a 7/10 or a 6/10 is enough. After reading this one I have to lean on the 7/10. This issue was brilliant and dispels all previous doubts I might've had about Ewing as a writer. Also, the change of artist for this one was spot on. I just picked up to re-read it to see if it's possible my mind could be changed... but no. The art is really good...but it has nothing to do with anything that happened in the book before and hasn't had any impact or been referenced since so it's a fairly pointless chapter in the scheme of things. And sometimes that's okay, a lot of my favorite stories are one offs...but this doesn't even work as that. With the weird, stilted narration you don't make any emotional connection to the alien character so you ultimately don't care about what happens to they/them or their world and there is no insight into the Hulk either so ultimately it just comes across as a meaningless fever dream. |
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Jan 31, 2021 11:40:14 GMT -5
It hasn't? I'm betting it will. With this story, Ewing seems to be going for a story that's not unlike that of Aaron's Thor.
Yes, the narration was a hard pill to swallow, as were the names of the characters/ships/worlds. But that's OK, unlike entertainment, art doesn't have to be easy and comics is an art. Nothing wrong with just entertaining, I love it, but from time to time, I want something more and this issue delivered.
|
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 31, 2021 12:52:11 GMT -5
It hasn't? I'm betting it will. With this story, Ewing seems to be going for a story that's not unlike that of Aaron's Thor. Yes, the narration was a hard pill to swallow, as were the names of the characters/ships/worlds. But that's OK, unlike entertainment, art doesn't have to be easy and comics is an art. Nothing wrong with just entertaining, I love it, but from time to time, I want something more and this issue delivered. I think it desperately wanted to be more, but I just don't see how it could. There's no entry into the issue itself, no reason to care for the characters introduced, no insight into the Hulk and with nearly 25 issues since this issue came out and no larger connection or context given it's devoid of meaning in the greater story. Heck, even if it was alluded to now it wouldn't improve this issue's quality. You can't just throw out a plot point at random, with out any set up , not talk about it for a year and a half and then try and bring it back and pretend like it was important all along. That's not clever writing or creating a mysterious mood it's just poor writing, which is why I'm hoping it was Ewing just throwing something weird out there to see if it would stick and moving on when he saw it didn't. |
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Feb 3, 2021 3:33:38 GMT -5
It hasn't? I'm betting it will. With this story, Ewing seems to be going for a story that's not unlike that of Aaron's Thor. Yes, the narration was a hard pill to swallow, as were the names of the characters/ships/worlds. But that's OK, unlike entertainment, art doesn't have to be easy and comics is an art. Nothing wrong with just entertaining, I love it, but from time to time, I want something more and this issue delivered. I think it desperately wanted to be more, but I just don't see how it could. There's no entry into the issue itself, no reason to care for the characters introduced, no insight into the Hulk and with nearly 25 issues since this issue came out and no larger connection or context given it's devoid of meaning in the greater story. Heck, even if it was alluded to now it wouldn't improve this issue's quality. You can't just throw out a plot point at random, with out any set up , not talk about it for a year and a half and then try and bring it back and pretend like it was important all along. That's not clever writing or creating a mysterious mood it's just poor writing, which is why I'm hoping it was Ewing just throwing something weird out there to see if it would stick and moving on when he saw it didn't.
Can't wait for the omnibus. |
|
