Detective Comics #27 – Review

by John Layman, Scott Snyder, Paul Dini, Brad Meltzer, Gregg Hurwitz, Peter J. Tomasi, Jason Fabok, Neal Adams, Dustin Nguyen, Guillem March, Bryan Hitch, and Sean Murphy

The Bat-Man, a mysterious and adventurous figure, fighting for righteousness and apprehending the wrong doer, in his lone battle against the evil forces of society…

Giant anniversary issues like this are always interesting to dissect. What’s the best use of all those pages? Will it connect to current storylines, or should it serve as a celebration of the character’s history? This behemoth issue tries to have its cake and eat it too, but that’s only a problem if it fails. So the question is: did it?

Let’s start at the very beginning, as I hear that that’s a very good place to start. The issue opens with a story from Brad Meltzer and Brian Hitch that goes by the highly appropriate title, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.” This iteration of “Chemical Syndicate” is a clever retelling of the 1939 original. Though it has been updated, it is a remarkably faithful adaptation. The major difference is the addition of Batman’s later character traits and a running commentary from the Dark Knight, himself, which would not have been possible in the original story without spoiling the surprise ending.

Though Meltzer displays an impressively economic writing style, cramming a lot into a short fifteen pages without overcluttering his story, the real meat of this story is in the narration. Basic Batman caption boxes do a fine job of showing up a mysterious and yet inexperienced version of the Caped Crusader. Meanwhile, a series of journal entries posit a number of answers to the question “why does Batman do it?” The answers are a master class in Batman, neither overglorifying the vigilante, nor digging too deep into his neuroses to appear heroic. Particularly over the last few days, I’ve been growing tired of a Batman too damaged to inspire us to anything healthy. Perhaps I’m biased by my recent musings, but I think this story navigated these dangerous waters very well.

Age of Ultron #10 – Review

By: Alex Maleev, Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary, Butch Guice, Brandon Peterson, Carlos Pacheco & Roger Benet w/ Tom Palmer, David Marquez, Joe Quesada (Artists), Paul Mounts & Richard Isanove (Color Artists), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: I finished Naughty Dog’s PS3 magnum opus The Last of Us last night. It was terrific. I won’t spoil anything for my fellow gamers out there but suffice it to say that it’s got a pretty unexpected ending, far more ambiguous and open to interpretation than many of the potential finales fans suggested. Crowning the entertaining and tension-fueled hours that led up to that point, the ending managed to tie everything off neatly; it faithfully resolved its protagonists’ journeys and was bold enough to make like there won’t ever be a sequel – like it counted – even though such a thing is inevitable because money. That, my friends, is how it’s done. You do not do it like Age of Ultron #10.

 And why not? Because this issue winds up feeling more like a slap in the face than a fulfilling denouement. Even viewed on its own merits this is a troubled comic.

Age of Ultron #5 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inker), Paul Mounts (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: By issue count Age of Ultron #5 represents the halfway point of Marvel’s latest event story, even though it feels like it’s only just wrapped up the introduction. By the end of this chapter some of our heroes are winging their way to the future while some are headed to the past. Both share the same goal – the ultimate destruction of Ultron. You could argue (and many have) that Bendis has taken too long to get to this point, squandering the impact of a great idea in deference to a protracted bout of decompression, but I have to respectfully disagree. Without the punishingly grim nature and methodical plotting of this extended intro I don’t think the final page of this issue would have carried half the resonance that it does – and that final page is a doozy.

Age of Ultron #4 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inkers), Paul Mounts (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: It seems like patience may play a large part in how taken you are with Age of Ultron. Despite a pretty relentless release schedule the decompressed storytelling that Bendis has employed for the event is a sore point for some. Even though in this – the fourth issue – we’re still only inching towards a resolution, at least all the disparate plot-threads are finally tying together. With that in mind, and with the next issue signalling the end of Bryan Hitch’s stint on the book, I think we’re heading towards a satisfying end to AoU’s first act.

Age of Ultron #2 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inkers), Paul Mounts(Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review:  This’ll be a short review. Not because I’ve suddenly gained the ability to limit myself to sub-1000 word articles (I don’t think I’ll ever break that irksome habit), but rather because thanks to a dose of plot decompression there’s not much to add here that hasn’t already been covered in my review of Age of Ultron #1.

The same sense of despair, after all, is persistent. Even on the other side of America (this issue takes place in San Francisco) the outlook’s bleak. Ultron-Bots continue to ‘pacify’ the population while Black Widow scrambles over piles of dead bodies and Moon Knight snipes at violent looters from atop blown-out buildings. The two heroes were apparently caught off-guard by Ultron’s uprising while in the middle of a black-ops mission and are seen working together to locate a secure rallying point (a classic Fury hideout) and from there plan some payback.

Age of Ultron #1 Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inker), Paul Mounts (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: Bleak: that is my one-word review of Age of Ultron’s opening salvo. Not in terms of quality, but certainly in terms of tone. Sure, from the hype and the previews I knew it wasn’t going to be a Short Circuit-style Rom-Com but I didn’t know it would get so dark so fast. By the end of the issue some or all of your favourite Marvel heroes are either beaten, broken or dead, and if not they’ve apparently been compromised to the core. Not even Squirrel Girl could magic them outta this mess.

Let me first make the case that I doubt the horror and dread of the story could have been captured with anywhere near the same levels of precision by anyone other than Bryan Hitch. It’s career-defining work. There are moments of shocking violence among landscapes wrought with devastation and ruin which are portrayed with such unflinching clarity that it’s almost too big an ask to reconcile this book with the Marvel Universe proper;  if you squint, you could easily mistake this for a long-lost first draft of Ultimates 3.

America’s Got Powers #1 – Review

By: Jonathan Ross (story & script), Bryan Hitch (story & art), Andrew Currie & Paul Neary (inkers), Paul Mounts (colors) & Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: When a mysterious crystal gives a bunch of children superpowers, the government puts them on a reality show.

Review: This is a fine comic if you’re looking for more superhero in your life.  Caveat: I personally find it almost impossible to gush about new superhero-ish comics, so keep that in mind while reading this review.  I still want to know what’s going on with a few of the superheroes I’ve known since childhood (Batman, Spider-Man, Wolverine), but I don’t have a lot of room in my heart for new takes on superpowers and prefer to read non-superpowered comic books nowadays.

That said, this is a fine story.  It kinda reminds me of something Mark Millar would write and that makes sense because I think Jonathan Ross comes from a similar standpoint as a storyteller: He’s interested in easily digestible popular stories.

The set-up is simple: Mysterious crystal comes to Earth and makes all the pregnant women of San Francisco give birth to super-powered babies.  The evil government locks them up and forces them to compete in a sort of American Gladiator-esque reality show where some of the kids find fame and fortune and others get hurt/killed and are miserable.  As stories tend to do, our “hero” looks like he’ll end up being one of the ostensibly weakest of the kids who is thrust into a nasty situation.  That’s kinda it.  Not a lot of nuance going on here.  And, that’s fine because I enjoy my non-nuanced entertainment too (I just don’t want it to be about new superheroes).

Point One #1 – Review

By: Various.  (Seriously….it’s half the creative talent at Marvel)

The Story: Marvel teases what is to come in 2012 in this 7-part, 64-page anthology-ish issue.

Seven Things:

1. Behold the Watcher.  This was the spine of the issue and it showed a couple of guys in spacesuits fiddling with The Watcher while he slept.  And here we get the essence of the issue: What these guys downloaded from The Watcher is supposedly what is to come in the Marvel Universe in the near future.  That’s a pretty interesting way to glue together a bunch of 7-8 page teasers.  Ed Brubaker get’s writing credits here and does a fine job, but the scene-stealer was Javier Pulido and Javier Rodriguez on the art.  Pulido reminds me of a playful version of Jack Kirby and Rodriguez matches the playfulness with bright colors.  LOVE this art.  Every time I see Pulido art I decide I need some for my collection, yet I can’t find if/where/how the dude sells his original art.  So, if anyone knows….hook a brother up so I can give the man some money.

2. Nova: Harbinger.  Most marvel fans have seen the teaser images showing the Phoenix coming back, right?  Well…..here’s a story further teasing that story and if those prior images of a flaming Phoenix effect left some doubt about what precisely was going on, this makes is pretty clear: The Phoenix force is returning to the Marvel Universe.  Loeb and McGuinness do a nice job with this story of Nova (when did he come back from the Cancerverse?) trying to stay one step again of the Phoenix force.  Still unclear what titles this story will occur in.

3. The Scarlet Thread.  I really enjoyed this intro to the new Scarlet Spider series by the creative team of Chris Yost and Ryan Stegman.  It showed Kaine trying to just get away from it all, but ultimately showing that he can be a Spider-Man…..just not the Spider-Man.  And, that’s really the best way to use the clone guys: Emphasize the “nurture” part of “nature versus nurture” and show that genetics only goes so far to explaining why Peter Park is the hero that we all know and love.  A guy like Kaine with different life experiences is going to be a different type of character.  Bonus points for setting the story in Charlotte, NC!

Quick Hit Reviews – Week of April 27, 2011

The last Wednesday of the month is also know as “The Week When Marvel Tries to Kill Us” by releasing everything they possibly can so that we can all throw our backs out as we leave the comic shop.

New York Five #4 – Here is an early contender for “miniseries of the year” and I’m going to be highly pissed when it gets left off those lists in favor of a bunch of miniseries that end in December because comic fans have the attention span of a mosquito.  This whole series has been a really touching slice-of-life drama as we follow these young ladies in the spring semester of their freshman year at NYU.  This issue brought things home in a major way.  For one thing, someone dies and the characters are left to ponder on the transitory nature of their lives: They’re all moving on in life and the little group of friends is moving apart.  We’ve all been there and had friends who seemed like the most important things in our lives before something changed because someone took a new job or moved or signed up for classes at a different time of day from you, and you just drift apart.  That’s life and Brian Wood really nails that sentiment.  I’ve gushed on Ryan Kelly’s art before (and own an original page from issue #1), but not only does he do a tremendous job on the young ladies who are the center of this book, but he also makes “The City” a co-starring character itself.  This is a “must read” for everyone and especially so for anyone with any affinity for New York.  Grade: A 

Velocity #4 – Oh la la!  Kenneth Rocafort is a beast!  This series wraps up a very good and straightforward tale of Velocity racing against the clock to save her Cyberforce teammates from a deadly virus.  Every panel that Rocafort draws of Velocity just oozes energy.  She just looks fast even when she is standing still.  He’s got a really powerful understanding of human anatomy and muscle groups.  Sunny Gho does a pretty nice job of coloring too.  Even though the story was really simple, I think Ron Marz deserves some credit.  It’s almost like he knew that this series would take almost a year to come out and kept it simple so that each time all you had to remember was “race against the clock to save teammates.”  If you’re an art fan, this is a must-buy in collected form.  Grade: B+

Morning Glories #9 – This title continues to be confusing, but in a very good way.  Sometimes I get highly annoyed by books that are being mysterious and opaque (see: Batman, Inc.), but I think Nick Spencer is pulling off the confusion because we actually have a hope of learning some answers.  In this issue, we follow one of the students, Jun, and see his back story, how the Morning Glories Academy became interested in him and what lengths they were willing to go to in order to get him as a student.  Yikes!  Once again, I can’t wait for next month.  I’ve heard a lot of folks complain about the art in Morning Glories, but I really don’t get it.  It’s true that it isn’t JH Williams or Mike Kaluta, but I think Eisma is doing a wonderful job with telling the story in terms of his panels and layouts.  Grade: B+

FF #2 – The story here is pretty top notch as the FF has to fix Doom’s brain damage and it has all the moralistic tropes where there are opportunities to kill Doom that are passed upon.  Fortunately, Hickman doesn’t spend too much time dwelling on the morals because the idea of the FF seriously killing Doom is just preposterous.  And, we get a pretty cool cliffhanger ending featuring Valeria who is having a really nice run as a character under Hickman’s pen.  The only thing holding this back for me is Epting’s art.  It isn’t that I think Epting is a poor artist, but I just don’t think his realistic style is suited for FF.  I’d rather see Epting illustrate a crime story and let us have an artist who is more cartoonist on FF.  It doesn’t have to be outlandish cartooning. Let’s just have someone like Dale Eaglesham.  Grade: B

New Avengers Finale #1 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Bryan Hitch & Stuart Immonen (pencils), Butch Guice, Andrew Currie, & Karl Story (inks), Paul Mounts, Justin Ponsor, & Rain Beredo (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: With Siege ended, the New Avengers turn the tables, as they become the hunters and the Hood becomes the hunted.

What’s Good: Consider this book the pay-off for years of seeing the New Avengers in hiding, down and out, or generally getting their asses kicked.  This issue is cathartic both for long-time readers of New Avengers and the characters themselves.

It’s really refreshing to see the New Avengers in a position of power and to see their former pursuers running from them for a change.  It’s great to see this team so empowered and certainly, they deserve it.  As a result, this book is a very lively, feel-good affair.  The New Avengers are hell-bent on ensuring that payback is indeed a bitch for the Hood and Madame Masque.

What ensues is a book full of gleeful camaraderie where the New Avengers are the hunters.  It’s an extended book where everything, finally, feels like it’s working the way it’s meant to.  The New Avengers are once again a big force, and one to be afraid of if you’re a bad guy.  If there’s one issue this week that encapsulates the Heroic Age and is the direct opposite of everything Dark Reign was, this is it.

The action is solid and the book ends with a fabulous montage that is both reflective and highly nostalgic.  Despite the series’ relaunch next month, this ending montage was just poignant enough to make me believe this to be a true finale, and one that’s merited.  Truly, a new page is turned.

Captain America: Reborn #5 – Review

by Ed Brubaker (writer), Bryan Hitch & Butch Guice (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: It’s Cap vs. Buckycap as Steve finds himself trapped in the Red Skull’s mind.

What’s Good: It feels as though Brubaker has gone old school this month with his dialogue, with plenty of cheesecake to go around.  While some may find this unbearable, I found that it added good, clean fun to a comic that has been pretty dark thus far.  Red Skull in particular is nothing short of an old fashioned, cackling villain, letting loose twice with trademark villainous laughter.  At one point, he even goes through the classic bad guy routine of telling one of the heroes his entire plan, in detail.  It’s wonderful stuff, and it’s clear that it’s intentional on Brubaker’s part, as he writes the book very much in the spirit of the Captain America comics of yesteryear with his signature dash of pulp-awareness.  There are some lines that are just so kooky, it’s hard not to smile.

Captain America: Reborn #4 – Review

by Ed Brubaker (writer), Bryan Hitch & Butch Guice (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Welcome back Steve Rogers….maybe?  Sort of?

What’s Good: Over the course of my reviews of Reborn, I’ve repeatedly stated that the comic is better the more it focuses on Rogers, as I’ve thus far found most of the present day portions to be relatively dry.  This month bucks that trend, as while much of the comic is in the present, I nonetheless found myself interested.  This is largely thanks to Brubaker bringing in the villains.

With Doom, Red Skull, and their henchman stomping about, getting their way, and generally acting like the cackling, arrogant villains that they are, these present day portions have a vitality that they’ve lacked through much of Reborn.  It’s always fun to see some of the Marvel Universe’s bad guy power players in the same room at once and Skull and Doom have long been two of the most bombastic of the lot.  Better still, their direct involvement in Reborn provides the miniseries with the specific, pointed adversaries needed to add fuel to the narrative’s conflict; they’re more tightly linked and unique to this struggle over Rogers, as opposed to Osborn, who is everybody’s bad guy these days.

Meanwhile, Rogers’ portions continue to be strong, channeling that sense of torment and entrapment that’s worked so well thus far.  Though it’s still scaled back from, say, issue 2, that doesn’t mean that what’s here isn’t enjoyable.

Overall, this feels just as a blockbuster, widescreen mainstream comic should.  It’s got action, it’s big, it’s loud, and it has those diabolical villains, all of it leading to a great ending that’s sure to leave you hankering for issue five.

Hitch and Guice’s work on art once again works fairly well, magically channeling much of the style and spirit of the late 80s, early 90s while nonetheless retaining that layer of modern gloss and polish.  The Cap flashback scenes are especially fantastic, with one rainy WWII-era scene being an absolutely gorgeous reflection of the misery it’s meant to reflect.

What’s Not So Good: Despite this being and generally good-looking book, I couldn’t help but feel the artwork to be a little inconsistent in style and execution.  Several panels look to be drawn by different hands, and it can be a little weird.  With the art already meant to shift to accommodate the flashbacks, these inconsistencies only help the make the book feel a little chaotic at times in terms of style.

I also felt that while the villains were great, the scenes with Richards, Pym, and Vision felt a bit weaker.  They’re just not as interesting as they could’ve been and barring one hypothesis by Richards, it just perpetually feels like they’re one step behind the comic and the reader.

Conclusion: Despite its underwhelming start, Brubaker has really turned Reborn around.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

 

Captain America: Reborn #3

by Ed Brubaker (writer), Bryan Hitch & Butch Guice (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Bucky and Falcon battle the Thunderbolts, Cap’s glass coffin is exhumed, an old “friend” returns, and Cap battles skrulls in space… again.

What’s Good: From the haunting first page, to the contents of Cap’s coffin, the time traveling plot of this miniseries is once again handled surprisingly well, maintaining a surreal feel throughout.  I especially liked Cap’s method of getting a message to his friends in the present day, which was a definite “why didn’t I think of that” moment.  Once again, it’s great when Cap “breaks character” and discusses his time traveling dilemma with a person from his past, as there’s always this intangible sense of excitement when he does.

Seeing Cap having to re-experience his battles in the Kree-Skrull War was also rather neat, and had a totally different effect from last month’s tragic reiteration of Cap’s origins.  This really did feel like a 70s-era space-based Avengers comic repackaged under a modern lens, and it felt utterly bizarre.  The clash of a past comic under modern artwork was jarring, which I suppose was appropriate, given that this miniseries is about a wrongful collision of past and present.

Though I suppose it was inevitable, the ending of this month’s issue still had a definite impact.  Seeing the return of an old character, one that I’m sure I’m not the only fan of, is never a bad thing.  I’m also all in favour of the character’s new appearance.  It’s very 60s sci-fi, as though it lept off the pages of Brubaker’s Incognito.

Art-wise, you get more of the high-standard you’d expect from Hitch and Guice: an incredible level of detail, excellent shading, and an impossible work-ethic.  I especially enjoyed the team’s depictions of high-altitude flight, which were bright, rosy, and gorgeous.  Hitch and Guise also let loose with the splashes and double-page spreads this month, making some truly iconic work, here.  One particular spread of Namor will certainly elicit its fair share of reader profanities.

What’s Not So Good: Unfortunately, this month’s issue takes a step back from much of what made last month’s such a step up in quality.  The present day portions are still less engaging than Steve’s scenes, but while last month chose to focus more on Rogers, this month spends more time with his present-day friends.  As a result, the issue just feels a bit more bland.

And when we do get Steve, there just isn’t the same level of introspection.  The sense of loss, tragedy, and helplessness just isn’t as poignant.  Instead of the monologues regarding his torment that made #2 so great, we instead just get a barrage of admittedly impressive spreads and splashes.  Brubaker seems to have decided to go heavier on the action side with Steve this month, and the result is a lot lighter.  There just isn’t the same level of gravitas and emotional weight, making the entire comic suffer.

Also, readers of that monthly comic will be quick to notice that Brubaker’s Thunderbolts sound nothing like Diggle’s.  For instance, Ghost sounds like the leader of the team, which is just downright wrong.

Finally, while Hitch and Guice’s artwork is unbelievable, their panel layouts are not.  For some reason, they’ve gone totally wild with the wide panels (widescreen shots) this month.  It’s an almost non-stop barrage that’s repetitive, uninspired, and just annoying.

Conclusion: Fairly good and still better than issue #1, but a step down from last month.

Grade: B –

-Alex Evans

Captain America: Reborn #2 – Review

by Ed Brubaker (writer), Bryan Hitch (art), Butch Guice (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Looking for answers, Cap is forced to relive his most painful moment as he stumbles through time.  Meanwhile, Bucky Cap and Black Widow meet Norman.

What’s Good: It was hard not to groan at “Steve Rogers: Lost in Time” last month; the concept is cringe-inducing.  Yet this month, Brubaker actually making the most of the concept, manages to pull attention away from the lameness of the concept by focusing on the torturous nature of Steve’s current time-hopping existence, as he is forced to relive a particularly awful moment of his life.  Brubaker successfully puts across Steve as imprisoned and tormented by his past, managing to turn a cheesy concept into effective emotional drama.  Those who found last month a little slow will also be happy to know that this month also brings the action, Dark Reign-style and WWII-style.

Brubaker also gives the initially hair-brained “lost in time” concept some much needed nuance and some even bigger questions.  Steve goes through the old “I can’t change anything without risking the future” time travel dilemma. However, it’s effective in that this difficulty grows to be the lock on Steve’s jailcell, forcing him to not only endure a horrid event from his life again, but allow it. The divide between Steve’s narration and Steve’s physical presence only augments this effect.  Also, the question of Steve being unconsciously in control of his time jumps is also intriguing to say the least.

As is probably expected, Hitch’s art is a thing of beauty, hyper-detailed as we’ve come to expect from him. What’s most impressive is how the art shifts in style between depictions of Steve’s WWII past and the current day Dark Reign.  Of course, this is thanks in no small part to Paul Mounts’ work on colors.  Where the WWII bits are brighter and colored in earth tones, the present day is all shadows, blues, and blacks.  Hitch and his team do a better job of depicting the mood of Dark Reign than a hundred tie-ins could ever hope to.  The art alone creates Dark Reign as a very distinctive, and very malevolent, time.

What’s Not So Good: Perhaps it’s only fitting that a book about Steve Rogers’ return leads to the “lost in time” portions featuring Steve Rogers being head and shoulders above the rest of the book.  Whether it’s Rogers’ narration or the emotional impact of his entrapment and suffering, it’s just far more enjoyable than the present day segments.  While the Dark Reign segments aren’t at all bad, the Steve Rogers bits are simply so good that I found myself often just turning pages waiting for another Rogers scene.

Conclusion: Cap fans can rest easy; this might just end up being pretty good.  An action-packed, emotional ride and hopefully a sign of things to come.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

Rob G’s Top Ten Number #1’s

The following list is my picks for the best first issues, based on comics that have been released during by tenure as a hobbyist, i.e the past twenty years. They are from series that were or are ongoing series, not minis. The only factor in choosing these books was simple: Greatness.

1. Y The Last Man

Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

Unmatched storytelling and utterly masterful writing. So many plot threads perfectly bundled up in perhaps the best example of non-linear storytelling.

2. Four Eyes

Joe Kelly and Max Fiumara

An incredibly unique story, told perfectly with outstanding art. Whips you up and takes you to a place that is both familiar and fantastic.

3. Preacher

Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

Like Y The Last Man, an expertly crafted story, with brilliant pacing and perfect dialogue. Plus, insanely novel concepts and characters.

4. The Walking Dead

Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

A regular paged issue that seems like a novella. Haunting, engaging, fun and most importantly, Rick is a character you want to travel with.

5. Batman and Robin

Grant Morrison and Frank Quietley

Morrison and Quietly. Usually that says it all, but this was something unexpected with its new take on the dynamic duo, creating a new mythos rather than perfecting an old one– like they do in All Star Superman.

6. Planetary

Warren Ellis and John Cassady

Mind-bending and genre-jarring. Ellis scoops you up while Cassaday blows you away. For Sci-Fi, there is Firefly for TV and Planetary for Comics.

7. All Star Superman

Grant Morrison and Frank Quietley

Everything Superman should be  in both character  and appearance. Also, perhaps the best colored comic in the past 15 years.

8. The Ultimates

Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch

The Avengers you want and a team of characters that make sense. Story hits you as the art wows.

9. Ultimate Spider-Man

Brian Bendis and Mark Bagely

The best Spider-Man ever. Period. Perhaps the most endearing comic character ever created. Instant love.

10. The Unwritten/Invincible

Mike Carey and Peter Gross/Robert Kirkman and Corey Walker

Both these issues set up addicting stories and characters. Like the other comics in this list, greatness was evident from the get-go.

Be sure to weigh-in in the comment section!

Captain America: Reborn #1- Review

By Ed Brubaker (writer)Bryan Hitch (pencils) Butch Guice (inks) Paul Mounts (colors)

The Story: Bucky and Widow raid a H.A.M.M.E.R. carrier searching for the remains of Zola and the Red Skull’s lab to find evidence that will shed light on Steve Roger’s status. Is he alive or not? Meanwhile, Sharon Carter, the Vision, and the Falcon meet Hank Pym so that he can analyze the “murder weapon” Sharon used to “kill” Steve. Do you “get” what I’m “saying” with the “scare-quotes”?

What’s Good: Did you love Bryan Hitch on Ultimates– especially his WW2 scenes featuring Cap? Well, here you get to see a lot more of that. As usual, his outing here is stupendous and this book is complete eye-candy, especially if you’re a Hitch fan.

As for the writing, Ed Brubaker tells a complete story. All the dynamics that make a comic book high quality are in place here. You have great action, pacing, and dialogue. The mechanics are good. Also, this whole mini is about the return of Steve Rogers and for that I am a bit beholden to this series. That being said, there is a ton to be upset about here, so let me get to that.

What’s Not So Good: Trust me, I hate to say this, but as it stands now, Steve’s return is a major, major disappointment. I am stunned with the shoddiness and lack of creativity on the mechanics and back story to Steve’s “death” and how his return will be orchestrated. I am completely under-whelmed.

We have a no spoiler policy here at WCBR and we won’t betray that, especially for an event this big, but let me say this: Marvel has “Captain America Reborn” going on now while DC is currently running “Batman Reborn.” BOTH of these A-list characters’ “death” involves some type of temporal distortion or conundrum. Let me ask: How is that possible and what does it say about the industry as a whole?

Marvel couldn’t find a bigger cheerleader for this endeavor to bring Steve back than me. But it is impossible for me to gloss over the flaws here. First of all, what happened to all the mystery and the detective story Brubaker spun in CA #600? Inexplicably, we went from having a hard-boiled mystery to Zola spilling out all the details to Norman Osborn about what really happened to Steve and where he is. What’s the point in watching the good guys figure out what happened to Steve when we already know?

I read in an interview that Brubaker originally had in mind that Steve’s absence would only be an issue, but the editors decided to let it play out longer. Well, Brubaker was right. If this is the story of Steve’s apparent death and return, then there was no point in keeping it going this long. The story is not compelling enough to hold together the fake magnitude created by the Death of Character America.

Conclusion: I realize that there are still five more issues in this mini, but as it stands now, this tank is empty. It’s like the reverse plot of Invaders/ Avengers. I can’t fathom why everything is spelled out and if it was done differently it might just work. Might.

I have to give the creative team here that something big will happen later on this series, something of actual importance. Because right now it looks like the cards are shown and it is a losing hand. The only thing that saves this issue from a D or lower is the fantastic art.

Grade: C-

-Rob G.

Fantastic Four #567 – Review

By Mark Millar (writer) Bryan Hitch (pencils) Cam Smith, Andrew Currie, Victor Olazaba, and Mark Pennington (inks), Paul Mounts (colors)

The Story: The Marquis of Death, Dr. Doom’s master, continues his assault on Doom and takes the first steps to destroying the entire universe. Through the battle, we learn about Doom’s dreams and aspirations, his psychology,  and what his true potential might be. Also, Latveria goes through another dramatic phase in its history.

What’s Good: I’m loving the Masters of Doom arc; and this issue keeps the energy and pace of its previous installments. The Marquis of Death is a great character, especially when taking into account his origin story from Marvel 1985. I am really looking forward to his looming confrontation with the FF. Also, his apprentice finally does and says stuff in this issue. The fact that he is constantly being hidden in the background and his face hidden under a hood makes me confident that his identity will be of both surprise and importance. I’m betting on him being a character that we know.

I like the character study on Doom in this book. Although his subconscious desires are all pretty predictable, it was still cool to see. It was also amazing to see how his former master ripped them out of him and used them against him in such devastating fashion.

Hitch’s art is off the hook in this issue and I think this is the strongest outing in this entire run. His design and exposition of the Marquis of Death is the stuff nightmares are built on. My critique on the art in previous issues of this run was on the faces being ugly and inconsistent, but Hitch has righted that problem, as expressions are clear and asthetically pleasing, even if the character itself is ugly.

What’s Not So Good: I don’t see much wrong with this issue, but I question Millar’s use of narration text boxes during Doom’s future. They came out of nowhere and created a forced, fake feel to the story. They also didn’t add much to the story except filling in a few details that could have been deduced from the scenes that followed.

I can see why readers get fed up with Miller as he finds a formula and sticks to it. For example, we see the Marquis of Death wear his fallen enemy’s costume; for those reading Old Man Logan, you saw the Red Skull do the same thing with Captain America’s uniform. So, I see how that can be annoying for readers. I for one am a sucker for those type of scenes and since it works well, I say, go for it.

Conclusion: Millar and Hitch continue their roll with this issue of FF. As I mentioned in previous reviews, I never had any interest in the FF until Millar started crafting these insanely entertaining stories and scenarios that the team has had to deal with. This arc is head and shoulders above the previous installments for both its art and content, as it features the most novel and daring concepts of any comic on the shelves. Well, except for maybe Old Man Logan.

Grade: A-

-Rob G.

Fantastic Four #561 – Review

By Mark Millar (writer) Bryan Hitch (art), Paul Neary (inks), Paul Mounts (colors)

The Story: Mr. Fantastic, the Thing, and the Invisible Woman pursue her future self to the New Defenders floating head quarters.  In customary fashion, they arrive just in time to save the Human Torch and prevent the transportation of 8 billion refugees from the future Earth to the present one. In the course of the battle between the two teams, the “Hooded Man” of the New Defenders, who besides having possibly the worst name in comic book history, is revealed to be a familiar character with interesting connections to another one of Millar’s current projects.

What’s Good: This is definitely the best issue in the second arc of Millar’s F.F. run. Plotlines and past developments are tied together nicely, and even though some reveals are predictable, they are still pulled off in novel enough ways to keep the story engaging. Millar employs interesting time travel concepts that remain cool even after basic logic disrobes them some. Hitch’s art tells the story perfectly and the action scenes are clear and full of detail and interesting perspective.

What’s-Not-So-Good: Perhaps in many corners of the industry it is heresy to criticize Hitch’s art, but the characters’ faces he draws for this series in non-action scenes look strange and inconsistent. Also, Galactus’s role in this arc is useless, and his fate is frustrating and unsatisfying.

Conclusion: Millar has single handedly made me interested in the Fantastic Four again with these high-concept stories and faithful, sometimes sensational, interpretations of the first-family of superheroes. Hitch’s art keeps me rereading issue after issue, mesmerized by the detail and layout he produces. If you haven’t been reading this series, now is a great time to jump in, as one arc concludes and another begins. Plus, the trade of this arc is due out soon.

Grade: B+

-Rob Galinsky

Fantastic Four #560 – Review

By Mark Millar (writer), Bryan Hitch (art), Andrew Currie and Matt Banning (inks), Paul Mounts (colors)

As you can expect, we’re treated to another issue of gorgeous visuals care of Bryan Hitch and his supporting art team. Mark Millar slows things down a bit in what’s probably his most story-centric issue of Fantastic Four yet. We’ve seen similar stories to this before, but the scale and character choices he uses here are bold and inventive.

Millar’s dropped hints over the past few issues that finally come to fruition and anyone with half a brain will be able to figure out who’s who and what’ll happen next with little to no effort. This lack of surprise left me a little disappointed, but the story held my attention making me genuinely interested to see where this goes next. That huge Earth contraption from the beginning of this run is definitely going to play a role in the last part of this arc, and the fun will be seeing how 8 billion people are transported there.

This is an issue of answers, explanations, and plot advancement. Don’t expect surprises, because chances are you won’t get any. If you’ve been having fun with the ride so far, chances are your experience won’t be hampered. Just don’t expect the shocking cliffhanger that Millar usually spoils us with. (Grade: B+)

– J. Montes

Fantastic Four #559 – Review

By Mark Millar (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Pencils and Inks), Andrew Currie (Inks), Paul Mounts (Colors)

Have I mentioned how much I love Mark Millar’s Fantastic Four? Millar strips the FF right to the core: the Four are not superheroes, never have been. Sure, they do heroic stuff when the need arises, but they function as a family first, and as a group of explorers and “imaginauts” second. In this issue, Millar continues his trend of showing how the lives both “ordinary and extraordinary” of the Four intersect and affect each other.

As Ben goes on a double date with his new girlfriend, Debbie (to the premier concert of Johnny’s band, no less), we see that Johnny’s usual luck continues and it’s all bad. Lightwave, the father of Psionics, the super-villainess that Johnny recently dumped, encounters his daughter’s ex-boyfriend, and saying that he is less than happy would be an understatement. As the two fight (and eventually Lightwave’s teammates join him), penciller Bryan Hitch delivers some of his best action scenes yet. While Hitch is an extremely talented artist, his last few fight scenes have seemed slightly muddled with flying debris and it was therefore difficult to discern exactly what was happening. This is not the case here – the brutal destruction of the surroundings is crystal clear.

We also get a very brief focus on Reed, just long enough for Millar to remind us how cool he is. In this case, he demonstrates Reed exercising most of his brain to concentrate on one problem, while using his subconscious to focus on another. Sue, on the other hand, has a rather mysterious meeting with Alyssa, in which it is revealed that the “Earth Trust” group (the creators of Nu-World), may not have the best of intentions. (Ha! I knew there was something sinister about that organization!) Still, Alyssa herself seems to be acting suspiciously. Forget Skrulls, this situation in and of itself has me wondering “who do you trust?” Especially because I think the Earth Trust is somehow connected to these “New Defenders” who have captured Doom.

And speaking of a captured Doom, if you thought last issue’s big reveal of who is leading this new team was shocking, wait until you see who else they have captured. While this ending surely has me wondering just what the crap is going on, I’m loving every minute of this confusion. Seriously, why are you still reading this review and not the actual issue already? (Grade: A)

-M. Staples

Fantastic Four #558 – Review

By Mark Millar (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Pencils and Inks), Andrew Currie (Inks), and Paul Mounts (Colors)

Anyone who doubted that the Millar/Hitch run on Fantastic Four would be top notch needs to pick up this issue simply because it will prove them wrong. I’ll admit that the last story arc was certainly entertaining, but not quite on the level of awesomeness that I was expecting it to be. But this arc certainly looks to make up for it (and it’s only on its first issue!). If you thought Doctor Doom’s presence here would be the highlight (as I did), then you thought wrong. His appearance is very brief, but it triggers the appearance of a new group of super villains (or super heroes?) which looks to give the Fantastic Four a lot of trouble. In fact, one member of the FF already seems to have fallen under the influence of a member of this group (though our hero doesn’t know that).

The story gives us several reasons to mistrust this new team of characters. Two newly recurring characters, and one long time recurring character are all acting suspiciously, and I highly doubt that they are Skrulls (unless Millar’s been messing with us this whole time and intends to tie this in with Secret Invasion). Perhaps the biggest surprise comes at the very end when we see exactly who is leading this mysterious team. I’ll give you a hint: it’s a well known Marvel character (pretty vague, yes, I know). I was completely blown away when I saw who it was, and how he/she was behaving, seeing as how his/her behavior was certainly less “extreme” than normal – and especially since this character seems to be playing an entirely different role in another ongoing right now. This surprise ending, along with the many twists and turns, had me saying “What the crap?!” as much as an episode of Lost.

Of course, we aren’t just treated with a bunch of cool plot twists. It really is all about the characters, and as I’ve said before, Millar gets these characters and his writing shows it. Amongst all these fantastic happenings we still have Sue worrying about a nanny, Reed trying to solve scientific problems, etc. Mark Millar actually shows us the “lives both ordinary and extraordinary.” To top it all off, Bryan Hitch’s artwork is as excellent as always. I love his use of weird angles that make the panel appear to fit more “stuff” than it should. And, as I think I’ve mentioned every time, I love the way he draws Sue. He gives her a very “mom-ish” look, while at the same time keeps her attractive. I can’t explain how he does it, but he should draw her more often. To anyone who hasn’t yet jumped on the Fantastic Four Millar/Hitch bandwagon: do so, now. (Grade: A-)

-M. Staples

A Second Opinion

I agree with McKenzie’s assesment of this issue wholeheartedly. This is the strongest issue of Mark Millar’s run on Fantastic Four yet. While I enjoyed the previous arc, it seemed to conclude a bit too fast for my tastes. But this issue sets up the plot beautifully and takes its time doing so. The end result is a fresh story filled with a new threat that will engross the reader from beginning to end.

When Doom appeared at the end of last issue pleading for help, I immediately had flashbacks of Fantastic Four #551 where writer Dwayne McDuffie did the same exact thing just months ago. Thankfully, the story goes in a completely different route with Doom being neutralized almost immediately and the story deviating to the new threat facing the Fantastic Four. I am truly impressed with the layers of story touched upon in this issue. Not once does it ever get bogged down with exposition or wasted dialogue – and trust me, there’s a lot of talking. Every character from Valeria’s relationship with the new nanny to The Thing’s love life is touched upon, and unlike the first issue of Millar’s run, none of this feels forced.

Bryan Hitch continues to push himself as an artist. There’s not much action in this issue, but make no mistake, there’s a good amount of it in the opening pages. When we see The Thing crash through a series of skyscrapers I just couldn’t help but laugh. Afterwards, the story quiets down considerably and this is where we get to see a different side of Hitch’s work. He does some tremendous panel work, contorting the camera and keeping the eye entertained through many domestic moments. This is a really good comic. (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes

Fantastic Four #557 – Review

By Mark Millar (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Pencils and Inks), Andrew Currie (Inks), and Paul Mounts (Colors)

Here we get a fairly satisfying conclusion to Mark Millar’s and Bryan Hitch’s first arc on the FF. At the opening, CAP is still in full destruction mode, but it is Reed Richards who has the master plan to save the day. I don’t want to ruin too much, but it certainly “looked cool” (to quote a bystander) to watch the story come to fruition. Of course, a huge part of this is Hitch’s magnificent art. The action scenes are cinematic and his depiction of Reed’s “plan” is probably the best “gadget” that I have seen yet in FF. Normally, I get bit annoyed when we get several splash pages and/or several pages of art with no dialogue, but in this instance, there was not enough!

We also get a much needed confrontation between Reed and Alyssa, and it serves for another reminder of why Reed and Sue have such a great dynamic as a couple. Further helping this is a scene later on, Millar explains the true reason why Reed had to travel to the other end of the universe, and it clicks perfectly as part of the story. Speaking of romances, we get to see a further progression of Johnny and Psionics’ relationship. This is perhaps what I love so much about Millar’s writing in FF, he gets the characters so well. The characters could so easily get lost in this story of high tech gadgets and world-wide threats, but instead these elements are only the sideshow, the “Four” remain center stage throughout.

Perhaps the only complaint I have about this issue is the lack of resolution of the Nu-World plot. I was really hoping we would get to see why the Earth Trust thinks the Earth is doomed. I still think it’s a sinister group with an “all-for-the-best” façade, but with twelve issues remaining in the Millar/Hitch run, I suppose there is still plenty of time for this plot to be dealt with. There is no way Millar can promise that the “Earth is doomed,” and not follow up on this information. Surely the Marvel Universe will not have to transfer to Nu-World, so either the Earth Trust’s true motive will be revealed, or Reed will find some way to save the world where all else have failed. Either way, I look forward to see where Millar will take this (not to mention the final page cliffhanger!) (Grade: A-)

-M. Staples

Fantastic Four #556 – Review

By Mark Millar (writer), Bryan Hitch (pencils, inks), Andrew Currie (inks), Paul Mounts (colors)

Ugh. This issue’s a complete mess. I know. I’m in disbelief too, and it’s not the fault of Mark Millar or Bryan Hitch, either. So, let me go into what I liked first and then I’ll explain the disaster of what prevented this book from being enjoyable.

What’s good: Sue, Ben, and Johnny have a much more active role in this issue. We get to see them play as a team and use their wits to fend off CAP. We also see a huge assortment of other heroes join in the fight. It reminded me of one of those World of WarCraft raids where 40 people go to fight a big boss only to wipeout within a minute. Fun stuff. I honestly wasn’t anticipating a huge battle of this magnitude so soon, but it hits you in face from page one and the momentum hardly slows from there.

What’s bad: I’ve been praising Paul Mounts’ coloring job since the first issue of this arc. However, he completely fails in this issue and pretty much destroys any enjoyment I might have had due to his poor color choices and onslaught of snow effects. I mean, seriously, calm the #$%& down with the computer effects already. There’s a lot more ways of showing snow than over saturating the page with huge snowflakes. It’s so bad that it completely hampers Bryan Hitch’s beautiful artwork and makes it impossible to discern what’s going on. I realize this week’s issue of Amazing Spider-Man does a similar job with its snow effects, but the effects don’t mar the story – you have a clear understanding of what’s happening. Here? It’s just undiscipherable. It’s so bad that I honestly hope that Marvel releases a black and white version or a “snowless” version, because this is just a crime.

That said, the “snowless” pages are fine. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch continue their run with a solid, but not spectacular issue. It’s the obligatory fight issue, not the fun science issue like last month, so don’t expect to be blown away with crazy, out of this world concepts. But what should have been a fun and entertaining issue is snowed out by Paul Mount’s blizzard machine. If I’m Bryan Hitch, I’d be pissed. This is unforgivable. (Grade: D)

– J. Montes

Fantastic Four #555 – Review

By Mark Millar (writer), Bryan Hitch (pencils, inks), Paul Neary (inks), Paul Mounts (pencils)

Mark Millar wasn’t lying! This book is full of high concepts. Usually when I read a book like this, there’s a lot of generalities – things just aren’t thought out well. That’s definitely not the case here. Like a true science fiction epic, Millar’s idea of a new man made Earth is provocative. The way he’s fleshed out this “Nu-World” and how the scientists have thought of just about every contingency from replicating graffiti on city walls to the moon’s effect on the tide is just brilliant.

Most of this issue goes into great detail regarding Alyssa’s “science project”. One might expect to be bogged down with these explanations, but thanks to the eye candy provided by Bryan Hitch, it all comes off very cinematic. Eventually, the story boils down to Alyssa selling this concept to Reed, imploring him to leave behind the super heroics and become a scientist on the project. He doesn’t exactly answer her question, but there’s no denying that it’s in the back of his head.

The other subplots started by Millar don’t really come into play this issue, and that’s fine with me – they’re  just “throw aways” and I prefer seeing him concentrate on this science fiction stuff. Sue is no where to be found, Johnny Storm runs into a super villain that falls for him (and vice versa), and The Thing rambles on about his date from the previous night while giving Reed a stern warning about Alyssa. I’m sure this will all tie together eventually, but for now, I’m happy with what’s going on.

The creative team is firing on all cylinders. Paul Neary and Paul Mounts deliver some beautiful inks and colors over Bryan Hitch’s pencils. And Russ Wooton’s has to be commended for his choices in typefaces (it all just fits perfectly). Fantastic Four is in very capable hands. Prepare to be enraptured from page one. (Grade: A)

– J. Montes

Fantastic Four #554 – Review

By Mark Millar (writer), Bryan Hitch (art), Paul Neary (inks), Paul Mounts (colors)

I don’t mind  one or two pop culture references in my comic books, but this is getting out of control. I know the Ultimate line of books are full of these. Mark Millar loves this stuff, and normally it doesn’t bother me. But when he asked Captain America what “Myspace” was during Civil War, it was just downright stupid.  Well, Millar, continues this trend and it hampered my reading experience. It’s not clever and it only dates the story. Stop it!

Gripes aside, if you manage to skip (or read) past the first five to six pages you’re in for some fun. Reed bores an elementary class out of their minds (which is brilliantly illustrated by Bryan Hitch), until Ben turns on the fun and hits on their teacher!

From here we actually get into the meaty part of the story. Sue is working out the kinks, discussing a new super hero team as a side project for charity (with gal pals Wasp and She-Hulk), when an old flame (Alyssa Castle) of Reed’s arrives. She’s a bit snide to Sue, but as soon as Reed enters the room she’s all over him. It doesn’t help either when Ben oogles over her. Anyway, Alyssa wisps Reed away to an undisclosed, classified area where it’s revealed that her and her husband are working on something big, very big (which I won’t get into for spoiler reasons).

Millar promised us a science fiction story with high adventure and this issue lays down the foundation for that. I’m not convinced by some of the characterizations presented in this book (Johnny Storm), but all in all, the concept and plot is exactly what a modern Fantastic Four book should be. We all know what to expect from Bryan Hitch when he draws and he doesn’t let us down. His art is nothing short of breathtaking. (Grade: B)

– J. Montes