Comic Reviews

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #1 – Review

The Transformers wade deep into political intrigue and moral ambiguity with Transformers: Robots in Disguise. It’s part of a new chapter in IDW’s Transformers continuity and one that seems to have a lot of potential as Autobots and Decepticons reluctantly work together to rebuild Cybertron.

The war between factions has ended. A flood of non-aligned Cybertronians have returned home, and Optimus Prime has gone into exile as a gesture that the war is over. Now, it’s up to Bumblebee to lead the Autobots in restoring civilization to Cybertron even though they’re no longer welcome on their own world.

Batman: The Dark Knight #5 – Review

After not taking this title seriously last issue, Batman: The Dark Knight #5 has some more clichéd moments that got a little chuckle out of me, but also had moments that created a sense of intensity. But the small amount of laughs and great premise failed to make this title pay off, with the major blemish of the work being it’s poor pacing.

Batman finally finds the “dealer” of the new drug turning Gotham’s deadliest criminals into super powered monsters: the Scarecrow! After being dosed with Scarecrow’s drug, Batman gets a “gift”: no fear.

Secret Avengers #22 – Review

Remender and Gabriel Hardman begin a new era of Secret Avengers, and this is definitely not the same book that Ed Brubaker began. While that isn’t necessarily bad, it does leave me unsure of what I think of the new Secret Avengers.

This is very reminiscent of Remender’s launch of Uncanny X-Force, which is really no surprise. This is him taking over the covert team of the other major team franchise at Marvel, and he is essentially doing the same thing he did with X-Force. The more covert ops elements of storytelling are played down in favor of becoming embroiled in a big new plot idea of Remender’s. For X-Force, it was Apocalypse and Archangel’s descent. Here, we have the Descendants, apparently a race of synthetic life spawned from a collection of the Marvel Universe’s most notable artificial beings. Also, the team gets a new headquarters. But unlike X-Force, it is not a blatant rip-off of the Batcave.

Wolverine and the X-Men #5 – Review

Wolverine and the X-Men has been one of the most consistent of the X-books post-Schism.  I continue to enjoy it more than any of the others.  Perhaps Team Wolverine, as they like to call themselves, is just better coordinated than Team Cyclops.  X-Men Legacy focuses on the battle and action sequences at the school.  Both X-Men Legacy and Astonishing X-Men (once Marjorie Liu steps into the writer’s seat) focus on the adults that work at the school and their personal lives.  This allows Wolverine and the X-Men to focus on the students.  

So Wolverine and the X-Men seems to recapture what I enjoyed best about Grant Morrison’s run on New X-Men – while the A-List X-Men are indeed around, we get to know the next generation of mutants.  As I mentioned in my review of the previous issue, I’ll probably be an old man before the current X-Men cede their positions to the new generation (if that EVER happens).  That’s just not the way the comics industry works, but I still think they should continue to have a greater focus on these younger X-Men.  They can tell new stories or retell the old ones with new twists based on the personalities and powers of THESE mutants.  

Fatale #2 – Review

I am still enraptured in the detective story of Fatale. Despite an artistic downgrade, confusing moments, and a lack in the stories balance, Fatale is a clichéd classic detective story saved by brilliant narration and characterization that keeps it feeling fresh.

Back in the fifties, the manipulative and unfeeling Josephine goes looking for Walter, her lover. He promised to keep her safe from her violent husband, a crooked cop exposed by Hank as being on the take in an article for his newspaper. But there is something even more sinister at work than just being on the take…

Scarlet Spider #2 Review

Scarlet Spider has been one of my favorite series from Marvel in a long time even though there has only been two issues I can tell this series is going to be great. I have been a Kaine fan for a while now. Ever since he had been in the series Spider-girl I have always really liked his character. I was happy to hear that he would be the new Scarlet Spider because it just made sense. The original Scarlet Spider was the clone of Peter Parker named Ben Rielly. So, I thought it was a great idea for the new Scarlet Spider to be the mishap clone of Peter Parker.

In this issue of Scarlet Spider we get to see Kaine wanting to leave Texas and continue with his new life and go to Mexico. But trouble in Texas brings him back to the state to save a girl that he left behind. After he saves the girl from a man for firepowers the town loves the Scarlet Spider and wants him to stay.

The Incredible Hulk #5 – Review

Alright, I am just going to come out and say it: This book has ended up being really dumb. The struggle between genius Bruce Banner and the monstrous Hulk has been one of Marvel’s most enduring stories. There have been plenty of times when the character has teamed up with others and played as a straight super hero, but it was the rivalry between two sides of the same man that served as the core of the Hulk mythos. Originally, this was Stan Lee’s take on the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Now, I am not sure what it is.
  
I suppose the closest thing it resembles is a bad B movie. And I do not mean “bad” in the “so bad it’s good” sense that often characterize B-movies. This is bad in the “it takes itself way too seriously and ends up looking foolish for it” sense. My perception has always been that Hulk has been played very seriously or almost entirely for laughs. An epic struggle between man and monster is easy to take seriously when it is done well. It is also easy to laugh at the big dumb green guy with a good heart. I think the introduction of She-Hulk, who kept the green muscles, but swapped torment for sass, was the best example of the Hulk mythos being able to poke fun at itself. She did not belong in every story and could be played straight as well, but the mere existence of this character always seemed fairly tongue-in-cheek to me, without compromising the solemnity of the Hulk’s own personal journey.

Rachel Rising #5 – Review

When you stray away from the Big Two comic publishers you can certainly end up in an interesting place. For me this week, that was Rachel Rising.  Terry Moore handles the story and art in this book and he’s one of the rare few who can do that well.  Most creatives are either great storytellers or great artists.  Terry Moore manages to do both.  

The art style of Rachel Rising brings to mind a fusion of Western, Manga, and web comic influences.  This gives the story a kind of intimacy that can sometimes be missing from the standard fare.  Additionally, Moore is a master at facial expressions.  He can communicate more in one panel with a the crinkle of a nose than most artists can on an entire page of text.  He’s also very good at using beat panels to express awkward or thoughtful pauses in the action.

Batwing #6 – Review

With this issue, Batwing secures its place as one of the true gems of the New 52 as it presents some of the final pieces of David Zavimbe’s origin without missing a beat of its present day story. This is how it is done. This book is the example of what the entire New 52 line should have been.

Batwing intercepts Massacre in Egypt to prevent the death of yet another member of Africa’s legendary superhero team, the Kingdom. As that plays out, the story gives glimpses into more of David’s path, showing his frustration with becoming part of a corrupt police force and his recruitment by Batman. This battle in Egypt brings the series full circle to the opening scene of the very first issue.

Hulk #48 Review

Hulk is a series I have always wanted to pick up, but never had the chance to pick up. But when I finally found a story arc in the series I thought was interesting I picked it up. I have started to read this series since issue 47 and I think I may stick around for the story arc. Just because this seems like a series I would not pick every issue of but, if I see an interesting story arc I will pick it up.

This issue was about Red Hulk fighting against a villain named Zero/One. Hulk gets over his head with Zero/One and will need help from, his daughter, Red She Hulk. Red She Hulk and Red Hulk will finally team up in this issue and fight against Red Hulk’s current enemy.