Thursday. More reviews. Quick Shot format. Banzai! Whole mess of reviews today for you, including Invincible, which came out despite Image's site claiming it was next week. Should have learned by now to trust Diamond's list, but I still got it and that's all that matters. Enjoy the reviews.
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #4
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Julian Lopez and Bit
I can see the Batman and the Outsiders is far from the greatest book ever written, but I'm still enjoying it quite a bit. I'd consider it an almost guilty pleasure and I think I'm a bit biased in favour of it compared to harsher reviews of similar books.
For instance, we have Ollie running around in the jungle here with Batman with no real explanation and no indication of what's going on in his own title. He's also got the major beef with Batgirl all of a sudden when he knows Batman has forgiven her enough to work with her again. I assume Batman should have told him she was drugged or mind controlled or Dan Didio'd by Deathstroke, but he still has the prerequisite super hero fight. The only thing that really bothered me this issue was Dixon making Batman ask question after question, as if he didn't know anything about what Langstrom was talking about in the opening sequences. Just didn't seem like something Batman would do to me.
Even with in congruities such as that, I still liked the book and this issue was another fun read. Not sure how the OMAC here ties in with the one in Countdown or if it ignores that altogether, but I'm a bit curious to see where that goes.
Verdict - Check It
CABLE & DEADPOOL #50
Written by Reilly Brown & Fabian Nicieza
Art by Reilly Brown
It's hard to believe this book made it to #50. I doubt many thought it would last 20. I only recently started reading it (around the time Cable joined Carey's X-Men) and it's been one fun comic. I can see why many would ignore it, as, while you'll enjoy every issue, there's nothing overly compelling that would keep you coming back for more and it has almost no significance in relation to the Marvel Universe or other storylines. It's just far easier to pick up the various Inititive books or random X-book #32 or one of Wolverine's 8 appearance in other books. The worst thing about this is that they are relaunching with a new Deadpool book and it's being written by Way. The mind, it boggles.
Nerd rage aside over cancellations and Way-nification, this issue was hilarious and a must read for everyone. Venomsaurs are the best new villain in years and the best use of Venom outside of eating people's arms. I loved the Deadpool / Spider-Man conversation about the event that shall not be named (okay, it's One More Day, but never outright stated). I can't believe they let that get published. It's like Diet Pepsi bashing regular Pepsi in its commercials or something. They should have gave Fabian a Spider-Man & Deadpool book for the relaunch. The two biggest mouths in comics would be a perfect match. Add Taskmaster for flavouring as well.
Fun story, lots of laughs and great send off for Deadpool (and Cable) in this issue with some messages from the creative team and everything. Buying this won't really bring the book back, but you'll thank me for it later.
Verdict - Must Read
CATWOMAN #76
Written by Will Pfeifer
Art by David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez
I don't know how Pfeifer is getting away with "tying in but not really tying in" to Salvation Run, but the book is definitely benefitting from the decision. Selina got thrown back to a Gotham that featured a gun totting Batman at the end last issue and we spend this issue with a focus on the dimension hopping goodness. Simply put, no Salvation Run = back to being one of DC's best books and I only hope Pfeifer can avoid SR until it runs its course and we can get back to regular Catwoman on Earth stories. Tempted to give it a must read, but there's still something not right about the book compared to a few months ago and it's pretty much due to the cosmic nature of the stories. Still, I think most will enjoy the book.
Verdict - Check It
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #18
Written by Dwayne McDuffie and Alan Burnett
Art by Ed Benes and JonBoy Meyers
McDuffie is by no means a bad writer. Yet, for some reason, DC continues to interfer with his work on their best selling book. It's been all editorial mandates since he got on the book, from his Green Arrow / Black Canary special to the Injustice League / Salvation Run tie-in and then the Tangent Universe / Superman event coming up and finally with this late to the table Salvation Run tie-in. Yes, another SR tie-in. McDuffie has even said he's been told to scrap any plans for Green Lantern(s) and that he doesn't even know any of the details about the events he's tying into. Please, just let the man tell some stories, DC.
Now that I've made excuses for him, this issue was another dud. It was better than the last one, but not by much. I don't care about anything that's happening here. There's no tension or drama. None of the Suicide Squad members pose any threat to the League and the story hasn't progressed in the slightest. The villains that surrendered are simply put in cells and the JLA talks to Waller. She sends the Squad in during the meeting to try and retrieve the villains and the issue ends.
Verdict - Avoid It
INVINCIBLE #48
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Ryan Ottley
First things first, what the hell was up with the 3 or 4 pages of advertisements for other books? Okay, you want to show this villain is a threat and have him kidnap some heroes, but you can be a little more subtle with the blatant advertising.
Once we got over the little commercial segment, the book turned into a typical Invincible action issue. The odd quip and a smatter of blood and we end with Invincible actually taking heavy damage from underground monsters. Government should be paying the villain of the month to help stop the Vultrimites if his Dwellers can do that much damage.
Was good to see Eve in action and I'm not sure how they're going to resolve the rift between her and Mark. Also, it looks like that issue 50 cover with Mark's bloody fists and the government agent on the ground will be because he finds out about the secret army of cyborgs, the same ones his friend was turned into, they're building behind Mark's back.
Verdict - Check It
ULTIMATE X-MEN #91
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Salvador Larroca
What did I just read? I really can't believe UXM has managed to get worse than it already was, but here we are with probably one of the worst issues of Kirkman's run. Apocalypse controls every mutant's DNA and uses them to fight other heroes while standing around imposing and spouting the same over the top 'bad guy' lines over and over. The monotony is broken by the book finally ending and 'Onslaught' and 'Stryfe' (think the other one was supposed to be yet another Stryfe, but I don't care enough to double check) showing up. I guess they'll be Wolverine and Xavier back from the future, but maybe something more groan inducing will come from it. Who knows?
Verdict - Avoid It
WWH AFTERSMASH: WARBOUND #3
Written Greg Pak
Art by Leonard Kirk
This title has been surprisingly good considering it consists of throw away characters from an event that's several months old. Hiroim is a very big focus for this issue and I hope they don't kill him off like the ending of this implies. However, I don't really know what's left to do with these characters. Maybe the Illuminati can shoot them off into space or something.
Again, I enjoyed the back up story with Korg's "origin" more than the main story, but both were entertaining.
Verdict - Check It
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Julian Lopez and Bit
I can see the Batman and the Outsiders is far from the greatest book ever written, but I'm still enjoying it quite a bit. I'd consider it an almost guilty pleasure and I think I'm a bit biased in favour of it compared to harsher reviews of similar books.
For instance, we have Ollie running around in the jungle here with Batman with no real explanation and no indication of what's going on in his own title. He's also got the major beef with Batgirl all of a sudden when he knows Batman has forgiven her enough to work with her again. I assume Batman should have told him she was drugged or mind controlled or Dan Didio'd by Deathstroke, but he still has the prerequisite super hero fight. The only thing that really bothered me this issue was Dixon making Batman ask question after question, as if he didn't know anything about what Langstrom was talking about in the opening sequences. Just didn't seem like something Batman would do to me.
Even with in congruities such as that, I still liked the book and this issue was another fun read. Not sure how the OMAC here ties in with the one in Countdown or if it ignores that altogether, but I'm a bit curious to see where that goes.
Verdict - Check It
CABLE & DEADPOOL #50
Written by Reilly Brown & Fabian Nicieza
Art by Reilly Brown
It's hard to believe this book made it to #50. I doubt many thought it would last 20. I only recently started reading it (around the time Cable joined Carey's X-Men) and it's been one fun comic. I can see why many would ignore it, as, while you'll enjoy every issue, there's nothing overly compelling that would keep you coming back for more and it has almost no significance in relation to the Marvel Universe or other storylines. It's just far easier to pick up the various Inititive books or random X-book #32 or one of Wolverine's 8 appearance in other books. The worst thing about this is that they are relaunching with a new Deadpool book and it's being written by Way. The mind, it boggles.
Nerd rage aside over cancellations and Way-nification, this issue was hilarious and a must read for everyone. Venomsaurs are the best new villain in years and the best use of Venom outside of eating people's arms. I loved the Deadpool / Spider-Man conversation about the event that shall not be named (okay, it's One More Day, but never outright stated). I can't believe they let that get published. It's like Diet Pepsi bashing regular Pepsi in its commercials or something. They should have gave Fabian a Spider-Man & Deadpool book for the relaunch. The two biggest mouths in comics would be a perfect match. Add Taskmaster for flavouring as well.
Fun story, lots of laughs and great send off for Deadpool (and Cable) in this issue with some messages from the creative team and everything. Buying this won't really bring the book back, but you'll thank me for it later.
Verdict - Must Read
CATWOMAN #76
Written by Will Pfeifer
Art by David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez
I don't know how Pfeifer is getting away with "tying in but not really tying in" to Salvation Run, but the book is definitely benefitting from the decision. Selina got thrown back to a Gotham that featured a gun totting Batman at the end last issue and we spend this issue with a focus on the dimension hopping goodness. Simply put, no Salvation Run = back to being one of DC's best books and I only hope Pfeifer can avoid SR until it runs its course and we can get back to regular Catwoman on Earth stories. Tempted to give it a must read, but there's still something not right about the book compared to a few months ago and it's pretty much due to the cosmic nature of the stories. Still, I think most will enjoy the book.
Verdict - Check It
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #18
Written by Dwayne McDuffie and Alan Burnett
Art by Ed Benes and JonBoy Meyers
McDuffie is by no means a bad writer. Yet, for some reason, DC continues to interfer with his work on their best selling book. It's been all editorial mandates since he got on the book, from his Green Arrow / Black Canary special to the Injustice League / Salvation Run tie-in and then the Tangent Universe / Superman event coming up and finally with this late to the table Salvation Run tie-in. Yes, another SR tie-in. McDuffie has even said he's been told to scrap any plans for Green Lantern(s) and that he doesn't even know any of the details about the events he's tying into. Please, just let the man tell some stories, DC.
Now that I've made excuses for him, this issue was another dud. It was better than the last one, but not by much. I don't care about anything that's happening here. There's no tension or drama. None of the Suicide Squad members pose any threat to the League and the story hasn't progressed in the slightest. The villains that surrendered are simply put in cells and the JLA talks to Waller. She sends the Squad in during the meeting to try and retrieve the villains and the issue ends.
Verdict - Avoid It
INVINCIBLE #48
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Ryan Ottley
First things first, what the hell was up with the 3 or 4 pages of advertisements for other books? Okay, you want to show this villain is a threat and have him kidnap some heroes, but you can be a little more subtle with the blatant advertising.
Once we got over the little commercial segment, the book turned into a typical Invincible action issue. The odd quip and a smatter of blood and we end with Invincible actually taking heavy damage from underground monsters. Government should be paying the villain of the month to help stop the Vultrimites if his Dwellers can do that much damage.
Was good to see Eve in action and I'm not sure how they're going to resolve the rift between her and Mark. Also, it looks like that issue 50 cover with Mark's bloody fists and the government agent on the ground will be because he finds out about the secret army of cyborgs, the same ones his friend was turned into, they're building behind Mark's back.
Verdict - Check It
ULTIMATE X-MEN #91
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Salvador Larroca
What did I just read? I really can't believe UXM has managed to get worse than it already was, but here we are with probably one of the worst issues of Kirkman's run. Apocalypse controls every mutant's DNA and uses them to fight other heroes while standing around imposing and spouting the same over the top 'bad guy' lines over and over. The monotony is broken by the book finally ending and 'Onslaught' and 'Stryfe' (think the other one was supposed to be yet another Stryfe, but I don't care enough to double check) showing up. I guess they'll be Wolverine and Xavier back from the future, but maybe something more groan inducing will come from it. Who knows?
Verdict - Avoid It
WWH AFTERSMASH: WARBOUND #3
Written Greg Pak
Art by Leonard Kirk
This title has been surprisingly good considering it consists of throw away characters from an event that's several months old. Hiroim is a very big focus for this issue and I hope they don't kill him off like the ending of this implies. However, I don't really know what's left to do with these characters. Maybe the Illuminati can shoot them off into space or something.
Again, I enjoyed the back up story with Korg's "origin" more than the main story, but both were entertaining.
Verdict - Check It
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3 comments:
Well I liked the UXM comic. I had no interest in Ultimate X-Men until I found out Ultimate Apocalypse was appearing. Think of me as an Apocalypse Fanboy perhaps, AoA is my favourite series. I agree it was a bit over the top, but Apocalypse is over the top. He is the greatest X-men villain in my opinion. It's better than the dissapointment when they had Ultimate Deadpool. I just wanted to see Apocalypse lord it over everyone, though I can admit his revamp is at risk of taking him to pre-crisis Superman proportions.
I have a thing for Grandiose Villains so I also looked forward to the Avengers vs Doom. I'll agree it seemed a bit flat but I'm interested to see what happens. It looks like early 80's/late 70's. What I do want to know is if it's an alternate universe what with Boca Cola and Sudweisser, or if it's just licensing issues.
I love Invincible, but the advertisements for other books was a little to much for me. Just ignore it and it was another good issue. Number 50 should be great (although it might be four months until it comes out).
I am a fan of Batman and the Outsiders. This is a really solid team book. Maybe they should put the writer on Justice League. Or maybe the difference between a the good BatO and the bad JLA is just the tie-ins. But I haven't been reading JLA so I don't know.
So, what? You're NOT going to mention the Dibny Ghost Detectives' appearance?
Catwoman was good for a while. I jumped in at issue 50 (Zatanna guest appearance) and found it was a good place to do so. And those last few issues before 1 Year Later were good. I would have kept reading, but by the time the first 1YL story was done, I was bored by the title. I can't imagine this book going cosmic. Maybe Catwoman shouldn't have an ongoing. Maybe the character should just be a frequent supporting character in Batman and have a mini-series every once in a while.
Seriously... cosmic Catwoman?
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