Superman/Wonder Woman #9 – Review

By: Charles Soule (story), Tony Daniel (pencils), Matt Banning & Sandu Florea (inks), Tomev Morey (colors)

The Story: Never ask an Amazon to do a god’s work.

The Review: I feel safe with you guys, so I’m just gonna let it all out: I don’t know how much more of this I can stand. It’s true that my general distaste for Doomsday made me predisposed to dislike Doomed, but I don’t think I’m out of line for saying that the storyline has been an overlong bit of mindless drivel so far. When you have four ongoing titles involved in a crossover, and the story still feels like it’s going nowhere, that’s unacceptable.

Anyway, don’t take my word for it. The repetitiousness of Doomed is obvious in this issue alone, in which once again Clark has a tiresome dialogue with himself—his Doomsday self, that is—and various well-meaning individuals attempt to put him down, only to irritate him further. It’s enough to make you wonder where everyone’s brains went. It’s one thing for Guy Gardner to throw himself into battle without thinking, but you’d think women as intelligent as Hessia or Supergirl would be better than that.

Superman/Wonder Woman #8 – Review

By: Charles Soule (story), Tony Daniel (pencils), Matt Banning & Sandu Florea (inks), Tomev Morey (colors)

The Story: If even the best man on Earth can be a bad boyfriend, what hope is there for the rest of us?

The Review: The tendency with writing Superman is to portray him as a goody-goody, such a paragon of model behavior that he comes frequently across as bland and unrelatable. That’s how he inspires both worshipful respect and defensive hatred from people, both fictional and otherwise. In real life, it takes real effort to maintain that degree of goodness, and in the new DCU, with a younger, brasher Clark, the suggestion is that it takes real effort for him, too.

But if Clark’s public virtues are the product of strict self-control, of suppressing an inclination to “punch down” (as Greg Pak always puts it), then we now have opportunities for him to relinquish that control. Such is the effect of the Doomsday infection, unleashing all those mean-spirited, primal thoughts that you’ve always wondered if Clark ever felt, much less repressed. It’s an interesting direction for Soule to take, exploring the psychological, rather than purely physical, dimensions of a Clark gone wild.

Justice League #14 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Tony S. Daniel (pencils), Matt Banning & Sandu Florea (inkers), Tomev Morey (colors)

The Story: Wonder Woman loses a friend and gains a beau—a pretty good exchange, honestly.

The Review: The persistent mediocrity of certain, often major titles sometimes makes you wonder if DC is truly out to deliver the best, most ambitious stories possible, the way Marvel NOW! seems to be doing, or just settling for entertaining enough.  Justice League certainly falls into the latter category, and this issue shows why.  Instead of being the grand, epic, anchor title it should be, it mostly comes across as a readable and diverting series, and little more.

In terms of pure teamwork, the League is efficient and effective.  Every member gets a part to play, but they rarely break out of predefined roles.  The most interesting part of the whole mission is the Flash acting tank while his other teammates are occupied elsewhere (i.e. trying to get the feline out of Superman).  Unfortunately, Johns doesn’t explore the possibilities of Barry taking point, and things eventually revert to a very neat, but predictable battle sequence.

Justice League #12 – Review

By: Too many to list—or even talk about.  Check out the review.

The Story: Cue the violins—love is in the air for the League!

The Review: Warning—mild rant ahead.  A lot of people like to blame the media for our social problems today, but it’d be more accurate to say it’s not so much the media but the media hype.  Chalk it up to the relentless 24-hour news cycle or our human need to make every story a little more colorful.  If we as a society are strident, misinformed, distracted, or ignorant, blame it on the media’s tendency to make a big deal over non-issues, to incite excitement over nothing.

This brings us to the obvious question.  Did we really need to have so much controversy and brouhaha over Wonder Woman and Superman’s romantic entanglement?  Was the tabloid-style plastering of their illicit embrace and kiss all over the internet valuable in any way?  The answer, of course, is no.  I’ll refer you to a very perceptive article on the subject, and add on my two cents by saying: frankly, it’d surprise me if the two most powerful and attractive people in the world didn’t even consider a fling at some point.

X-Men: Second Coming #1

by Craig Kyle & Chris Yost (writers), David Finch (Pencils), Matt Banning (Inks)

The Story: Ever since House of M, there had been no mutant births. Suddenly, a baby named Hope was born, the first, and last, new mutant since.  Time traveller Cable took her to the future to safeguard her.  He now finally returns to the present, with a teenage Hope by his side, less than a year after they left.  They find mutant-hating groups The Right and the Sapien League waiting for them, intent on killing Hope.  Meanwhile, Cyclops gathers his forces in order to protect the returned travelers and prepares for the inevitable violence that he knows will follow.

What’s Good: Man, two X-titles written by Yost and Kyle in the same week?!  I am a happy camper, let me tell you.  As a result of reading X-Force #25 and this issue back to back, I was left nearly breathless as the writers jumped from the conclusion of one X-Event to the introduction to another.  As if betting that many readers would be doing this very same thing, Kyle and Yost smartly make mention of the casualties of Necrosha almost immediately, as it succeeds in not only giving the titles a healthy sense of continuity, but the moment also reemphasizes the importance of Hope’s return.  Only three mutants died, sure, but considering there are less than two hundred on the planet, that equals one-and-a-half percent of their whole population.  The direness of the situation is also brilliantly conveyed when we see Cyclops, overcome with frustration, let loose on an innocent wall.  I kid, but it’s a powerful scene that reminds us that heavy is the head that wears the crown.

New Avengers #52 (Dark Reign) – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Billy Tan, Matt Banning, and Justin Ponsor & Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, and Antonio Fabela (Art Teams)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: New Avengers #51 actually managed to get me interested in the situation surrounding the title of Sorcerer Supreme. I never thought that to be possible. Now it’s time to find out whether Brian Michael Bendis and his art teams can manage to hold that interest.

The Story: Dr. Strange goes to the New Avengers team in order to find some relief following his face off with The Hood. The team offers to help Strange with his search for the Sorcerer Supreme and soon the group is off to New Orleans. Meanwhile, The Hood tries to maintain his grip on reality as he fights to keep control of his power…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: The highlight of the latest issue of New Avengers is Chris Bachalo’s handling of the scenes featuring The Hood. Action-packed at the start and downright creepy later on, they are almost worth the cover price alone. In fact, I would go as far as to say that they end up carrying nearly all of the weight in an issue that turns out to be fairly lackluster half of the time.

While Brian Michael Bendis does a good job handling the witty, story-related dialogue and Billy Tan puts forth some decent visuals, everything feels rather dull when The Hood isn’t around. Superheroes sitting around exchanging banter and nailing out plot points just isn’t all that compelling when compared to the explosive opening scene or the disturbing breakdown that comes later in the issue. Things do pick up toward the end though, so consider me still hooked on the whole Sorcerer Supreme thing.

Conclusion: I wish I could say more, but not a whole lot really happens in New Avengers #52. It definitely has some great moments, but as a whole it feels like a series of starts and stops. As a result, it is frustratingly inconsistent.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

New Avengers #51 (Dark Reign) – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Billy Tan, Matt Banning, Justin Ponsor, Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, and Antonio Fabela (Artists)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Under normal circumstances, I would use up this spot to give my thoughts on where my opinion stands regarding whatever series/work/event I am about to dive back into or, in some cases, dive into for the first time. However, these are not exactly normal circumstances considering that this is the first review I have posted since taking a break from the site in order to deal with a number of medial issues. As such, I feel that this space is best used to say that it feels great to be back and I look forward to picking up where I left off by informing, entertaining, and interacting with the great Weekly Comic Book Review community as much as I possibly can. So, with that said, it is now time to get down to business. And remember! Questions, comments, concerns, and debate topics are always welcome.

The Story: Since Dr. Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme (after a spell dealing in the dark arts), that means someone else is. Or someone will be soon enough… Strange knows this, as does The Hood (among others). Who will find, or do what’s necessary to become the new Sorcerer Supreme? That is the question that dominates most of The New Avengers #51. As for the rest, since a new team means a new leader, the Avengers gather up for an old-fashioned meeting to try to straighten out the new hierarchy.

What’s Good: I’ve got to say that the latest New Avengers surprised the hell out of me. And it’s not because of some shocking twist, or an earth-shattering revelation, or a stunning image.  Nope. It’s simply because the creative team behind New Avengers #51 actually managed to make me give a damn about the situation surrounding the question of who is/ will be the new Sorcerer Supreme. Chris Bachalo’s stylish visuals coupled with Brian Michael Bendis’ compelling dialogue made me glad I picked up the first New Avengers I had considered skipping in quite some time.

As for the non-Sorcerer Supreme related stuff in the issue, your enjoyment will depend a lot on what you think of Bendis’ flair for team banter and Billy Tan’s handling of the more casual moments of superhero life. It worked well enough for me and did little to detract from my overall impression of the issue. In fact, I found the dialogue to be rather humorous and I wouldn’t be surprised if you did too.

What’s Not So Good: (Slight spoiler warning!) I wish I knew more about the Young Avengers prior to reading the issue because I had absolutely no idea who Dr. Strange was talking to until pausing to hit up the interweb to look for some answers. As it turns out, Billy is a Young Avenger named Wiccan (cue the “the more you know” jingle). Anyways, besides Bendis’ assumption that I would know the Young Avengers on a first name basis, my only complaint about the issue mostly has to do with my general distaste for comic books that feature more than one art team. While both teams did a nice job, the shift back and forth between visual styles was a bit jarring.

Conclusion: There is a lot I liked about the latest issue of The New Avengers. Chris Bachalo’s art was impressive, Billy Tan continued to show improvement, and Brian Michael Bendis made the beginning of the search for a new Sorcerer Supreme quite compelling. While I’m sure some will be a bit irked by the team meeting (or the art team changes), the good stuff ultimately outweighed the bad by a large margin.

Grade:  B

-Kyle Posluszny

New Avengers #46 (Secret Invasion) – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Billy Tan (Pencils), Matt Banning (Inks), and Justin Posner (Colorist)

What’s Going On: One month ago, after defeating him, the Hood starts busting his cronies out of SHIELD detention. Only the agents that are holding Madame Masque turn out to be Skrulls. The Hood drags the last surviving Skrull back to his hideout, where he and his evil minions torture the Skrull in an attempt to unveil the secret invasion plans.

What’s Good: Think the Secret Invasion is running out of steam? Did you see the Hood getting involved? I didn’t. And I sure didn’t foresee the power behind him rearing its ugly flaming head in the last panel.

What’s Not So Good: Enough with the homage covers already! Admittedly, this “Bring on the Bad Skrulls” painting is pretty cool, but enough’s enough. Also, of course we still have the problem that with months of infiltration into the highest levels of Earth’s organizations, the Skrulls still seem to have no more sophisticated plan than to sic a bunch of Super-Skrulls on Manhattan. Shouldn’t they have infiltrated our nuclear missile silos, at least?

What It All Boils Down To: This being Bendis, the issue is mostly tough guy talk, which Bendis loves. It works well, for the most part, though you’d think the Hood would be a little humbler now that the Avengers have kicked his ass once already. Like most of these Secret Invasion flashbacks, it’s solidly entertaining. And I still have faith that the eventual wrap up of the invasion will be worth the years we’ve waited for.

Grade: B

– Andrew C. Murphy

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

New Avengers #44 – Capsule Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Billy Tan (Pencils), Matt Banning (Inks), and Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

This really could have been two issues, but I’m quite thankful it wasn’t, because I don’t know if I could have endured the wait between the installments. The entire first half deals with an Illuminati meeting. Things seem normal at first, but eventually distrust builds, and we receive another shocking discovery in league with issue #5 of the Illuminati min-series. With hardly any time for a reaction to this reveal, Bendis twists our minds again by altering our perception of what occurred in the first half of the issue.

With the story’s status quo changed a second time, we progress into the second half, in which a mystery that arose in Secret Invasion #5 is answered (at least we didn’t have to wait too long!). I’d love to get more in depth about what exactly occurred here, but it would spoil the first half. Suffice to say, this is an extremely essential chapter in the Secret Invasion saga and, more importantly, it conveys this important information with a rather suspenseful tale. Don’t miss this issue. (Grade: A)

-M. Staples