March 7th, 2007 Reviews
Captain America #25 (with spoilers)
I should be outraged. I should be turning all green, and angry, and all kinds of other things. However, I have kept my level head screwed on, and I can actually see why what transpires in this issue makes sense. Captain America is dead, and I am sad. However, I am a little bit angry, because I think that Marvel is trying to turn him into a political allegory. Captain America, the man who stands for all the American values is dead. What are they trying to say? I didn’t let the obvious underlying political points in Civil War get to me, but this might just be a step too far. You can have any political affiliation that you want, but don’t try to turn the character’s death into a message that basically states that America’s values are dead, and gone.
Now that my political rampage is done, lets move onto the story. Brubaker does a pretty awesome job here, giving new readers of the series a recap of what his story focuses on. Other than Cap getting capped, not too much occurs. Brubaker eloquently tells the story that shows why Captain America is a hero for all times, all generations, and all ages. His courage, honor, and values are unmatched. This character has gone through change in the last year, and it only makes since that this is how it ended. When would be the best time to take down Captain America? When he is at his most vulnerable, which is where he is right now. So I am not mad, and I will not be petitioning that he should be brought back to life. I know that he will at some point, and I just hope it doesn’t ruin this death, which was handled as well as anyone could have hoped.
Steve Epting does wonderful work here as usual. His art fits the espionage thriller type of story that Brubker has been crafting in this title. I kind of wonder why I don’t hear about him more since his work is really well done.
Besides the fact that the political overtones in this book are deafening, I still understand why what happened, had to happen. I enjoyed this issue quite a bit. This series has now been added to my pull list, and I kind of regret that it took the death of an icon to make me do that.
Grade: 8.5/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #2
I can’t do it. I just can’t get into this series. Why? I don’t know. It seems like it would be a perfectly easy thing to enjoy. I love fantasy books, I love comic books, and I enjoy Peter David’s work. But for some reason, something isn’t clicking.
The story continues directly from last issue. Roland looks to be in some deep trouble. Well, he is for a minute, but then his father, also a gunslinger, sends him on a mission. Plus, we get an introduction to the eight legged Crimson King. So Roland sets out on his mission, friends in hand, and a creepy crawly spider seems to be the big villain. That’s pretty much it. There is some really good dialogue here too. David’s wit is sharp as ever, and you might have to read the issue a couple times, but you will find some really well done parts. Overall though, I’m not dying for the next issue. I’m not really sure what everyone else seems to see in this book. I get the idea that some people think that just because Stephen King’s name is on it, means that they must swoon or he’ll set pennywise on them.
Jae Lee, and Richard Isanove continue to be the stars of this series. I can’t really describe the style of the art used, but I can say that it is absolutely gorgeous work. Every page leaves me feeling like I am actually in this story, and it isn’t just a work of fiction.
This issue was okay. Maybe I’ll begin to see what everyone else is raving about by next issue. I hope so, because this series has lots of potential that seems to be being wasted so far.
Grade: 6.5/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Incredible Hulk #104
I am buying this in preparation for World War Hulk. Therefore, I am not very well versed when it comes to what transpired in the past 12 issues. I know that the Hulk got shot into space, and the Hulk is very mad.
I can’t really write a good review of a story when I don’t have context. So, Im not going to try and wing it. I will just say that the Hulk talks to some of the natives of Sakaar, and starts to help rebuild the planet after he liberated it from the prior ruler. Then, the ship he was sent to the planet in explodes. The end. I’m sure that all of this would mean much more to me had I read the other part of the story line. Even though I was kind of in the dark, I still enjoyed the story. Like I said, I am really pumped for World War Hulk, which means that anything with the Hulk in it is a must buy for me.
Grade: 7/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Mighty Avengers #1
Bendis really goes the extra yard in this premier issue. He could have just written the book as a showcase for Frank Chow’s beautiful splash pages (well, he does a bit), but he actually got the story rolling here in this first issue. The bottom line is that he provided me with all kinds of entertainment.
When I first opened this issue, my eyes were extremely happy with the visuals, but I was kind of scared because the first page was a splash page. I was seriously scared that this would be a Frank Cho pinup book (not a bad thing, but I do want some story). Thank heavens that I got all the story I could possibly want. The story flashes back and forth between an expertly rendered monster fight in Manhattan involving the Avengers, and the process of picking the new team that would become those Avengers. Carol Danvers, who Tony Stark charges as the leader of the new team, is one of my new favorite characters. She’s written like a real human being. This is helped along by Bendis’s old, but new way of using thought balloons. I think the thought balloons are wonderfully utilized here, and they give the characters in the book a more human feel. So, the issue basically is a big, awesome fight in Manhattan, and the picking of the team. In Justice League of America, the, “sitting around a table, hashing out the team,” method was used, and after four issues of it, it ultimately failed. Bendis uses a similar process, but also gives us some of that big Avengers action that everyone was craving. Plus, the end of the issue, although altered to make Frank Cho happy, was kind of intriguing.
Speaking of Frank Cho, I think that he might be one of my favorite artists to work on the Avengers recently, and all time for that matter. His art is bold, and bright, and he doesn’t necessarily stray too far towards realism. Every character looks like a classically drawn version of themselves, meaning that they have a 1970’s or 1980’s feel to them. I for one love it, because while many artists are trying to move away from classic super hero drawings, Cho is embracing the idea, and the finished product is phenomenal. Bendis also gives him plenty of women to draw, and fanboys everywhere are quite thankful for that.
So, the initiative has begun, and things couldn’t look better. Bendis looks to be doing his usual stellar work, and with Cho in tow (no, that wasn’t meant to rhyme), the Mighty Avengers will be the hottest book of the week, no matter when it comes out.
Grade: 9.5/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
52 #44
Well, I can see why Black Adam might be angry enough to start World War 3 after this issue. Basically, Black Adam and Isis tango with the Four Horsemen. We also learn that Sobek, that seemingly lovable talking croc, is one of said Horsemen. So, they fight......and fight.....and fight.......oh, and then they fight some more. The only real advancement of the plot that we get is when Isis is killed by one of the aforementioned Horsemen. I don’t really have much to say here, because even though the fight scene was entertaining, I am beginning to want more to happen each issue since we are coming closer to the end of 52. At the end we get teased even more with the inevitable. Renee Montoya will become the new Question. I just wish she would hurry the heck up.
JG Jones’s cover is excellent as usual. There’s no doubt this guy really has gone the whole nine yards on this project. More needs to happen in each issue as we get closer to the finish of 52. This issue was by no means bad, but things need to start wrapping up so we can get to the final battle royale that is World War 3.
Grade: 7.5/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Justice League of America #6
Okay........so, is this story actually over? Is this arc done with? It just feels like something was missing. Overall, I enjoyed this conclusion to the maiden arc of the JL of A, but I was hoping for more.
Like 52, this was another book that had a big brawl taking up most of the issue. I usually am a shallow comic book reader, meaning that I love a brawl just as much as the next guy. However, when it’s been building for six issues, I sure hope that the brawl would be better than this. Meltzer does a really good job with characterization once again. There is no way that you can fault the guy in that department. He takes characters who don’t really seem like much, and makes them intriguing. That is probably the best quality of this entire first arc. He takes guys like Black Lightning, Roy Harper, Vixen, and especially Red Tornado, and gives them the chance to shine. Other than that huge plus, I would have to say that I was disappointed with this first arc. That’s not really that bad though. I had really high expectations going into this story, and even though I wasn’t blown away, I sure was more entertained by this than some other books.
Ed Benes does solid work once again. I hope he stays with this book, because if both he, and Meltzer continue to collaborate, then I think that things will just get better and better.
Next issue we get a peak at the new JL of A headquarters. Even though that might not seem real exciting, it might just be the most entertaining issue of this series to date.
Grade: 8/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Ultimate Spider-Man #106
Every good attribute of this series in the past seems to be present in this issue. Peter Parker taking prominence over Spider-Man, the Daily Bugle, the Kingpin, and Mary Jane. Bendis knows what works in this series, and it looks like he is going to give us just that. It seems like the Kingpin is going to be the primary focus of this arc. It also looks like the plot thread that was started back in Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2 will come to the forefront too. That thread involved Daredevil forming a group of street level heroes to take down the Kingpin once and for all. Daredevil, as Matt Murdock, comes to Peter, having figured out his secret identity, and asks him to meet him later. Peter at this point has no idea what’s going on. However, he doesn’t have very long to think about that, as he is shocked to find that Kitty Pryde has become a student at Midtown High School. Oh Snap!
Mark Bagley is the man. Seriously. This guy is wonderful. I know that has been said a million times, but it can never be said enough. Why does he have to leave this title?!?!?!?!?!? He deserves a break though. His arm might have fallen off by now after he’s kept his intense schedule. More artists need to be as dedicated to their work as he is.
The Clone Saga rocked, and this arc is shaping up to be great as well. Ultimate Spider-Man is a must read title again. No longer do we get throwaway arcs like Silver Sable, and Deadpool. This title has returned to glory.
Grade: 9/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
Nightwing #130
Last issue was good. It left me with a good taste in my mouth when it comes to this series. However, I still was slightly confused as to what the villains were, and how they worked. This issue did a really good job of clearing those questions up. Nightwing does what he does best. He fights, he uses detective skills, and he loses those he cares about (the one minus to this issue is that the possible supporting cast for Dick is pretty much gone now).
Jamal Igle’s pencils are electric. This guy can draw a killer fight scene, great character moments, and he sure can draw motor cycles (it’s been two issues in a row now where his rendition of Nightwing’s motor cycle have caught my eye). Plus, his splash page in the middle of the issue where a Ferry plows into the coast is awesome. This series continues to be solid. It isn’t the book that I run to the comic shop for, but it does pleasantly surprise me every month.
Grade: 8/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann
The Initiative One Shot
This issue sold out pretty quickly at my LCS, so I had to wait a week to read it. I had really high hopes for this issue, and was slightly disappointed. It wasn’t really due to the story, but more so the art (more on that a little later).
The issue begins with the reappearance of Michael Pointer, the mutant who became the villain in the Collective arc in New Avengers. It seems that he will be joining everyone’s favorite Canadian super team: Alpha......I mean Omega Flight. Then we move to the Warren Ellis penned portion of the issue which deals with the Thunderbolts. Finally, we see Ms. Marvel letting Tony Stark in on a confrontation she had with Spider-Woman. Nothing too spectacular really happens. It was an entertaining book, seeing that it adds more detail to the status quo post Civil War, but I wouldn’t say that it is must reading. I think that some of the stuff covered here was there to be a kind of sampler to new readers. In that case it works just fine. The end of the book works as a clip show of some of the new things happening around the Marvel Universe in other titles such as Iron Man, Captain America, Omega Flight, and the Thunderbolts.
Now, on to the art. Marc Silvestri provides pencils to this issue. However, the real artist in this issue is the colorist, Frank D’Armata. His colors are what actually makes the art make sense. He adds in things that really should have been done by Silvestri himself. If that’s not enough, if you look at the credits on the first page of the issue, you’ll see that Michael Broussard and Eric Balsaldua are credited as “Background Artists.” What?!?!?! Silvestri didn’t even draw the backgrounds? What is with that? I was really disappointed with the art because Silvestri is capable of doing great stuff, but it seems like he mailed this issue in.
This was a nice primer issue for the status quo of the Marvel Universe after Civil War. If you are on the fence, then pick this book up, give it a look, and it should give you an indication of whether the Initiative is for you.
Grade: 7/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann |
