Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Quick Comic Book Reviews – August 3rd, 2010

Once again, just a quick series of reviews.  I’m finding it easier to do these quick reviews due to lack of time to breakdown each issue separately.  Plus this way I get more read, so kind of a win-win.  This should help you figure out if an issue might be worth picking up.  But then again, my opinion is just that, and my opinion might just be lousy.  Utilize at your own risk.  :-) 

234662 New Avengers #2 – Here is a series that continues on with the same New Avengers we had gotten to know.  Spiderman, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Thing, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye and Mockingbird.  So we’ve seen this team-up, not much NEW about it really besides The Thing.  However, in the second issue of the New New series, we start figuring out some things that are happening with Damien Hellstrom, Doctor Strange and Brother Voodoo.  We’re still figuring out who wants the Eye of Aga-what’s-his-face.  We still get the great banter from Wolverine and Spiderman that we come to expect, including Spidey getting a baby monitor to take into battle so he doesn’t miss anything.  Lots of good little things, solid artwork, make this a good comic.  If you liked em before, you’ll like em again, even with the mystical hocus pocus stuff.  Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen cook up a good one.  Solid buy!

234634 Legion of Superheroes #3 – Paul Levitz is back with a vengeance and boy is it a fun ride so far!  I’m going to give Levitz huge praise, because he is one of the few writers who can efficiently handle a ton of heroes and keep them all interesting and make them feel important.  Geoff Johns should take notes for Brightest Day.  Paul keeps giving us more and more questions and surprises.  Making Earth Boy a Green Lantern seems to be a red herring, but more importantly, the way Earth Boy is in an uncomfortable alliance with the Legion is excellent.  There is more storyline packed in these pages than you could hope for in most comics now days and the artwork backs it all up.  Terrific storytelling in all aspects and makes this a MUST BUY!  I simply do not want to miss an issue and boy, the end of this one really has me excited!  Gotta run and get it!

234390 Justice League: Generation Lost #5 – The title seems to be hitting its stride now.  The new Blue Beetle is utilized well, Rocket Red is a bit of a hypocrite, but at least they explain it.  The artwork is decent enough stuff, nothing bad nor terrible.  In this issue Max Lord makes a proposition to everyone that they can take or leave.  But what will it be?  Captain Atom has to make a big decision and Aaron Lopresti’s pencils do a tremendous job of capturing a superb moment of drama.  The interplay of the team is solid as they try and figure out what to do.  I’m intrigued to see where it is all going as Max Lord is a downright bastard.  Well paced issue, the team is starting to gel more and the story is starting to unfold well.  Buy if you love the characters, might be a near miss otherwise.

234400 Superman #701 – JMS brings his take to Superman and so far so good.  We don’t have him battle big bad monster of the week.  This is Superman’s effort to step back into his role with Earth as the protector of it.  But he finds himself looking to help the common people a bit more.  I like it, it has a good feel with Superman getting more touch with his human side and right now with the way things are in the world, this is a good thing.  To see him interacting with normal people and realizing their struggles reconnects Superman with his own human side, I think that’s important.  Superheroes sometime have to reflect what’s going on in their world and right now there are lots of people out there in need, people who have problems that are fairly ordinary.  It is fun to think, what if Superman could help you?  I like it so far.  Buy if you’re looking for a different kind of Superman story.

235309 Green Arrow #2 – First off, did I waste my time reading that or what?  I actually thought the first issue was alright, but the follow-up seemed to have little purpose and was quite short.  It didn’t feel right all around.  The artwork was weak, especially considering the guy couldn’t even draw the Green Lantern symbol correctly, and the story was worse.  And btw, if your Green Lantern ring loses its power in the forest, wouldn’t that mean that the costume disappears too?  Ugh, just ugh.  We’re no closer to solving the mystery of the forest and the “shocker” at the end seems just out of the blue.  So much so that I don’t even care what next issue brings to Oliver Queen.  Really just plain awful.  Don’t waste your money!

235310 Green Lantern #56 – Does Hal Jordan always wear a shiny outfit?  I didn’t think so, but Doug Mahnke sure thinks so and I don’t care for his rendition.  Usually I like his artwork, it just never seemed to feel in place during this issue.  Geoff John’s writing even seemed particularly hokey in this one.  I had been a little curious about this storyline, but less so after this issue.  First I have to sit through a joke about a Pink Flamingo.  Did that joke survive the 80’s?  We have Hector Hammond rumbling on about some mystery we don’t really no much about.  There is an overlying story about the entities in the lanterns and that just didn’t grab me.  The only decent part was with The Question being put back to rest.  Other than that, a veritable ick-fest.  I love a good Green Lantern story and this is not it.  Skip it!

235312 Green Lantern Corps #50 – Wow, 50th issues are usually monumental type issues, this one, not so much.  Tony Bedard is one of my favorite writers and the stories he has been writing have been moving along fairly well.  This issue however is a near miss. Ardian Syaf does a fine job with the artwork in this issue and his Hank Henshaw, Cyborg Superman whatever you want to call him is spot-on.  The issue flies by and you’re really mostly left with a flashback/where Cyborg Superman has been issue.  The amount of things that actually happened could have probably been done in about 2-4 pages.  That’s disappointing when you’re spending money on it.  So you’re basically learning what happened to Cyborg Superman when everyone thought he was dead.  Really nothing too interesting when it boils down to it.  Can’t recommend this one.


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