As you may have noticed, this week brings with it a whole new reviewing format and I, Tim Stevens, am glad to be aboard for the festivities. Those of you who read DC News & Views will notice I borrowed the name of this column from my review section of that column. Those of you who don’t read DCNV…you cut me deep.
Anyone out there who would like to bestow upon me a logo…I will love you forever. Send that or any comments you might have to me at parallax2@juno.com or click the e-mail link at the bottom of this article.
Thanks in advance.
Books of Doom #4
“Book of Four”
Published by: Marvel
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciller: Pablo Raimondi
Inker: Mark Farmer with Drew Hennessy
Colorist: Brian Reber
This installment, part four of the six part mini, is the first that seems a bit lost. The previous three were propelled by a sense of narrative urgency that is implicit in the personality of Dr. Doom. Here, however, things stumble. The book is still good, very good in fact, with Brubaker nicely diagramming Doom’s transition from angry, destitute young man to the fully arrogant power monger we know today and Raimondi’s art ably assisting him. However, for the first time, you can feel the pacing go slack.
Grade: B
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5
Web Log
Published by: Marvel
Writer: Peter David
Penciller: Mike Wieringo
Inker: Karl Kesel
Colorist: Paul Mounts
These days, I have no Spider-Man titles (besides Ultimate) on my pull list. I love the character, but none of the mainstream titles are really doing anything for me. However, I do keep my eye out for one issue or small arc stories that sound interesting or fun to me so I can catch in on the character every now and then. The last time I caught one was the Paul Jenkins’ penned card game issue that came at the end of his run. It was fun, showcased Spider-Man nicely, and was interesting without having to be earth shattering. I thought “Weblog” would be another such story.
Boy did I miss the mark.
The story is unengaging. The narrator is wholly one-dimensional and a last moment attempt to reverse that comes off as stagy and tacked on. The pacing somehow manages to be too slow and yet over too fast at the same time. I’m not sure exactly what the goal was here, but it’s hard to imagine that this result did not miss that aim by a mile.
Plus, one cannot help but be frustrated that it is 5 issues into Peter David’s Spider-Man title and he has yet to really get a chance to write Spider-Man his way. First there was “The Other” mega crossover that actually ensured he only wrote one script for “Friendly Neighborhood” and now there’s this…effort.
Grade: D
Marvel Team-Up #18
Published by: Marvel
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Penciller: Paco Medina
Inker: Juan Vlasco
Colorist: Marte Garcia
Marvel Team-Up is my Marvel equivalent to Green Lantern meaning that I pick it up from time-to-time when the guest stars or villains interest me and always end up feeling a bit unfulfilled by the experience. In this way, #18 nicely keeps that streak going.
I love that Kirkman mined the late 80’s and early 90’s for a random assortment of characters to toss together (plus Mutant 2099 because Kirkman made him and Arana, Gravity, and X-23 because…?) that each have about 10 fans a piece. For me, Darkhawk’s the guy that brings me to the table and it is cool to me take a leadership role.
However, DH leading does little to hide the fact that over a 4 issue story, I’ve gotten little to no insight into the characters beyond they like making out with one another. That’s cool, I like the kissing as much as the next but…shouldn’t there be more?
Once again, Kirkman Marvel Edition, leaves me unfulfilled and confused about what relationship this Kirkman might have with the Kirkman who writes Invincible and Walking Dead.
Grade: C
Nextwave #2
Published by: Marvel
Writer: Warren Ellis
Penciller: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Goddamn, this is fun! Crazy, silly fun. Fin Fang Foom just gets better this issue when he starts to talk (my favorite: “Fin Fang Foom puts you in his pants,”) and anything involving Aaron Stack (you know, Machine Man) is comedy gold. If you don’t believe me, just look at the page that features the fate of one of the other 50 robots that were built from the same mold. Poor, poor Father Blood Drench Robo Crush.
The time put into the ancillary stuff is appreciated as well. The Q and A summary at the beginning is actually an accurate and helpful recap if you missed the first issue (but what the hell did you go and do that for), but also sets the tone for the rest of book nicely. Similarly, the letters page, which is apparently written by a robot, features letters about purple underpants and are often written by important historical figures.
I’m worried that the ride might get redundant and/or repetitive (see that, that’s a joke) at some point, but for now: YAY!!!!!!!!!!
Grade: A
Sentinel #5
“Reborn”
Published by: Marvel
Writer: Sean McKeever
Penciller: Joe Vriens
Inker: Scott Hepburn
Colorist: Kevin Yan and Espen Gudet Jern
So, what did we accomplish here? This issue ends the miniseries just when, I think, it was about to get interesting. I know the point is that we’ll all be so interested that Marvel will be compelled to bring us another mini or a new ongoing, but check the sales. “All of us” is like the three reviewers here that read it, the creative team, and their family members. The story is total is decent, but it all feels like a prologue to something bigger and better that, chances are, we will not get a chance to see. And that’s a shame.
Still, I have to give McKeever and company props for the great familial relationship they establish amongst the Seyfert family and being the first comic in history to actually have a father admitting to his child that, “Yeah, the reason Mom left actually is that she did not like us.” Harsh, but very real, stuff there. I appreciate that.
Overall, the short-lived ongoing was a stronger work that leaves a more indelible mark. With this one, all I can really recall a boy and a robot wandering the forest, in search of a plot.
Grade: C
Ultimates 2 #10
“Axis of Evil”
Published by: Marvel
Writer: Mark Millar
Penciller: Bryan Hitch
Inker: Paul Neary
Colors: Laura Martin
Figuring out Millar’s political message might drive you a little crazy (He’s clearly anti-American imperialism, right? Wait, did he just make Vice President Dick Cheney heroic? Etc), but I’m willing to overlook it considering how good this book is. It looks gorgeous. It is big and loud and nothing is ever subtle. This is the book that Loeb should have looked at when he intended to make every issue of Batman/Superman feel like a summer blockbuster.
Grade: A
Batman Annual #25
“Daedalus and Icarus”
Published by: DC Comics
Writer: Judd Winick
Penciller: Shane David
Inker: Mark Morrales
Colors: Alex Sinclar
Huh. Well, there you go. Superboy Prime punches reality, Jason Todd lives again. You have to admire the simplicity I suppose. I don’t love it, but it works.
The rest of the issue though…I liked very much. I had thought Mahnke was back on art, but Shane Davis (and a nice one panel cameo from Jim Aparo) quickly made me forget all about that. I have not seen much from him but mmm, mmm, mmm, that is some good work.
Storywise, besides the actual factors causing Jason Todd’s resurrection, I bought every bit of it and loved it. Todd proving that, despite being a bit of a punk kid, he did listen and learn from Batman (digging himself from the grave) and did care about Bruce (great bit in the hospital about who Bruce is to him) was a particular highlight for me, but there were plenty of other enjoyable moments along the way.
A fitting end to Winick’s time on Batman.
Grade: B
Detective Comics #817
Published by: DC Comics
Writer: James Robinson
Layouts: Leonard Kirk
Finishes: Andy Clarke
Colors: John Kalisz
Apparently for Batman, OYL means that everything old is new again. Bullock’s back on the force. Gordon is the Commissioner again. Batman and the cops are okay with each other. Poison Ivy is alive.
And you know what, I don’t mind it at all.
At first, I was a bit miffed that DC essentially used OYL to return Batman to his five years ago status quo but then I realized, I really liked that status quo. I would’ve liked to see some bigger risks, but I cannot fault a good story told well and this fits the bill. I’m not ready to proclaim “Batman’s back!” from the rooftops, but I am pleased with this start.
Grade: B
Green Lantern Corps Recharge #5
“Stardeath”
Published by: DC Comics
Writer: Dave Gibbons and Geoff Johns
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Prentis Rollins
Colors: Moose Baumann
Just for fun, I counted how many times Kilowog said Poozer in this issue. Seven times. And he’s on like 10 pages. That’s an impressive average.
Sadly, that’s all that’s impressive here.
Grade: D
Infinite Crisis #5
“Faith”
Published by: DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencillers: Phil Jimenez, Jerry Ordway & Ivan Reis
Inkers: Andy Lanning, Jerry Ordway & Art Thibert
Colorists: Jerome Cox, Guy Major & Rod Reis
When is our Superman (Kal-El) gonna step up to the plate and DO something? I’m tired of being told how great he is, let’s see it.
And what is going on with all the cosmic stuff? It’s been five issues and we’ve only seen about 10 pages of action from that subplot and most of it consists of heroes floating in space waiting. I may not have any particular interest in this storyline, but I’d rather dive into it then having just sort of uselessly flitting by in the periphery of the story.
Finally, because it bears mentioning, yes there are even more artists this time out. Yes, that does mean varying degrees of quality. No, this should not “ruin” the comic for you.
Otherwise, I’ve got no real issues with this book. This is a bit of quiet before the “true” climax of the story (which is kicked off by the closing cliffhanger that nicely mirrors Kal-L’s appearance in issue #1). As such we have some great character bits like Blue Devil suffering through mass and Booster Gold flaunting his newly acquired knowledge of the future.
There’s no denying this is a fanboy ride, but as I am a fanboy, this is a lot of fun for me. Especially when someone finally mentions Breach.
By the by, if the Flash at the end is Barry as some people are guessing, I’ll eat my hat. Or a hat. I like my hat too much to eat. But I’ll buy one special for this occasion.
Grade: B
Ex Machina #18
“March to War” Chapter 2
Published by Wildstorm
Writer: Brian K Vaughn
Penciller: Tony Harris
Inker: Tom Feister
Colors: JD Mettler
Normally, delays on books do not bother me much. My enjoyment of the stories they are telling remains, I believe, relatively the same as if the book had come out on time or (if by miracle) earlier. With this book though, I feel the delay. A feeling of importance and “big things happening quickly” is very necessary for this book, but in the three plus months since #17 hit stands, that feeling is hard to conjure up once again. It definitely “reads” better when paired with the two previous issues of this storyline which is why it earns the grade it does. However, on its own, it was difficult to emotionally re-engage in a story that I would otherwise care very much about.
Lest I leave with the wrong impression, however, let me assure you that the entire creative team, from writing on down, is strong. They have talent to spare. This is, however, a book that does not weather delays well.
Grade: B
