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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 21, 2023 9:58:25 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKS!Real Readers, Honest Reviews  What did you read this week? |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 21, 2023 17:34:20 GMT -5
World's Finest #12Written by Mark Waid Art by Emanuela Lupacchino Summary: While Batman and Superman may be a fantastic duo, Dick Grayson and Kara Zor-El find that they just aren't meant to be.
Plot: World's Finest continues to be my favorite book on the shelves today and is even quickly climbing its way up my list of greatest runs of all time. While I enjoy a variety of tones in my reading one in particular has been sorely lacking in my reading for some time and that is just plain good old fashioned fun...and this book is all about that from start to finish, month after month. In this issue we see a disastrous first date between Dick and Kara that was not only chock full of breezy gags(like Dick's wallet not fitting into his Robin costume) but also some really great character moments for not only Dick and Kara but also Batman and Superman as they deal with helping their younger counterparts deal with the emotional fall out of their disastrous date. I loved the differing views both Clark and Bruce expressed in the wake of the date, with Bruce's "Take the loss and move on." advice to Dick both playing into his playboy attitude and contrasting wonderfully with Clark's compliments on Kara's emotional maturity. About the only negative here was the fact that DC in all their wisdom missed out in shipping this for Valentines Day last week. With a book so centered on dating and young romance how do you not have that out for Valentines Day? Which editor made that choice? It's baffling.
Art:Lupacchino's light, energetic line work just matches the tone so well, matching the fun feeling of the plot to a tee.
Grade:10/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 21, 2023 18:20:46 GMT -5
Superman #1Written by Joshua Williamson Art by Jamal Campbell Summary: Backed against the wall by old enemies and new threats the Man of Steel finds a new ally in...Lex Luthor and the Super-Corporation!?
Plot: After disappointing me with the end of his Robin series and the terrible event Dark Crisis I was a little worried that Williamson was taking over Superman, but with this new number one has proven to be a return to form. New starts can be tricky business, balancing the expectations of long term fans while attempting to attract new readers but with this new start I really think Williamson did a fantastic job threading the needle here. To start with he gave us nostalgic throw downs with two classic rogues ( Live Wire and Parasite), on top of that he gave the supporting cast of Lois, Jimmy and the Kents some solid screen time while throwing in a new twist with long time arch foe Lex Luthor. Sure, we've seen a heroic Lex Luthor in the past but a Lex who actively wants to team up with Superman and make him a more efficient hero because he needs Superman in top form to defeat a new mysterious evil is a fun twist that I'm really interested to see play out more. Williamson has let me down before so I'm still a little wary but this was a pretty perfect start.
Art:Campbell’s artwork is a major highlight here. His characters and environments both have an energetic quality that really evokes the excellent look of Superman the Animated series while still having a realistic look which is a really fun play on my nostalgia.
Grade:9/10 |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2023 21:13:26 GMT -5
Just got my email from Comics Hub letting me know what got pulled for me this week...
Whiz Comics #2 (Facsimile Edition)
Superman: Space Age #3
Black Cloak #2
Blue Book #1
Groo Against the Gods #3
Batman/Superman World's Finest #12
Dr. Strange Fall Sunrise #4
Gargoyles #3 (for Mrs. MRP)
Amazing Spider-Man #129 (facsimile edition)
looking forward to Black Cloak and Blue Book the most.
-M
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 21, 2023 21:35:56 GMT -5
Superman #1Written by Joshua Williamson Art by Jamal Campbell Summary: Backed against the wall by old enemies and new threats the Man of Steel finds a new ally in...Lex Luthor and the Super-Corporation!?
Plot: After disappointing me with the end of his Robin series and the terrible event Dark Crisis I was a little worried that Williamson was taking over Superman, but with this new number one has proven to be a return to form. New starts can be tricky business, balancing the expectations of long term fans while attempting to attract new readers but with this new start I really think Williamson did a fantastic job threading the needle here. To start with he gave us nostalgic throw downs with two classic rogues ( Live Wire and Parasite), on top of that he gave the supporting cast of Lois, Jimmy and the Kents some solid screen time while throwing in a new twist with long time arch foe Lex Luthor. Sure, we've seen a heroic Lex Luthor in the past but a Lex who actively wants to team up with Superman and make him a more efficient hero because he needs Superman in top form to defeat a new mysterious evil is a fun twist that I'm really interested to see play out more. Williamson has let me down before so I'm still a little wary but this was a pretty perfect start.
Art:Campbell’s artwork is a major highlight here. His characters and environments both have an energetic quality that really evokes the excellent look of Superman the Animated series while still having a realistic look which is a really fun play on my nostalgia.
Grade:9/10 That's interesting, but based on what's going on in Action makes very little sense... I wonder if that's on purpose, or it'll tie in eventually, or if no one else cares? |
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Post by DubipR on Feb 21, 2023 21:40:08 GMT -5
A huge week of comic downloads
- Superman 1
- Lazarus Planet: Omega 1
- Stargirl: The Lost Children 4
- Superman: Space Age 3
- Nightwing 101
- Batman/Superman: World's Finest 12
- Local Man 1
- Blue Book 1
- Amazing Spider-Man 20
- She Hulk 10
And the one physical book I'll be buying...
- Love & Rockets (vol 4) #13
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Post by majestic on Feb 22, 2023 14:00:13 GMT -5
World's Finest and Superman were very entertaining this week. World's Finest continues to be my favorite book on the stands right now. I'm not sure I'm liking the change in focus in Nightwing. It feels less like a solo book and more like a Titans book. It read like a generic book. Rather bland imo.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 22, 2023 17:47:42 GMT -5
Superman #1Written by Joshua Williamson Art by Jamal Campbell Summary: Backed against the wall by old enemies and new threats the Man of Steel finds a new ally in...Lex Luthor and the Super-Corporation!?
Plot: After disappointing me with the end of his Robin series and the terrible event Dark Crisis I was a little worried that Williamson was taking over Superman, but with this new number one has proven to be a return to form. New starts can be tricky business, balancing the expectations of long term fans while attempting to attract new readers but with this new start I really think Williamson did a fantastic job threading the needle here. To start with he gave us nostalgic throw downs with two classic rogues ( Live Wire and Parasite), on top of that he gave the supporting cast of Lois, Jimmy and the Kents some solid screen time while throwing in a new twist with long time arch foe Lex Luthor. Sure, we've seen a heroic Lex Luthor in the past but a Lex who actively wants to team up with Superman and make him a more efficient hero because he needs Superman in top form to defeat a new mysterious evil is a fun twist that I'm really interested to see play out more. Williamson has let me down before so I'm still a little wary but this was a pretty perfect start.
Art:Campbell’s artwork is a major highlight here. His characters and environments both have an energetic quality that really evokes the excellent look of Superman the Animated series while still having a realistic look which is a really fun play on my nostalgia.
Grade:9/10 That's interesting, but based on what's going on in Action makes very little sense... I wonder if that's on purpose, or it'll tie in eventually, or if no one else cares? Yeah, I had that feeling as well; in Action we see Luthor hiring Metalo to kill Superman and the Lexcorp building is still the Lexcorp building not the Supercorp but here in Superman he's convinced he needs Superman in order for the world to survive. I suppose you could hand wave it away with the Action comics story taking place before Superman...but for me personally, so long as both stories are good I'm not going to worry too much about how they fit together. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 22, 2023 18:02:43 GMT -5
World's Finest and Superman were very entertaining this week. World's Finest continues to be my favorite book on the stands right now. I'm not sure I'm liking the change in focus in Nightwing. It feels less like a solo book and more like a Titans book. It read like a generic book. Rather bland imo. I definitely get what you're saying, while I enjoyed seeing Dick interact with Starfire, Raven and Beastboy it didn't have the same heart as the previous stories. Strangely I actually liked the back up story with Dick and Jon investigating the circus a little more than the main story and I found myself wishing that had been the main feature with more time to breath and develop the mystery a little better. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 23, 2023 17:46:16 GMT -5
Just got my email from Comics Hub letting me know what got pulled for me this week... Blue Book #1 A huge week of comic downloads - Blue Book 1 Blue Book #1Written by James Tynion IV Art by Michael Avon Oeming Summary: On their way home from a vacation in Montreal married couple Betty and Barney Hill witness odd lights above the highway.
Plot: Whenever one is aiming to deliver a story in the old Weird Tales style establishing and developing the atmosphere is of the utmost importance, and even though these tales a based on supposed real life extraterrestrial events and not the stuff of pulp fiction Tynion does dive in with gusto in giving you that suitably eerie mood that just draws you in. And while the mood is strong and I really enjoyed the tension built by Tynion as the ship grows larger and larger as the Hill's continue their drive down rt.3(which I know well!) and the characters themselves were compelling where the issue falters a little is the climax. What made those old thrillers from the likes of Weird Tales, Creepy and Eerrie work so well was that they were short and sweet with snappy twist endings and while this book hit those same notes in the set up it's evidently going for something more long form with the story continuing into the next issue which made the lack of that style ending more than a little jarring to me. Not only is there there not that pay off in the ending but structurally there wasn't even a "to be continued" tag line at the end before it segued into the Connie Island story which made it feel like your were missing a page rather than a natural break in the story. So, while I'm still interested in seeing more of the book as real life encounters with the supposed supernatural have always held my interest so far the format was slightly lacking in my eyes.
Art: While the weird ending may have slightly soured the book in my eyes the art by Oeming couldn't be more perfect. His mix of slightly cartoony figures with realistic backgrounds paired with the limited color pallet of blue, black and white really made for an impactful visual look to the book that just made me never want to put it down. It's simple and minimalistic for sure, as Oeming usually is, but it's beautiful beyond compare.
Grade:7.5/10
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2023 18:00:56 GMT -5
Just got my email from Comics Hub letting me know what got pulled for me this week... Blue Book #1 A huge week of comic downloads - Blue Book 1 Blue Book #1Written by James Tynion IV Art by Michael Avon Oeming Summary: On their way home from a vacation in Montreal married couple Betty and Barney Hill witness odd lights above the highway.
Plot: Whenever one is aiming to deliver a story in the old Weird Tales style establishing and developing the atmosphere is of the utmost importance, and even though these tales a based on supposed real life extraterrestrial events and not the stuff of pulp fiction Tynion does dive in with gusto in giving you that suitably eerie mood that just draws you in. And while the mood is strong and I really enjoyed the tension built by Tynion as the ship grows larger and larger as the Hill's continue their drive down rt.3(which I know well!) and the characters themselves were compelling where the issue falters a little is the climax. What made those old thrillers from the likes of Weird Tales, Creepy and Eerrie work so well was that they were short and sweet with snappy twist endings and while this book hit those same notes in the set up it's evidently going for something more long form with the story continuing into the next issue which made the lack of that style ending more than a little jarring to me. Not only is there there not that pay off in the ending but structurally there wasn't even a "to be continued" tag line at the end before it segued into the Connie Island story which made it feel like your were missing a page rather than a natural break in the story. So, while I'm still interested in seeing more of the book as real life encounters with the supposed supernatural have always held my interest so far the format was slightly lacking in my eyes.
Art: While the weird ending may have slightly soured the book in my eyes the art by Oeming couldn't be more perfect. His mix of slightly cartoony figures with realistic backgrounds paired with the limited color pallet of blue, black and white really made for an impactful visual look to the book that just made me never want to put it down. It's simple and minimalistic for sure, as Oeming usually is, but it's beautiful beyond compare.
Grade:7.5/10
Oeming showed off some of the art and discussed his approach and technique to this a bit when he appeared on the Alex Toth in Depth podcast (video version) a while back (the story has been complete for a while since it was available via Tynion's substack before it was released in print) and I would have bought this for just the art alone to dig in and break down those stylistic choices and techniques, but I have also been a sucker for UFO stories since the 70s and was a huge X-Files fan so this book just looks to hit all the right cylinders for me. I won't be getting to the LCS until at least next week, so I have to wait a bit longer still, but I have been waiting this long, so another week is no big deal. -M |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 24, 2023 7:39:56 GMT -5
Blue Book #1Written by James Tynion IV Art by Michael Avon Oeming Summary: On their way home from a vacation in Montreal married couple Betty and Barney Hill witness odd lights above the highway.
Plot: Whenever one is aiming to deliver a story in the old Weird Tales style establishing and developing the atmosphere is of the utmost importance, and even though these tales a based on supposed real life extraterrestrial events and not the stuff of pulp fiction Tynion does dive in with gusto in giving you that suitably eerie mood that just draws you in. And while the mood is strong and I really enjoyed the tension built by Tynion as the ship grows larger and larger as the Hill's continue their drive down rt.3(which I know well!) and the characters themselves were compelling where the issue falters a little is the climax. What made those old thrillers from the likes of Weird Tales, Creepy and Eerrie work so well was that they were short and sweet with snappy twist endings and while this book hit those same notes in the set up it's evidently going for something more long form with the story continuing into the next issue which made the lack of that style ending more than a little jarring to me. Not only is there there not that pay off in the ending but structurally there wasn't even a "to be continued" tag line at the end before it segued into the Connie Island story which made it feel like your were missing a page rather than a natural break in the story. So, while I'm still interested in seeing more of the book as real life encounters with the supposed supernatural have always held my interest so far the format was slightly lacking in my eyes.
Art: While the weird ending may have slightly soured the book in my eyes the art by Oeming couldn't be more perfect. His mix of slightly cartoony figures with realistic backgrounds paired with the limited color pallet of blue, black and white really made for an impactful visual look to the book that just made me never want to put it down. It's simple and minimalistic for sure, as Oeming usually is, but it's beautiful beyond compare.
Grade:7.5/10
Oeming showed off some of the art and discussed his approach and technique to this a bit when he appeared on the Alex Toth in Depth podcast (video version) a while back (the story has been complete for a while since it was available via Tynion's substack before it was released in print) and I would have bought this for just the art alone to dig in and break down those stylistic choices and techniques, but I have also been a sucker for UFO stories since the 70s and was a huge X-Files fan so this book just looks to hit all the right cylinders for me. I won't be getting to the LCS until at least next week, so I have to wait a bit longer still, but I have been waiting this long, so another week is no big deal. -M It's definitely worth getting, the story is good I just found the ending very abrupt. I literally thought my book had a printing error and was missing a page simply because it transitioned to the next story with out any kind of tag line signifying it was over. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2023 8:00:28 GMT -5
Oeming showed off some of the art and discussed his approach and technique to this a bit when he appeared on the Alex Toth in Depth podcast (video version) a while back (the story has been complete for a while since it was available via Tynion's substack before it was released in print) and I would have bought this for just the art alone to dig in and break down those stylistic choices and techniques, but I have also been a sucker for UFO stories since the 70s and was a huge X-Files fan so this book just looks to hit all the right cylinders for me. I won't be getting to the LCS until at least next week, so I have to wait a bit longer still, but I have been waiting this long, so another week is no big deal. -M It's definitely worth getting, the story is good I just found the ending very abrupt. I literally thought my book had a printing error and was missing a page simply because it transitioned to the next story with out any kind of tag line signifying it was over. I think that might be a result of the transition form online via substack to print. The substack installments did not have multiple stories so it was very clear when one ended. A print issue has multiple stories. Looks like no editor went in and adjust for format/medium. -M - |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 24, 2023 13:13:26 GMT -5
It's definitely worth getting, the story is good I just found the ending very abrupt. I literally thought my book had a printing error and was missing a page simply because it transitioned to the next story with out any kind of tag line signifying it was over. I think that might be a result of the transition form online via substack to print. The substack installments did not have multiple stories so it was very clear when one ended. A print issue has multiple stories. Looks like no editor went in and adjust for format/medium. -M - That would definitely explain it. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 24, 2023 15:57:04 GMT -5
Yoda #4Written by Jody Houser Art by Luke Ross Summary: Sensing unease in his former apprentice, Master Yoda invites his old apprentice Dooku to come and teach at the Jedi Temple.
Plot: While the last story arc was only just okay this new start with new writer Jody Houser is a promising start. Ever since Christopher Lee first stepped onto the screen as Count Dooku during Attack of the Clones the character has been one of my favorites in the world of Star Wars and he's finally been coming into his own of late with a novel, a cartoon and now his appearance really giving him some fantastic development. "Dooku was right" has long been my amusing battle cry and that's gone from an interesting fan interpretation to actual canon. And while I was deeply interested in the mysterious plot line with Dooku searching out Jedi with prophesies of the future what I really want to see more of took place in the framing narrative of a force ghost calling out to Master Yoda on Dagobah. What will Yoda have to say to his force ghost former apprentice? Does Dooku regret falling for Palpatine's seduction? I don't know, but I'm excited to see it all play out.
Art: Luke Ross does a great job of giving us not only a great photorealistic look at Yoda that looked just like a scene from a film and his ability to give us a look at a younger Christopher Lee was fantastic.
Art:8/10 |
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