Saturday, April 27, 2013

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 12 or You Don't Have Superpowers Because You Wouldn't Do Anything Constructive With Them....



A Note From the Writer: I am more than grateful that my little dog and pony review garnered the attention of such a writer as David Mack. However, I am thankful, first and foremost, to you all for continuing to read it. It was really just a side project (at first) that decided, through force of will, to stick around. To thank you all, I wanted to do deviate from the usual schedule for Free Comic Book Day. Doug E. Fresh would call this "crowd participation."

Basically, send me comments, requests, questions on all things comic nerd and I'll talk about them. You can ask them here in the comment area, inbox them, email me or....you know....whatever. I'll try to keep this as fun as possible. Thanks in advance. :-)

Email: letsgetfree13@gmail.comTwitter: @letsgetfree13




And Now.....To The Reviews!!!

Uncanny X-Men #5: I'm just going to start off with the simple truth of what I've gotten from the past two issues. This book is getting weird. Since the events of "Avengers vs. X-Men", Magik has become the wild card of Cyclops' outlaw revolution squad. We haven't seen the full extent of what's she capable of since the Phoenix screwed with her abilities, but it's been suggested for a while that she's the Uncanny team's Thor. Here is where we see her dealing with the ramifications of her unpredictable abilities in a fashion not too unlike how the Scarlet Witch went wrong (or, depending on your point of view, how she was never right to begin with). Brian Bendis, while not making too much of a detour from the ongoing plot, is making a bit of a rest stop to flesh Illyana Rasputin out since she hasn't gotten much focus aside from the occasional "I might be batshit crazy" one liner. We are reintroduced to an old unexpected villain which seems like a "make-up appearance" after a semi lackluster third act battle during Bendis' run on New Avengers. Here, he is given the "holy shit" factor that a baddie of his caliber deserves. One of the high points for this book was the S.H.I.E.L.D. meeting in which Maria Hill groans in the wake of the the X-Men "dropping the mic on the Avengers like it's 8 Mile." I have to appreciate Bendis' ability to make the Avengers either look like jackbooted thugs or spoiled punks who tuck their collective tails between their legs and "don't feel like talking about it" when they get owned. It's good to be able to handle characters realistically while still letting the reader know who's boss in their book.

Frazier Irving's art come across as a sudden, slightly out of place change for this book. The switch itself is already a bit distracting, but his style feels a little messy and too all over the place for my tastes. I also take issue with nobody being able to decide on a baseline set of characteristics for Cyclops' face with the mask off.

Bottom Line: This book suffers no illusions in the fact that it's semi filler. But it's good filler. 7.5 out of 10


Jupiter's Legacy #1: I was going out of my way to not pick up a mainstream superhero title when I bought this and winced when I figured out it was one. But I shouldn't have. Mark Millar has an interesting penchant for being able to introduce superhero archetypes into a world closer to the one we live in. It's a theme he seems to have gotten progressively great at as times goes on and this title, thus far, is the proof. 

Whereas Spider Man will break off a date to go fight crime with little remorse, many of the superpowered people in this world are more likely to wait until their iTunes download of Scandal finishes before running off to beat up on the alien would-be conqueror. And let's face it. That's about right. How many times have you asked someone to do something first thing in the morning and received "Not until I've had my coffee" as a reply? That's just taking out the trash or putting WD-40 on the door hinge. I shudder to think how fucked we'd be if a planet sized meteor were hurtling towards Earth.

This book centers around a generation of Golden Age heroes with a stiff moral code that seems to be getting left in the dust. The setup seems to be leaning towards questioning whether or not the current generation will be up to the responsibility of fighting for good. So far, Millar's answer seems to be a "No" so big, The Rock couldn't lift it. To his credit, doesn't just judge the Twitter era from the cheap seats like an old codger shaking his fist from his porch. He goes behind enemy lines and asks, "Can you blame them? You guys had Hitler to deal with. They have Justin Bieber." Frank Quitely's artwork is, as usual, a godsend to compliment Millar's story appropriately, stirring realism and a powerful sense of the unbelievable into an alphabet soup that's hard to ignore. Though it seems to make you wish for a slightly stronger action beats, it seems to do everything right as far as inaugural issues go.

Bottom Line: Mark Millar is definitely at the top of his game while making you wish you had superpowers and hope your roommate never does all at the same time. 9 out of 10.


East of West #2: Jonathan Hickman is certainly swinging for the fences with this one. He brings a fresh, unapologetic voice to the pantheon of dystopian future visions with his unconventional saga of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. War, Famine and Conquest are still on a bloody tear through this brave new world, jumpstarting the end of civilization as we know it. Meanwhile, Death, their fourth, goes on a similarly bloodlustful revenge run. This is the kind of sci-fi/fantasy work Hickman was born to do and the kind of quirky, badass characters he was born to write. The body count's still pretty high, but the story seems to be getting slightly more coherent as pieces of the endgame peek out from under the cracks of maiming, mauling and lush environments that keep your eyes bulging out from their sockets thanks to Nick Dragotta's masterful artwork and shrewd coloring. The first issue was ambitious and slightly experimental, but the sophomore effort is coming across more of a uniformed venture.

Bottom Line: All there was to appreciate last time has been magnified more as the plot begins to come together. 8.5 out of 10.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 11 or May I Carry Bendis and Mack's Books to School?

Age of Ultron #6: I've intentionally stayed away from reviewing Age of Ultron issues for a while because, honestly, I was only going to have the same things to say about it as the last time I reviewed it. Before I get into this, let me say I've decided that Marvel has been pushing biweekly books more often because they're going to make more money from 1). selling more books in a month and 2). charging more money when the big crossover events go to print as hardback graphic novels. Yes, I'm looking at you, $75 Avengers Vs. X-Men (sorry, but there are hookers that don't cost that much). I can already see the mainly one-shot tie-ins to Age of Ultron occupying a mammoth hardcover that takes up more space on a shelf than a Robert Jordan novel. Because rain or shine, Marvel would make a pinata of Ray Bradbury's corpse if they thought someone hid a bag of nickels in it.

Anyway, this book is starting to pick up speed. The first half of this event was more of a survival drama asking "Where Were You When the Evil Robot Finally Evolved Past Windows Vista?" while portraying its distraught characters more like the superhero version of The Walking Dead. Now, the players seem to be mostly assembled with purpose and a bad guy to go punch though there seems to be some debate on who that actually is. Captain America has taken a team of big guns to go for a last ditch, head-on conflict with Ultron while Wolverine is elsewhere being Wolverine to the shock of noone. By splitting up the team to fight the good fight (using that term loosely) on two fronts, Bendis' characterizations and conversations have gotten noticably stronger. There are some characters he just has down better than most and Wolverine is definitely one of them.

The most obvious change is Carlos Pacheco and Brandon Peterson tagging Bryan Hitch out on the artwork. Just as our heroes have split up, so have the artists. Pacheco draws the events taking place in the past while Peterson handles the fight in the future...which becomes more of a sidenote than I would have assumed. Peterson's digital renderings tend to result in subjects slightly more lifeless and rigid than Pacheco, whose intimate scenes don't have much difficulty bringing you into moments that have a great deal more gravitas this issue.

Bottom Line: A strong change of pace and plot that will surely put the "it's moving too slow" whiners to rest. 8 out of 10.




Daredevil End of Days #7: The problem with a comic title this good is that if you review it's hard to review more than once because it's so goddamned incredible, you're almost afraid you're going to run out of good things to say about it. There's one more issue left and I'm almost sad to see it go. This is less of a series and more of a master class into how mini-series are supposed to be done. Dare I say...this is the Breaking Bad of Marvel's existing titles with Matt Fraction's Hawkeye running a very close second. If your comic can't be this good, you shouldn't be doing it. With the grade-A artwork Klaus Janson did during Frank Miller's legendary run on DD, it's more than appropriate that he be the one to draw what is essentially the Man Without Fear's eulogy.

Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack have become like two halves of the same DNA strands that make the tension that drives each page. They have a very unique understanding of what makes the world of Daredevil turn as well as what fans of ol' Hornhead want to see from a book that, until recently, we see very little of the titular hero in. I mean....the Punisher versus ninjas. I'm just going to leave that little tidbit there. Also, I am convinced that Bendis and Mack should be teaming up to write a Punisher series. There, I said it. Make it so, Marvel. That little piece of advice is on the house.

P.S.- I'm not very good at the internet, so I don't know what proper writer/blogger/Twitter fan protocol is, but I have to give extra special appreciation to David Mack (@davidmackkabuki) for actually interacting with his fans with all the respect and humility I would expect from someone of his caliber. Thanks for all of the replies, retweets and favorites and all that internet stuff.

Bottom Line: There will come a day not too far from now when this title is required reading for any serious comic reader. What Dark Knight Returns did for Batman....End of Days is doing for Daredevil. 9.5 out of 10.

Danger Girl Trinity #1: Remember that Pamela Anderson show, VIP, where a bunch of kick-ass women kicked ass and Pamela Anderson was Pamela Anderson? No, I didn't think you would and this book is a stark reminder of why. You know, I was a fan of the Danger Girl series back in the day. Then again, "back in the day," I was 13 years old so VIP was awesome to me, too. Besides, J. Scott Campbell was working on it back then. Without him, Andy Hartnell's thin story seems to come across as Dwight Howard without Kobe Bryant: he can only fake it on his own for so long before everyone realizes this patchwork won't make it out of the playoffs. I can't tell you much about the story because there isn't much of one aside from a small ripoff of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade that didn't hit any of the right notes.

Bottom Line: Big boobs, big guns, tight clothes, thin plot, sloppy artwork....and here, I'd almost forgotten what the 90's was like. Oh, well. I'll keep trying. 3 out of 10.



Saturday, April 13, 2013

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 10 or SweetLittleBabyJeremyRenner This Book is Good!!!

Hawkeye #9: The Avengers movie is probably the best thing to ever happen to Clint Barton. He's in most of the team lineups in the comics as well as the most recent cartoon series and now his solo series is, appropriately, one of the best things to happen to comics right now. This book is a nigh-perfectly crafted tutorial on how an evenly paced superhero character study should be done. In this installment of "what Hawkeye does when he's not being an Avenger," we get a hilarious look into his relationship with the women in his life while he has what is easily one of the worst days ever. Seriously, I would have called this issue "It Sucks to Be Me." I laughed and cringed all at the same time watching him reap what his facepalm-inducing, bad opposite sex decisions sow. Matt Fraction seems to have this character almost down to a science, balancing fun, witty dialogue and kinetic action on a proverbial tightrope. One of the best gems this book has to offer is Clint Barton's bond with Kate Bishop (aka Hawkeye with Boobs). It's hard not to fall in nerd love with the sailor mouthed, Vespa riding, comic heroine version of Ellen Page. The mod look of the art David Aja lends to this title makes this one of the strongest projects Marvel has to offer.

Bottom Line: Funny dialogue, lively artwork and tight pacing.....if comics can't be done this well, they shouldn't be done at all. 9.5 out of 10.



Saga #12: You know, I'll never understand the logic behind what constitutes as a "controversy" in comics. You have a comic that's been going strong for a year now that's featured a giant ogre's herniated nuts and at least two sex scenes in it by now (all comics should have at least one panel of TV-headed robot sex so I can make a collage and send it to Rick Santorum). Yet, when we get a small flash of gay sex, everyone throws their hands in the air. Grow up, people.


Anyway, with Hawkeye and Daredevil: End of Days running a close second and third, Saga is probably THE BEST thing happening in comics as we know them. The fact that something that didn't even take up an entire panel on a page could piss people off so throughly (albeit for about ten minutes) is proof of how visually arresting Fiona Staples gets throughout this title. This issue of the critically acclaimed unconventional space opera focuses mainly on Prince Robot IV, the royal foil pursuing Alana and Marko across the stars as he engages in a verbal tug o' war with an incendiary author we could grow to love if he lives long enough. The first pages of this issue, after all, serve as a warning from Vaughn not to get too attached to any one character too soon. It's surprising how easy it is to connect with this faceless villain. One would think trying to relate to a guy with a television for a face would be more difficult a prospect, but it's a testament to Brian K. Vaughn's characterizations married with Staples' visuals. Together, it makes for a book that throws vulgar, bizarre images and platitudes in your lap and nonchalantly says, "Deal with it, motherfucker."

Bottom Line: Another solid entry to a fantastic series unlike any other in comics right now. 8.5 out of 10.


Uncanny Avengers #6: I'm not going to try and wax poetic about this title simply because, going from the last issue to this issue, I now have no idea where this book is going anymore. Rick Remender seems to have caught Damon Lindelof's "Lost" disease and decided to either hold or abandon his Unity Squad infighting/Red Skull/Onslaught storyline and go into some time traveling mayhem. Apparently, Apocalypse has a bone to pick with Thor....for some reason. The resulting romp is pretty entertaining, but the book's sudden shift in tone and focus leaves us scratching our heads. It literally feels like Remender was in a rut and said to himself...."You know what this book needs? A Thor/Apocalypse fight." Forturnately, Daniel Acuna's pencils are dazzling enough for nobody to mind this new plotline. His face off between Thor and the Four Horsemen is worth its weight in gold. If you didn't like the story as it was before this issue, you'll probably like where it seems to be going now. If you like coherence....I don't know....learn to let go.

Bottom Line: This was a decent issue. It would just be nicer if I know what was happening or why. 7.5 out of 10.

Monday, April 8, 2013

How the "Spider Man Meeting" Really Went....

Captain America: Okay, listen up, men!

Spider Woman: **clears throat**

Captain America: Okay, listen up....everyone. Sorry, Jessica.

Hawkeye: Yeah, Steve, if you have another complaint like last time, Maria Hill's going to make us do that sensitivity training again.

Wolverine: The next shrink that makes me sit through one of those sexual harassment videos is getting a claw in the eye.

Thor: Aye, friend Logan. The green one was not amused, either.

Hawkeye: You know, I was meaning to ask someone about that. Should the Hulk really be getting in touch with his inner Justin Bieber or whatever? That should take away from his productivity. I mean, isn't aggression the whole reason the Hulk is the Hulk in the first place?

Spider Woman: Easy for you to say. You didn't have that gorilla grab your ass on the jet during that thing that time.

Captain America: People, please! I called this meeting to talk about the Spider-Man issue.

Black Widow: I'd like to talk about that, too. I mean, I liked Django Unchained, but Jamie Foxx as Electro??

Captain America: I didn't mean....

Spider Woman: Yeah, and that last movie....why did Andrew Garfield take his mask off ALL the time?

Hawkeye: Considering that guy leaves his damn mask in the bathroom all the time, I think it's pretty accurate.

Captain America: That's not what I was.....

Iron Man: Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late. I was doing an interview for Maxim magazine.

Black Widow: Of course you were. You're probably on the cover again.

Iron Man: Actually, no, a Kardashian is on the cover. I was actually conducting the interview.

Hawkeye: By that, you mean you were sleeping with her, right?

Iron Man: Wrong. Nobody slept. What'd I miss? Is this about sensitivity training?

Captain America: We're meeting today to figure out how we're going to deal with the Spider Man issue.

Iron Man: Good. I mean, I liked Django Unchained, but.....

Captain America: No! Spider Man hasn't been himself lately. His behavior as of late has been....excessive.

Spider Woman: Excessive compared to what? Hitting people in the face with a big metal shield?

Captain America: That's different.

Spider Woman: How?

Captain America: Because I wear the American flag when I do it.

Hawkeye: I don't know, Cap. She's got a point. I mean, look at Wolverine. His power is basically stabbing people.

Black Widow: You mean it's not beer?

Wolverine: I'm right here, assholes.

Captain America: Hey! Focus! Spider Man! This is footage of him beating up Screwball, a thief who makes her escapes via parkour and broadcasts it via the internet.

Iron Man: Okay, that's just stupid.

Captain America: So, you see my point?

Iron Man: Yeah. I mean.....who steals stuff and posts it on YouTube?

Captain America: That's not my point at all.

Black Widow: I mean, Cap...Spider Woman had a point. I mean, I'm a spy. Everyone in the intelligence community knows I'm a spy. And an assassin.

Captain America: Yeah, but you're doing it for your country.

Black Widow: And Russia.

Hawkeye: I kill people, too, Cap.

Thor: In fairness, Steven Rogers, I do not wield a hammer for its decorative applications.

Wolverine: I've been killing people for at least a hundred years. And I'm Canadian.

Captain America: But Spider Man did it on live television.

Wolverine: I did it in a movie. I mean, I stabbed everybody in that movie. AND I'm pretty sure I took a bullet to the head.

Spider Woman: Logan, you should really stop being proud of that movie. Seriously. We're ready whenever you are.

Thor: Aye.

Hawkeye: Yeah, I think this is a non issue.

Black Widow: I second that.

Wolverine: Yeah, I'm outta here. I'm going to catch up on Walking Dead.

Captain America: But....America. Freedom. Tony, help me out here.

Iron Man: ......

Captain America: Tony! Are you in there?

Iron Man: What? Oh, sorry. I got distracted. Watching Game of Thrones in here. These dragons are.....

Thor: Nay, Tony Stark!!! Spoilers!!!

Captain America: **sigh**


Saturday, April 6, 2013

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 9 or Spider Man, I Tried to Quit You....

Superior Spider Man #7: This book is like a woman I'm in a bad relationship with. I feel compelled to stay even after it sets my bed on fire like Andrew Garfield's girlfriend in The Social Network. This is, in part, thanks to acting captain Dan Slott keeping the ship afloat when it should be sinking faster than GI Joe: Retaliation's rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This issue, much like the few that precede it, is busy building tension as the Spider Man formerly known as Doctor Octopus is growing more excessive by the day. Now, it's one thing to shoot a man in cold blood in front of several witnesses, but beating up YouTube parkour thieves.....THAT'S the line. And the Avengers won't stand for it. So, it's time for an intervention. But first, another bad guy has to get beaten half to death. I have to admit that, although Slott is working with a fundamentally stupid premise, he's doing a good job of maintaining a semi readable book. This issue is a bit heavy on exposition and he has trouble deciding whether it's going to focus on Otto's narration or Peter Parker's ghost voice. Still, it's fast paced where the action is concerned and Slott's obviously dug his heels in and committed to seeing where this goes. Humberto Ramos' art is gorgeous, masterfully capturing the speed at which this book moves as well as its dark tone.

Bottom Line: It needs some work, but given what we're stuck with for the moment....it could be worse. 6.5 out of 10



Thanos Rising #1: With the teased plotline of the next Avengers film, it was a matter of time until we got a book highlighting Marvel's intergalactic, power hungry despot in his early years. With Jason Aaron on board, this is a good idea in theory. It doesn't hurt to have Simone Bianchi's dazzling pencils to help move things along either. Here, we get a look at the Mad Titan in his years as a boy in school which isn't exactly the most necessary storyline where this character is concerned. We're merely teased with her familial ties and honestly, that's a more compelling tale than this episode of Degrassi gone wrong that we're given. Peeling the veil back to give us a look at the inner psyche isn't always the way to go. Little Thanos seems to have a lot of feelings and we saw how wrong that can go in the Star Wars prequels. It takes away from the mystery. Darth Vader was a force of nature as far as fans were concerned. He wasn't an emo anime character. We didn't want to entertain the thought that he had feelings like us. Why? Because the "I find your lack of faith most disturbing" scene isn't quite as powerful and ominous when you can't shake the feeling that he's probably listening to Dashboard Confessional in his head when he says it. In the same regard, it takes away from Thanos' luster to know that he was just an outcast who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bottom Line: A pretty penciled, yet wildly unnecessary tale to get us primed for the Avengers sequel we're already going to see. 5.5 out of 10


Abe Sapien #1: Of all the characters from Hellboy/B.P.R.D. fame, I've never felt like this is one that got the proper treatment. It's almost criminal to squander an opportunity to tell a story about a telepathic fish man. That's why I was glad to see him get an ongoing series. We don't know much about the history of Abe Sapien and although this issue doesn't lend much to that cause, it does offer a hope that will change before long. Sebastian Fiumara is definitely the guy you want drawing a Mike Mignola monster story, too. His creatures practically skulk and slither right off the page with his sketchy, grainy style. The premise seems simple so far: there are monsters about and someone has to stop them. The problem is that we only know this because everyone's talking about it. That's it. In a world of creepy, crawling things that go bump in the night, talking isn't the most appealing thing in the world even if it is in the service of setting the scene for newcomers to the B.P.R.D. universe. There are two pages worth action in this book and half of that is a vague flashback. I'm sure this is going to shape up to be a nice book. Just call me when someone punches a monster.

Bottom Line: It's an awesome book. Well, it will be when something actually happens. 6 out of 10.