Hulk #5 – Review

By: Gerry Duggan (Writer), Mark Bagley (Penciller), Andy Hennessy (Inker), Jason Keith (Color Artist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer), Alex Ross (Cover Artist)

The Story: To paraphrase Dr. Evil: “He didn’t spend five years in Green Medical School to be called MISTER Green!”

The Review: This new direction for the Hulk follows quite shortly after the last new direction, which is a sentence that gets repeated with some frequency, actually. In this case, at least, there’s at least a sense of continuity, building on what’s before in a logical manner while remaining a (somewhat) genuine new take.

This is helped, of course, with the continuation of the art chores by Bagley. Not only does it help perpetuate a through-line as the writers shift, he once again delivers some dynamic presentations of powerful figures in key panels, such as three consecutive splash pages of the Hulk in speed-line-filled, explosive action. That’s a pretty bold move, but establishes a wide-screen feel for this Hulk’s initial appearance.

The one art choice I’m unsure about is the allowing Hulk’s hair to be vaguely mohawk-ish. The exact length seems to vary a bit from panel to panel, and it overall doesn’t really mesh with the face. I suppose it’s meant to convey some kind of “edginess” to the character, but it’s not really that extreme so it’s kinda held back as a design element, in a way.

Cataclysm: The Ultimates’ Last Stand #5 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy (Artists), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: The plan of Reed Richards and Tony Stark gets going as the fate of the Ultimate universe lays on Kitty Pride and her ability to fight Galactus on her lonesome.

The Review: I have to confess I am a bit relieved. While this series started on the right footing with plenty of destruction and high stakes, the more it progressed, the less it could make me care. While I do have a general appreciation of the Ultimate universe and its characters, there are a great many things I like quite a bit more than this publishing line.

One of those is Galactus. Being a creation of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee along with being an amazing concept, I always do tend to like it when he is included in stories. With his presence, the stakes are always higher, more cosmic and there is always an inherent mix of goofiness and awesome that is brought alongside the character that I enjoy tremendously. However, for some reasons, it seems that this series and its conclusion, despite it featuring heavily the character in question, managed to be a rather unsatisfying affair.

Where it fails, in a way, is in how it is expedient, but also a bit unbelievable. While suspension of disbelief if a concept that is strongly tied to anything that is super heroic, the fact that the manner in which the characters actually defeat the cosmic entity is quite absurd is a tad baffling. While the very thought of someone trading punches with the planet-eater is something that is exciting on paper, the manner in which this very action unfold is quite a stretch considering the very threat and power Galactus represents.

Cataclysm: The Ultimates’ Last Stand #4 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy (Artists), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: With Galactus still doing his rather ominous-looking actions, the Ultimates recruits the X-Men to their cause.

The Review: To talk about Brian Michael Bendis is to talk about decompression. While Bendis can be an effective writer when he exploits a situation to its maximum through different angles, he can be somewhat problematic when it comes to pacing. Single issues aren’t his specialty, most of the time, with some particularly great concepts being stretched out in order to maximize his strengths. Unfortunately, it does the very same with his weaknesses as well, which can be overly apparent occasionally.

This issue is an unfortunate showcase of the writer’s weaknesses, which sadly does not make for a very satisfying issue. Being a transition issue for the most part to set things up for the conclusion, the story in itself moves characters from point A to B, explain a few things to its readers and set up many elements for things to arrive at their narrative peak later. Unfortunately, there are several problems in the execution of this approach that makes this much-less exciting than it could be.

The first thing that Bendis does right, yet not in the best of way, is to set up some kind of plan and use the characters in order to move things along. Doing so at a frantic pace, the readers are reintroduced to the X-Men as well as to the potential manner in which the Ultimates might confront Galactus. Presenting many facets of their plans and somehow explaining the gist of it in a rapid manner, there is little to no time given for the possible implications, be they moral, scientific or to show how many of the characters might react or feel about the many possibilities offered by the plot and decisions therein. In its quickness, Bendis unfortunately dazzles through the more interesting tidbits which could have made this story much more exciting, treating most of the characters as set pieces more than actual persons with problems, traits and what-not.

The other problem that the comic face is the fact that nothing really does happen here. There is an explanation and a plan at the beginning, some very few moments for characterization and then a good amount of action, all leading to the same conclusion as the previous issues: they need to do something or their world is screwed. There is a lack of accomplishment or surprising twists that makes this rather slow, but also rather safe, with close to no consequences being actually presented for the readers to enjoy. The sensation of cataclysmic events is well done, but it comes at the sacrifice of the characters and the story in general.

Cataclysm The Ultimates’ Last Stand #3 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy (Artists), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: Miles Morales and Reed Richards travel to Earth-616 for help against Galactus.

The Review: Decompression is perhaps one of the plagues of current comics that make readers cringe the most. While slowing things down to perhaps exploit every possible changes and smaller details can work to great effects in most stories, it is a technique that does not always adapt well to certain genres. Some writers can do a slow-build wonderfully, while others don’t seem to be able to actually understand the fine line between progress and stalling. Also known in some circles as ”trade-writing”, it is always a rather disappointing thing to read an issue that is so blatant in its general lack of meaningful progress.

This issue verges for the most part on the worst traits of this particular problem, balancing between being rather slow and uneventful without being absolutely meaningless. While not the most satisfactory issue, it does give readers and those following the Ultimate universe some rather memorable moments while it does its job moving from point A to B decently enough.

Cataclysm: The Ultimates’ Last Stand #2 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy (Artists), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: With Galactus destroying everything, the Ultimates are left wondering which options are left against cosmic powered entities.

The Review: The latest issue of this event was rather bombastic. In a lot of ways, the arrival of Galactus proved to be rather exciting, with a certain level of destruction and scope that was rather entertaining to read. Attempts were made to stop him, people were panicking and everything that needed to be said about the cosmic entity had been clearly put on the page. However, how does a writer continues with such a big introduction to his cast and to the conflict at hand?

Unfortunately, Brian Michael Bendis follows this with an issue that slows down the action and sensation of urgency in order to bring people up to speed. While it is always a nice thing to remind readers about some of the specifics and to see the characters obtain information on the current threat, it does not always make for an exciting or enjoyable reading experience.

Simply put, there is quite a lot of exposition and dialogue here, with Bendis mixing things up with his traditional take on conversations in comic books. While some of the quips coming from the character adds some levity to the situation they are in, it quickly becomes too much as most characters ends up either explaining the obvious or their motivations to one another, which leads to pages rather heavy in dialogue.

Cataclysm: The Ultimates’ Last Stand #1 – Review

 

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy (Artists), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: Galactus hungers for alternate universes. Luckily for him, he actually is in one.

The Review: Readers of super hero stories are usually very open when it comes to concepts and how they are interpreted. A blind man with ninja training acting as a lawyer? Check. A man that turns green and massive when angry? Check. A man from a previous universe that has enormous power and need to feed on planets in order to survive? Double check. There are many ideas in this type of universe that are rather silly, yet the suspension of disbelief of capes enthusiast is usually rather strong.

There are times though were some ideas are perhaps a bit too far-fetched, however, like this series dealing with Galactus, the one from the regular 616 universe being in the Ultimate universe. There is potential here, to be sure, yet there are so many ways this could go wrong. Does Bendis and the rest of the creative team manage to bring out some of the better uses for this idea to the forefront in this opening issue?

For the most part, Bendis opens this up fairly well, using some of most preeminent concepts of both universes to create a good comparison between the two. The use of Galactus as an unstoppable force, one that cannot be bothered by ants is one that has been used many times before, yet it is used competently here as well. The destruction is on par with big action movies, which is commendable for a series that has a rather ominous title like Cataclysm: The Ultimates’ Last Stand.

Suicide Squad #22 – Review

By: Ales Kot (story), Patrick Zircher (art), Jason Keith (colors)

The Story: Las Vegas won’t feel too “Viva” after the Suicide Squad’s through with it.

The Review: It’s a rare, beautiful thing when a new writer takes over a title and immediately it seems like the two are made for each other, feeling as close to an original creation as a mainstream book can get.  That’s how I felt—and I don’t believe I was alone on this—when Kot took over Suicide Squad in #20.  So it is with no little amazement and dismay that I discover he’ll be departing in just two more months, after #24.

Convinced as I am that this is a bad move for the series—no offense to upcoming writer Matt Kindt*—I won’t indulge in useless rants or baseless accusations.  However, I do think that given how ambivalent Kot sounds in his press release, despite his attempts to sound bravely upbeat, that this was an editorial, not a creative, decision.  If so, then it remains a baffling one, because with all the critical acclaim since Kot’s takeover, what could possibly have been so offensive that the powers-in-charge would choose to send the writer packing after only two issues?*

It can’t possibly be the violence, at least not in and of itself.  Once you’ve seen Superboy-Prime rip off someone’s arm in Infinite Crisis, or Damian Wayne getting riddled with bullets and arrows as a mechanized hulk beats him to a pulp, Unknown Soldier popping off a headshot seems quite merciful by comparison.  If sheer, bloody gruesomeness was the problem, wouldn’t Swamp Thing and Animal Man have been cancelled by now?

Suicide Squad #21 – Review

By: Ales Kot (story), Patrick Zircher (art), Jason Keith (colors)

The Story: It takes a crazy to know a crazy.

The Review: It’s a confusing time to be a DC fan right around now.  In the last few months, we’ve seen a multitude of creative changes to its line of titles.*  Some of them have caused me to slap my forehead wearily in the manner of a parent experiencing his child’s latest screw-up (e.g., Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps).  Others have left me disappointed by failing to live up to their potential (e.g., Justice League Dark and Green Arrow).

Only a few have so thoroughly impressed me that I’m willing to overlook the failings of the rest as the hazards of trying something new (as opposed to change for its own sake).  Charles Soule on Swamp Thing is one; Kot on Suicide Squad is another.  In a short time, both writers have clearly established their voices and visions for their respective titles, showing that their thought processes go far beyond a good pitch meeting.

Savage Wolverine #5 – Review

By: Frank Cho (Writer/Artist), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: Hulk arrives, Wolverine tries to fight him and some kind of ancient evil is unleashed out of the Savage Lands.

The Review: I had told in the previous review I wrote about this series a theory in which I told that Wolverine was kind of inconsequential to the story. In a way, I was mildly joking and I thought myself very clever when I pointed out that besides giving us action, he did not do much to advance the plot, leaving Shanna and Amadeus Cho the luxury of actually explaining what was happening to us. While it was a bit on the nose, it did not exactly detract from the enjoyment of the story.

As it turns out, I was right, albeit not entirely: none of the characters here actually mattered. While it may sound harsh and exceptionally unfair for me to say, I dare anyone to read this issue and then to just try to see why exactly the story needed Wolverine, Shanna, Amadeus Cho or even Hulk in there to explain its concepts. Basically, there is a lot of fighting between Hulk and Wolverine, which leads to the ancient evil sealed in the Savage Lands to wake up and go out in space. The end.

Suicide Squad #20 – Review

By: Ales Kot (story), Patrick Zircher (art), Jason Keith (colors)

The Story: You will need to pay someone pretty well to head-shrink these folks.

The Review: It’s been ten issues since I Dropped this title, not so much from an egregious level of quality as for simply a lack of interest.  While Adam Glass had the right idea for the tone of this book, he seemed to lack a clear vision for the series and the characters never managed to take off under his pen.  For a cast criminals, each with their own psychoses, they were rather dull as a group.  Glass suffered more from a lack of inspiration than lack of talent.

So it’s pretty exciting to see what a new writer can do with the material, especially one who’s pretty new to the game.  Now, I’m sure Kot has his fans elsewhere, but as far as mainstream superhero goes, he’s definitely an unknown—so there’s always a chance you might get to witness firsthand what might be the start of a breakout run for the writer.  And from the get-go, things look very promising, as Kot displays an instinctive handle on the title’s unique qualities.

Savage Wolverine #4 – Review

By: Frank Cho (Writer/Artist), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: Shanna gets resurrected as we get some explanation about the island and some of its mysteries. Meanwhile, Wolverine is angry and needs to do what he is best at, which isn’t very nice of him.

The Review: The more the series is advancing, the more it seems that Wolverine is absolutely inconsequential to this whole story about people being lost in the Savage Land. Really, from what I can see, he is pretty much only there to make the title sell, which is actually quite understandable, considering that a ‘’Shanna the She-Devil’’ or ‘’Amadeus Cho’’ title would not sell very well. Still, if adding Wolverine to the mix to get an actually interesting title is what we need, then so be it.

Savage Wolverine #3 – Review

By: Frank Cho (Writer/Artist), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: Amadeus Cho gets some back story for the isle while Wolverine and Shanna battle some tribesmen.

The Review: There are some times when you wonder just why the titular character is even there when the supporting cast is more interesting. Sometimes, it seem that the more interesting parts of some series or issues are seen through the secondary characters, making those characters seems much more important than they are or at least their appearance become much more anticipated between issues. Sometimes, it is involuntary and other times it is by design, but it always results in the main character being pushed aside in many ways.

Savage Wolverine #2 – Review

By: Frank Cho (Writer/Artist), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: Wolverine and Shanna deals with the dinosaurs attacking them, while Amadeus Cho arrive on the island and tries to understand just what is happening here.

The Review: Now this is more like it and, quite frankly, an improvement in close to every way from the opening issue of this series. Close to every problem I had with the first issue are either resolved, pushed aside or are just gone, creating something that is a little bit more up to the artistic talent of Frank Cho.

The first thing that had bugged me in the first issue was the over-reliance of self-narration that had been absolutely redundant considering what they said and how they were presented. The problem I had was that most of what Wolverine said could be very simply deduced by the art itself, making his speech completely useless in some ways. Here though, instead of describing just what he sees, Wolverine tells us how he feels and how he reacts to what is surrounding, creating a much better representation of who Wolverine is as a character instead of becoming something akin to a ‘’Captain Obvious’’. It is not completely out of the way, as there are still some narrations that are fairly useless, but it still much better than in the first issue.

Savage Wolverine #1 – Review

By: Frank Cho (Writer/Artist), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: Wolverine gets stranded on a strange island that is part of the Savage Lands and meets Shanna the she-devil.

The Review: It is not common place these days to see an artist that can write a series on his own. Usually, it’s a combination of writer and artist, like Morrison and Quitely, or Ennis and Dilon, that creates great work as a team. We have seen people able to write and draw series by themselves, like Jeff Lemire with Sweet Tooth and Essex County, so could Frank Cho be the next discovery as the next big writer/artist under one of the Big Two?

Sadly, no. Frank Cho makes a good number of mistakes in this first issue that makes it very hard to enjoy its strong points. The very first of them is very simple: he writes too much. Close to every panel is accompanied with the various thoughts Wolverine has in his head, but the vast majority of those thoughts are completely useless, describing what Wolverine see in front of him. Considering that we can see easily what the character sees, those bits of text are pointless, bringing down the whole issue as if Frank Cho did not believe that his art could show all the necessary details by itself.

Wolverine & the X-Men #3 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer); Chris Bachalo, Duncan Rouleau and Matteo Scalera (pencils); Tim Townsend, Jaime Medoza, Al Vey, Mark Irwin, Victor Olazaba, Duncan Rouleau and Matteo Scalera (inkers); Chris Bachalo and Jason Keith (colors)

The Story: The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning gets a new mascot.

The Review: And so ends Wolverine’s first day as a headmaster. Jason Aaron really threw the kitchen sink at him: rowdy students, disgruntled employees, the NYS Board of Regents, interdimensional gremlins, the new Hellfire club, and his very first enemy (publication-wise), Krakoa. It’s fitting that he face both new problems and old foes, as this book is simultaneously going back to the franchise’s roots and breaking new ground. It’s also incredibly fun.

Aaron has been turning out solid work, fitting in a tremendous number of characters and details without anything feeling lost, and this issue is no exception. The dialogue continues to bubble with enthusiasm, the ensemble has great chemistry, and the characters continue to develop and surprise. The pace of the storytelling has smoothed out after a somewhat slow first issue and an entirely frantic sophomore showing. The resolution to the main conflict between the mutants and Krakoa feels a tad bit rushed, but it matches the insanity at the heart of the book. The hasty resolution also allows for a truly fantastic double spread revealing Krakoa’s fate, and I doubt there’s a single reader who won’t smile while reading it.

As you may have noted above, the art team got pretty big for this issue. I expected it would be a mess when I saw the names of eight different artists on the credits page. But while this issue intentionally portrays a huge mess, and maintains a kinetic and anxious aesthetic, the style still looks pretty tight and uniform. The zany, hyper-exaggerated style is completely in sync with the tone of the book, and allows for some really fantastic character moments. And did I mention that awesome double spread? I did? Well, whatever, it deserves to be mentioned twice. It’s awesome.

X-Men Schism #5 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Adam Kubert (penciler), Mark Roslan (inks), Jason Keith (colors), Jared K. Fletcher (letters), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: The final issue where we see how the X-Men split up and why.

What’s Good: It’s always nice to jiggle the status quo.  The X-Men have spent the last ~3 years living in San Francisco with a big “Welcome” sign hanging outside for any mutant who wanted to join them.  That was fun and enjoyable, but now we’re going to get something new and that’s a good thing.  As long as the status quo is constantly shifting under the character’s feet, the writers and artists always have new things that can help to inspire them.  There are all kinds of cool possibilities from the X-Men splitting into two groups.  In some ways, it can be a small microcosm of the superhero Civil War and in others, it’ll just be fun to see how the two groups respond differently to external events.  Like, what happens now if a mutant baby is born: Do both sides send a team?  Do they consult each other first?  Do they fight?  Movement forward in the story is almost always a positive.

The other neat thing in this issue was that the young mutants made good and helped to take down the super-Sentinel.  Even though the story of the teenage hero taking down a Big Bad who seemed to tough for them is not new, it’s always one of those things that make me smile.  Always…

X-Men: Schism #4 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Alan Davis (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Jason Keith (colors), Jared K. Fletcher (letters), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: The Cyclops/Wolverine split finally comes to the forefront and the ultimate danger to the mutants is revealed.

What’s good: Anytime an event has had as much build-up as Schism, it’s nice to finally get to the destination.  Seriously, Marvel started teasing this with promotional images of Cyclops’ visor sliced up into Wolverine-sized pieces back in January and in the last month, we’ve gotten images of how the mutants will pick sides in the months to come…..so, it was nice to finally see what they’re fighting about.

I kinda liked the central conflict: Cyclops thinks that every mutant needs to be a warrior whereas Wolverine wants to do the dirty work so that the younger mutants can have a normal life.  This has potential to be the updated version of the classic struggle between Xavier and Magneto.  And, I really hope that future creators continue the momentum in that direction.  To do so, they’ll have to (a) keep Xavier and Magneto on the sidelines and not thrust them back into primary roles and (b) continue with Cyclops’ transformation away from the guy who used to lecture Wolverine on how “X-Men don’t kill!”.  For me, that type of longer term plot development is precisely what I want out of my super-hero books, so let’s hope Marvel sticks with it.

Alan Davis is one of those pencilers who I wish could do a monthly book.  I thought he started out a little rough in this issue, but by about the 5th page, he was just nailing the scenes.  The great thing about Davis is that he’s so gifted that he doesn’t have to resort to tricks to have a visually impressive page.  Sometimes I love just watching a master like Davis draw a normal page with plain, old rectangular panels because it is so pretty.  I also rarely praise double-page spreads, but the image of Cyclops shooting that Sentinel across the Bay was great.  It was visually impressive and a climactic enough moment in the story to justify a double-pager.

Wolverine: Weapon X #4

By Jason Aaron (Writer), Ron Garney (Art), and Jason Keith (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Wolverine may be overexposed these days, but Jason Aaron’s Weapon X series is definitely a keeper.

The Story: Wolverine and Maverick think they can take down the CEO of Blackguard before the Senate vote…

What’s Good: The best thing about Wolverine: Weapon X #4? The brutal, exciting action that takes up most of the book. Artist Ron Garney and writer Jason Aaron deliver what is easily one of the best fight scenes of the year, as Wolverine squares off against a Blackguard soldier. While I hesitate to say too much because it could easily ruin many of the highlights of the battle (Jason Aaron’s contributions in particular), I absolutely must mention how awesome Garney’s two page fight montage looks. Most of it is a prime example of the artist at his best and a great piece of evidence in favor of the argument that Garney is simply one of the best Wolverine artists around.

The slower stuff in Weapon X #4 holds up against all the action rather well. As you probably know by now, Jason Aaron writes one hell of a gruff, badass Wolverine and proves it through the dry, humorous dialogue. Ron Garney’s artwork (complimented by Jason Keith’s impressive color work) is very cinematic and does a fine job telling Jason Aaron’s story. The characters look fantastic, the action (as I mentioned) is near perfect, and the overall tone is a perfect fit for a series like Weapon X.

What’s Not So Good: Jason Aaron’s Blackguard story, while decent, continues to be predictable and fairly bland. The laser claws are cool and the basic concept behind it is sound, but nothing particularly surprising has happened (outside of one thing that happens to Maverick). Another complaint I have is that occasionally Ron Garney’s work looks a bit rushed. A few panels are oversimplified and, quite frankly, pretty rough-looking. It doesn’t hurt the overall art package too much, but it is noticeable because most of the book looks so damned good.

Conclusion: While the story leaves a bit to be desired, Wolverine: Weapon X is worth it for the action alone. If you’re a fan of Wolverine, consider the latest issue of Weapon X to be a must buy.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Wolverine: Weapon X #1

By Jason Aaron (Writer), Ron Garney (Artist), and Jason Keith (Colorist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: At first, like any sane person, I really wanted to dismiss Weapon X as something that I need not waste my time reading or reviewing. I mean, at first glance, it seems to have all the trappings of what would pretty much be THE ultimate Marvel cash-in series. In my mind I thought, “It stars Wolverine, launches just weeks before a film starring the character hits theaters, and is subtitled “Weapon X” (which just so happens to be an integral part of the Wolverine movie)…yep…” Then I noticed that the creative team attached to the book is the same team responsible for “Get Mystique!” one of my favorite Wolverine stories of all time. Suddenly, Wolverine: Weapon X became a must read series…

The Story: After getting a tip from Maverick, Wolverine heads off to investigate the latest attempt at resurrecting the Weapon X program. It turns out that a private military contractor recently bought Weapon X files off the black market and is looking to give it’s mercenaries a boost. The investigation into the facility hosting the experiments triggers some old memories of Wolverine’s time as part of the program…

What’s Good: Jason Aaron and Ron Garney waste no time establishing the gritty, violent tone Wolverine: Weapon X will have. Both the visuals and the writing do a fantastic job of tapping into the dark side of Marvel’s main mutant. While it’s definitely too early to tell just which directions the first arc will take, it’s obviously going to be a brutal, bloody affair. And I, for one, could not be more pleased about that.

What’s Not So Good: I guess my biggest complaint is that the debut of Weapon X is very much a textbook example of how a standard first issue should play out. The first threads of a plot are introduced, Wolverine’s character is established, and off he goes with a purpose. The formula works, that’s for sure, but I wish the series would have hit the ground running a bit harder. I mean damn near everyone is already familiar with Wolverine on some level, so why not just get to it? Sure, it’s a blast reading Aaron’s take on Wolverine no matter what the character is doing. And sure, I couldn’t be much happier with Garney’s distinct visual style. But I wish things moved forward a bit more from a plot perspective instead of spending so much time establishing Wolverine as a badass…most people already know that he is.

Conclusion: I really like the first issue of Weapon X, especially on a technical level, I just wish it had a bit more substance. That said, what substance there is has some interesting storytelling potential that, under the control of Jason Aaron, Ron Garney, and Jason Keith, should be in good hands. I look forward to see what happens next.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Mighty Avengers #20 – Review

By Brian Bendis (writer) , Lee Weeks, Jim Cheung, and Carlo Paglayan (artists), Jeffrey Huet (inks), Dean White and Jason Keith (colorists)

The Story: Serving as the Secret Invasion epilogue, Mighty Avengers #20 closes the book on the current Avengers team and follows Hank Pym as he deals with the loss of The Wasp. Readers are treated to a series of flashbacks and backstory as Hank gets caught up to speed on the events that have transpired since his capture. The story also follows his continuing journey leading up to Janet’s funeral.

What’s Good? The four big splash pages by Jim Cheung are hauntingly beautiful and poster worthy.

What’s Not So Good? With the exception of Hank lashing out at Tony Stark and the brief confrontation with Norman Osborn in the closing pages, everything in this issue is a rehash of crap we’ve seen before. Sure, I love Jimmy Cheung’s four splash pages, but they’re completely unnecessary in a book like this. Hell, they could have been compressed down to one splash page, but nope, we get four pinups over story.

The issue stumbles along trying to make us feel sorry for Ant Man. And it doesn’t work because A) Ant Man’s a jerk B) The Wasp hasn’t been a relevant character in decades and C) No corpse means she’ll be back any day now. At least with Captain America’s death it was noble and treated with the utmost respect (and we had a body to see). Here? It’s empty (pun intended).

Conclusion: Read it at your comic store and use your $2.99 on another book.

Grade: F

– J. Montes

X-Men: Original Sin #1 – Review

By Daniel Way (Writer), Mike Deodato (Art), and Rain Beredo (Colors) and Mike Carey (Writer), Scot Eaton (Pencils), Andrew Hennessy (Inks), and Jason Keith (Colors)

The Story: This one-shot serves to get readers up to speed on what’s been happening in both X-Men: Legacy and Wolverine: Origins, the two books involved in the much-hyped Original Sin crossover event. Wolverine, searching for Professor X, calls in a favor from an old acquaintance to provide shelter for his amnesiac son, Daken. What little peace Daken finds is quickly shattered by the appearance of the “Sebastian Shaw controlled” Miss Sinister. Meanwhile, Wolverine confronts Charles Xavier in order to “convince” him to help repair Daken’s mind.

What’s Good: Quite a lot actually, especially for something that mainly serves as a foundation. I was only slightly interested in the crossover prior to reading this one-shot, but it definitely looks to be something worth following. The writing by Daniel Way and Mike Carey flows together smoothly, the artwork in both chapters is fantastic, and at five parts, the whole thing will require a minimal investment. Also, it’s worth mentioning that the story is extremely easy to pick up on whether you’re a new reader or someone like me who only follows one of the X-books (X-Men: Legacy).

What’s Not So Good: The fact that this story seems to be for a specific audience despite the easy-to-follow introduction. I honestly can’t imagine this hooking too many new readers as many suffer from Wolverine fatigue as it is. In addition, while it has been said that this crossover will have an effect on the X-Men as a whole, I don’t really see how this can fit into the larger scheme of things as it stands at the moment. This looks to be an entertaining, self-contained story that doesn’t need to be shoehorned into the larger picture unless it can fit comfortably.

I also have to add that I think Daken looks ridiculous (outside of his cool looking claws), and Miss Sinister seems to offer little more than sex-appeal. They are decent enough as character concepts, but this book does little to show why I should care about either.

Conclusion: This visually attractive, high quality one-shot does everything it needs to do in order to get readers interested in the Original Sin crossover. While nothing groundbreaking, it provides the necessary background and enough hooks to grab those willing to check it out. Definitely worth a look for “X” fans or those already picking up either X: Men: Legacy or Wolverine: Origins.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

Hulk #5 – Capsule Review

By Jeph Loeb (writer), Ed McGuinness (pencils), Dexter Vines (inks), Jason Keith (colors)

I was really looking forward to this fight between Thor and (Red) Hulk and it just turns out to be “okay”. Personally, I think Jeff Loeb should keep the fighting between monsters. It’s just more spectacular that way. Sure, Thor’s a heavy hitter – even a god – but once you take away Mjolnir, he’s pretty much dead in the water.

And that happens way too quickly here.

Even weirder is the how the fight ascends into space. Now, I can see Hulk defying some universal laws of physics, but come on, he holds his breath all the way to the moon and back?! This is just a little too over the top – even for me. But I’ll admit, the kicking of Thor’s helmet is hilarious and one that will be long remembered.

I don’t know about you guys, but when I read the conversation between Green Hulk and Abomination it reminded me of the Dinobots talking in Transformers. Anyone else get that vibe? (Grade: C)

– J. Montes

New Avengers #43 (Secret Invasion) – Review

By Brian Bendis (writer), Billy Tan (pencils), Danny Miki (inks), Jason Keith (colors)

Sadly, this is a pretty boring issue which sucks because I had fun with the last part of this story. You know, the one where Ka-Zar and Shanna got mixed up in this whole Secret Invasion mess in the Savage Land? It worked because it connected some dots that reached as far back as New Avengers #1. This issue is a continuance of that story, shedding light on how the Skrulls created Earth’s mightiest doppelgangers and sent them in their getaway pod to Earth.

Reading this issue, it just felt like a retread of stuff Brian Bendis has spoon fed us for the last few months. We get Skrulls scheming to undermine Earth’s superhero community, the undergoing of brainwashing, memory implants, and then the execution of their plan. This segue was fun when it was unveiled a couple of months ago. But since then, it’s grown stale. How many times must we hear the Skrull Queen’s musings on how creating distrust is the key to winning the war on Earth? How many times are we going to see Skrulls get draped with blood as they absorb their new skin and identities? Were it not for Spidey’s somewhat entertaining dialogue back on the planet’s surface, I’d almost call this issue a reprint!

Even Billy Tan’s art (on the Skrull side of the story) feels like stuff we’ve seen before. Yes, it’s all about being consistent with earlier stories, and make no mistake, Tan’s art is good on the eyes, but Jim Cheung already did this story and much better, I might add. The stuff in the Savage Land, however, is fair game; the art here, is pure eye candy.

Look, maybe it was necessary to tell this story. I can understand that. But it could have been done so without all the redundancies. Unfortunately, this issue feels like a waste. It’s essentially weak supplemental material that might have been better served as a backup or a side story to some double-sized issue. It doesn’t belong here. Save your money and skip this one unless you absolutely need your Billy Tan fix. (Grade: D+)

– J. Montes

Uncanny X-Men #499 – Capsule Review

Ed Brubaker, (Writer) Mike Choi, Ben Oliver, (Artists) Sonia Oback, and Jason Keith (Colorists)

While this arc has felt like every bit of the filler that it is, I’ll be the first to admit that it has been enjoyable. This issue brings some closure to the San Francisco mystery (expect some aspects of it to pop up again later) and allows Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler to team-up against Omega Red for one last battle in Russia.

As a whole this issue is really nothing special, but it’s still a decent read. Brubaker fits in some genuinely funny character moments and the art teams, different for each storyline, make this a nice looking book. As a whole, this issue’s the same solid we come to expect from the X-Titles, but also completely forgettable. (Grade: C)

-Kyle Posluszny

Wolverine #65 – Review

Jason Aaron (Writer), Ron Garney (Artist), and Jason Keith (Color Artist)

Before I begin this review, let me just say that it’s a shame that this is Jason Aaron’s last issue on Wolverine before Mark Millar takes over with his “Old Man Logan” arc. I have no doubt that Millar’s arc will be a solid, entertaining, and a truly original take on Wolverine, but Jason Aaron has crafted something great with the “Get Mystique!” arc. He truly “gets” both Wolverine and Mystique and has used that understanding to make an increasingly high-stakes game of cat and mouse (with a mutant twist, of course). I hope that Mr. Aaron is given the reigns to Wolverine somewhere down the road, because this might just be the most entertaining Wolverine story I have ever read. With that said, let me get on with the review.

Wolverine #65 hits all the right notes, in all the right ways, and it really is everything someone could hope for in a finale. We get the brutal, satisfying Wolverine and Mystique confrontation we have been waiting for, no strings attached. We also get a satisfying conclusion to the flashback sequences that have helped create an interesting and complimentary side-story to the main event. Nearly everything about this book, and really this arc as a whole, is top-notch and I can’t recommend this one enough. An extremely satisfying book all around.

Jason Aaron once again nails the complex dynamic between Wolverine and Mystique. We see they are more similar than one might think, while at the same time presented with stark contrasts. Aaron’s take on both characters is just superb. The story, on the surface, is incredibly simple, yet Aaron has managed to create enough layers to keep things interesting and the reader guessing. I can’t wait to see what he does next time he gets his hands on either of these characters. His dialogue is crisp, the inner monologues work extremely well, and the story moves at a brisk pace.

I wish I could have the same sort of praise for the artwork, but there was something lacking. Ron Garney and Jason Keith have done some great things in the previous issues, that’s why it’s a shame that some aspects of this book feel rushed. It’s still a very solid effort, but I can’t help but feel that an extra layer of polish would have done wonders. That said, the action flows smoothly and the fight between Wolverine and Mystique is a thing of brutal beauty, especially one particular splash page that stands above them all.

I can’t recommend this book, or this arc enough. I urge any Wolverine, Mystique, or X-Men fan to check it out. One thing is for sure, the bar has been set incredibly high for Mark Millar. Here’s hoping he delivers with “Old Man Logan.” (Grade: A)

-Kyle Posluszn