Batman Beyond Unlimited #18 – Review

By: Scott Peterson (writer), Annie Wu (artist), Andrew Elder (colorist) 

Back-up by: Adam Beechen, IV (writer), Adam Archer (artist), Andrew Elder (colorist)

The Stories: It’s a two-for-one deal on Batgirls and Terry teams up with the Metal Men.

The Review: Though it’s the last issue of the series, you’d never know it. This month’s installment of Batman Beyond Unlimited is all about what’s to come.

The big news for most people is the introduction of the new Batgirl, a concept that’s been played around with numerous times, as far back as the second season of the show, but never came to fruition. Indeed, the main story is all Batgirl, all the time, with none of that pesky Batman to get in the way.

Some people might complain that their not getting their monthly dose of McGinnis, but he’s in the backup, so worry not and enjoy. Scott Peterson makes the wise choice to ground our tale around a familiar character, Commissioner Barbara Gordon. If you’ve ever loved Barbara, especially her slightly embittered Beyond incarnation, you’ll be in heaven for this issue. This story is thirty pages of pure Gordon badassery. Admittedly, Barbara needs a little help with the heavy lifting, but the woman’s pushing seventy and the issue opens with her jumping off a roof and taking out two roided up gang bangers, so I give her a break. Best of all, the issue hints that she was holding back! I love it!

The new Batgirl is a pretty great character too. The decision to give her a more contemporary looking costume avoids the risk of dating the character and hints at just how tough she is. Terry always had that muscle enhancement batsuit to protect him. This girl follows the long line of bat-ladies to take on the mantle without permission and, presumably, doesn’t have access to schway tech like that. It’s just her, a couple of escrima sticks and your face out there. Throw in a brusque but never obnoxious personality, the skills to back it up, and a beautiful character design and you’ve got the makings of an incredible character.

Amazing Spider-Man #647 – Review

By: Fred Van Lente, Zeb Wells, Bob Gale, Joe Kelly, Mark Waid, Marc Guggenheim & Dan Slott (writers), Max Fiumara, Michael Del Mundo, Karl Kesel, J.M. Ken Niimura, Paul Azaceta, Graham Nolan, Mark Pennington & Adam Archer (art), Morry Hollowell & Antonio Fabela (colors) & J.M. Ken Niimura & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: Brand New Day and the thrice monthly Amazing Spider-Man goes out with a bang and each of the writers (and many of the artists) who were part of BND get to play.

What’s Good: These oversized ASM issues are just gold.  In addition to the “main story” by Fred Van Lente, there are all sorts of short stories that will scratch just about every itch a Spidey-fan might have.  Of the short stories, the winner is probably the fun Norah Winters story by Joe Kelly with art by the very unique J.M. Ken Niimura.  But, there are all sorts of short stories in this issue and although they are all different, they all show just how central Spider-Man is to Marvel’s NYC and the people who live there.

But, the star of the issue is the main story by FVL.  Van Lente is one of the best writers that Marvel has, that doesn’t seem to be settled into one of the major titles.  The guy is so versatile and funny and never cranks out a stinker.  This story is focused squarely on the love life of Peter Parker and his inability to make a move on Carlie Cooper.  Peter’s love life is so central to the tale of Spider-Man and FVL does a great job of capturing the essence of Peter’s problem.  He has no luck with the ladies, but he never has any shortage of smart, attractive and available women hovering around his life.  If he could just get his act together, he could go far and that is the story of this issue.  FVL also gets bonus points for having Spidey fighting crime in a cheap Spider-Man Halloween costume.  Brilliant!

Spooks: Omega Team #3 – Review

By Ryan Schifrin (Creator), Larry Hama (Writer), Adam Archer (Pencils), and Tony Avina (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: This series has been really hit or miss so far. It has some good, fun ideas and a nice action-horror vibe, but it has yet to come together in a successful way. Maybe things will start to pick up as the opening arc makes it’s way toward a conclusion.

The Story: The SPOOKS team, in pursuit of Lilithu, heads to Romania in an attempt to bring the ancient demon’s quest for power to an end. Once there, the SPOOKS fight some obsessed cultists, exchange witty banter, cause lots of destruction, and inch closer to their target. In other words, the newest issue of SPOOKS: Omega Team is a lot like the first few.

What’s Good: That this book gives you more of the same. If you like what the series has offered up so far, then you will almost certainly enjoy this issue as well. The action is mostly well done, the banter is somewhat amusing, and the gore doesn’t disappoint.

What’s Not So Good: That this book gives you more of the same. Simply put, this series is already dangerously close to becoming utterly forgettable. The action is starting to feel tired, reading the banter is almost a painful experience at times, and the characters lack the substance necessary to make for a memorable monster fighting team.

Conclusion: SPOOKS: Omega Team #3 will prove to be either a deal maker or a deal breaker. More of the same may work for some people, but this reviewer was hoping for much more from the series at this point. It’s disappointing to see something with so much potential become boring so quickly.

Grade: C-

-Kyle Posluszny

Spooks: Omega Team #2

By Ryan Schifrin (Creator), Larry Hama (Writer), Adam Archer (Pencils & Colors), and Nick Bell (Colors)

The Story: The Spooks team follows the trail of the demon queen, Lilithu, all the way to Istanbul and comes face to face with another powerful demon, the Lord of the Flies. Action, violence, and witty remarks rule the day as the team tries to stop two ancient entities from regaining power.

What’s Good: Spooks succeeds almost entirely on concept alone. I say this because it’s difficult to criticize something that I’m having so much fun with. Despite some very obvious flaws (which I will get to in a moment), this book is everything an action-horror comic should be.

The action is fast-paced, the violence delivers for gore-hounds, and good use is made of some very old source material. Definitely a fun read for fans of the genre.

What’s Not So Good: This series seems to be suffering from an identity crisis. The team gives off an almost buddy-comedy vibe, yet the myths and artwork are straight-up horror. I have no problem with mixing genres, but Spooks seems to be lacking the balance needed to pull that off.

The team interaction comes off as silly more often then not, yet some of the images and scenarios are downright nightmarish. Instead of blending these elements into something special, they clash in an uncomfortable fashion.

Conclusion: This series is a lot of fun and is built off of a great concept. That said, it definitely has a few growing pains to work through. Fans of action or horror will eat this up, but I doubt it will create any converts.

Grade: B-

-Kyle Posluszny

Spooks #4 – Review

Ryan Schifrin, Larry Hama (Writers), R.A. Salvatore, Geno Salvatore, Ryan Schifrin (Story), Adam Archer, and Jonny Rench (Art)

The final part of the Spooks mini-series serves as both an end and a beginning. It’s an end in that this supernatural story concludes with an action-packed, satisfying conclusion. On the other hand, it’s a beginning in that it helps lead into the new Devil’s Due series Spooks: Omega Team which debuts in July. While a few things bothered me about this series as a whole, Spooks #4 is a solid, fitting conclusion to the events that have been brewing since issue #1.

To put it as simple as possible, this finale pulls out all the stops. On one side we have the United States Army and its supernatural team, while on the other we have a sorceress, a vampire clan, a werewolf pack, a medusa, and some zombies that used to be former U.S. soldiers. If you want some crazy monster-fantasy action, this is the book for you. Heck, they even throw a fighting Abe Lincoln monument into the mix! It’s crazy stuff in all the right ways, that’s for sure.

On to the critical part, Spooks is something that I have enjoyed quite a bit, however, I would put it more into the mindless summer blockbuster category than something that will stick with me for years to come. The action hits all the right notes, even when it gets a bit silly, and the art team does a good job with keeping the action both gory and easy to follow. My biggest complaint would have to be that the dialogue is occasionally awkward and, from time to time, incredibly cheesy. This problem is far from crippling, but it did take me out of the story’s world from time to time as I found myself shaking my head over the absurdity.

All in all, if you’ve been following the Spooks story, you are sure to find a solid conclusion with this last issue. As I said, the creative team pulls out all the stops to create some impressive (and interesting) combat scenarios. Fun and satisfying. (Grade: B)

-Kyle Posluszny

Spooks #1 (of 4) – Review

By: R.A. Salvatore, Geno Salvatore (story), Ryan Schifrin (story & script), Larry Hama (script), Adam Archer (art), Jonny Rench (colors)

I picked this comic just for the great cover art! It reminded me of the old box art for computer games from the 80s. Check the awesome animated cover at www.spooksthecomic.com – first time I’ve seen something like that.

The United States Department of Supernatural Defense (BPRD… I mean DPSD) has specially trained forces on its payroll to protect us from supernatural enemies. We first meet Zach Ramirez, who’s using silver bullets to kill a loose werewolf, but the beast doesn’t die. I guess the “normal” rules don’t apply here. The werewolf bites Zach on his arm but he’s one of the 0.0001% of the population that is immune to werewolf bites.

The main plot goes on about this witch who is raising an army of evil doers to conquer the world once and for all. She has the werewolves on her side and even a headless horseman that she animates from the dead. Vampires join her swelling army as well, but each race has their own agenda. This group from hell is completed by a bodyguard figure in the form of a Frankenstein-esque monster.

I really don’t like having all these monsters together in a kind of crossover world. I’d rather deal with one species per story. I hope the book gets enough sales to make it into an ongoing series (right now it’s a four issue miniseries). I’m intrigued on what’s going to happen next but I don’t mind if I have to skip on it. The only way to guarantee a buy from me is if issue #2 cover is done by Staples. (Grade: C-)

-Daniel Yanez