Some great comics coming your way this week and I'm back with the Weekly Crisis Comic Book Reviews to let you know what I think so you don't have to! As always, this is just the initial wave of reviews and I'll be updating more later today, so make sure you check back often.If you missed the announcement earlier this week, Comics 4 Halloween is trying to get people to give out comic books for Halloween instead of the usual chips, bars and other candies. Whether it's just some quarter bin comics or left overs from Free Comic Book Day or anything you can think of, give them as it's trying to give kids an alternative to all the junk food and helps lure in some new readers to the hobby we all love.
I'll get off my soapbox now and let you all get back to reading the reviews. Enjoy!
UPDATE 1 - Added Lord Havok And The Extremists #1 and 52 Presents: The Four Horsemen #3. Will try to add a couple more later tonight.
UPDATE 2 - Added Quasar #4
UPDATE 3 - Batman #670
UPDATE 2 - Added Quasar #4
UPDATE 3 - Batman #670
Comic Book of the Week
NEW X-MEN # 43Written by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle
Art by Skott Young
This was another excellent issue of New X-Men. This is easily my favourite X-book being published. Yes, even better than X-Factor.
Yost and Kyle do an incredible job giving each of the many young mutants unique and individual personalities and they manage to juggle the large cast of characters perfectly, giving each character enough time to shine in their own way.
That said, this issue featured the fallout of Surge kissing Hellion last issue. She did it to try and push Prodigy, who lost his mutant powers due to M-Day, away from the team. She loves him and doesn't want to see him get hurt now that he's powerless. The opening scenes with Cyclops where the two talk about loved ones and the death of Jean Grey is perfect and it's honestly one of the few times I've actually seen Scott talk about her since she died, which was a nice touch.
Rockslide, or Santo, as I hate his codename, manages to steal every scene he is in as usual. Look for several panels of him in this week's Moments of the Week. In fact, I'm almost tempted to scan the whole book, as it's littered with great moments and easily the best book I read this week. Even X-23, or Laura, as I hate her codename too, has a great scene this week. It's sadder than the more comical Santo ones, but it deals with the former killing machine's conflicting emotions as she deals with jealousy over Surge kissing Hellion, who Laura has been developing feelings for. To be honest, I could easily talk about every single scene in this month's issue, whether it's Prodigy getting his powers back and dealing with Surge or the conclusion to the dark and brooding phase of Elixir, which had a hilarious solution, or everything in between.
On top of dealing with the young mutants, Kyle and Yost manage to give us some great scenes with the Astonishing X-Men team. The duo has a great grasp of what makes all the X-Men tick and I'd honestly like to see them take over for Brubaker or Carey to see what they can do with the main X-Men, as long as it doesn't take them off New X-Men.
Verdict - Must Read. Seriously, this is the best book this week, hands down. I don't know if I have to beat you over the head to get you pick this book up or what, but you've seriously got to try this book out. Grab this and previous issue for an entertaining, and hilarious, read featuring some of the best written characters on the market.
Yost and Kyle do an incredible job giving each of the many young mutants unique and individual personalities and they manage to juggle the large cast of characters perfectly, giving each character enough time to shine in their own way.
That said, this issue featured the fallout of Surge kissing Hellion last issue. She did it to try and push Prodigy, who lost his mutant powers due to M-Day, away from the team. She loves him and doesn't want to see him get hurt now that he's powerless. The opening scenes with Cyclops where the two talk about loved ones and the death of Jean Grey is perfect and it's honestly one of the few times I've actually seen Scott talk about her since she died, which was a nice touch.
Rockslide, or Santo, as I hate his codename, manages to steal every scene he is in as usual. Look for several panels of him in this week's Moments of the Week. In fact, I'm almost tempted to scan the whole book, as it's littered with great moments and easily the best book I read this week. Even X-23, or Laura, as I hate her codename too, has a great scene this week. It's sadder than the more comical Santo ones, but it deals with the former killing machine's conflicting emotions as she deals with jealousy over Surge kissing Hellion, who Laura has been developing feelings for. To be honest, I could easily talk about every single scene in this month's issue, whether it's Prodigy getting his powers back and dealing with Surge or the conclusion to the dark and brooding phase of Elixir, which had a hilarious solution, or everything in between.
On top of dealing with the young mutants, Kyle and Yost manage to give us some great scenes with the Astonishing X-Men team. The duo has a great grasp of what makes all the X-Men tick and I'd honestly like to see them take over for Brubaker or Carey to see what they can do with the main X-Men, as long as it doesn't take them off New X-Men.
Verdict - Must Read. Seriously, this is the best book this week, hands down. I don't know if I have to beat you over the head to get you pick this book up or what, but you've seriously got to try this book out. Grab this and previous issue for an entertaining, and hilarious, read featuring some of the best written characters on the market.
BATMAN #670Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony Daniel
For a prelude, this issue sure seems like a part one. As far as I know, this is the first appearance of Ra's al Ghul since coming back from the dead...again.
This time he's got The Mummy look going on, toilet paper wrappings and everything. On top of that, it features the defection of Batman's son, Damian, as Ra's tries to use him as his new host.
The bulk of the story deals with two drawn out fight scenes. One involves three fishnet clad women, whom I can't recall ever knowing, distracting Batman from something - I'm not quite sure what yet. I think it was the stealing of the corpse of someone I don't know and it's never explained and done off panel.
The rest of the issue deals with Ra's trying to claim Damian's body as his new host. For some reason Damian decides this is not a good deal for him and rebels, fleeing his grand papa in favour of warning his father, Batman.
During these two big fight scenes, some crazy stuff happens and there's a Sensei guy who is betraying Ra's somehow and some crazy chinese mask selling shop owner that tells Batman a bunch of stuff. I'm not sure who he is either.
Oh ya, go back and buy the Batman Annual from a few months back so you know all about Damian being used as a host and how this all works and a bunch of other important stuff that Grant Morrison leaves out of this quick read. Literally, it reads in about 2 minutes flat. Would a few monologue text boxes explaining some of this stuff kill him?
On the bright side, this issue looked pretty. Tony Daniel is a great artist and should be able to put out more than 3 issues a year like Kubert.
Verdict - Check It. I'm not sure what I just read and how it ties into the Ra's storyline, but Ra's returned in this issue and some stuff happened. I'll let you know when I figure it out.
This time he's got The Mummy look going on, toilet paper wrappings and everything. On top of that, it features the defection of Batman's son, Damian, as Ra's tries to use him as his new host.
The bulk of the story deals with two drawn out fight scenes. One involves three fishnet clad women, whom I can't recall ever knowing, distracting Batman from something - I'm not quite sure what yet. I think it was the stealing of the corpse of someone I don't know and it's never explained and done off panel.
The rest of the issue deals with Ra's trying to claim Damian's body as his new host. For some reason Damian decides this is not a good deal for him and rebels, fleeing his grand papa in favour of warning his father, Batman.
During these two big fight scenes, some crazy stuff happens and there's a Sensei guy who is betraying Ra's somehow and some crazy chinese mask selling shop owner that tells Batman a bunch of stuff. I'm not sure who he is either.
Oh ya, go back and buy the Batman Annual from a few months back so you know all about Damian being used as a host and how this all works and a bunch of other important stuff that Grant Morrison leaves out of this quick read. Literally, it reads in about 2 minutes flat. Would a few monologue text boxes explaining some of this stuff kill him?
On the bright side, this issue looked pretty. Tony Daniel is a great artist and should be able to put out more than 3 issues a year like Kubert.
Verdict - Check It. I'm not sure what I just read and how it ties into the Ra's storyline, but Ra's returned in this issue and some stuff happened. I'll let you know when I figure it out.
ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST - QUASAR # 4Written by Christos Gage
Art by Mike Lilly
Well this was something else. The big reveal for the saviour was in this issue, but was that enough to make everything else Gage offered worth while? The short answer is no.
After the dramatic use of all her remaining Quantum power at the end of last issue I expected the bulk of this issue to focus on the saviour and his role in the upcoming Conquest. Gage decided to give the most over done and plain cringe worthy performance I have read in a long time.
That threat of the Phalanx Phyla destroyed last issue? Well, there's still a bunch of them left apparently and Phyla, who is super strong, can fly and still has her Quantum sword is worried she and her giant dragon can't handle them. This gives way to the painful to read dialogue that basically consists of some 3rd rate self-help / self-esteem boosting seminar on why how they can persevere over such tremendous odds.
Sadly, it doesn't get any better once Phyla breaks off and heads off to fight the Super Adaptoid on her own. Continuing the "I can do it if I try" spiel, Gage uses the corniest and most cliched plot devices to defeat the Super Adaptoid. Machines don't have imagination, so it shuts down? Right...moving on.
The only redeeming part of this issue is the last few pages with the big reveal. If you're still reading, you obviously want to be spoiled, so I'll come right out and say it. The saviour is none other than Adam Warlock, whom I predicted long ago when I made up my list of 5 Possible Annihilation Conquest Villains. Based on his rebirth, it looks like the #1 villain I speculated on in that article will actually end up being the main villain of Conquest.
Oh ya, Quasar fans, the male one, will be happy to see his ghost presence in this issue cleansing the Quantum Bands of the impurity of Annihilus. He even jokes about his numerous deaths and how he might come back some day, so the door is open for the Wendall fans.
Verdict - Skip It. Aside from the big splash page reveal of Adam Warlock, there is nothing worth seeing in this issue. Is one page of something you've been spoiled on worth plodding through this overly sappy and cliched comic? I don't think so. Save some money and skip this. Gage is usually so much better than this. Not sure what happened here.
After the dramatic use of all her remaining Quantum power at the end of last issue I expected the bulk of this issue to focus on the saviour and his role in the upcoming Conquest. Gage decided to give the most over done and plain cringe worthy performance I have read in a long time.
That threat of the Phalanx Phyla destroyed last issue? Well, there's still a bunch of them left apparently and Phyla, who is super strong, can fly and still has her Quantum sword is worried she and her giant dragon can't handle them. This gives way to the painful to read dialogue that basically consists of some 3rd rate self-help / self-esteem boosting seminar on why how they can persevere over such tremendous odds.
Sadly, it doesn't get any better once Phyla breaks off and heads off to fight the Super Adaptoid on her own. Continuing the "I can do it if I try" spiel, Gage uses the corniest and most cliched plot devices to defeat the Super Adaptoid. Machines don't have imagination, so it shuts down? Right...moving on.
The only redeeming part of this issue is the last few pages with the big reveal. If you're still reading, you obviously want to be spoiled, so I'll come right out and say it. The saviour is none other than Adam Warlock, whom I predicted long ago when I made up my list of 5 Possible Annihilation Conquest Villains. Based on his rebirth, it looks like the #1 villain I speculated on in that article will actually end up being the main villain of Conquest.
Oh ya, Quasar fans, the male one, will be happy to see his ghost presence in this issue cleansing the Quantum Bands of the impurity of Annihilus. He even jokes about his numerous deaths and how he might come back some day, so the door is open for the Wendall fans.
Verdict - Skip It. Aside from the big splash page reveal of Adam Warlock, there is nothing worth seeing in this issue. Is one page of something you've been spoiled on worth plodding through this overly sappy and cliched comic? I don't think so. Save some money and skip this. Gage is usually so much better than this. Not sure what happened here.
COUNTDOWN PRESENTS: LORD HAVOK AND THE EXTREMISTS #1Written by Frank Tieri
Art by Liam Sharpe
Another week means another new Countdown tie-in or, at least, that's the way it feels. Surprisingly, just about every tie-in has been pretty good. With that said, this is the only tie-in I was originally anticipating when DC first announced the 20 or 30 (estimate) tie-ins for Countdown and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.
This issue is basically establishes the Earth-8 universe. DC took the Marvel analogues of the Extremists that much further by featuring their own versions of Iron Man and Captain America, both of which joined together on this Earth to form a new government with their version of the Super-Hero Registration Act - the Metahuman Act.
They take this alternate version of Marvel's Civil War and have the 'heroes' controlling the world and placing anyone that disagrees with or resists into concentration camps or outright kills them. It's a fun spoof and I'm kind of disappointed they've killed off a lot of the characters already, as they could have just as easily used them later on if they ever tried to re-visit this Earth.
After establishing this Earth and its heroes, the remainder of the issue is dedicated to Lord Havok's rise to power and the formation of the Extremists. After systematically killing this world's Iron Man and current president, known as Tin Man, on national television. Afterwards, Lord Havok begins taking over other countries and it is noted he wiped Russia off the map. The issue ends with the arrival of the Challengers from Beyond from Countdown.
I have some minor complaints with this issue. For a mini-series, they rushed through an awful lot of background material for this Earth and I'm honestly not sure what else they'll be doing with this series. It tells us to continue the story in Countdown #29, which was 3 or 4 weeks ago, for the rest of the story and then be back next month for the "last days of the Extremists".
I haven't kept up with solicits for this series, but I honestly can't tell what it's going to be about at this point in time. I like the characters and seeing DC's version of the Squadron Supreme using the Marvel contemporaries, but is there a story anywhere in this series? Is this just here to sell more Countdown issues or cash in on a tie-in? Is it supposed to be a Countdown supplement or its own book?
Verdict - Check It. Every other Countdown tie-in, with the exception of Search For Ray Palmer: Wildstorm, left me with the feeling that it was a unique story and deserved to be told. At this point I'm not sure if this series needed to be anything more than a one-shot, but I'll give it another chance next month to prove me wrong.
This issue is basically establishes the Earth-8 universe. DC took the Marvel analogues of the Extremists that much further by featuring their own versions of Iron Man and Captain America, both of which joined together on this Earth to form a new government with their version of the Super-Hero Registration Act - the Metahuman Act.
They take this alternate version of Marvel's Civil War and have the 'heroes' controlling the world and placing anyone that disagrees with or resists into concentration camps or outright kills them. It's a fun spoof and I'm kind of disappointed they've killed off a lot of the characters already, as they could have just as easily used them later on if they ever tried to re-visit this Earth.
After establishing this Earth and its heroes, the remainder of the issue is dedicated to Lord Havok's rise to power and the formation of the Extremists. After systematically killing this world's Iron Man and current president, known as Tin Man, on national television. Afterwards, Lord Havok begins taking over other countries and it is noted he wiped Russia off the map. The issue ends with the arrival of the Challengers from Beyond from Countdown.
I have some minor complaints with this issue. For a mini-series, they rushed through an awful lot of background material for this Earth and I'm honestly not sure what else they'll be doing with this series. It tells us to continue the story in Countdown #29, which was 3 or 4 weeks ago, for the rest of the story and then be back next month for the "last days of the Extremists".
I haven't kept up with solicits for this series, but I honestly can't tell what it's going to be about at this point in time. I like the characters and seeing DC's version of the Squadron Supreme using the Marvel contemporaries, but is there a story anywhere in this series? Is this just here to sell more Countdown issues or cash in on a tie-in? Is it supposed to be a Countdown supplement or its own book?
Verdict - Check It. Every other Countdown tie-in, with the exception of Search For Ray Palmer: Wildstorm, left me with the feeling that it was a unique story and deserved to be told. At this point I'm not sure if this series needed to be anything more than a one-shot, but I'll give it another chance next month to prove me wrong.
52 AFTERMATH: THE FOUR HORSEMEN #3Written by Keith Giffen
Art by Pat Olliffe and John Stanisci
Well, this was another let down of an issue. For three straight months this book has managed to do nothing. I'm not even sure what I'm reading for anymore.
All that's happened over the course of 3 issues is that the Four Horsemen have been revived. That's it. On top of that, Giffen's managed to tell us the ending to the series already by beating us over the head numerous times that the only way to defeat the Horsemen is to use the technology on Oolong island that birthed them to send them back to Apokolips.
I'm seriously considering dropping this, but I've already bought the first 3 issues. The collector mentality wants me to continue buying this series just for the sake of completing it, but I honestly don't see the point. Maybe there'll be a fight or something sometime between now and issue 6?
Verdict - Skip It. I can't see any reason for this series to exist except to undermine Black Adam's killing of the Horsemen, proving yet again that only the Big Three can truly defeat a major menace. Skip this non-story and wait for issue 5 or 6 when Giffen finally tells a story and tries to wrap everything up. Everything so far has been a waste of space.
All that's happened over the course of 3 issues is that the Four Horsemen have been revived. That's it. On top of that, Giffen's managed to tell us the ending to the series already by beating us over the head numerous times that the only way to defeat the Horsemen is to use the technology on Oolong island that birthed them to send them back to Apokolips.
I'm seriously considering dropping this, but I've already bought the first 3 issues. The collector mentality wants me to continue buying this series just for the sake of completing it, but I honestly don't see the point. Maybe there'll be a fight or something sometime between now and issue 6?
Verdict - Skip It. I can't see any reason for this series to exist except to undermine Black Adam's killing of the Horsemen, proving yet again that only the Big Three can truly defeat a major menace. Skip this non-story and wait for issue 5 or 6 when Giffen finally tells a story and tries to wrap everything up. Everything so far has been a waste of space.
X-MEN: MESSIAH COMPLEX # 1Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Marc Silvestri
I'm sure everyone knows the deal about this issue already. The start to the first big X-event in years - Messiah Complex. It's been hyped for months now and it's finally here, but is it any good? Read on.
Over the past few months, Mr Sinister and his Marauders have systematically killed or destroyed anything that could have knowledge of the future, from time displaced people like Cable to the Destiny Diaries. This has all been building up to this issue's birth of the first new mutant in years - an event the X-Men had no knowledge of until it was too late.
Sounds like a great premise, doesn't it? However, as far as this issue is concerned, nothing happens. Notta. Zilch. Nothing. All the previews and pre-event hype was basically the cliff notes version of this issue. X-Men go to destroyed town, find out the Marauders and Purifiers, villains from the New X-Men, were both there and that one of them took the child. It's never revealed if the new mutant's birth caused the explosion or if the Marauders or Purifiers did it all. We see a couple panels of the Purifiers burning some humans and that's about it.
For how much hype and build up this event had, I expected a lot more than this for a first issue. It reminds me of the X-Men Endangered Species Special from several months ago. Remember that 48 page book that focused almost entirely on the death of an unnamed, never before seen mutant boy that was basically the equivalent of the X-Men attending a funeral and boo-hooing over the death of someone they don't know. That's what this issue is, except it's the X-Men picking up a few survivors over the course of the entire issue.
It might sound like this issue is completely terrible based on this review, but it's just a case of over hyping an event and not delivering anything. I know it's early, but if this is all they have to offer out of the gate after all these months, I'm not going to go easy on the review. And Silvestri's art is a cheap Jim Lee knock off that features pretty much every character posing instead of being a part of the scene. It's like he pasted various pin-ups into each scene. Some might like it, but he's the equivalent of a Michael Turner to me, which is not a good thing.
Verdict - Skip It. You won't miss this book and I'm sure they'll rehash the non-events that happened in this issue over the course of the first 2 or 3 parts to this event. Save yourself some money and grab something actually worth while from this week's comics.
Over the past few months, Mr Sinister and his Marauders have systematically killed or destroyed anything that could have knowledge of the future, from time displaced people like Cable to the Destiny Diaries. This has all been building up to this issue's birth of the first new mutant in years - an event the X-Men had no knowledge of until it was too late.
Sounds like a great premise, doesn't it? However, as far as this issue is concerned, nothing happens. Notta. Zilch. Nothing. All the previews and pre-event hype was basically the cliff notes version of this issue. X-Men go to destroyed town, find out the Marauders and Purifiers, villains from the New X-Men, were both there and that one of them took the child. It's never revealed if the new mutant's birth caused the explosion or if the Marauders or Purifiers did it all. We see a couple panels of the Purifiers burning some humans and that's about it.
For how much hype and build up this event had, I expected a lot more than this for a first issue. It reminds me of the X-Men Endangered Species Special from several months ago. Remember that 48 page book that focused almost entirely on the death of an unnamed, never before seen mutant boy that was basically the equivalent of the X-Men attending a funeral and boo-hooing over the death of someone they don't know. That's what this issue is, except it's the X-Men picking up a few survivors over the course of the entire issue.
It might sound like this issue is completely terrible based on this review, but it's just a case of over hyping an event and not delivering anything. I know it's early, but if this is all they have to offer out of the gate after all these months, I'm not going to go easy on the review. And Silvestri's art is a cheap Jim Lee knock off that features pretty much every character posing instead of being a part of the scene. It's like he pasted various pin-ups into each scene. Some might like it, but he's the equivalent of a Michael Turner to me, which is not a good thing.
Verdict - Skip It. You won't miss this book and I'm sure they'll rehash the non-events that happened in this issue over the course of the first 2 or 3 parts to this event. Save yourself some money and grab something actually worth while from this week's comics.
DAREDEVIL ANNUAL # 1Written by Ed Brubaker and Ande Parks
Art by Roy Allen Martinez
This was probably the best issue of Daredevil Brubaker has done since his first arc, The Devil in Cell Block D. It hit all the right notes and the pacing was perfect in this done-in-one annual. DD #101 seemed to be more in line with these two storylines, so maybe he's finally got his groove back on the main title as well.
As you can tell from the cover, this annual features the return of the Black Tarantula, the forgotten Spider-Man villain from the post-Clone Saga era that appeared briefly while Matt was in jail. I loved this character back in the Identity Crisis days of Spider-Man and I'm just happy to see him being used again. Up until now, he had only been appearing in Spider-Girl - even though that incarnation was his son taking up the mantle.
The jist of the story is Matt, sick and feverish, is trying to take down the Yakuza that has set up in Hell's Kitchen since he went to jail and what not over the past year. At the same time, Black Tarantula is free on parole and seeks out Matt for a job to help him go straight. DD eventually ends up teaming up with Tarantula to take out the Yakuza and solve a small murder mystery as well. In the end, though, Tarantula can't escape his past and ends up on the wrong side of the law after murdering the gangbangers involved in the murder mystery. The sick DD is no match for Tarantula and he escapes.
While it sounds like a generic "villain tries to reform, but ends up a villain in the end" tale, it's actually much, much better than it sounds. Brubaker does an excellent job showing things from Tarantula's perspective and the reasons behind his reverting to form are skillfully handled. Also, Tarantula may have killed the gangbangers, but he takes all the money they had and donates it to a church and his fate at the end of the issue is left open to interpretation. It appears he might become a new Punisher-like anti-hero, but it is hard to say. Either way, it's a great finish to an excellent issue.
Verdict - Must Read. This is a great issue, hands down. You, honestly, can't go wrong picking this up. There's no back story or current events you need to know from the main series to read this. It's an excellently crafted done-in-one story and one of the best from Brubaker's run on Daredevil to date.
As you can tell from the cover, this annual features the return of the Black Tarantula, the forgotten Spider-Man villain from the post-Clone Saga era that appeared briefly while Matt was in jail. I loved this character back in the Identity Crisis days of Spider-Man and I'm just happy to see him being used again. Up until now, he had only been appearing in Spider-Girl - even though that incarnation was his son taking up the mantle.
The jist of the story is Matt, sick and feverish, is trying to take down the Yakuza that has set up in Hell's Kitchen since he went to jail and what not over the past year. At the same time, Black Tarantula is free on parole and seeks out Matt for a job to help him go straight. DD eventually ends up teaming up with Tarantula to take out the Yakuza and solve a small murder mystery as well. In the end, though, Tarantula can't escape his past and ends up on the wrong side of the law after murdering the gangbangers involved in the murder mystery. The sick DD is no match for Tarantula and he escapes.
While it sounds like a generic "villain tries to reform, but ends up a villain in the end" tale, it's actually much, much better than it sounds. Brubaker does an excellent job showing things from Tarantula's perspective and the reasons behind his reverting to form are skillfully handled. Also, Tarantula may have killed the gangbangers, but he takes all the money they had and donates it to a church and his fate at the end of the issue is left open to interpretation. It appears he might become a new Punisher-like anti-hero, but it is hard to say. Either way, it's a great finish to an excellent issue.
Verdict - Must Read. This is a great issue, hands down. You, honestly, can't go wrong picking this up. There's no back story or current events you need to know from the main series to read this. It's an excellently crafted done-in-one story and one of the best from Brubaker's run on Daredevil to date.
IRON MAN # 23Written by Daniel and Charlie Knauf
Art by Roberto de la Torre
I've been reading and enjoying Iron Man's solo series for a while now and it has really ramped up in quality over the past few months. The last few issues have focused on the death of the Omaha Initiative member Gadget and it has been some of the best work the Knauf's have done on this series.
I'll spare going into every little detail, but this issue was nearly perfect. The Mandarin plot has really kicked into high gear and it was awesome seeing him in action in this issue when Paragon tried to fight back after the death of his mother. It got me pumped with anticipation for the actual battle with Iron Man that we all know is eventually coming up.
On the other side of the equation, the way they handled the effects of the stress Tony's been under since Civil War and his taking over as Director of SHIELD was exceptionally well done. After Doc Samson's appearance in Thunderbolts last week, it was a pleasant surprise to see him again in this week's Iron Man. While there was no "SAMSON SMASH" scene this week, it was still a great to see his analysis of Tony's hiding behind the Iron Man armour.
Another great thing with this issue was how the Knauf's are picking up on the interconnected feel of the Marvel Universe post-Civil War with the use of Norman Osborn and the other Initiative teams that are not featured in any books at this time. It just makes it feel like Tony's job is actually as important as it is and seeing these things makes it feel like the stuff in Civil War actually affected the Marvel Universe while at the same time not requiring you to pick up other titles to understand or see these connections. It just reminds me of the way the Marvel Universe used to feel like it was connected in the old days when a guest appearance or mention of another hero didn't turn into an event or a 6 issue crossover between each characters' own book.
Verdict - Must Read. I usually describe this book as one that people should check out and see if it's for them. However, with this month's issue, I had to upgrade it to a Must Read. Everything is just clicking with it. With the Mandarin plot in full effect and all the Initiative related goodness with Tony as Director of SHIELD, you're missing out on a great comic if you pass book up.
I'll spare going into every little detail, but this issue was nearly perfect. The Mandarin plot has really kicked into high gear and it was awesome seeing him in action in this issue when Paragon tried to fight back after the death of his mother. It got me pumped with anticipation for the actual battle with Iron Man that we all know is eventually coming up.
On the other side of the equation, the way they handled the effects of the stress Tony's been under since Civil War and his taking over as Director of SHIELD was exceptionally well done. After Doc Samson's appearance in Thunderbolts last week, it was a pleasant surprise to see him again in this week's Iron Man. While there was no "SAMSON SMASH" scene this week, it was still a great to see his analysis of Tony's hiding behind the Iron Man armour.
Another great thing with this issue was how the Knauf's are picking up on the interconnected feel of the Marvel Universe post-Civil War with the use of Norman Osborn and the other Initiative teams that are not featured in any books at this time. It just makes it feel like Tony's job is actually as important as it is and seeing these things makes it feel like the stuff in Civil War actually affected the Marvel Universe while at the same time not requiring you to pick up other titles to understand or see these connections. It just reminds me of the way the Marvel Universe used to feel like it was connected in the old days when a guest appearance or mention of another hero didn't turn into an event or a 6 issue crossover between each characters' own book.
Verdict - Must Read. I usually describe this book as one that people should check out and see if it's for them. However, with this month's issue, I had to upgrade it to a Must Read. Everything is just clicking with it. With the Mandarin plot in full effect and all the Initiative related goodness with Tony as Director of SHIELD, you're missing out on a great comic if you pass book up.
SUB-MARINER # 5Written by Matt Cherniss and Peter Johnson
Art by Philippe Briones
Sub-Mariner started out with a lot of promise. There were the future scenes with a dead Namor skeleton on the throne and then the threat of a full scale war with the surface world with Iron Man and SHIELD on Atlantis' doorstep and, finally, some awesome early fight scenes with Wolverine and Venom. The last two issues then decided to throw away all of this momentum and pile on a lot of excess story in lieu of the action packed, fast paced feel of the earlier issues, which is a shame really.
This issue continued from the last with Namor confronted by his son, who is leading the Atlantean terrorist cell. What followed was a rather abrupt fight scene with the traitors which lead to Namor returning to Atlantis to straighten out the attempted coup by his son's colleagues. It's all fairly generic and boring as we never, even for a moment, believe Namor will fail or the coup will succeed.
On top of these rather generic proceedings is the US military building up to start a war with Atlantis, despite Namor stopping the terrorists and Iron Man trying to explain to them the situation is over with. It looks like this will take an approach similar to Silent War where the series should have been done on the 5th issue, but they still just send random US troops to the Moon to fight the Inhumans, despite the climax and conclusion in the fifth issue.
Verdict - Skip It. Nothing to see here. All the good, mindless super hero fights and action packed plot has fizzled out. Expect an equally disappointing ending to this series next month when it's shockingly revealed the Namor skeleton is really his own son and that the Atlanteans escape the military! Shocking, I know.
This issue continued from the last with Namor confronted by his son, who is leading the Atlantean terrorist cell. What followed was a rather abrupt fight scene with the traitors which lead to Namor returning to Atlantis to straighten out the attempted coup by his son's colleagues. It's all fairly generic and boring as we never, even for a moment, believe Namor will fail or the coup will succeed.
On top of these rather generic proceedings is the US military building up to start a war with Atlantis, despite Namor stopping the terrorists and Iron Man trying to explain to them the situation is over with. It looks like this will take an approach similar to Silent War where the series should have been done on the 5th issue, but they still just send random US troops to the Moon to fight the Inhumans, despite the climax and conclusion in the fifth issue.
Verdict - Skip It. Nothing to see here. All the good, mindless super hero fights and action packed plot has fizzled out. Expect an equally disappointing ending to this series next month when it's shockingly revealed the Namor skeleton is really his own son and that the Atlanteans escape the military! Shocking, I know.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #26Story by Paul Dini
Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Script by Paul Dini
Art by Tom Derenick
Well, the big name change for Countdown is finally here. If you've been checking out my reviews for the series over the last few days, you're probably all caught up and know that I've been rather enjoying Countdown the last few weeks. Let me say this right now. This issue of Countdown read like no other one before it. It's like a completely different book altogether. The tone, feel and layouts of all the scenes just click together so much better than any other issue of Countdown I've read. I'm seriously wondering if it's the same creative team behind this book that I've been reading for the past 5 or 6 months.
As for the actual contents of this issue, it manages to progress most of the plots while simultaneously giving a recap of everything that's happened. It's actually one of the best recap issues I've ever read, to be honest. It's told from the point of view of the 'evil' Monitor as he rallies the other Monitors to his cause. He manages to explain all the major events while simultaneously tying them all together with a supposed villain, or villains, guiding all the supposedly random events to a single goal. Again, it was handled really well and was told unlike any other Countdown issue I've read. Even the art was drastically improved over just about any other issue of Countdown.
I've complained about the lack of personalities for all the Monitors and DC seems to have addressed that with this issue as we can see female Monitors, giants, more alien-like and even a Kryptonian looking version. It's a small thing, but it made a big difference to me. Each Monitor appears to represent the differences in their Earths and it makes it feel like each one actually matters and aren't just in the scene as a background filler.
My only real complaint about the issue is the brief focus on the Challengers and the solution to Jason Todd's betrayal from last issue. They make it so the Monitor knew Todd only wanted to create a diversion and the gun was set to a lower setting in anticipation to this. It felt cheap and was poorly handled and the only real blemish on an otherwise good issue.
Verdict - Check It. It's like a new beginning for Countdown and appears to be a pretty good jumping on point due to the recap point of view from the Monitors and it read like a completely different book, unlike any other issue of Countdown to date. Give this book another try if you dropped it or held off based on poor reviews.
As for the actual contents of this issue, it manages to progress most of the plots while simultaneously giving a recap of everything that's happened. It's actually one of the best recap issues I've ever read, to be honest. It's told from the point of view of the 'evil' Monitor as he rallies the other Monitors to his cause. He manages to explain all the major events while simultaneously tying them all together with a supposed villain, or villains, guiding all the supposedly random events to a single goal. Again, it was handled really well and was told unlike any other Countdown issue I've read. Even the art was drastically improved over just about any other issue of Countdown.
I've complained about the lack of personalities for all the Monitors and DC seems to have addressed that with this issue as we can see female Monitors, giants, more alien-like and even a Kryptonian looking version. It's a small thing, but it made a big difference to me. Each Monitor appears to represent the differences in their Earths and it makes it feel like each one actually matters and aren't just in the scene as a background filler.
My only real complaint about the issue is the brief focus on the Challengers and the solution to Jason Todd's betrayal from last issue. They make it so the Monitor knew Todd only wanted to create a diversion and the gun was set to a lower setting in anticipation to this. It felt cheap and was poorly handled and the only real blemish on an otherwise good issue.
Verdict - Check It. It's like a new beginning for Countdown and appears to be a pretty good jumping on point due to the recap point of view from the Monitors and it read like a completely different book, unlike any other issue of Countdown to date. Give this book another try if you dropped it or held off based on poor reviews.
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2 comments:
I noticed that were more than 52 total monitors when the evil monitor was talking. With Bob gone there should only be 50 in the crowd.
That being said, I enjoyed this issue.
Perhaps you should post a little story review for the Damian arc like you did for Countdown? Those were awesome.
Keep it up.
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