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Sorry I haven't written...or recorded...or anything. Been an intense couple of weeks. But we're here now...so let's write some reviews.
Ratings are from 1 to 5 stars. ***** = OUTSTANDING. * = Worse than biting into an apple and finding half a penis.
Comics Bought on April 6:
- (Marvel’s) Fear Itself – Book 1 (of 7)
- Damn this is going to be a good series. The frame where Odin thwarts Thor (an alliteration I've been waiting to use for years!) by simply saying, "Mjolnir, drop" is one of the best moments I've seen in comics in YEARS. The mystique. The mythology. The depth. The payoff for YEARS of reading, paralleled against the entry-level explanation for those who've drifted away. This issue did NOTHING wrong. Can't wait for issue two.
- Rating - *****
- Batman Beyond – Issue #4
- I've been enjoying "Beyond" mostly because it hadn't been forcing in any of the "Incorporated" garbage that's going on in most of the other Bat-Titles lately...but they did in this issue. In fact it's kind of central. The Batman franchise in comics is barely recognizable to the average fan anymore. (Thanks to Wil Wheaton for putting that into the right terminology for me in one of his recent posts.) I don't know who the hell most of these people are. The "Incorporated" thing is flawed on almost every level. Bruce Wayne has been stripped of all of his depth and torment. The stories are so confusingly and sparsely written that I need to go to Wikipedia afterward just to understand what the hell HAPPENED in an arc. There's just nothing good about the Morrison-helmed Batman...and now it's even bleeding into stuff that is shouldn't affect (effect?). "Beyond" was great, and to be fair the present story is still pretty good. But Grant Morrison has been a cancer to the franchise, and now his bullshit is ruining one of the few things in the Batman world I could still enjoy. Thanks for that, Grant. At least you're saving me money by putting out unreadable shit I refuse to buy.
- Rating Overall ***1/2.
- Rating if it hadn't brought in "Incorporated" as a plot element - ****
- Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth – Issue #2 of 3
- Axe Cop is ridiculously fun. Written by a six-year-old, drawn by his 30-year-old brother. It makes absolutely no sense, is absurd, and is absolutely insane...and it's perfect. I love it. I couldn't really remember what happened in issue 1 when I cracked open issue 2...then about half a page in, I realized it didn't matter...this was STILL going to be a fun read that made me laugh. And I was right. Can't wait for issue 3, and I hope this kid never grows up (I mean that in the good "young at heart" way, not in the horrific "I hope he dies" way) so his writing can always be this off-the-wall and fun. No complaints... Only thing wrong with Axe Cop is that there isn't more of it.
- Rating - *****
- iZombie: Dead to the World (Trade #1)
- I knew I'd enjoy iZombie when I heard about it...but that was about three issues in, so I waited for the trade. I was not disappointed. It's got lots of laughs and fun, but also some dark, moody, almost disturbing concepts floating right beneath the surface--I mean, it's about a zombie, after all. I need to unpack it a little and write a fuller review...but for the moment, I'll just leave it at "awesome" and say that I'm definitely going box-diving to find the issues I've missed very, very soon.
- Rating - *****
- Batman: Arkham (100-Page Spectacular/One-Shot)
- Only part-way through it. I'll do a full review later. But I've enjoyed it so far. The 100-pagers are old-issues in new wrappers...so they're fine. Morrison doesn't touch them. This is REAL Batman, and it's perfectly enjoyable.
- Rating So Far - *** and growing...
- The Flash - Issue #10 (Road to Flashpoint)
- I'm almost as excited about Flashpoint as I am Fear Itself. In this issue, the Flash is trying to figure out if the future/parallel him is really...well...him. And someone's killing capes, to boot. Great issue, building toward the mini-series wonderfully...can't wait to see where it's headed.
- Rating ***1/2 (Would be four, but it just takes so long for them to produce an issue that it's too slow a burn.)
- The Unwritten – Issue #24
- I love this book. It's so literate and fun. But...issues like these irritate me a little. At the end of a given "chapter" in the series, they do an issue that isn't really related to the overall story. In this case, rejoining a foul-mouthed, exiled bunny who's mad at the Taylor Family on his quest for vengeance. It was entertaining enough...but I'd rather be reading about Tom. My only real fear is that this bunny's going to end up in the proper story and we're going to have to take him seriously...and I don't want that. I want this to stay as gritty and people-based as it can, even though there are some GIANT leaps you've got to take in the "suspension of disbelief" department. Up until now, though, it's been phenomenally well-written and I have no complaints. I just hope they stay the course.
- Rating - *** (But the series overall is a 5.)
- Justice League: Generation Lost – Issue #23
- Only problem I have with this book is that it's going to end. This has been the best written Justice League title in recent memory, and I've loved every page. All the benefits of the "Brightest Day" story with none of the main-title confusion. (No offense to the main title though.) Things are clearly winding down and we're heading toward out final fight with Max Lord. Booster Gold has really come into his own over the course of this series to become so much more than the one-dimensional, joke-cracking, self-promotion whore he used to be. He's a real leader now, and I CARE what happens to him and his team. I just hope the ending is as well done as the rest of the series. I have NO disappointments for sticking with this one for 23 issues!
- Rating - ****
- Black Panther – Issue #517
- Presently unread. Will review at a later date.
- CarbonGrey – Issue #2
- This story is becoming clearer...but the crux of the story is flawed. The inherent mystery to the siblings in the story is that "one of the twins is the thirteenth, magical, crazy-ass child...but which one?!?!?!?!?!?" Umm... The one that was born first. They weren't ripped out of the womb at the exact same second. One was born first and is #13. That's basic biology. But otherwise, I like the vibe of this book. It's got a "historical epic meets steam-punk" thing going on that is visually spectacular, and the story is otherwise strong.
- Rating - *** (Probably going to get better once we really know what the hell's going on.)
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