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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 27, 2021 17:52:56 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKS! |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 28, 2021 8:17:39 GMT -5
Batman/Superman #20Written by Gene Luen Yang Art by Ivan Reis Summary: Thwarted by Batman, Robin, Superman, Alanna Strange and El Diablo, the mad robot Io unleashes Etrigan on Superman's world.
Plot: While I still really enjoy the concept of a multiverse based on different types of films, and Yang's characterization does continue to be strong...at fives issues (and more yet to come before the conclusion) the story has begun to feel a little bloated. The characters Yang has brought to the table are fun, Alanna and El Diablo aren't exactly heavy hitters, but other than being heroes you don't normally see in these kinds of big team ups to save reality they don't actually bring much to the story other than padding it out a bit which is a detriment not a positive development. On top of that while I love Etrigan, when Io cries out that Etrigan is his third act surprise I rolled my eyes because it just came off as a little too on the nose and not incredibly confidence inspiring either given how often those surprises ruin an otherwise decent film. I still love Yang's voice with both Batman and Superman( I'd love him to write either full time!) I'm ready for this particular arc to be done.
Art: As down as I am on the plot Reis really continued to knock this out of the park art wise, delivering image after image of pure awe. That scene where he has Superman wrapped in chains pulling the steam train in El Diablo's wild west world to safety was seriously one of the single greatest images of Superman I've seen in a long time. It's the kind of image you'd use to explain who Superman is in a nutshell to someone who'd never heard of him before. It's really that powerful.
Grade:6.5(for the art!)/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 28, 2021 10:27:01 GMT -5
Robin #4Written by Joshua Williamson Art by Jorge Corona Summary: After taking a beating from Connor Hawke, Damian convalesces with his grand father...Ra's al Ghul.
Plot: Although the over all pacing of the tournament and mystery of the League of Lazarus remains almost painfully slow Williamson's characterization remains incredibly strong and the tone is light and fun. The real highlight here was the characterization of Ra's and his relationship with his grandson Damian, while still harboring genocidal plans of world domination Williamson went back to the beginning and abandoned the more crazed tone of more modern takes on the character and instead presented him as a rational and cultured character that you almost feel for which is definitely my preference. Further than that we got the first scene where Ra's viewed Damian with anything approaching familial fondness, in the past Ra's has just viewed him as a vessel but here we see a Ra's who cares for Damian and wants to guide him as best he can which is a great twist and is a development that gave the story a real feeling of heart. To top it all off the issue ended with a promise of an all Robin team up with Dick, Jason, Tim and Steph appearing out of the shadows to help Damian on the last page. So, while I hope the pacing picks up there is still a lot to love here and I'm excited to see where the book goes next.
Art: While I loved Corona's fluid depictions of action, and the softer bearded look for Ra's al Ghul the last page of Corona's art nearly spoiled the book for me. While the scene reuniting all the Robins was fun Corona gave them all really angular poses for some reason that just looked plain ugly. I just hope they look better when they get featured more in the next issue.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 28, 2021 17:23:18 GMT -5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 2021 AnnualWritten by Tom Waltz Art by Casey Maloney Summary: The Rat King travels to his surviving siblings domains to try and restart the Pantheon's games but decides to start a new one.
Plot: As awesome as the plot with the Shredder being a host for a dragon god was I found myself glad to be done with the Rat King and his Pantheon family when Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi were able to team up and thwart their plan...so seeing the Rat King return here wasn't the greatest development in my eyes especially as it seemed to set him up as the next big bad for the turtles. It's not that the mysticism is bad, it's been a great addition to the turtles world...it's more that with the Dragon God dead it really felt like that it had reached its natural conclusion so to see it rehashed only with out the rest of the Pantheon playing the "game" this time just feels like it's going to be a case of been there seen that. I do like that it's bringing together the various bad guy factions as a unified threat to the turtles so that's promising but I just hope it doesn't come off as forced.
Art: Though this is their first appearance with the Turtles Casey Maloney is probably someone you've seen before(even if you don't recognize the name) as they're sort of IDW's relief pitcher and has worked on nearly every other licensed book IDW has put out at one time or another. That said it's probably no surprise to hear that they're look is a little on the vanilla side, having a kind of "house style" look that is serviceable but never stunning.
Grade:7/10
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Post by The Cheat on Jul 29, 2021 13:14:58 GMT -5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 2021 AnnualWritten by Tom Waltz Art by Casey Maloney Summary: The Rat King travels to his surviving siblings domains to try and restart the Pantheon's games but decides to start a new one.
Plot: As awesome as the plot with the Shredder being a host for a dragon god was I found myself glad to be done with the Rat King and his Pantheon family when Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi were able to team up and thwart their plan...so seeing the Rat King return here wasn't the greatest development in my eyes especially as it seemed to set him up as the next big bad for the turtles. It's not that the mysticism is bad, it's been a great addition to the turtles world...it's more that with the Dragon God dead it really felt like that it had reached its natural conclusion so to see it rehashed only with out the rest of the Pantheon playing the "game" this time just feels like it's going to be a case of been there seen that. I do like that it's bringing together the various bad guy factions as a unified threat to the turtles so that's promising but I just hope it doesn't come off as forced.
Art: Though this is their first appearance with the Turtles Casey Maloney is probably someone you've seen before(even if you don't recognize the name) as they're sort of IDW's relief pitcher and has worked on nearly every other licensed book IDW has put out at one time or another. That said it's probably no surprise to hear that they're look is a little on the vanilla side, having a kind of "house style" look that is serviceable but never stunning.
Grade:7/10
This felt to me more like it should have been a Free Comic Day recap comic than a full price annual. Saying that, it was nice to take a break from the extreme tedium that is the never-ending Mutant Town storyline. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 29, 2021 13:18:46 GMT -5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 2021 AnnualWritten by Tom Waltz Art by Casey Maloney Summary: The Rat King travels to his surviving siblings domains to try and restart the Pantheon's games but decides to start a new one.
Plot: As awesome as the plot with the Shredder being a host for a dragon god was I found myself glad to be done with the Rat King and his Pantheon family when Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi were able to team up and thwart their plan...so seeing the Rat King return here wasn't the greatest development in my eyes especially as it seemed to set him up as the next big bad for the turtles. It's not that the mysticism is bad, it's been a great addition to the turtles world...it's more that with the Dragon God dead it really felt like that it had reached its natural conclusion so to see it rehashed only with out the rest of the Pantheon playing the "game" this time just feels like it's going to be a case of been there seen that. I do like that it's bringing together the various bad guy factions as a unified threat to the turtles so that's promising but I just hope it doesn't come off as forced.
Art: Though this is their first appearance with the Turtles Casey Maloney is probably someone you've seen before(even if you don't recognize the name) as they're sort of IDW's relief pitcher and has worked on nearly every other licensed book IDW has put out at one time or another. That said it's probably no surprise to hear that they're look is a little on the vanilla side, having a kind of "house style" look that is serviceable but never stunning.
Grade:7/10
This felt to me more like it should have been a Free Comic Day recap comic than a full price annual. Saying that, it was nice to take a break from the extreme tedium that is the never-ending Mutant Town storyline. Yeah, it definitely did feel like one of those recap-hype for the next event type of books that we often see on FCBD. And while the Mutant Town story has absolutely been stretched out to the max there have been some really great character moments along the way and it's picked up a lot in the last few issues so I'm thinking its back on track to be great again. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 29, 2021 14:23:31 GMT -5
Icon and Rocket #1Written by Reginald Hudlin Art by Doug Braithwaite Summary: When Raquel gets more than she bargained for after trying to break into an old house she finds a new purpose in life.
Plot: Okay, cards on the table time...I have never read a single Milestone book before now...and I can't really say why that is. It's not that I wasn't aware of these books, and there are other books put out by the creators of the Milestone books that are among my all time favorites...but I just never got into Milestone so with this new reboot it seemed like a good time to give them a try and jump on from the start, as such I have no idea how this book compares to the original but in and of itself it was a great read. The dynamic between Raquel and Augustus was pretty great;Raquel is naive, optimistic and impulsive in her decision making and Augustus is the opposite which creates a great odd couple partnership that I'm excited to see play out. As far as pacing goes Hudlin leans towards ending at the beginning in structuring the plot here with everything here being set up for what comes next, which isn't a bad thing as it gets it all out of the way in the front rather than drip feeding or revealing it all later.
Art: I think what I loved about Btaithwaite's art here was just how detailed and realistic his back grounds were. Every scene felt like it was set in an actual place with real weight to it which really grounded everything that was going on which made this book feel different than most other super hero books out there. It'll be interesting to see how he handles the more fantastic elements as the book progresses.
Grade:8/10 |
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Post by majestic on Jul 29, 2021 21:30:34 GMT -5
I also missed out on the original Milestone titles. There was so much product in the early 90s that there was stuff I passed on buying. So this relaunch has me interested in trying out what I missed out on. Your review gives me the desire to try this title.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 29, 2021 21:44:58 GMT -5
Icon and Rocket #1Written by Reginald Hudlin Art by Doug Braithwaite Summary: When Raquel gets more than she bargained for after trying to break into an old house she finds a new purpose in life.
Plot: Okay, cards on the table time...I have never read a single Milestone book before now...and I can't really say why that is. It's not that I wasn't aware of these books, and there are other books put out by the creators of the Milestone books that are among my all time favorites...but I just never got into Milestone so with this new reboot it seemed like a good time to give them a try and jump on from the start, as such I have no idea how this book compares to the original but in and of itself it was a great read. The dynamic between Raquel and Augustus was pretty great;Raquel is naive, optimistic and impulsive in her decision making and Augustus is the opposite which creates a great odd couple partnership that I'm excited to see play out. As far as pacing goes Hudlin leans towards ending at the beginning in structuring the plot here with everything here being set up for what comes next, which isn't a bad thing as it gets it all out of the way in the front rather than drip feeding or revealing it all later.
Art: I think what I loved about Btaithwaite's art here was just how detailed and realistic his back grounds were. Every scene felt like it was set in an actual place with real weight to it which really grounded everything that was going on which made this book feel different than most other super hero books out there. It'll be interesting to see how he handles the more fantastic elements as the book progresses.
Grade:8/10 That's very much the opposite of the original dynamic... interesting. I would be more inclined tor read the Milestone relaunch if it was a continuation or more of a soft reboot, retelling the same stuff, or using the names for different characters doesn't really appeal to me. |
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Post by majestic on Jul 30, 2021 21:45:44 GMT -5
Superman Son of Kal-El #1. Written by Tom Taylor. Art by John Timms.
Clark stays as the star of Action Comics while Jon takes over the main Superman title.
This issue has an updated tweaked version of Jon's birth. It has Jon getting advice from Damian. It has him interacting with the military. And finding his own way as the Superman of Earth while his Dad goes off into space on a mission.
Taylor has been gold on the Nightwing title and it looks like he will continue to be stellar here. He maintains the best of Tomasi's version of Jon and adds to it. Jon is a perfect mix of the best of Clark & Lois.
Meanwhile Timms' detailed mix of realism and cartoony art style works perfectly here.
Between this title and the current Robin title the Super Sons have a bright future at DC for now.
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Post by majestic on Jul 30, 2021 21:54:25 GMT -5
Icon and Rocket #1. Written by Reginald Hudlin. Art by Doug Braithwaite. As I mentioned a few posts ago I passed on the 90s Milestone titles. With this reboot I wanted to give Icon a read. thwhtguardian review convinced me to pick up this title. So Icon is this Universe's version of Superman. I liked his origin story but I wished we could have seen his involvement in the Civil War and the 1960s Civil Rights. But we jump from the 1800's to the present and we get what I assume is the updated version of how the team of Icon & Rocket started. While I wasn't blown away with this first issue it was enough to get me to sign on for the 6 issue series. The art was excellent.
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Post by majestic on Jul 30, 2021 22:05:54 GMT -5
Quick Comments on other titles I read this week:
Batman/Superman #20. I agree with thwhtguardian . The art is incredible. Yang really writes Superman & Batman well. However the guest stars sort of throw the vibe of the book off.
Robin #4. Agree again with thwhtguardian . Great characters. Slow pacing. Subpar fill in art this issue.
Action Comics #1033. Enjoying this arc with Warworld. Clark at odds with his Justice League allies.
Detective Comics #1040. Bruce Wayne in jail. Overall this arc has been great with amazing art. There have been some minor missteps along the way. Back up focuses on Man Bat. |
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Post by DubipR on Jul 31, 2021 7:57:27 GMT -5
Reads of the week:
Tarzan/Groo- C'mon! It's Groo... and he meets Tarzan!
That Texas Blood #8- Continues to tick off all my pulp needs.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 1, 2021 22:37:36 GMT -5
Didn't get to the store until Sat. this week, so only read a couple of my books so far:
Beta Ray Bill #5 : Weird ending to a weird series... I feel like there are some things the this guy (the writer/arist Darren Warren Johnson) could do well, but this wasn't one of them.
Robin #4 : Not sure I like crazy grandpa Ra's.. kinda odd. Totally agree on the sub par art fill in (what the heck is up with Nightwing in that last panel?!?) and the pacing. Hope they get to it soon.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 3, 2021 20:59:39 GMT -5
Couple other things from this week:
Black Widow #9 : This is really feeling the Marvel's version of Birds of Prey, not a bad thing. Anya has been fun to see.
Star Wars: High Republic #8 : This story is REALLY dragging... still dealing with the Drengir.. very little happened here. This is bordering on a drop for me at this point.
Shadow Doctor #5 : Seems to have ended just when it was getting good.. there is more story here a want to know about! This should be a really good trade [/b]
Seven Swords #2 : Still in the 'team building' phase. I really like Cyrano's depiction, and the fight in the theatre is quite good. Really enjoying this so far.
Bermuda #1 : This LOOKED like it might be a 'jungle girl' book not focusing on the scantily clad main character, but her actual adventures, but this first issue was pretty disappointing.... half the book is pin up art. It's not a terrible set up, but the presentation leaves alot to be desired.
Rose (Tpb : This was kinda a fairy tale mash up.. it's got elements of alot of different things thrown into a reasonably conherent whole. The art is kinda inconsistent, though. Not sure I'll get the next one or not.
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