Quick Hit Reviews – Week of March 23, 2011

Amazing what a sneaky heavy week of comics last week was, eh?  But, we here at WCBR endeavor to bring you the broadest coverage possible, even when we can’t get a full review up for every comic on the stands….

Daredevil Reborn #3 – Ugh.  This is really not good!  I hate to be flip at the expense of something that a comic creator put his effort into, but if Diggle’s run on DD were a boxing match, the referee would be stopping the fight and sparing us the final issue of this miniseries.  Let’s just skip ahead to the Mark Waid series coming in a few months and be done with it.  Here we continue seeing Matt Murdock (and his well groomed neck beard….Where does Matt shave btw?) locked into his battle against small-town cops from hell.  The story just isn’t that compelling.  Matt/Daredevil isn’t a creature of the desert…….he’s a man of the shadows and that’s the only place I want to see him.  Did you know he can drive a truck?  Well, he can provided that he kicks out the windshield first so his echolocation works…..  Did you know while driving said truck, he can also tell when he has cars catching up behind the truck?  Don’t know how that one works…..  Grade: D-

Kick Drum Comix #1 – Now this was some electric stuff!  Holy cow did I love this issue that was actually the very LAST off the pile due to his non-standard format (kinda Golden Age height, but not Golden Age width).  Brought to us by Jim Mahfood, Kick Drum Comix offers two stories of urban action that will be loved by anyone with an affinity for 80’s/90’s R&B/Urban/Punk music.  The first story follows the saga of the Popmaster from his roots in early hip-hop music to becoming a take NO prisoners, hard-core music mogul and his eventual struggle with his estranged daughter.  The second story is revolves around two urban youths with a love for Johnny Coltrane.  Mahfood illustrates the whole issue in a crazy style that is really hard to explain.  His panels are SO content-filled that you can just stare at them and continue to notice great new elements.  Just be sure to buy this.  You’ll love it! Grade: A

Echoes #4 – The psychological creepfest keeps chugging into a strong 4th issue.  As if the basic premise of the series wasn’t disturbing enough (whether a 30-ish man has “inherited” from his father a predilection for killing small girls and making tiny dollies out of their skin, bones & hair), now we are teased with a couple of double-reverses to the story that makes me wonder if it is all in the main character’s head.  Joshua Hale Fialkov is really bringing the plot twists in this one!  And Rahsan Ekedal is contributing great B&W art by being the one thing that this series really needs: creepy!  Grade: B+

Marineman #4 – So what if it is a little derivative of Aquaman?  We all wish Aquaman could be this interesting of a character!  Steve Ocean (a.k.a. Marineman) is a really fun character that seems to have all of Aquaman’s abilities, but he isn’t a dick!  In fact, he’s so incredibly likable that you spend most of the issue cheering for him to succeed.  Ian Churchill is doing career-best artwork on this series too.  Everything about his Marineman just screams “larger than life” and I’ve rarely seen more compelling underwater scenes due to the outstanding coloring.  Grade: B+

Quick Hit Reviews: Week of February 9, 2011

 

Yeesh… What a lot of comics last week, huh?  Especially after the preceding week being so light that we didn’t even need to do a “quick hits” feature.  That’s randomness for you!  But, the upshot of this weekly feature is that all of the writing staff at WCBR have pretty extensive pull lists and despite our best efforts, some issues don’t get a full review.  Thus, we bring you “quick hit reviews”

Black Panther: Man without Fear #515 – Good and bad with this issue and story.  The good: Francesco Francavilla’s art is just incredibly good.  He’s a real master of dark, moody and atmospheric art.  A bonus is that he colors his own work, so there is a very clear sense of lighting.  I’m also enjoying the story by David Liss of a depowered Black Panther fighting eastern European gangsters.  My only quibbles are that the script is a little verbose and that I don’t understand why Marvel doesn’t just let Francavilla do the cover also.  Really?  A Simone Bianchi cover on a Francavilla book?  There is nothing similar about their styles.  Grade: B — Dean Stell

Osborn #3 – What a sneaky good book this is!!!  Ms. DeConnick writes a very creepy and chilling Norman Osborn: Composed and methodical one moment and a frenzied psycho the next.  This is basically the story of how Osborn busts out of federal custody where he has been since the days of Siege.  Emma Rios’ art is a show stealer.  She is really, really talented and gets to draw all sorts of cool detailed stuff in this issue (including a bad ass riot at the super-villain prison).  Grade: B — Dean Stell

Carnage #3 – Zeb Wells spins a really good symbiote story and Clayton Crain sells how creepy the Carnage symbiote is.  The whole story is just hopping along with the symbiote having taken a new host (that kinda made sense) and busted out of his holding cell before running across town to find a BIG SURPRISE!  This is a well-paced and enjoyable comic.  Even though I enjoyed it and am giving it a good grade, I’m going to throw a rock (or two).  Why does Carnage have to come back this way?  Why can’t a C-list character like him have a new chapter with the lady host?  That would have been more interesting (I think).  And I am really warming to Crain’s art, but wish that he wouldn’t darken the panel every time there is action.  I want to see what is going on!  Grade: B-   — Dean Stell

Tyrannosaurus Rex One-Shot – This was a fun romp.  Not much in the way of story: Caveman village getting repeatedly ruined by a T. Rex.  Village chieftain offers his comely daughter to any many brave enough to slay the beastie.  One randy young man decides to give it a try.  Lots of really good dinosaurs in this comic by Jeff Zornow (including adding the feathers that scientists are now pretty certain they possessed).  The only bummer is that it would have been nice to see a little more of the comely daughter.  Grade: C+ — Dean Stell

WCBR Quick Hit Reviews – Week of Dec 29, 2010

We at WCBR all get more comics that we could possibly review in full every week.  Rather than let them go unmentioned, we run though the remainder of our pile here.

Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #4 – This time hopping series continues and puts Logan and Spidey in yet another awesome situation: Logan is thrust into Spidey’s youth as his wrestling partner (i.e. after the spider bite, but before Uncle Ben’s death) whereas Spidey is sent to Logan’s youth.  Of course, Logan was a nasty feral forest monster back then.  Aaron writes both of these characters really, really well.  I’m amazed at how well he writes a humorous Spidey considering the man also writes Scalped and PunisherMax.  Kubert shows off about 3 different art styles in this book and they’re all pretty.  Oh and we also learned the identity of the big-bad.  Any old-time X-fan will be pleased.  One thing that helps this comic is that although it is supposedly not in continuity, the fact that it is a time-jumping tale makes it feel like it could be.  Grade: A-   — Dean Stell

Incognito: Bad Influences #2 – Damn do I wish that Brubaker could sell enough copies of Incognito and Criminal that he could create a couple more series of this quality level and quit screwing around with normal Marvel properties to pay the bills.  This is a really good series and you should be buying it.  The set-up for this is that Zack Overkill (a former supervillain who had his witness protection spot ruined in the first Incognito), is being sent by the good guys back into the lions den: They need him to pretend to go back to being a supervillain.  So, what we end up with here is very much a double-agent, espionage tale as you can see that Zack is sorely tempted to just go back to being bad…because being bad is fun. Meanwhile, the other supervillains trust Zack about as far as they can throw him.  Sean Phillips and Val Staples (again) provide stellar art.  Grade: B+  — Dean Stell

Echoes #1 –  We need more horror comics. If you’re looking for a promising one to pick up, you could do a lot worse than the first issue of Echoes by Joshua Hale Fialkov.  In this issue we meet a ~30-year-old man who is going through a big transition in his life: His wife is about to give birth just as his father is about to succumb to Alzheimer’s.  While sitting with his father right before he dies, his non-lucid father jabbers something about how he must search the basement of their old home because that’s where he hid the bodies of all the little girls.  Whoa!  WHAT!?!?  Chilling, huh?  Rahsan Ekedal lends very atmospheric B&W art.  The only thing holding it back from a higher grade is that they played up the young man’s stress a little much and it made parts of the comic confusing.  Pretty sure that was intentional, but I think the basic story is good enough that you don’t need to screw around.  Grade: B+ — Dean Stell

Osborn #2 – This is a very solid comic book detailing Osborn’s time in some off-the-grid prison where he is being held until someone decides what to do with him OR he rots… whichever comes first.  Of course, Osborn is not one to stay locked up and as he breaks out he brings the other weirdoes of the prison with him.  So, neat story by Kelly Sue DeConnick and great art by Emma Rios.  The only fault with this series is that I don’t see the purpose of the Norah Winter’s story.  I like Norah as a supporting character in ASM, but after two issues we haven’t seen why pages should be devoted to Norah yet.  It seems like every bit of the story featuring Norah could be told via the more interesting Osborn story thread.  Grade: B — Dean Stell

Osborn #1 – Review

By: Kelly Sue Deconnick (writer), Emma Rios (art), Jose Villarrubia & Matt Wilson (colors), Clayton Cowles (letters) & Alejandro Arbona (editor)

June Covington back-up by: Warren Ellis (writer), Jamie McKelvie (art), Matt Wilson (colors), Cowles (letters) & Arbona (editor)

The Story: What will become of Norman Osborn now that he’s locked up on The Raft?  How about start a secret cabal of followers and get moved to a secret holding facility with some really interesting new villains!

What’s Good: The best thing about this issue are the new nasty-folks that Ms. Deconnick establishes and the promise of what might be a new team of super-villains under Norman Osborn’s guidance.  As we watch the story unfold and Norman Osborn is transferred from The Raft to this secret facility for the seriously demented, does anyone even doubt that he will somehow use his calculating charisma to run the roost with the other prisoners and break out with a ready made team of bad dudes?  That will very, very fun to watch because some of these bad dudes seem interesting, including one who is a member of some nasty reptilian alien race that wants to kill all humans (Cool!).

What is also good is Emma Rios’ art.  What sets artists like her apart is that they’re doing complete pencils and inks.  I really like to see an artist do that instead of relying on the colorist to do all the shading.  There are also a few pages in this issue that just have insane amount so detail.  I think prior to this, Ms. Rios has mostly done outstanding back-up work for Marvel and also filled in here or there when an artist didn’t finish their work in time, but this is (I think) her first featured artist role for Marvel and it looks like she just knocked herself out.  It’s always fun to watch a new(er) artist that is still super-hungry!  Not only is their personal work wonderful to look at, but with newcomers like Ms. Rios around, established artists are going to have to stay on their toes.

What We’re Looking Forward To In November

Dean

There is a LOT to look forward to in November. For one thing, there is a lot of neat stuff in the Spider-Man world as Amazing Spider-Man kicks off its new “big” story line Big Time written by Dan Slott with art by Humberto Ramos. This is also the end of the thrice-monthly ASM with a rotating team of creators, so it should be interesting. Also in the Spidey-world, we get Spider-Girl #1 by Paul Tobin. This is not Mayday Parker (who could never find a stable audience) but Arana of Young Allies fame. If you like teenage drama, it should be fun. Finally, we get Osborn #1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Emma Rios (who are both really good) to see what Marvel’s favorite villain has been up to since Siege ended.

A few other things in Marvel that I’m looking forward to. She-Hulks #1 launches in November with art from Ryan Stegman. Stegman is a very gifted artist and he draws a mean She-Hulk, so this should be good. Although Invincible Iron Man has had slow pacing, the current story arc, Stark Resilient wraps up this month and Matt Fraction seems to have this title headed to a very good climactic battle. For all those Punisher fans who HATED Franken-Castle, you get plain, old, normal Punisher in the Blood #1 from Rick Remender. And finally, there is yet another X-book with Generation Hope. The idea for this book is to have Hope running around with all the “new mutants” who have had their powers come alive since Second Coming.

Over at DC the big news is in the Bat-books as we get 2 new Bruce Wayne titles: Batman, Inc. by Grant Morrison and Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch. If you’re into Batman, these are going to be must reads. And….after much waiting and delay, we get Batwoman #0 by JH Williams, III. I am really excited for this book and eager to see if it can maintain the quality that Williams and Greg Rucka established during their run on Detective Comics last year. Also, just to prove it isn’t all about new Bat-books, we also get a whole new creative team on the venerable Detective Comics with Scott Snyder of American Vampire fame teaming up with Jock and Francesco Francavilla on what is sure to be very well done series of Dick Grayson stories.

Not a whole lot going on over at Image, but folks might want to take a look at Utopian #1 by Marc Guggenheim. The story is: “What happens after the heroes win and the world is saved?” Image has become the go-to publisher for many creators to do interesting things, so this has promise.

 

 

Alex

While I’m as excited about all the Grant Morrison stuff as the next guy, the Batman title that really has my eye is Detective Comics #871 by Scott Snyder and Jock. It’s an utterly fantastic creative team and Snyder’s promise of a realistic, CSI type Batman has me curious. Of course, there’s also Batwoman #0 by JH Williams III to consider, which anyone with a pulse should be excited for.

Outside of Batman, I find myself confronted by two relaunches of titles I’m either completely unfamiliar with and/or indifferent to. Yet I’m picking them both up. They are THUNDER Agents #1 by Nick Spencer and CAFU and Superboy #1 by Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo. In both cases, it’s the creative teams that have me excited, crewed as they are by exciting new talent with writers that have proven track records outside the superhero realm.

At Marvel, it’s all about Spider-Man’s Big Time. Now bi-monthly with a steady, and good, creative team, I’m happy to be back aboard with Amazing Spider Man #648 and #649 with Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. Hopefully big times are also good times. Meanwhile, Thor #617 by Matt Fraction and Pasqual Ferry has my attention as well, with its seeming promise of a reincarnated Loki. Fractions other book, Invincible Iron Man #32, also isn’t to be missed as it concludes the excellent slow-burn of “Stark Resilient” in explosive fashion.

Finally, it’s a big, but sad, month at Vertigo as two excellent titles reach their conclusions. Madame Xanadu #29 goes out with a bang as main series artist Amy Reeder returns for the farewell. Meanwhile,  Unknown Soldier #25 is sure to end things in bloody and tragic fashion, as Joshua Dysart’s fictional tale directly collides with a real world villain of the worst kind. On a happier note, Fables #100 is a giant-sized book of excitement featuring a mega-powered duel; it’s also a landmark for Vertigo, an imprint for whom longevity isn’t common.

 

SoldierHawk

So I’ve been harping on it since it was announced months ago, but my pick for November is, without question, Batwoman #0, the prelude to the new Batwoman ongoing series written and illustrated by J.H. Williams III. I’m quite literally X-ing the days off my calendar until this comes out. Kate Kane/Batwoman are fantastic characters and–perhaps even more importantly–she has a fabulous supporting cast surrounding her. Even leaving all that aside… MORE J.H. WILLIAMS III ARTWORK! That alone will be worth the cover price.

I’m also really, really looking forward both to the first Kill Shakespeare Trade (which collects Kill Shakespeare issues #1-6), and to issue #7. This series has been a gem (albeit a slightly rough one in spots) since its launch last April, and issue #6 set some very interesting plot points and characters into motion. I’m waiting with baited breath to see how this is going to play out, and what other famous Shakespeare creations might throw themselves into the mix.