I Have Issues Picks of the Week 3.24.2010

I Have Issues is a comic book review on the previous week’s new releases. SPOILER WARNING: if you haven’t read your books yet, read no further. These reviews will be posted a few days after comic book release day to give you time to read them so that you can throw your two cents in about what you thought of these books. The picks are currently limited, due to the small selection available in my local comic book shops, but hopefully that will change in a few months. Visit the Giggaheim.com Forums and start your non-censored, no-holds-barred thread on your favorite books. On with the reviews:

Green Lantern#52
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and Cover by DOUG MAHNKE and CHRISTIAN ALAMY
Variant Cover by SHANE DAVIS and SANDRA HOPE

My LCS is on a tight ordering regimen right now, so I was unable to get copies of Nemisis#1, New Avengers #63, Justice League Rise of Arsenal#1, or Uncanny X-men #522. I know, it seems like I hardly got anything to review this week with only two books out of my 6 on the pull, but my pick of the week was still one hell of a good read.

Blackest Night continues to accelerate to a glorious ending, and this issue only made me salivate for Blackest Night #8 next week. This issue dove tails from Green Lantern Corps last week into this issue, and segues into the spot we left off with Sinestro being the White Lantern. Though his narrative, we see how the universe was created, why Earth was the cradle of life for the Universe, how the avatars of the rings came to be and what they are, and how ultimately by the end of the book, how the White Power will make everything okay.

Depite this glimmer of hope, the Black Lanterns are not to be dismissed, as the dead planet Xanshi threatens to tear the Earth apart, and Nekron serves Sinestro a beating. Death will not be stopped, and even by the last panel, Johns continues to give his adversary weight so we all look forward to a satisfactory conclusion in Blackest Night #8.

Mahnke continues to knock the artwork out of the park in this issue with some gorgeous panels. Some of the layouts were confusing from a directorial standpoint, and made it difficult for me to enjoy the book as a reader and not a reviewer first. The double page spread of the incoming Black Lanterns above Earth was beautiful,  but could have been done in one page with the same scope. The Double page reveal of the avatars was awesome, but the layout for the following page was a bit odd to read through. Mahnke draws every disaster and every crowded battle scene with enough detail to give the book an epic feel, all while avoiding the feeling of having the book feel “over rendered”. Between Johns writing and Mahnke’s pencils, this isn’t a tie-in, it’s a must read thrill ride to the end of this fantastic event.

Thor#608
WRITER: Kieron Gillen
ARTIST: Billy Tan, Rich Elson & Batt
COLORED BY: Christina Strain & Matt Hollingsworth
LETTERED BY: Joe Sabino
COVER BY: Mico Suayan

Ugh, Marvel you are KILLING me with this. First the writer who was constructing s deep and fulfilling world around one of your most mythical and un-relatable characters in your stable leaves, and then you have this even crammed down our throats without any sense to the story structure for continuity tie-ins. Yeah, I know Marvel isn’t the go-to place for continuity, and yeah, I know JMS left because of “Siege” along with other factors, but you can’t drop the ball this much without serious consequences.

Thor was easily one of my favorite books. I would be ecstatic to find the book in my pull pile, and still rave about it. What I hate about Thor these days isn’t Kieth Gillen’s fault, or even Billy Tan’s. It’s Editorial’s problem, and the fault lies with them. So Bendis writes a thrilling conclusion to the lunacy of the past decade at Marvel; great! So it involves Asgard; super! Don’t you think the title tie-in book, Thor, should have a release schedule that helps prop up the story? Never mind the fact that everything in Thor #608 is almost dismissible, but look HOW this story falls in the timeline of Siege 2 and 3. Ridiculous. I feel bad for Gillen because it feels like editorial made him rewrite it about 8 times before they went with this collection of Siege character stories.

I like the story for Volstagg, and his reluctance to blindly fight without consequence. His struggle with Ragnaraok, and how that all resolved was fun reading. But wouldn’t that story help invigorate “Embedded”? Where was the fight between Thor and Sentry? Wouldn’t it be a treat to see the inner dialogue between Thor and Sentry as the God of Thunder struggles to engage Sentry, only to discover that he’s fighting The Void? That would have followed more along the lines the readers would have expected. The same type of story telling we were all brought into the by JMS. Instead the title character was barely in his own book! During a cross over that relies heavily on his home environment! What?

Now I will give credit to whomever crafted the story about the Norn Stones and The Hood. This was curiously dismissed/Edited out of Siege, and I was happy to se it elaborated on in the Thor tie-in since it was important enough to get splash pages in SIEGE. However, this whole story line was unfulfilling since it will just spin off into its own splintered Tie-in for Siege:Loki. Really? Is that necessary? Shouldn’t that be addressed in SIEGE? Loki was the invisible hand that moved Osborn back into madness. Loki has royally screwed Asgard, and he will probably not get mention in SIEGE, and it will probably be glossed over in this tie-in.

Overall, Thor has slid from a top spot of my list to a disappointment. How could a book that turned the more ridiculous and un-relatable character in the 616 into a great character study into a study book mismanagement? The consequential return of the “Heroic Age” had better be worth sacrificing this book, because they had a quality book that used the medium to its full potential, and reduced it to a coloring book.

Trade Review

Life Sucks
Written by: Jessica Abel
Art by: Gabe Soria & Warren Pleece

I have been pulling books off the shelves of the local library every weekend, and have had some fun journeys. Some books have been critically acclaimed, and others dismissible. I was completely prepared to say “..so does this book” after looking it over initially, but I would be wrong to do so. Whomever is in charge of purchasing at the library has tapped into this Vampire trend, and I wasn’t enthusiastic about reading a vampire-centric tae, but decided to give this a try, and I am honestly glad I did.

A quick summary: The book follows a young vampire, Dave,  who works the night shifts at the local convenience store, and becomes entwined by a girl, Rosa, in the Goth community and a fellow beach bum vampire, Wes. It reads like a 90210 meets a vampire element, but is highly entertaining, and beautifully illustrated. The pencils are clean, and consistent, which is rare to find in some of the more independent books. What I was most impressed by was the constant vigilance to establish the characters, and have them stay true to their form rather than wildly changing their behaviors with the excuse that they are “young”.  If you want a good story involving vampires and has a youthful twist to it, check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.
 

I Have Issues Picks of the Week 3.17.10

I Have Issues is a comic book review on the previous week’s new releases. SPOILER WARNING: if you haven’t read your books yet, read no further. These reviews will be posted a few days after comic book release day to give you time to read them so that you can throw your two cents in about what you thought of these books. The picks are currently limited, due to the small selection available in my local comic book shops, but hopefully that will change in a few months. Visit the Giggaheim.com Forums and start your non-censored, no-holds-barred thread on your favorite books. On with the reviews:

This was a strange pick of the week for me, and a hard one. I had been in a drought the past two weeks with no books at my LCS, and had to fend for myself amongst the scraps on the shelves. This week, however, was different. I finally had books that I had invested some time on, and the pick of the week was between two contenders. Both were wrapping up long story arcs. Both were part of big events. Both had all-star creative teams. Both had a Cecil B. DeMille cast of thousands. But eventually I picked Siege #3.

Siege #3 (of 4)
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils by: Oliver Coipel
I’m not kidding when I stated this pick of the week was between two books. Both were entertaining, but in the end SIEGE won out. Ever since the end of issue 2, we have been waiting for Cap’s shield to slam into Osborn’s scheming head. The issue ended just before we could have a sense of righteous payback for the good guys. Luckily, issue 3 eventually picks up where we left off, and the heroes finally begin to repel the bad guys. This issue was crammed with good story moments, and I can’t tell you how anxious I was to see who would bring Norman down.
As the shield slams Norman off guard, the White House gets off its collective ass, and begins to lend a hand by having the military engage and destroy HAMMER. Norman gets to his feet in time for Tony Stark to reappear in the classic 80’s armor, and shut the patriot armor down. Brilliant. Out of all these character moments, this was the one I cheered for. Sure, Tony is a douche-canoe, and after the events of Civil War, he better have an “I fucked up Steve” moment, and I’m sure that it’s coming. However, when Tony took Norman’s armor apart, that was the fist-pumping moment for me.
Meanwhile, Thor continues to battle Sentry, keeping the man powered by a Million Suns at bay while the rest of the Avenging squad can get to work. Clearly outnumbered, Loki ports in reinforcements, which are then never addressed in the rest of the issue. I guess that will be covered in the tie-in? After the Patriot armor falls to the ground, Steve has a few good moments with Norman, only for the entire world to discover he’s wearing makeup (maybe?) of the (GASP!) Green Goblin. (shocker). And my sarcasm was soon echoed by the rest of the 616 universe in a series of clever panels of the lazier heroes of the 616 that didn’t bother to show up, and just root on the sidelines. C’mon X-men! Really? Damn mutants.
Norman goes off the deep end and orders his pet: Bob-Sentry to level Asgard to rubble in a beautiful double page spread. I really wanted to throw a bullshit flag here, but I guess the destruction of Asgard was inevitable, given the amount of burning, collapsing Asgard teaser images Marvel has shoved in our faces. Norman continues to rant but we are saved several monologue panels by Spider-man as he knocks Goblin’s block off. After a year or more of Norman being a pain in everyone’s ass, I was wondering who would take Norman down. Would it be Peter Parker? After all, the whole point of this “Dark Reign” exercise as to see how everyone else in then wolrd liked being a hero that couldn’t win. Would it be Tony? Norman took everything from him. Would it be Luke Cage, or Nick Fury, or Nicholas Cage? Several heroes all had a motivation, but truly, the only resolve that the regular reading audience would accept would be having Spider-man could end this “Dark Reign”.
Then Norman then reveals that his secret weapon is……
The Void.

Duh?

Hell, I’ve never read an issue with the Sentry in it before, much les one with the Void in it, and I knew that. And that’s where we are left to hang at the end of the issue. The heroes face The Void in a conclusion that makes every fan boy wonder what will happen next, and just how will they get out of this bucket of syrup. Frankly, Bendis has woven a pattern that is easy to follow here. The first issue was predictable with a set-up for the siege of Asgard. The second was wild with a few twists. Battle rages, blood flows and a God is ripped in half. And the third issue followed with a predictable reaction to the events in the second. Heroes show up, Thor throws down on Sentry, and Norman is dealt with leaving room for an exciting conclusion of the Heroic Avengers to battle the void since saving Asgard is off the to do list. I only hope the fourth issue is a wild ride to the finish.
I did have a few nitpicks with this issue that may or may not be founded since I am not a Full-on Marvel zombie. First, what the hell happened to the gang-wrecking crew that was called in for bad-guy reinforcements? I think The Hood is getting punched by Cage in a panel, but that’s it? They took up a whole page of this book, only to disappear instantly. Seems like a silly use of space. Secondly, how big is Cyclops’ package? I’m not normally gawking at a man’s junk, but when it juts out as large as Cyclops’ did, it calls attention to itself. Does Cyclops have a secondary mutation, and that’s how he scores all the hot chicks of the Marvel universe?
There were some good moments, and Coipel didn’t disappoint, but there were a few obvious, time-saving Photoshop jobs for a few panels. Like when Thor is fighting the Void tentacles, and then Bob is erased for the next, same looking panel. Monitor screens all have previous panels on them, and not extra shots of the action in other places. If you have a large cast fighting eachother, the monitors would be a good use of space to give fanboys something to squeal about. And why is Thor looking more bewildered rather than pissed? I’d be absolutely pissed off if I was a warrior God and someone was wrecking my home. I wouldn’t be bewildered that the Sentry had tentacles; I’d try and smite them. Anyway, I’m just nitpicking; there weren’t any real stand-out-bad moments in this issue, but those smaller points kept bothering me.
So, why is this pick of the week for me? Well it came down to purpose of story. Both Siege and Green Lantern Corps were epic in scale, but SIEGE had a bit more emotional weight to it along with it being the only issue I read for a third time. GLC was fantastic, and a close second place, but SIEGE hit all those right notes, and frankly it keeps teasing that I’m missing bits. In issue 2, Ares is ripped in half, but I thought the tendril like things surrounding Bob were entrails, not signs of the Void. And with the sliver of that panel in the catch-up page, I realized that I needed to tune into this comic with more attention to detail because Bendis and Coipel brought it. I’m looking forward to a wild ride to end this Siege, and the new dawn of heroes in the 616.

Green Lantern Corps #46
Written By: Peter Tomasi
Illustrated by: Patrick Gleason

This issue was also a hell of battle, and as beautiful as Coipel’s art was in SIEGE, Gleason takes the illustration to a whole new level with layouts that are jam packed with definitive characters in clear actions. No cheaply drawn, penciled in, thin characters doing something blurry. I hate that. The story itself is one logical progression of the battle over Earth until the end, but the artwork was the real wow factor for me in this issue. In Blackest Night #7 one of the best moments was the two-page spread of the corps flying to Earth to fight the hordes of black lanterns. And in this issue we get to the see the battle. The GLC take the lead as they direct the other corps members in the battle to fight their way through the swarming hordes of Black Lantern undead. Guy Gardner continues to impress me, as he wrangles the different corps to enact a plan once seen on a classic Star Trek. After the Black Lanterns seem to be on the retreat, they just surge forward again, and the battle continues to pile on more desperate weight as our heroes have to face their past failures. Guy has to face Ice, and Kyle has to face Alex.
After we see our favorite GLs face their fears, and overcome their emotionally draining past failures, it’s revealed that the Anti-monitor is powering Nekron’s Battery. This second act is where this book began to lose ground against Siege a bit as the pacing during the attack of the ex-girlfriends slowed the pace. While the fighting and scope of the action involved was still a widescreen feast for the eyes, the reader is continually challenged to take leaps of faith.
The corps try and fire their rings collectively on the anti-monitor with the same success that the New Guardians had on Nekron. Afterward it’s revealed that the Anti-Monitor is only mostly dead (have fun storming the castle!!), and that the combined powers of the corps cannot disassemble him. At this point we get a pan to shoot Dove into the monitor ala JFK, and we are told that will work. Why? No idea. But in a few cool pages a Dove bullet is slammed through the Anti-Monitor’s melon, killing him. The corps try and separate the anti-monitor from the black battery, only to see the husk of the Anti-Monitor sucked back into the battery.
While the artwork was awesome in this book, the story is eventually what handicapped this issue. First, was Alex buried in the fridge? That made NO sense; although I’d love to have a Black Lantern Double Sided with an ice maker. Secondly, why would shooting Dove through the Anti-monitor work? Only by shooting someone who symbolizes peace through the Antimatter Monitor’s head will solve this crisis? Why not do that in Crisis on Infinite Earths? I don’t get it. Third, where did John and Killawog go? Will we see this next issue? Cause according to the solicit; this is it for the Blackest Night tie-ins for GLC.  These story issues are ultimately why I placed GLC second. I just couldn’t get by them. The art was unbelievable, so my hat’s off to the crew who punched out more pages for us to read, and I feel as though we got an epic battle that was deserving of an event with this scope. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Corps will fight Nekron in the conclusion of Blackest Night, and what happens with the different corps afterward.

A-Team War Stories: Hannibal
Written by: Chuck Dixon
Illustrated by: Hugo Petrus
Last week, I reviewed A-Team #1 and was surprised by the quality of the book. So I decided to pick up this issue, just in case there was anything good in it. Overall, I’d give it a 3 of 5 rating, but that’s a bit high. The story was a bit weak, the dialogue was cheesy, and art was basic, and frankly, like last week’s issue, this would have played better on screen. When I talked about franchise comics normally being a bad experience in last week’s podcast, this is what I meant. I don’t mean to tarnish people’s hard work. After-all, where’s my comic book? But when a company pays oodles of bucks for the rights to a character of franchise, they should really figure out what medium they plan on using them with. IDW is a good publisher, and I’m shocked that Chuck Dixon wrote a story that was so awkward to read in comic format. It’s as if he failed to examine why this story would make a good comic, and what the comic book could offer as a medium. He doesn’t have to go through a complicated process of research. Just pick up an Alan Moore comic. Moore can utilize the printed page, sequential artwork, and narrative to its full advantage. That’s why he is considered a master of his craft. And this is really awkward for me to say this of Chuck Dixon. The guys writes GI Joe likes no one else on the planet.
Anyway, the gist of this story is about Hannibal, the master planner. Hannibal is apparently tasked with kidnapping an Iraqi mad scientist/chemist who is responsible for Saddam’s stockpile of bio-chemical weapons. After careful planning Hannibal and his task force wind up in one of Saddam’s palaces, and plans go awry. Hi-jinks ensue, and Hannibal adlibs his way out of different pickles to successfully kidnap the mad scientist, and rescue a BBC reporter. The story was a grand one, and if it was decompressed to maybe two issues it would have been good, but every moment that would have carried us back to a bit of the cheesy 1980’s TV show was dashed by this compressed format, making the dialogue miss beats and feel cheap. My advice is to skip this issue and the following specials on the A-Team, and wait for either the trade, or the $0.25 long box sale that it will surely be a part of at your LCS.

Marvel Reveals New Series: Hulked Out Heroes

Marvel revealed solicits for a new series in April: Hulked Out Heroes

WORLD WAR HULKS: HULKED-OUT HEROES #1-#2
Written by JEFF PARKER
Pencils and Covers by HUMBERTO RAMOS
Spinning from the shocking twist ending of FALL OF THE HULKS, Jeff Parker (WORLD WAR HULKS: ALPHA, AVENGERS VS. ATLAS, THUNDERBOLTS) and Humberto Ramos (SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN) bring you the most incredible new character from the House of Ideas: HULKPOOL! What sacrifices will he make for the greater good? What horrible decisions will change the world as we know it? And what do Devil Dinosaur, Rawhide Kid, Rama Tut, and Bluebeard the Pirate have to do with this? Find out this April in HULKED-OUT HEROES!
40 PGS.(each)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (each)

Written by JEFF PARKER
Pencils & Covers by HUMBERTO RAMOS
Issue #1 & 2 Variant Cover by ED MCGUINNESS
SOLICIT & FINAL TITLE CLASSIFIED UNTIL THE FINAL PANEL OF THE FALL OF THE HULKS IS REVEALED.
40 PGS.(each)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (each)

I haven’t read a Hulk comic since World War Hulk. I liked the series fine, especially after “Civil War”, but when Red Hulk Showed up, I stopped reading. Looks Like I’ll be waiting a while to read hulk again….
 

I Have Issues Picks Of The week 3.10.10

I Have Issues is a comic book review on the previous week’s new releases. SPOILER WARNING: if you haven’t read your books yet, read no further. These reviews will be posted a few days after comic book release day to give you time to read them so that you can throw your two cents in about what you thought of these books. The picks are currently limited, due to the small selection available in my local comic book shops, but hopefully that will change in a few months. Visit the Giggaheim.com Forums and start your non-censored, no-holds-barred thread on your favorite books. On with the reviews:

A-Team: Shotgun Wedding #1
Writer: Tom Waltz
Art: Stephen Mooney
Cover: John K. Snyder III

It was hard picking a book of the week again this week since nothing populated my pull list for the second straight week. Wandering through the comic shop, again I left the pull list up to fate. What covers would catch my eye? What titles would I take a chance with? In the end these three titles are what I cam away with, and after a couple of days to reflect A-Team: Shotgun Wedding #1 came away with the title of pick of the week. I wasn’t allowed to watch much TV as a kid. Actually, that’s not a fair assessment of the situation. My parents had instituted a rule that you had to read for as long a time as you wanted to watch TV. My MENSA-brained sister took to this rule easily, but I decided to play Switzerland, and be a non-participant. I didn’t care for reading (Boring), and would rather play legos than watch TV anyways, so keep your TV blackmail system.

However limited my TV experience was in the prime decade of the 1980’s, I did catch a few shows with the family, and The A-Team was one of them. Like any other red-blooded, commie-fearing, Reganite American I liked Mr. T and the lovable antics of Murdock. I wasn’t sure why Faceman needed to spend so much time with the ladies, and the old colonel was clever. Every week these military fugitives would get in crazy adventure that only their skills could save them from, and the show was most enjoyable to my elementary-schooled mind.

Fast-forward to present day, and now I’m a 30-something comic reader. I devour books any chance I get time to read, my lego bin sees the light of day when Nieces and nephews visit, and I barely watch TV. Would the A-Team find me as an audience member? What little TV I watch is usually the BBC, and they continually use the A-Team as a punch line. Would this book find it’s way into the “forgotten-failed-licensed-books” long box that IDW populates, or would it actually be alphabetized?

Well, I’m happy to report the book is well done. Although the art reflects the new cats members from the upcoming summer blockbuster, the story remains the same. Hell, they even fight Russians in it! I must say if Green Lantern, or Thor came out this week, I’d probably pick those books, but A-Team found a good schedule this week, and the book really shined. The art style uses uncomplicated lines to illustrate the characters that you would expect from Guera in Scalped, and Mooney does an admirable job drawing the actors’ likenesses, which I always get distracted with on licensed properties.

The story was basic, but hit all the right moments. Face goes after the ladies, Hannibal has a plan to make the whole thing work, BA hates to fly, and Murdock is quirky as ever. The plot sucked me right in, and in no time, I had found myself at the end of the book. It had been a while since I had read an IDW title with an sense of fairness, but I must say these books are really well done. The paper stock quality of the covers is collector-worthy, the art is great, and they keep all the ads for the back of the book, so the “episode” is without commercial interruption. I’ll be back next month for episode 2, and I’m sure I’ll be happy I tuned back in.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #8
WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
PENCILS: Takeshi Miyazawa
COLORED BY: Amanda McMurray
LETTERED BY: Rich Ginter
COVER BY: DAVID LAFUENTE

I devoured Ultimate Spider-man trades about 3 months ago. Like a junkie, I would pick up volume 1, only to return the next day for Volume 2. Then I found my self breaking into houses for TV set and jewelry to exchange for multiple volumes of Spider-smack. Okay, some of that is bullshit, but I was seriously hooked on that book, and why I grabbed this issue. Again, the whole Ultimate destruction from last year really chapped my ass, and I am regretfully trying these new “Ultimate Comics” versions a try.

Bendis continues to do what I loved. He writes a believable and younger Peter Parker with brilliant dialogue, organic choices made by a 16-year-old, and a more realistic presentation of the character. Everything I loved about the Ultimate series. It’s a bit of a leap for me to get used to Miyazawa’s art style, but Bendis’ writing carries the book for me. Unfortunately, the reappearance of the Stone Pillar Uatu is what ultimately spoiled the book since it brought up memories of the crappy ending that left a bad taste in my mouth, but perhaps this book will be able to make sense out of all that, and I’ll be able to embrace this new ultimate world once again. I might pick this up again, but I’m doubtful to be honest. The trades seem to be more rewarding, and I think I’m still a bit bitter to move on with an open mind.

Justice League Rise and Fall Special #1
Written by J.T. KRUL
Art by MIKE MAYHEW
Cover by MAURO CASCIOLI
Variant Cover by MIKE MAYHEW

Well I basted the ending of “Cry for Justice” in hate last week on this column and on the new podcast, but like a sucker, I decided to try this issue out. Actually, I’m glad I did. Mayhew draws some great panels, and Krul puts the JLA on a path that will stray away from the1990s. The JLA discovers that Green Arrow has killed Prometheus, while Green Arrow continues to hunt down those responsible for the atrocities at the end of Cry for Justice. Now the JLA have to rebuild a city, keep the peace, and stop their team member from murdering villains. Overall the book was a good climb out of the hole that was dug with Cry for Justice, but frankly there was nowhere to go but up. A couple of times I was confused about which Flash was in the panels, but I think that confusion could be expected from 2 characters that look alike, and can be everywhere at once.  I’ll probably pull the first issue of the Fall of Green Arrow to see where this story eventually will take us.

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This Movie Poster Kicked My Ass

I’ve been seeing stuff leaked to the net by my favorite movie site AintItCoolNews.com for a while now, but I always pay atten to news about The Expnedables. This has every action start from the 80s in it!! How could it go wrong?!?!?

Clikc on the poster for the biggie size version. So Whatcha think? Be the First to comment on this bad boy on the Giggaheim.com forums.

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