Oraclechele's Reviews

Angel After the Fall #8

This is the third of the 'First Night' trilogy of stories meant to fill in the blanks from where the series left off to where this book began. Although I appreciate seeing the back-stories the momentum is simply lost. Once the series picks back up again I am going to have to go back and re-read issues 1-5. Dark Horse might have been better off releasing the last three issues as a separate graphic novel.

As for the ground covered in issue 8 some of it is a hit and some of it misses. The Gwen and Gunn arcs are certainly informative but the Gwen arc left me a little lost on the story thread prior to this issue. The civilians arc was far from compelling and the water paint style of art held no interest for me.

Bring back the action and get the story moving forward again. Please.

Browse It.

Gotham Underground #9

This series finally draws to a close and Penguin is the glue that holds this issue together. If you aren't a fan of one of Batman's more unique foes than this issue might not be your cup of tea however if you have been following this book from the beginning then you probably are completely on board.

Now that the story is complete my question is how will the events of this final issue relate to the future of Gotham in the Batverse? One hopes, considering the twist, that it has great impact but I guess we will have to wait and see.

Read It.

Chuck #1

Too often adaptations are about making money and not making quality. The right tone is therefore key when trying to nail the quality and this book has it in spades. Clearly written by the folks who bring the NBC dramedy to life; it is full of all the action and humor that helped me fall in love with the tv series. With great art and a fantastic cover I think this book is probably the happiest surprise I have had reading a book in a long while. Chuck is for anyone who loves the television series and for anyone who doesn't know the show - after this book you might just be adding it to your TIVO season pass.

Read It.

Huntress #3

Girl power fills the pages of the latest Year One Huntress book. Successfully rescuing the damsel in distress, in a moment that would make quite a few lesbian readers smile, Helena has to figure out her next move. I could have done without the borrowing of the Thorn Birds plot but the themes of respect, revenge, and redemption weave nicely throughout this issue especially when paired with such bold art. And what a great moment as the reader gets their first glance at Huntress.

Read It.

Sgt. Sausagepant's Reviews

Green Lantern Corps #25

The main Green Lantern comic may be all flashbacks right now, but Green Lantern Corps is staying action packed! In this issue we learn the amazing origin of the Black Mercy, and believe me, it's worth the read.

Read It.

Goblin's Reviews

Captain Britain and MI-13 #2

The first issue of this Secret Invasion-spring boarded series really hit it out of the park. It was a great opening act that was not only topical to the events going on in the Marvel Universe but seemed authentically English (the first time since Warren Ellis's run on Excalibur). Even the overtly American Black Knight was handled well on the streets of London. But was the first issue a fluke? Does Paul Cornell just write good introductions?

Well, he does, but he keeps on kicking ass it would seem. This second issue sees Brian Braddock still dead from last issue, Pete Wisdom and his team (including the Skrull John Lennon who may be my new favorite character of 2008) jumping over to Otherworld. Oberon and his children don't know how to fight a technological war and are being decimated by the forces of the Skrulls. I've never been that into sword and sorcery, but I am in love with the idea of Otherworld and how it is the nexus of both magic in general and the consciousness of the British people. Some say it's a little self-involved, I say it's a great idea for the British people in the Marvel Universe to rally around. It's got such iconic characters attached to it (both Marvel and historical) that it's a mythology unto itself.

The smaller, character moments all hit the ground running as well. Spitfire taling about Churchill laying eyes on Excalibur. Tink (from the Wisdom MAX series) more than a little pissed that Wisdom would come asking for help. The growing subplot concerning Wisdom's voice in his head gets a little more interesting as one badass looking Oberon tells Wisdom not to listen to the voice. Poor Oberon, no one listens to him, though. The voice is evil? Meh, so what? Faiza Hussain's newfond power? Creepy as hell.

The most heartbreaking of all of this is seeing that Braddock's death as Captain Britain hits the people of Britain emotionally. Faiza's description that Americans heard of Steve Rogers death through the media but the British people felt Braddock's death in their hearts before a single newscast. That is a great description.

We also see that the Skrulls had more in mind than just attacking Earth's magic. They want to use it for themselves and they collect one hell of a cache of magical weapons. I can't wait for the next issue to see how MI-13 deal with this new magical Super Skrull.

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Skaar: Son of Hulk #1

I was worried about this book. Its premise was very easy to mess up and make it nothing more than a crappy tie-in that wouldn't last 12 issues. However, given that it's Greg Pak and Rom Garney I suppose I should have known better. Both men are consummate professionals and are adept at straddling the line between old school action and great character pieces.

We really do feel for both Hulk and Skaar in this book. They've been lied to and attacked from all sides for their entire time on Sakar and all they wanted was to be left alone (well, before Hulk became king anyway). But seeing Skaar grow up by himself and try to simply survive, we see glimpses of a Hulk we've not seen for some time. He is savage and raw and just anger personified. He has a basic understanding of right and wrong and will kill those preying on the weak, but he's not really a hero either. He just knows that the red people are bad and they deserve to die.

And they do.

Axeman Bone, who is representing the people of the red skin, seems to be the main villain of the book. That's fair. He's imposing enough, even if he has a name out of some random 1990s Image book.

I'm not always a fan of Garney's work, though his storytelling is always top notch. Here though, while it's heavily penciled and not heavily inked, the look gives a great sense of another world. It's very alien without having to draw anything out of the ordinary. While these people are humanoids, it's always a plus to be subtly reminded that this is an alien world we're dealing with here.

This first issue is a good start. I fear this book won't last to a 25th anniversary issue, but I think it should. World War Hulk was fantastic and this is as close as we're going to get to reading that on an ongoing basis. Skaar's origin is a little wonky, but that's behind us now and we can move on. There's literally a whole world out there for him to explore (and destroy) so I'm hoping he sticks around long enough to do it.

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newuniversal: SHOCKFRONT #2

Warren Ellis's reinterpretation of the New Universe continues in this series focusing on life after the White Event. Det. Tensen is still crazy and killing people. Connell is still hiding out, though he is getting noticeably more impatient. Randall is still hiding Connell and she is now starting to understand more about him (of course, watching his dreams would do that). Most interestingly, Swann is getting closer to finishing the HEXsuit, designed to destroy anything unnatural or superhuman.

This issue focuses mainly on Jack Magniconte and his little mishap on the football field last issue. He spends most of his time in police custody for tearing his opponent in half (though in his defense, it was a legitimate accident). A visit from Mr. Voight may end this boy's part of the story, but I'm thinking he isn't quite so easily disposed of.

Meanwhile, Charlotte Beck in Nevada gives us a nice rundown of world history in this universe. Things are slightly different here, such as Nixon winning in 1960 and JFK not taking office until 1964 and the space race not culminating in a lunar landing until 1982 - by the Chinese. It's an interesting what if scenario made even more intriguing by the fact that Beck knows it's wrong, but doesn't know how to fix it.

While I am an unabashed fan of Warren Ellis, he's always had a small problem with relatable dialogue. He can do the maniacal sociopath exquisitely, but just down to Earth people talking tend to come off a little stilted. This issue is very much not in that vein. The people are natural and funny and work exceedingly well. I don't' know what it is about this time that allowed Ellis to break his usual mold, but I hope it sticks around.

This book is a very solid read, both words and pictures. While I recommend it to most people, I'm still not going to give it a BUY IT rating. The book isn't for everyone. It's high concept and it's sci fi. As good as it is, there are people who just won't be able to get into it. There is very little superheroing (barely any in the entire newunivesal line) and only slightly more action. It's a thinking person's sci fi book and, not insulting anyone, that just isn't for some people. But if it's something you think you might enjoy, I can't recommend it enough.

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The Last Defenders #4 (of 6)

In keeping with the theme of books that are aimed at a specific audience, let's jump back to the main marvel line and look at Nighthawk's latest failure. This limited series is for no one else besides the hardcore Marvel fan. There are C, D and even E list characters (Junta? Really?) that take center stage and will probably end up fading into the background for another several years. But for now we totally get to rock out to some Paladin action!

But how is the book? Surprisingly good. It makes some use of the Initiative construct (something that hasn't been done outside of Avengers: Initiative). Casey takes current and recent continuity and uses them to his advantage. Atlantis is being sacked by the Brand Corporation because Namor left it evacuated in his recent series. Colossus joins the team in the first issue because the X-Men disbanded at the end of "Messiah Complex." This is a great example of using continuity to your advantage.

While this is a fun series with very appropriate art by Jim Muniz, it's a book that would be night undecipherable to someone not expertly versed in the world of Marvel. If you are a Marvel Zombie and know all the goings-on then you'll definitely want to read this book and laugh at Nighthawk's failures. But if you're asking why Daimon Hellstrom was standing over some woman named Patsy while she sleeps, then don't bother because you won't be interested in this book in the slightest.

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The Punisher: Little Black Book (One-Shot)

This is one-shot set int he Punisher MAX line and not Matt Fraction's "War Zone" title. It's a simple little story of Castle using a high-end prostitute to get him into a big time sleazebag's mansion. This is not written by Garth Ennis, instead it's by Victor Gischler ... who I've never heard of before. The art is by Jefte Palo ... who I've never heard of before.

The story is fine, but it does little to add anything to who Castle is. It's not a novel idea. There's no twist ending. There's no ... anything, really. The writing isn't bad, it's just not noteworthy. The art is stilted, but not necessarily bad. The whole book reeks of "Why bother?" The book does nothing to add to or contradict Ennis's book and has no relation to "War Zone." It's not really a waste of four dollars, it's just not the best way you could spend it. I'd say keep the cash and just wait for the next issue of Ennis's main book (while it's still his).

SKIP IT

Wonder Woman #21

While being a long time fan, but sporadic reader, of Wonder Woman, I was somewhat disappointed in this months addition to the story. I found the narrative jumped all over the place, and never really settled properly. Maybe it was just me, I dunno, but it seemed like for every scene in the comic, another two were removed to speed up the goings on a bit. It's not that I didn't follow it, or that it moved too fast per se, I just found that I was reading a summary of the story, rather than the story itself. It did have Wonder Woman hacking a zombie with a sword though, so there's that.

READ IT

Chuck #1 (of 6)

Not a bad start, all in all. I felt that even though I'm not up on the show, I still got a good grasp of what the hell was going on. For the most part though, I found the book to be... how to put this politely, a bit overindulgent with clichés. Starting with a dream sequence? Okay, that's not too bad. Boss overhearing the characters longings and being flippant? Okay, that's an old comedy stand by, I can let that--People misinterpreting Chucks real problems with more mediocre ones? Okay, I get the point stop it-- Children cracking wise at serious events? Alright, just quit--? An agent interrogating someone who takes the serious situation lightly, then the agent freaks out? Point taken, jackass. Man, That Jerusalem's a jerk.

And that's just in the first few pages.

Maybe the book will seem less... unoriginal later on once it gets on it's feet, but for now, I'm not terribly impressed.

BROWSE IT

Negima! Vol. 18

Well, the Mahora Festival finally ends, with a major character leaving (It's not hard to guess who if you've been keeping up). It only takes a couple of chapters to wrap up, and the rest of the book is filler until the next saga begins at the end. However, this is one of the places the series really shines. Seeing the characters just do day to day things is always funny, and very very random. Seriously, one chapter is dedicated to characters going to a confessional (Mostly just confessing their love for Negi). And because it IS a Ken Akamatsu title, there's a very blatant ecchi chapter. Interestingly, it's also the only chapter without word bubbles. Pseudo-perverted miming aside, I say

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Angel #8

First off, a confession. I didn't get to see nearly as many episodes of Angel as I would have liked when the series was still on, so I may be a bit rusty on the characters. I actually had to Wiki Gwen.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, why in the hell are they focusing on the non-characters? It is kinda cool to see the different viewpoints of Hell on earth, but I really only care about the main cast. One third of this comic is focused on characters that were debuted in this issue. What the crap? Did they run out of ideas?

That being said, it is worth it to see exactly how Gunn became a vamp. I just hope it can pick back up next issue.

Browse it.

Chuck #1

Chuck seemed to pop out of nowhere last year, with it's clever blend of spy-action and comedy (Check me out sounding like a TV Guide writer!). It quickly became one of my new favorite shows. When I found out they were making a comic, I got a bit excited. It's nice to see they're working on something while there's nothing good on TV. Unfortunately, the comic is off to a slow start. The writing is a bit dry, and doesn't pop quite as much as the actual show does. It honestly feels like they copy/pasted the characters in there and just added some generic word bubbles. And is it just me, or did that ending remind anyone else of New Avengers #1? Even with the neat little bits of plagiarism, there wasn't enough here to keep me entertained.

Skip it.

Rogue Fan's Reviews

Trinity #2

I want to like Trinity #2, I really do. But, I don't. I liked where issue one seemed to be heading. I thought we'd get a main story that tells of a threat that is mostly only affecting Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, while the back-up dealt with an element of that threat as told by two other relatively unknown characters. As long as each story was allowed to develop on its own, I felt that Trinity could serve as a better example of a good weekly comic than Countdown did.

Yet, right off the bat, issue two throws the two stories together and makes me wonder just what the heck is going on. To some, that might be a good thing, but I think it's too soon to be throwing all this stuff at the reader. We haven't had a chance to get used to one threat when three or four more are thrown out there. While the main story shouldn't have to rely on the back-up, it does. Then the back-up seems to be just throwing things out there without any sort of story arc or thread of its own. Maybe I didn't like this issue because I was thrown for a loop when I thought I knew how the stories were going to work. But, this issue confused me almost as much as anything written by Grant Morrison does. And, for this reader, that is not a good thing.

Skip it

Green Arrow & Black Canary #9

On the surface, there's not much that attracts me to this book. Sure, it's written by a writer that I enjoy, but some of Winick's latest work hasn't really impressed me. It stars Green Arrow and Black Canary, but I've never been a big follower of either superhero. The artist isn't someone I'm familiar with and hasn't really made an impact on me positively or negatively. There just doesn't seem to be anything that would make me want to keep getting this book. Yet, this story has kept my interest.

My only concern is that I don't want it to take years before we get some answers about things that have been happening. I hope we're not being led on one wild goose chase after the next with a promise that answers are coming and then to be disappointed in the end when the story raises more questions without giving any answers. Plus, I would have rather see this title get more issues under its belt before the writer started throwing guest stars at us. Before long, this book might just have to change its name to Green Arrow, Black Canary & Friends. However, as long as the guest stars contribute to the story, I don't mind. So far, this book is keeping me going and interested in where its headed.

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Invincible #50

Finally, a book I can get behind 110 percent. For those who've been living under a rock, Invincible has become one of the best properties that Image puts out each month. Written and created by Robert Kirkman, Invincible is the story of one superhero who struggles to do the right thing even when the rest of the world seems to be against him. Almost every issue has managed to impress me and keep me guessing. This issue does that and more.

This is an anniversary issue, and like good anniversary issues do, this one is a real story changer. By the end of this issue, everything that Invincible has gone through and worked for has changed. From here on out, Invincible will have to step up to the plate in ways he never has before to show the world just what kind of a hero he really is. And, to make things even harder, due to the circumstances that occurred here, Invincible will have to carry on his fight to be a hero and protector of innocent with little to no help at all. The game has completely changed, and I for one am in for the long haul to see how it all works out.

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Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust #1

I almost didn't pick this up because it's only a one-shot of multiple short stories told by various writers currently in the Marvel bullpen. But, one story in particular drew me in, the Wonder Man and Beast story. I was a huge fan of the Wonder Man/Beast team during the Avengers heyday. Throw in the story of who do you trust when your best friend might very well be a skrull, and I was sold.

And true to my expectations, the Beast/Wonder Man story was the best story in the book. A couple of them were all right, but the Agent Brand story confused the heck out of me. When I saw that it was written by Mike Carey, I was baffled. I usually enjoy his writing and can follow it better than I did in this story. I'm not a huge fan of stories that jump back and forth in time, and this tale is the reason why. I couldn't figure out what was happening from panel to panel much less page to page. At the end of the story, Agent Brand had figured something out, but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you what it was. It felt like those pages were just a waste of space. If I had picked up this issue for this story alone, I would have been really letdown. Thankfully, there was the well-crafted Beast/Wonder Man tale to keep this book from going into my skip or burn pile.

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