February 7th, 2007 Reviews
New Avengers #27
The new New Avengers have arrived! This issue seems kind of like a "one year later" book like DC was putting out as Infinite Crisis was still unfinished. The story clearly takes place after the end of Civil War, yet, nothing is really revealed that would spoil the end of that story. This story begins, and is mostly taken up by the exploration of an e-mail from Ronin/Maya Lopez, to Matt Murdock. Maya explains how she has been left without any hope of help in Japan after the Civil War erupted. She then goes on to tell Mr. Murdock that if he is reading this, then she is dead. She has been being hunted by the clan of ninjas known as "The Hand," who are being led by none other than Murdock's ex flame, Elektra. In an ironic turn of events, Maya/Ronin is skewered by Elektra's blades, evoking memories of Elektra's own death. So, end of story right? Wrong! The Hand is not only a group of ninjas, but they are also mystical group of ninjas with the power to bring the dead back to life. So Maya is brought back to life, and is going to be enlisted as the newest Hand ninja.......wrong again. The new New Avengers spring into action, with the classic Bendis banter (which, once again ironically, is about super hero banter) coming along for the ride. So the Avengers are fighting and what not, when I notice that none other than Ronin is among their ranks. So, Maya is no longer carrying the mantle of Ronin, so who is? Well, from the dialogue that the new Ronin provided, he/she is not Captain America, or Iron Man. So, who exactly is Ronin? My best bet is the often-speculated Nick Fury. So, new Ronin enters the fight, more fighting occurs, lots of clever banter ensues, and Maya is rescued by Spider-Man (another thing about Spidey: after reading his humorous dialogue, it seems unlikely that anyone close to him has died, because if they had, then he is way to cheery.....just food for thought). The Avengers then make a getaway via Doctor Strange's powers, and Elektra offers up this: "You know what to do...They don't leave Japan."
Overall, this was a pretty good issue. I think that this new direction for the New Avengers is allowing them to carve their own niche in the Marvel Universe. When Mighty Avengers comes out, I'm sure that these titles will play off each other very well, and that means I have to start saving my money for another new title. This was a Ronin centric story, but it was well done, so I can't complain. However, when the team of Avengers enter the fray, things really turn from good, to great. Bendis has control of the Avengers franchise for a reason, and that's because he really gets these characters. The other part of the creative team is Leinel Yu, whose gritty art is reason enough to buy the book, even if the story wasn't any good (however, in this case, the story is good too). In conclusion, this was an entertaining read, and if this title continue to be this well written and drawn, then it would be hard to imagine passing it up each month.
Grade: 9/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
52 #40
Billy Zane is LEX LUTHOR! I couldn't help but notice the striking similarities between the actor who brought the Phantom to life, and how Chris Batista draws everyone's favorite bald villain. Other than being slightly distracting, that is neither here, nor there. So on to the story. This week we see John Henry Irons lace up the old steel costume, and take it for a spin as he embarks on a mission to take down Lex Luthor, and save his niece. So, the crazy brawl between the newly super power endowed Lex Luthor, and Steel plays out. Luthor is handily winning, when Natasha Irons realizes how she can get rid of Luthor's newfound powers. With the use of Steel's hammer, Luthor's powers are taken away almost as quickly as they were given. Other than a lot of screen time for the Steel storyline, we also get a peek at the Black Marvel family plot. It looks like Osiris is ditching his sister and Black Adam for some new company.
Another noticeable attribute of this issue was the high amount of splash pages. Usually 52 stays away from that kind of thing, but in this issue, there were three! Also, if you look closely at the second splash page, which features Steel crashing through the Lex-Corp building, you'll notice a small bit of writing which reads, "For Bog." This references Jon Bogdanove who is the man who defined Steel when it comes to how he is drawn. Bogdanove drew many of the issues of the Steel ongoing series, which ran during the 1990's.
The other thing I noticed is the coloring in this issue. It has quite a different look compared to the earlier issue drawn by Chris Batista, but I think I like it better this way. So, overall, this was another nice addition to 52. The only negative I can see is that Luthor was depowered way too easily. It seemed like a bit of a cop out to give him powers one issue, and to take them away in the next one. I would have been kind of curious to see how Luthor would have used his newfound powers had he hung on to them longer.
Grade: 7.5/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Ultimate Spider-Man #105
Well, I received this issue in the mail today (this is another one of my subscription books), which is great, because my subscription books never show up this soon after the issue is released. The only downside is that I still haven't received issue #104. So, I had to go by the summary on the first page of the issue when it came to the plot of issue #104. Even without the previous issue, this issue was excellent. It's been said that Brian Michael Bendis does "epilogue" issues very well, which I wholeheartedly agree with.
Let me start with a short story: When I was first getting back into comics, I wanted to get into new comics. So I searched the internet for the series that everyone seemed to like, and recommend. I ended up with one series; Ultimate Spider-Man. So I went to the Marvel subscription page on their website, and found where I could sign up for Ultimate Spider-Man. Plus, they were offering a deal where I could get both Ultimate Spidey, and Ultimate Fantastic Four for one low price of $37.99! Who was I to pass up a deal like that? So I ordered them both (I lucked into subscribing to Millar, and Land's run on FF without even knowing it), and waited patiently for 8 to 10 weeks for my first issue like the e-mail said. Then, last Christmas, my first issue of Ultimate Spider-Man showed up. It was issue 87, featuring Silver Sable! I was psyched out of my mind! I continued to worship my Ultimate Spidey subscription for some time, until one fateful day.
One of my friends only collected Ultimate Spider-Man in trade form, so he loaned me all of his trades. Over one weekend, I read the first 13 volumes, and realized something: Ultimate Spider-Man was no longer as good as it used to be! It was like I saw things in a whole new light. Suddenly, Ultimate Spider-Man was kind of "meh." It continued to be "meh" until Brian Michael Bendis decided to blow everyone's minds once more with The Clone Saga storyline.
This epic, eight issue story did just that, and now, we are dealing with the fallout. So this issue deals with Peter Parker picking up the pieces. Between encounters with plenty of guest stars like Nick Fury, Iron Man, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and Kitty Pryde (along with the X-men), and Peter's usual supporting cast, this issue felt jammed with characters. The main beats include Peter making up with his heart attack stricken Aunt May, renewing his relationship with MJ, and clearing things up with Nick Fury. In the end, Peter is forced to live with MJ, and he realizes that her issues are not even close to being resolved. Plus, Kitty Pryde (Peter's current girlfriend) witnesses Peter and MJ together, and she is not very happy about it. So Bendis focuses on Peter Parker, and not Spider-Man, which is the key to this book being good (the Spidey outfit only makes a quick appearance in the first issue of the arc). Mark Bagley does his usual stellar job, and it is really a shame that he has to leave this book after the next arc. Next up we get the Ultimate Knights, and most likely an appearance by the Kingpin. Hopefully Ultimate Spider-Man's return to greatness wasn't only temporary, and it continues to be one of the best books on the rack.
Grade: 10/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Ultimate Spider-Man #104
All turned out well in Who-ville, and I received my copy of Ultimate Spider-Man #104 shortly after I received #105. So even though things got a bit out of order, I still was very pleased with the final chapter of the Clone Saga. One thing that's weird about me is that I'm not real big on actual fight scenes in comics. If the only thing going on is punching and kicking, then I'm not really intrigued. So the first section of this issue was kind of "meh" to me. All I really got out of it was that Peter and Jessica opened up a can of you know what on Doc Ock. Like I mentioned, I'm not big on fights, but I am a sucker for fast paced dialogue. So, naturally, I love Brian Bendis's work. He is definitely doing his normal, excellent job here in this issue. Since I read the final two issues of the arc out of order, the big Mary Jane being cured of her "red sasquatch syndrome" plot wasn't a big surprise, yet it was still interesting. It was kind of disheartening to realize that Richard Parker is really just a clone, and it was even more disheartening to see him die. I was hoping he would stay around for awhile. In the end, Peter professes his love for MJ, and is given a proposition: he no longer has to be Spider-Man because Reed Richards has found a cure to the Oz formula that gave him his powers. Well, once again, had I read the story in order, it would have been one heck of a long wait between issues as I pondered Peter's reply. However, I already knew he turns the offer down.
It would be a crime to not mention Mark Bagley's work here. He is, without a doubt one of the best artists ever to have worked on Spider-Man, and one of the best artists in comics ever. No, he isn't always flashy, but his speed and consistency in his work makes him a living legend in the comics industry. I'm also happy that he got a chance to work on the best Ultimate Spider-Man story arc to date before he departed for other projects. It would have been a shame if his last arc ended up being Deadpool or Morbius.
My final word on this issue is this: a great conclusion to a great storyline that will go down as one of the best Spider-Man stories ever. That's quite high praise, but believe me, Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley (plus the rest of the Ultimate Spidey team) deserve it.
Grade: 9/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1
Is it possible for something to be overwhelming, yet underwhelming at the same time? The answer is yes, and the first issue of the much anticipated Dark Tower miniseries is just that. From the start of the issue, I was amazed at the skill of Jae Lee, and Richard Isanove. The art is truly the star of the comic book portion of this story. I have never read any of Steven King's Dark Tower novels, so take that into account as I talk about the plot. I thought that it seemed like not a whole lot happened yet. We are introduced briefly to many of the characters, and Roland earns the title of Gunslinger. The most interesting part of the story was the fight between Roland and Cort (his mentor of sorts). In order to become a Gunslinger, Roland must best Cort, which he does. The whole fight scene was really beautifully rendered, which brings me back to the point that the art is carrying the first issue. I'm not saying that the writing was bad. It just didn't grab me, and impress me. Peter David does show his versatility here though, as he really sheds the style he uses on many of his other books. As you can see, I'm conflicted. I guess if I really had to sum it all up, I would say that there were some very strong elements to the story so far, but I wasn't blown away. There is a possibility that I was hoping for a different type of story than I got, and that I should change my expectations. However, it really is too soon to say whether or not this is going to be a good or bad miniseries. Besides the art, the other brilliant part of this issue was the prose story in the back, which really expands the story, and gives me (a newbie to the Dark Tower saga) a better grip on where this story is heading. I am really hoping that this series turns out well, because I think it is a great chance to show people that comics are more than just kid books, or mindless super hero romps. My final verdict: this issue didn't impress me, but this series still has unlimited amounts of potential.
Grade: 7.5/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Nightwing #129
I haven’t read Nightwing very much. Well, let's be honest: this is the first new Nightwing issue I've ever bought off the rack. Well, I was pleasantly surprised with this issue. It is kind of a change of pace when it comes to comics. The world isn't coming to an end, and the multiverse isn't about to shatter, but there is still a cool story here. This issue deals with Dick Grayson's new life in the big city of New York. Plus, we get a bit of setup with the obvious villains in this arc. Plus, at the end of the issue, Dick is offered a job to teach the local kids gymnastics, and acrobatics. Why hasn't anyone else thought of this before? It makes perfect sense! Another thing of consequence in this issue is the interaction between Bruce and Dick. It was the first time that I've actually seen Bruce act like the "new Bruce" that was the result of his rebuilding of himself after Infinite Crisis. The writer of this issue, Marv (Crisis on Infinite Earths) Wolfman, adds a refreshing comedic element to Nightwing that I doubt was there before. So, this was a refreshing read, because this book doesn't try and act like it is more important than it is. Wolfman knows the role of this book in the greater DC universe, which keeps things from getting way overblown.
Jamal Igle provides the pencils for this issue. I really enjoy his work. His art has a real solid, smooth, thick lined look to it. It definitely fits the story too. Igle has done a really good job of making sure that he makes the art fit the book (IE, there are lots of shadows, and darker tones, compared to his brightly colored Firestorm work). Hopefully Wolfman and Igle remain on the book for quite awhile, because this character deserves a good creative team. If you're looking for a fun book that doesn't deal with earth shattering events each month, then Nightwing is for you.
Grade: 8/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann |
