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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 12, 2020 15:12:20 GMT -5
Join us here for another exciting addition of... OFF THE RACKS CCF's home for real reviews by real readers. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 12, 2020 20:14:53 GMT -5
Immortal Hulk #31Written by Al Ewing Art by Joe Bennett Summary: Xemnu is back on Earth and he's here to take down the Hulk once and for all.
Plot: It's a running theme with my relationship with this book over the course of its run, it has its peaks and valleys and while I had felt the last few issues had been falling into a rut this one brought it right back up again with it's sort of zany high concept battle. I had previously thought the Kirby-esque giant monsters introduced in the last issue were just another nod to Marvel's 80th anniversary and it's possible that was part of the reasoning behind their inclusion but with the use of Xemnu here it's also a modern play on his past fights with the Hulk; using monsters as his henchmen and then dropping a mind whammy on everyone. It's a classic plot to be sure but it's a new enough twist that it made for a really fun read and I can't wait to see how it effects the Hulk's green new deal.
Art: While he didn't get to do any gory high action fight scenes I did love Bennett's take on Xemnu; he really captured the fact that he's not really a yeti but a weird android perfectly here.
Grade:8/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 13, 2020 10:42:39 GMT -5
Doctor Strange: Surgeon Supreme #3Written by Mark Waid Art by Kev Walker Summary: When a patient's tattoos seem to be leeching his life away there's only one Doctor on call who can save the day.
Plot: While Waid returned the good Doctor to the medical field in the first issue this is the first issue that really embraced the promised concept of mixing medical drama with fantasy and while I would have liked it to be a bit more ER or Grey's than it ended up being the mix was definitely entertaining. While Strange has often gone journeys into mysterious realms in the past, making the plot nothing extremely novel but the opportunities that mixing of magic and medicine presents is more than interesting enough to keep me going.
Art: The art here by Walker is on the same page as the plotting by Waid, while certainly colorful the world that Walker gives us is full of the typical surrealistic Dali-esque visuals that has become kind of standard by this point. Since it was supposed to be a world of tattoos I think it would have been better if Walker had incorporated art from classic Sailor Jerry tattoos to get it across but that said where he excels is his strong characterization of the sorcerer supreme himself who comes across as being very expressive.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2020 20:36:06 GMT -5
Superman #20. Written by Brian Michael Bendis. Art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado.
After last issue's upbeat attitude towards Superman revealing his ID this issue starts with some more realistic reactions. And Lana Lang gets thrown into the mix. Plus Earth gets notified about Superman's role in forming the United Planets. And Mongul fights Superman and others to destroy the United Planets from ever beginning.
At first I wasn't crazy about Bendis having Superman's ID revealed but so far this arc has been pretty interesting. As usual Reis' art is stellar.
8/10.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2020 20:41:00 GMT -5
Immortal Hulk #31. Written by Al Ewing. Art by Joe Bennett.
Xemnu is back! And making the Hulk look bad. Quite an interesting twist that I did not see coming. Ewing really has moved from the horror aspect to Marvel's Atlas Monster days mixed with modern sensibilities. I really enjoyed this issue. Can't wait to see where this arc goes.
8/10
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2020 20:46:13 GMT -5
Hawkman #21. Written by Robert Venditti. Art by Fernando Pasarin and Oclair Albert.
This issue focused on Hawkwoman, Atom and Adam Strange. And it was pretty good. I liked the focus on Carter's allies. I hope going forward this title keeps all of them around. On the negative side I really am growing bored with the evil Hawkman Sky Tyrant and want his arc wrapped up.
7/10.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2020 20:52:02 GMT -5
Doctor Strange: Surgeon Supreme #3. Written by Mark Waid. Art by Kev Walker.
A patient's tattoos are aging him rapidly. Strange is brought in to consult. Strange fights a demon that is stealing people's life force thru their tattoos.
Man I am loving this version of Strange by Waid. The mix of magic and medicine is a great combination. Walker is really finding his way to drawing some great and weird magic stuff.
8/10.
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