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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 11, 2020 10:21:15 GMT -5
Welcome back to another exciting installment of the realest reviews on the net... OFF THE RACKSWhat did you read this week?
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 11, 2020 11:04:12 GMT -5
Hawkman #29Written by Robert Venditti Art by Fernando Pasarin Summary: Hawkman and Hawkwoman defeat Hath-Set and finally live their lives with out fear of death. Plot: With issue #29 it's the end of the road for Venditti's fantastic run on Hawkman and it puts the truth to those famous words of the Bard, "Parting is such sweet sorrow..." as though I'm sad the story has come to an end it's written in such a wonderful way that you can't help be hopeful for the future of these characters. What I really loved about this issue is that it's such a perfect capstone for the series as it not only gives the readers closure with the characters and various plot lines but it does so in a way that mirrors the structure of the book as a whole; moving forward in the Hawks lives in much the same way the book began exploring their pasts. In a lot of ways it kind of reminds me of Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" in that yes it's the end, but it makes you feel hopeful at the same time because it really celebrates the legacy of the character and for a character like Hawkman to receive that kind of treatment after so many years of neglect is just amazing to see. Art: I've often felt that the art here was at times the only real weak point of this book, it's never been bad per say but there was never an image that really made you just stop and stare. And while that was still largely true here there was one scene that really was pretty fantastic in delivering a real, honest to goodness human moment. We all know superhero deaths are a tired trope by now, so usually an apparent character death only makes me roll my eyes but the amazing attention to detail given to Shayera as she believes that Carter has fallen really brought out the right emotional response in me. I still didn't buy that Carter had died(and he didn't) but the way Pasarin drew Shayera's sorrow was just so beautiful I couldn't help but feel her pain. Those little crinkle lines on her chin really got me and brought me into the scene which is what good art is meant to do. Kudos for the whole team for making this book one of best superhero comics in the last twenty years. Grade:10/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 11, 2020 14:13:06 GMT -5
Deep Space Nine: Too Long a Sacrifice #4Written by Scott and David Tipton Art by Greg Scott Summary: The case is afoot! Odo and Investigator Ratlaw rush to find the culprit behind the murders before time runs out. Plot: What started out as a fantastic exploration of a noir detective story set within the world of Star Trek came crashing down in disappointment as the brothers Tiptons illustrate the largest pitfall of writing mysteries: revealing the solution. Like so many flawed mysteries instead of teasing out the solution by logical progressions the Tiptons blurt it all out in single gasp through the Betazed's telepathy like a lame deus ex machina development. It's terribly sad really, it started out so well with all it's intrigue and atmosphere but to end so quickly was just wholly unsatisfactory. Art: Though the plot ultimately proved to be disappointing the art by Scott proved to be just as deliciously atmospheric as always. Grade:5/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 11, 2020 16:08:14 GMT -5
Iron Man #3Written by Christopher Cantwell Art by Cafu Summary: Tony and Patsy travel out to the lightning farm and find their investment is riskier than they thought. Plot: I've been digging this series so far, loving its smaller take on Tony and his relationship with Hellcat...but the downer characterization of Tony kind of seemed a bit much three issues in. Some readers had picked up on that characterization in the earlier issues but in those entries I felt it was balanced out by Hellcat's peppy attitude and heavy doses of Saturday morning cartoon like action. And while there was action here, it was of the more brutal variety so coupled with Tony's depressed state and Patsy's own moodier characterization the balance was gone and it all kind of felt muddy and the revelation of Korvac did little for me. Art: Despite not loving the plot Cafu's art continues to be beautiful. I don't know if I'll be on this book for the long haul but if I do I think Cafu will be the reason why. Grade: 6/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 11, 2020 17:05:49 GMT -5
American Vampire: 1976 #2Written by Scott Snyder Art by Rafael Albuquerque Summary: Skinner, Pearl and a Sheriff Book steal a car from the Freedom Train only to find it was a trap. Plot: In a lot of ways Scott Snyder's second issue is a much better introductory issue than the first giving readers a brief look back at what came before while pulling back the curtain a bit and letting them see what lies ahead. That said, I don't want you to think this is all set up because the pacing is tight and fast moving along the plot of the Trader's plan to awaken the ancient evil that sleeps below the Earth's crust much further along than I had thought in just two issues. The mythology is fantastic, the action fun and the characterization is deep and rich and the twists introduced here looks like it will lead to some amazing developments as the story races towards its conclusion. Art: Albuquerque's art continues to be completely stunning. The way he balances the tone in art between a slick, cinematic action feel in the hiest scenes and the grungy, 70's Hammer Horror investigation scenes was just perfect. Grade: 9/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 11, 2020 19:09:25 GMT -5
Hellboy and the BPRD: The Seven Wives ClubWritten by Mike Mignola Art by Adam Hughes Summary: In 1992 Hellboy and Agent Pauline Raskin investigate a ghost hunt gone bad in Savannah Georgia. Plot: I've said it before, and I'm sure I'm destined to say it again but some of my favorite and undoubtedly the strongest Hellboy stories are one-shots. Like a lot of horror stories where less is more short features force the book to lean on atmosphere to fill in the details and tell the story which tends to lend them a fantastic feeling of mystery and Seven Wives Club is no exception. And although focused perhaps more on mood and style than substance we none the less get a really entertaining story with some great character moments with Hellboy showing off his softer side as well as action scenes serving as a showcase of Hellboy at his best for new readers. That isn't to say the book is a wash for long time fans as this return to Hellboys younger days before he knew about his destiny as beast of the apocalypse is always a fun breath of fresh air and after a string of poor entries long time Hellboy fans really needed this win even if its just in the form of an entertaining read rather than something "important" Art: Hughes sometimes gets a bad rap for drawing art that is too static and cold but both this book and his prior collaboration with Mignola in Krampusnacht prove that you can infact infuse photorealistic art with the kind of huge sense of mood and atmosphere that is key to telling a Hellboy story. Grade:8/10
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2020 12:49:28 GMT -5
Nothing really to add except your review of Hawkman #29 was spot on. Just a great book. Nice wrap up to an excellent series. Happy to see they got to live their "final lives" as the JSA Hawkman and Hawkwoman.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2020 12:51:27 GMT -5
And Iron Man #3? I mostly agree with your review. I don't mind Tony being down. He has been an arrogant SOB for so long it's refreshing to see him brought down a few pegs in humility.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2020 12:54:25 GMT -5
I also like Detective Comics #1030 this week. So far I am liking where this story arc is going with Batman relying on the Bat Family and Damian's betrayal. This title feels new and exciting again.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2020 15:24:03 GMT -5
Did Hawkman ever have any crossovers/events come into play, or are the 29 issues everything? I kinda want to hold out in the hopes of an omnibus, but DC being what it is I may just grab the singles.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2020 16:12:48 GMT -5
Did Hawkman ever have any crossovers/events come into play, or are the 29 issues everything? I kinda want to hold out in the hopes of an omnibus, but DC being what it is I may just grab the singles. No crossovers. Whole series is collected in 4 trades. No omnibus that I know of at this time.
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Post by The Captain on Nov 12, 2020 20:29:51 GMT -5
And Iron Man #3? I mostly agree with your review. I don't mind Tony being down. He has been an arrogant SOB for so long it's refreshing to see him brought down a few pegs in humility. I don't know if it's so much humility as he's just being mopey. He's tired of being blamed for when things go wrong, and he's trying to figure out why people don't adore him like they used to. It's better than the "nothing bad ever happens to me" version of Tony who could buy his way out of any problem, and it certainly is better than the "oh, no, I'm drinking again" iteration as well. I really liked the scene on the plane where Patsy tells him to basically get over himself, even referencing an event that happened in the old Hellstorm series (which I happen to own, and I read the Warren Ellis issues, if not the whole series, every couple of years or so. Lot of wasted potential there, but it was the 90s and it wasn't a mutant book, so it was pretty much ignored by the public).
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 13, 2020 17:18:36 GMT -5
And Iron Man #3? I mostly agree with your review. I don't mind Tony being down. He has been an arrogant SOB for so long it's refreshing to see him brought down a few pegs in humility. I don't know if it's so much humility as he's just being mopey. He's tired of being blamed for when things go wrong, and he's trying to figure out why people don't adore him like they used to. It's better than the "nothing bad ever happens to me" version of Tony who could buy his way out of any problem, and it certainly is better than the "oh, no, I'm drinking again" iteration as well. I really liked the scene on the plane where Patsy tells him to basically get over himself, even referencing an event that happened in the old Hellstorm series (which I happen to own, and I read the Warren Ellis issues, if not the whole series, every couple of years or so. Lot of wasted potential there, but it was the 90s and it wasn't a mutant book, so it was pretty much ignored by the public). Yeah, it's definitely different than past iterations which does make it a good read and the plane scene was definitely the highlight of the issue but despite that I think it was the lack of peppy Patsy that kind of threw off the balance a bit for me...that and I'm not a huge fan of Korvac and felt that the reveal that he was the mastermind behind the D-List villains just felt random. Still a fun book overall though.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 13, 2020 17:19:55 GMT -5
I also like Detective Comics #1030 this week. So far I am liking where this story arc is going with Batman relying on the Bat Family and Damian's betrayal. This title feels new and exciting again. Yeah, definitely the strongest Batman has been in a long time. I'm really interested to see where the Damian story goes.
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Post by The Captain on Nov 13, 2020 17:45:10 GMT -5
I don't know if it's so much humility as he's just being mopey. He's tired of being blamed for when things go wrong, and he's trying to figure out why people don't adore him like they used to. It's better than the "nothing bad ever happens to me" version of Tony who could buy his way out of any problem, and it certainly is better than the "oh, no, I'm drinking again" iteration as well. I really liked the scene on the plane where Patsy tells him to basically get over himself, even referencing an event that happened in the old Hellstorm series (which I happen to own, and I read the Warren Ellis issues, if not the whole series, every couple of years or so. Lot of wasted potential there, but it was the 90s and it wasn't a mutant book, so it was pretty much ignored by the public). Yeah, it's definitely different than past iterations which does make it a good read and the plane scene was definitely the highlight of the issue but despite that I think it was the lack of peppy Patsy that kind of threw off the balance a bit for me...that and I'm not a huge fan of Korvac and felt that the reveal that he was the mastermind behind the D-List villains just felt random. Still a fun book overall though. It's funny how time changes our perceptions. Controller, Blizzard, and Unicorn used to be at least B-List villains in the Iron Man run, but their status has definitely dropped as the decades marched on. A couple of years ago, when I was doing my Captain America review thread, I wrote about how Batroc used to be an actual threat to Steve, while over the ensuing years, he's become little more than a punchline as power creep has taken over and the threats always need to be bigger, Bigger, BIGGER!!!!!!
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