Comic Capsule Reviews 6/17/2009

Archive, Capsules, Reviews, Top Story

A small week for me, I was surprised when I left the store. Still no Chew. But I have one coming, it’s nice to have friends, as well as Gage’s Absolution. I am very excited about reading and reviewing both. I actually read the script(s) for Chew and they are great, you guys should make sure you pick it up.

On to the reviews.

power_girl_issue_2_cover_by_adamhughes

Powergirl #2: I really enjoyed this read. Palmiotti and Grey did a wonderful job with the script. The tit for tat between Powergirl Ultra-Humanite was great and fun. Quick little jabs and jokes. And although I had a problem with UM actually pummeling Kara into submission (she is vastly more powerful physically then him), I put that aside based on the villains ability to enter her nervous system. The telling of Ultra-Humanite’s origin was very well done, even the sicker deviant elements of it. That Satanna is a sick girl. I am sure she will show up by the end of the series. Good ending, my only problem was the feeling that issue #1 was a waste of time that seems like an awful lot of effort to catch Powergirl. Hey but its comics. What else do evil genius brains in giant albino monkey’s have to do other then build robot armies and machines that can lift cities off the face of the planet so they can swap brains with a Kryptonian Hottie? Another crit was the two page sequence with the JSA, there is really no reason for it. It was a waste of space that could have been put to better use having Amanda Conner give us great pages of Kara in compromising and revealing poses fighting a super gorilla. And it is great. Amanda that is. Amanda Conner has an uncanny ability to draw full bodied womanhood in comic book form. Giving us great comic book cheesecake with out being gratuitous or vulgar with it. She gives Kara a fleshiness seldom conveyed by other artists on any character. She also does a wonderful job with the storytelling and works magic with facial expression and characterization. She did a wonderful job this issue front to back, even blowing me a way with a great fight between Powergirl and Ultra-Humanite. I can’t wait for her Supergirl strip in Wednesday comics. 8 out of 10

Supergirl #42: Hah. I spent my night with two hot Kryptonian chicks!!! This was another excellent read. Gates is doing a wonderful job of fleshing out characters. He has made Supergirl a really interesting and engaging heroine. She can be quick to action yet can be conflicted or emotional about the out comes. Her interaction this issue trying to explain the death of Lois Lane’s sister during her battle with Kara while masquerading as a Kryptonian was very layered. Kara was sympathetic, yet obviously angry at Lane’s reaction. Really great stuff. As was the entire issue of such character explorations from General Lane, to Lois Lane, and Lana’s Interaction with Supergirl. Nice to see Supergirl’s realization at the end. I also loved that we haven’t seen the last of Reactron, and more of Codename:Assassin. The art was also beautiful, wait let me correct that. Igle is amazing. He really is incredible at the craft of telling stories and the human figure. He nails the emotional drama and the bits of action. And of course he does amazing work on the main character. Deliberately not sexing her up, or providing T&A shots for no reason just so fan boys can scan and drool at. It is really elegant how he handles his work. The inking is ok, but it tends to be weak, when there is an opportunity for a page to pop, there is no real effort to do it with the ink. The line weights are largely the same, there is a great too page splash in Lois’ apartment. With extreme angles. It would have been more dramatic with some thicker lines around the characters. And actually that would help throughout. Especially in the action. But the big problem with the art is the coloring. It has been from the start of the new creative team. It is washed out. And really looks too airbrushed. In some panels the use of gradients are just plain bad. It makes the finished art lifeless. The first page with the Metropolis Science Police is a wash of grey tones and bad metallic gradients. Lifeless. This is a book about a young vibrant superhero. The colors should pop off each page. Supergirl herself is washed over, she should be bright and colorful. It’s very distracting. I love Igle, he does amazing work through out, unfortunately he is getting murdered by the colors.

20_captain_britain_and_mi13_14

Captain Britain and MI:13 #14: It is a crime that this book is ending. This book has been a surprise standout since issue #1. I am gonna say it, Cornell is doing everything I remember loving about those now classic 80’s era Uncanny X-men. He is creating nuanced characters and relationships that grow over time. And he’s doing it in the middle of clever, interesting and fun superhero stories. This Dracula hostile takeover of Great Britain is wonderful. The use Plonka to create a fake reality by Wisdom was an amazing surprising turn I didn’t see coming. And taking the fight to Drac’s flag ship was great, especially the nice little character interactions and dialogue. Everything works perfectly together. I love the use of Doom and his gift, wow that was a surprise and Dracula’s reaction was great. I love this comic. It can’t go away, in my mind I firmly believe this will turn into another book after this storyline, at the very least these guys should be drafted to do an X-book. Either way, next issue should be amazing. One minor crit was the fight (a few panels) that bothered me, no way can Spitfire go Vamp to Vamp with Drac. he is the BIG BAD, i feel he should have smacked her aroung, and no one short of Captain Britain can slow him down. Dracula threw around the X-men. He can handle Spitfire. As for the art. Really rock solid. Delivers on the script in every way. Somewhat Spartan and utilitarian, yet does its job in spades. Portraying both the high level of action and character drama wonderfully. I really think the first few pages are wonderful. 8.5 out of 10

captainamerica_600_eptingcover

Captain America #600: Consistently the best comic month in month out. Brubaker’s vision for this book has been spot on and relentless in it’s excellence. Each of the vignettes was great. I really loved the voice and tone of each one. Really sowing plot seeds, providing teases and certainly I love the characterization of the Avengers and Osborne. That was great. My favorite part of the main story was the Red Skull pages. Wow. I was blown away and the OTHER Captain America also stood out, I am sure that is an interesting story that will be told. The additional content were nice touches of color and flavor by two greats Roger Stern and Mark Waid. Wow. When was the last time we saw Bernadette? And I even loved the reprint of Red Skull’s Deadly Revenge. Really nice to get an idea of what those old books were like. All in all a tremendous anniversary issue in every way. The art was really amazing. The use of different artists, all handling the tone and storytelling effortlessly and seamlessly. Very impressive. Seldom is it done so well when so many varied styles are contributing to a story. This book was pretty close to perfect. It had all the emotion I had hoped and really got me even more interested for REBORN then I already was. Great job guys. 9.5 out of 10

See you next week with more reviews. Thanks for tuning in.