Comic Reviews

Z-Girl: Odyssey #1 – Review

Z-Girl: Odyssey #1 has many unique and enjoyable elements but has quite a few quirks that keep it from being a great title. The artwork has an interesting style, but not everything is executed well with the story following suit.

Z-Girl and her four tigers, each possessed by their respective hosts which each control the standard element and a season. After a particularly harsh mission involving armed chimpanzees, Z-Girl needs her rest before being briefed on something all-to-familiar to her.

Winter Soldier #1 – Review

Winter Soldier has arrived, and it captures the same magic present when Ed Brubaker began his acclaimed Captain America run. Brubaker and artist Butch Guice expertly pull off an espionage thriller set within a world populated by superheroes and supervillains. It’s tense and grounded. But it has a gorilla with a .50 caliber machine gun. Does this review even need to continue?

Fine.

I haven’t quite enjoyed the latest relaunch of Captain America as much as I did the previous installment. It seems to now lean more toward standard superhero action, leaving me wondering where the elements of espionage and political intrigue had gone. I’ve found it. It’s all packed into Winter Soldier. This book reads more like a continuation of Brubaker’s original Captain America volume than the current Captain America title does. It may lack Steve Rogers, but readers will find more familiar story threads and atmosphere here.

X-Factor #231 – Review

Last week I mentioned how much I love alternate universe fiction. Unfortunately, Astonishing X-Men‘s “Exalted” story arc has left me disappointed. Given how important alternate universes have been to X-Men storylines (Age of Apocalypse, Bishop’s timeline, and many others) I was left wanting more. X-Factor‘s current story arc “They Keep Killing Madrox” is an example of a well-told alternate universe story. Considering that X-Factor is just barely part of the X-Men universe, it may not get as epic as the classic X-Men stories or even have an impact outside its book. That doesn’t stop Peter David from putting together a great story.

Justice League Dark #5 – Review

The finale to the first story arc of the series! Enchantress’s untempered magic has been driving the world insane and regular heroes suck at magic. There is only one group who can stop this magical maelstrom of mayhem and that is a Justice League that is mysterious, spooky, and all together ooky. But can even the team that Madame Xanadu has forced together possibly prevail? Well, spoiler alert, there is going to be an issue six.

Yes, this is the issue that puts the finishing touches on this particular plot line and sees all the characters finally standing in the same room. Pose as a team, this comic just got real. Even so, this is not your standard heroes team up story, for reasons that become very obvious. These are also the reasons that drew me to the comic in the first place. That is to say, all these characters are really cool and can meet on a thematically similar occult basis, but they suck as a team. All of these characters are supreme loners and it just does not make a lot of sense that they would work well together on a team. Which is why, even once they have all gotten together, they don’t. I think this is probably the most polarizing aspect of this comic.

Avengers X-Sanction #3

Avengers X-Sanction has so far not been as great as I expected it would be when I first heard the series was coming out. I was excited at first for the return of Cable. I originally fell in love with his character when he was in “Second Coming”. When he died in that story arc I was disappointed but, than when I heard about this series I had high expectations for it. Now I feel like so far my expectations have not been fulfilled.

In this issue Red Hulk and Cable have a big battle. Cable’s goal is to kill the Avengers that way he could save his daughter Hope. But when Hope comes into the middle of the battlefield he does not know how he is going to approach his next battle plan.

Catwoman #5 – Review

It’s funny, it’s sexy, it’s extremely flawed, Catwoman #5 could be enjoyed, but does little justice to Selina’s developing character, who should be declared legally idiotic by the end of this issue.

We open with Catwoman plummeting a thousand stories to her ‘death.’ With some quick whip-work (and after dealing with the meta-human Reach), Selina starts spending the 400 grand she stole. It’s all fun and games until the money-laundering police are on her tail as well as Detective Alvarez, possibly the only straight cop in the Gotham City Police force.

Nancy In Hell On Earth #1 – Review

Blood. Gore. Violence. Voluptuous babes. Hell on Earth. This is the world of Nancy Simmons and her lover, Lucifer. In all honesty, Nancy In Hell On Earth has to be one of the most ridiculously absurd comics I have read in a long while, but I cherished every minute of it. With a ludicrous story that one would only could only find in a grindhouse movie (or in this case, a comic), and amazing artwork that can be compared to that of Geoff Darrow’s, El Torres and Enrique Lorenzana have come out with one that is making me pray for more (pun intended).

Justice League #5 Review

Justice League has been a pretty solid series so far. It is not on my top 5 of my favorite titles for the Dc reboot, but I still consider it a pretty good series. The series has been pretty consistent with great art from Jim Lee and a pretty good story arc from Geoff Johns.

This issue finally has all of the Justice League teammates working together to try and defeat Darkseid. During the battle with Darkseid Superman gets kidnapped by one of Darkseid’s minions. So, now the rest of the team has to learn to work together to save Superman and save the planet from Darkseid.

Voodoo #5 – Review

Along with its original writer, Voodoo seems to have lost most of the qualities that made it an interesting read. Ron Marz apparently took a big chunk of the book’s personality with him when he left, because this issue is one forced read that lifelessly goes through the motions of its plot. What is difficult to say is whether this is the fault of the new writer, Josh Williamson, or the fault of DC editorial taking too heavy of a hand in guiding the book’s direction.

I don’t know the details of what disagreement caused Marz and DC to part ways on Voodoo, but if this issue is any indication, Marz was probably right. From the start, Voodoo was accurately compared to Species. There was nothing really wrong with that, though. It was what it was and did it well. It was sexy, suspenseful and mysterious. The protagonist was hard to get a read on, and that put readers in the interesting position of considering whether to root for her pursuers. It wasn’t a particularly fast-paced book, but it did at least leave you with the sense that it was going somewhere. Notice that I am saying all this in past tense. That’s because none of this really seems to apply anymore.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #5 – Review

The New Guardians get their own Big Bad as Tony Bedard and Tyler Kirkham continue to produce the only title in the Green Lantern franchise that genuinely feels like it offers something new and exciting. It’s an issue that focuses on character as the emerging team of ring-bearers split up to investigate the mysteries of an artificial solar system.

For my part, Green Lantern: New Guardians has been the breakout star of the New 52 era of the Green Lantern franchise. That’s not to say I haven’t continued to enjoy Green Lantern as much as ever. But it’s basically the same book it has always been under Geoff Johns. Sinestro being the lead character is nothing new. It’s just more honest about that now. Meanwhile, Green Lantern Corps and Red Lanterns have not exactly impressed me. This book definitely has, though. It’s built upon a relatively new idea and features characters who haven’t seen a lot of spotlight. And now, it introduces a threat that, for once, does not stem from some dark secret of the Guardians’ past.