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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 11, 2021 8:42:11 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKS |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 12, 2021 22:07:45 GMT -5
No one going to the shop today?
Here's my stuff for this week (a couple from last month I missed and had to get from another store):
Space Bastards #2 : The Origin story.. .very cool stuff. This is so similar in tone to Transmet it makes me wonder how much plot input Robertson had.
Future State: Teen Titans 1-2 : Oh joy, another dark, broody story where the heroes fail and have to save what small bit of the world is left. Also, another story about a future Dick Grayson that makes no sense to me. Also, a whole lot of 'Titans' I don't recognize (maybe from the up coming book?), and this really weird unexplained thing that totally didn't work with a couple others. The hook is the how the world went to hell and why it's the Titans fault is going to be in the upcoming Teen Titans Academy, which I can now happily ignore. Unless you really love dark, gritty elseworld-ish tales, hard pass.
Future State: Green Lantern 1-2 : Most of the times in the past when Green LAntern gets into these evens, they feel like stock stories left over from some other time. The theme is the power battery is out... and this is what happens next. The main story was definitely NOT that... it's got a really cool art style that feels more like it belongs and 2000 AD than DC, and features John Stewart, Salaak and G'Nort (who is actually kinda awesome), with no rings fighting a Khundian Cult that worships 'the prophet in Red'. I don't love powerless GL stories, but this was a really good one, will worth the read, and if it's the lead in to a series, I'm in. There are two back ups, one starring Jessica Cruz (which was decent) and one called the 'Book of Guy', which was pretty funny. The later two DID sorta feel like stock stories, but were good ones, and fit the theme of the Green Lantern batteries all going out.
Issue 2 concludes the John Stewart story, the had two backups that I've seen advertised that (sadly) I think lead into the main story. One features 'Teen Lantern' and Mogo (I guess from Young Justice? new to me, and not very exciting.) and the final one is Hal Jordan going into space to see why the power battery is out... ends on a cliff hanger that surely leads into post future state. The lantern from Far Sector appears, too. No Kyle though. Probably not worth the hefty price tag ($6.99 and $5.99 for the 2 issues), but the lead story was defintely really good.
I also got the newly released trade of the 2nd half of 'Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth', which I'm excited about but haven't got to yet.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 13, 2021 20:35:37 GMT -5
Work's been crazy with the weather we've had, I don't have a day off til monday so I'll try to do a few write ups then.
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 14, 2021 13:50:36 GMT -5
I got Future State: Dark Detective #3. This series is better than I thought it would be ... but the only reason I got it is that most of the DC comics I read are on hiatus because of Future State so I got a few Future State comics just to have something to read. FS: Catwoman was pretty good! FS: Legion of Super-Heroes is one of the worst comic books I’ve read in years!
And I got King Tank Girl #3! Yay Tank Girl!
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 15, 2021 11:21:42 GMT -5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #114Story and art by Sophie Campbell Summary: As the Lita of the future explains why she's come back in time to stop, Jennika comes face to face with Karai...and Tokka and Rahzar!
Plot: After a whole year of stories exploring the fall out of Old Hob's mutagen bomb on a largely interpersonal level it seems like things are finally set to really pick up plot wise. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy Campbell's deep dives into the personalities of the Turtles and the exploration of how different people have reacted to suddenly being turned into mutants...but after 13 issues it was beginning to feel a little aimless so a sense of direction is a real breath of fresh air. That said, even though I liked the change of pace this issue brought I'm not too enamored by the sense of direction itself as the trope of a time traveler from a distant dystopian future comes to the past to change the world is really, really tired at this point. The characterization is still really strong though and I love that Tokka and Rahzar have been brought into the fold so hopefully Campbell can buck my expectations and tell a good story with tired tropes.
Art: I've long been a fan of Campbell's cartoony style as it brings a real felling of fun to the plots that is a balance to their otherwise deeply personal tone. And although not as realistic as some past takes that doesn't mean there is a lack of detail as she includes a lot intricate personal details to each of the turtles which makes them each unique in their own ways.
Grade:7/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 15, 2021 11:41:54 GMT -5
I got Future State: Dark Detective #3. This series is better than I thought it would be ... but the only reason I got it is that most of the DC comics I read are on hiatus because of Future State so I got a few Future State comics just to have something to read. FS: Catwoman was pretty good! FS: Legion of Super-Heroes is one of the worst comic books I’ve read in years! And I got King Tank Girl #3! Yay Tank Girl! Dark Detective is pretty awesome, I love the idea of a real street level Batman struggling against the odds. One thing I didn't care for in this issue though was the cross-over with the New Batman; it's not that I don't like the New Batman(that book is solid too) but the meet up just felt really out of place and added nothing to the plot. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Mar 13, 2021 15:38:38 GMT -5
X-Factor #7
Written by Leah Williams
Art by David Baldeon and Israel Silva
What Happened Before:Mutants have united and live nearly all on the island of Krakoa. By combining the powers of several mutants, dead mutants can be resurrected, but it's a long process and there's quite a backlog and they want to be sure that the mutant in question is actually dead. Enter X-Factor; a group of mutant detectives, whose job it is to investigate missing mutants and confirm their deaths.
Their most recent case: Theresa Cassidy aka Siryn has been dying a lot recently and X-Factor is suspicious, but Terry does not want them to meddle in her affairs and has hypnotized Polaris to sabotage their investigations.
Plot: Prodigy has a lot of missed calls from his boyfriend, Speed (because speedsters have no patience whatsoever). Probably something to do with a mutual friend telling Speed that Prodigy recently was murdered and resurrected, something which Prodigy never actually bothered to tell him. That is the reason, but not in the way Prodigy expects: Speed shows him a photograph of the night when he was supposedly killed of the two of them together in another place.
More relationship trouble: Aurora is afraid that Daken has been manipulating her with his pheromone powers, but after a bit of pushing from her, he explains that his powers don't work that way.
Daken is send to follow Siryn, but doesn't take a phone or other communicator along (despite Northstar insisting he does so). This allows Polaris to interfere with the investigation and change the messages she relays to Northstar. Unfortunately for Polaris (or fortunately as we'll see later) half her team are living lie-detectors.
Not that it helps Daken who is ambushed by Terry and left for dead.
Rachel removes Terry's hypnotic suggestion from Lorna, who tells the rest that it's not Terry, but the Morrigan who is charge.
Northstar saves Daken and while he's recovering he and Aurora set the next step in their relationship.
That night, the Morrigan appears and kills Northstar, Polaris, Aurora and Rachel, leaving Prodigy, Eye-boy and Daken hiding from her.
The Good: Lots of personal development and some fun intercharacter interaction (Speed meeting fellow-speedster Northstar and jumps between envy and admiration when he finds out how much faster Northstar is).
I really like the general competence of the team as well, Eye-Boy immediately noticing Lorna trying to deceive them and informing Northstar, who immediately asks Rachel to fix her.
Lorna is furious (because of course she would be after all the mindcontrol she has been subjected to in her life) and this betrayal probably hurt even more because Terry was the one that restored her sanity before.
Daken asks Northstar how he found him. Northstar simply replies that they had the general area and he's the fastest mutant on Earth, so he simply looked everywhere in that area.
The Bad: The cliffhanger feels cheap; sure, half the cast just died off-screen. It'll probably turn out to be illusion or something like that later (then again, it's Krakoa, so they *can* kill of half the cast without too much consequence). We know the Morrigan is a goddess, so we don't need the reminder how powerful she is.
7/10: Cliffhanger aside, I like the characters and their interaction. Not a big fan of the art, but it works for this title. Also I enjoy a comic writer actually making a superhero team very good at their job instead of just telling us how good they are.
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Post by Dizzy D on Mar 25, 2021 8:38:33 GMT -5
Excalibur #18
Written by Tini Howard
Art by Marcus To and Erick Arciniega
What Happened Before:Mutants have united and live nearly all on the island of Krakoa. A small group of mutants, lead by Elisabeth Braddock aka Captain Britain keep contact between Krakoa and Otherworld, an extradimensional nexus and home of magic. During the events of X of Swords, Elisabeth received a magical sword, the Starlight Sword, but was defeated in a duel. Both sword and its wielder fell apart in shards of glass and from the shards the Captain Britain Corps was reborn, but the fate of Elisabeth herself remained unclear*.
Plot: Elisabeth has been found, but Rogue still has her doubts whether she is the real Elisabeth. Elisabeth herself remains distant from, but her plans are foiled when Maggie, Elisabeth's niece, sees her aunt while visiting and immediately warns her father. Brian is angry that Excalibur didn't tell him that his sister is alive, but over dinner he does understand Rogue's reservations whether this woman is really his sister.
While sleeping, Elisabeth (or whoever she really is) takes control over Brian and sends him back home. She then invites Rogue to come and find her, while Gambit goes to check on Brian. Gambit runs into Jamie Braddock first though, and the mad king admits that he had a clone of his sister made, but when they go check, the body is gone. Rogue and Rictor find Elisabeth and she attacks them, but is then knocked out by Psylocke, who confirms that this woman is not Elisabeth.
The Good: It's a relative quiet issue. I do appreciate that Brian and Rogue act like reasonable adults with Rogue admitting that he's right to be angry and Brian admitting that she's right to be cautious. Two heroes not immediately fighting each other over a disagreement? What kinda Marvelverse is this.
The Bad: Like many Excalibur issues, the pacing is all over the place. It's clear early on that this woman is not Elisabeth Braddock, even though Rachel's explanation for why Elisabeth would act this way, makes sense. Excalibur never keeps an eye on this woman that they have their doubts about though, making the team feel very passive.
Also not much of interaction between the members here and the character interactions usually are the best parts of this book.
4/10: A slow issue that undermines its own premise early on and never really does anything interesting.
*= I'm not going back and review the earlier issues that I got a week or two ago, but I did like X-Factor's appearance in issue #16, where they report their investigation of Elisabeth's death and their conclusion is pretty much "Jeez, we don't know. This is all magic; we have no body and dozens of witnesses describing a scenario that makes zero sense. Go ask Illyana or something."
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