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.

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.

New Avengers #41 (Secret Invasion) – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Billy Tan (Artist), and Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

On Sale 5/29/08

One thing that bothers me about Brian Bendis is that he’s always willing to waste a page or two recapping something we’ve already seen. In this issue we get to see the Avengers/Skrull/dinosaur fight (from Secret Invasion #2) for, what, the third or fourth time? It only takes two and a half pages, but at 22 pages every 30 days, that’s three whole days blown. On the other hand, this issue features Shanna the She-Devil and, damn, does that girl look fine.

Like all Bendis’ other Secret Invasion books lately, this issue is mostly back story, explaining what’s been happening in the background of the Marvel Universe for the past few years. Or it could all be a big, fat lie.

Let me explain: Spider-Man gets separated from the other Avengers during the fight and runs into Ka-Zar and the aforementioned sweet-looking She-Devil. (Spidey calls her “Sheena”, a cute side-reference to one of the 50 other comic book jungle girls who preceded her.) After a few pages of the usual “You’re a Skrull!”, “I’m not a Skrull!” bickering, Ka-Zar and Shanna explain how they discovered Skrulls disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents poaching the Savage Land’s vibranium mines, at long last bringing us back to the plot line Bendis established way back in New Avengers #1. They claim they infiltrated the camp but were caught, then escaped, and have been fighting a guerrilla war with the Skrulls ever since. Of course, Ka-Zar and/or Shanna could be Skrulls him/her/themselves, in which case they may have left out a few key details.

Overall, it’s a good issue, though Bendis pads things out even more than usual. Billy Tan has never caught my eye before but, my goodness, he certainly knows how to draw Shanna in all her buckskin-clad glory.

The character who shows up on the last page is no big surprise. What with Mockingbird (maybe) coming back from the dead, we all knew it was only a matter of time before they put the spotlight on this guy. Still, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Did I mention Shanna is really, really hot?

Too bad she’s probably a Skrull. (Grade: A-)

– Andrew C. Murphy

A Second Opinion

It’s hard to say if Ka-Zar or Shanna are Skrulls. They definitely have their story straight, but one thing I’ve learned to trust over the years is Spidey’s intelligence. We’ll just have to see where it goes. As for the rest of the issue, there’s definitely a lot of padding as Andrew suggested, but it wasn’t so jarring to me. In fact, I had a lot of fun in this story. The connection it makes to New Avengers #1 will pay off for loyal readers of the series, and just having an issue with our two favorite Savage Land residents is enough to make me smile.

Billy Tan’s art is incredibly lush. I was always a fan of his X-Men work, but here he’s given a chance to shine, showing more versatility thanks to the large cast of characters and dense jungle setting. If Marvel’s smart, they’ll keep him out of the “mutant ghetto” and let him thrive on another book. Hell, keep him on New Avengers – I’d love to see that! And yes, his rendition of Shanna is delicious; however, Frank Cho, in my mind, will forever own her after that Shanna mini-series he did a few years ago.

I had a lot of fun with this issue. It’s actually got Avengers in it, plus it’s more concurrent with the main Secret Invasion storyline. It’s not a key issue, but it does act as a decent supplement until Secret Invasion #3 hits the newsstand next month. (Grade: B+)

– J. Montes

Spider-Man Family #7 – Review

By: Karl Kesel, Todd Dezago, Mark Waid (story), Karl Kesel (art), Val Staples (colors)

This issue of Spider-Man Family is a loving tribute to Mike Wieringo. Many of the writers he’s worked with in the past have come back for this special issue to craft a story that very much centers around Wieringo’s kindred spirit. So, don’t expect something emotional and heavy – this story is completely light-hearted.

The title of the story says it all – “Looter’s Quest” is a 30-page globe trotting adventure featuring about one of Spidey’s most ridiculous foes. The Looter is completely obsessed with finding the “twin” meteorite that matches the one that gave him his powers. Why? Because he wants to be smarter (and probably a more intelligent villain). Spider-Man catches on to his plot and follows him from place to place, yet the Looter somehow manages to outwit him time and again!

Giving nods  Mike Wieringo, we’re treated to many of the characters he worked on such as Spider-Man (duh), Doctor Strange, and the Fantastic Four. As you can imagine, it’s silly and full of cheese. While this story may not win any awards, but its sentiment is heartfelt.

As for the other stories, well, they’re nothing too special. We have a reprinting of Venom #1 by David Michelinie and Mark Bagley, Spider-Man: Death & Destiny #1, and another installment of Spider-Man J – the manga version of Spider-Man. Priced at $4.99, Spider-Man Family weighs in at a hefty 104 pages, which if you think about it, is a bargain. (Grade: B-)

-J. Montes

Jungle Girl #4 – Review

By Frank Cho (plot, cover art), Doug Murray (script), Adriano Batista (art), Frank Martin (colors)

You can’t expect too much from a book like this. One look at the cover and the title pretty much sums up what you’re about to get into. Delays have plagued this issue (I think it’s two months late), so I’ve sorta forgot what the story’s about.

I know there’s a crew of civilized people stuck on this island. Jana (the Jungle Girl) was helping them out when some rival natives capture the refugees. The tribe’s all-knowing leader, Dream Walker, says that if Jana can enter this sacred cave and slay the beast within, she and her refugees are free to go. Well, not only does she slay the beast, she slays the tribe’s leader in ultra violent fashion. From there a chase into the abyss begins.

Scripter, Doug Murray, is no Shakespeare, but he manages to write decent dialogue into the mouths of the characters. And penciler, Adriano Batista, is no Frank Cho, but he’s pretty darn good in his own right. His storytelling is easy to follow. In fact, one could easily follow this book without ever reading a single line of dialogue. His work is digitally inked so there’s a mixed result at times when his pencils aren’t so tight. I do wish he had an inker – the art would look so much more refined. Frank Martin’s colors are a mixed bag as well. When he colors the characters, they look amazing. But there are times when things look over-colored or too flat (like after the worm chewing scene). It’s just a bit inconsistent.

Jungle Girl is a book grounded in high adventure, unapologetic violence, and gratuitous amounts of fan service. If you’re into this kind of stuff, it’s fun for what it is. If you’re not, well, you knew you were never going to buy this book to begin with. If these delays continue, you’re probably better off waiting for the trade paperback, because you’ll just forget what happened in the issue before. (Grade: C)

– J.Montes

Uncanny X-Men #495 – Review

By Ed Brubaker (writer), Mike Choi (art), Sonia Oback (colored art)

This issue kicks off the X-Men: Divided story line. Reeling from events of Messiah Complex, Cyclops and Emma Frost now live in seclusion in the Savage Land. I don’t know if Marvel is trying to expose Iron Man as much as possible before the movie’s released or if it’s just because he’s that important to Marvel continuity now, but Tony Stark makes an appearance in this book (surprise, surprise). He asks Cyclops to get his team registered to which he gets snubbed off (as usual). From here, we catch up on the rest of the X-Men. Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus are off making mischief in eastern Europe. And Angel stumbles onto something odd in San Francisco.

New to the book is artist Mike Choi. Backed with Sonia Oback’s colors, this duo creates a lot of eye candy. If you’re on the fence about picking up this book, Choi’s art should be enough to sway you – he’s that good.

This isn’t your typical Brubaker story. There’s usually an agenda in every book he writes, so this being an “X-Men on vacation” story, it feels a bit off. There’s some character building going on here and Brubaker tries to liven it up with some humor, but most of it falls a bit flat. The ending isn’t your typical cliffhanger; it’ll most likely leave you feeling perplexed, but I’m sure there’s some method to Brubaker’s madness. I’ll stick around and see what happens next. (Grade: C+)

– J.Montes

A Second Opinion

I agree with Jay on many aspects here. The story doesn’t have any action, mostly character development, which is nice and all, but I hope to see more action next issue.

I hated the whole Civil War storyline and Iron Man, himself, and his “registration” act. Why must he still pop up in almost every other character’s comics. Enough already! “They are pushing me to officially register all of you,” he says twice in this issue. Just grow a pair already!

Choi and Oback are great as usual on art chores. (Grade: C+)

-Daniel Yanez