Django Unchained #6 – Review

By: Quentin Tarantino & Reginald Hudlin (story), Denys Cowan (pencils), John Floyd (inks), Jose Villarubia (colors)

The Story: It takes balls to pull a con on Candyland; they have ways of dealing with that.

The Review: Freedom is best described as intoxicating; it certainly encourages you to take chances and do things you wouldn’t otherwise.  It’s no wonder that most of the regrettable things you’ll ever do in your life happen between ages 18 and 30.  Away from your parents, given the power to eat, say, or do pretty much whatever you want, whenever you want, and the law of averages dictates that good sense will take a backseat sometimes.

Django has been experiencing that wild ride ever since Schultz freed him in #1, and we saw that even from the start he’s taken full advantage of his liberty.  Although satisfied to follow his liberator’s lead most of the time, he’s always made it clear that he does so by his choice alone and that he has no qualms about calling his own shots, even against Schultz’s mild judgment.  Basically, he’s been setting himself up for a fall from day one.  For us modern folk, that means drinking binges and one-night stands; for Django, it’s going to be much, much more painful.

Adventures of Superman #1 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Superman stops a meth-head, watches children play, and hurts a bizarre version of himself.

The Review: I think it’s appropriate for my review of this debut issue that I bring up some points I made in my initial review of Legends of the Dark Knight.  Besides the fact that I feel there’s already a glut of Superman titles (and more surely to come with Superman Unchained), I question the wisdom of adding yet another one to the mix.  Truly fresh Superman stories are growing ever rarer, and a monthly Superman showcase can only drain that well even faster.

I also have the same concern about the continuity status of these stories as I did for the ones over in Legends.  Without fail, the Superman we get here is one from pre-relaunch canon, down to the spit-curl and outer underwear.  This kind of thing sends the wrong signal from DC, as it signals a strong attachment to old continuity and tradition that surpasses whatever affection or viability the current Superman has.

Django Unchained #3 – Review

By: Quentin Tarantino & Reginald Hudlin (story), Denys Cowan (pencils), John Floyd (inks), Jose Villarubia (colors)

The Story: At the Schultz School and you, too, can learn how to shoot a snowman in the heart.

The Review: To this date, I still haven’t seen the actual movie of Django Unchained, but even just reading its comic book adaptation, I think I’ve caught on to its unique appeal.  It’s a story of opposing forces existing side-by-side: blacks versus whites, the freedom of the bounty hunters versus the servitude of the slaves, the practice of killing without mercy against the travesty of enslaving one’s fellow man.

For an example of these strings of contrasts, you need look no further than in our dual protagonists.  Aside from the differences in their race and class, you can see that there’s a kind of tension between Schultz’s obvious kindness and patience with Django and his utter lack of sympathy for their intended targets.  It’s the kind of strange tension you see with mafia men who nevertheless love their families, and it seems to embody the fundamental paradox of humanity: a species in whom depravity and virtue can coexist very, very comfortably.

Legends of the Dark Knight #1 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Batman gets owned by a butler, teases a robot, and prevents the kidnapping of some fish.

The Review: Some people might say this point is arguable, but I firmly feel there is such a thing as too much Batman—in the same way that you can have too much Superman, Wolverine, X-Men and Avengers.  I made it pretty clear in my review of Batman: The Dark Knight #11 that I felt we had one Batman title too many already, and adding one more seems like definite overkill.  This just feels unashamedly exploitive to me.

Still, it turns out that there are still plenty of stories left to tell where the caped crusader is concerned, especially if one isn’t bound by continuity.  What you may find interesting about all the features included in this issue is all without exception portray a pre-relaunch Batman.  The old-school costume, underwear on the outside and everything, is the least of it.  Each feature has its own strangeness for anyone who’s already used to the new-52 history.

Uncanny X-Force #17 – Review

By: Rick Remender (writer), Jerome Opena (art), Dean White with Jose Villarubia & Chris Sotomayor (colors), Cory Petit (letters) & Jody LeHeup (editor)

The Story: Things are almost done in the Dark Angel Saga.

Three Things (this one is pretty straight forward and doesn’t need 5 points):

1. The art is very pretty.  Stylistically, this isn’t my favorite type of art (I’ll take Bachalo, Ramos or Joe Mad any day of the week), but it’s hard not to respect the craft and effort that go into this issue from both Opena and the coloring team.  This book has a very Alex Ross look and that’s a great thing to a lot of people.  The only drawback is a problem I often find with art in this style and it’s that the story-telling sometimes suffers for the pretty image.  This style just isn’t as adept at capturing facial expressions and body language because it doesn’t allow exaggeration and I wonder if some of the problems I’ll note in #2 below are related to the art.

2. This story is confusing.  This is a very hard review for me to do because I completely lost the plotline months ago.  If I close my eyes and try to recall scenes from this or the preceding 6 issues, the only thing lunging out at me is when AoA’s Blob jumped on Fantomex and the Frenchman got turned into a human suppository.  That’s all I’ve got.  Oh, I know that the story is generally about Dark Angel trying to do something to kill the world using the life seed and that X-Force and some AoA mutants are trying to help.  But, I honestly don’t care anymore.

Sweet Tooth #25 – Review

By: Jeff Lemire (writer, artist & colorist), Jose Villarubia (colorist), Pat Brosseau (letters) & Mark Doyle (editor)

The Story: Choices for the good guys: stay in the dam or continue to Alaska?

The Review: This wasn’t the best story cycle of Sweet Tooth, so I’m kinda glad that its over and we’re on to new and hopefully better things.  It wasn’t remotely “bad”, but it lacked for those punch-in-the-guts moments that have characterized the earlier stories.

It was interesting seeing the protagonists arguing about what to do next and that ties into a common theme of post-apocalyptic fiction: Where to rebuild?  All of these stories have their moments of action where the good guys are running for their lives from mutants or the bandits of the wastelands, but once they get some room to breathe, it becomes a question of what to do next.  Is this a good spot to settle down?  Might it be better somewhere else?  Search for “the cure,” or just hunker down and make the best of things where you are?  Us readers are so used to living in a world where we have instant answer to questions like, “What temperature is it in Anchorage, Alaska right now?” that you have to really think about what you’d do in their situation where you don’t know anything.  The dam is a pretty sweet place to hang out and a LOT better than anything else they’ve found.  But, splitting the group wouldn’t be a bad idea from a storytelling standpoint because this comic worked better with a smaller cast.

Of course, the other staple of post-apocalypse fiction rears its head too towards the end of issue: If you’re going to try to live in the best spot, you’d best be armed to the teeth because other people – nasty people – will come knocking.  The last page really augurs good things for the next story cycle.

The only disappointment I have with the story is that we still don’t really know much about the dude living in the dam.  I guess that is to be expected because we don’t really know much about most of the characters, but I was expecting a little more information.  I’m unsure whether to be truly disappointed about this or glad that Lemire didn’t take the easy path of having a cliché moment where the dude laughs (“BWAH HA HA! style, of course) and springs a trap on our protagonists.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #7 – Review

By Tony Bedard (writer), Andy Clarke (artist), Jose Villarubia (colorist)

The Story: The story opens with a Dominator Fleet Admiral doing possibly the most original thing I’ve ever seen to break out of a force field in space. The splash-page outcome is spectacular. Then Khunds move in and we are brought to the Gil’Dishpan world, where Dox is trying to pull stuff back together. Our favorite little tyrant is as popular as ever with everybody he looks to for help. Then Starro’s forces attack.

What’s Good: Dox, as always, my favorite little dictator is in fine form; blustering, manipulating, ordering and plotting so that he gets his way. It’s worth mentioning that Dox really is a creation of both writer and artist. Bedard has the story, but the superb, expressive faces that Dox makes throughout the book add just as much. Furthermore, since the art is so good, Bedard has the flexibility to do less dialogue and exposition.

The Aliens – Dominators are always cool. Bedard has their point of view down pat. The Gil’Dishpan are the same. They speak differently, think differently and surprise you throughout the story. They even have a Reefmarshall. I don’t have a lot of experience with them (I stopped reading Legion long before they were introduced), but the warping powers are great and I love what Bedard, Clarke and Villarubia do with them. The Khunds are also depicted reveling in their idiosynchracies.

As for the art, Clarke and Villarubia deliver outstanding work. The Lunavore, while scientifically implausible, is visually arresting, as is the Dominion fighter chasing it. Another nice touch is Dox’s personal force field. It’s so much more obviously primitive than Brainiac V’s. I really appreciate this sort of retro tip of the hat to continuity. And the cover, including Villarubia’s blending of the colors, is just fantastic.

There’s a writing rule which says you should never put a gun on the mantle-piece in Act One, unless you intend to fire it in Act Three. When the Durlan faces off against a dominator on the Gil’Dishpan world, she says, “I wouldn’t fire a blaster in a methane ocean, Admiral.” Let’s just say that Bedard doesn’t disappoint in Act Three, so his plotting is up to snuff.

What’s Not So Good: There’s almost no point in having this section here for me when I’m reviewing R.E.B.E.L.S., but if pressed, I will say that Wildstar as a character leaves me cold. I don’t find her slightest bit compelling. However, there are so many other good characters, that maybe this is intentional. If pressed further, I would argue that you can’t ignite a methane planet. If oxygen (which is required to combust methane) were already in the atmosphere, it would be slowly reacting anyway with the methane to produce carbon dioxide and water, both of which are very stable.

Conclusion: Month after month, R.E.B.E.L.S. delivers. This book is no exception. Go buy it.

Grade: A-

-DS Arsenault

Gotham City Sirens #2 (Batman Reborn) – Review

By Paul Dini (Writer), Guillem March (Artist), and Jose Villarubia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The first issue of G.C.S. wasn’t anything special. Guillem March’s artwork looked great, but Paul Dini’s story and dialogue left quite a bit to be desired. Things need to develop more if I’m going to be adding another ongoing to my pull-list.

The Story: Through a flashback, it’s explained how Selina can resist revealing the identity of Batman, even though she’s under Ivy’s power. Selina’s answer satisfies Ivy and Quinn enough anyway, and off goes Harley to do some shopping. She then encounters “Bruce Wayne.”

What’s Good: Once again, Guillem March and Jose Villarubia take center stage in Gotham City Sirens. Clearly, they are up to the challenge. Their fantastic work absolutely carries Gotham City Sirens #2 in nearly every way.

Guillem March brings the cheesecake, sure, but it’s very well-done cheesecake that takes into consideration things like anatomy and realism. March’s eye for detail is also noteworthy, as every flower near Ivy is given a certain amount of care and every bystander during Harley’s trip to the store really feels like a unique entity, not a faceless one. The action in Gotham City Sirens #2 is satisfying as well, especially since it flows in a way that really adds to the frantic pace of the Bruce Wayne kidnapping. As for the opening flashback? Visually, it’s executed damn near perfectly. It’s trippy, creepy, and just the right kind of weird thanks to March’s surreal imagery.

Jose Villarubia’s color work makes March’s impressive artwork look even better. Villarubia truly shines during the moody, dark scenes taking place inside of Selina’s head. That said, special mention must also be made of the more colorful scenes as well. Vibrant, sunny, and full of life, Villarubia really takes March’s work to another level.

What’s Not So Good: The writing in Gotham City Sirens #2 is passable, but weak. It certainly isn’t bad, but I have yet to truly get hooked on the story Paul Dini is trying to tell. He’s giving Sirens a solid foundation, but nothing about the foundation ever really rises above average and generic. Simply put, March and Villarubia deserve something better to work with.

Conclusion: Pick Gotham City Sirens #2 up for the artwork. The story is nothing special.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

Gotham City Sirens #1 (Batman: Reborn) – Review

By Paul Dini (Writer), Guillem March (Art), and Jose Villarubia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I decided to check out the first issue of Gotham City Sirens after hearing nothing but good things about Guillem March’s art. While I’m far from familiar with the current status quo of the three Sirens, my hope is that Paul Dini will provide the necessary “#1” information to keep me from feeling lost.

The Story: Catwoman has a run in with new Gotham thug Boneblaster and finds herself overwhelmed. Luckily, Poison Ivy is in the area to make the save. Ivy and Catwoman go back to Riddler’s place (where Ivy has been staying) where they are soon joined by Harley Quinn. The three ladies catch up and form an alliance…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: I picked up Gotham City Sirens #1 for the artwork and Guillem March’s work does not disappoint. While it’s heavy on cheesecake (Zatana in bondage, Quinn as a naughty schoolgirl, Ivy…being Ivy, etc.), it’s also very stylish (March’s gargoyles look AWESOME) and full of impressive details. My only complaint about the visuals is that, from time to time, March gives characters little more than the most of basic facial features.

The script for the debut of Gotham City Sirens is pretty disappointing. While I can’t, in good conscience, knock it for relying on continuity a bit more than I had expected (considering the book is labeled as a #1 issue), I can knock it for being rather bland, formulaic, and completely average. The characters and their relationships are defined well enough (translation: there’s decent banter and exposition that works), but there isn’t any real plot hook that makes me interested in reading the series for the long term. That said, the ending of G.C.S. #1 is intriguing enough to keep me reading for at least another issue or two in order to see if Dini can improve things enough to keep me around.

Conclusion: Gotham City Sirens #1 isn’t bad, but it isn’t all that good either. Guillem March’s work is the obvious highlight, but nice artwork can only take a series so far. Paul Dini’s got a solid concept to work with. Now he just has to do something interesting with it.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

Dark Reign: The Cabal – Review

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Since Dark Reign: The Cabal is a collection of short stories, I’ll write a small review for each before basing my final grade on the overall quality of the $3.99 one-shot.

“Doctor Doom: …And I’ll Get The Land”

Jonathan Hickman (Script) and Adi Granov (Art)

More character study than anything else, “…And I’ll Get The Land” gives readers a glimpse into the mind of Dr. Doom as he thinks about what may come about as a result of the first meeting of The Cabal. The artwork from Adi Granov is definitely the highlight, though Jonathan Hickman’s script is an interesting, if fairly basic, read.

“Emma Frost: How I Survived The Apocalyptic Fire”

Matt Fraction (Script) and Daniel Acuna (Art)

“How I Survived…” is a story about Emma Frost coming to terms with her past that Matt Fraction uses to put more of a personal stamp on the character. A character study like the Dr. Doom story, it really doesn’t present anything new that would make it an essential read. As for the artwork…well I’m just not a fan of Daniel Acuna’s style. It was a fairly big negative for me.

“‘The Hood: Family Trust”

Rick Remender (Script), Max Fiumara (Art), and Nestor Pereyra (Colors)

Easily one of the strongest offerings in the one-shot, The Hood’s story (presumably) acts as a lead-in to his Dark Reign tie-in mini-series. In it, The Hood explores what it was like to be Parker Robbins and what it means to have family (of any sort). Part flash-back and part present day speech, Rick Remender’s script manages to tell a satisfyingly complete tale that is not quite as simple as it initially seems. The stylish, compelling visuals by Max Fiumara (of Four Eyes fame) are an excellent fit for the tone and mood Remender effortlessly captures.

“Namor, The Sub-Mariner: The Judgment of Namor”

Kieron Gillen (Script) and Carmine Di Giandomenico (Art)

In Namor’s story, he presides over a custody battle that involves an Atlantean child with special powers. Kieron Gillen’s script does a great job of walking the line between character study and truly relevant Dark Reign tie-in. It establishes the current status quo for Namor and how it relates to the Cabal situation in a way that’s full of engaging character moments. The artwork does a nice job of bringing the Atlantean court to life, though it does tend to look almost cluttered at times due to a color palette that occasionally makes things blend together.

“Loki: Dinner With Doom”

Peter Milligan (Script), Tonci Zonjic (Art), and Jose Villarubia (Colors)

“Dinner With Doom” is a story about just that, Loki’s dinner with Dr. Doom. As you probably guessed, it’s not exactly the most normal of dinners. Peter Milligan’s script is definitely the highlight thanks to his incredibly sharp character work for both Cabal members. If you are at all a fan of either Doom or Loki, consider it well worth reading. The artwork does a solid job of bringing the more…interesting…aspects of the dinner to life, though Tonci Zonjic’s characters seem a bit too simplistic at times (though they are quite expressive despite the simplicity). Jose Villarubia’s coloring almost makes up for the lack of detail, but not quite.

Conclusion: The good outweighs the bad, but nothing in the Cabal one-shot is all that essential. It’s worth reading for fun or if you just enjoy the characters, but you won’t miss anything if you choose to pass on it.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

Conan the Cimmerian #5 – Review

By Timothy Truman (writer) Tomas Giorello and Rochard Corben (art), Jose Villarrubia (colorist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I was actually quite hesitant to pick this one up. While I have enjoyed the series for the most part, my interest is definitely beginning to fade. Conan’s “trip back home” arc has gone on long enough in my opinion, but seeing as though it is going to run through issue seven, I figured I might as well just stick it with it a bit longer.

The Story: Conan and Caollan find themselves on the defensive, as Horsa’s group moves in for the woman. Luckily, a recent acquaintance shows up just in time to provide some support so Conan can continue on the path back home. As for Connacht, he finds himself on board a slaver’s ship in a situation ripe for a revolt.

What’s Good: While I have little doubt that this story arc will read much better as a collection, each installment is still entertaining and visually pleasing enough. Conan’s journey has a weight and urgency to it that allows for some nice character work among all the action. Connacht’s tale also proves worthwhile, as events and decisions made in his time continue to be subtly reflected in the present. Also good is the fact that the ending of the issue means that the next will bring a very welcome change to the somewhat stale proceedings.

What’s Not So Good: Some of the action in the book is marred by awkward or confusing direction. While the artwork is strong as a whole, I found myself a bit confused on the flow of events on more than one occasion. Also, it is worth mentioning that Timothy Truman’s storytelling structure is probably better suited for a collected format. I consider this “not so good” because, while the bigger picture improves every month, the chapters ultimately feel as though they are lacking the instant gratification that most people read monthly comics for. Conan The Cimmerian #5 is no exception.

Conclusion: The latest chapter in the Conan the Cimmerian series is entertaining, but I can’t say that it is necessarily worth the cash. If you have been enjoying watching the bigger picture come together, then by all means pick it up. But if you, like me, have been a bit frustrated by the arc’s pacing, you may want to skip it.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

A Second Opinion

I agree with Kyle that this story will probably read better as a collection. I get the sense that once the second half of the story starts, all the previous issues will feel like filler. Everything is entertaining, beautifully written and drawn, but it feels like these five issues could have been cut down to two or three. Nevertheless, I respect the meticulous setup of Cimmeria and the reintroduction of Conan. Mission accomplished. Now I’m ready for things to get started and to move away from all the walking and little battles.

After seeing these little glimpses of his life, anyone else really want a Connacht series?

Grade: B

-Ben Berger

Conan the Cimmerian #3 – Review

By Timothy Truman (Writer), Tomas Giorello & Richard Corben (Art), and Jose’ Villarubia (Colors)

Now this is more like it! While I enjoyed the first two issues of this series, I was a bit let down by the way in which Conan was sort of pushed by the wayside in favor of the extremely compelling, horror-tinged tale of Conacht. While (somewhat surprisingly) Conacht returns this month to star in another tale, Conan is featured much more prominently and does, well, what I always figured Conan was supposed to do.

While traveling through icy, dangerous terrain on the way back to Cimmeria, Conan has a chance-encounter with a childhood friend, Caollan. The reunion doesn’t exactly go as Conan had hoped and the two quickly find themselves fighting off an angry band of Aesir that was hunting down Caollan for abandoning a wedding arrangement. Some action and a daring escape later, the two find themselves taking refuge in a cave where Conan tells a tale about Conacht while the Aesir prepare to escalate the hunt.

I really can’t say enough about the creative team working on this series, as they provide us a compelling issue that manages to find a nice balance between the main Conan story and the adventures of Connacht. Timothy Truman’s writing is spot on for this type of book and it delivers just what I had hoped for when I decided to start reading about Conan. The storytelling has a classic feel to it, the darkly humorous dialogue is entertaining, and the introduction of Conacht helps to keep things from getting stale. As for the art, both distinct styles (one for Conan and one for Conacht) do a fantastic job elevating the stories being told. Tomas Giorella really brings Conan’s gritty environment to life, while Richard Corben gives Conacht’s story a surreal, unnerving tone that makes me think that his tale may once again dabble in the horror genre. Both artists are complimented by some fantastic color work by Jose’ Villarubia.

What else can I say? I really enjoyed the latest issue of Conan the Cimmerian, and I think you will too. While I wish there was a bit more substance to the overall plot at this point, I can’t act as though I have not been thoroughly entertained. Another strong issue from what looks to be a strong series. (Grade: B+)

– Kyle Posluszny

A Second Opinion

This book is definitely worth checking out simply because it stands out from other comics. It’s one of the few good sword and sorcery books, and it somehow manages to carry a horror tone as well– thus making it a distinguishable book of its genre. From swords and barbarians to blood rituals, you might want to consider peeking through this book.

My only complaint is that it’s still tough to see where things are going. Conan’s returning home to Cimmeria, but why? Conan’s fought raiders, saved a childhood friend and presses on deeper into his homeland. But so far there’s no villain, no Thulsa Doom, or the like with an evil plot to foil. Conan the drifter is fine, and definitely works in the context of this story. But sooner or later I think I’ll want to see him pushing towards a goal rather than killing raider after raider. And for the record, Conan, Conacht, and Caollan– just because you’re a god-dang Cimmerian, it doesn’t mean your name has to start with the letter “C.” (Grade: B+)

-Ben Berger