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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 6, 2021 8:54:04 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKSReal Readers + Fresh Comics = Real Reviews!  |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 7, 2021 17:34:54 GMT -5
Hellboy and the BPRD: The Secret of Chesbro House #1Written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden Art by Shawn McManus Summary: Before a new couple can sell the house they inherited they must first break the curse that haunts it...so of course they call Hellboy.
Plot: For a couple years Mignola's out put with the Hellboy and the BPRD book had been pretty hit or miss but of late it has seemed like he got his mojo back and this latest collaboration with Christopher Golden continues to build on that trend. While there is nothing earth shattering here plot wise and we don't really learn anything new about Hellboy as a character it's a really solid haunted house story that instantly brings to mind such classics as Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, Shirley Jackson's House on Haunted Hill and even a little of Oscar Wilde's Canterville Ghost. Mignola's Chesboro House has a lot of atmosphere and a mix of ghost hunters who are firm believers and skeptics that provides some fun dialogue as the mystery of the house is laid out. Surprisingly, this entry is only one of a few haunted house stories that Mignola has done; while he's done plenty of vampire stories, fought werewolves and even met Frankenstein's Monster, haunted houses are tropes that have been seldom done so it makes this story feel a little bit special despite its relative small stakes. With this first of a two part story mostly being exposition though the second part has a lot of heavy lifting left to do but I'm hoping Mignola can keep his winning streak going and stick the landing with this one.
Art: While McManus does a great job with his portrayals of the house, the human characters and especially the ghosts...his Helboy is sadly lacking. He nails the facial expressions, which often seems to drive artists crazy, but the rest of Hellboy's proportions are just really off giving him a really emaciated, lanky look that just doesn't fit his character at all. Still the mood is strong so it's a sin that can be slightly forgiven, but it does stop this from being a near perfect story.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 7, 2021 18:55:42 GMT -5
Batman: The Adventure Continues Season Two #1-2Written by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini Art by Ty Templeton Summary: Batman and Deadman crack the case and race off to the hideout of the Court of Owls to save Mayor Hill's son.
Plot: While I ultimately feel like Scott Snyder's run on Batman was more miss than hit, especially in terms of how he often ended his stories, I have to say that he came up with more than a few really fantastic ideas and of those the Court of Owls was by far my favorite. That said, like many of his other stories, despite the strong premise the ending came off as really rushed and totally undid all the excellent build up the court had before then so it's a story just ripe for adaptation. And while Dini and Burnett did do a great job in utilizing a lot of the elements of the Court of Owls story and bringing them to the Animated Series world while introducing fun characters like Zatana and Deadman the ending here was even more rushed than the original story so I still feel like the concept still has yet to be fully realized. I understand why they went with a two parter as the animated series never went past that in telling its stories...but with a story like the Court of Owls which relies so much on building up a sense of history it just can't be condensed that much with out losing that level of menace.
Art: Templeton continues to deliver that classic animated series feel to the book, making you really feel like this is a true continuation rather than some lumbering nostalgia zombie.
Grade:6/10 |
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Post by DubipR on Jul 7, 2021 21:41:36 GMT -5
Downloaded books for the week. Rather large one...
- Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory #4
- The Good Asian #3
- Geiger #4
- Hey Kids! Comics! vol 2 #3
- Fire Power #13
- Amazing Spider-Man #70
- The Nice House on the Lake #2
Will give summations later
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 8, 2021 7:08:14 GMT -5
Immortal Hulk #48Written by Al Ewing Art by Joe Bennett Summary: Joe Fix-It and Betty have an pseudo-existential conversation in a hotel room that convinces Joe to go save Banner.
Plot: If simply just reading the above plot summary of this issue sets off alarm bells in your head...well your spidey-sense isn't wrong. This series has been great from the start...but as great as its been its had some real clunky issues under its belt too and this is sadly one of those and even sadder with so few issues left until the finale it just feels a lot like so much wasted space. Ewing swings for the fences with his conversation between the former Gray Hulk and Betty, infusing it with discussions on their history, their relationships and views on identity and it seems like it should be an important character rich moment...until you realize there is no real depth in anything they're actually saying which just makes it feel like a hollow, over-wrought soap opera scene. It's clear Ewing wants this to be a big meaningful, soul searching scene...but he just doesn't have the chops or experience needed to convincingly articulate it. On the one hand, it's hard to fault him for failing to get this kind of scene across as I surely couldn't do it either as I've never experienced that kind of identity crisis myself...but on the other a good storyteller has to know their own weaknesses and decide to avoid the kinds of scenes they know they can't pull off. At this point I really can't see the ending matching the brilliance of the promise the book had at the start, which is too bad as if it can stick the landing it really would be one of my favorite runs of the Hulk. I guess only time will tell...but there isn't much left.
Art: This talking heads kind of issue really didn't give Bennett any exciting to do which is a real shame. As much as I hate fill in artists this really feels like it should have been passed on to someone else as the static images are really a huge waste of Bennett's skills.
Grade:5/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 8, 2021 7:53:13 GMT -5
The Conjuring : The Lover #2Written by David L. Johnson, Rex Ogle and Che Grayson Art by Gary Brown and Juan Ferreya Summary: A girl struggling with loniliness at college becomes prey for something other-worldly while a used wedding gown holds a dark secret.
Plot: Since reading the first issue I've actually started to check out some of the Conjuring films(they're all on HBO Max) and while they do rely a little too much on jump scares for my liking they do have a great classic horror film tone which really makes them fairly entertaining and this anthology comic that bears the property's name really does capture that same kind of 70's horror feeling. Like any anthology there are are going to be stories that are hits and those that miss and it's a little disappointing to say it but the main story is starting to feel like a miss. There isn't enough characterization to make me care about the lead character enough to hold me through the exposition and the thing haunting her isn't well defined enough to make it interesting enough on its own so the story just comes off as hollow and meandering which doesn't really hold my interest at all. However, as much as I was bored by the main feature the back up by Che Grayson was just amazing. I loved the idea of a cursed wedding dress preying on down on their luck brides shopping at used clothes stores; it's a simple premise that doesn't need a lot of build up and although the dress possessing the women to commit murder is definitely supernatural the set up feels true to life so it really makes the horror of it feel real which is always fun. On top of that there are a few macabre themed classic comic style ads(complete with cut out mail in order forms) which are really funny which makes the book a really solid read even if the main feature is a bit of a drag.
Art: Both artists really do fantastic jobs of bringing a lot of mood to their stories and their scratchy styles really do help to capture that 70's Warren horror mag feel which I really love.
Grade:7/10
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Post by majestic on Jul 8, 2021 10:50:37 GMT -5
I agree Immortal Hulk was disappointing. I can't see a satisfying ending at this point even though #50 is 80 pages.
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Post by majestic on Jul 8, 2021 10:55:55 GMT -5
I also read Geiger #4 by Johns & Frank. The more I read the more it feels like Mad Max mixed with Dr Solar. Not a bad combo. I am not a fan of type of story that takes forever to reveal things leaving you feeling confused until the end. I am sticking with this series since there are only 2 more issues and Frank's art is phenomenal.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 9, 2021 10:20:31 GMT -5
I agree Immortal Hulk was disappointing. I can't see a satisfying ending at this point even though #50 is 80 pages. Yeah, at this point I feel like it'll just end with the One Below just getting punched in the face and the Hulks walking into the sunset. About the only "profound" development I can see is all the Hulks merging but that's not terribly exciting given all the the development of green and red doors that seems like its ultimately going no where. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2021 12:36:07 GMT -5
Masters of the Universe: Revelation #1Writers: Kevin Smith, Rob David, Time Sheridan Artist: Mindy Lee The first part of the prequel to the upcoming animated series from Netflix gives us a sneak peek into the origins of the Sword of Power and how Scare-Glow may actually be relevant to a plot in the series. It leans into the toy line which featured two halves of the Power Sword, one was He-Man’s, the other Skeletor’s, which when combined created the ultimate power. This plotpoint was never referenced in the Filmation series however. It looks like it will now. We also get a great scene with Adam and Randor, which may also have some lasting effects in the upcoming series as Randor explains to Adam that the Champion is the sword, and the Prince is the scepter, but no one can be both. Obviously, we know that Adam is. The issue ends of a cliffhanger as Skeletor enters the fray and now we wait for the next issue, which will drop after the animated series. This issue had more emotional punch than it had any right to. At the core, it’s a story about fathers and sons. The original Filmation series didn’t really get much into character development, but this time around it looks like Kevin Smith and company are going to bring it. I do wish that they'd given us the whole thing prior to the first part of the animated series dropping, but I suppose we'll probably get some revelations (pardon the pun) that will lead into part two. 7/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 10, 2021 0:13:04 GMT -5
Masters of the Universe: Revelation #1Writers: Kevin Smith, Rob David, Time Sheridan Artist: Mindy Lee The first part of the prequel to the upcoming animated series from Netflix gives us a sneak peek into the origins of the Sword of Power and how Scare-Glow may actually be relevant to a plot in the series. It leans into the toy line which featured two halves of the Power Sword, one was He-Man’s, the other Skeletor’s, which when combined created the ultimate power. This plotpoint was never referenced in the Filmation series however. It looks like it will now. We also get a great scene with Adam and Randor, which may also have some lasting effects in the upcoming series as Randor explains to Adam that the Champion is the sword, and the Prince is the scepter, but no one can be both. Obviously, we know that Adam is. The issue ends of a cliffhanger as Skeletor enters the fray and now we wait for the next issue, which will drop after the animated series. This issue had more emotional punch than it had any right to. At the core, it’s a story about fathers and sons. The original Filmation series didn’t really get much into character development, but this time around it looks like Kevin Smith and company are going to bring it. I do wish that they'd given us the whole thing prior to the first part of the animated series dropping, but I suppose we'll probably get some revelations (pardon the pun) that will lead into part two. 7/10 Aw man, I wish I had got my hands on that amazing Mike Mignola cover!!!! That looks amazing. As for the comic itself there was a lot to like, I know the usual suspects disliked that they made King Grayskull black...but he's a character out of myth that was never actually seen in the original series and just looked like a bigger, muscle bound version of He-Men in the single episode of the rebooted series he was in so it's not as if they're swapping the race of some storied and beloved character...and heck even if they did swap races with a major character I'd honestly be okay with it(I've thought Idris Elba would make a great Man-At-Arms for instance!) as diversity is a good thing. Seeing how much characterization got put into this tie in comic really has me thinking that the actual cartoon by Smith might really be fun...which is surprising because as much as I like Jay and Silent Bob I've never really liked Smith's writing but I guess there is a first time for everything. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 10, 2021 15:09:35 GMT -5
Batman: The Adventure Continues Season Two #1-2Written by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini Art by Ty Templeton Summary: Batman and Deadman crack the case and race off to the hideout of the Court of Owls to save Mayor Hill's son.
Plot: While I ultimately feel like Scott Snyder's run on Batman was more miss than hit, especially in terms of how he often ended his stories, I have to say that he came up with more than a few really fantastic ideas and of those the Court of Owls was by far my favorite. That said, like many of his other stories, despite the strong premise the ending came off as really rushed and totally undid all the excellent build up the court had before then so it's a story just ripe for adaptation. And while Dini and Burnett did do a great job in utilizing a lot of the elements of the Court of Owls story and bringing them to the Animated Series world while introducing fun characters like Zatana and Deadman the ending here was even more rushed than the original story so I still feel like the concept still has yet to be fully realized. I understand why they went with a two parter as the animated series never went past that in telling its stories...but with a story like the Court of Owls which relies so much on building up a sense of history it just can't be condensed that much with out losing that level of menace.
Art: Templeton continues to deliver that classic animated series feel to the book, making you really feel like this is a true continuation rather than some lumbering nostalgia zombie.
Grade:6/10 I agree 100% it was rushed... and it would have been nice if Zatanna actually had a role in the story past helping Batman see Deadman, but there were some really fun moments, and this was a better use of the Court than the did in the main DCU by a large margin. Other stuff for me this week: Space Bastards #7 : An all Manny special, with alternate art, so definitely not as good. Mostly a gore fest, with no hint as to what the next storyline will be. Since the post office kinda lost (They have transporters now!) not sure where it can go, but I'll deifnitely give it a shot if they come up with something. Trials of Ultraman #4 : Definitely some interesting subplots with the government agency that runs Ultraman being called into question, and perhaps a non-government alternative. The there's the robot Kaiju perhaps battling. I wish they didn't put a power/time limit on the Ultraman transformation, seems very undefinted and Silver Age-y, but otherwise really enjoying this. |
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Post by Ozymandias on Jul 14, 2021 6:13:06 GMT -5
Immortal Hulk #48Written by Al Ewing Art by Joe Bennett Summary: Joe Fix-It and Betty have an pseudo-existential conversation in a hotel room that convinces Joe to go save Banner.
Plot: If simply just reading the above plot summary of this issue sets off alarm bells in your head...well your spidey-sense isn't wrong. This series has been great from the start...but as great as its been its had some real clunky issues under its belt too and this is sadly one of those and even sadder with so few issues left until the finale it just feels a lot like so much wasted space. Ewing swings for the fences with his conversation between the former Gray Hulk and Betty, infusing it with discussions on their history, their relationships and views on identity and it seems like it should be an important character rich moment...until you realize there is no real depth in anything they're actually saying which just makes it feel like a hollow, over-wrought soap opera scene. It's clear Ewing wants this to be a big meaningful, soul searching scene...but he just doesn't have the chops or experience needed to convincingly articulate it. On the one hand, it's hard to fault him for failing to get this kind of scene across as I surely couldn't do it either as I've never experienced that kind of identity crisis myself...but on the other a good storyteller has to know their own weaknesses and decide to avoid the kinds of scenes they know they can't pull off. At this point I really can't see the ending matching the brilliance of the promise the book had at the start, which is too bad as if it can stick the landing it really would be one of my favorite runs of the Hulk. I guess only time will tell...but there isn't much left.
Art: This talking heads kind of issue really didn't give Bennett any exciting to do which is a real shame. As much as I hate fill in artists this really feels like it should have been passed on to someone else as the static images are really a huge waste of Bennett's skills.
Grade:5/10 For once we agree, this wasn't Ewing's crowning moment and doesn't fill me with hope about the promising direction I glimpsed when I read #25. And yes, Bennett could've saved energies for other issues that really needed him and suffered his absence. I agree Immortal Hulk was disappointing. I can't see a satisfying ending at this point even though #50 is 80 pages. 80! And Bennett's doing them all? Hard to believe but hoping it is so. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 14, 2021 16:20:33 GMT -5
Immortal Hulk #48Written by Al Ewing Art by Joe Bennett Summary: Joe Fix-It and Betty have an pseudo-existential conversation in a hotel room that convinces Joe to go save Banner.
Plot: If simply just reading the above plot summary of this issue sets off alarm bells in your head...well your spidey-sense isn't wrong. This series has been great from the start...but as great as its been its had some real clunky issues under its belt too and this is sadly one of those and even sadder with so few issues left until the finale it just feels a lot like so much wasted space. Ewing swings for the fences with his conversation between the former Gray Hulk and Betty, infusing it with discussions on their history, their relationships and views on identity and it seems like it should be an important character rich moment...until you realize there is no real depth in anything they're actually saying which just makes it feel like a hollow, over-wrought soap opera scene. It's clear Ewing wants this to be a big meaningful, soul searching scene...but he just doesn't have the chops or experience needed to convincingly articulate it. On the one hand, it's hard to fault him for failing to get this kind of scene across as I surely couldn't do it either as I've never experienced that kind of identity crisis myself...but on the other a good storyteller has to know their own weaknesses and decide to avoid the kinds of scenes they know they can't pull off. At this point I really can't see the ending matching the brilliance of the promise the book had at the start, which is too bad as if it can stick the landing it really would be one of my favorite runs of the Hulk. I guess only time will tell...but there isn't much left.
Art: This talking heads kind of issue really didn't give Bennett any exciting to do which is a real shame. As much as I hate fill in artists this really feels like it should have been passed on to someone else as the static images are really a huge waste of Bennett's skills.
Grade:5/10 For once we agree, this wasn't Ewing's crowning moment and doesn't fill me with hope about the promising direction I glimpsed when I read #25. And yes, Bennett could've saved energies for other issues that really needed him and suffered his absence. I agree Immortal Hulk was disappointing. I can't see a satisfying ending at this point even though #50 is 80 pages. 80! And Bennett's doing them all? Hard to believe but hoping it is so. Yeah, I haven't seen anything official but I wouldn't be surprised (or bothered) if there were other contributing artists in #50 |
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Post by Ozymandias on Jul 14, 2021 23:33:01 GMT -5
Mixing artists seldom makes sense to me, so we'll see.
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