Dexter #1 – Review

By: Jeff Kindsay (writer), Dalibor Talajic (art), Ive Svorcina (colors) and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: A comic Dexter story just in time to cash in on the show that started Season 8 last week!

Review: Let’s be succinct: Don’t read this comic.

This is actually the kind of comic that offends me.  “They” have a popular property and “they” decide to shovel out a comic series that is low-quality merely because they know they don’t have to try any harder since people will buy it based on the name alone.  It’s the same problem that plagues video games that are related to a summer blockbuster movie or novelizations of movies or new versions of Monopoly based on licensed properties.  This stuff is usually crap, yet we buy it because we kinda like one media property with that brand name, so we might like another.

X-Men #15 – Review

By: Christopher Yost (writer), Paco Medina and Dalibor Talajic (pencillers), Dalibor Talajic, Juan Vlasco (inkers), Marte Gracia (colorist)

The Story: First To Last, Conclusion: The past and present encounters with the Evolutionaries converge on Cyclops and his choices, past and present. At stake… the survival of humanity.

What’s Good: I continue to be delighted with the artwork, and the stylistic differences between past and present. The less heroic, and even anti-heroic, tone and physiques in the past really give a sense of how far the X-Men, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and by extension, the Marvel Universe, have come. Magneto is wider, less sleek, and less in command of himself and the world, due in large part to Talajic’s unique pencil and in work. Cyclops is similarly a shadow of the impressive leader he will be in the future. In the present, modern heroism is shown in its full glory with tight action, exciting layouts and swift action.

X-Men #14 – Review

By: Christopher Yost (writer), Paco Medina, Dalibor Talajic (pencillers), Dalibor Talajic, Juan Vlasco (inkers), Marte Gracia and Wil Quintana (colorists)

The Story: “First to Last, Part 4” opens up more of the past of the Evolutionaries (2.7M years ago) and of the original X-Men in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants era. And in the present, for good measure, the X-Men are getting their tails kicked.

What’s Good: We’re in high second act here. The action and the revelations are hitting quickly. Yost is doing one of the more difficult things in serial storytelling, which is to successfully pull off a big retcon by stitching new events and plots into the old X-Men tapestry without tearing or unbalancing anything. Some places this has been done well have been Deadly Genesis and Uncanny X-Men First Class (see WCBR’s coverage). As things are going, I would certainly put “First to Last” up there with those well-done retcons. The revelations coming from two time periods is pretty cool. I’m wondering if we’re going to see the Eternals as part of this and what made Phaestus set in motion this genocide tool. Yost makes the present more tense with things really going downhill (“We need Cyclops!” and “Cyclops, what did you do?”). What other hidden sins (on top of creating the X-Force death squad) does Cyclops have in his closet?

Artwise, I was very pleased. The juxtaposition of Medina’s and Talajic’s styles for the time periods was awesome and both the Evolutionaries and Magento in the past and present were artistic scene-stealers. Medina and Talajic imbued both with such restrained menace and danger that I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. And the poses and expressions of Magento and the Brotherhood in the past were excellent. I’m a full-on fan of the artwork.

X-Men #13 – Review

By: Christopher Yost (writer), Dalibor Talajic, Paco Medina (artists), Dalibor Talajic, Juan Vlasco (inkers), Marte Gracia, Wil Quintana (colors)

The Story: First To Last, Part 3: The evolutionaries continue to attack and we see, through emerging memories, the origin of the evolutionaries. At the same time, their last visit is further illuminated, while their fight to take out Cyclops continues.

What’s Good: This issue had several eye-opening (or popping, depending on how unjaded you are) reveals that were quite cool. Our no-spoiler policy keeps me from enthusing, but I’m definitely going to reread this issue, not because I missed something, but because the implications are thick enough to reward another look. I got the impression that Yost was having fun with his characters in this issue, which colored the overall feel. Old Ice Man, Wolverine, Old and New Cyclops, and Old Beast all showed their little personality quirks and the sum is so much more than a patchwork of familiar reactions. There’s a soap operatic social web of friendships, tensions, conflicts and overt and hidden respects that has been a trademark of Marvel since Spiderman was created, and brought to a much higher levels by such X-masters as Claremont. Yost is drawing on that wealth to create sitcom-esque joisting, double meanings or clever ambiguities. Although I loved the original X-Men moments in this issue, my favourite scene was where all the young mutants are “keeping” Cyclops safe and he flatly says “I’ll give you one more minute, then I’m leaving.” In response, Rockslide asks, “You think you can take all of us?” and Cyclops just answers “Yes. You’ll be first.” You can totally sympathize with this adolescent powerhouse being intimidated by a leader whose position is becoming increasingly legendary. And the reader shares Rockslide’s awe when you think ‘Yeah, Cyclops can be knocked unconscious with the leg of my dining room table, but shit…what trick has this strategic genius got that he’s not even a little scared of Rockslide and half a dozen other mutants?’

The Rest of the Stack for the Week of 11-4-09

Deadpool Team-Up #899

By Fred Van Lente (Writer) and Dalibor Talajic (Art)

The Story: Deadpool and Hercules, both plagued by nightmares, find themselves trapped in a strange labyrinth created by villains Nightmare and Arcade.

The Good And The Bad: The first issue of Deadpool’s new series delivers everything I want from a comic featuring a team-up between Deadpool and Hercules. Fred Van Lente’s script is funny, action-packed, and surprisingly clever. And since the writer manages to find a sweet spot between what a Deadpool comic is like and what a Hercules comic is like to great effect, Deadpool Team-Up #899 is filled with all the violence, wacky comedy, and mythology you could ever want from a team-up between Wade Wilson and the Lion of Olympus. The only real downside to Van Lente’s script is that it follows a fairly predictable team-up formula. The heroes meet, they fight, they team, and they win out in the end. You’ve seen it before.

Dalibor Talajic’s work in Deadpool Team-Up #899 is impressive all around. His action scenes are dynamic and brutal, his character work is solid (I especially like how accurate his Hercules looks), and his storytelling compliments the script extremely well. My only real complaint about his work is that a few scenes look slightly “off.” Bodies look either disproportionate or awkward at times.

Grade: B

Assault on New Olympus #1

“Assault on New Olympus Prologue” by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (Writers), Rodney Buschemi (Art), and Guillem Mari (Colors)

“Godmarked” by Jeff Parker (Writer), Gabriel Hardman (Artist), Elizabeth Breitweiser (Colors)

The Story: “Assault on New Olympus” begins with a reveal about what the mysterious Continuum project is and a fight between Hercules and Spider-Man over the affections of Hercule’s wife Hebe. In “Godmarked,” the Agents of Atlas take on the god Phorcys in order to save Venus.

The Good And The Bad: While previews make the plot of Assault on New Olympus sound fairly promising, there really isn’t a whole lot to the first part of the Incredible Hercules event. Sure, the Continuum reveal is interesting, the confrontation between Herc and Spidey is fun, and the visuals by Rodney Buschemi and Guillem Mari are very nice, but, as a whole, it’s clear that Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente are saving the most interesting stuff for later.

The strongest part of the Assault on New Olympus prologue is the Agents of Atlas backup story. Thanks Jeff Parker’s entertaining dialogue and Gabriel Hardman’s outstanding visuals (I seriously think Hardman’s Phorcys attack is one of the coolest scenes of the year), I wouldn’t be surprised if “Godmarked” ends up being one of the year’s best surprises.

Grade: C+

Psylocke #1

“Kill Matsu’o” by Chris Yost (Writer), Harvey Talibao (Pencils), Paul Neary (Inks), and Ulises Arreola w/ Brian Reber (Colors)

“A Girl Called Hope” by Duane Swierczynski (Writer), Steve Dillon (Art), and Matt Hollingsworth (Colors)

The Story: Psylocke heads to Japan and finds out that her past isn’t as far behind as she thought. In the backup story, Hope deals with a wound and Cable deals with a sniper.

The Good And The Bad: The story that begins in Psylocke #1 isn’t all that inviting to people new to the title character, but Chris Yost deserves credit for attempting to make sense of her twisted continuity regardless. Yost does a fine job of letting Psylocke’s somewhat cold personality come through in the dialogue and it goes a long way towards helping make up for the inaccessible nature of Yost’s continuity heavy story. The artwork throughout the book is pretty slick (thanks, largely to the impressive color work), but it’s also obnoxiously heavy on T’n’A fan-service and posing. Also, it must be noted that Harvey Talibao has a problem keeping Psylocke’s face looking consistent. She looks like a completely different character in a more than a few panels.

The backup story about Cable and Hope is an effective character piece that establishes the relationship the characters share for those that haven’t been following the Cable series. There isn’t much to Swierczynski’s tale, but Steve Dillon’s visual storytelling more than makes up for that. One odd thing about the backup story is that it makes Hope seem younger than I believe she is supposed to be at this point. I could be wrong through, so if I am, feel free to correct me in the comment area.

Grade: C+

Haunt #2

By Robert Kirkman (Writer), Greg Capullo (Layouts), Ryan Ottley (Pencils), Todd McFarlane (Inks), and FCO Plascencia (Colors)

The Story: Daniel Kilgore finds himself getting pulled deeper into his brother’s former life as he learns to adjust to his new powers.

The Good And The Bad: In all honesty, Haunt #2 is only a tiny bit better than the first issue of the series. In other words, it’s a pretty bad comic. Alex covered all that’s wrong about the series in his review of Haunt #1, so instead of repeating everything he said, I’ll just say that the only thing Haunt has going for it is a somewhat interesting story. A nugget of potential exists somewhere within the plot Kirkman and McFarlane are developing. I’m sure of it. It needs to reveal itself soon though or else Haunt is going to be remembered as nothing more than a failed vanity project.

Grade: D

-Kyle Posluszny

 

Deadpool #900 – Review

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Deadpool stories by some of my favorite writers?! Needless to say, I have some pretty high expectations for Deadpool #900.

“Close Encounters of the F*cked-up Kind”

By Jason Aaron (Writer), Chris Staggs (Pencils), Juan Vlasco (Inks), and Marte Gracia (Colors)

The Story: Aliens abduct Deadpool. You probably know what happens next.

The Good And The Bad: “Close Encounters of the F*cked-up Kind” is a basic, predictable “aliens abduct someone they can’t handle” story. Regardless though, it still manages to be pretty fun. Chris Staggs’s pencil work, while a bit rough, is mostly impressive and compares favorably to Paco Medina’s work on the ongoing series. Jason Aaron’s dialogue is humorously immature at times, but it works well enough and fits the story.

Grade: C+

“Silent but Deadly”

By Fred Van Lente (Writer) and Dalibor Talajic (Artist)

The Story: Deadpool fights a trio of mimes.

The Good And The Bad: While there isn’t a whole lot of dialogue, Fred Van Lente’s story about mimes that have the power to make their miming actions a reality is one of the best things about Deadpool #900. Artist Dalibor Talajic does almost all of the hard work and definitely does Van Lente’s script justice. Talajic’s art tells the story extremely well, though a few panels are a bit hard to follow because of how the powers being used work. A sword fight without swords cannot be an easy thing to draw, so I give all the credit in the world to Talajic for making the scene work far better than it has any right to.

Grade: B

“Shrunken Master”

By Mike Benson (Writer), Damion Scott (Artist), and Lee Loughridge (Colors)

The Story: Deadpool sees a shrink in order to work through some issues.

The Good And The Bad: Mike Benson’s Deadpool story is definitely the oddest one of the bunch. It’s dark, surprisingly serious, a bit psychological, and somewhere between gritty and surreal (not to mention very “indie”) visually. Personally, I think it’s compelling and very well executed. That said, there’s no question it seems a bit out of place among the lighter stuff in Deadpool #900. One thing’s for sure though: Damion Scott and Lee Loughridge make a great team.

Grade: B+

“Pinky Swear”

By Joe Kelly (Writer) and Rob Liefeld (Artist)

The Story: Deadpool looks to cash in on a bet.

The Good And The Bad: I’m not going to bother with the debate about Rob Liefeld’s art style. Why? Because his work for “Pinky Swear” sure as hell isn’t going to change any minds. As for the story, Joe Kelly does a nice job of delaying the whole point of the story for comedic effect. Had the story been even a page longer though, I probably would have lost my patience with the whole thing. Kelly’s dialogue is funny, but the story drags on for longer than it should.

Grade: C

“What Happens in Vegas…”

By Duane Swierczynski (Writer), Shawn Crystal (Artist), and Lee Loughridge (Colors)

The Story: A crime scene investigation… Deadpool style.

The Good And The Bad: In order to get the most out of Duane Swierczynski’s Deadpool story, you have to have some familiarity with the whole crime scene T.V. show fad. If you do, you’ll probably find Swierczynski’s script to be pretty damned funny. Stereotypical investigators, talk of sex crimes, a bloody crime scene…it’s all there. It wouldn’t work nearly as well if Shawn Crystal’s artwork didn’t capture the vibe of Swierczynski’s script, but, thankfully, it does in every way.

Grade: C+

“Great Balls of Thunder on the Deep Blue Sea”

By Victor Gischler (Writer), Sanford Greene (Pencils), Nathan Massengill (Inks), and Dave McCaig (Colors)

The Story: Deadpool goes on a cruise and disrupts Dr. Octopus.

The Good And The Bad: While the bright and colorful artwork by Sanford Green and his team is a bit jarring, it’s certainly not bad in any way. It gets the job done and helps make “Great Balls of Thunder on the Deep Blue Sea” one of the more enjoyable reads in Deadpool #900. Victor Gischler’s script is nothing special, but it definitely makes good use of the Doc’s arms.

Grade: C+

“One Down”

By Charlie Houston (Writer) and Kyle Baker (Artist)

The Story: A “meta” Deadpool story in which the character wonders about his life.

The Good And The Bad: “One Down” is a pretty trippy story all around. From Kyle Baker’s bizarre visuals (Deadpool Vs. a pirate Fin Fang Foom anyone?) to Charlie Houston’s “meta” script, nearly everything about “One Down” is strange. It works, but the story certainly isn’t for everyone.

Grade: B-

“Deadpool & Widdle Wade: Turning Japanese”

By James Felder (Writer), Pete Woods (Pencils), Walden Wong (Inks), and Shannon Blanchard (Colors)

The Story: A reprint of an older Deadpool story, “Deadpool & Widdle Wade” is the largest story in Deadpool #900. It’s about Deadpool dealing with a Japanese mobsters Deadpool clone.

The Good And The Bad: I’m a bit torn about “Deadpool & Widdle Wade.” On one hand, it’s creatively decent and pretty fun all around. On the other, it’s a reprint that’s taking up space that could have been used on other new Deadpool stories.

Grade: C

Conclusion: Deadpool #900 is a great value, but none of the stories in the book fall under the “must read” category. Pick it up if you are a fan of the character.

Overall Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny