It’s a big week for comics with 14 books comprising the Comic Book Review Power Rankings and almost all of them are good! This week’s Rankings feature my introduction to Marvel’s Ultimate Universe with Ultimate Comics Spider-Man and Ultimate Comics Avengers, the highly anticipated second issues of Blackest Night and Mice Templar: Destiny, and new issues from a slew of other comics include GI Joe and Batman. Plus, because I’m such a nice guy, I’ll throw in a catch-up review of last week’s Absolution #1 from Avatar Press. Who could ask for more?! Well, you probably could, but that doesn’t mean I have to give it to you!For the uninitiated, the Comic Book Review Power Rankings is a countdown from worst-to-best of my weekly comic book haul. Before reading the issues, I preRank them based on the creative team, previous issues, solicitations, and gut instinct. The final Ranking number is based upon how the issues actually turned out. I attempt to keep everything as spoiler free as possible, but keep in mind that there may be the occasional minor spoiler that I overlook. As always, I can be reached via responses to this thread or at ryanreviews@gmail.com.
After my shop failed to order Absolution #1 from Avatar Press last week, I was lucky enough to have a friend snag me a copy at Wizard World Chicago (sorry folks, I refuse to call it Chicago Comic-Con). It may not be a new release this week, but I still felt that it was worth taking a look at. So, without further adieu, here is a Better-Late-Than-Never Review!
ABSOLUTION #1Written by Christos Gage
Art by Roberto Viacava and Andrews Mossa
Letters Uncredited
Covers by Various
• Strong lead-in from #0 issue gives you some insight on where this is going, but it still remains shocking. The super-powered version of Showtime’s Dexter.
• Christos Gage’s characterization is top-notch. You really get to understand John Dusk’s position as a cop fed up with killers getting out and using his powers to stop them.
• Great job setting up a supporting cast, in turn humanizing Dusk, who could quickly become a monster.
• Completely brutal story. From the rapist/killer to Dusk’s own methods, Gage pulls no punches.
• Artwork is a bit odd at times, especially with the very bulbous male character designs. Plus Dusk doesn’t look like himself in-and-out of costume. That is a design error that shouldn’t be happening.
• Strong, bold colors that seem in line with the palette used by other Avatar books—nice sense of company wide cohesion.
Verdict: Strongly Recommended. Amazing to see Gage unleashed. This is not what you’d expect from him in terms of tone and story, but perfectly fits with his talent. Would like to see stronger art with more consistency, but the story still carries it.
With that out of the way, on to the Rankings! As per usual, Wednesday Comics is not reviewed as part of the Rankings, but still comics highly recommended. This week’s highlight is definitely the Supergirl page by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Amanda Connor, which features one of the single best appearances by Aquaman of all time. It really must be seen to be believed.
14. GI JOE SPECIAL: HELIX
Written by Brian Reed
Art by Joe Suitor
Letters by Robbie Robbins
Covers by David Williams and Joe Suitor
preRanking: 12
• Introduction of a black ops character Helix, who has the power to be the most important and powerful of all Joes thanks to her mathematical ability to analyze fights and her extreme capability for hand-to-hand combat. Duke is charged with tracking her down in Tokyo and taking down a man with ties to Cobra who hopes to blow up the Japanese Mercantile Exchange.
• Great premise and strong use of Duke by Brian Reed. Reed shows that he has the chops for writing espionage-tinged action and a penchant for GI Joe.
• Major lack of development on Helix. We get a cool introduction to her at the beginning, but her role in the issue is next-to-nothing and the essentially writes her out of the franchise. Total disappointment in the second half of the issue.
• The brisk plot relies too much on exposition, but then breaks down towards the end rather anticlimactically. The “villain” is taken down in one page and, as mentioned above, the new character is essentially written out. Feels like a rip-off.
• The art has its moments of greatness, particularly in Helix’s training sessions. It reminds me a lot of the Luna Brothers or some hazy looking anime that I’ve seen. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of the issue it is large panels devoid of details with poor expressions.
Verdict: Permission to Avoid. This story has a lot of potential, were it fleshed out into a miniseries or a full story arc in the regular title. As it stands, however, you get a few cool scenes of Helix training and a good sense of voice with Duke, but nothing else. The stories comes and goes quickly with little reverie and in the end the reader is left with a horrible climax and a character that probably won’t show up again until well after fans have forgotten that they picked this issue up.
13. BATMAN #689
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Mark Bagley, Rob Hunter, and Ian Rannin
Letters by Jared K. Fletcher
Cover by Andy Kubert
preRanking: 11
• Dick Grayson continues to attempt to find his footing in this issue, has the same conversations he had with Alfred in the previous issues of the arc, and finds himself falling into a trap set by Penguin who is being systematically foiled by Two-Face.
• Judd Winick is too focused on explaining to us that Dick Grayson is not the same Batman as Bruce Wayne, which keeps him from telling a good story about Dick Grayson not being the same Batman as Bruce Wayne. The scene was already setup on the previous issues, there is no sense in using ¾ of the issue to do it again.
• Winick has a decent enough grasp on the characters from his previous run on this title, but that can’t overcome the dull plot. Things would be different if Winick didn’t rely so much on exposition to push the action. Show me how Two-Face is foiling the Penguin’s run at being the boss of the Gotham crime scene, don’t show me everyone talking about it.
• Mark Bagley’s art is an improvement over the previous issues, but his unrealistic anatomies and dull facial expressions still aren’t doing much for me. I’ve got no problem with ultra-muscular heroes (hell, I’m a fan of Rob Liefeld), but not when the style of muscles-on-muscles Batman doesn’t match the style of every other character, we have a problem.
• Things aren’t made much better by Ian Rannin’s colors, which really don’t take lighting into consideration through most of the issue (making some characters look like Colorforms placed on top of a scene they don’t belong in). Plus the “red washes” of colors don’t add dramatic tension to the scene, they just look sloppy.
Verdict: Permission to Avoid. Winick is clearly capable of writing a better story than this and his strong character voices in this issue are evidence of what he is can do if he applies himself. Unfortunately, the dull plot and unnecessary exposition betray any attempt at doing so. Mark Bagley may be a fan-favorite, but having never seen his Ultimate Spider-Man work, I’m not really sure why. His art is good, but nothing to go crazy over and it has a lot of glaring issues here.
12. UNCANNY X-MEN #514
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Justin Ponsor
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover by Rian Hughes
preRanking: 10
• In a rehash of a lot of what has come before, the X-Men plot their revenge against Norman Osborne as the “alliance” between the Dark X-Men and Dark Avengers begins to crack.
• If I were just reading the Uncanny X-Men portions of this crossover, I’d probably enjoy this issue that much more. As it stands, however, the issue feels like a major rehash of what has come before, which really hampered my enjoyment of the issue.
• The character interaction was good, especially when Cyclops takes the reins to lead the X-Men and Emma has trouble controlling her team.
• I’m really on the fence about the art. On one hand, I really enjoy the clean lines and bold designs of the Dodsons, but on the flipside, the art is extremely stiff and a lot of the faces look the same.
• Considering how action packed the issue is, the stiffness is not doing them any favors. Still, I will take their “pin-up” style stiffness over Greg Land’s “disgusting traced” style of stiffness any day.
Verdict: Read with Caution. This issue definitely has its strengths, but as part of the larger crossover it falls flat as it offers very little new content, with the exception of the basics of Cyclop’s ill-defined plan. You can certainly do worse than pick up this issue, but I’m really only prepared to recommend it to folks who skipped the last installment and even then I’ll only recommend it with some warnings.
11. Dead @17: Afterbirth #3
Written by Josh Howard
Art by Josh Howard
Letters Uncredited
Cover by Josh Howard
preRanking: 06
• This week’s Dead @17 picks up where the last issue left off, with Nara discovering more of the Marked plans and things looking a little less-than-rosy for Heaven’s Militia.
• The biggest problem with this issue is the same problem that plagued the two issues previous, Josh Howard is clearly writing this series for longtime fans and those who aren’t “in the know” are going to find it incredible inaccessible. Long time fans also might have a hard time grasping the issue’s large scope, but the background will certainly help.
• Writing-wise, this Howard’s weakest issue thus far. The story pushes forward quite a bit here, but mostly in background action only. The vast majority of the dialogue is reactionary and the character voices tend to blend together. No clear personalities emerge.
• The art, however, is exactly what you’d expect from Howard. He remains one of the hardest artists to review. Either you really like his pin-up approach to character design or you hate it. If you did it, he gives you more to love here with gorgeous characters, clean line work, and solid pacing.
• Despite his minimalist approach to design, his expressions are solid throughout the issue. You can get the gist of the action just by looking at the art, which is a compliment to Howard’s ability.
Verdict: Read with Caution. This issue just barely misses a “Mildly Recommended” rating due to its inaccessibility. Despite his simple, straight-forward storytelling (both in writing and art), Howard is working on a massive scale and, in this issue’s case, that gets to be a bit too daunting. Howard really needs to dial-it back a bit, drop more clues on what has happened previous, and focus more on current action rather than current reaction. As a whole, I still strongly recommend this franchise, but I think that this particular issue will fare much better when in a collected format.
10. GI JOE #8
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by S.L. Gallant and Andrew Crossley
Letters by Robbie Robbins and Chris Mowry
Covers by Robert Atkins and Howard Chaykin
preRanking: 04
• The action picks up in this issue as Baroness makes her escape from Castle Destro, we get our first glimpse into Cobra, and the true intentions of Scarlett’s court-martial are revealed.
• First of all, I really think that Chuck Dixon needs to be praised for his “slow-burn” approach to this series. We are 8 issues in and this is the first time we’ve seen any Cobra troopers. That is a really cool way to set things up and something a patient, longtime fan of the franchise like myself can enjoy.
• As per usual, Dixon’s strong character work is the highpoint of the issue. He does a great job here of balancing the classic interpretations of the characters, particularly the Baroness, with a more modern edge, best scene with Hawk.
• The plot, however, does hold the issue back a bit. I like the overall direction he is going, but I felt that the execution rambles too much for my liking. It seems like there is more set-up than payoff, which works in a macro-sense but in the realm of issue-specific events, it makes things a tad dull.
• What really kept the issue from rising to the upper echelon of the Rankings, however, was the art. S.L. Gallant’s work here is just messy. His line thickness, facial designs, and attention to detail are all over the place.
• It seems like he is considering style changes from panel-to-panel, but never full executes. It makes some panels look unfinished, while others look like he should have stopped working on them long before he did.
Verdict: Mildly Recommended. Chuck Dixon continues to prove that he was a great choice to helm IDW’s relaunch of the GI Joe franchise, though it is painfully clear with this issue that his strong writing can only take the book so far. The haphazard art of S.L. Gallant nearly ruined this issue for me. We may only two issues into his run as artist, but is it too early to call in for a replacement?
09. RED ROBIN #3
Written by Chris Yost
Art by Ramon Bachs and Guy Major
Letters by Sal Cipriano
Cover by Francis Manapul
preRanking: 03
• Tim “Red Robin” Drake continues his hunt for Bruce Wayne in this issue and as he aligns himself with Ra’s al Ghul, he ruminates on what lead him down this considerably darker path.
• I really cannot give enough credit to the way Chris Yost is developing Tim’s persona. This issue features a lot of self reflection and through that we see how this really is a natural progression of Tim’s character and the way he has grown up more like Bruce than Dick Grayson ever did.
• The problem is, this issue doesn’t offer much more than that. We see more of Tim searching and how his alliance with Ra’s al Ghul affects that search, but its never really clear what leads he is following or how he is getting them. If this is to be the focus of this series for some time, we have to see what exactly Tim is following.
• The scene between Tim and Wonder Girl did feel a bit forced, though I did enjoy the line about “Robin needing a Robin,” which is a nice statement about dark Tim is getting.
• With the recent announcement that Aspen’s Marcus To will be taking over the art duties on this series, I can say that this series should only get better and this issue is a prime example of why.
• Ramon Bachs is certainly a capable artist, but he cannot get down a palpable design for Tim. When he is out of costume here, he looks to be about 13; when he is in costume, he looks like he is in his 30s. It’s really hard to swallow, especially since this is Red Robin’s solo title.
• The scene with Wonder Girl and Tim was a bit of a mess—incredibly stiff, strange expressions, and very weird swollen cheeks for Cassie (she looked like my hamster does when he hordes food).
Verdict: Mildly Recommended. This is, admittedly, a step down for this title, but much of that lies in the weakness of Ramon Bachs’s art and the fact that more clarification is needed on the plot. The characterization is still spot on, though, so I’m not worried about the decline in quality becoming a trend.
08. ULTIMATE COMICS: AVENGERS #1
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Carlos Pacheco, Danny Miki, and Justin Ponsor
Letters by Cory Petit
Cover by Carlos Pacheco, Danny Miki, and Laura Martin
preRanking: 13
• I should preface this by saying that my only exposure to the Ultimate Comics Universe is one arc of Ultimate X-Men (the one with Cable), the first half of Ultimates 1 in trade, and a few hours spent playing Ultimate Spider-Man on X-Box.
• As a new reader, kudos to Mark Millar for keeping this fairly new reader friendly. He doesn’t assume nor require much previous knowledge and sets up the scene for this brisk issue rather well.
• There isn’t a lot of story here, though, which means that this series might not be that accessible. We see Captain America and Hawkeye battling AIM with a little bit of SHEILD, Iron Man, and Nick Fury thrown in there.
• This is a pretty light read, but it is also an excellent thrill-ride. Millar uses dialogue sparingly, but controls the pace with it well. This is some of the better dramatic tension building I’ve seen from him.
• Hawkeye’s design is amongst the worst superhero outfits I have ever seen. He looks like he should be paintballing with Liberace. Someone seriously fix this.
• I’m really torn on how I feel about Carlos Pacheco’s art. It is a step up from his recent DC work, but it is also really stiff. Given that this is widescreen high-action book, that is not a good thing.
• On the flipside, he is consistent and has strong designs. If the art had a better sense of motion, this would be superb.
• There are also a few places where the art looks traced—particularly with Nick Fury. Since this is a serious allegation that I only reserve for artists who are clearly tracing (a la Greg Land), I’m not going to point fingers, especially when the vast majority of the book clearly isn’t. Those few spots were troubling.
Verdict: Mildly Recommended. This is a fun issue with lots of action that is fairly accessible to new readers. Unfortunately, for the $3.99 cover price, I’m expecting a bit more meat and this issue isn’t offering any. If you can swallow the high price for very little story and no extras, it’s certainly worth checking out.
07. GREEN LANTERN CORPS #39
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Pat Gleason, Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen, and Randy Mayor
Letters by Steve Wands
Cover by Pat Gleason, Christian Alamy, and Randy Mayor
preRanking: 08
• This week’s Green Lantern Corps is a very dense issue that follows the reactions of the Lanterns as they are faced with the horrors of Blackest Night, specifically the rise of the Dead Lanterns.
• There is a lot going on in this issue. There are really three major plots (Green Lanterns vs. Black Lanterns, Arisia dealing with the fallout from the battle of Daxam, and Mongul taking over Korugar), but each scene reveals a number of minor subplots through various bits of dialogue and flashbacks.
• The problem is, Peter Tomasi is simply trying to do too much here. I understand that certain points have to be addressed in order to make the plot work, but there isn’t enough room in this issue to do everything that he wants. Certain things get shortchanged, while others feel shoehorned in.
• That being said, there were certain moments that were tremendously well handled. I really enjoyed Arisia’s reaction to being cast out of Daxam and the hilariousness of Guy Gardner taking Ice on a date to Wrigley Field (though I despise the Cubs with a passion).
• Art-wise, this is amongst the least aesthetically pleasing issues of this series. It looks rushed, with uneven details, some really awkward anatomies (like Soranik Natu’s head not really fitting her body), strange perspectives, etc.
• Of course, the story is packed with so much that the art team was clearly stretched. There are multiple pages with high panel counts, including one with 10 panels, which is likely to put a strain on the work. Like the rest of the issue, the art could have used a slower pace to be more effective.
• Is it just me or is the panel of Kyle and Guy meant to be an homage to something Silver Age-y? I can’t put my finger on what, but Kyle looks to be taking the place of Barry Allen. Kudos to anyone who can point me to what I think I might be seeing here.
Verdict: Mildly Recommended. This one is a mixed bag. You get some strong character moments and a few great scenes from the writing and an uneven showing from the art. There is a lot to like, but just as much that will make you cringe. It’s fun to see the rise of the formerly Green, now Black Lanterns, but some of that fun is spoiled by the execution.
06. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #602
Written by Fred Van Lente
Art by Barry Kitson, Rick Ketcham, and Jeromy Cox
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover by Adi Granov
preRanking: 05
• After a solid start to the “Red-Headed Stranger” storyline under Mark Waid, Fred Van Lente picks up the reins in an issue that finds Mary Jane inserting herself more into the life of Peter Parker as our hero attempts to secure a new job working for Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and finds himself in a whole heap of trouble with the returning Chameleon.
• Van Lente does a solid job with the characterization in this issue, with a great sense of voice for Peter and the rest of the supporting cast, especially JJJ. The only character I wasn’t really feeling was MJ, but this is the first we’ve really seen her personality since One More Day, so maybe she was meant to be so over-the-top. For some reason I can’t exactly pinpoint, though, it didn’t sit well with me.
• The Chameleon is considerably darker than before in this issue and really offsets the otherwise happy-go-lucky nature of the issue. It’s an interesting turn for the character, though I was a bit turned off by the fact that he so easily slipped into the role of Peter at the end of the issue. Too easy, maybe?
• I dig that the Chameleon shows up at the same time that the characters appear to be taking on new “lives.” Peter is starting a new job, Jonah is the mayor, Harry’s life is in total disarray, MJ returns for good, and even Glory sees a major shift. It’s a very cool parallel that shows just how smart of a writer Van Lente is.
• Barry Kitson’s art is a major step-up from his first work on this title a few months back. He has really tightened up his expressions and does a solid job with the pacing. The overall look is good, with a nice old-school flair though. It’s not the most impressive issue of the week, but it is a solid effort.
• My biggest problem with the art is a bit nit-picky, but is something that really stood out to me. Kitson is really uneven with his layouts. Some pages feature the panels running right into one another in a tight grid, others have thick white separations, and others still have colored separations. Beyond this, there are a few panels where characters break the borders and end up with limbs in other panels. While Kitson’s style is consistent, his layout certainly isn’t and it was majorly distracting.
Verdict: Strongly Recommended. This is a solid effort from both the writer and the art team. Mary Jane’s return has more substance here than previous and the development of the Chameleon was a good fit for the shifting identities of the characters. A fun issue that will hopefully keep the interest of readers that came back for issue #600.
05. BOOSTER GOLD #23
Lead Written by Dan Jurgens
Lead Art by Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, and Hi-Fi
Co-Feature Written by Matt Sturges
Co-Feature Art by Mike Norton, Sandra Hope, and Guy Major
Letters by Sal Cipriano
Cover by Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, and Uncredited Photographer
preRanking: 08
• In terms of comics that have been steadily improving as of late, Booster Gold is one of the most notable titles of the last few months. This issue is definitely the strongest since I came back to the title.
• In the main story, Booster finds himself teaming with Raven in a future where Trigon has taken over the Earth thanks to Booster being unable to stop Deathstroke and Black Beetle from killing the Teen Titans.
• Despite the grimness of the story, Dan Jurgens does a great job of filling the issue with solid jokes and fun tangents—a hallmark for Booster Gold.
• While the characterization of Booster Gold is good (as is Jurgens’s take on Raven), the future “heroes” that Booster meets (Kyle Rayner and Zatanna) weren’t quite as personality filled. Quite frankly, Jurgens really could’ve used any character, established or not, in these roles. Kind of a bummer since the fun of alternate timelines is often how the characters we know are changed by the world we don’t.
• I really like the way the panel borders switch from white in the past to black in the post apocalyptic future. It’s a minor effect, but one that is effective in helping shape the tone.
• The backup wraps up the first Blue Beetle storyline and features more solid character work from Matt Sturges. It’s a bit heavy-handed at times, but I do enjoy where he is going with Paco and Brenda.
• Jaime’s interaction with the Scarab is always a hoot. While I though the gag was a bit funnier when the Scarab wasn’t translated, I am glad to see Sturges continuing to treat Beetle’s suit as a character.
• The art in the backup is by Mike Norton, so you already know that it is excellent. Sandra Hope’s inks are a bit tighter than what you’ll find in Mike Norton’s other works this week (more on that later), giving us a “pure” look at Norton’s work.
Verdict: Strongly Recommended. The co-feature is still the highlight of the series for me, but the lead story made me feel much better about picking up the entire book than it has in the past. This is the first time it seemed that Dan Jurgens was comfortable back in the writing-seat. I’m still a bit confused about Blair Butler’s cameo, though. Unless you are a big fan of G4, her appearance on the cover is a bit baffling and her one-panel cameo in the issue does little to help that. It makes you wonder why DC even bothered.
04. BLACKEST NIGHT #2
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, Julio Ferreira, and Alex Sinclair
Letters by Nick J. Napolitano
Cover by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, and Alex Sinclair
preRanking: 01
• The second issue of Blackest Night is not quite as mind-blowing as #1, but just as shocking. You can expect lots of gore and whole lot of disturbing imagery in this issue; but honestly, you’d be disappointed if you didn’t see all that.
• There is a lot going on in this issue, but Black Lantern Aquaman, Dolphin, and Aquagirl steal the show in their relentless attack on Tempest and Mera. This is the second best usage of Aquaman in years (oddly enough, the best is from this week’s Wednesday Comics with Aquaman-as-Ari-Gold in the Supergirl story).
• I found myself scratching my head at the scenes featuring the Spectre and Deadman. Seriously, how can already dead characters that are somewhat undead become Black Lanterns back from the dead? Isn’t there a rulebook? This makes my head hurt.
• If Green Lantern is already covering the fight between Flash/Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, it isn’t totally necessary here, is it? This scene felt like a repeat, even with the super cool ending featuring the Black Lantern Justice League—including Black Lantern Firestorm, which is awesome for me (I’m a big fan of Firestorm, both as Ronnie and as Jason).
• Ivan Reis and Company are sick, sick people. They pile on the gore and ick and bile in this issue to produce work that is equally disturbing and impressive.
• The shock value of the artwork is just a front, however, as the quality of the art can be found in the superb character designs. Non-Black Lanterns come across as iconic, while the Black Lanterns themselves are superbly rendered to be both familiar and new.
Verdict: Strongly Recommended. This issue is more flash than substance, especially with the writing. I am did definitely enjoy the issue, but don’t expect the character depth or the gripping plot of the first issue. Instead, you’ll get a series of strong moments with little connect beyond the inclusion of undead superheroes. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the crap out of this issue, especially the artwork, but I didn’t feel tremendous satisfied with the story in the end.
03. ULTIMATE COMICS: SPIDER-MAN #1
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by David Lafuente and Justin Ponsor
Letters by Cory Petit
Cover by David Lafuente and Justin Ponsor
preRanking:14
• If you skipped over my review of Ultimate Comics: Avengers #1 (which you shouldn’t have done), you should probably scroll up to get my disclaimer about having very little experience with the Ultimate Universe comics. It also applies here.
• Despite being deeply rooted in the events of previous Ultimate Spider-Man stories and the recent Ultimatum (or so I assume), Brian Michael Bendis does a great job of introducing the world of Ultimate Spider-Man here. You get the status quo, the major threats, and the overall personalities of the characters with no filler or unnecessary exposition.
• I really enjoyed the contrast between Peter’s failures at having a job flipping burgers and his successes as Spider-Man. This is a fun contrast to the regular Marvel Universe Spider-Man, which sets readers up right away for the fact that things are certainly going to be different here.
• I loved the personalities in this issue. Despite some differences, Peter Parker here is still the Peter Parker I grew up with. Gwen Stacy’s character is also true to the core. It makes this issue feel “home-y” despite the clear differences in Universes. It takes a steady hand to do this and I give major props to Bendis for pulling it off.
• David Lafuente and Justin Ponsor were a great choice for the art team here. Their loose style has a youthful energy that matches the tone of the writing and draws enough from Japanese influences to starkly contrast it with the classic Ditko-inspired interpretations of the characters that are a hallmark of the original Spider-Man books.
• Seriously, with few exceptions, the art on regular Marvel Spider-Man books have always held tight to classic superhero sensibilities that were first developed by the likes of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. Very few books have retained this formula so consistently, despite the various tweaks on it. Lafuente and Ponsor abandon that and it works incredibly well—much the same way that the likes of Takeshi Miyazawa and Craig Rousseau have done with the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane books.
• The only problem I have is that when in costume, Lafuente makes Spider-Man look a bit too puny and his head is ridiculously round. There is no reason for that and I hope that the mockery of the internet will help Lafuente find the error of his ways.
Verdict: Don’t Miss This Issue. Like its counterpart, Ultimate Comics: Avengers, this is a great introduction to the Ultimate Universe; unlike that issue, however, I really feel that I got my $3.99 worth thanks to the densely packed storytelling and the simply superb showing on all fronts. I don’t agree with Marvel’s choice to price this at $3.99, but if this series continues to be as strong as this issue, I could be swayed to find an extra $4 each month to pick it up.
02. MICE TEMPLAR: DESTINY #2
Written by Bryan J.L. Glass
Art by Victor Santos and Veronica Gandini
Letters by James H. Glass
Covers by Miachel Avon Oeming and Victor Santos with Veronica Gandini
preRanking: 02
• This first issue of Mice Templar: Destiny had a narrowed scope, focusing mainly on a few events with some strong flashbacks. In the follow-up this week, the story once again returns to its epic scale as the true alliances of King Icarus are revealed and the unlikely duo of Karic and Cassius find themselves in the clutches of the Mole Goblins.
• It still amazes me how much story Bryan J.L. Glass can fit into just one issue. There is simply a ton of story being put together here with every bit of dialogue revealing something new or adding depth to something already established. There is not an smidgen of wasted space in this story.
• Glass’s character work is strong on all fronts, with the lesser moles having just as much personality as the most important mice. The biggest problem with Glass’s character work is that you’ll wish you had more time with each character or group, even after the plot takes the focus of them. You’ll want to see more of the Mole Goblins and the Torture Ferret.
• Victor Santos continues to do a great job with this issue as he channels original miniseries artist Michael Avon Oeming, while throwing in touches of Mike Mignola. He has great consistency, awesome designs, and strong expressions.
• The only major issue with the art is that some of the less-important mice’s appearances tend to run together if you are doing a quick read—a problem that the original series had also faced.
• The issue also includes some solid extra material that explains some of the myth and mysticism in the world of Mice Templar that adds more “bang for your buck.” The issue is well worth the cove price of $3.99 though followers of Bryan Glass on Twitter will be kicking themselves over the fact that the issue should be priced at $2.99 (have your retailer check their invoice if they don’t believe you!).
Verdict: Don’t Miss This Issue. Once again the creative team behind Mice Templar have a can’t miss issue on their hands. Fans of the original series will be pleased to see that the epic scope of the original miniseries returns with this incredibly dense issue. There is a lot to love about all aspects of this issue with very few items warranting a complaint. You can never go wrong with this franchise and this issue is a prime example of why.
01. GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #23
Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Lead Story Art by Mike Norton, Bill Sienkiewicz, and David Baron
Co-Feature Art by Mike Norton, Joe Rubinstein, and Allen Passalaqua
Letters by Pat Brosseau
Cover by Ladronn
preRanking: 07
• This issue is, by far, the best execution of the co-feature concept since DC launched the initiative earlier this summer. Andrew Kreisberg starts each story off in very different places, but brings them together as each story hits its cliffhanger. In the lead story, Green Arrow begins to hunt down the new Big Game, who is in turn hunting down Cupid for killing his father; in the backup, Black Canary begins by ruminating on the events of the last few issues before being thrown into the role of having to protect Cupid as Green Arrow takes on Big Game.
• The lead story features some amazing parallel storytelling, as Kreisberg alternates between Green Arrow’s story and Big Game’s story before the two converge—following a similar overall arc as the issue as a whole. This is a very creative move that adds an immense amount of depth to the issue and shows just how smart of a writer Kreisberg is.
• In this story, Mike Norton’s layouts are finished by Bill Sienkiewicz, leading to a style that is quite unlike what you’d expect from Norton while still retaining his quality storytelling approach. The scratchiness of the finishes is chaotic and intense—a perfect fit for the tone of the story.
• The coloring by David Baron is equally as impressive. He alternates tones depending on the scene, with reds and blues swapping between Green Arrow and Big Games story, moving to gold for flashbacks, and finally a natural lighting for the converged storytelling. Honestly, how often does the coloring really affect the storytelling? This is just superb.
• The second story had less meat than the first, but is still shows great development for Black Canary. I love the fact that Kreisberg is attempting to flesh out the character rather than being satisfied with her being presented as just an ass-kicking bimbo in fishnets. This thematically a follow-up to the work Gail Simone did with the character in Birds of Prey and belongs in the annuls of Canary’s best writers.
• The art in this story is considerably less extreme than in the first, with Josef Rubinstein’s approach to finishing Norton’s layouts being very tight and clean. He is clearly letting Norton take the lead on the art, but he accents him well.
Verdict: Don’t Miss This Issue. Again, I cannot emphasize enough how well handled the co-feature concept is here. This approach won’t work with every book, but it is something that I think other writers should take notice of. This quality layered storytelling and a fine example of how Kreisberg could turn this series into a can’t miss title. Of course, it helps that he has the art of Mike Norton to back him up. Despite only handling “layouts” (if you’ve seen Norton’s layouts, you’ll understand the need for quotation marks), Norton shows here why he is amongst the best artists of the year. The quality craftsmanship and inventive storytelling from cover to cover make this an easy choice for Book of the Week.
14. GI JOE SPECIAL: HELIXWritten by Brian Reed
Art by Joe Suitor
Letters by Robbie Robbins
Covers by David Williams and Joe Suitor
preRanking: 12
• Introduction of a black ops character Helix, who has the power to be the most important and powerful of all Joes thanks to her mathematical ability to analyze fights and her extreme capability for hand-to-hand combat. Duke is charged with tracking her down in Tokyo and taking down a man with ties to Cobra who hopes to blow up the Japanese Mercantile Exchange.
• Great premise and strong use of Duke by Brian Reed. Reed shows that he has the chops for writing espionage-tinged action and a penchant for GI Joe.
• Major lack of development on Helix. We get a cool introduction to her at the beginning, but her role in the issue is next-to-nothing and the essentially writes her out of the franchise. Total disappointment in the second half of the issue.
• The brisk plot relies too much on exposition, but then breaks down towards the end rather anticlimactically. The “villain” is taken down in one page and, as mentioned above, the new character is essentially written out. Feels like a rip-off.
• The art has its moments of greatness, particularly in Helix’s training sessions. It reminds me a lot of the Luna Brothers or some hazy looking anime that I’ve seen. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of the issue it is large panels devoid of details with poor expressions.
Verdict: Permission to Avoid. This story has a lot of potential, were it fleshed out into a miniseries or a full story arc in the regular title. As it stands, however, you get a few cool scenes of Helix training and a good sense of voice with Duke, but nothing else. The stories comes and goes quickly with little reverie and in the end the reader is left with a horrible climax and a character that probably won’t show up again until well after fans have forgotten that they picked this issue up.
13. BATMAN #689Written by Judd Winick
Art by Mark Bagley, Rob Hunter, and Ian Rannin
Letters by Jared K. Fletcher
Cover by Andy Kubert
preRanking: 11
• Dick Grayson continues to attempt to find his footing in this issue, has the same conversations he had with Alfred in the previous issues of the arc, and finds himself falling into a trap set by Penguin who is being systematically foiled by Two-Face.
• Judd Winick is too focused on explaining to us that Dick Grayson is not the same Batman as Bruce Wayne, which keeps him from telling a good story about Dick Grayson not being the same Batman as Bruce Wayne. The scene was already setup on the previous issues, there is no sense in using ¾ of the issue to do it again.
• Winick has a decent enough grasp on the characters from his previous run on this title, but that can’t overcome the dull plot. Things would be different if Winick didn’t rely so much on exposition to push the action. Show me how Two-Face is foiling the Penguin’s run at being the boss of the Gotham crime scene, don’t show me everyone talking about it.
• Mark Bagley’s art is an improvement over the previous issues, but his unrealistic anatomies and dull facial expressions still aren’t doing much for me. I’ve got no problem with ultra-muscular heroes (hell, I’m a fan of Rob Liefeld), but not when the style of muscles-on-muscles Batman doesn’t match the style of every other character, we have a problem.
• Things aren’t made much better by Ian Rannin’s colors, which really don’t take lighting into consideration through most of the issue (making some characters look like Colorforms placed on top of a scene they don’t belong in). Plus the “red washes” of colors don’t add dramatic tension to the scene, they just look sloppy.
Verdict: Permission to Avoid. Winick is clearly capable of writing a better story than this and his strong character voices in this issue are evidence of what he is can do if he applies himself. Unfortunately, the dull plot and unnecessary exposition betray any attempt at doing so. Mark Bagley may be a fan-favorite, but having never seen his Ultimate Spider-Man work, I’m not really sure why. His art is good, but nothing to go crazy over and it has a lot of glaring issues here.
12. UNCANNY X-MEN #514Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Justin Ponsor
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover by Rian Hughes
preRanking: 10
• In a rehash of a lot of what has come before, the X-Men plot their revenge against Norman Osborne as the “alliance” between the Dark X-Men and Dark Avengers begins to crack.
• If I were just reading the Uncanny X-Men portions of this crossover, I’d probably enjoy this issue that much more. As it stands, however, the issue feels like a major rehash of what has come before, which really hampered my enjoyment of the issue.
• The character interaction was good, especially when Cyclops takes the reins to lead the X-Men and Emma has trouble controlling her team.
• I’m really on the fence about the art. On one hand, I really enjoy the clean lines and bold designs of the Dodsons, but on the flipside, the art is extremely stiff and a lot of the faces look the same.
• Considering how action packed the issue is, the stiffness is not doing them any favors. Still, I will take their “pin-up” style stiffness over Greg Land’s “disgusting traced” style of stiffness any day.
Verdict: Read with Caution. This issue definitely has its strengths, but as part of the larger crossover it falls flat as it offers very little new content, with the exception of the basics of Cyclop’s ill-defined plan. You can certainly do worse than pick up this issue, but I’m really only prepared to recommend it to folks who skipped the last installment and even then I’ll only recommend it with some warnings.
11. Dead @17: Afterbirth #3Written by Josh Howard
Art by Josh Howard
Letters Uncredited
Cover by Josh Howard
preRanking: 06
• This week’s Dead @17 picks up where the last issue left off, with Nara discovering more of the Marked plans and things looking a little less-than-rosy for Heaven’s Militia.
• The biggest problem with this issue is the same problem that plagued the two issues previous, Josh Howard is clearly writing this series for longtime fans and those who aren’t “in the know” are going to find it incredible inaccessible. Long time fans also might have a hard time grasping the issue’s large scope, but the background will certainly help.
• Writing-wise, this Howard’s weakest issue thus far. The story pushes forward quite a bit here, but mostly in background action only. The vast majority of the dialogue is reactionary and the character voices tend to blend together. No clear personalities emerge.
• The art, however, is exactly what you’d expect from Howard. He remains one of the hardest artists to review. Either you really like his pin-up approach to character design or you hate it. If you did it, he gives you more to love here with gorgeous characters, clean line work, and solid pacing.
• Despite his minimalist approach to design, his expressions are solid throughout the issue. You can get the gist of the action just by looking at the art, which is a compliment to Howard’s ability.
Verdict: Read with Caution. This issue just barely misses a “Mildly Recommended” rating due to its inaccessibility. Despite his simple, straight-forward storytelling (both in writing and art), Howard is working on a massive scale and, in this issue’s case, that gets to be a bit too daunting. Howard really needs to dial-it back a bit, drop more clues on what has happened previous, and focus more on current action rather than current reaction. As a whole, I still strongly recommend this franchise, but I think that this particular issue will fare much better when in a collected format.
10. GI JOE #8Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by S.L. Gallant and Andrew Crossley
Letters by Robbie Robbins and Chris Mowry
Covers by Robert Atkins and Howard Chaykin
preRanking: 04
• The action picks up in this issue as Baroness makes her escape from Castle Destro, we get our first glimpse into Cobra, and the true intentions of Scarlett’s court-martial are revealed.
• First of all, I really think that Chuck Dixon needs to be praised for his “slow-burn” approach to this series. We are 8 issues in and this is the first time we’ve seen any Cobra troopers. That is a really cool way to set things up and something a patient, longtime fan of the franchise like myself can enjoy.
• As per usual, Dixon’s strong character work is the highpoint of the issue. He does a great job here of balancing the classic interpretations of the characters, particularly the Baroness, with a more modern edge, best scene with Hawk.
• The plot, however, does hold the issue back a bit. I like the overall direction he is going, but I felt that the execution rambles too much for my liking. It seems like there is more set-up than payoff, which works in a macro-sense but in the realm of issue-specific events, it makes things a tad dull.
• What really kept the issue from rising to the upper echelon of the Rankings, however, was the art. S.L. Gallant’s work here is just messy. His line thickness, facial designs, and attention to detail are all over the place.
• It seems like he is considering style changes from panel-to-panel, but never full executes. It makes some panels look unfinished, while others look like he should have stopped working on them long before he did.
Verdict: Mildly Recommended. Chuck Dixon continues to prove that he was a great choice to helm IDW’s relaunch of the GI Joe franchise, though it is painfully clear with this issue that his strong writing can only take the book so far. The haphazard art of S.L. Gallant nearly ruined this issue for me. We may only two issues into his run as artist, but is it too early to call in for a replacement?
09. RED ROBIN #3Written by Chris Yost
Art by Ramon Bachs and Guy Major
Letters by Sal Cipriano
Cover by Francis Manapul
preRanking: 03
• Tim “Red Robin” Drake continues his hunt for Bruce Wayne in this issue and as he aligns himself with Ra’s al Ghul, he ruminates on what lead him down this considerably darker path.
• I really cannot give enough credit to the way Chris Yost is developing Tim’s persona. This issue features a lot of self reflection and through that we see how this really is a natural progression of Tim’s character and the way he has grown up more like Bruce than Dick Grayson ever did.
• The problem is, this issue doesn’t offer much more than that. We see more of Tim searching and how his alliance with Ra’s al Ghul affects that search, but its never really clear what leads he is following or how he is getting them. If this is to be the focus of this series for some time, we have to see what exactly Tim is following.
• The scene between Tim and Wonder Girl did feel a bit forced, though I did enjoy the line about “Robin needing a Robin,” which is a nice statement about dark Tim is getting.
• With the recent announcement that Aspen’s Marcus To will be taking over the art duties on this series, I can say that this series should only get better and this issue is a prime example of why.
• Ramon Bachs is certainly a capable artist, but he cannot get down a palpable design for Tim. When he is out of costume here, he looks to be about 13; when he is in costume, he looks like he is in his 30s. It’s really hard to swallow, especially since this is Red Robin’s solo title.
• The scene with Wonder Girl and Tim was a bit of a mess—incredibly stiff, strange expressions, and very weird swollen cheeks for Cassie (she looked like my hamster does when he hordes food).
Verdict: Mildly Recommended. This is, admittedly, a step down for this title, but much of that lies in the weakness of Ramon Bachs’s art and the fact that more clarification is needed on the plot. The characterization is still spot on, though, so I’m not worried about the decline in quality becoming a trend.
08. ULTIMATE COMICS: AVENGERS #1Written by Mark Millar
Art by Carlos Pacheco, Danny Miki, and Justin Ponsor
Letters by Cory Petit
Cover by Carlos Pacheco, Danny Miki, and Laura Martin
preRanking: 13
• I should preface this by saying that my only exposure to the Ultimate Comics Universe is one arc of Ultimate X-Men (the one with Cable), the first half of Ultimates 1 in trade, and a few hours spent playing Ultimate Spider-Man on X-Box.
• As a new reader, kudos to Mark Millar for keeping this fairly new reader friendly. He doesn’t assume nor require much previous knowledge and sets up the scene for this brisk issue rather well.
• There isn’t a lot of story here, though, which means that this series might not be that accessible. We see Captain America and Hawkeye battling AIM with a little bit of SHEILD, Iron Man, and Nick Fury thrown in there.
• This is a pretty light read, but it is also an excellent thrill-ride. Millar uses dialogue sparingly, but controls the pace with it well. This is some of the better dramatic tension building I’ve seen from him.
• Hawkeye’s design is amongst the worst superhero outfits I have ever seen. He looks like he should be paintballing with Liberace. Someone seriously fix this.
• I’m really torn on how I feel about Carlos Pacheco’s art. It is a step up from his recent DC work, but it is also really stiff. Given that this is widescreen high-action book, that is not a good thing.
• On the flipside, he is consistent and has strong designs. If the art had a better sense of motion, this would be superb.
• There are also a few places where the art looks traced—particularly with Nick Fury. Since this is a serious allegation that I only reserve for artists who are clearly tracing (a la Greg Land), I’m not going to point fingers, especially when the vast majority of the book clearly isn’t. Those few spots were troubling.
Verdict: Mildly Recommended. This is a fun issue with lots of action that is fairly accessible to new readers. Unfortunately, for the $3.99 cover price, I’m expecting a bit more meat and this issue isn’t offering any. If you can swallow the high price for very little story and no extras, it’s certainly worth checking out.
07. GREEN LANTERN CORPS #39Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Pat Gleason, Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen, and Randy Mayor
Letters by Steve Wands
Cover by Pat Gleason, Christian Alamy, and Randy Mayor
preRanking: 08
• This week’s Green Lantern Corps is a very dense issue that follows the reactions of the Lanterns as they are faced with the horrors of Blackest Night, specifically the rise of the Dead Lanterns.
• There is a lot going on in this issue. There are really three major plots (Green Lanterns vs. Black Lanterns, Arisia dealing with the fallout from the battle of Daxam, and Mongul taking over Korugar), but each scene reveals a number of minor subplots through various bits of dialogue and flashbacks.
• The problem is, Peter Tomasi is simply trying to do too much here. I understand that certain points have to be addressed in order to make the plot work, but there isn’t enough room in this issue to do everything that he wants. Certain things get shortchanged, while others feel shoehorned in.
• That being said, there were certain moments that were tremendously well handled. I really enjoyed Arisia’s reaction to being cast out of Daxam and the hilariousness of Guy Gardner taking Ice on a date to Wrigley Field (though I despise the Cubs with a passion).
• Art-wise, this is amongst the least aesthetically pleasing issues of this series. It looks rushed, with uneven details, some really awkward anatomies (like Soranik Natu’s head not really fitting her body), strange perspectives, etc.
• Of course, the story is packed with so much that the art team was clearly stretched. There are multiple pages with high panel counts, including one with 10 panels, which is likely to put a strain on the work. Like the rest of the issue, the art could have used a slower pace to be more effective.
• Is it just me or is the panel of Kyle and Guy meant to be an homage to something Silver Age-y? I can’t put my finger on what, but Kyle looks to be taking the place of Barry Allen. Kudos to anyone who can point me to what I think I might be seeing here.
Verdict: Mildly Recommended. This one is a mixed bag. You get some strong character moments and a few great scenes from the writing and an uneven showing from the art. There is a lot to like, but just as much that will make you cringe. It’s fun to see the rise of the formerly Green, now Black Lanterns, but some of that fun is spoiled by the execution.
06. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #602Written by Fred Van Lente
Art by Barry Kitson, Rick Ketcham, and Jeromy Cox
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover by Adi Granov
preRanking: 05
• After a solid start to the “Red-Headed Stranger” storyline under Mark Waid, Fred Van Lente picks up the reins in an issue that finds Mary Jane inserting herself more into the life of Peter Parker as our hero attempts to secure a new job working for Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and finds himself in a whole heap of trouble with the returning Chameleon.
• Van Lente does a solid job with the characterization in this issue, with a great sense of voice for Peter and the rest of the supporting cast, especially JJJ. The only character I wasn’t really feeling was MJ, but this is the first we’ve really seen her personality since One More Day, so maybe she was meant to be so over-the-top. For some reason I can’t exactly pinpoint, though, it didn’t sit well with me.
• The Chameleon is considerably darker than before in this issue and really offsets the otherwise happy-go-lucky nature of the issue. It’s an interesting turn for the character, though I was a bit turned off by the fact that he so easily slipped into the role of Peter at the end of the issue. Too easy, maybe?
• I dig that the Chameleon shows up at the same time that the characters appear to be taking on new “lives.” Peter is starting a new job, Jonah is the mayor, Harry’s life is in total disarray, MJ returns for good, and even Glory sees a major shift. It’s a very cool parallel that shows just how smart of a writer Van Lente is.
• Barry Kitson’s art is a major step-up from his first work on this title a few months back. He has really tightened up his expressions and does a solid job with the pacing. The overall look is good, with a nice old-school flair though. It’s not the most impressive issue of the week, but it is a solid effort.
• My biggest problem with the art is a bit nit-picky, but is something that really stood out to me. Kitson is really uneven with his layouts. Some pages feature the panels running right into one another in a tight grid, others have thick white separations, and others still have colored separations. Beyond this, there are a few panels where characters break the borders and end up with limbs in other panels. While Kitson’s style is consistent, his layout certainly isn’t and it was majorly distracting.
Verdict: Strongly Recommended. This is a solid effort from both the writer and the art team. Mary Jane’s return has more substance here than previous and the development of the Chameleon was a good fit for the shifting identities of the characters. A fun issue that will hopefully keep the interest of readers that came back for issue #600.
05. BOOSTER GOLD #23Lead Written by Dan Jurgens
Lead Art by Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, and Hi-Fi
Co-Feature Written by Matt Sturges
Co-Feature Art by Mike Norton, Sandra Hope, and Guy Major
Letters by Sal Cipriano
Cover by Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, and Uncredited Photographer
preRanking: 08
• In terms of comics that have been steadily improving as of late, Booster Gold is one of the most notable titles of the last few months. This issue is definitely the strongest since I came back to the title.
• In the main story, Booster finds himself teaming with Raven in a future where Trigon has taken over the Earth thanks to Booster being unable to stop Deathstroke and Black Beetle from killing the Teen Titans.
• Despite the grimness of the story, Dan Jurgens does a great job of filling the issue with solid jokes and fun tangents—a hallmark for Booster Gold.
• While the characterization of Booster Gold is good (as is Jurgens’s take on Raven), the future “heroes” that Booster meets (Kyle Rayner and Zatanna) weren’t quite as personality filled. Quite frankly, Jurgens really could’ve used any character, established or not, in these roles. Kind of a bummer since the fun of alternate timelines is often how the characters we know are changed by the world we don’t.
• I really like the way the panel borders switch from white in the past to black in the post apocalyptic future. It’s a minor effect, but one that is effective in helping shape the tone.
• The backup wraps up the first Blue Beetle storyline and features more solid character work from Matt Sturges. It’s a bit heavy-handed at times, but I do enjoy where he is going with Paco and Brenda.
• Jaime’s interaction with the Scarab is always a hoot. While I though the gag was a bit funnier when the Scarab wasn’t translated, I am glad to see Sturges continuing to treat Beetle’s suit as a character.
• The art in the backup is by Mike Norton, so you already know that it is excellent. Sandra Hope’s inks are a bit tighter than what you’ll find in Mike Norton’s other works this week (more on that later), giving us a “pure” look at Norton’s work.
Verdict: Strongly Recommended. The co-feature is still the highlight of the series for me, but the lead story made me feel much better about picking up the entire book than it has in the past. This is the first time it seemed that Dan Jurgens was comfortable back in the writing-seat. I’m still a bit confused about Blair Butler’s cameo, though. Unless you are a big fan of G4, her appearance on the cover is a bit baffling and her one-panel cameo in the issue does little to help that. It makes you wonder why DC even bothered.
04. BLACKEST NIGHT #2Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, Julio Ferreira, and Alex Sinclair
Letters by Nick J. Napolitano
Cover by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, and Alex Sinclair
preRanking: 01
• The second issue of Blackest Night is not quite as mind-blowing as #1, but just as shocking. You can expect lots of gore and whole lot of disturbing imagery in this issue; but honestly, you’d be disappointed if you didn’t see all that.
• There is a lot going on in this issue, but Black Lantern Aquaman, Dolphin, and Aquagirl steal the show in their relentless attack on Tempest and Mera. This is the second best usage of Aquaman in years (oddly enough, the best is from this week’s Wednesday Comics with Aquaman-as-Ari-Gold in the Supergirl story).
• I found myself scratching my head at the scenes featuring the Spectre and Deadman. Seriously, how can already dead characters that are somewhat undead become Black Lanterns back from the dead? Isn’t there a rulebook? This makes my head hurt.
• If Green Lantern is already covering the fight between Flash/Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, it isn’t totally necessary here, is it? This scene felt like a repeat, even with the super cool ending featuring the Black Lantern Justice League—including Black Lantern Firestorm, which is awesome for me (I’m a big fan of Firestorm, both as Ronnie and as Jason).
• Ivan Reis and Company are sick, sick people. They pile on the gore and ick and bile in this issue to produce work that is equally disturbing and impressive.
• The shock value of the artwork is just a front, however, as the quality of the art can be found in the superb character designs. Non-Black Lanterns come across as iconic, while the Black Lanterns themselves are superbly rendered to be both familiar and new.
Verdict: Strongly Recommended. This issue is more flash than substance, especially with the writing. I am did definitely enjoy the issue, but don’t expect the character depth or the gripping plot of the first issue. Instead, you’ll get a series of strong moments with little connect beyond the inclusion of undead superheroes. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the crap out of this issue, especially the artwork, but I didn’t feel tremendous satisfied with the story in the end.
03. ULTIMATE COMICS: SPIDER-MAN #1Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by David Lafuente and Justin Ponsor
Letters by Cory Petit
Cover by David Lafuente and Justin Ponsor
preRanking:14
• If you skipped over my review of Ultimate Comics: Avengers #1 (which you shouldn’t have done), you should probably scroll up to get my disclaimer about having very little experience with the Ultimate Universe comics. It also applies here.
• Despite being deeply rooted in the events of previous Ultimate Spider-Man stories and the recent Ultimatum (or so I assume), Brian Michael Bendis does a great job of introducing the world of Ultimate Spider-Man here. You get the status quo, the major threats, and the overall personalities of the characters with no filler or unnecessary exposition.
• I really enjoyed the contrast between Peter’s failures at having a job flipping burgers and his successes as Spider-Man. This is a fun contrast to the regular Marvel Universe Spider-Man, which sets readers up right away for the fact that things are certainly going to be different here.
• I loved the personalities in this issue. Despite some differences, Peter Parker here is still the Peter Parker I grew up with. Gwen Stacy’s character is also true to the core. It makes this issue feel “home-y” despite the clear differences in Universes. It takes a steady hand to do this and I give major props to Bendis for pulling it off.
• David Lafuente and Justin Ponsor were a great choice for the art team here. Their loose style has a youthful energy that matches the tone of the writing and draws enough from Japanese influences to starkly contrast it with the classic Ditko-inspired interpretations of the characters that are a hallmark of the original Spider-Man books.
• Seriously, with few exceptions, the art on regular Marvel Spider-Man books have always held tight to classic superhero sensibilities that were first developed by the likes of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. Very few books have retained this formula so consistently, despite the various tweaks on it. Lafuente and Ponsor abandon that and it works incredibly well—much the same way that the likes of Takeshi Miyazawa and Craig Rousseau have done with the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane books.
• The only problem I have is that when in costume, Lafuente makes Spider-Man look a bit too puny and his head is ridiculously round. There is no reason for that and I hope that the mockery of the internet will help Lafuente find the error of his ways.
Verdict: Don’t Miss This Issue. Like its counterpart, Ultimate Comics: Avengers, this is a great introduction to the Ultimate Universe; unlike that issue, however, I really feel that I got my $3.99 worth thanks to the densely packed storytelling and the simply superb showing on all fronts. I don’t agree with Marvel’s choice to price this at $3.99, but if this series continues to be as strong as this issue, I could be swayed to find an extra $4 each month to pick it up.
02. MICE TEMPLAR: DESTINY #2Written by Bryan J.L. Glass
Art by Victor Santos and Veronica Gandini
Letters by James H. Glass
Covers by Miachel Avon Oeming and Victor Santos with Veronica Gandini
preRanking: 02
• This first issue of Mice Templar: Destiny had a narrowed scope, focusing mainly on a few events with some strong flashbacks. In the follow-up this week, the story once again returns to its epic scale as the true alliances of King Icarus are revealed and the unlikely duo of Karic and Cassius find themselves in the clutches of the Mole Goblins.
• It still amazes me how much story Bryan J.L. Glass can fit into just one issue. There is simply a ton of story being put together here with every bit of dialogue revealing something new or adding depth to something already established. There is not an smidgen of wasted space in this story.
• Glass’s character work is strong on all fronts, with the lesser moles having just as much personality as the most important mice. The biggest problem with Glass’s character work is that you’ll wish you had more time with each character or group, even after the plot takes the focus of them. You’ll want to see more of the Mole Goblins and the Torture Ferret.
• Victor Santos continues to do a great job with this issue as he channels original miniseries artist Michael Avon Oeming, while throwing in touches of Mike Mignola. He has great consistency, awesome designs, and strong expressions.
• The only major issue with the art is that some of the less-important mice’s appearances tend to run together if you are doing a quick read—a problem that the original series had also faced.
• The issue also includes some solid extra material that explains some of the myth and mysticism in the world of Mice Templar that adds more “bang for your buck.” The issue is well worth the cove price of $3.99 though followers of Bryan Glass on Twitter will be kicking themselves over the fact that the issue should be priced at $2.99 (have your retailer check their invoice if they don’t believe you!).
Verdict: Don’t Miss This Issue. Once again the creative team behind Mice Templar have a can’t miss issue on their hands. Fans of the original series will be pleased to see that the epic scope of the original miniseries returns with this incredibly dense issue. There is a lot to love about all aspects of this issue with very few items warranting a complaint. You can never go wrong with this franchise and this issue is a prime example of why.
01. GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #23Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Lead Story Art by Mike Norton, Bill Sienkiewicz, and David Baron
Co-Feature Art by Mike Norton, Joe Rubinstein, and Allen Passalaqua
Letters by Pat Brosseau
Cover by Ladronn
preRanking: 07
• This issue is, by far, the best execution of the co-feature concept since DC launched the initiative earlier this summer. Andrew Kreisberg starts each story off in very different places, but brings them together as each story hits its cliffhanger. In the lead story, Green Arrow begins to hunt down the new Big Game, who is in turn hunting down Cupid for killing his father; in the backup, Black Canary begins by ruminating on the events of the last few issues before being thrown into the role of having to protect Cupid as Green Arrow takes on Big Game.
• The lead story features some amazing parallel storytelling, as Kreisberg alternates between Green Arrow’s story and Big Game’s story before the two converge—following a similar overall arc as the issue as a whole. This is a very creative move that adds an immense amount of depth to the issue and shows just how smart of a writer Kreisberg is.
• In this story, Mike Norton’s layouts are finished by Bill Sienkiewicz, leading to a style that is quite unlike what you’d expect from Norton while still retaining his quality storytelling approach. The scratchiness of the finishes is chaotic and intense—a perfect fit for the tone of the story.
• The coloring by David Baron is equally as impressive. He alternates tones depending on the scene, with reds and blues swapping between Green Arrow and Big Games story, moving to gold for flashbacks, and finally a natural lighting for the converged storytelling. Honestly, how often does the coloring really affect the storytelling? This is just superb.
• The second story had less meat than the first, but is still shows great development for Black Canary. I love the fact that Kreisberg is attempting to flesh out the character rather than being satisfied with her being presented as just an ass-kicking bimbo in fishnets. This thematically a follow-up to the work Gail Simone did with the character in Birds of Prey and belongs in the annuls of Canary’s best writers.
• The art in this story is considerably less extreme than in the first, with Josef Rubinstein’s approach to finishing Norton’s layouts being very tight and clean. He is clearly letting Norton take the lead on the art, but he accents him well.
Verdict: Don’t Miss This Issue. Again, I cannot emphasize enough how well handled the co-feature concept is here. This approach won’t work with every book, but it is something that I think other writers should take notice of. This quality layered storytelling and a fine example of how Kreisberg could turn this series into a can’t miss title. Of course, it helps that he has the art of Mike Norton to back him up. Despite only handling “layouts” (if you’ve seen Norton’s layouts, you’ll understand the need for quotation marks), Norton shows here why he is amongst the best artists of the year. The quality craftsmanship and inventive storytelling from cover to cover make this an easy choice for Book of the Week.
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14 comments:
Ryan I always love your rankigs. Just suprised you are not reading Rebels - imho DC's third strongest book after Batman and robin and Secret Six
7. The Amazing Spider-man #602: Van Lente/Kitson Marvel $2.99
I absolutely hated this issue. I don’t know what it was about it but it was just so meh. The art was nice a hell of a lot better than last issue but the story just didn’t do anything for me. I think I’m gonna finish up this arc then switch Spidey to trade. I just can’t justify spending $9.60 on this title every month. Plus I personally think Spider-man reads better in big chunks. So unless next issue blows my mind Spidey is off the sub.
Overall 4.3/10
6. Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #5: Mignola/Fegredo Dark Horse $2.99
After a long planned break Hellboy is finally back. While this is a really good issue and read with the other 4 issues its even better. It just isn’t a top book. The art is really good and the story progress nicely but after a 4 month wait I expected a much bigger bang. Once all 8 issue come out this issue will read much better but right now it’s just another issue of Hellboy.
Overall 7.0/10
5. Wednesday Comics #6: Various/Various DC $3.99
Dear DC please make an Aquaman series based on the version that appeared in this weeks Supergirl strip. The Aquaman guest appearance in Supergirl was worth the $3.99. I loved it. The rest of the stories had there moments as well except for Wonder Woman and Superman. The Superman one was just plain bad. At this point you really shouldn’t have a one word script. While much better than last week something is missing from this weeks. I can’t put my finger on it but something is off. Maybe its starting to loose its novelty.
Overall 7.8/10
4. The Unwritten #4: Carey/Gross Vertigo $2.99
Damn! I will miss this book on my sub but the first arc is over and I’m switching to trade. That said what a great issue. I mean the ending holy______! Gross sadly wasn’t given much to do on art so it was okay. Past issues of course he’s knocked it of the park. I really hate to drop the book now but it will make the trade that much better when I get it.
8.0/10
3. The Walking Dead #64: Kirkman/Adlard Image $2.99
Two days ago, I really over slept so the first thing I saw when I got online was that The Walking Dead had been picked up for a TV series by AMC. Issues like this show just why this book is going to work when it hits the air. The opening of this issue is jaw dropping. I almost picked this as book of the week do to the opening but I just couldn’t. The art while solid not a whole lot happens. The issue is dialogue heavy which happens to be a good thing. This issue really shows how emotional and realist Kirkman treats this world. While not as good as the last issue this is yet again shows why TWD is Images best selling book.
9.0/10
2. Uncanny X-men #514: Fraction/Dodson Marvel $3.99
I really enjoyed this issue. While not as good as issue 512 or 513 this issue still has its moments. I really give it to Fraction; he has gotten me interested into the X-men again. The art is pretty good however some it doesn’t always hit the mark. But I can over look that. I’m very interested to see how this arc is going to end, Fraction promises big change so we have something to look forward to. I certain hope he stays on the book for a while, no one has wrote X-men this good in a very long time.
9.2/10
1. Blackest Night #2: Johns/Reis DC $3.99
I quite enjoyed this issue of Blackest Night. While not perfect like BN #1 this issue is plain old fun. Hearts being ripped out, Deadman, The Specter and Hal Jordan being thrown into the Bat signal. I enjoyed all of it, I think Johns might actually be able to pull this event off; he might be able to live up to the hype. Reis is also doing great work on art. I can’t wait for the next chapter in Green Lantern this month, I expect awesome!
9.4/10
@Daringd
Walking Dead Theory: Dale bit himself. What do you think?
Tainted meat was awesome stuff.
I also hated the spidey issue.
"Robin needs a Robin"
Two words: Beast Boy.
@Brandon I would have to re-read the issue, but you know that might be the case. If thats the case he isn't a zombie....or a soon to be one.
So to answer your question. In Batman Blackest Night tie-in, Deadman's body is out for blood while Deadman remains the same. The whole issue was really him trying to explain to Dick what the big plans are for these black lanterns, having briefly possessed his body.
How the hell can you say Black canary was written even half way decent?
she has been reduced to a bumbling idiot who, hell her dialog does not even sound remotely like her "Don't make light of this" .. when the hell did Dinah start talking like that?
Lets not forget the TOTAL reworking of her origin, and for what? to make her LESS interesting? what happened to the idyllic childhood? what happened to playing in the park with The Flash(Jay) and Green Lantern(Alan)?
Flying above the mountaintops with Hawkman(Golden age Carter)and seeing the stars- From Space! with Starman (Ted)
Hell what happened to the Daddys girl she used to be? gone! because Kreisberg thought he knew better then the rest and decided she never knew her father.
Black canary under Kreisberg is a JOKE! and Green arrow has become Batman Light again, the Scene with Ollie arriving at the crime scene would work with Batman, NOT WITH GREEN ARROW!
And why in gods name are they having problems? Its not been addressed ONCE! is it Ollie and Hals little Team? maybe, Has Ollie become impotent? possibly. Has Dinah become menopausal? would not shock meat this point.
And while i'm on it.. whats up with "Cupid" shes in every single issue! WHY? shes not interesting and serves no real point to the series, yet shes been in all but one issue of Kreisbergs run so fay and has been solicited for the next three.
Us fans of characters HATE IT when you dump a supporting cast just to create a new one, specially if its in the interest of creating a rift between the starts who would never let a rift form in the first place. Even worse is that Kreisberg promised more fighting between Ollie and Dinah in the future.. WHY?! We want to see them work as a team! not as something they are NOT! and thats Unhappily married, because after all these years, they know when it not working, and they would have ended it.
The better we get Kreisberg out of this series and Black canary back into the hands of someone who actually knows her the better, and Green Arrow needs to go back to the way he used to be, the loudmouth with a heart of gold.
@Andrew - I skipped REBELS because I don't really know anything about the characters and I'm not tremendously interested in the Legion or Legion spin-offs (a big reason I skipped Adventure Comics this week). It sounds like it is getting a strong buzz, though, so I might have to hit it up in trade.
@Dangster-Thanks for the info on Deadman. I'm still a bit baffled by it, but I'm glad someone has put somet thought into it.
@Nicholas-Woah, man. Woooooah, man. I really have no argument for the changing of Black Canary's origin other than the fact that I think the new version works. That doesn't invalidate any of the old stories; if you still love them, they still have meaning and you should hang on to that.
As far as their marital problems go, this has been building for some time and focuses mainly on how dark Ollie has been getting in his quest for justice--something that Winick touched upon at the very beginning of the series and something that fits in line with the amazing Mike Grell series from the 80s/90s. I agree that it would be great to see the two working as a team, but all marriages have rough patches. I expect a few arcs from now that they will have things back to normal and their bond will be written as stronger for it.
As far as Cupid goes, I wouldn't say she is a "supporting cast" member. She has appeared in a lot of issues, but almost exclusively as a villain. I suppose there is an argument for done-in-one stories, but I personally like an extended arc with the same antagonist. Once her story has played out, I doubt you'll see her paling around with Ollie and Dinah--something a supporting cast member would do.
I guess my only advice for you, Nicholas, is to drop the series if you hate it so much. Personally, I thought it was a great issue, but there are plenty of other books out there that you'd probably enjoy more. If you really hate Kreisberg's run, spend your cash elsewhere and drop me a line to let me know what you pick up!
I'm curious what everyone thinks about what seems to be an artistic change in Amazing Spiderman. Up until American Son, they worked hard to maintain one artist on each arc. Then American Son sorta blew up in their face (or some such. Jimenez had to pass due to personal issues was the explanation given, at least) and they ended up having four (or five?) different artists on that arc. And now I'm noticing Red Headed Stranger is on it's third different artist, with the preview of #603. I think this is going to make for some messy trades when these start coming out. I really prefer a one artist per arc, myself. Thoughts?
@Nathan - I'm speaking from view of someone that cherry picks what arcs he gets, but the art was a major factor in picking up some of them for me. Marcos Martin, JRJr, Steve McNiven, etc. These recent issues I've gotten have been far less consistent in that regard and disappointing on that end. For future releases, I'm doubting any artist will lure me in for an arc to test the waters as I'm not even sure now that the artist in question would be sticking around for one issue, let alone the entire arc. I'm hoping it turns out to be just a mixup for this one arc that gets straightened out in the future.
Blargh. I love this site, but Kreisberg's version of Dinah has made me throw up in my mouth so much it's not even funny. She's incompetent (look! she has a villain ... whom she made by hurting him and being a bad hero), unlikable (look! she'll respond to Ollie tazering her ... by punching him in the face) and he's adding little things to make her less and less powerful (her Canary Cry, which she could before use to shatter a pool ball in Shiva's hands, will now destroy ear drums. She can beat up Batman, but WOAH, watch out for that mugger! She needed the convincing of Wildcat to be a hero, as opposed to doing it out of admiration for her mother and a desire to help).
I mean, it's not like it hurts me. I can just go and read unpublished fanfiction and pretend like my lovable funny fun bamfy Dinah left continuity with BoP #95, but it bothers me that people are mixing the two up.
ARGH! I'm being so comic-fannish.
Seriously though, sorry about that. I'm just being all wank-tastic.
Here are my rankings for the week:
4. Marvel Comics #1 - Gorgeous re-coloring of the original issue of Marvel Comics cannot save most the stories from being dull. Sub-Mariner and Ka-Zar are the exceptions. Happy I picked it up for the art but doubt I'll read this cover to cover again.
3. Amazing Spider-Man #602 - Fun issue of this series. The Chameleon isn't a radical re-creation of the character as much as it is a subtle redefining of his menace. Works well and I, for one, was quite please with Kitson's art.
2. Wednesday Comics #6 - Lots of good stories this week. By and large the series is rolling on its own momentum right now and each week is a treat in story and art. Kamandi still reigns supreme as the creme de la creme.
1. Thor: Tales of Asgard #4 - Recolored Kirby art with great stories by Lee in his prime. Lee, divorced from the need for soap opera and given instead the template of "The Epic Tale" works remarkably well. I've been buying this for the art but haven't actually read an issue since the first so I was blown away with how dang good it is. Easily my book of the week!
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