Nightwing Annual #1 – Review

By: Kyle Higgins (writer), Jason Masters with Daniel Sampere & Vincente Cifuentes (art), Chris Sotomayor (color)

The Story: Play it again, Alfred. Play ‘As Time Goes By’.

The Review: Have two characters of such high profile ever had such uncertain fates? Months after her writer was fired and swiftly rehired, Batgirl is wanted for the murder of her sociopathic brother. Hunted by her outraged father, her boyfriend in a coma, Barbara has forsaken the bat. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson is having a swell time in Chicago, but rumors of his demise and a creative change on his book swirl. Rather than pretend that there’s certainty one way or the other, Kyle Higgins has cleverly called upon that very uncertainty to drive his extra-sized story.

Higgins seems to have a good grip on both of his protagonists. Dick is the same character that readers of Higgins’ monthly work have come to love, but we get to see a slightly different side of him thanks to Barbara’s appearance. Higgins’ take on not!-Batgirl is similarly strong. Barbara’s wit and natural affinity for superheroics come through loud and clear. There’s something hungry, biting in her words and actions. The issue deals with Dick and Barbara’s relationship and, as such, its greatest accomplishment is allowing them chemistry. Honestly, this is a girl who makes the boy wonder play not only boy scout, but straight man to her fiery wisecracks. Dick Grayson is a smart lad, he knows that the proper response to finding a woman who can kick your ass is to hold on tight.

Batman Annual #2 – Review

By: Scott Snyder & Marguerite Bennett (story), Bennett (writer), Wes Craig (pencils), Craig Yeung, Drew Gerraci, Craig, Jack Purcell, Sandu Florea & Marc Deering (inks), Ian Hanin (colors) and Dave Sharpe (letters)

The Story: Batman meets a new/old denizen of Arkham while testing out their security systems.

Review (with minor SPOILERS): Bravo to DC and the creative team for introducing a new character!  I know that the fanboys love to read another Joker story, but I personally find new villains to be much more interesting.  Only with new characters are there unclear motives, unclear powers and unclear outcomes.  All the new character needs is a little hook to make them unique and it is suddenly fascinating to watch the creators fill in the blanks of the character.

The new character from this issue is named yhe Anchoress.  She has a really cool hook in that when her powers manifested, she accidentally killed her parents and was sent for therapy at the original Arkham Asylum back when AA was a place where a Dr. Arkham actually tried to help the mentally ill.  As such, she hates Batman for turning AA into a supermax prison for his rogues gallery.  Once that happened, nobody cared about helping the mentally ill. They just wanted to keep Joker and Clayface in their cells.  It’s an interesting way to introduce a character and to make us look differently at a landmark like AA.  I mean, I think almost all modern Bat-fans look at AA as a prison.  It’s easy to forget that AA probably used to have a different purpose….like treating the mentally ill and perhaps now those mentally ill don’t have the same prospects for treatment.  Readers of this site know I love real-world parallels (and so does Scott Snyder, I think), so I can’t help but see relationships between this take on AA and the closing of mental health institutions in the 1980s and all the crime and homelessness that happened as a result.  It’s just interesting to think about some of these criminals or bums as mentally ill people who have been failed by “the system.”

Quick Hit Reviews – Week of April 13, 2011

Try as we might, we can’t always do full reviews for every comic on the stands.  Thus, the Quick Hit Reviews….

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier Annual #1 – Leaving aside the awkwardness of having an Annual for a title that was a 4-issue miniseries that wrapped up ~6 months ago (silly editors!), this was a pretty hot issue.  This is Part 2 of the Escape from the Negative Zone that is mostly an X-Men story.  In the Uncanny X-Men Annual a couple weeks ago, we saw Cyclops, Hope, Namor and Dr. Nemesis get sucked into the Negative Zone and come into conflict with Blastaar.  As you might guess, in this issue Steve Rodgers goes in to save them and fun ensues.  This issue (written by James Asmus) is just packed full of Steve kicking ass, Cyclops and Hope kicking ass, Namor being really well written (not too haughty) and Nemesis being 100% smart-ass fun.   Ibraim Roberson & Jim Charalampidis combine to give the book a very pretty, painted look.  I (personally) like to see a little more inking in my comic art, but I know some people just go bat shit for this painted stuff and this issue is really well done and beautiful.  Grade: A-

Incredible Hulks #626 – Even though I dropped Incredible Hulks during that boring Dark Son story arc ~8 issues ago, I had recently reread the Planet Hulk story and said, “THAT was awesome.  Maybe I should be reading Incredible Hulks again!?!”  This is a fun story that sends Banner off to track down Betsy.  Betsy and he aren’t getting along and she has fallen in with a bad crowd, but the real problem is that her continual use of her Hulk powers is threatening to get her stuck in Hulk form.  OH NO!!!   Banner wants to stop that, but to find her he has to go to a black-tie affair in Italy.  Of course, not everything goes smoothly and thanks to some unstable molecules, you get to see Banner transform into the Hulk without ripping up his tuxedo (which was pretty awesome).  This is a worthwhile Hulk story and Grummett’s art is very much the old-school, superhero art that I like.  Looks like I’m back on Hulk for a while!  Grade: B

Black Panther #517 – It is not a good thing when you sit down to do the Quick Hit Reviews, look at Black Panther #517 and think, “What was that about?  I remember that Francesco Francavilla’s art was gorgeous, but other than the title nominally being about Black Panther dealing with eastern European gangsters in Hell’s Kitchen, I don’t remember anything about the plot.”  While that is surely a sign that Dean gets too many comics, it also means that this story has run its course.  Like many Marvel story-arcs: It would make a snappy 3-4 issues story, but just doesn’t have the meat to be 6 issues.  Never really understand stretching out stories so that they make better trade paperbacks.  BP is probably selling ~30K units in the direct market, so Marvel will mess up a good story (by stretching it out) only  to have 6 issues to collect into a trade paperback that will probably sell a combined 1,000 units between the direct market and everywhere else.  That’s smart right there! </sarcasm>  I usually don’t pick on covers, but I will here: The cover text promises Black Panther vs. Luke Cage (because we all know that the kiddies love black-on-black fights), yet the cover seems to show Black Panther with his hands around the throat of some white guy.  Bad coloring!  Oh….and SPOILERS….there really isn’t that much to the BP vs. LC fight anyway.  Grade: C (good art, story getting long in the tooth)

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #38 – Review

By: John Layman (writer), Lee Garbett (pencils), Mark Pennington (inks), Fabio D’Auria (colors), Clayton Cowles (letters), Ellie Pyle (assistant editor), Alejandro Arbona (associate editor) & Stephen Wacker (editor)

The Story: It’s alternate universe time as Spidey (and Deadpool and Hulk) are sucked into an alternate universe.

What’s Good: This is just a fun alternate universe story with the basic premise being that our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man gets pulled into an alternate reality via an accident at his new job at Horizon Labs.  As with any alternate universe story, the fun lies in seeing what’s the same and what’s different as compared to our world.

We learn much of this through the eyes our Peter Parker as he is forced to fill in for his counterpart as The Spider.  The big difference we find is that The Spider is THE superhero of NYC and is beloved by everyone.  As good as Peter’s life is in our reality, he has in WAY better in this other world (including having the companionship of a people who are dead in our reality).  Hmm… Maybe he should just stay there???   Of course, there will end up being a few tiny little problems with this world and you’ll have to discover those yourself, but the plot twist at the end is pretty neat.

Not a whole lot of Deadpool and Hulk action in this issue.  Surely their stories will be front-and-center in their respective annuals.

Uncanny X-Men Annual #3 – Review

B y: James Asmus (writer), Nick Bradshaw (art), Jim Charalampidis (colors), Jared Fletcher (letters), Jake Thomas & Jordan D. White (assistant editors), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: A team of X-Men consisting of Cyclops, Hope, Namor & Dr. Nemesis gets sent to the Negative Zone.

What’s Good: This was awesome ! The X-Men are kinda my cross to bear as a comic fan.  It’s the one sub-universe where I’m pretty much going to get all the titles whether they are good or bad.  Recently the whole X-verse has been a little mediocre.  There have been bright spots, but a lot of mediocre issues.  So, I was kinda gritting my teeth at the concept of the Uncanny X-Men Annual crossing over with the Steve Rodgers Super Soldier Annual and the Namor Annual.   I thought to myself, “great, now I have to buy three $3.99 annuals when I wasn’t sure I even wanted one!”  Especially because annuals usually suck nowadays because they’re used to do things like launch unnecessary spin-off titles.

But, I shouldn’t have been so cynical because this issue kicked all kinds of ass.  Part of the magic comes from the small team dynamic.  Can you imagine a stranger X-line-up than Cyclops, Hope, Namor and Dr. Nemesis?  Especially since none of these characters thinks much of Cyclops.  So, much of the issue consists of Cyclops trying to lead with the others rolling their eyes at him.  And this works because they are whisked away to the Negative Zone.  If this same behavior took place on Utopia in front of the whole team, Cyclops would have to have a stick up his butt, bark orders and demand that those orders be followed.  Here, since Cyclops is away from everyone else, he has the freedom to laugh at himself a little bit which is a side of the character that is fun to see.  Again, this behavior wouldn’t work on Utopia because it would ruin his role as “leader”, but it does kinda work when the team is stuck in the Negative Zone.

This issue is just crammed full of humor too.  Whether it is Emma declaring that she doesn’t know how to have a family fight without “scotch and swearing” or Scott imploring Hope to please cooperate with him because Namor and Nemesis are like herding cats, “Surly, bitter cats who pee on everything.” or Nemesis deciding that being teamed up with Namor (as opposed to teamed up with Cyclops or Hope) is the “least terrible option”, I laughed my way through this entire issue.  Imagine that?  An X-Men comic with HUMOR!

Hack / Slash Annual 2010: Murder Messiah – Review

By: Tim Seeley (writer), Jethro Morales (art), Mark Englert (colors) & Crank! (letters)

The Story: A proper introduction to the Hack/Slash universe (since the property moved to Image in Summer 2010) with two stories.  In one, Cassie Hack deals with a serial killer who it hitting close to home and in the future, we see a possible apocalyptic wasteland dominated by slashers.

What’s Good: Too much is made of “jumping on points” in modern comics.  The recently completed Hack/Slash: My First Maniac was such a jumping on point in that it didn’t make any demand that you had read any prior issues of Hack/Slash.  It was a LOT of fun, but at the same time, it probably didn’t do a whole lot for long-time Hack/Slash fans.    Well, this Murder Messiah Annual is not a classic “jumping on point”.  Mr. Seeley is flinging you right into the deep end of the pool and making you very aware that he’s already written 50+ issues in this universe.  If you haven’t read Hack/Slash before, you will understand a lot of what is going on, but you will also be a little confused.

Wait, why is this a good thing?  Well, don’t you hate it when you’ve been reading a title for 2-3 years and suddenly the creators decide they need to create a “new jumping on point” to make the series accessible for new readers?  When that happens, existing readers are forced to sit through a boring 6-issue arc that just chases its tail from a story point of view.  This stuff is why characters in mainstream superhero comics haven’t changed in 30+ years.  If this Annual represents the most Mr. Seeley is going to slow the car to allow folks to jump on, you know that you are not going to feel shat upon in 12 months when we have to have another “new jumping on point” (and again in 12 months after that).  So, don’t be a baby… Grab on and catch up as we go along or go find the back issues which are readily available in collected editions or digitally.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37 – Review

By: Story A: Karl Kesel (writer), Paulo Siqueira (art), Fabio D’Auria (colors), Joe Caramanga (letters); Story B: Kurt Busiek (writer), Pat Olliffe (art), Steve Buccellato (colors) & Comicraft (letters)

The Story: In one story, we see “the first meeting” between Spider-Man and Captain America.  In the second, we get a light-hearted fictional tale of how the first Spider-Man comic book was launched by Stan Lee.

What’s Good: The art in the first story is just great.  The story is fun too and I’ll get to that, but the star of this entire issue is Paulo Siqueira’s art.  His art is just so detailed and vibrant that it is worth a second look.  That’s how you do it kids!  Also kudos to Fabio D’Auria for busting out an old-school color palate, which is appropriate, considering this is supposed to be an older story.  Buy this issue for the art of this first story alone and you won’t be sorry.

I really enjoyed the story for this Spidey meets Cap issue.  You have to put aside serious continuity concerns and just enjoy it, but the whole thing centers around how Cap is the loved hero while Spidey is the guy who can’t catch a break from the media.  And, just as I was enjoying this little bit of the story, it goes all science fiction on us and time warps in three dorky science-guys with a hot chick who are there to deal with Sandman before he can cause some horrid danger in the future.  The way this whole scenario plays out is just the kind of fun you read Spider-Man comics for.

Action Comics Annual #11 (2008) – Review

By Geoff Johns & Richard Donner (Writers), Adam Kubert (Artist) & Edgar Delgado (Colors)

Reading this comic, it’s impossible to forget the 1978 original Superman film. I don’t need to say this is a good thing, do I? Well, it is. And of course, there is a slightly different story and some more characters in this annual comic book.

Superman teams up with some unlikely side-kicks and villains as they follow a plan to save a decaying Metropolis from General Zod and his evil Kryptonian gang of prisoners. The usual clichés that plague this topic are here to play as well but an unexpected turn of events and a nice touch of other surprises keep things fresh. The story and character development improve dramatically on its way towards the conclusion. Superman isn’t the one who saves the day this time, nor does his fight with Zod seem central to the storyline. The actual meat of the story lies with Zod’s son Christopher and how he wants to take hold of a situation that is very quickly spiraling out of control. It’s for this reason that most readers will feel that the comic should have started in the middle of the action and worked its way out.

On the aesthetic side, Adam Kubert’s artistic style is felt. Some panels are done very well while others look like unfinished sketches. In a strange way, it adds that Kubert flavor we have all gotten used to for better or worse. Facial expressions on the characters faces are usually spot on and even comical in some situations. The action moves smoothly and in conjunction with the story, which I cannot say for many other comics. Not a single panel feels wasted, and in my opinion, that says a lot about an artist. But is it all worth a trip to the comic book store? Indeed it is. (Grade B+)

– A. Badar