Damiens Omens

30 Days of Night Omnibus (comics)

2012-02-09T20:48:00.005-05:00

Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Ben Templesmith
Collects: 30 Days of Night, 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow

Some comics have such great ideas; some of those ideas you end up kicking yourself for having never thought of. The high concept of this book relies on the fact that during the winter, Alaska has a solid thirty days straight of night; some vampires get wind of it, think "holy shit, I need to get some of that action" and it's off to the races. The town is quickly turned into an all-you-can-eat buffet for all participating vampires.

This omnibus edition collects the first three miniseries of this franchise. The initial story is the original tale of Barrow, Alaska and its thirty days of hell. The second is a direct sequel, showing the spiral of the heroine of last volume as she desperately tries to prove to the outside world that vampires are totally a real thing. The final brings us back to Barrow, where the remaining residents have learned to fight; see, the vampires aren't very happy about the fact that there are survivors that know of their existence, so during those thirty days they wage war on the now fortified Barrow.

There are further stories past this, but if you wanted to stop here with this omnibus edition, you could. The three stories collected generally wrap up the core stories of Barrow and our protagonists from the first story by the end of the third. We're left in a pretty good place to stop, but should we choose to continue partaking in this world there is the option.

Writer Steve Niles does a fine job of making vampires the horrific creatures we know they can be. A lot of people blame the Twilight novels for de-fanging the vampire concept, but while those asstastic novels didn't do the vampire any favors as a concept, the sterilization had started way before that. I love the suave, manipulative, charming take on the vampire as much as anyone, but somewhere along the way we lost a counterpart. Being a vampire was essentially shown to be cool and rarely terrible; much of the bite or terror of the concept was lost as a result of years of this dilution.

Niles gives us two sides of the coin. On the one hand, they are very much the monsters of your nightmares in this world. Once turned, most of them lose their humanity and get right to the whole feasting thing. Hell, once a group catches wind of Barrow and its lengthy night, they roll in like a bulldozer and lay waste to the entire town. In contrast, there are also the vampires who are more sophisticated; they're still very monstrous - the main case in the first story, even if he's pissed about the whole situation, orders any survivors to be killed and the town to be burnt to the ground so not a hint of their existence is left - but they're far from idiots.

What we're left with is a series that strikes a fine balance, bringing some semblance of terror to a monster that hasn't been all that scary for a while.

The art, then, is rather unfortunate. I'm of two minds on Ben Templesmiths art. On the one hand, it conveys the twisted, horrific nature of the story fairly well and he does improve as time goes on. But on the other, sometimes the art is unclear and confusing. The art style also has its merits but I don't care for it much. Hit or miss, overall; I think the art brings down what's otherwise a great trilogy of horror comics.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

I dock some points for the art, but otherwise this is a very strong comic series. It could probably have been a classic. Hard to tell. As it is it's very good, but the art drags it down a few notches. Hopefully there will be a second omnibus; I'll likely pick it up, as I'm down for more of this world, as long as it continues to be a sharp read.

Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (comics)

2012-02-08T12:42:00.004-05:00

Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Curt Swan, Dave Gibbons
Collects: Superman #423, Action Comics #583, Superman Annual #11, DC Comics Presents #84

Alan Moore is a guy I don't like to talk about much, especially nowadays. Part of that stems from the fact that much of his body of work is filled with what are widely recognized as classics and I feel I have nothing to add to the discussion that hasn't been said before. You will never see a review of Watchmen from me, for example, or V for Vendetta, because what the hell do I say that someone else hasn't already?

Hell, I only decided to review this partly because I felt I had something to say.

The other part comes from the fact that I don't think highly of him in the modern day. To me, he's become sort of another John Byrne; bitter, angry and holier than thou. It makes it hard to want to think about or discuss them; who likes to think ill of the masters? But that's not what I'm here to discuss, so on to the contents.

The lead feature of the book is Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow. This is one of Moores works that is widely considered legendary. I've seen nothing but praise for it over the years and this is the first time I've managed to read it. So, high expectations. Usually Moores work lives up to those expectations; I think this is the first time one didn't for me.

Essentially written from the start to be the last story of the Silver Age Superman - you know, the guy who regularly engaged in Superdickery - Moore takes that premise very seriously, which is the problem. This is, without question, a finely crafted tale, one that gives the Silver Age Superman a proper sendoff. The problem is, it also doesn't really mesh with the Silver Age sensibilities. For a story meant to be a sendoff to the Silver Age, this tale feels... somewhat modern, I suppose, in how utterly dark it is. It doesn't feel right.

Take a look at most Silver Age stories of Superman and you'll find some pretty out there concepts. It's the time when Supermans new power would be rainbow beams that make a miniature Man of Steel or when he'd play cruel pranks on his friends or go back in time with Batman only to accuse him of being a witch and nearly getting the guy killed because that's just what best friends do. This story, however, has a pall cast over it. It feels as though everything in Supermans life has come circle, as though to say goodbye to him.

This is about the point where everyone starts dying.

No lie, Moore pretty much kills everyone off in this one. There's the admittedly heartbreaking scene where Krypto dies defending his master from the Kryptonite Man, whom he kills in the process. Lana Lang snaps Lex Luthors neck. Lana and Jimmy Olsen both die because why the hell not? When you look at it, most of the supporting cast dies. Even Mr. Mxyplkt gets all up in the murderin' business. This all, of course, meant to close the book on a guy for whom a regular adventure consisted of trying to trick Jimmy Olsen into thinking no one knew him.

Then, to top it all off, all the doom and gloom that seems to signal that Superman is going to bite the big one is for nothing, really. Superman gets his happy ending. Which he should; there's no other way the book should end. But it makes you ask the question of just how much of what we saw was necessary? Why did three quarter of the Superman cast need to be turned into worm food to get to that point?

I guess I'm trying to say that the feel is kind of inauthentic, like the kind of end story that might fit some other form of Superman, but not the guy who essentially wiped out crime to the point where half his adventures were him just being a dick in fun stories. The craft is there, of course - this IS an Alan Moore written story - but something just felt off to me. It's hard to truly explain, but I'm not sure I see what everyone else does.

I have nothing but praise for Curt Swan, however. He's considered one of the definitive - if not THE definitive - Superman artists for a reason. This was, I believe, his last major project on Superman and he goes out with a bang.

Much like the Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader collection, this edition collects the writers other stories on the character. This includes a story depicting Swamp Things first real meeting with Superman. The other is another Moore classic, "For the Man Who Has Everything".

These were both the stories that made the volume worth it for me. While I didn't feel WHTTMOT was all it was cracked up to be, For the Man Who Has Everthing was every bit as great as I expected. I recall the Justice League animated series did an adaption of this one, sans Robin. Turns out it was pretty faithful. The Swamp Thing story is very good as well, though not quite as remarkable.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

Grading this book was tough. The title story wasn't quite what I expected or hoped, though it was a well crafted tale. How do you judge that? Regardless, it's a fine addition to your bookshelf. Don't be afraid to pick it up; you'll probably enjoy the title story more than I did.

Captain America: No Escape (comics)

2012-02-02T14:48:00.006-05:00

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Butch Guice, Mitch Breitweiser
Collects: Captain America #606-610

Baron Zemo is back, only now he knows the new Captain America is none other than Bucky, the death of whom was Baron Zemo Sr's claim to fame. So Zemo is just a wee bit pissed, but as it turns out, not necessarily for the reasons you might think. Zemo then proceeds to pull Buckys life out from under him.

We've dropped the heavy political undercurrent from last volume; this time, we're back in the thick of Buckys ongoing story, which has been as central to Brus run thus far as anything involving Steve Rogers. The hook is admittedly pretty smart on its own, but Bru takes it in a direction you might not expect. The result plays off of Zemos own history as well as putting Bucky in the meat grinder over his time as the Winter Soldier.

Spoiler alert for the following paragraph or so, so skip to the end of you don't want spoilers.

Turns out, Zemo's not upset over his fathers one accomplishment being deep sixed. No, he's a bit more pissed off about the fact that Bucky's gained something of a free ride towards redemption. While Bucky has gone through quite a few trials and tribulations, the world at large is unaware that he's still alive, not to mention his past as the Winter Soldier. So Zemo throws Buckys life in a blender, leaks EVERYTHING to the press, smacks Bucky around a bit and says "here, now earn your redemption".

Not only does it make for good drama - you just know there's going to be a reckoning now that the world at large knows his past - but it's the sort of action I can picture for Zemo. Unlike his old man, who was an unrepenant Nazi, Zemo's toed a fine line over his history, with his time in the Thunderbolts softening him into a more heroic figure, if not exactly a full white hat. He has had a lot to make up for and redemption doesn't come easy; hell, he never really was fully redeemed or trusted. Meanwhile, his fathers greatest nemesis has a past as an assassin for the Ruskies and manages to just sweep it under the rug. You can sort of see why he might be a bit pissed.

It's a bit stronger a volume than Two Americas was. We're coming full circle with Brubakers run up to this point; we started with the revelation of the Winter Soldier and now we're dealing with it once more, only this time Bucky will have to face the public as well. I'm looking forward to it.

The Score: 8 out of 10

We're closing in on the endgame of Buckys time as Captain America. Next volume will be the last. Another good volume in Brubakers extended run. Hopefully the conclusion of this stage of Bucky's life will be as strong.

Captain America: Two Americas (comics)

2012-01-26T17:25:00.005-05:00

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Luke Ross, Butch Guice
Collects: Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield, Captain America #602-605

And so, with Bru's big Captain America epic out of the way - and one of those re-numberings that Marvel loves so damn much - it's time to move on to other stories, with Bucky still holding the shield for the time being.

Now, I just love those comics where the backstory is almost as interesting as what's within the pages. The main arc here caused some minor bitching from Neo-Con pundits - who of course only care about comics when an American icon goes against their shitty ideals - for showing what was essentially a Tea Party rally - complete with "Tea Bag the Dems" signs - and having Falcon remark that he - a black man - wouldn't feel comfortable among a bunch of angry white people. Why would he feel that way? It's not like there's any underlying racism at one of those gatherings, right? Marvel caved and changed the signs, sadly.

That's interesting, of course, but what makes the whole thing hilarious is that the minor alteration really didn't change a thing; while the sign was changed, that was never as big a deal as the story in question.

See, this story picked up on a prior plot thread during the Brubaker run. Anyone with a passing familiarity with Captain America knows that he was frozen in suspended animation for decades, but during the time he was gone the US decided to train replacements to keep the icon in play. The 50's Cap went crazy from the Super Soldier Serum and Bucky fought him once in recent times. Now he's back, only this time he's joined with a radical movement and trying to find the "real America".

Crazy Caps inner monologues essentially amount to a big "in my day" spiel. He's lost and confused, wondering what happened to the great America of his youth. He wants to reclaim that fleeting memory, through force if necessary. In a way, he's almost pitiable; it's not hard to relate to a feeling of your country circling the drain, having lost itself along the way. I feel that way at times, especially when I hear about the latest bill that will torpedo American rights for the interests of Big Business. But - and this should sound familiar - he's misguided, failing to realize his methods and solutions will only make matters worse. Only Crazy 50's Cap has the excuse of being insane.

The plot is dressed up with some superhero conventions, of course - talking heads debating politics would be one boring comic - but, even with the overt references removed, it boils down to kicking Tea Party/Neo-Con politics in the nuts. Maybe not to the degree of a Bioshock - which took a heaping dump on Ayn Rands entire philosophy - but it's plain as day. Remove the bombs, the spandex and the tech and you've got a fairly accurate portrayal; after all, how many times have we heard several of them talk of revolution or overthrowing the government? Hell, a fairly well known author once said as much because the government was slowly legalizing gay marriage and apparently that means that the government is corrupt. Gay Marriage: Totally destroying our country more than Wall Street, am I right?

The cherry on top is the minor theme of racism, which even ties into that whole revolution thing; after all, I'm pretty sure we fought a civil war over similarly wrongheaded ideals like, oh, I dunno, the persecution of blacks.

So it provokes thought and says something. Even with all that, though, it's not one of Bru's best Cap stories. Granted, that still places it well above most of the competition, so that's not exactly me condemning it. It's another volume of Brubakers Captain America run; that's not a bad thing. Its problem may just be a combination of being more of a straight up adventure than Bru has done in a while and the fact that the story is coming right after the end of Bru's Captain America epic, after which most things would seem unremarkable.

Oh, there's also this one shot special about whether Steve is going to take the shield back or if Bucky will keep it a while longer. It's kind of pointless. I really don't get why we had to have a special to answer that question instead of a regular issue of the Captain America comic. Anyways, it gives us our answer with minimum thrills - not Bru's fault, since I can't picture an exciting comic about who will wear a set of clothing any more than I can about talking heads discussing politics - and sets Steve Rogers up for what he'll be doing while Bucky stays in the outfit for a while.

I think at one point one issue specials were supposed to be, you know, special. Seems almost quaint now. I guess tough decisions on who will wear the flag on their spandex is the new special.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

Another good volume of Ed Brubakers extended Captain America run. It feels a bit like a breather arc between big stories, just with bombs, fake Caps and some political underpinnings. Next volume is supposed to be pretty heavy for Bucky, so it's fitting.

Batman: Noel (comics)

2012-01-24T01:03:00.005-05:00

Writer/Artist: Lee Bermejo
Original Graphic Novel

This book just kind of snuck up on me; I didn't even know it existed until a week or two before its release late, late last year.

Batman going through his own version of A Christmas Carol is something I'm a bit shocked hasn't happened before. Doesn't it seem like everything goes through the "A Christmas Carol" homage? Maybe it's just my memories playing tricks on me.

Here, it works better than a lot of other attempts. The narration overlays a telling of A Christmas Carol over Batmans "humbug" of a Christmas. Batman is, of course, Ebenezer Scrooge, with all that entails.

I don't hate the super gritty, dark, dickish version of Batman - in small doses, at least - but only when it adds to the story, which rarely happened in most of the stories from the 90's up to about seven years ago. Here, it makes sense. The Batstard incarnation - or the Dick Knight, if you prefer - meshes the character with the tale of Scrooge. After all, a Batman with a better balance won't have much to learn from such an ordeal, which is the entire point of the tale. The end result works better than I expected.

Lee Bermejo isn't exactly known for his writing, so I tried not to expect much. Artists trying their hand at writing tends not to work out that well. Plus, I wasn't sure what to expect without Azzarello, who typically teams with Bermejo. Pleasant surprise here; Bermejo can actually hold his own in this department. He easily nails the premise, the narration and the characters; this certainly won't be the best written GN I read this year, but when you consider artists going for writing is always an unknown, it certainly deserves mention and praise.

Bermejo's art is as great as always. I have to believe that there's a group of people out there who don't like his art. I mention this because I could understand why; I'm not always looking to read a comic with art of this variety. But the difference between a style that doesn't work for you and bad art is the craft; Bermejo knows what hes doing, from panel flow to layouts and so on.

Overall, this is a nice package. I imagine it would have been nicer for me if I'd read it during the Christmas season as intended instead of after, but it's enjoyable out of the season as well.

The Score: 8 out of 10

An enjoyable Christmas tale. I imagine it would be great to have once the holidays start to creep up again this year. It's not going to blow any doors down but it doesn't need to. I give it a recommendation.

Infestation V.2 (comics)

2012-01-12T22:51:00.004-05:00

Writers: Scott Tipton, David Tipton, Erik Burnham, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artists: Casey Maloney, Gary Erskine, Kyle Hotz and David Messina
Collects: Star Trek: Infestation #1-2, Ghostbusters: Infestation #1-2, Infestation #2

So remember what I said about this event having some promise it wasn't quite living up to? You can go ahead and scratch that. This second volume kicks so much ass you could be forgiven for utterly forgetting that the Transformers: Infestation mini from the first volume happened at all.

I'm not even joking. It starts with the Star Trek miniseries, which is a complete jump forward in quality from anything in the last volume save Infestation #1. Kirk, Spock and Bones are besieged by zombies and have to fight them off.

This is a striking mini because the writing is there this time. There are no jarring character moments or tonal shifts here. The Original Series crew feels like they should, right down to their methods of solving the crisis. Normally, your heroes will immediately get to the decapitations when faced with a zombie menace. Not the OS boys. They are committed to finding a solution to the problem rather than just surviving, even if that means setting out to cure the damn zombie virus, which is not a goal you see everyday in zombie media (because, you know, they're fricking dead).

It continues into the Ghostbusters mini. This one made the entire event for me. You know the drill; our favorite boys with the neutron accelerators take on zombies. This one, however, is chock full of great moments, from a zombie Mr. Stay Puft to demon zombie cats to the original and zombie Stay Pufts duking it out in the middle of New York.

Better still, the voices of the character are almost pitch perfect. One of the tests, for me, of getting a character right is if you can hear their voice in your head, saying the lines. If it didn't originate in film or animation, go with an iconic version, like, say, Batman: The Animated Series Joker. I swear I could easily imagine Bill Murray saying the lines given to Venkman. Same goes for Akroyd, Harris and so on for their characters. It's the best part of an already highly enjoyable story.

Even better? Apparently this writer is on board the Ghostbusters ongoing IDW started up after this event. I am so on board for that.

Then, we finish with Infestation #2, which caps off the core plot of this event. I mentioned last time that DnA made that issue work by interesting me in characters I had no prior history with, despite them having been around a while. Nothing has changed with this installment and it's the cherry on top of the rest of the volumes ice cream. I'm interested in reading more of these characters now and apparently there are stories available for me to go to read more about them.

Artwise, all three stories are clear winners. The Star Trek miniseries is cleaner in the linework and coloring than the others. Ghostbusters was the one I had a bit of trouble with, since the style is a bit more exaggerated and cartoonish, but after the two minutes it takes to adapt you realize it suits the story very well. David Messina is still on for the Infestation issue and he does as well as last time.

I'm very impressed by how much the second half turned this event around from just above mediocrity.

The Score: 9 out of 10

This volume made the whole exercise worth it. It's a great read from cover to cover. I'd now recommend both volumes of this event to people, with the minor caveat that the first volume has a bit of subpar or jarring material. This one completely makes up for that, though.

Marvel Zombies Return (comics)

2012-01-08T00:37:00.004-05:00

Writers: Fred Van Lente, David Wellington, Johnathan Maberry, Seth Grahme-Smith
Artists: Nick Dragotta, Andrea Mutti, Jason Shawn Alexander, Richard Elson, Wellington Alves
Collects: Marvel Zombies Return #1-5

I guess somebody at Marvel finally remembered the original Marvel Zombies - absent for three miniseries and a Christmas carol - were still surfing dimensions after the end of 2 and figured that was a loose end that could use some tying up, because the original Marvel Zombies are back. I didn't miss them. After the third miniseries kicked the franchise into gear, I found myself unable to really care if we ever saw 2's cliffhanger resolved; it doesn't help that Marvel Zombies 2 happened to be eight shades of mediocre.

Fred Van Lente's still around for this one, but unfortunately he only has the first and last issue. The other three are assigned to whatever names were drawn out of a hat that day and are pretty inconsequential. They're essentially one-offs that don't connect much to the overall plot; they carry some elements that factor into the conclusion, but at times they drift to the background. The Wolverine issue is probably the best of the Van Lente-less issues. Why Van Lente wasn't tapped to do the whole thing, I haven't the foggiest.

As usual, Van Lente manages some pretty gross humor, which is one of the lynchpins of the whole thing*. Zombie Spider-Man ends up using his cappilaries and veins like webbing, for example; it's funny in a completely sick way. The backdrop - Silver Age Spidey - and the lookalike art only amplify it. Though it goes both ways; there's something pretty eerie about seeing everyone from that more innocent time slaughtered wholesale and awash in blood.

But then Van Lente parodies a classic Spidey splash - where Parker throws the suit in the trash and walks away - and all is forgiven. He even manages to convincingly wrap the saga of the original zombies. Whether it was necessary is the next question.

Five different artists were tapped for this, one per issue. As you can guess, the styles vary wildly. One issue channels silver age artwork, another is dark and gritty, another is cleaner with the linework and colors, so on. Most of them do fine work, but I think this book could have done with more consistency in the art style. I guess that's getting to be a common complaint from me on these zombie miniseries, but to be fair at least this was planned and not someone pinch hitting for a slow but superior artist like what happened with 5.

The Score: 6.5 out of 10

Easily skipped unless you just gotta know how the original zombies check out.

* It's too bad the others aren't as good at it as him, if they even try.

RED (comics)

2011-12-24T22:06:00.005-05:00

Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Cully Hamner
Collects: RED #1-3, bonus material

This book kicked my expectations around in the wrong ways. I like the work of Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner is a damn great artist. On a creator owned book, you'd think it would be dynamite. Unfortunately, the book is fairly disappointing.

We don't have any real curveballs in the concept; it's fairly simple. An extremely dangerous CIA agent is in retirement, wanting nothing more than to be left in peace. Unfortunately, when the new administration catches wind of him and the things he'd done in their service, they drop a deuce in their drawers. Fearing the consequences if such knowledge got out, they rashly order him dead. One problem; he's a killing machine and he doesn't take kindly to assassination attempts. Cue the killing.

The book tries to say something about how the younger generation has lost the intestinal fortitude to make the hard choices and to live with them - and that's fine - but throughout the book, it felt like something was missing. It was competent, told it's story in a neat three issue package and made sure to exit without wearing out its welcome. It wasn't until I finished it that I realized what was off.

There's no conflict or real danger.

Paul Moses is never really in a compromising position at any point in this book. Once he turns back the initial assassination attempt without much trouble, everything between him and his destination dies. There is nothing at stake and you don't realize quite how much that effects a story until you have one like this, where the main character literally makes it through the entire book without suffering so much as a hangnail.

Aside from that, it's not bad. Cully Hamner is his usual awesome self. His clean, simple work is always a joy to behold. He doesn't bother using too many lines; this book proves he knows when less is more. His work stands out more for it as well; there are quite a few artists in comics that overdraw their work with lines upon lines to the point of utter ridiculousness.

One last thing; did no one realize prior to the books production that the back cover quote doesn't even describe the book itself? It just describes what goes into one of Warren Ellis' best stories. Odd oversight? Couldn't they find a better quote?

The Score: 7 out of 10

Worth a look for Hamners art alone. Might also be good for a big Ellis fan or to see what inspired the movie*, which I've yet to see. It feels like a bit of a weird read due to what was mentioned earlier in the review, but it's enjoyable enough.

* This is a bit of an odd choice for a movie, too. It has more than enough action to work as a film, sure, but there's not enough here to go on. Of course, Hollywood has made full films out of short stories numerous times over the years, so no huge shock.

Venom (comics)

2011-12-20T16:14:00.005-05:00

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Tony Moore, Tom Fowler
Collects: Venom (2011) #1-5

Symbiotes are very cool, but their popularity waned after overexposure and never had a big shot at an ongoing. In the 90's Venom had a bunch of miniseries come one after the other, which can essentially be considered an ongoing if you squint. They were of varying quality, however, some good, some bad. There actually was a Venom ongoing years back, but we won't discuss it.

Worse still, Venom in general has been floundering for years. Mark Millar removed the symbiote from Eddie Brock during his Marvel Knights run and things haven't been the same since. Millar decided Mac Gargan - the friggin Scorpion - would be good to shove into the suit and that iteration was essentially a chump for years after. Finally, when the Brand New Day era ended and Dan Slott took over Amazing Spider-Man full time, the symbiote was removed from Gargan in-story.

Marvel responded by giving Venom his own series, written by Rick Remender. Damn good call. Spoiler alert: I'm going to be open about the new Venoms identity, so if you somehow don't know, skip to the score.

Remender dodges expectations beautifully by taking on a new high concept for the character, giving him a new host from Spideys revitilized supporting cast and hitting the ground running. Essentially, Venom has become a tool of the government; a special operative tasked with secretly taking out various threats. The government, however, has it on a strict leash; the user cannot have the suit on for more than forty eight hours due to risk of the symbiote taking control and beginning to bond permanently. If Venom takes control, the government has a failsafe that means the hosts death.

The host? Flash Thompson.

This was a masterstroke. Flash is a long time Spidey supporting character that was really brought back into the fold with Brand New Day. Once a high school bully of Peter Parker, he later grew up, becoming Petes friend. Flash went on a tour of duty with the army during Brand New Day and ended up losing his legs. His personal problems piled up and he's struggled to keep it together. But now, the Venom symbiote gives him another chance to serve his country, powers like his hero Spider-Man and the ability to walk again while into the suit.

Flash has a perfect setup here, from a storytelling standpoint, while having many problems typical to the Spider-Man series. His are actually worse when you think about it; while Peter's the hard luck hero, he can at least pull himself out of the hole, while Flash is a disabled war veteran who doesn't exactly live the good life. It sets up a conflict of interest between his real life and his life on duty; it's quite clear that eventually it's going to reach a boiling point. Since Flash is likable, relatable and interesting that one's going to hit hard.

Remender eschews the whole "write for the trade" style with this series, it seems. Of the five issues here, the first and the fifth are done in ones, while the middle three issues form something of an arc. We seem to be trending back towards more of this and less "six issue arcs designed for collection", which is good. The best writers seem to realize a great story does not necessarily need to be a six issue epic. Within those five issues, you get a great introduction to the status quo, insight into Flashs life that the glimpses in Amazing do not give us and a compelling read.

Remender is helped along by Tony Moore. Moore is definitely suited to the proceedings, having a knack for fun and over the top ridiculousness. There's this one panel that really illustrates it; Venom is running towards his destination, civilian in tow, the symbiote keeping a live grenade from blowing, three tendrils controlling assault rifles firing behind him while he fires a pistol forward. Bullets rain down all over, bodies everywhere. It's completely over the top while managing not to feel out of place in what's written as a very serious mission. Artists with less skill might have made such a panel humorous; and while the comedic approach is a valid one, it's pretty clear such a moment isn't supposed to be played for laughs.

Moore doesn't do everything, but I have to say the fill in for issue three and most of five isn't bad either. His style's a bit cleaner than Moores, but it's not jarring enough to feel out of place. Usually fill-in art is a dirty phrase in comic fandom, but done right it can fit right in. I won't be too upset if Tom Fowler is Marvels regular pinch hitter for this series.

The Score: 8.5 out of 10

A new approach and mission statement does wonders for the Venom symbiote. This is a great read and an excellent introduction. Definitely pick it up, it's well worth the change. Who knew Marvels next must-read series would star Venom?

Thor/Iron Man: God Complex (comics)

2011-12-15T13:23:00.004-05:00

Writers: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Artist: Scott Eaton
Collects: Iron Man/Thor #1-4

So there was this Thor movie and Marvel, seeing dollar signs, decided "lets put out half a million Thor miniseries". Desperately hoping to catch some of that movie audience who wouldn't know where to find a comic shop if their life depended on it, someone decided "hey, lets have one be a team-up with another hero with a popular movie franchise". Thus, God Complex was born.

DnA, usually workhorses of the industry, put out a surprisingly dull effort this time. There are some good ideas - trying to create a new age of gods to replace "obsolete" ones is a pretty nifty way of ensuring Thor and Iron Man would end up on the same adventure - but the comic itself fails to be particularly interesting. There are some sequences that seem like they're there just to kill pages; I can't even remember why some of Iron Man and Thors villains were on board with the High Evolutionary and I just read the book.

Part of the problem is the length. They put this out as a four issue miniseries, which is about the length you need to put out a premium hardcover without the covers being thicker than the story they bookend. Trouble is, this is two issues worth of story, tops - two issues that could easily have been slotted into either Thor or Iron Mans ongoing - stretched out to four. Never a great plan if you want to end product to be a good read.

The end result is a story that struggles to gain momentum. Given some trimming, it probably could have made for a pretty decent team-up adventure. The art is fairly decent, but it's not on the level that would make the exercise worth it. There's just not that much to discuss in regards to this book, other than the fact that it's pretty disposable.

The Score: 6 out of 10

Skip it. It's not what I'd call bad - hence the rating, as opposed to something lower - but it's not really worth the time. Or the money. Both will be better spent elsewhere, unless you're really jonesing for a Thor/Iron Man team-up.

Hulk: The End (comics)

2011-12-11T16:22:00.004-05:00

Writer: Peter David
Artists: George Perez, Dale Keown
Collects: The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect #1-2, Hulk: The End

For those not in the know, at some point years ago, Marvel decided it might be a good idea to put out some comics centered around the end of a given superhero. Obviously, "the end" in superheroics means death, since they're not going to stop fighting until they croak, and that point is not one superhero comics tend to go to. Even if they did kill off a hero, it would be in the more likely outcome of dying in the line of duty or something similar. It can be powerful, of course, but in a different way.

Marvels answer was "The End", a line of books centered chiefly around the possible end of a given hero. Each book was its own thing, not tying to any greater events. The line had no continuity between the books; Marvel simply rounded up the iconic creators of a given character and asked them to put together an "end" to that hero as they envisioned it. The Hulk was the first hero to get the treatment and they tapped Peter David for the project, since he's one of the few definitive Hulk creators.

The result is striking and it becomes clear pretty quick this isolated form was the right way to go. It allows Peter David to go back to the core concepts behind the character to fashion his "end", as it were. Hulk was, of course, a product of the Atomic Age, with all the fears and problems that came with it. Obviously, the Cold War came and went - and while the possibility lingers in our worst nightmares, the probability of that terrifying "World War III" coming to pass is very low - but even today the spectre of nuclear radiation and the damage it can do hangs over us like a Damocles sword. Japan can attest.

Well, in this reality, that dreaded World War III came to pass and humanity is gone. Bruce Banner and his alter ego are the only ones left. It's the loneliest of lives, Banner struggling to keep his sanity while wanting nothing more than to die, but with the Hulk refusing to allow him that peace. Banner is left to wander the wasteland, looking for perhaps some sign that something has survived. But it's a sign that never comes.

Peter David brings us right back into the thick of the Jekylll and Hyde dynamic that sits at the heart of the concept. Banner is weary and wants nothing more than to join his loved ones - Betty, Rick, the whole nine - in the aftermath. But the Hulk is our dark side personified, here more than ever. He's selfish, crude and hateful. Everything is out to get him, of course, even when the only thing left to attack him are cockroaches. Rather than deal with the last remnants of humanity - who, when you think about it, Banner could probably have helped if Hulk let him - he walks away, leaving them all to die to seal himself in a cave so he doesn't have to hear them die. So he can be alone.

Peter David is in top form here, if you ask me, putting forward a story that perfectly suits the Hulk. There's a reason David is considered one of the definitive Hulk creators; he gets the character and everything that goes with him to a tee. His long run on the book proper attests. Here he's distilled it all down to a grim, unsettling portrayal of the last days of the Hulk. The Hulk is the monster personified and when he finally gets what he wants, we start to see that one chink; maybe, just maybe, he was always fooling himself.

Hulk: The End was a one shot. As you can guess, that's not going to fill a trade, not by a long shot. Luckily, Marvel pulled the shrewd move of packing in another classic from David. The two oversized issue miniseries "Future Imperfect" that Peter David had done with George Perez. Man it's great.

It hits some - but not all - of the same themes as The End. It's another possible future for the Hulk, only this time, when the bombs dropped, humanity survived and Hulk turned into a vicious ruler of all known as The Maestro. It is, again, the worst of the Hulk to the extreme, now ruling over a rotted, dystopic, seemingly hopeless future.

It's a classic for a reason.

If there's a downside, it's the future lingo. This is always such a dicey proposition. On the one hand, lingo is going to change in the far future, but making it feel organic or outside of the realm of completely goofy is a challenge. David doesn't quite nail it. Still, it's not too difficult to get past, at least for me. It's ignorable, at any rate.

What puts it over the top is the art by George Perez. Man, can that guy draw. Perez has always been able to pack in so much detail in his work with excellent figurework and storytelling. Perez is one of the greats of the business, for sure, so having him on a project is a definite boon.

The Score: 9 out of 10

This trade is fantastic. Both stories are great reads and well worth the time. Great stories, great art, great package. Definitely pick this up if you like the Hulk. It's a worthy addition to the bookshelf.

Superman: Grounded vol. 1 (comics)

2011-12-09T17:31:00.014-05:00

Writers: J. Michael Straczynski, G. Willow Wilson
Artists: Eddy Barrows, Leandro Oliveira
Collects: Material from Superman #700, Superman #701-706

God, I don't even know where to start with this. I have such conflicting feelings about this. On the one hand, this book is complete ass. On the other, it's fantastic in that it made me laugh. It's asstastic.

Look, we all know the story, right? It hit the mainstream news, for chrissakes. Superman takes a walk. Along the way he spouts half-assed philosophy and generally ignores legitimate questions about what the hell he's doing. I'm not sure that last part is on the back cover though.

As a Superman story - in regards to who Superman is, who the character has become, what he represents and how we understand him - this story is just so bad. Dude straight up hassles people, acts condescendingly and spouts the most cliched bullshit going. It's clear that the only villain here is the strawman Superman meets every issue to argue into submission. Well, that and the unbelievably blatant metaphors he comes across from time to time; I do not think a writer can lack any more subtlety than having actual aliens in the country illegally. He doesn't even play it for laughs, which might redeem the bit.

Even the way it starts off is patently moronic. A woman whose husband died from cancer slaps Superman for being off trying to stop a war between Earth and New Krypton instead of being there to cure her husbands cancer. Because, you know, dude should be focusing on the important stuff, right? A normal human being would shrug this moronic nonsense off, but Superman takes it to heart and decides the answer is to walk across the goddamn country.

There aren't enough words to describe how utterly dumb the premise is, much less how out of character this Superman feels.

Of course, it's possible that's the point and something is wrong with Superman. It's been hinted as much, though the rest of the internet takes that with the requisite skepticism. But to be fair to the book, there is just as many instances of Supermans loved ones expressing concern and all but outright saying he's acting goddamn weird. It could always be said that it's nothing more than JMS using a stand-in for readers or critics of the concept, but I'm not so sure. It seems a bit too... planned, I guess; like hints of something wrong to come into play down the line.

Unfortunately, this isn't one of those trades with creator interviews to shed light on the subject, so no one but the folks at DC knows for sure. Regardless, JMS is a better writer than this. I know he is. I don't know how this came out of the guy who wrote the book that got me mildly interested in Thor.

The other side of the coin is that because of the fact that Superman feels so wildly out of character the book is pretty hilarious. Superman is a complete dick to everyone in this book. The shining example that inspires humanity to be its best straight up holding a stalker by the ankle high in the air and demanding he never stalk a lady again is just plain funny. Not that the guy doesn't deserve it, but - and the story even points this out - that is a Batman tactic, not Superman.

He also burns drug stashes hidden in houses with his heat vision. In the middle of a neighborhood. Seemingly without thinking about either the smoke from the burning drugs or the fact that the houses could catch on fire and spread as, you know, fires are wont to do. Oh won't you be his neighbor?

It provides the kind of humor people built an entire website around. It's great, but not at all in the way they intended. If you don't derive humor from seeing Superman act like a prick - which I admittedly like in past books, but generally have no desire to see Superman books repeat - you'll probably be able to knock the score down three points lower than I gave it.

Of course, because it's JMS, whose every project seems besieged by crippling delays, there were fill-ins by a G. Willow Wilson. Not familiar with her work. She does well enough, considering her goal is to focus on supporting characters in order to kill time for JMS, who only did one more issue anyways before bailing to do a sequel to a more lucrative Superman graphic novel. These issues have almost nothing to do with Grounded, but considering Grounded isn't exactly the next great Superman epic I don't think anyone really cared about that.

Most of the artwork is done by Eddy Barrows, who actually manages to string together three consecutive issues this time. Considering he couldn't manage more than two in a row last time I read a project he was on, I'd say his workrate is improving. His work is much better here to boot. Doesn't save the book, but at least it's not ugly.

One last bit of hilarity: This trade has no cover quotes at all. Not all trades will carry them; material from more than five years back tend to lack them unless they're evergreen classics. But this story was given so much press it hit the news. When you've got a heavily hyped storyline you've gone out of your way to get in the public eye and come trade time you can't even muster a semi-positive quote to plaster on the hardcover, you've failed on so many levels.

The Score: 5 out of 10

As cripplingly bad as I expected? Not quite. It's just cripplingly stupid. If you get some jollies from Superdickery, give it a look. Otherwise, it's not really worth the time.

X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain (comics)

2011-12-08T00:20:00.009-05:00

Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Dennis Calero
Collects: X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain #1-4

This is a sequel to the original X-Men Noir miniseries. If you're paying attention, you'll notice I never did a review for it, but rest assured I did read it. Here's my one sentence review: I damn near fell asleep during the first one only to be snapped awake by an ending I cold could not figure out. It was honestly so dull I couldn't think up anything to say about it. Bad sign.

This one doesn't really work either, but it's not really Van Lentes fault, in my opinion; bless him, he tries, he really does.

I think part of the problem here is that the concept just doesn't really work well. Obviously with most of these Noir miniseries they're toning down the superhero elements and superpowers are mostly missing. Some writers manage to work around it pretty easily, but it doesn't stick for all of them.

With this one, it's more of a fundamental clashing of the two concepts mixed in with the lack of powers. The X-Men have almost always been a stand-in for race relations, but without powers or general mutations, what made them stick out is now gone. Van Lente goes for a hail mary pass to salvage things, changing it from mutants to sociopaths, with people buying into the idea of crime being infectious like a disease caught from the criminals deemed sociopathic. It's a good effort but it doesn't really work; and since a lot of the elements of the story rely on buying into it, the rest of the house of cards ends up struggling to keep from toppling.

It does manage to feel like noir. I'll give it that. It's got the vast majority of the trappings and a few double crosses for good measure. Unfortunately, noir is not exactly the best fit for the X-Men and I'd say it's pretty clear at this point that editorial didn't really think this through, at least not past "give me a noir miniseries of all our top characters".

The story is alright, considering its inherent troubles. The X-Men that didn't take a bullets to the head at the end of the prior miniseries are out in Madripoor, looking for the gem of Cyrotakk for Cain Marko. Despite troubles, they get the job done. Only, oops, they're double crossed; considering they're broke, the obvious course of actions is to try and track down the double crosser and get to the bottom of everything.

Like I said, it's not a classic, but Van Lente makes it work the best he can. Everyone has fairly distinct personalities and the story flows well enough. He struggles to make it all interesting, but he's basically fighting against the tide here; the transition to noir has effectively robbed the X-Men of their hook and what's left isn't a great deal to go on. Still, he manages to craft a tale that doesn't necessarily go in the direction you'd expect, given the presence of a Cain Marko and a certain gem, so there's that.

The artwork is pretty nice. Bathed in shadows and fairly dynamic. The shadows obscure from time to time - there's a scene late in the book I had a hard time diciphering, thanks to so much shadow drenching Kitty Prydes head that I couldn't tell if she bit the guys nose or headbutted him or what - but other than that it works out.

The Score: 6 out of 10

This - and its predecessor - is a bust. It's not unreadable, but beyond "see your favorite X-Men drenched in shadow and betrayal" there isn't really much reason to bother. This one at least held my attention - unlike the original - but it's not something I can really recommend.

Cyclops Douchebaggery Alert: Noir Cyclops is an even bigger dick than Cyclops Classic. He essentially has a chip on his shoulder the size of gibralter and is more than willing to sling insults at the slightest provocation. Then, THEN, by the end, he's revealed to be the biggest douchebag in the cast for reasons I won't mention because of spoilers. It shows Van Lente gets Cyclops, at least; Cyke is, after all, just a massive tool these days.

Infestation V.1 (comics)

2011-12-06T16:01:00.005-05:00

Writers: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Mike Raicht
Artists: David Messina, Nick Roche, Giovanni Timpano
Collects: Infestation #1, Transformers: Infestation #1-2, GI Joe Infestation #1-2

Event comics are often dogshit. This is an unavoidable fact. Sometimes DC will pump out a pretty good one (while Marvel fails every damn time, it seems), but overall it feels like they never work. As usual I got wrapped up in something based on general concept - I can't help it, this one hit all my nerd buttons - and hoped for the best. Maybe IDW could pull off what the other two didn't.

After reading this, all I can say is that while this doesn't necessarily hit the bullseye dead center, this first volume shows promise.

The concept is simple; a zombie virus - controlled by a hive mind - is let loose in one universe. The supernatural special forces of that dimension, the CVO, cannot contain the threat and the zombies gain access to a dimensional portal. From there, they try to take over four others, while the heroes of those universes - the Transformers and GI Joe in this volume, with the other two collected in the second - try to fight them off and keep the problem contained.

The opening issue of the event, Infestation, centers on the CVO, whom are apparently one of IDW's own intellectual properties. I haven't read a damn thing with them before, so it's a testament to DnA's abilities as writers that I was swept up in things - and even finding interest in the characters - fairly quickly. It's a good start to the event and easily sells the stakes.

The Transformers part, however, is definitely a speedbump. It accomplishes absolutely nothing and is essentially the Autobots and Decepticons bickering for two issues when they should be working together against the threat. To tell the truth, the Autobots are the ones that come off badly here. Sure, Megatron is pulling his dickish "surrender control of your forces to me to fight this" heel tactic, but the Autobots are way, way too quick to judge and fight the Decepticons rather than the zombie threat. At least the Decepticons were smart enough - and willing - to put the grudges aside to stop the shit from hitting the fan worse than it already had.

I've read worse comics, for sure, but the only real boon to this section is the art, which is simple and colorful.

The GI Joe section fares much better. Essentially, a few Joes are caught while trying to get rid of a severed robot arm that I just assume was the Terminators for shits and giggles. See, it carries that whole zombie virus thing. Of course, Cobra immediately decides it would be a great idea to ignore the Joes warnings. Soon, the underwater base is riddled with zombies and flooding.

This one kind of hit me in a weird way. It's not that it's bad - it's fairly good - or that there's a learning curve. There aren't any recognizable Joes, after all, and the only recognizable Cobra agent is the Baroness. The problem is... well, it's all played completely straight without even a tinge of ridiculous, which is not something GI Joe has ever done very often.

I mean, Baroness is ramped up to eleven and is relatively bloodthirsty now, killing her own people for the most minor of things. There are no flashy, eccentric characters. They're more competent and not even half as likable. It's a shock to the system. Cobra to me is the organization led by a dude who carves his damn face into the moon. It's the team with a goddamn serpent-man that takes over because of course, along with magic spores and underground snake cults. It's the terrorist organization with ridiculous schemes who never win against ridiculous special forces agents.

It does not feel like GI Joe. I'd heard IDW's GI Joe went for a more serious take on the whole thing, but I'm not sure I necessarily expected experiments on animals and Baroness straight up killing her men just for looking at her the wrong way. I'm not sure how I feel about it; maybe I'd be more convinced if I read some of IDW's recent Joe material. After all, this is probably an odd place to be trying a property overhaul for the first time.

Take away your expectations - and ignore the few Joe trappings that remain - and you've got a pretty good story of some terrorists fighting to survive, throwing their own men to the wolves if necessary.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

Despite some hiccups - and an entirely underwhelming section of the story - this is a decent start to a rare non-Big Two event. I'm not sure it's as good as I'd hoped, but to tell the truth I had pretty high expectations given the concept, so that's not a slam against it. Hopefully the second half is better, but as it is this is a fairly strong event. Considering events usually suck, that's the equivalent of a thumbs up.

Uncanny X-Men: Breaking Point (comics)

2011-11-29T20:57:00.005-05:00

Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artists: Carlos Pacheco, Terry Dodson, Ibraim Roberson
Collects: Uncanny X-Men #534.1, #535-539

I've been crapping on the modern X-Men books for a good while now. Not for no good reason, of course. The modern X books mostly suck. I'd actually said last time I delved into Uncanny I was taking a break from X books; obviously, that didn't happen, but I kept pretty clear of Uncanny X-Men.

Kieron Gillen's a good writer though, so I figured I'd take a look at one of the trades and see if he fares any better.

We've got three stories in the issues included. First one is Magneto getting some PR help so the X-Men don't have to dance around the fact that he's on the team. Look, this one is just never going to completely work logically - it's friggin Magneto - but Gillen does his level best. Hell, considering the public of the Marvel Universe are certified morons*, maybe it makes more sense than I'm giving credit for.

The second story - and the one encompassing the most issues - is the "Breaking Point" arc the trade is named after. It follows up on some loose threads from Joss Whedons Astonishing run and wraps that whole "Kitty's stuck as intangible" thing Fraction left behind. Probably won't mean as much if you haven't read Whedons run, but on it's own it makes a fairly decent story of the difficulty in breaking old ways and accepting new ones.

Last one's the best, in my opinion. It's a single issue story of the kidnapping of Hope - the mutant messiah - and Wolverines mission to rescue her. It hinges primarily on Wolverines avoidance of Hope and why. First instinct tells you it's because his best friend died for her, but it goes a bit deeper than that. It's an understandable one; we don't often think about Wolverines role when the tough decisions need to be made, much less what that must do to him inside.

Overall, what makes this whole exercise worthwhile is Gillens handle on the characters. Moments like the aforementioned bit with Wolverine show a better understanding of these characters than we've seen in a good long while. Even Cyclops manages to go without being insufferable and considering he's a massive prick these days that's saying something.

Still, it's far from essential reading. It doesn't really stand alone at all, even remotely; it plays almost entirely off the past few years of stories. If, like me, you're not at all invested in Cyclops, King of the Mutants and his rotting asteroid island, little of what you read will change your mind. Still, it's definitely a step up from before, so if you like the current X franchise, I suspect you'll love this.

Unfortunately for me, I may end up passing on anything further from Gillens run. It has nothing to do with quality. I believe there's one volume left after this before UXM hits Schism territory, so most of the interesting characters are leaving Gillens hands. What he's left with, I couldn't care less about, save Storm and Dr. Nemesis. I may check in, but I'll probably be on the Wolverine side of the X-verse in the future. It sounds more my speed.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

Ahh, much better. Probably the best I've seen from the core X title in years. Give it a look; Gillen makes it worth the read.

* I'm at the point where I just assume IQ's for most regular Joes in the Marvel Universe hover around room temperture. These are the guys who turned on Captain America like it wasn't a thing, after all. Turned on Iron Man too after Secret Invasion, for things that weren't even his fault. Then there's their adoration of known mass murdering psychopath Norman Osborn. So hey, Magneto as a hero? Why not, they'll buy it. I swear, they basically ask for the crap that happens to them.

War of Kings (comics)

2011-11-23T21:25:00.006-05:00

Writers: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Artist: Paul Pelletier
Collects: Secret Invasion: War of Kings, War of Kings #1-6, War of Kings: Who Will Rule?

While the long running cosmic saga penned by DnA is undoubtedly a critical darling, it's no secret that cosmic stories don't sell all that well. I personally like a good space story now and then, but I admit I've mostly passed up on Marvels cosmic books, despite the insistence from reviewers and a small number of folks on the internet that it's one of the best things going. I picked up War of Kings because, by all rights, it seemed like it it ran with elements from Uncanny X-Men: Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire, which you may recall as one of the very few X-Men related arcs post-Morrison that I actually liked.

It's fairly good, but a bit tough to get into.

The story goes that Vulcan - the third Summers brother and current emperor of the Shi'ar - decides his kingdom is not big enough. Now, the Inhumans have returned to the Kree to lead them to greater glory. Vulcan, being an egotistical, impulsive shoot-first-shoot-again-and-shoot-some-more style imbecile, decides crashing an important Kree wedding and killing several of the guests would be a bitchin' idea. You can probably guess what the reaction was. If you need to be told war immediately followed, you probably weren't very good at connecting dots.

A fair bit of background is at least somewhat necessary. I got by all right with just Rise and Fall as my most recent foray into the realm of "cosmic", but unless you're familiar with that or just the general goings on in Marvel space, a lot of this comic is probably going to go over your head. It relies a lot on long established rivalries and interplanetary relationships introduced in countless other stories and while that's not necessarily a problem, they don't go far enough up front in summing up the important material up front to help the book read well on its own.

Despite the fact that this whole thing sort of picks up right after it, Secret Invasion is not at all necessary; and frankly you should avoid that story anyways, because it kind of sucks.

While we're on the subject of Secret Invasion, I'd like to say this event does what Secret Invasion never could; while both could be read sans tie-ins, War of Kings did it without cutting out the interesting bits and relegating them elsewhere, like, you know, Secret Invasion. Everything you need to know is in this book. On top of that, aside from a sequence involving the Guardians of the Galaxy, the characters from tie-ins are kept out of the proceedings. If it weren't for said cameo, you could have read this series without even knowing there were tie-ins. The rest of Marvel really ought to take notes.

Despite the backstory and history behind the cosmic side of Marvel, it's fairly easy to get swept up in this. DnA do a good job of selling the fact that this conflict, is a pretty big deal. Things escalate quickly and it doesn't have the tidy end many Shi-ar related stories do. For a bit, it seems like DnA is going down a familiar road before that notion is shattered. Some pretty big things happen here for most of the space faring races and it ably sets up some nasty consequences to play out in future stories. If nothing else, the Inhumans have certainly changed; I don't think I've ever seen Black Bolt - whose mere whisper can shatter mountains - use the full force of his voice as much as he has in this one story.

The art holds up rather well and does its job. There isn't much to really point out as particularly great or anything all that terrible. It won't blow you away, but it's not going to tear you out of the story either, so for all intents and purposes that can be classified as something of a win in itself.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

It can seem a bit tough to get into at first, but once you start rolling with the punches it will grab hold of you quickly. Probably best if you start earlier in the space timeline though, like somewhere around Annihilation. But even if you don't this is a good time in outer space.

Arkham Asylum: Madness (comics)

2011-11-15T00:09:00.004-05:00

Writer/Artist: Sam Kieth
Original Graphic Novel

You'll notice there's no "Batman" in the book title. It's intentional. Arkham Asylum is the star of the show here. Batman doesn't even make an appearance.

It's nice when we get a comic about Arkham Asylum. That type of Batman story is one wisely kept to occasional stories, but when we do get to delve into the madness, it's often a treat. It's rare we get a look strictly at the asylum, however, even in its spotlight stories. This one bucks the trend; the high concept is that the reader spends twenty four hours with the staff of Arkham, seeing firsthand what the staff has to go through on a given day.

This is one of those comics that depicts Arkham as hell*. It's a working environment so harsh and difficult that staff tends to come and go with alarming frequency, frequently leaving the building short staffed. It's a take I've always found particularly interesting, as you have to wonder what a place like Arkham could do to a person. The personalities within go beyond extreme and into downright frightening territory. We even see some staff come and go within the book itself.

Sam Kieth writes and draws the book. He is professional in both aspects. He sells us on the characters within and the trials they go through. Some stick around for the pay or hours, having given up or resigned themselves to the job they hate. Others are there out of desperation, trying to claw their way out of a debt all too many in the world feel the weight of.

Our main character is one such nurse and I felt Kieth really sold her troubles. She's practically trapped there through an ever crazier day, first wanting to get out early, then being stuck with the full shift, then stuck with a double. I actually felt some tension from the book, wanting her to be able to leave the place before the other shoe drops. That's a very good sign.

Sam Kieth's art is even better. He does not draw in some sort of house style. He ranges from dirty to simple to painterly work, depending on what a scene needs. It doesn't look like typical comic art and that's a strength. He sometimes exaggerates the things he draws - and not every choice in how he draws certain characters work** - but it's in a way that serves the story in ways that similar styles just do not manage.

He is, frankly, perfect for this kind of book. His style easily renders itself to giving the sort of nightmarish pictures a book like this needs. This is, after all, something akin to a horror comic. Clocks drip blood, inmates torment the staff, flashbacks show someone losing a limb to Jokers madness. Under a normal sort of artist, it can be quite effective. Under a guy like Sam Kieth, it's twisted. Great work on his part.

In the afterword, he mentions the fanboys perhaps not being pleased with his art style. This is true, I suppose. Sam Kieth does not draw quite like anyone else. But that's a boon; pair him with the right project and it's clear he can really kick ass. I hope he's "let out of the cell" again fairly soon; I think I'd like to read more work like this.

The Score: 8 out of 10

A very well put together OGN that was well worth the time. It's not perfect and it won't change the comics world, but it's a very interesting project. Even if you're not really a fan of Sam Kieths style, I think this book is well worth tracking down, as this is the sort of story his work really meshes with. Give it a look.

* Boy, is it ever hell. By the end, some questions popped up in my mind. What happens if everyone, or at least the vast majority of the staff - were to quit? How the hell does the asylum go on? You'd think SOMEBODY would have to be moved there, or else the crazies would be loose or transferred somewhere else, basically starting the process over. But at that point, how much money would you have to offer someone to work Arkham of all places? Who really runs and keeps it in check? I know the Arkhams built it, but isn't there some kind of institution that would have to regulate it? This is the kind of crap I think about at night.

** I'm not a fan of his choice for Harleys look. For some reason, she has her hair in dreadlocks. It looks damn odd on her. Some give the Arkham games flak for their sexualized depiction of Harley, but even with the cosmetic changes she looks like herself. Here, she looks more like a used up junkie. But that's the thing about a style like this; you're going to find some things that don't work for you, even when the work is this good.

The Last Zombie: Dead New World (comics)

2011-11-12T16:57:00.008-05:00

Writer: Brian Keene
Artist: Joseph Wight
Collects: The Last Zombie #1-5

I guess the lesson to be learned here is "don't judge a book by its publisher".

I almost gave this one a pass only because of who was putting it out. I know Antarctic Press mostly for their comics that take current political figures and throw them in ridiculous situations to capitalize on their notoriety. They're nowhere near Bluewater - who put out nothing but terrible comic biographies without permission and are to comics what "The Asylum" are to movies - but it's enough to send me looking elsewhere.

I realize that's not exactly fair - it's not like DC and Marvel don't put out shit nestled between two covers and I read a lot of their product - but come on; is Steampunk Palin really the kind of comic that's going to inspire my confidence? At least when Marvel pumps out a She-Hulk ongoing you know there's someone out there who wanted it.

The concept grabbed me though, so I gave it a read. I'm glad I did. Brian Keene decides to set his book after the zombie apocalypse - or at least it seems to be over; whether it is happens to be a mystery - which is an inspired move. Almost no one ever goes for the aftermath for obvious reasons, so it's a relatively untapped well to draw from.

Keene goes for it with gusto. The specter of zombies looms large - again, no one is a hundred percent sure they're really gone - but they're hardly the big threats. In the year humanity went underground, as it were, unmanned nuclear plants melted down, your typical roaming gangs formed, animals run free, wildfires raged unchecked and diseases ran rampant. It's a nightmare out there.

A nightmare our cast has to go out into. They lost contact with the Maine bunker, which housed not only most of the government that was left. Obviously, a rescue operation is needed, one that's venturing out into the unknown, to ascertain what happened and if necessary rescue whoever is left of the remnants of American government. No pressure, right?

Keene wisely grounds it all in human emotion. Of course, there's the overall purpose of the mission, but one of our main characters is on board for personal reasons. His fiancee was in the other bunker and he won't stop until he knows one way or another if she's still alive. He's also the center of the twist near the two thirds mark.

There is definitely suspense to the proceedings. Keene fakes us out from time to time and never lets us forget that the zombies could still be out there. But by the end, zombies seem like the least of their worries; they're not out of the bunker long before they're attacked by bandits after their equipment. Worse still, they're outnumbered. We close the book wondering what else might be out there; the apocalypse may be over, but even if the zombies are gone, it's clear humanity has a long way back.

The artwork is good as well. The comic is black and white, but it seems the artist went sans inker. Almost everything looks penciled in, including detail, giving it a unique look among comics. I can't think of many that just go with pencil drawings, with all the shading and such done that way. I like it. Wight has talent.

The Score: 8 out of 10

I had a good time with this one; if Antarctic Press is smart they'll keep this team around on other projects as well. It's pretty well written, well drawn and has a pretty good hook. I recommend it and I'll be keeping an eye out for more. Give it a shot; it's worth the time.

Batman: The Widening Gyre vol. 1 (comics)

2011-11-10T19:35:00.006-05:00

Writer: Kevin Smith
Artist: Walt Flanagan
Collects: Batman: The Widening Gyre #1-6

If at first you don't succeed...

Kevin Smiths second crack at the best Batman story he can tell was received as badly as the first. Maybe worse, in some ways. Some other blogs - and even comic websites - proclaimed it as the "worst comic ever". Now, I'm certainly a fan of hyperbole - when the Muppets guest starred on Monday Night Raw this past Halloween I declared it the best thing ever - but here the exaggeration is a bit unwarranted.

So, basically, story goes like this; Batmans in a particularly reflective mood of late, deciding to have copious amounts of flashbacks. The point of all of it is trying to face the fact that he needs to trust people more. This is compounded by the return of Silver St. Cloud - one of the best love interests Batman had that we've almost never seen since - into his life. Meanwhile, the new hero Goatman - okay, okay, Baphomet - shows up and starts kicking some ass. Soon, Batman is coming to grips with the idea of a replacement and retiring. That's when it all falls apart.

Alright, first, the sexual innuendo is still here. But thankfully, it's not nearly as bad as "Joker strips down for buttsex in gratitude for being broken out of Arkham". Still, it's there and as such, you can never really escape the fact that this is a book written by Kevin Smith. If, for some reason, you manage to come close, don't worry, the book will be damn sure to remind you. This is the one thing about Smith that really irks me; it seems like he cannot go long without piling on the sex jokes or really dirty humor and he is as subtle with it as an oncoming train.

Other than that, Smith's not a bad writer, from what I've seen. Last go around he stumbled, but by this point he seemed to have a better handle on what he was dealing with. His dialogue for Batman is a bit less ridiculous than last time and - sex jokes and out of place humor aside - he goes out of his way to try and tell a story about Batman coming to grips with feelings. He doesn't completely stick the landing - and the "can't I be happy, do I really have to do this" thing's been done better - but he puts honest effort into selling it through flashbacks, the people coming into Batmans life and the circumstances that surrounds him.

Something that didn't bother me as much as I expected were the references, which were derided elsewhere. I usually do not like this kind of thing, especially when it's overdone. Kevin Smith went to the well once too often in Cacophony. He doesn't exactly tone it down for Widening Gyre, but it's not as noticeable anymore. Part of it is that they don't stick out like a sore thumb as much as last time. I think the other side of the coin is that a good number didn't get quite as cutesy as they did in Cacophony.

Smith blows it in the last issue, however, where it feels like the writing just sort of goes off a cliff. This book has a portrayal of Catwoman that is... more jealous slut than sexy, independent woman, which is very unfortunate, but it reaches its nadir in the last issue. Then there's the Silver situation, where Batman gets the idea in his head that she's a robot and... roughly handles her. Then there's the complete and utterly baffling scene with the crossbow, where Deadshot can somehow feel that it's a crossbow pointed at his head - yeabuwha? - and a misunderstanding of, you know, the basic mechanics of a crossbow.

The ending is also a problem. Batman reveals his secret identity to someone right after he got done debating whether the villains should be killed or not with them. You can probably see the problem; even with the book trying its damndest to sell that Batman realizes he needs to trust others more, it's still a questionable decision, especially given the fact that this person isn't even a hundred percent sold on the principles Batman and his organization operate on. There's trust and then there's stupidity.

I've read worse, though. Damning with faint praise, I'm sure, but still. It's an improvement over Cacophony for sure. It's easiest to read this book when you just take it as its own thing and don't try and tie it to any one portrayal of Batman. Seems difficult, especially given the fact that he's picking up and using toys from the Englehart run, but it's the way to go.

Walt Flanagan has also improved, but he's still got a ways to go to be great. There are still noticeable gaffes, like an eye at the wrong angle or place. There's the occasional hideously drawn face, as well. Also, in one of the middle issues where she has her hair in pigtails, his Silver St. Cloud is a dead ringer for Harley Quinn, which I doubt was intentional. Regardless, DC regularly employs far worse artists.

The Score: 6 out of 10

It's an improvement over Cacophony, for sure, but I'd still say it was middle of the road. If the final issue hadn't gone off the rails it would probably be more like a seven. As it is, though, it's a flawed work that could have been better but is still readable.

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants (comics)

2011-11-03T17:20:00.005-04:00

Writer: Victor Gischler
Artist: Paco Medina
Collects: X-Men (vol. 3) #1-6, material from Curse of the Mutants Saga and Curse of the Mutants Spotlight

Alright, warning up front; there's going to be some spoilers in this here review. To talk about the problems the book has means I'm probably going to have to get into what happens a bit more than usual. So if you don't already know what happens - unlikely, but still - just look at the score and my closing comments.

To say I was looking forward to this one probably goes without saying. If you've read reviews from this place before, you may be aware of that time Batman and Superman totally whupped some vampire ass or the time Batman decided he didn't like zombies and how much I liked them. Though it's waned over the years, I like the X-Men, so taking them, throwing them at some vampires and watching what happens should be a slam dunk, right?

Should be is the key word. This book isn't a disaster or anything; if you turn your brain off you can find some dumb fun in here. The mechanics of the plot, however, fall apart if you ponder them for more than ten seconds.

The plot is, well, basic. Dracula is dead for reasons we're unaware of* aside from the fact that his son did it, said son takes over and has a good idea. Why not turn some mutants, adding their sheer power to the vampire ranks, and use it to carve a place for vampires out of the shadows? Sure, the X-Men may not care for that idea, but free will is over-rated, right?

The plan is to essentially hypnotize one of the mutants, get those that come after their own, then throw a full size assault at Utopia with said new recruits and take over. From there on the sky's the limit. It's not a bad plan, really; and Cyclops made things easier by conveniently locating the mutant buffet in one place.

Funnily enough, it's the mutants who don't have their shit together.

So, Cyclops realizes what is going down. Now, apparently there are enough vampires out there to make you drop a deuce in your drawers. So his plan is to essentially revive Dracula, persuade him to fight with them and slap around some vamps. The recovery of his body parts happens in the tie-ins and Drac is revived as early as issue three. This plan goes south, of course - probably because someone at Marvel suddenly realized "holy crap, we still have three issues to fill" - so, you know, by all rights they are kind of screwed.

Except they're not. See, Cyclops sent in Logan to retrieve Jubilee. Now, he had to assume Logan would be turned, so he had it made so Logans healing factor could be turned on and off. At the pivotal moment of the vampire assault, he turns it back on, Logan snaps back to his senses and the vampires asses are kicked.

Anyone else see the problem here?

First off, they continue to play Cyclops as knowing what he's doing and planning contingencies. But once again, he comes off like a nimrod. They first go to the Dracula option before trying anything else. That goes south. Then he has a nifty plan to have Logan turned when he goes to the vampires, then turned back. Then the X-Men alone wipe out the entire force that is sent to attack them once they bring Logan back and make it to the inner circle of the vampires. That Dracula came back and whupped his sons ass wasn't even necessary by that point, because they would have won anyways.

Which means they could have defeated the vampire army thrown at them at any time. Meaning the hand wringing about how there were too many of them to stop, Dracs revival and essentially everything that happened between mid issue 2 to mid issue 5 was completely unnecessary. There was never anything at stake; turns out the X-Men could fight off that many vampires all along, but figured it would be more prudent to do a bunch of other stupid crap and have Wolverine turned into a vampire and then reverted back because Cyclops is kind of a dick.

There's an entertaining story in here somewhere, but at least three issues worth of scenes would need to be excised, what was left would need slight reworking and the issue count would top out at three issues, with lingering subplots for later arcs or more stuff dealing with vampires. What we get is a bloated storyline that is the worst example of for-the-trade writing. It's six issues mainly because it would make a nice trade they could charge fifteen to twenty dollars SRP for.

Now, the plot problems aren't the only problems. Victor Gischler doesn't seem to have a great handle on some of his characters. Some dialogue exchanges read unnaturally. He seems to know how to write Dr. Nemesis and Dracula the best. Logan suffers; Gischler has him say "come get some". I don't think anyone has said "come get some" without laughter following in about three decades, much less Wolverine.

But hey, it has great art! Paco Medina draws the hell out of this flawed storyline and frankly it's the books saving grace. Clean, colorful work that's damn nice to work at. I just wish it was paired with a story that measured up.

The Score: 6 out of 10

A script with as many holes usually sinks a book. This one was blessed with some very nice artwork, though, which elevates it. It's worth a read as dumb "summer movie" level fun, but it's not something I'd really recommend buying for the old bookshelf. Skip it unless you really want to see some vampire beheadings performed by the X-Men.

Cyclops Douchebaggery Alert: Dude, sending in your best man and turning off his healing factor so he's turned into a vampire? Then turning it back on when you feel like it? With absolutely no tactical reason to do it? That's the kind of thing that would go on Superdickery if it were with Superman. And Cyke wonders why Wolverine wants to stab him.

* For some moronic reason the Death of Dracula one shot that is essentially the real part one of this story is not included. It wasn't included in the companion volume either. Thanks trade department for such a monumental screw up; thankfully, the story still reads... well, not fine, given the numerous problems, but it's not a glaring issue; you just won't know the specifics of what happened to Drac or the setup.

Batman: Haunted Gotham (comics)

2011-11-01T23:52:00.004-04:00

Writer: Doug Moench
Artist: Kelley Jones
Collects: Batman: Haunted Gotham #1-4

Hey, you know what would have been bitchin'? A spiffy banner that says "Elseworlds" across the top letting me know that, you know, this is an Elseworlds tale. Yup, would have been great knowledge to have beforehand.

Now, don't take this to mean I would have avoided it if I'd known or anything. I like them and I kind of wish DC would just bring the damn tagline back. I guess the old "readers only want stories that matter" chestnut is what nixed that. The problem is that I had no idea it was one of said stories until I cracked it open. I figured it was a Halloween themed Batman collection, of which I know at least one exists*. There's no real indication until you start to realize "wait a minute, Bruce is an adult and his parents are still alive".

So, thanks for that clear branding, DC.

Now that we've established what it is, we'll get into the meat of it. This particular Elseworlds is based around the supernatural, with Gotham - or Haunted Gotham, as the city is oddly named - being essentially cut off from the rest of the world and constantly besieged by dark forces. Bruce Wayne has been training his whole life for some unforeseen destiny laid out for him by his father. Once his parents die by the hands of a werewolf, it finally becomes clear; he is to save Gotham from the devils that claim it as their playground as the Batman.

Doug Moench is a name that I don't see brought up a lot when it comes to Batman discussions. This is despite the fact that he's had a fairly lengthy history with the character; back in the 80's he was on board for three or four years - not all that impressive until you realize he wrote both Batman and Detective for all of that duration - and another multiple year stretch on just one in the 90's. Despite that, I don't think I've seen much of his work collected.

His writing style is... dense, I guess; this miniseries is pretty wordy. This is to its benefit and to its detriment. Sometimes he goes out of his way explaining things, while occasionally it can seem almost poetic, I suppose you could say. At any rate, it's a bit old fashioned and others might not have my level of tolerance for that.

As for the art, it's done by Kelley Jones, who Moench has worked with a good deal over the years. I'm not a fan of his style. I can certainly enjoy an exaggerated style, but Jones frequently goes to the point of absurd. For the cool aspects - his Batman is pretty Spawn like, with ridiculously long ears at times and a cape that seems to never end - there are plenty of moments of ridiculous anatomy, odd body contortion, cowl ears changing length between panels, a leg thrust out into a kick drawn way too long, etc. I want to say it's almost Liefeldian at times, but that doesn't feel fair, as Jones shows a much better grasp at other points.

It's hard to describe what I mean by this, but these issues I have are also offset by the type of story. Horror and the supernatural play to his strengths - where a nightmarish Batman seems right at home - and in that way, his style feels almost at home with the material. I don't know; it's one of those odd impressions you feel like you can never fully articulate. While I'm not a fan, I can see some ways where his style of art can be a strength.

These are, in all, fairly beefy issues contained within. Each is its own chapter, really, dealing with a new threat in this alternate world. Moench and Kelley also keep from going overboard with reacasting classic rogues in their alternate universe as well, leaving new, story specific threats to take their place. This is appreciated; as much as I like elseworlds, sometimes they seem just as preoccupied with showing off the rogues gallery in altered form - plot relevancy be damned - as they are with telling an actual story.

The Score: 6 out of 10

A bit below average, but not outright bad. It's fitting reading for this time of year, even as Halloween has passed and we move on to giving thanks. I wouldn't recommend anyone run out to get a copy, but it's not the comic equivalent of toxic sludge either.

* Turns out the Halloween themed collection I'm thinking of is "Haunted Knight". It was also by a completely different team, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Oops.

X-Men: Phoenix Rising (comics)

2011-10-25T17:50:00.007-04:00

Writers: Roger Stern, John Byrne, Bob Layton
Artists: John Buscema, John Byrne, Jackson Guice
Collects: Avengers #263, Fantastic Four #286, X-Factor #1, Classic X-Men #8 and #43

Poor Jean Grey. Poor Marvel. They've never been able to live this one down.

Jean Grey is the queen of comic resurrections; when the subject is brought up, conversation is inevitably turned to her and someone, somewhere will say "geez, how many times has Jean Grey been resurrected" in such a discussion. The funny part is that the answer is once, in this very story. This is the only time she was brought back from the dead; and hilariously, she wasn't even resurrected here either. It was a retcon that made it so she never died*. It's kind of funny how fandoms memory can be warped so far from what actually saw print.

Anyways, there's no real reason to discuss the story much. It's essentially what it says on the tin. Jean Grey comes back using a loophole Chris Claremont made. Then the original X-Men reform as X Factor, because they can't go back to the X-Men, since Magneto is part of that team and Cyclops actually had brains enough to know that was a bad idea then. The story's not bad or anything, but it's mostly a means to an end, largely to set up the X Factor series.

So, you know how you sometimes hear that comics were better back in whatever decade because they explained everything in exposition and oh won't somebody think of the new readers? Yeah, those people are full of shit. This story is filled with overly explanatory thought bubbles and at times it makes the whole exercise crushingly boring. I don't care who this Captain Marvel is or what her intensely detailed thoughts about Namor are. I'm willing to accept there was a Captain Marvel I didn't know about off the bat.

Though, if you wanted to explain why the Avengers seem to take in anybody off the street, no matter how lame**, I might be interested.

Anyways, if you make it through two issues of "holy crap Jean Grey is alive", you get the first X Factor issue, which is pretty much standard "getting the band back together" fare. Then it stops. Three goddamn issues. I would have liked the first arc of X Factor, at least, since the X Factor issue seemed to be where things started to get fairly interesting to some degree. Nope.

Oh, one other thing this story is significant for. It's the beginning of Cyclops douchebaggification. Dude cold leaves his wife - who he already married mostly because she reminded him of Jean - and his son when he learns Jean Grey is back from the bottom of the bay. He is then more concerned with what Jean will think and how he will tell her about said wife and kids than he is about the family he just walked out on. They couldn't have made him look worse if they tried.

There are also small stories from some X-Men deal way back when that are fairly inconsequential; one of them likes to wax philosophical, but instead comes off as trying too hard.

The art's fine. Nobody puts in offensive or bad work. It's pretty standard stuff for the time. Why Sue Storm has a goddamn mullet, however, I can't figure out.

The Score: 6 out of 10

Nothing special. It's basically a means to an end and significant only in the fact that it's the small arc that brought Jean Grey back to the fold. It's remembered more for the supposed "resurrection" that doesn't happen, for good reason. Not much else of note happens. If you want to have this as a bookend to Jeans death and return, go ahead and pick it up, but you can pretty safely skip it without missing a damn thing.

Cyclops Douchebaggery Alert: Dude cold leaves his wife - who he already married mostly because she reminded him of Jean - and his son when he learns Jean Grey is back from the bottom of the bay. He is then more concerned with what Jean will think and how he will tell her about said wife and kids than he is about the family he just walked out on. He doesn't even call said wife either and she finds out about his betrayal by seeing both he and Jean Grey on the goddamn television. Nobody else really brings up any of these things.

* Essentially, the Phoenix entity gave itself a body patterned off Jean Grey. So intense was this conditioning that she actually thought she was Jean Grey. That cocoon at the bottom of the bay held the real Jean Greys half dead body from her attempted sacrifice, where it slowly healed. How this was confused with a resurrection, where she straight up came back from the grave, I haven't the foggiest; to date, this is the only time she ever really came back, though eventually I suspect they'll bring her back again.

** Despite the suckitude of the Avengers lineup whenever I seem to see them pop up, Hercules and Black Knight are pretty cool. The Black Knights costume is great, at the least. But seriously, does Cap just take whatever the hell he can get at any given time? Actually, given the existence of Starfox, I'm guessing yes.

Wolverine: Old Man Logan (comics)

2011-10-20T22:09:00.006-04:00

Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Steve McNiven
Collects: Wolverine #66-72, Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant Sized

Hey, look, it's a project by that king of all hucksters, Mark Millar! Even more shocking, it's, GASP, pretty good without relying on shock and awe gross-em-out tactics. Miracles CAN happen, folks!

Anything with Millars name tends to draw a lot of attention - usually for all the wrong reasons - and several years back this was one of those projects Marvel was making a big deal about. The hype was certainly saying all the right things to reel me in; Mad Max style future starring Wolverine as a Clint Eastwood-in-Unforgiven style character with completely off the wall changes? Sold.

Still, it's a Millar project - and I may have mentioned I'm not really a fan - so I took my sweet ass time in getting around to it.

It's good, though. Millar delivered what was promised; we get a pretty crazy buddy cop adventure with Wolverine and Hawkeye rolling through the desert to the other side of the country. See, Wolverines landlords are dicks and he needs money or else they'll eat his family. Wolverine won't pop his claws - which he's sure to remind us way too often - because of an event in the past, so he needs to get out of the situation another way; so he teams up with Hawkeye, the two roll around in the Spider-Mobile, the Hulk has a whole family of inbred hillbilly Hulks and holy crap is that a Venom dinosaur?

Millar throws every crazy idea he has at the wall and no lie, it makes the book a page turner, even if the overall plot is a bit thin. There's something enticing about these kinds of stories, where you want to see more and more of this f***ed up world and you want to know how it got this way. Putting a wild twist on the familiar is always a good way to drive interest up, which is why these "warped future" stories tend to work so well. Besides, it's just freaking creepy - in a good way - to see something like the Red Skull, now President of his quarter of the US, dressed in Captain Americas costume with a trophy room of items collected from the dead heroes.

It's not all roses, however; with Millar, it never is. Spoiler warning for this paragraph. The way we get to the final fight is a little too obvious, frankly. We know that by the end, Logan will be back to his old self again in some fashion. It's just obvious. Also obvious is the way it's finally accomplished, as it's one of those plot points that you can see coming a mile away. So why Millar went with it, I couldn't tell you. I'd have been much more shocked if he'd gone another way.

Also disappointing is that Mark Millar recycled the premise of his creator owned work "Wanted" for this one. You know, the whole "all the villains joined forced, defeated the heroes and took over the world" bit. The only reason that really worked there is because - despite the fact that ninety percent of the characters were based on Marvel and DC heroes - they were his own characters in a world he owned. Outside of that, it doesn't hold water.

We're told something about there being "twenty villains for every hero" or something, which - if it were true - might make for a hell of a fight for our heroes. But think about this for more than five minutes and it breaks apart. Most heroes - especially at Marvel - don't have a rogues gallery to speak of. Sure, Spider-Man has about thirty villains - not all of them of note - but Cloak and Dagger are lucky if they have one. The Marvel Universe in particular is also very team focused - Avengers, Runaways, Fantastic Four, X-Men, etc. - and the more expansive rogues galleries tend to be attacked to these even bigger teams.

There isn't twenty villains for every hero. There isn't even ten. If we're being honest, there are probably more heroes at Marvel than villains and a good quarter of the villain total are completely lame. We're not even going to get into the experience most heroes have with fighting - and beating - all these villains.

One last sour note that relates to the villains - another spoiler alert here - the big mystery of the book is what screwed Wolverine up so badly that he gave up fighting, but the event in question is flawed. Make no mistake, being conned into slaughtering people you held dear works as a reason. I can believe that would screw with Logan enough to do this. That's not the problem.

The problem is that this all hinges on... Mysterio. The guy whose shtick involves parlor tricks and mere illusions. A human without much more than some experience in Hollywood effects somehow manages to not only make Wolverine see other beings as known villains - like, for example, Omega Red or Bullseye - but to make the body language mimic said villains, make him think they're using the weapons of those villains and to somehow make Logans super evolved senses - including smell - detect them as those villains.

An effects dude who does little more than annoy Spider-Man on occasion somehow does this. Without magic or powers. Anyone else seeing a problem here?

Despite those glaring issues, this is still a good read. It moves at a brisk pace, despite being seven full issues and a giant sized special. Despite the fact that I wanted to know more about the world than was given, I have to give Millar credit for not overloading us with details. He keeps the adventure moving and provides enough thrills and banter to keep you entertained. Despite the plot holes and logic problems, I'd say this is one of Millars better written projects. It's some pretty good fun, which is the kind of Millar writing I prefer, but rarely get.

Steve McNiven provides the visuals and he handles whatever Millar throws at him. This is a tall order. There's a lot of crazy ideas floating around this world they've given us. A lesser artist would not have been able to handle the kind of shit we see here and the book would have been ruined because of it. McNiven pulls it off without a hitch. His work really puts this book over the top and helps keep you from thinking on certain events too much.

The Score: 8 out of 10

Despite the issues I've mentioned, this book is still a lot of fun as long as you don't think too hard on some of the plot twists. It's probably the most I've enjoyed a Millar book since Wanted, at least; maybe even as far back as when he worked with Grant Morrison. Well worth a purchase, if you ask me. The ending sets things up for a sequel; I hope we get it at some point.

Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories (comics)

2011-10-17T11:03:00.003-04:00

Writer: Paul Dini
Artists: Bruce Timm, Matt Wagner
Collects: The Batman Adventure: Mad Love, The Batman Adventures Annual #1 and material from #2, The Batman Adventures Holiday Special

Batman: The Animated Series is, without question, among the ranks of definitive interpretations of the Dark Knight. Such is the quality of the show that even when it was having an off day it was still highly entertaining. It's one of those kids cartoons that really defines "all ages".

So it should come as no surprise that the comic based on the show - which was also frequently written by Paul Dini and drawn by Bruce Timm, the guys chiefly behind it - is similar fun. Though I guess it pushes it a bit with the all ages thing - some things they get away with here and even in the cartoon could be downright risque for a show targeted at kids - it manages to get away with it. Truly, these men are the masters of their craft.

Obviously, Mad Love is the star of the show here. If you've watched the cartoon I'm sure you've seen the episode that adapted it. It won all sorts of awards and took that whole risque thing as far as they could push it. It's also a shockingly realistic portrayal of abuse for a show about a dude who dresses up and fights crime. I can't really say which is better; the comic included here is the original and has a few more scenes, but the episode was a lean, mean machine. Either way it's great and makes the volume worth it on its own, but I'm sure you knew that.

The rest of the volume is filled out with various stories from elsewhere in the Batman Adventures comic series. Most of these - save the holiday piece - were not adapted to the show. All of them are great fun. The simplest way to put it is that these comics are essentially like lost episodes of the show, right down to the art, most of which is done by Bruce Timm. I couldn't give more of a ringing endorsement if I tried.

We also get some commentary on the comics from Paul Dini and Bruce Timm to round it all out, which is also an interesting read.

The Score: 8.5 out of 10

Just get your hands on it somehow. Even if you've seen the Mad Love episode, the comic is like the "Directors Cut" of the episode. All the other stories are worth the time as well. There's really no reason not to jump on this; these guys prove, as they always did with the show, that you don't always need a complex plot to have a fun Batman adventure.

Batman: Cacophony (comics)

2011-10-16T14:38:00.005-04:00

Writer: Kevin Smith
Artist: Walt Flanagan
Collects: Batman: Cacophony #1-3

I didn't have high hopes for this one. This particular book has been slammed up and down the internet. While I tend to prefer judging things on my own, it's pretty difficult to see such negativity about the book and not have my expectations altered.

It's not, however, the vicious attack on all things sacred the comic community would lead you to believe. That it's not completely terrible doesn't mean it's good, though. Because it's not.

As you can see if you glance above the spiffy Adam Kubert drawn cover, you'll see that Kevin Smith - the film director - is behind this book. Obviously they're selling it on those grounds; his damn name is bigger than Batmans on that cover. If you've ever seen one of Kevin Smiths films, you know he employs a lot of vulgarity, dick, fart and poop jokes. He's also written some genuinely good movies, but that tends to be in spite of his writing tics.

Obviously, he can get away with all of that because the characters in his movie are his own. Not to say this is the first time he's worked with corporate characters - there are even references to his past work in here - but still, there's a clear difference. Can you really have jokes about anal sex and poop flinging in a book about Batman and actually try to play it off as a serious read? Turns out, no, it just doesn't work. The fact that Smith has Batman monologue a lot about how he wishes he could leave his foes to die rings false, as well.

Also problematic is that Smith overloads the book with references to Batmans past, I guess to prove his credentials as a Batman fan. In small doses, these sort of references can be a cute wink and nod to fans. A few in this book even made me smile, like the joke Alfred makes about Jean Paul Valley in regards to something Batman says. But there comes a point where you're spending way too much time winking at the reader about the past; there's a nod to Death in the Family that adds nothing to the monologue and in one of the last scenes of the book we have dialogue that brings both Going Sane and Dark Knight Returns to the forefront of our minds.

Worse still, despite Smiths best efforts, there are occasions where characters just don't sound like themselves. Batman in particular over-monologues in the first issue while Joker is turned into a conduit for Smiths usual sex jokes. When two of your three central characters doesn't sound right, there's a problem.

Despite all that, there are things I did like. Smith decides to use Maxie Zeus - a rarely used and often forgotten old Batman foe - as a major plot player for much of the book, while Smiths own created villain - Onomatopoeia - is a fairly novel antagonist, despite the fact that he only speaks in sound effects. Also, while it didn't come off as well as I'm sure he'd hope, I appreciated the fact that Smith wanted to put his own stamp or spin on the never-ending battle between Batman and Joker with his final scenes.

The idea that Jokers toxin - when watered down - can be used as a recreational drug was a good one as well.

The art's by one of Kevin Smiths buddies, Walt Flanagan. That has been slammed too, for both the art itself and the nepotism. It's not particularly great, but it's not terrible either. There are times when it looks pretty good and others where it looks off. He seems to get better as the miniseries rolls on, though; most of the iffier drawings are in the first issue, mostly of the Joker. By issue 3 he's got a much better handle on the character. Given the amount of comics I've read, I've seen much worse.

The Score: 5.5 out of 10

This book is a bit under mediocre and just into bad territory, I figure. It's not as terrible as I've seen it made out to be, but it's not worth adding to your bookshelf either. It may be worth a flip through if you really like Kevin Smith, but I wouldn't pay full price for it. For most, it's a curiosity at best.

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Mutants vs Vampires (comics)

2011-10-15T20:21:00.004-04:00

Writers: Chuck Kim, Simon Spurrier, Chris Claremont and many more
Artists: Chris Bachalo, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Tim Green and many more
Collects: X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Storm and Gambit, X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Smoke and Blood, X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Blade, X-Men vs. Vampires #1-2 and Uncanny X-Men #159

So, when they relaunched the X-Men book, they decided to treat it as an event of sorts, I guess you could say. They released a few different tie-ins alongside the story arc, which isn't something you see that often for your typical six issue arc. The only other arc to do that I can think of off the top of my head is Batman RIP, which rippled into some other ongoings (though I don't recall any tie-in one shots).

Thankfully the tie-ins were kept to a tidy number, enough to fill a trade paperback, so here it is.

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Storm & Gambit | Look, I make no bones about it. I'm a mark for Gambit. He's always been one of my favorite mutants. So a team up with Storm, another great character in the X fold? Yeah, I'll take some of that.

This one shot is probably the most directly tied to the main arc, as it showed the mission undertaken by the two heroes to recover Draculas body, which the X-Men kind of need, from an island of vampires. The reasons as to why these two were chosen are a bit flimsy - it's supposedly because they're both current or former thieves, but there's little real thieving involved and more fighting - but it's held together a bit more by the fact that the two have long been good friends and worked together in the past. Either way, it seldom matters, because what we get is a fun little done in one aside to the main story.

Chuck Kim writes a pretty damn good Gambit and Storm, that's for sure. Gambit works nicely as a foil and it's refreshing to see him do something other than worry about Rogue. He has a few nice moments in the course of the comic, plus what was probably the full out best page in the issue. Storm recieves the emotional arc, which ties nicely into her past characterization and makes some of her fears apparent. As far as I know, Chuck Kim only did editing work prior, but apparently he can script a good comic.

As for the art, it's typical Chris Bachalo. Which is to say that it's great, if you like his style. Bachalo typically takes some getting used to as far as his art goes, as it's cartoony and manga-esque at times. But it feels like there's an energy there and he can put together a nice page. I used to be put off somewhat by his work, but by this point I really like his work. Before long I may even love it.

If there's a negative point here, it's small but significant. There are a couple of pages in this comic where it feels like the inker fell asleep at the wheel. They look unfinished. More unfortunate, one of the pages that seems either uninked or poorly inked - it's way too rough and scratchy, which makes it jarring compared to the rest of the issue - is Gambits best moment in the entire issue. Proof that when one cog in the art screws up, it can bring a whole page down.

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Blood and Smoke | More X Club goodness by Simon Spurrier. The X Club seems to have it's detractors in some paces - mainly CBR - but screw them. I like these one shot X Club spotlights. Which makes the fact that an X Club mini by the same writer is on it's way good news for me.

This is another aside to the main storyline, but it's much more tangential. The X Club has some of the other victims of the main arcs opening scene to work on and they're trying to cure vampirism, or whatever hypnotic spell the people are under, if nothing else. They also have a big, nasty vampire locked up. This is not a good plan, as he escapes and Doctor Nemesis seals the lab off until the problem is dealt with.

Like with the Second Coming one shot, Doctor Nemesis has been the highlight for me. His particular breed of smug snark is pretty damn funny and it lends some levity to the generally morbid proceedings. I like all three members of the X Club in general, which to me is a testament to Simon Spurriers writing. After all, Matt Fraction did next to nothing with the team in the stories I've read of his run, so it had to come down to him to pull this off.

If there's a downside, it's the fact that the X Club unfortunately finds themselves unable to come up with a solution again. Which is not necessarily their fault. They can't solve the vampire problem in their one shot offshoot; the resolution has to happen in the main arc. So they're doomed not to succeed right from the start. Hopefully they get the chance to solve a problem in their own miniseries, instead of being hogtied by their accompanying event.

The art is perfectly suited to this manner of story. This is a primarily "dark" story, dealing with vampires that are perfectly okay with chomping down on a dude or three, not to mention dark in the sense that most of the comic is set in a dimly lit lab that loses power halfway through the issue. Gabriel Hernandez Walta uses a unique style that I assume is painted and it definitely managed to pull off a dark, grimy feel.

Good work all around; once again the X Club are a high point in a tie-in collection.

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Blade | Poor Blade. He's had three highly successful movies and is thus probably much better exposed to the general public than about eighty percent of Marvels stock of characters. Despite that, Marvel almost never does anything with him anymore; he hasn't had an ongoing or a miniseries in four or five years now and he very rarely appears even in a guest capacity. He's seen more outside of comics - in video games, for example - than he is in comics nowadays.

Lucky for him, then, that the X-Men are fighting vampires. Which is kind of his thing. Hence, his own one-shot. Savor it Blade; you're probably not going to get another for several more years, knowing Marvel.

This particular one shot, written by Duane Swierczynski, is more or less a prequel to the main event that is the Curse of the Mutants arc proper. The slayers - who hunt vampires for a living, of course - are being hunted down and killed one by one. Obviously this is a problem, so Blade rounds up the survivors and tries setting a trap. As you can probably guess, it goes horribly wrong, since otherwise there wouldn't have been any vamps left to bother the mutants.

It's okay, as far as the writing goes. The issue is mostly there to show how Blade got from point A to point B for the main arc. Still, it's not boring and I didn't lose interest. So that's a plus. Still, it left me desiring a proper Blade adventure by a good creative team, which I'm not likely to get. Blade seems to be one of those characters Marvels okay with letting go into obscurity for lengths of time.

The arts serviceable. I wouldn't say it's particularly great, but it's not bad either. Just not really noteworthy. One thing I noticed is that Blade seems to have a different hairdo these days; he looks a lot less like Wesley Snipes, which frankly was a good look for the character. But it's not a big deal. I think I saw a look like this in live action, so I assume the two-short-mohawks look was from that TV pilot that fizzled out a while back.

X-Men vs Vampires #1-2 | These issues are another one of those anthology deals the X line usually craps out whenever there's been a big status quo shift. Only this time, I guess they decided to do it for the vampires arc. Bad idea.

See, every short story included in this two issue anthology is basically an X man fighting a vampire. Then staking them or killing them some other way. That's it. Sure, a couple are fun - Gambits, where he related taking down a bunch of female vampires to relationships, is particularly great, as is the creative team for Blood and Smoke showing a vampire whale - but there's nothing else to most of them. None are offensively bad, just plain jane.

These anthologies seem to work better when they're stuck to the status quo changes that allow for a variety of shorts, so hopefully that will be where they stay; this just didn't work as well as the one shots did, which is a shame but probably unavoidable.

Uncanny X-Men #159 | This really doesn't have much of anything to do with the plot of Curse of the Mutants. Its only tie is the fact that it's where Dracula and Storm met for the first time. I assume it's here partly to pad the volume out a bit, which I don't really understand. As it is, the volume had a decent enough length and I simply do not understand why the Death of Dracula one shot - which had events that led to the attack on mutants - was left out in favor of this.

Just an odd, odd choice all around and I have to wag my finger at Marvel over leaving out Death of Dracula.

Still, it's an issue of the legendary Chris Claremont run of the X-Men - which is, of course, the run almost everything you ever see of the X-Men outside of comics is based on - so there's that. It's a bit of a dated read - Claremont always was heavy on the exposition - but it still holds up well as an entertaining story despite that. I just don't know why the hell it's here.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

This one managed to be a step above some other tie-in collections I've read. The two issue anthology was a bust, but two great one shots, a fairly decent one shot and an issue from the Claremont era outweigh it handily. If the anthology hadn't been so cookie cutter - and had Death of Dracula been included - this may have had a higher rating, as a fair amount of the contents are fun, enjoyable reading.

X-Men Legacy: Collision (comics)

2011-10-10T23:53:00.004-04:00

Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Clay Mann
Collects: X-Men Legacy #238-241

I'm just going to preface this review by saying that it's kind of nice to actually read a recent X book that was - shock of shocks - fairly enjoyable, even if it's not really remarkable.

This is pretty much Mike Careys book at this point. As I understand it he's been on it for something like six or seven years (jumping on somewhere in the 180's, I think). It's changed focus a few times,, initially having pet character Rogue take over the book leading a motley crew of mutants, then focusing on Professor X and now back to the southern belle. Nobody seems to talk about it, but most everyone seems able to at least enjoy it.

I jumped into this one cold, which I thought was a bad decision at first because it quickly becomes clear we're dealing with old plotlines from way back in Careys run. Shockingly, aside from the fact that I had no clue what the powers of the kids were supposed to be, I managed to get through without much confusion.

To keep a long story short, one of the young mutants Rogue currently mentors is called back to his homeland, which is besieged by electrical storms of some sort. Magneto - currently an X-Man because Cyclops is a raging moron - finds this particularly interesting, so he tags along. Rogue - who has control of her powers now, it seems, after about twenty freaking years of the no touch thing - is sent as a chauffeur. They quickly find themselves neck deep in trouble.

Apparently, the villains, The Children of the Vault, were stopped by Rogue at some point in the past. This apparently lead to the deaths of some of their own. They're not the forgiving sort, it seems, as it seems they would prefer she stop breathing. If you know anything about Rogue at all, you know her response will probably be a few broken jaws.

Carey offers no help to anyone who may just be jumping on - one thing the other X books have actually done right recently are providing quick captions that run down power sets and who a character is when they show up - but despite that he manages to keep things moving*. His Rogue actually feels like a strong woman; able to take care of herself and get the job done herself. Maybe I just haven't been reading the right books, but it feels like it's been a while since she's been that way.

But, to be blunt, there's really nothing else of note here**. It's a fairly competant, enjoyable read in an era where that seems to be in short supply for the X-Men. It's really not something that's going to grab you so much you'll remember fine details years down the road, but in an era where dumping an entire race on a rock that everyone who hates them knows they're on is treated as a smart, logical thing to do, I'll claim victory just for not having to sigh heavily and wonder why I keep trying.

Oddly, I didn't have as much of a problem with Magnetos presence, either. Carey at least keeps Magnetos terrorist past at the fore and Mags even comments on things hes done himself at times. In other words, he's still a collosal dick, which is kind of refreshing instead of "I'm totally a good guy now, really!" I still felt like he was trying a bit too hard to make him cool, however, but that may just be me. Oh, and going by an exchange midway through the book between the two, apparently Magneto suddenly wants to bone Rogue. This felt kind of random - mostly Rogues comment about it - but I'm going to just assume this is something that Carey's been working in prior to this.

Rogue at least says there's nothing between them, but even the idea is kind of an "ick" moment.

As for the art, it gets the job done. Clay Mann turns out pretty clean and detailed work here. It's not going to reinvent the business, but it doesn't need to. Fairly clear storytelling and some eye pleasing work round off the most enjoyable recent X arc that wasn't a one shot.

The Score: 7 out of 10

So hey, this is pretty decent. If you're not particularly happy with the X books these days, this is a pretty safe bet. Aside from a glimpse of Utopia and Cyclops, there's little to do with the then current status quo. I may check out some future volumes, who knows.

*There are bios of the characters, but they're way in the back. This might just be me, but that would have been great info to have before I started the story. An indicator at the front maybe?

** Well, for me anyways. It DOES work on it's own well enough. But it's another one of those books that I imagine would mean a lot more to someone who'd read the other story where Carey created them. But hey, it happens; you can't go into a television show halfway through a season and expect the revelations to have as much weight for you either.

X-Men: Second Coming - Revelations (comics)

2011-10-04T20:46:00.005-04:00

Writers: Christopher Yost, Peter David and others
Artists: Steve Dillon, Harvey Tolibao and others
Collects: X-Men: Hope, X-Men: Blind Science, X-Men: Hellbound #1-3, X-Factor #204-206

I kind of like companion volumes to crossovers or small scale events. They tend to have everything as far as the tie-ins go. Small scale, remember. Sadly, Marvel frequently disappears so far up it's own ass with events that you can't really read anything from the time period without a tie-in. It's not a huge secret why I don't read much Marvel.

This volume collects the tie-ins for Second Coming, which was the X lines big crossover event that was meant to wrap up a bunch of simmering plotlines. How that whole shebang went, I'll probably get to someday. Word of warning, you're not going to want to read this volume without having read Second Coming itself; it's got a major spoiler or two, though you probably know of them by now anyways.

By the way, what's with that title, huh? Revelations? Trust me, there are no revelations in this. It's just a volume collecting some side dishes to complement the main course. Yeah, yeah, I know, biblical allusion to go along with Second Coming, but it still doesn't fit. Ah well.

I'm going to format this review a bit differently, one I'll probably continue whenever I do a diverse collection like this. Each story will have its own section with my comments on it. It just seems more organized, given the fact that there's about four different stories to discuss.

X-Men: Hope | This one shot feels more like a prequel than a side story, which makes its inclusion a bit awkward. One thing I hate is flipping back and forth between books, so starting this collection with this and then reading Second Coming before the rest of it feels dumb. But then again, where the hell else could they have put it? Whatever, personal preference on my part, I guess. It's a turn-off, though.

It generally serves the purpose of giving some backstory to Cable and Hopes jaunts through time post-Messiah Complex. There was an entire volume of Cable devoted to those adventures, but I didn't read it because Cable is one of those lingering elements of 90's excess I tend to avoid. So it's nice of Marvel to have put out a one shot to give some context for those of us who don't care about Cable.

It's fairly well written and inoffensive, giving a few vignettes to show us Hope at different ages through the time travel shenanigans. It's written by Duane Swierczynski, who I believe wrote the Cable ongoing in question as well, so I imagine this is a lot what that series was like. It's not bad - fairly enjoyable for a one shot that centers around a 90s leftover - so kudos for that. Not enough to make me read a series about Cable; I felt like I got enough context from this anyways.

As for the art, if I have to sit here and tell you why Steve Dillons art is awesome, you've either never seen it, never read "Punisher: Welcome Back Frank" or your taste just sucks.

X-Men: Blind Science | I didn't expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. It centers around Utopias science division, the X-Club, whom I gather rarely do anything that, you know, solves any problems on the floating asteroid the mutant race decided it would be cool to chill on for a while. But who cares, this was a lot of fun; Dr. Nemesis is exactly the kind of prick I like reading.

We pick up with the X-Club in the midst of some major screw-up on their part, ending with them seemingly shot forward in time to one of the X franchises patented post-apocalyptic futures. Seriously, the future always blows with the X-Men around. One of the X-Club is the person who made that cure for mutants way back when and this particular future seems to require it to save everyone. Moral dilemma, engage!

It too is written fairly well, barring a half-assed Hitler comparison two thirds of the way in that's used to counter Dr. Nemesis. The write is Simon Spurrier, who I've never seen before in comics. He does alright, though. Dr. Nemesis is written as a hilarious, smug prick and frankly if that's not his normal characterization I'm going to be very disappointed. The one shot zips along and has the requisite twist - because of course they're not going to just wipe out the mutants - and overall it was a good time. I'd read more of this.

The art's by Paul Davidson. Another name I've never encountered. His work is simple but detailed, though, so feel free to put him on a regular book, Marvel.

X-Men: Hellbound | To me, this one is the meat of the book and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. It features Gambit, whom I may have once mentioned is one of my favorite mutants, and early on he actually comes off as fairly intelligent. He's one of the few I've seen in this period of X continuity that isn't buying the line of BS Cyclops is spewing and knows full well putting all the mutants in one place is a good way to send the race straight to extinction.

On the other hand, he's just there to be corrupted by Limbo so the Death personality can come out (that's a can of worms I don't feel like explaining right now). Not to mention it also focuses on some of the New X-Men or New Mutants or whoever they are this week, whom aside from Pixie and maybe Cannonball seem rather lame. Perhaps I'm just not giving them a fair shot. Maybe someday.

Illyana, Colossus' sister, is 'ported to Limbo in the midst of a large scale battle in Second Coming. Rather than be smashed into red paste by her brother, Cyclops makes the decision to send a bunch of third stringers he doesn't care about to fetch her from Limbo. This goes about as well as you'd expect. I mean, how useful is Dazzler going to be against a bunch of demons? Is she going to go all disco on them?

It's also not a shabby story, as far as the writing goes, but it's also fairly inconsequential. There are ties to some previous adventure I didn't read, which means the impact of the main conflict is kind of lost. I don't know where this adventure occured and the issue makes no attempt at all to tell me - can we have the damn editors notes back please? - so I'm just going to assume the whole thing would mean more to someone whose read the backstory. It's still readable, though - and we at least get a good idea of what happened in it through the dialogue, which is good - but overall it feels a bit like filler to give some D list mutants something to do.

The art's by Harvey Tolibao. It's very nice and fitting of the story. He makes a gaffe or two that's rather glaring, however. One page in the first issue is split up into four vertical panels, for instance, but when you look at it, they all form one image. So what was the point of splitting the full page splash into four panels? Couldn't tell you. Then on the next page, it's divided into a series of panels that don't seem to flow very well.

X-Factor #204-206 | This one's kind of unfortunate. This is apparently the only tie-in to an ongoing not involved in Second Coming directly. Now, the purpose of a tie-in, traditionally, is to boost a series readership by tying it into something everyones reading. The best way to do it is a mix of the tie-in elements and ongoing plots to hook the reader into the ongoing past the crossover. This, however, is a fairly contained story that begins and ends; which is great for a miniseries, but not so much for an ongoing, where the tie-in serves a different purpose.

Worse still, I was a little bored; could be my expectations working against me, as X-Factor is one of those books that is constantly praised by the small group of readers it has, so I think I expected more.

The story is pretty standard fare. The baddies from the main storyline try and assassinate the affiliated group and, of course, fail in the end. There isn't much else going on and not many running plots I could pick up on here. The lead cast struck me as fairly alright characters, but I wasn't given much of a hook to care about their fates. It's well written, as I expected, I just didn't find myself overly interested, which is a shame.

The art is by Valentine De Landro. It's pretty spiffy. Minimal lines, great color, pleasing to the eye. It's a shame I didn't find the story as interesting.

The Score: 6.5 out of 10

Everything contained is perfectly servicable fare. There isn't anything outright bad in here, but not much in the way of standouts either. If you're looking for some side dishes to the main course of Second Coming, it does the job nicely.

Out of the Wheelchair and into the Flames: The Less Than Stellar Reaction to Barbara Gordons Return as Batgirl

2011-09-11T20:54:00.005-04:00

You've probably heard of Batgirl before. If you're paying attention at all, you're probably aware that DC is in the midst of a linewide relaunch aimed at solidifying the companies comics into the digital sphere with day and date releases. You probably know Barbara Gordon is back as Batgirl, as well.

If you know all of that, you must know about the less than stellar reaction in some areas of fandom.

There are a lot of reasons why. One being the fact that Oracle's been a positive portrayal of disability in a medium sorely lacking in them for over twenty years now. Stephanie Browns dismissal as Batgirl is another that has some folks annoyed. They're all valid. But how often is a rational argument for the other side really given? So that's what I'm here to give, along with some perspective, if I can.

As you can guess, I'm actually okay with the return of Babs as Batgirl. I have my own reasons and I understand DC's. A fair amount of folks, predictably, are upset at the loss of Stephanie Brown as Batgirl; somewhat hypocritical, I might add, if you're at all aware of the sheer outrage that followed her original announcement as Batgirl. Of course, there's also the reality that the comic sold like shit despite massive amounts of critical acclaim, but that's always glossed over in situations like this. No one really wants to hear the "recognizability" argument, of course, but that's just what the company is going for by returning the "iconic" version. It's a bit different for me.

Am I the only one who was just completely bored with the Oracle identity? It's been around for twenty years and frankly, it got to the point where she was just there. I can't think of a lot of what was done with her outside of Birds of Prey and her being the "handler" for Steph Browns time as Batgirl. She was a strong handicapped character, but after twenty years, I honestly felt like the whole deal was well and truly spent.

Compared to Oracle, how many good, definitive stories do we have of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl? Three, max; and one of them, fun as it was, caused a bit of stir. Most of her time in the cowl is from the Silver Age, which was... well, a different time; and by different I mean she put on makeup in the midst of a fight, which is not exactly the definition of a positive portrayal of a female hero.

For all the talk of how it's "regressing" to have her go back, I never really got to experience Babs as Batgirl much in the comics. You may recall that on the scant occasions I did, I had a blast. I think this was compounded by my boredom with Oracle, which is the main role I've seen her in for as long as I've been reading. Now, part of this is on DC, as they could always put out more stories of Babs as Batgirl in the past. But then, they couldn't really ever show us the ongoing adventures.

Not to mention the stories set in the past always have those little allusions to her legs and future handicap when the writers feel like being cute. I hate that so much I could spew acid; I sit there thinking "ha ha, real funny writer, you're so clever with your allusion to The Killing Joke, I'm in awe". It kind of devalues her time as Batgirl, as it's though the injury is now her entire character and even her damn past now revolves around the fact that it's in her future. It's as though being Batgirl wasn't as important as being Oracle; and while there's definitely a case to be made that she became more important as an positive role model after the injury, it shouldn't necessarily devalue her previous role.

Then comes the reality that Oracle became a tool for storytellers not named Gail Simone and not much else. An easy one to use at that; for several years ninety percent of her appearances outside of Birds of Prey consisted of her being used as an info dump disguised as a character. She was a tool to point the hero in the right direction at a given time or explain a backstory with ease. It's not bad to have an information broker - and it can be made interesting - but she was used as a shortcut.

It kind of needed to stop. Remember how often Batman used her for info or direction on a case? Batman, the Worlds Greatest Detective. Instead of us seeing him do some, you know, detecting, some writers would use the shortcut. Even the Bat offices realized it, since they cut Batman off from her and the line in Under the Hood about how the Bat family had "come to rely on her too much".

Despite that, I feel kind of bad to have this opinion. I feel for the handicapped readers who are rather crushed by the loss of Oracle. The number of characters to take her place is a low one. I've read quite a few blogs or articles on the whole thing and it kind of makes me feel bad for them. At the same time, don't most characters mean something to somebody? Is that a reason to keep them locked in one position? Or is it a bit too much like those readers who want a regression to the Silver Age iterations for their own personal reasons? That's not an easy question to answer.

But what's done is done. There are good arguments to be made on both sides. It's tough to say any stance - such as my own - is better than the others. Ultimately, we'll have to see where it goes; Gail Simone's about as good a choice for this as anyone. How many years has she handled Barbara Gordon?

Hopefully it pans out, because man, how freaking embarrassing would it be for DC to cave and have Babs re-crippled in some contrived way? That's Professor X's gig over at Marvel; and as much as I like that character, that shit was ridiculous. Just stick with one already.

Thor: The Trials of Loki (comics)

2011-09-06T21:27:00.003-04:00

Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artist: Sebastian Fiumara
Collects: Loki #1-4

It's always kind of funny when a character centric miniseries - like the Loki miniseries this collects - has the trade branded with the franchise they come from. It's mostly Marvel that does this; anyone remember the completely redundant name that was "Hulk: Skaar - Son of Hulk"? Now this. How many people out there don't already know Loki is a Thor villain? Hell, who couldn't get that just from the back covers description?

DC doesn't do it - Luthor and Joker kept their names - so why Marvel does it is kind of beyond me.

Anyways, there's that old saying about how a hero is only as good as his villains. I'd argue it's not a hundred percent accurate - take Batman, who works in whatever the hell you put him in regardless of who he's fighting - but for the most part it's true. Lets face it, the villains are just damn interesting; and if they're particularly well written you'll like them anyways despite their deeds.

Loki can be like this, depending on who's writing him. This tale in particular plays up his ambiguity. It's part origin story, part "the world through Lokis eyes". We see the events that lead to his destiny; to bring about Ragnarok and the fall of the gods.

His version of events, anyways.

Everyone is the hero of their own story and Loki is no exception. Thor confronts him in his hiding place, demanding answers for the actions prior to where we start. So Loki tells the story as only he can. He's cast in a sympathetic light, to say the least; his tale is one of jealousy and inadequacy, a lesser among gods. All of his actions in this tale are born from this jealousy; of his half brother Thor, of the love and attention Thor receives, his bond with Sif and more. In a way, his plight and actions become a bit more understandable, though not excusable. You can see how he got there.

Ahh, but there's an unspoken reality in that we're never quite sure just how much of his tale is true.

Loki is, if you're somehow unaware, a trickster god. He deals in lies, deceit and mayhem. It's in his nature. As such, even as we're reading there's a doubt. What parts of the tale are lies? What parts are fact? Is any of it true? Or is the trick that this time, he really is telling the truth, but his very nature leads us to wonder otherwise?

We don't know. Not even Thor knows. He even muses to himself that he's not a hundred percent sure of the details, even those that revolve around him. He is, of course, an immortal god. Time tends to swallow memories, leaving details to fade. In this respect, the very nature of the character is a strength for this story.

You know what else is a strength? The bitchin' art. It's absolutely perfect, especially for the heavy fantasy vibe something like Thor needs. From dragons to rainbow bridges to nine realms. Sebastian Flumara beautifully illustrates them all. It's only amplified by the bright, bold coloring.

Honestly, I can't even think of anything negative to say about this comic. The only thing really keeping it from going higher is perhaps as simple at not quite pushing the envelope like some classics might. But that's just a matter of opinion on my part; I still cannot say enough kind words about this trade. I was engrossed and enjoyed it a great deal.

The Score: 9 out of 10

This is a book that, honestly, has very few flaws. Offhand, I really cannot think of one. It's a great comic, one that can easily be read no matter your knowledge of Thor. It provides all the basic information you need while providing a great story that does not bond itself to any specific time period. It's as easily accessible as they come and well worth picking up, in my opinion.

Sonic Retrospective: The Classic Era Spinoffs

2011-08-21T14:07:00.004-04:00

Continuing my retrospective of the Blue Blur and his games, this time we're venturing into spinoff territory.

Like Mario, Sonic has had plenty of spinoffs. Make no mistake, back when I was a kid and Sonic was red hot, I salivated for more of my favorite blue hedgehog. That's, of course, what they were counting on, because what's better than a kid wanting more of your franchise - regardless of quality - and getting the parents - who don't know any better and just want to make the kid happy - picking it up?

Luckily, it was hardly all bad in the classic era. He had some clunkers, for sure, but I often got enjoyment out of them. Make no mistake, however; the track record in the spinoff department was hardly as sterling as the core titles.

For the purposes of this one, I'm counting all the spinoffs straight up to 1999. As you're probably aware, the classic series essentially ended in 1994 with the release of Sonic & Knuckles. For one reason or another - like the dissolution of STI or the storied train wreck that was Sonic Xtremes development - a core Sonic title did not see release between 1994 and 1999. Segas mascot all but didn't show up for one console generation. For five years, spinoffs were all we had of Sonic. The Dreamcast/PS2 Era is where the core titles pick up next.

Knuckles Chaotix

Console: Sega 32X
Release Date: March, 1995

Ahh, Knuckles Chaotix. Doomed to be the "lost" Sonic game, this is probably the one game in the franchise that almost no one has played. The blame for that, of course, can be laid on the 32X; Sega was kind of desperate to extend the life of the Genesis in those days and while the Sega CD could be called a mild success - it did, of course, have several classic releases - the 32X was a bomb that could only be surpassed by Nintendos Virtual Boy. As such, only the four people who actually owned a 32X have played this one; even with emulation being prevalent, your average jamoke hasn't played it.

Hell, I didn't even play the game until just recently for the purposes of this.

Did we miss anything by the game falling into obscurity? Well, it's no classic; this game is really a case of a lot of potential getting lost amidst bad choices. I think the thing that really sunk this game was the level layouts. There are only about five "zones" with five acts each; the problem is, it's very, very difficult to tell if anything has really changed between the acts. The reason? They're barren; there just aren't enough enemies or interesting gimmicks as it is. It all feels half finished. As such, what follows is a boring, lifeless romp through barren levels without a whole lot to do.

This is unfortunate, because in a way, this game is a bit of a spiritual sequel to Sonic CD. Take a look at the production credits sometime and you're going to see some familiar names. The graphics are similarly lush, the music is nice and the new characters are colorful. This isn't even mentioning that this was the first real return of Metal Sonic (and Amy, though she only shows up in the sound test and it took years for anyone to find it). This could have been so much more and who knows, perhaps if the game director hadn't been different...

The games main mechanic - the elastic band - is a love it or hate it affair. Personally, I think it had potential and was fun to fool around with. It doesn't necessarily allow you the same freedom of movement the classics did - since you're effectively tethered to another character - but once you get the hang of it it allows for some cool tricks that could have made for some interesting secrets or the like if incorporated properly.

In all, it's a big missed opportunity. But it is worth at least one playthrough. It's not a game you're likely to ever go back to, however. Some botches in how the game was put together essentially robs it of the staying power the classics have.

The Score: 6.5 out of 10

Sonic Spinball
Console: Sega Genesis
Release Date: November 23rd, 1993

Not every spinoff will make a lot of sense, but this one was right on the money. Sonic already felt kind of like a pinball at times, right? Hell, we all love Casino Night as well, which had heavy use of pinball flippers. Seems like a match made in heaven.

Well, we know how often things turn out to be as they seem, but it still worked out pretty well.

This game is pretty much pinball jacked up after hitting the weights. It doesn't completely conform to the single table structure of regular pinball - except in between level minigames - and what results are sprawling levels of pinball goodness. There are usually about four or five sections in a level that are set up like your "tables", with different layouts and gimmicks, with your job being to collect the emeralds scattered around the level to open the boss section at the top.

If there's a downside to the game, it's that it's very short. There are only four full levels in the game, which is a disappointment, as more would have been very nice. It's also not exactly a game for anyone who doesn't care for pinball. Oh, and for some moronic reason they decided it would be a slammin' idea to base this game on the cartoons - you can rescue some of the Archie cast in one of the minigames - which did one more time before thankfully never doing it again.

The game has kind of a "love it or hate it" relationship amongst the fanbase. I'm one of the guys who really likes it. But I really love pinball and have always been a Sonic fanatic, so I suppose I was right in the target range for this one.

The Score: 7 out of 10

Sonic 3D Blast
Console: Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn
Release Date: November 30th, 1996

Look kids! It's Sonic! In crappy isometric 3D! Doesn't this make you just want to run out to the store and grab a copy?

... What do you mean "no"?

Boy, was this one a misstep. It's kind of shocking that this made it past the idea stage, much less into a full, completed game. Now, I don't have the hatred for this one that a lot of other people do - hell, I still load it up from time to time and have a decent enough time - but objectively this was just not a good idea.

You can see where the logic came into play. In '96, 3D models and gameplay was just starting to become the "hip" thing in 90's gaming - while 2D side scrolling was, sadly, beginning to be seen as old hat - and that blasted Sonic Xtreme game was taking forever, so why not do an isometic based 3D game in the meantime? It might have made sales sense, but Sonic gameplay was clearly not built for 3/4ths isometric and this game proved it with awkwardness to spare.

Its main problem is that it just controlled awkwardly. Given how 3/4ths isometric view works, you're above the playing field and viewing it from an angle instead of head on. Which means all paths are at a diagonal angle. I'm having a hard time describing this, but if you look at the screenshot, you can probably guess how this works and why it's a problem.

Hitting cracks in the wall with the spindash proves to be troublesome unless you're at the right angle. Hitting enemies can be something of a hassle until you get used to it. Hell, the second level's spinner gimmick is going to give you trouble, because the view makes it hard to aim yourself down a path without bouncing off the walls like a pinball and into a hazard.

Once you get used to it, it's not all bad. Maybe a bit of my nostalgia affects how I view the game. But then, that doesn't explain why I can still play through the game and not hate myself afterwards. It's not objectively good, though.

Oh, they also released this one on the Sega Saturn as well. The whole long, unbelievable saga of Sonic Xtreme ended with the game being canned outright, which left the Saturn without an appearance from the companies mascot other than in a racing game. Obviously, not having a core Sonic title was going to be - and, as expected, was - a major blow to the console, so they figured it was better to have something than nothing. Cue upgraded port. It had better graphics and better music, but played the same.

Sometimes I wonder if the Saturn would have fared better if Sonic hadn't missed the party entirely, but not only is that neither here nor there but the console was kind of doomed anyways.

The Score: 6 out of 10

Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine
Console: Sega Genesis
Release Date: December, 1993

Well here's the second - and thankfully last - Sonic title based on one of the cartoons. This one was based on Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, which was the 'toon of the original too that didn't try and take itself seriously. It can be debated which was better - frankly, SatAM aged poorly, while the slapstick AoStH tends to fare better since it's not trying to be taken seriously - but it'd not worth getting into.

What we have here is basically a puzzle game. It's a Puyo Puyo game - the first one to actually make it over here - with a coat of Sonic paint applied. Oddly, Sonic doesn't even appear in this game, but I suppose that's why he didn't get billing in the title.

It's essentially a competitive puzzle game. You have to get four beans linked up to clear them and setting up combos - where when you clear one, beans above drop into place and become another clear - will detrimentally effect your opponent by dropping rocks on their stack, messing up anything they're trying to set up. Like Tetris, if you go past the top of your play area, you've lost.

It's fun, but there's little to be said about it. There's just not much to it. You go through a dozen or so rounds - matched up against characters from the cartoon with different strategies and difficulty for each - whup Robotnik and boom, done. It's fun for what it is, but nothing to write home about.

The Score: 7 out of 10

Sonic R
Console: Sega Saturn
Release Date: October 27th, 1997

Ahh, another example of the spinoff that's fun enough, but too damn short for it's own good. Due to the chaos of Sega and the behind the scenes workings of Sonic development between S&K and Sonic Adventure, this was the only Sonic game the Saturn had specifically made for it. Aside from a spinoff, Sonic skipped a whole console generation. Even Nintendo knows better than to let more than a year or two pass into a consoles life cycle before a core Mario title releases.

Prior to Sonic and Sega All Star Racing, this was the only real racing title Sonic had ever been in; which is odd, because like Spinball, this is another one of those no brainers. I mean, hello, Sonic is fast, so, racing spinoff perhaps?

It controls well enough, the music is catchy - even if I don't get how they figured J-Pop was good racing music - and the tracks are pretty open, with several shortcuts, secrets and things to collect. There are also numerous unlockable characters, including mech versions of most of the characters. You can even race as Super Sonic when you get all the emeralds.

There's just one problem; there is NOWHERE near enough content.

There are four tracks. Five if you count the unlockable stage you get by finishing first in every one of the initial four. Sure, they're pretty expansive and rather open for racing games of the time, but that's a paltry amount any way you slice it. Especially for a full priced game. Come on now, Sega.

It is fun, though, so it's not like it's a complete loss, but you'll have unlocked everything and run out of things to see way too soon.

The Score: 7 out of 10

Sonic the Fighters
Console: Arcade Machine, Gamecube
Release Date: July 1996

Wow. Uhh... what to say about this one? Other than the fact that it's not that good.

Sonic's one of those versatile characters that you can use in a lot of genres, so it's not that he's in a fighting game. Brawl even made it work rather well. It just comes down to the fact that this game was pretty poorly made; it's only good point is the fact that we got to play as characters, mainly Amy and Nack the Weasel, that, at the time, we hadn't seen in years.

Seriously, the graphics blow, even for the era - it's sub-Virtua Fighters level graphics - the music isn't memorable, the arenas themselves are just there. Even the actual fighting is borked. It could have worked, but this was certainly not the era to have been trying it, judging by the results. They should have just put Sonic and Tails in Fighting Vipers as the original idea went instead of this.

But it's no big deal, because prior to Sonic Gems Collection almost no one had heard of - much less seen or played - it, given its very, very limited release. It probably should have stayed buried, though. How this made it on the Gems Collection but Knuckles Chaotix was left off, I haven't the foggiest.

The Score: 5 out of 10

So that's the Classic Era spinoffs done. The Main Game Gear titles will be next on the list. Don't miss it!

Superman: The Coming of Atlas (comics)

2011-08-10T02:12:00.005-04:00

Writers: James Robinson, Jack Kirby
Artists: Renato Guedes, Jack Kirby
Collects: Superman #677-680, First Issue Special #1

I didn't really expect a lot from this story. James Robinson seems to be one of those polarizing names these days and you don't really hear anyone excited about his work anymore, at least you didn't prior to the announcement of the Shade miniseries. This story had some mixed reactions, probably with more negative than positive. I managed to get some enjoyment out of it, so in my personal opinion I'd say it's not terrible.

Make no mistake, this story has problems. Robinsons purple prose is in full effect here, completely outclassing Face the Face in that regard. I'm not exactly sure Robinson has a handle on Superman either. At times, he just doesn't sound like big blue; more than a few lines sound unnatural coming from him. The opening sequence in space with Hal - and the remarks about former Green Lantern Jade - make me wonder if Robinson forgot he was supposed to be writing Superman here. Actually, if we're being honest, almost everyones dialogue is clunky.

Then there are moments in the book where plot elements are brought in, amount to little and then peter out. The shadowy general? No clue who he is, who he's working for and how he really pertains to the plot. Supergirl shows up, is dropped in two pages, is asked to find the truth, then leaves? We don't see her again, so what does she do and what was the purpose of using her? Robinson was around on the Superman books for a while, so I assume some of it's set-up for the future - at the least, I know for a fact that the General will show up later - but the manner in which these seeds are sown is clunky at best.

One other thing worth noting, for good and ill, is that this ends up being a fight comic. It's four issues of action with Atlas portrayed as a real threat to the Man of Steel on a level he hasn't seen since Doomsday. Conceptually, that's pretty okay; it seems like we never really see Superman have a knock-down drag-out with someone, since few are on his power level. Still, it's four issues of action when it could have been less; hell, over a dozen pages are spent on the Metropolis Science Team fighting Atlas who, once they're dispatched, don't show up again or factor in to the plot*.

Now, looking at what I've said thus far, you may be thinking, "then how is it that the bad rap isn't entirely deserved?" To tell the truth... I kind of liked reading this. I cannot explain with a hundred percent certainty why - again, this book reads awkwardly and some choices are questionable - but I actually had a smile on my face a couple of times.

Could this be, in some respect, because of Krypto the Superdog? I cop to being a total Krypto mark**, in part because I've always been a big animal lover in reality. Robinson writes Kryptos thoughts in a way I can sort of see a dog thinking, if he thought in english. It doesn't bother me much, but when you think on it, it's almost amazing how often animals are written with thoughts in the fluent English you might expect from a human. It's nice to see the occasions a writer doesn't go that route.

On top of which, it's always awesome to see Krypto defend his master; anybody will tell you that screwing with the owner of any given dog is a terrible plan, so you can imagine what happens when the Man of Steels kryptonian dog decides he's going to tear out your neck muscle because you just knocked his owner through a building.

Hell, maybe it's the fact that Robinson decided he was going to use an old Jack Kirby concept. Why the hell not, right? Not sure kinda-sorta villain was what Kirby was going for back then, but it's a character that seems to suit Robinsons writing tendencies better.

So, in all, it's kind of a conflict. There are several problems - though admittedly, a few may just be plot threads being dropped for the future, time will tell on that - but I still enjoyed it. How the hell do you grade something like that? Does it mean Robinson's just rusty? I don't know.

Included as back matter if the First Issue Special where Jack Kirby created Atlas. It's... well, it's certainly a Jack Kirby comic. Can you really go wrong with that? Still, it's there for no other reason than to pad this volume out, since this was the only story Robinson got to do with Superman before New Krypton dropped.

There's another problem. The suggested price is twenty dollars for the hardcover. For four issues and a reprint. This is a THIN ASS VOLUME. The covers are thicker than the contents. Obviously, this isn't DC's fault; Marvel does crap like this on purpose, but DC didn't have a choice here, since Robinson barely got four issues out before New Krypton took over. Still, it must be noted.

The Score: 5.5 out of 10

In good conscience, I can't give this a good grade. It's not, however, trash. I'm having a hard time figuring out the circumstances that would determine whether a given person would find some enjoyment here. It's pretty much a crapshoot. May be worth a read, though I'd say you should see if your local library has it if you're interested. Hopefully Robinsons work gets better***.

* On the other hand, I'm grateful Robinson went this route rather than jobbing a couple other superheroes to make Atlas look like a threat. It still went on a bit too long - and we spent an odd amount of time in the heads of characters that don't amount to much - but credit where it's due.

** Shut up! Don't you judge me! Krypto's the best Superman support character no one uses.

*** Yeah, yeah. I know he wrote Cry for Justice. But he's got several things he did in the past that are regarded as classics. His track record evens out enough for me to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Siege: Dark Avengers (comics)

2011-08-05T22:46:00.004-04:00

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mike Deodato, Chris Bachalo
Collects: Dark Avengers #13-16, Dark Avengers Annual #1

I am not a fan of the Sentry. At all. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I'm not a fan of Superman analogues in general, unless they're particularly well done. But the Sentry in general grates on my last nerve for multiple reasons.

Why is this relevant? Because this collection essentially focuses on The Sentry more than it does the titular team of "Dark Avengers".

Before the main Siege tie-in, we have the Bendis penned annual. In this, we catch up with Marvel Boy, whom Bendis sets up for the future, digging into his thoughts and his worries. It's illustrated by Chris Bachalo.

In general, I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure how accurate it is to whatever the character was like before Bendis used him, but he's likable here and to me that's what matters. Overall, aside from the tangential tie of what Marvel Boy was doing after he bolted from Osborns team, it doesn't have a lot to do with that book or the rest of the volumes contents. It doesn't matter, though, because it's a well written, enjoyable one-off, which is what more annuals should be.

Then there's the main arc, which focuses on the aforementioned Sentry. The character sucks, frankly. It's one thing when you look at his original purpose in his original miniseries. The problems started when he was brought into the regular Marvel Universe proper. There are a lot of reasons he sucks, but the big thing is that he's so powerful - the power of a million exploding suns or something - he not only doesn't really fit into Marvel all that well, but he presents a lot of problems for a narrative.

Some of Marvels biggest stories involved some big threats the heroes - essentially the underdogs - had to outwit and overcome. The Sentry presents a problem in that he's so friggin powerful a major event or the like either boils down to him swooping in to save the day or him having a really bad day and deciding to stay in his room. His insanity is typically used as a crutch to solve the dilemma of his power - oh my god I'm so powerful should I get involved in this fight oh no the Void waaaaah - which is a necessary measure to preserve some measure of suspense and in short, the character becomes very annoying very fast.

This tie-in and Siege in general end up being sort of a last hurrah for The Sentry, so Bendis takes the oppourtunity to dick around with some things and pull the trigger on Sentry losing his mind. The result is easily the most interesting story Sentry's been in for a while. Actually, barring the original miniseries and Age of the Sentry, it's probably the only interesting story he's ever been in.

Bendis sets up Sentry for his fall by essentially twisting what we know about him. Think "everything you know is wrong", only with a dude with the power of a god. Through his wife, we find that The Sentry was never really the paragon of virtue we thought he was. In fact, he started out nothing more than a thief and a junkie who got lucky when he was looking for a fix. Or was it really luck? The formula that made him the Sentry came with its downsides and lurking beneath the shiny surface lay a bunch of lies and deceit.

Is it the most interesting read this year? Not really. But it's more interesting than the typical Sentry centerpiece.

It's all essentially a lead-in to Siege, setting up the big moment near the end of that event. In that way, it adds a measure of depth to the event. Sure, it's not really required - given the characters history, it's no surprise when he loses his nut in Siege whether you've read this or not - but it gives you more of the hows and the whys of it all. So, in all, it stands as a pretty effective tie-in, enhancing the event without being necessary to understand it. Mark Millar - who penned Civil War - could take a few notes.

The last issue of Dark Avengers stands as an epilogue, not just for Dark Avengers and Siege, but for Dark Reign as a whole. Obviously, the heroes won the day - because geez, what else was going to happen? - so this wraps up Osborns reign and sets up the next step. Some expected things happen, a few aren't quite so obvious. Here we see Steve Rogers - who's to follow Osborn as the seemingly omnipresent man in charge as Osborn did to Stark before him - beginning his moves to bring things back.

Osborn, for his part, tries to justify everything to himself and tries to justify his vendetta against the heroes. We see the Green Goblin - or, to be literal, himself - to be his greatest enemy, fumbling everything he worked to achieve. Does he have a point or two buried in his madness? Maybe. But he's still the guy who dresses up in a goblin suit and throws pumpkin bombs at people. The fact that he was put in power to start with makes the people in charge look moronic.

The actual Dark Avengers issues are pencilled by Deadato. Do I need to tell you how good he is? His work is realistic, maybe even a bit darker and grimier. Look, I'm no art critic. But I know good work when I see it. Deadato's style definitely suits this story, one that wipes away the shiny finish and the pain on the Sentry to reveal the rust and rot below. All I can say is that when you go to read this book, you can rest assured it's going to look pretty. Just the names Chris Bachalo and Mike Deadato will tell you that much.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

It's no slam dunk, must read comic book. It is what it is; a tie-in to a Marvel event. But it's still a pretty respectable one, especially considering the focus is the Sentry. I've read better tie-ins, but I've read worse ones as well. I'd say this is one of the few tie-ins worth your time if you decided you just got to have some supplemental material for Siege. It actually adds a thing or two to the proceedings.

Random Trains of Thought 7/25/2011

2011-07-25T16:53:00.006-04:00

- Well, another San Diego Comic Con has come and gone. Naturally that brings a lot of thoughts to the forefront. Combined with some other things going on, I've got a few more things to ponder than most days of the year. So why the hell not put it down, you know what I'm sayin'?

- No lie, I'm pretty much completely on board the Superman soft reboot. A friend of mine, who's oddly not even a fan of Superman, was annoyed at this relatively recently and the fact that anything is even being rebooted, despite it only being some aspects of the universe. Truth is, I kind of think Superman needs it.

This was done once before, after COIE, and it certainly worked. Now's about as good a time as ever. I have to admit, throwing Grant Morrison on Action Comics did a lot to alleviate my fears - and honestly, I'm sure that's what DC was counting on for fans like myself - but that's not all of it. I think it's rather interesting, after all these years, to go back to the Golden Age style Superman and update him. Back then, you could say he was sort of anti-authoritarian, standing up for justice and what was right, not necessarily for the law and legality. That's an approach we haven't seen a modern take on; and frankly, it adds an interesting edge to a character that's been floundering lately.

Superman's not a character that should be floundering, either, yet we're coming right off the heels of a highly publicized and widely derided storyline in Superman and an afterthought of a backup in Action Comics causing more ridiculous controversy than I've seen in... months. Try naming a story worth a damn in the past few years and you're going to come up short. One can argue all day long whether Lois had anything to do with it, much less other elements, but something had to change.

- Not sure about George Perez taking Superman, basically the "other half" of his regular ongoings. Love his art to pieces. Not so sure he's a writer with modern enough sensibilities for leading a new initiative into the future like Grant is. The thinking probably goes along the lines of "well, he handled Wonder Womans reboot after COIE and that's pretty much one of her few generally liked eras, lets see if he can do Superman". I guess time will tell if he's up to the task. Even if he's not, his art will always be awesome.

- Seems like females in comics happened to be a prominent discussion at SDCC this year. Whether DC is improving in this regard depends on the individual viewpoint, but I noticed that Dan DiDio asked a good question in "who should we have hired" and interestingly, the fan not only couldn't answer but fumbled the recovery. When you sit and think about it, most are wrapped up in exclusives, Marvel and creator owned work. I suppose DC and Devin Grayson could always try talking to each other again, but that's about it.

Grant Morrison encouraged women to send their work in, but even if that happens the industry still has a ways to go, not just on a corporate level but a fan one. It sounds like the audience was, after a while, telling the people who kept bringing up female characters and creators to sit down and shut up. Embarrassing behavior, really.

- Boy that... protest against the DCnU... really worked out well, dinnit'? Of the five hundred people who RSVP'd, apparently twelve, give or take, actually showed up and it lasted all of fifteen minutes. I've heard of all bark and no bite, but goddamn.

I kind of had to raise my eyebrow at the folks who did show up, too. Most of them were in Joker and Harley Quinn costumes. Which is fine, but the person who organized it by all rights sounds less upset about the relaunch and more upset that Harley and Joker aren't together and continuing their "love story", as it were.

I'm not going to make fun of anyone about it, but I genuinely have to ask; are these guys seeing a different relationship than I am? Because Joker and Harley are about the best representation in comics of an abusive relationship, compounded by the fact that the guy manipulates the girl and her emotions. I've seen real relationships like that. It's sickening. So... how is the fictional equivalent encouraged by some and something some folks want to see more of? I genuinely don't get it. The B:TAS episode Mad Love alone should be enough for most everyone to feel bad for her and prefer to see her get away from him.

- I'm a little pissed that DC is revisiting the "Urban Legend" concept for Batman. You may recall that I feel the idea should be thrown into a toxic waste dump and never seen again. However, they're basically using this as an excuse to have Batman operating before Superman, the first Public superhero, and keep his continuity - or the best stories involving him - intact. The concept's still about as intelligent as sticking a fork in an electric socket, but at least it's just being used as a way to fit most of his continuity in and not like in Zero Hour, where the dude was thrown in the street with his back broken and then suddenly, whoop, everyone totally doesn't think he exists months later.

- I'm going to be honest; I'm more or less on board with this relaunch. When I sit down and look at it, there are more books after the relaunch I'm either seriously considering or keeping an eye on than prior. The New 52 sounds like a concentrated effort to diversify the genre's they publish instead of forty variations on the superhero book and I'm down with most of the horror and edge books as well as my usual favorites in the superhero area. Swamp Thing, Frankenstein and Animal Man alone are enough to get me excited.

- Something I'm not so sure about, however, is the rejigging of the Teen Titans. I'm not overly familiar with Scott Lobdell - and hear as much bad about his work as I do good - I'm not fond how how 90's some of the new designs are and - not just because Beast Boy and Raven aren't there - I really don't care about the lineup. Save Bart, I've never given a crap about the Young Justice four.

This one's going to take a lot of work to sell me on.

- So, someone is finally going to smack Cyclops around for his dickery? And it's going to be Wolverine? Well god damn, it's almost like Marvel knows exactly what I want! Except for the fact that they tend to go in asinine directions and will probably make Cyclops seem in the right. I'm not buying the "neither side is portrayed as right or wrong" crap. Civil War peddled that too and we know how that turned out. They'll have to sell me on it.

- CABLE REBORN ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? Who the hell wants this? Who ASKED for this? Why can't we just leave 90's relics in the past? Next you'll be telling me they're thinking about bringing the Scarlet Spider ba-

... Really? Really?

Hahaha. Haha. Oh screw you Marvel.

- I'm now expecting an announcement from Marvel on the return of Armored Daredevil any day now.

- Oh hey, they can even bring back Teen Tony! I mean, if we're going to dredge up the shit from the 90's, why not just go all out and be done with it? No holding back now guys!

- I suppose it could be worse; they could always assault us with another dose of Onslaught for the third time in four years.

-Capcom's not even trying to mask their dickery anymore, are they? They're jerking their fans around, it seems like they're currently burying the Mega Man franchise out of spite over Inafune leaving. They're not localizing several cool looking titles AT ALL. Now, suddenly, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 about six months after the original hit stores? Activision usually takes the cake for sheer dickery, but Capcoms making an honest try.

Ultimate Comics Avengers: Next Generation (comics)

2011-07-17T21:21:00.004-04:00

Writer: Mark Millar

Artist: Carlos Pacheco

Collects: Ultimate Comics Avengers #1-6

After the events of Ultimatum, which sucked, the world is starting to recover. That sure won't last for long though, because the Red Skull is back. Worse still, he's Captain Americas son; and now Cap knows. When Cap goes rogue, Nick Fury is brought back on the job to do two things; neutralize Americas Greatest Douchebag and take out his son.

Cue, Project Avengers, who in the Ultimate universe are a black ops squad.

Obviously, the Ultimate universe sort of went down the toilet over the years. It started when several of the ongoings started to kind of suck, then Loeb took over the Ultimates and that went about as well as you expected. Then Loeb sort of finished the job with Ultimatum, after which the only real option is to relaunch because good lord did you see what went on in that book? Since Marvel doesn't like producing crap any more than any company, they made a few decisions with this relaunch to try and rebuild its reputation.

First step, get Mark Millar involved again. To their credit, given the success of his Ultimates run, it really wasn't a bad plan. But did it work out?

Now, before I talk about anything else, can I just note that I love the Ultimate Comics trade dress that came with the relaunch of the line? It really works. Simplistic, yet still appealing.

Personally, I'm hot and cold on the Ultimate universe. It's accessible for sure and - at least in the boom years of the line - they did a lot to try and differentiate it from regular Marvel. Sometimes, it works in both small and subtle ways. Others, not so much. The Ultimates - which are basically Ultimate Marvels version of the Avengers - never really appealed to me, because whenever I've seen them they've been less Earths Mightiest Heroes and more Earths Mightiest Assholes. Sure, an asshole can be a great protagonist, but it can also be difficult to give a crap when they have next to no redeeming qualities, yet are supposed to be the premiere superteam.

This is remedied a bit by making the book about a black ops squad; it seems a minor change to quibble over, but it's easy to accept your protagonists as pricks when their root concept or place in the world doesn't require them to be at least somewhat good other than for the hell of it.

Ultimate Comics Avengers actually worked out better than I thought it would. Part of that is because I expect little from Mark Millar these days, so my expectations are easy to exceed. Another part is that they've gone back to trying to put new twists on familiar concepts; and aside from accessibility that's a core draw for the Ultimate universe. Everyone knows of the Red Skull and the fact that he's an old Nazi. Great a villain as he is, we don't need a repeat. But framing him as Caps son brings a different edge to the typical adversarial relationship and had some potential.

Whether it actually worked is tough to say. I was interested in the parts we got in relation to Cap and his son, but it turned out to be few and far between. The two only meet twice in the story. Both scenes are brief. Everything else comes from exposition and flashbacks. We get a sense for what this all means in the grand scheme, but Millar never actually shows it in regard to Ultimate Cap, save for a scene or two at the end of the book. Most of the book he's either fighting the Avengers or smacking around his comrades out of nowhere.

Seriously, I'm not telling you anything new here, but Ultimate Captain America is such a douchebag. Sure, learning the terrorist who just whupped you is your son is definitely an understandable shock to the system. Less understandable is the reaction, where he goes rogue by kicking his friend in the face, beating the snot out of allied soldiers and blowing a hole in the side of his transport plane to escape. I mean, waiting until you'd landed and could escape into NYC is for pussies, right?

Some of Millars other choices also tend to make one scratch their head. Nerd Hulk? What? I mean, the concepts not bad, but even "Professor Hulk" didn't sound this stupid. And the point of Ultimate Iron Mans big brother, aside from the fact that Ultimate Tony himself was busy in other stories?

Regardless, this is one of Millars better efforts. When he wants to, Millar can be a capable storyteller and can reel you into the story. The problem is that this fact can get lost beneath his shock and schlock tactics that reel people in with the lack of good taste but frequently leave nigh unreadable messes ripe with wasted potential. He doesn't fall into some of his usual traps here - at least not as bad as usual - and aside from essentially reusing a scene from some of his earlier comics work he pens a downright readable story, even if most of his protagonists are reprehensible people. If he could reign himself in more often, we'd be in business; but I can't blame him, because that would make him less money.

I haven't even mentioned the art by Carlos Pacheco, but if I need to tell you how great his art is you don't pay enough attention to comics.

The Score: 7 out of 10

Well, it wasn't the best thing I've read all year, but it was readable and kept my interest. I may be rating this a hair too low, but I'm not a hundred percent sure how I feel about it; it's not bad, but I don't think it's something I'll race to re-read. Still, it wasn't bad and next volume features Ultimate Punisher. I'm a pretty big mark for the Punisher in general and I didn't hate this at all, so I'll be back. Give it a look, but don't expect gold.

Marvel Zombies 4 (comics)

2011-07-16T18:07:00.003-04:00

Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Kev Walker

Collects: Marvel Zombies 4 #1-4

One of these days, the last bit of potential is going to be wrung out of the Marvel Zombies concept. It's going to happen. This cannot possibly sustain itself forever. But today is not that day; and given that 5 has the same writer, tomorrow does not look good either.

Having generally fended off the attack by the Marvel Zombies universe last time, Morbius and ARMOR decide it's time to go on the offensive. There are, after all, a couple rogue zombies that made it past the dragnet in the chaos of last volumes climax, so time is running short. His response is to get together an all star ghoul squad of Marvels more prominent monsters to throw down.

This includes Man-Thing and boy oh boy, do I love me some Man-Thing (though I admit I love his DC counterpart, Swamp Thing, more).

What follows is a darkly humorous story with some heart to it. Our heroic monsters naturally have some personal issues to work out. It ain't easy having fangs and/or fur. There's also a possible death sentence hanging over them; the good doctor Morbius has made a vaccine, but it carries an inherent danger. Like all vaccines, there's a chance of contracting the disease and this isn't your garden variety flu. Under normal circumstances, you contract this, you're done. Each team member thusly puts out a "last will and testament", of sorts, each of which help frame the events.

Hell, even Zombie Deadpool - or Headpool as Marvel dubbed him - has a few moments where you feel sorry for him.

The jump to bringing the virus into the 616 universe seems to have revitilized this franchise. There are real stakes now; despite the fact that we know the heroes will win the day - because if they didn't, there wouldn't be a regular Marvel universe anymore - there are still consequences that could come about. ARMOR is literally ready to nuke the island at one point just to stop the virus. These miniseries are genuinely enjoyable, to the point where I can't really imagine going back to the barren, essentially dead universe we started out in.

Kev Walker again illustrates our zombie tomfoolery and Marvel really ought to just make a horror ongoing and put him on it. That's about as good a praise as I can really give for this. But I can't think of any horror ongoings he could be put on. Well, unless he wants to jump over to DC to partake in the DCnU.

The Score: 8 out of 10

I don't know how long this franchise can last, but as long as Van Lente is on it, I'll read it. I mean, the dude basically uses the water cycle to mix the zombie virus into a sentient cloud that kills or turns everything it rains on. Who else could come up with that?

Brightest Day vol. 1 (comics)

2011-07-07T21:22:00.004-04:00

Writers: Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi
Artists: Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason
Collects: Brightest Day #0-7

You know, I'm a Geoff Johns fan. I'm not afraid to admit that, despite how much he's derided by certain sects of the comic fandom these days. Even when he screws up, his pre-One Year Later Teen Titans run - of which I'm an unabashed fan, despite generally not caring for the Young Justice four save Bart - earned enough goodwill for me to give him some leeway. But at some point, enough is enough with some of the crap he pulls in his comics.

The hyper-violence is a large part of what annoyed the piss out of me this time. I generally cut him more slack for Infinite Crisis than most of the internet, because it wasn't something he did a lot at the time. But by this point, it's beyond moronic. Is there any damn reason to show senseless slaughter in this comic?

No, there isn't. But we get at least three separate scenes of gratuitous violence, all three pretty much crossing the line of good taste. There is no reason whatsoever for Black Manta to just suddenly slaughter everyone around him because Aquamans back. The plot is not served one bit by a family being butchered to reveal the new villain. There is absolutely nothing gained by a couple being beheaded and their skin ripped off. What the hell is this Geoff?

Then there's the namedrop midway through the prologue issue. To quote WWE superstar The Miz, really? Really?

Then there are the times where I'm reminded just why I like his work so much, points where he and Tomasi seem to touch magic. The Martian Manhunter has a scene in a middle issue that is just touching and quickly reminds me just why he's a great character. Ronnie Raymond - despite being hit with a bit of character regression - has a short bout of believable self destruction over Black Lantern Firestorms actions. Aquaman is, for the first time I've ever seen, an interesting character to watch, especially in conjunction with his now equally interesting wife, Mera.

I never in my life thought I'd want to see more Aquaman aside from badass Aquaman with the hook, but there you go.

Most of this book takes place in the immediate aftermath of Blackest Night. All the main characters were resurrected at the end of that event. Naturally, there's some acclimating to be done, especially for someone like Deadman, who's been away a long, long time. Some characters are farmed out to have their stories post resurrection told in the ongoings, but about six stick around here to be renovated by these two writers.

You may as well call this DC Third Stringers: Rebirth, because that's what they accomplish here. Most folks have a couple plotlines they like from this series, some they're alright with and some they hate. Other than the Hawks - who, lets face it, will probably never be interesting short of Grant Morrison writing their ongoing - I actually liked just about every running story in this book. If there's any problem here, it's that things don't seem to really kick into gear until the end, where we start getting hints of where the overall story will go.

Better still, I've yet to actually read Blackest Night and I don't feel penalized for it.

Both Ivan Reis and Pat Gleason are great artists in their own right and both make this a good looking book. I honestly don't expect that from weeklies - or even, in this case, bi weeklies - so it's a pleasant surprise that not only did they keep up the pace thus far, but they put out some pretty respectable work. Both are going on books in the DCnU I'm interested in, so I look forward to more of their work in the future.

Oh, one last thing; the colors in this are great. Wish the vast majority of books looked like this. Just vibrant work; there's a panel late in the book of a clean, restored beach that just looks gorgeous with the coloring.

The Score: 8 out of 10

This is by no means perfect - and Geoffs trend towards heavy amounts of violence is starting to piss me off - but I'm actually invested in characters I never gave two craps about before and I'm looking forward to reading volume 2. I think it says something when only one plotline out of about six really lost me. Hopefully this holds at this level; if it does, it may actually manage to match 52, which actually had an iffier ratio of interesting plots to dull ones.

Batman vs The Undead (comics)

2011-07-03T15:12:00.003-04:00

Writer: Kevin Van Hook
Artist: Tom Mandrake
Collects: Batman Confidential #44-48

You know, sometimes I feel a little bad about how easy it can be to rope me into reading a comic based on general concept. But come on, you've got to cut me some slack here. A comic that promises Batman taking on zombies? How... how could you possibly expect me to resist?

You may recall I enjoyed this teams previous project, of which this is a direct sequel. Obviously we've had a change of format - I guess the miniseries didn't sell all that hot, so we're rollin' in Batman Confidential this time - but the goofy, overwritten fun is the same as it was last time. So of course I enjoyed myself.

Being a sequel to the previous story, many characters are retained. Crazy mad doctor is back, only this time he wants an undead army, so off to New Orleans he goes. Naturally, the vampire and werewolf he created are around because man they hate that guy. Of course Batman finds his way there, because dude escaped from his city and that's not gonna fly. Batman has no jurisdiction. Oh and Superman shows up at some point because I guess the creative team figured they may as well involve everyone from the previous round.

Like I said, it's goofy and overwritten. A master of the form, it isn't; and it even has a few problems that would normally annoy me. Doctor Fate, for instance, shows up for no other reason than to hint where our heroes should go and drop a prophetic vision on our heroes for some dramatic tension moving forward. Big no-no; if you're going to bring in Doctor Fate, you should at least use him or have a tangible reason why he's showing up. But this is one of those things that is just so enjoyable, such screw-ups are overlooked easier than your typical comic.

Everything I said about the art last time holds true for this one as well. It's fair work and if nothing else it suits the story. Mandrake still draws the beasties well. Another fair showing on his end. This type of story seems to suit him.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

Like last time, this is not high art. You're probably not going to be raving about it months from now. But it's a good time and if you enjoyed the previous story you'll enjoy this. I hope we get another sequel, because this has been consistently entertaining. Sadly, I'm not sure how likely it is now that Batman Confidential is over. Regardless, you could certainly read worse than this.

Sonic Retrospective: The Classics

2011-06-23T01:26:00.000-04:00

So, as you may be aware, today's the twentieth anniversary of the release of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. So, it's his birthday, if you will.

Over that twenty year span of time, the hedgehog has had his share of highs and lows, but even with the specter of the shitfest that was Sonic '06 hanging over him, the fact remains that the good ends up outweighing the bad. Sonic's starred in some true classics of video gaming and at one point was the only serious contender to Mario. That tends to stick. Even with the beating he took in the mid 2000's, he remains one of the most recognizable characters in video game history.

Today, I start a look at the various games the hedgehog has had over the years. Where the hell else do you start but the classics? I'll very likely run through further eras in his history - though time will tell if I go through the full history over the course of the year - but for now let's get started with the original five.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Console: Sega Genesis
Release Date: June 23rd, 1991

Ahh, the original. In gaming, it rarely ends up being the best in a series - well, unless that franchise absolutely blows - but the good ones still tend to hold up. Cue Sonic the Hedgehog, a game that raced on the scene back in '91. As far as opening salvos go, the original still holds its own pretty goddamn well.

Obviously, this was the game to own on the Genesis at the time and it's not hard to see why. Colorful zones, a great combination of speed and platforming, adventure and great music. Hell, once you get Green Hills theme in your head, try getting it out. Then there were the special stages, a trippy, psychedelic area you had to traverse to get a Chaos Emerald. Collect them all and get the real ending.

Twenty years later, and the one that started it all is still a pretty great game.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Console: Sega CD
Release Date: November 19th, 1993

Ahh, now this is the stuff. When it comes to the Sonic, there are two games generally held above as the best in the series, those being Sonic CD and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Both are fantastic games that are definitely classics, but for my money Sonic CD beats out S3&K by a small margin.

This one had it all. The introduction of Amy Rose - one of what I see as the core five characters in the franchise along with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman - Metal Sonic, time travel, fantastic new zones, interesting gimmicks, CD quality music, awesome special stages and much, much more. Even better, the amount of replayability is ridiculous.

This one is pretty much perfect in every way. I generally feel that most Sonic games - even the classics - have as least one zone in the mix that isn't all that great. Sonic CD is the exception for sure; this game simply does not have a clunker in the bunch. Every level is varied, fun and interesting, giving some of the best variety of the series. This extends to the special stages, which picked up on Sonic 2's idea of 3D special stages and ramping it up to new heights.

More than that, the time travel gimmick puts it all over the top. It inspires irritation in some - detractors typically say it's "unnecessary" - but it just adds to the experience. It adds loads of bang for your buck - every zone has four different variations between Past, Present, Good and Bad future, complete with special tile sets and music for each - but on top of that it adds something else. You actually get to see the effects on the world.

All the prior and future Sonic games were pretty straightforward; get to the end, free a bunch of animals from a capsule and move on. Sure, you know you're doing good, but there's no effect on gameplay. Not in CD. Each zone defaults to a bad, Robotnik controlled future, but if you destroy a roboticizer in the past, the future becomes a utopian wonderland free of Robotnik or his robots. Not only does the ending you get depend on this, but each boss takes place in the future, so you're definitely going to see if you freed the zone or left it to its doom.

This kind of thing simply didn't happen in games of that era. This game had ambition. This game is fantastic.

If there's a downside to this game, it's something entirely beyond its control. A lot of fans just haven't played it. This gem was put out on the Sega CD, one of Segas numerous failed add-ons, which was out of reach of most of the people who would want to play this game. Curiously, Sega never seems to include this one in re-releases; the Genesis four have been re-packaged to the point of ridiculousness, but CD has only ever made it into a compilation once.

It really is a shame, because playing it the original way is a damn hassle.

The Score: 10 out of 10

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Console: Sega Genesis
Release Date: November 24th, 1992

Bigger. Bolder. Better.

The first proper sequel to the original - Sonic CD started out as Sonic 2, but ended up going in a different direction - Sonic 2 just ramped everything up. This game is mammoth, having the most levels of any single Sonic game in the classic series with eleven zones; and this is before you take into consideration the fact that this one was originally going to have six more that ended up scrapped. New moves, new bosses, a new sidekick, a new 3D special stage and a metric ton of new levels. If they set out to double up on what the original contained, they pretty much succeeded.

I've got a soft spot for this one. Even when I knew in my heart 3&K was the better game, for most of my childhood I liked this one more. It could have something to do with the Casino Night Zone. It could be the plane right to an airship fortress. Hell, it could even be the final battle on what is essentially the Sonic version of the Death Star. Whatever the reason, I've always loved Sonic 2. But what the hell do I need to justify that love for anyways? This game is awesome.

Sadly, it's not perfect. While it's the biggest single, standalone Sonic game in the classic five, it also has the highest number of zones I just do not care for. I really could have done without Mystic Cave and Oil Ocean looks good but as a level is nothing to write home about. There's also Hill Top Zone, which I like but don't love; could have something to do with the insta-death pits I abhor in Sonic games.

This stings worse when you consider what we could have gotten. Hidden Palace, for one thing. That zone had a great look to it and even had the first act mostly finished early in development. It made the rounds on a game show or two as well. What happened? Sure, we got a Hidden Palace in Sonic & Knuckles, but it was a completely different deal. Then there's Dust Hill, which got as far as the concept stage and even had a few promotional screenshots, but never saw the light of day. These plus four others fell victim to Sega pushing Sonic 2 out the door to meet the holiday season deadline; meanwhile, Mystic Cave made it to completion.

Still, this game is better than the original and has a lot to offer. It's just falls short of perfect. But what the hell, at least Sonics first sequel wasn't a Doki Doki Panic game with a different coat of paint on it.

The Score: 8 out of 10

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Console: Sega Genesis
Release Date: 1994
Note: This one is actually two games in one. Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. They were originally intended to be one game, but as usual Sega decided the holiday season was more important and pushed Sonic 3 out the door with more than half the overall game removed. Nowadays, the game is widely recognized as being one game, so despite being two of the classic five in all, I'm treating it as the full, locked on game.

Generally the last game of the classic era - though not necessarily the classic series, as Sonic 4 exists - Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a hell of a swan song.

Pound for pound, this game has the most content of any of the classic games. This one gave us the concept of the mid-boss, giving each act a closing battle, several memorable boss battles, some of the best zones in the series, a future franchise mainstay in Knuckles, playable Tails, numerous shields with special powers and so much more. The game even had dedicated paths for each character, as well as a dump truck full of secrets and alternate pathways. They even threw in a save feature that's damn near godly; once you beat the game, you can start from any level you choose, meaning they basically cut out any tedious level select codes and just gave you the goods after you stomped Robotnik.

By this point, the gameplay had been honed to perfection and it shows. Level design is top notch, the music - which even had Michael Jackson involved - was similarly great and the game was just a benchmark that the 2D iterations of Sonic have yet to reach again. There are so many cool moments and gimmicks in this one, including a zone that frequently dicks around with gravity.

Earlier I said that I personally think Sonic CD is the best - and I hold to that opinion - but this one gives it a run for its money. Like CD, there is very, very little wrong with it; all the new additions feel organic, the mid-bosses make the entire game feel like a step up from Eggmans usual antics and there's not a bad time to be seen.

Well, mostly. Remember that rule I talked about earlier? You know, the one about how most Sonic games have that one terrible level that sticks out from the pack? This one does too. It's called Sandopolis Zone and despite the numerous good ideas present, it just doesn't work as well as the rest of the pack. But you know what? While I hated it as a kid, today I think it's an okay level. I think that says something when the worst level of the game is merely okay.

The Score: 9.5 out of 10

That's it for the classics. The next look back at the past of Sonic will likely tackle the main Game Gear games. Or I could just go for the Genesis era spinoffs next. Time will tell. When I do get to it, I hope you'll join me.

Secret Avengers: Mission to Mars (comics)

2011-06-15T21:39:00.004-04:00

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Mike Deodato Jr, David Aja, Michael Lark
Collects: Secret Avengers #1-5

Ed Brubakers run on Secret Avengers was shockingly short. Around when the second arc actually kicked off and the closing issues of said arc were being solicited, suddenly the word was that he was going to be off the book. When this happened, Brubaker admitted something; that he didn't feel like he really fit with the team concept as well, or something to that effect.

I bring this up because I would have gotten that feeling from this book even if he hadn't said it.

For most of this volume, this doesn't necessarily feel like a team book. For the first four issue arc, the focus seems to fall largely upon Steve Rogers. This is, to some extent, expected - he has, after all, been writing the Captain America book for the better part of seven years as of this writing - but it goes to the point where at times this feels more like a secondary Steve Rogers book with some allies tagging along on adventures than the team book it's supposed to be. Steve is in the vast majority of the scenes in this comic - I'd say about three quarters - he's clearly in charge and it comes down to him to stop the threat of the main four issue arc.

There are a few scenes spotlighting different characters - Black Widow and Valkyrie have a few decent scenes in here while Ant-Man does help in saving the day - but the other half of the team is just there. Nova himself has like one scene, Beast barely plays much of a role and both War Machine and Moon Knight have few lines, much less anything to actually do. I can barely remember anything War Machine said or did and I just read the damn thing. Fair focus on the team at large, this ain't.

The last issue barely has any of the team in it, as it's a bit of a "revelations" issue, which sheds light on a mystery or two introduced in the first four issues.

This is not to say the story is bad. It's well written, as expected, Brubaker portrays a likable, capable Steve Rogers, what little we get of the others feels on point and it's a pretty well told tale. It's by no means a crash and burn. But it's not what I expected and it's not necessarily as advertised. Team books aren't supposed to be like this.

None of this is to say anything bad about Ed Brubaker, however. Sometimes, some writers just cannot gel with some projects. Shit, I like Matt Fractions work, but he and the X-Men haven't been the best of fits. If nothing else, it's worth noting that Bru clearly knew something wasn't working and decided to bow out of the title a little bit later. Besides, Bru's done enough damn good projects to build some leeway; hell, this book is proof that even when he isn't a hundred percent on he can still pen a damn capable title.

So, hey, I've barely talked about the art. This isn't a knock on it though. It's damn good stuff. Deodato's work is great enough, but man, something just really clicked with me in regards to the fifth issue. It's simpler in linework and the coloring feels a bit older. Think seventies, eighties era comics. Since it's essentially part flashback to years past, this gives the issue an extra little oomph, to me. I'm not exactly sure what the breakdowns are for this issue - the art looks Lark-esque, but it could be mostly Aja for all I know and the credits sure as hell don't make it clear - but it's sharp stuff.

The Score: 7 out of 10

Even on an off day, Brubaker pens a solid tale. Really, if this were a Captain America comic, I'd probably say this were a seven point five or a solid eight. But it's supposed to be a team book and it didn't necessarily feel like one, so I feel like I need to knock a point off or so. But don't be fooled, this is still a decent read. I wouldn't say it's one of Brubakers best, but if you're just looking for a dependable read out of the post-Siege Avengers relaunch, I don't think you could go wrong here.

Just don't expect a lot of focus on the guys not named Steve Rogers.

Uncanny X-Men: The Birth of Generation Hope (comics)

2011-06-10T12:32:00.006-04:00

Writer: Matt Fraction
Artists: Whilce Portacio, Jamie McKelvie, Steven Sanders and Olivier Copiel
Collects: Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age, Uncanny X-Men #526-529

The more I read, the less I think Matt Fraction and the X-Men really go together. Fractions a great writer; one of the things he does well is getting character across. But the problem I'm having is that his run here has been either boring or plodding. The X-Men have had periods where there isn't much action in the past and that's okay, but when done right, it should not bore you.

To be fair to Fraction, in this volume, at least part of the problem just straight up is not his fault.

It actually starts out well enough with the Heroic Age one shot. It feels like a bit of a closer to one age and the bridge to the next. Some Second Coming fallout crops up while the X-Men are brought back into the Marvel Universe as a whole.

The Cyclops segment starts promisingly, with Beast flat out quitting this time over the way Scott has changed the team. Cyclops is broken up for all of twenty seconds, however, before he's out in the Savage Land fighting dinosaurs and being told what a great guy he is by everyone from Steve Rogers to the President. He's even given a damn medal, for chrissakes, for "fighting for his country" and "the peace and safety of the world". The fact that he led all mutants to secede from the US and literally stopped caring about a goddamn thing to do with the world at large - now, where were they during Siege again? - is of course completely ignored, like it never happened.

Scott Summers, ladies and gentlemen; jerkass stu of the decade.

The other two segments fair much better. We see Hope acclimate to her new circumstances now that she's back in the present. Meanwhile, Beast chills out in the zoo waiting for his girlfriend to show up. Thus far, Hope is proving to be rather believable to me; a teenage girl treated like a messiah whom numerous people have died to protect is not likely to be able to just suck it up. There are going to be issues. While the Beast segment is rather touching, as he tries, fails, fails some more and then succeeds in comforting a young mutant scared of the concept of extinction.

Part of what makes it all work is the art. I'm not including Whilce Portacio in this, but I'll get to him in a bit. The stars of the show here are Steve Sanders and Jamie McKelvie. McKelvies work is just stunning stuff; hell, Hope actually looks her age for once. I will say the way he draws eyes is a little weird to me, though.

Sanders work is my favorite of the two. There was a lot of grousing about "horse head" Beast, but man, once you get used to it, it's a look that really works for him. Sanders is fantastic at facial expressions, body language and just plain storytelling with his art. This man needs work on SOME kind of Marvel series, now. You know, considering Marvel pulled it's dick move of canceling SWORD at issue five.

The main arc is where it all goes downhill, but it's not necessarily the fault of the story. The writing isn't going to win any Eisners, but it's not necessarily bad. It carries the feeling of a cool down arc, which makes sense after the huge brawl of Second Coming. Not a lot of action to be found.

Instead, it focuses more on character arcs. The four issue arc focuses mainly on Emma Frost and Hope; for once, we're getting a reprieve from the Cyclops show. I quite like Emma a lot, especially since she was brought over to the side of the angels. She's always had an edge to her; a high class, tough woman. I like that she's never lost that, despite devoting herself to doing good. She still makes morally questionable decisions - and her story in this arc focuses on them and her attempts to fix them - yet she's still likable despite her douchiness.

For the record, her and Scotts relationship is about the only thing I like about Cyclops these days.

Then there's Hope. The mutant messiah. After Second Coming, she's weary from the pressure of being the "Mutant Messiah", as Cyclops has basically trumpeted her up to be. Since she grew up in the future, she never knew her family, or much of anything except running from death. So now she goes in search of it. Through it, she finds some manner of drive to go after the five lights; the first mutants "born" since M-Day.

But all that's fine; no, where this volume sinks is its art.

I try to find some good where I can in things. But sometimes, it's just not possible. The art just feels so goddamn 90's that it's distracting. Facial expressions are way off, storytelling continuity is borked - there's a sequence where a character jumps off a roof in a suicide attempt, but instead of dropping, the next panel it looks like she's jumped thirty feet away from the roof and has traveled upwards, like she's flying - there are way too many lines. I'm sorry, it's just bad. There's no other way to put it.

Occasionally, there's a couple good pages. But for the most part, the artwork is pretty ugly. It actively detracts from the story and frankly, if I knew it was going to look like this I would have passed outright.

The Score: 6 out of 10

The art kills it. Only two of three segments in one issue are actively good artwise. The script is the only reason the score is as high as a six, but while good, it's not able to carry this book through the bad art.

I think this might be my last X-Men book for a while, unless something really catches my attention. My foray into the current X books has turned out to be a bust. Just don't even bother here.

Fantastic Four: Extended Family (comics)

2011-05-26T19:03:00.003-04:00

Writers: Numerous, including Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Dwayne McDuffie and more
Artists: Numerous
Collects: Fantastic Four #1, 81, 132, 168, 265, 307, 347, 384, 544, Fantasic Four (1998) #42

Here we are with another theme collection. This one was brought about by the events of Johnathan Hickmans run on the property, where a plot twist leaves the team one short and in need of a replacement. So naturally, a collection of other times heroes filled in on the team is in order.

I generally like these sort of collections. You'll recall The Black Casebook went over well with me, while Strange Deaths of Batman was also a decent time. They tend to have their problems though. This one is no exception; and in this case, it kind of hampers the enjoyment.

So, there's no real story to this volume. Each issue is part of a different era doing its own thing. But reading this, it quickly becomes rather obvious that the Fantastic Four do have quite the "extended family". Members over the years have included Crystal of the Inhumans, She-Hulk, one of the Ms. Marvels, Luke Cage, an Ant-Man or two and various others. Fitting, really, since this is the team that helped give birth to the Marvel Universe as a whole. They should have connections from all over the place.

Of course, many of them vary in quality, but on the whole the issues within are at least decent. The writing is usually serviceable to good, with the same to be said of the art. Though if either of the two suffers more than the other, it's the art. You can tell right off when you've reached the issues from the early nineties. The art takes the predicted nose dive; and Invisible Woman tarts it up in your typical impractical sleazy 90's costume, this time with the four of her costume cut out to show her skin and cleavage because of course. The art picks back up again with the last issue collected, but man some of these are rough.

The problem, then, is that there are some odd choices. That's part and parcel for these kind of things - not everyones favorites will be collected and some deserving issues will be passed over for iffier ones - but this volume trends odder than usual. For example, why, exactly, is Fantastic Four #1 included? It's the first of the series, but it doesn't fit the MO of the book. It's the formation of the classic team; it has nothing to do with "other members". So, while more Jack Kirby art is never a bad thing, it's an odd choice to include over another issue.

More pressing is the volumes tendency to show us the formation of a team, but not any real adventures. Fine early on - the more compressed nature of old comics allows for an adventure to be packed in with this - but later it starts to become a problem. She-Hulk, Ant-Man and others show up to help Johnny when others are missing, but we never get to see the assembled team in action?

Then there's the well known "New Fantastic Four" story with Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Hulk and Spidey. We get the first issue, of which the majority consists of the old team being taken out, with the new team only forming and getting the gist of the problem at the very end. We never see them do anything. Perhaps an issue a bit further in where we see them do something would have been more appropriate? Just a thought.

So in this way, the volume doesn't give is the full picture of the advertised adventures of alternate teams. Not exactly something in their favor. The volume really needed a few issues from later in a couple of the teams tenure. Hell, if they insisted on the first issue of the "New Fantastic Four", they could have included the second in place of reprinting the very first issue.

The Score: 6.5 out of 10

This collection could have used a bit more attention to its contents and for that the score is hurt. It's not a terrible collection, just a bit more flawed than some of it's contemporaries for obvious reasons. Worth a look if you can borrow it from a library or friend, but not really worth buying.

X-Men: Nation X (comics)

2011-05-19T13:52:00.005-04:00

Writer: Matt Fraction
Artists: Greg Land, Terry Dodson, Alan Davis
Collects: Dark Reign - The List: X-Men, Uncanny X-Men #515-522, Nation X #1-4

There's a question regarding where the X-Men franchise has been going in recent years that bears asking. If the X-Men have turned their back on Xaviers dream and what they stood for - mainly striving for peaceful co-existence with normal humans, understanding, an end to fear of differences and other points - are they still the X-Men? As they go further and further down the rabbit hole, I find the answer to be a resounding no; and it makes the adventures of the team even less appealing than before.

Here's the thing, I don't really care about the main adventures of the X-Men anymore. A couple years ago, I came to a realization that the only two runs on the flagship books I've ever truly cared about were the legendary Claremont run and Grant Morrisons game changing run on New X-Men. Anything else I find interesting tends to be the side books, the occasional arc in a major book that doesn't connect to the status quo much or the ones off doing their own thing with next to nothing to do with the core book.

There are numerous reasons I borderline hate the current status quo and unfortunately this volume is a pretty good encapsulation of why.

First, lets get the general overview of the plots out of the way. Opening the book is the Dark Reign - The List one shot. You may recall that I had a few choice words to say about the collection of the numerous one shots, but in the X-Men collection this fits much better. It feels like more of an epilogue to the conflict in the last volume, when the Dark Avengers and X-Men squared off, which led to Namor and Emma basically telling Osborn to take a hike. Osborn didn't take too kindly to that, so he sends a big monster to presumably eat Namor. This goes about as well as you'd expect. It's a pretty okay one shot, though there's no mistaking the fact that the vast majority of what makes it worth the time is the art by Alan Davis.

Then there's the main arc, Nation X, which eats up about eight issues of Uncanny X-Men. Basically, after the events of last volume, the X-Men have set up their "Utopia" on top of the floating Asteroid M. Now they have to figure out the nuances of how to survive. This goes on for eight issues, with a few flashes of interesting conflict with in but largely decompressed nonsense.

The back third of the book is dedicated to the Nation X anthology series, which focuses on characters acclimating to the new situations or just little vignettes; some are bad, some are good, a few are even pretty great, but that's par for the course for any anthology series of any kind. You can't really review this kind of thing, but I can at least vouch for a pretty decent batting average of good to bad.

First off, the Nation X arc is horribly decompressed and not terribly interesting. For eight issues we find our cast dealing with various problems on the island nation, from things like fresh water and food to where to put the result of a hundred plus mutants who presumably need to take a dump from time to time. Some of this is fine, but it's the focus of over half the arc. It's not exactly the most interesting reading. Fraction tries to keep things exciting with a few conflicts - and a hint or two at future arcs - but he doesn't necessarily succeed. This isn't the most riveting stuff ever put to paper.

Second, the art is pretty yuck. Greg Land is far from the worst artist to ever grace the pages of comics, but he isn't exactly good either. Some poses just look outright ridiculous, characters will look off, a character will be drawn as if their suddenly screaming out of nowhere when a second ago they had the calmest face imaginable. Land has his problems and he illustrates six of the eight issues in this collection.

The Dodsons are far better, but their contribution to the collection as a whole is a drop in the bucket. Even they aren't without their issues. I'm not sure how much of this was called for in the script - Cyclops even has a line describing it - but when we go into Emmas mindscape, it's the dullest thing ever. It's all just white. We've seen characters psychically traverse another characters head in the past and it usually reveals something about them. Apparently Emmas mind is nothing but white space. It makes a two issue conflict within a larger story blander than it should have been.

Worse than the dullness, however, is the fact that we're treading even further into territory that makes the X-Men almost unrecognizable. There's obviously potential to be mined in the whole "M-Day" scenario, but it was patently flubbed most of the time. A lot of what we see ends up turning the X-Men into a group so far removed from what the X-Men always stood for that the editors themselves feel it necessary to come out and defend the direction every interview or so.

It starts with Cyclops. I've never been a huge fan; even back in the Claremont era he was as dull as a block of wood. This is an obvious problem, since he's frequently a key player in X stories. The one time he became remotely interesting was during Morrisons X-Men run. Almost immediately afterwards he became a dick, which has been the norm since.

Ever since the X offices went out of their way to try and demonize Professor X, Cyclops has been portrayed as superior and this perfect leader. But here's the thing; he's not. It's just that no one who ever questions him lately is taken seriously. He's basically a Jerkass Stu, to go with a TV Tropes term.

Here's the thing though; no matter how much the writers try to portray him as cool or the bestest leader ever, it ends up backfiring on them because Cyclops is, long story short, a douchebag who makes questionable moves. In what reality is publicly locating just about every goddamn mutant left on a small, sinking asteroid a good idea? One orbital bombardment later and barring Colossus and Armor, the mutant race is dead. Letting Magneto on the island? Yeah, sure, he puts on a nice face, but the guy is a goddamn rattlesnake; he is going to bite you eventually. How many times has he pulled this? Professor X even states this outright. Nope, let's let the genocidal, terrorist maniac on the island, that'll be great for morale.

But this is all okay, because Cyclops has a plan. He admits he's kind of making it up as he goes along, but you have a dream Professor X and he has a plan. Except, you know, that's the exact goddamn opposite of a plan. But he's not called out on this because he's friggin Cyclops.

I'm not even joking. No one really dissents. He's like King Cyclops and almost all of his little subjects fall in line. It's kind of striking when Wolverine - the guy who would basically question every move Cyclops or Professor X made - basically says "he's making tough choices and he's right".

There are people who speak up, but they're written like they're heels for doing it. Professor X immediately suspects a trap when Magneto arrives, but his outburst is treated as if it's unnecessary and over the top. Despite the fact that, you know, Magneto has pulled this "I'm good now, really" business before. Even Beast isn't wild about some changes, like Magneto being on the island, and gets a lecture from Iceman for his trouble. He - and his departure - is written to come off as a whiny douche instead of a fair portrayal of someone disillusioned with the choices the fearless leader has made. Half the island barely even notices he left.

Beast himself even brings up how he was left to be tortured until the "time was right" for a rescue, presumably for the greater good of the mutant race. This is spliced between scenes where Cyclops has dropped everything to perform "psychic surgery" on Emma Frost once it's been deemed a viable option. No one questions this hypocrisy or pats Beast on the back. The mutant race comes first, except when it doesn't.

So many things about this arc just come off as false because of it. Magnetos sudden, practically out of nowhere change of heart just doesn't jive with how he was even a short time ago. He even goes so far as to say he was wrong about mutants being the future. The X-Men themselves have basically become a glorified military group and represent everything the group has ever fought against, yet it's handwaved away as necessary and made in the midst of tough choices.

All this and the fact that Cyclops is content to put all of his eggs in one basket with the "mutant messiah". Then there's something that isn't brought up in this arc in particular, but is an important bit; the fact that Cyclops - leader of the X-Men - has personally sanctioned a kill squad. So what we're reading is another step in the destruction of everything the X-Men ever stood for; they've essentially turned their back on Xaviers dream because times got tough and the only people who care are Professor X himself, Beast and Nightcrawler.

As it stands, the way mutants have been acting under Cyclops stewardship, there's plenty of reason for regular humans to be scared of them. Hell, they now have Magneto chilling with them on their island. The guy that's committed numerous terrorist acts and wanted to wipe humans out if they didn't go with his demands a time or two. Add this with them declaring their own nation of super powered mutants just off the coast of San Francisco and it's a miracle missiles aren't headed their way.

Worse still, the status quo this book begins to explore not only hurts their appeal, but it unwittingly sends several bad messages. It's no secret that the X-Men have long been a concept following the general theme of fighting against hate. Racism, homophobia, all that stuff. The editors and writers freely admit it. But now, mutants are segregating themselves because the government doesn't agree with them, they have kill squads, they stop caring about advancing their standing in the world and they generally start acting like a military group.

So what message is this sending? Should the blacks all be congregating on their own island nation? Should gays have a kill squad to take out their enemies because they might be harmful to them? Should hispanics form themselves into a military group? You can't have it both ways, but Marvel wants to take this team in a darker, grittier, the-end-justifies-the-means direction while still trying to make the team a metaphor for race relations. I don't think I need to tell you it doesn't work and this volume does nothing but make it worse.

Matt Fraction is a talented writer. He is. He's deservedly a big star in comics. But the X-Men do not seem to be gelling with him. I don't know if it's the direction not agreeing with him or what. But this is not his best work. Which isn't a big deal - even the greats have off days - but it's disappointing. He is unable to make any of this work, if only because of the fact that this status quo he's working with - and advancing - is anathema to what the X-Men have always stood for.

As you can tell, the writing is completely unable to make this work on several levels. But at the core of it all, it all comes back to the point I made earlier; this arc is just dull, dull, dull. There's always the chance this could be made to work by using action to keep you from thinking too hard on it, but there are maybe two real action beats in the whole eight issues that are relatively short. The subplot that contains said action scenes ends up having nothing to do with the rest of the arc. It's just overlong, doesn't seem to go anywhere and if anything seems to just be buying time until Second Coming, the crossover that sees the "mutant messiah" return.

On the plus side, Second Coming doesn't have to do much to be more interesting than this, that's for sure.

Obviously, I don't like where the franchise is - and has been - going. I don't think that's all of this volumes problem - I've tried to list everything I find wrong with it here, but I'm sure I've rambled way too much for it to be concise - as the writing in general isn't up to snuff, but it is an issue. But if you like where the X-Men have been going, you may like this more than I did; it's still very dull and bland on a writing level and the arts not that great on six of the eight issues, but it does advance the status quo, for good or ill.

There's definitely a positive or two here though. One very good thing about this - whether you like the direction or material or not - is that this is a thick, thick volume. It contains, after all, the eight issues of the arc, The List one shot and the four Nation X anthology issues. That's thirteen issues total for thirty dollars SRP; you can even get it much cheaper online. Considering Marvel's really annoyed me with their habit of four issue trades lately, I feel I must applaud them when they give us a volume with good value for the money.

Now if they'd just do it more than once in a while, we'd be set.

Some of the various short stories that make up the Nation X anthology are pretty good too. Though, as expected, the quality varies. But there aren't many that are outright bad, which is kind of a win for any anthology.

Another good thing is, well... uhh... did I mention the one shot was drawn by Alan Davis? That's always a plus. I think I'm about out of good things to say already.

The Score: 5.5 out of 10

Skip it. For the love of everything good, just skip it. Matt Fraction just couldn't pull this one off. It's inoffensive reading, but it's also pretty bland and dull. Not worth the time or money unless you really, really like where the franchise is going. I don't, which makes the volumes problems even worse for me.

Dark Reign: The List (comics)

2011-05-14T22:22:00.003-04:00

Writers: Brian Bendis, Jason Aaron, Greg Pak, Rick Remender and numerous others
Artists: John Romita Jr., Alan Davis, Adam Kubert and too many others to count
Collects: Dark Reign: The List - Avengers, Daredevil, X-Men, Punisher, Secret Warriors, Hulk, Wolverine, Amazing Spider-Man

Hoo boy. This book. There are so many problems with doing something like this. Let's you and me talk about why.

Essentially seven or eight one shots with an over-arching narrative, the conceit is that Norman Osborn is making a list. He's checking it twice. He doesn't really care who's been naughty or nice. He's just gonna shoot you in the face. Or more likely have you shot by someone else, since he employs a bunch of murderers as a team of Avengers.

I'm not really going to get into the individual quality of each one shot; as you'd expect, some are better than others and this really isn't the point of the exercise. There are about three different ways you can try and run something like this. The first option is to have the overarching storyline take precedence; this is the approach that would have actually necessitated a collection like this. The other way is to be light on the connective tissue and have each writer treat it as an extra chapter of whatever ongoing they presumably work on. The final option is to try and do both; this route very rarely works out, becoming a jack of all trades, but master of none.

This book takes the second approach, which results in a scattershot group of one shots that barely connect.

Talked up as an important part of the overall Dark Reign status quo, they try to tie everything together with the overall plot of Osborns list. It doesn't necessarily work, because only about three chapters actually involve the list itself or Norman actively going after his target. Each issue does involve him, but as mentioned earlier they're all basically extra chapters of different books across the Marvel line. Different vibes and tones follow, with the overall series not feeling like a cohesive whole. There are a few important scenes to affect the status quo, but it doesn't really work as it's own story, which is a big, big problem.

Since what we're left with here are extra tales of the given character or team, we're left with about what you'd expect for most of them. Quite a few of them involve the ongoing events of a given book, which means that divorced from said context they mean little. Why is Norman pissed at Namor? Who knows, but he's damn sure going to throw a hungry monster at him. What's Osborns beef with the Punisher? You might be able to take a guess, but if you haven't read the events of his ongoing at the time, you won't have the concrete answer. Why the hell is Hulk not the Hulk? Same deal.

In short, most of the one shots assume familiarity with the ongoing events at the time. The hope is to get your readers hooked and want to read those books. But without a given context, what we get is going to mean little to most of the people who read it. Even with people who are reading several of the given ongoings, few of them will have been invested in all of them.

Worse still, the entire exercise - and even this collection - is unnecessary. While we could have been in for an interesting story if Osborns downfall came from the fallout of the last one shot, Spider-Mans, it's ultimately inconsequential. The Siege event would come soon after, which led to Osborns downfall in a way that had nothing to do with the events portrayed here. Sure, Peter damn sure screwed up Osborns PR, but things would have come to the same conclusion with or without him. Which leaves the appeal to the writing and art, which are both admittedly pretty great.

As for the collection itself, as you can guess, each individual one-shot is also collected in the collections of the associated book. They fit in much better there and the events are separate enough that removing them from the rest doesn't hurt them. So, with the one shots all available elsewhere and the overall story remarkably flimsy... the point of this collection is what again? Aside from the obvious goal of a little extra money coming in from the sales of this too.

Really pointless volume overall.

The Score: 5 out of 10

Let me be very, very clear here; this score is for this volume as a whole. As a separate entity, this collection fails to be worth the time or money in every way. Many of the individual one shots themselves, however, are very good; several well written and several very, very well drawn by some of comics best. But you're better off reading them in the associated collections. There's absolutely no point in wasting the money on this thing. It means absolutely nothing if you're not already reading the given comics; and if you are, that means buying this volume would have you paying for the same comics twice.

By all means, skip this; you'll get them when you get around to the volumes of the ongoings they're collected in.

Astonishing X-Men: Exogenetic (comics)

2011-05-13T22:21:00.002-04:00

Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Phil Jimenez
Collects: Astonishing X-Men #31-35

It's funny how in the back, Astonishing X-Men is referred to as Grant Morrisons legacy. Really, the only reason for that is because Whedon was the only one who didn't seem to wipe the slate clean of what Morrison did; you know, considering Marvel shat on Morrisons run immediately after it finished. He kept the characterization of several characters, but it was a far more conventional book than what Morrison did. Which isn't a knock; Astonishing is generally good and one of the few X books worth reading.

Then Warren Ellis came on board; thankfully, the good times have kept rolling with this one.

After M Day, there was that whole "No More Mutants" thing going on, so most of what followed that was a bunch of "mutants band together" stories, dark secrets from long standing characters and so on. After a while, someone figured, hey, the mutants are in one place now and no one has tried to commit genocide in the past three months. Why not take a crack at it?

Except this time, said genocidal maniac is pretty good at manipulating genetics. Expert at raising the dead is apparently on his resume as well. Thus, we have dead X-Men returning to try and kill the ones that are still breathing and somewhere along the way the villain decides it would be a slammin' idea to drop a clone of a living island on them. As you can probably guess, the X-Men find all this to be in really bad taste, so it's time to give the villain a stern talking to!

If all this sounds familiar, congratulations, you've read a few X-Men stories. Typically, a plot like this would be a sign of trouble; it's been done so many times before that it can be pretty difficult to imagine anyone wringing anything new out of it. How many times have the X-Men faced a foe who wanted nothing more than to wipe them from the face of the Earth? I lost count a long time ago.

Apparently, there's still things to do with the concept and Ellis opts for subversion of the typical way this kind of thing plays out. There's no high minded validation for this, no excuses or delusions of protecting humans or the like. This attempt - this complex, planned attempt on their lives - stems from nothing more than sheer pettiness from a source close to home. It's a very human reaction, when you strip away the flesh and blood sentinels and the zombified islands. Jealousy and spite leading to unreasonable backlash.

In the midst of it, the notion of just how outside they really are is tackled. As pointed out, the X-Men aren't exactly wanting. Most of them are beautiful or handsome specimens in colorful spandex with fantastic powers. As much as they bemoan being freaks, do they truly even know what it means? It's an interesting question, despite how far the villain took things. But it's one that's even arguable from both sides. Cyclops himself asks Wolverine, bemused, "There are people who hate us because we're not outcast enough?"

As for the dialogue and writing, you know what you're getting into with a Warren Ellis scripted comic. Somehow, some way, he's going to get in his traditional brand of snark. To varying degrees, he manages it across most of the cast here, but unlike other writers, he manages to work it so they still feel in character. That's something some writers struggle with, even popular ones.

The scripts obviously tailored to give the artist plenty to draw, as well. The hook of the story - dead mutants being reanimated and controlled - allows for a bevy of typically unavailable foes. This is played to the hilt, with Jimenez getting to draw the Brood, Krakoa, flesh based Sentinels and more. There's even a crazy rescue from the wreckage of a ship in the midst of atmospheric re-entry from space.

Do I really need to say Phil Jimenez does well with it? Oh, alright. Seriously, he's fantastic. Great at illustrating the large scale, the small and everything in between. Seeing him tackle things like the Brood is a treat and overall a fair amount of what makes the whole thing worthwhile. Oh, did I mention he's good at facial expressions, too? Jimenez was a perfect fit for the arc; overall, Ellis writes a sharp script, but it's the artwork that helps push the book that much further.

All this in mind, I must grant that this volume isn't exactly going to shake the Earth or anything. This is a solid, enjoyable read, for sure. Still, many seem to see Astonishing as a strictly marquee, high tier title. It comes with high expectations for some. Personally, I enjoy Astonishing in that it gives me a relatively self contained fix of the X-Men, away from all the bull the franchise is frequently embedded in. It hasn't really done me wrong yet. But some seem to view it different - hell, some think it should have ended with Whedons departure, which is retarded, because could you imagine if Thor ended when Jack Kirby left? - and it's worth bearing in mind.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

I doubt it will win any awards, but as a continuity light, contained dose of the X-Men, this is hard to go wrong with. Worth a read if you're sick of all that mutant messiah mumbo jumbo and just want to see the team fight a bunch of superpowered zombies. Even if you're not, it might be worth it just to see Cyclops get a bit of a verbal smackdown.

Marvel Zombies 3 (comics)

2011-05-10T18:25:00.006-04:00

Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Kevin Walker
Collects: Marvel Zombies 3 #1-4

So did you hear the one about those wacky Marvel Zombies?

Here's the problem with Marvel Zombies; in some ways it's essentially a joke in comic form. It's popularity was borderline ridiculous for a while there and they've since turned it into a franchise. The original appeal, however, rested largely on the novelty and giggles gained from seeing a bunch of zombified heroes eat things.

But the reality of comedy is that if you keep telling the same joke over and over, eventually it's just not funny anymore. How many jokes do you know with sequels? Even the second volume seemed almost cognizant of this; the dark humor was dialed down and while it was generally more of a real story, it also seemed to make it quite clear this concept couldn't sustain itself forever without an overhaul.

So overhaul it they did. This time, the regular Marvel 616 Universe is involved*. The result leaves me thinking that just maybe there's a little life left in this quickly rotting husk.

The last volume pretty much picked up where the first left off and it ended on a cliffhanger, presumably for this volume to pick up on. It doesn't. Actually, this volumes story doesn't even take place after the events of volume 2**. The 616 universe we all know and love is clearly set in present continuity while the time period of the Zombieverse they encounter is actually the time between the cosmic seven leaving and returning. This takes a bit of retconning, really***, but whatever, I can roll with it.

The story opens with a mission gone horribly wrong. Floridas Initiative team, the Command, combs the swamps of Citrusville after a distress call, quickly finding themselves confronted with a grisly scene. Before they can realize what's happened, they're wiped out; only one survives, while another goes into hibernation for an uncertain amount of time to try and purge the virus. One of the zombies from that troublesome universe managed to make it over using the Nexus of All Realities; no one knows how many infected are roaming the swamp, which is, of course, a problem, especially if they make it out of the swamp. Before you know it, the "fleshy" hating Machine Man is sent into the zombie universe to get a sample to help come up with some manner of vaccine.

You can probably guess how smoothly that mission goes.

The new approach actually does wonders for extending the life of the flagging franchise. For the first time, we've got a pretty distinct set of characters for our main cast. It feels more like they're trying to tell an actual story - with, of course, the dark humor - instead of constantly trying to outgross themselves. The zombies are now an element, not the sole driving force of the series, and it makes a bigger difference than you'd think.

Van Lente's style is a fair amount of why this works. He brings back the comedy elements that had been toned down last time, but it's no longer about the joke or hearing about Daredevils blood bloated ankles needing to be punctured. The chief character, Machine Man, actually shows character growth over the course of the volume.

Starting as the distinct NEXTWAVE version Warren Ellis introduced us to, he changes a bit as the volume goes on, especially when confronted about his dickery by an old robot flame. By the end, he's even accepting of a name he long denied. That's a pretty big jump in actual storytelling for a series that mostly subsided on things like Hulk eating a human and then having the bones explode through his stomach when he reverts to zombie Banner.

We even get a pretty decent addition to the Marvel universe out of ARMOR, an organization dedicated to handling inter-dimensional threats. In a way, it completes the circle in some way. It's not just the acronyms - you know, armor goes with sword goes with shield - but the fact that it makes sense that the Marvel world would have an organization each dedicated to different threats. With SHIELD handling most Earth based problems, SWORD dealing with space and ARMOR handling threats from other dimensions, they're pretty much covered.

I hope this is the last of these though. If I see HELMET or BOOTS, I'll be unable to keep from laughing uncontrollably. As it is, we still have HAMMER lingering around as a villain organization when it really should have dissolved entirely at the end of Osborns time at the top.

This time, we have Kevin Walker on art. His work is a bit cleaner, but when it comes time to illustrate the yuck, he doesn't shy away. Check out the image of the zombie Kingpin, champagne glass full of blood and eyeballs, bloody human bones on the table behind him. It's ridiculous, but a fun ridiculous. I wonder how much of the little touches were Walkers idea and how much was actually in the script. Either way, a good job all around.

One last thing to note. This volume does come complete with a cover gallery, one that goes the whole nine and collects all the zombie variants that were on books while this series ran. I'm always happy to see a full cover gallery in volumes, but good grief these zombie variants. Can we nix these whenever a Marvel Zombies miniseries shambles around? I'm tired of them. The joke - you know, taking iconic covers and zombifying them to disgusting effect - is just not funny anymore. See above about telling the same joke too many times.

The Score: 8 out of 10

I actually really enjoyed this one. Moreso than both of the preceding volumes. Van Lente and Walker revitilize a concept that was withering on the vine. Worth checking out; hell, despite the number three on the cover, you don't need to read the previous ones. Skip 'em, if you're so inclined. Originally I thought this would be the last volume for me, but I'm going to stick around, especially considering the next one is going to have Man-Thing and the Midnight Sons.

I am always down for teams of ridiculous super movie monsters.

* Interestingly, this is probably the first time there's been any kind of actual link between the Main universe and the Ultimate universe. Both have come into conflict with the Zombieverse by now, which is the closest the two ever came to crossing over. Whether Marvel will stick to their guns on the determination not to let the two directly meet remains to be seen.

** I don't believe the story and characters of the first two Marvel Zombies are wrapped up within the numbered line. MZ4 is apparently a direct sequel to the events of this volume. I'm pretty sure they got around to tying the original plots off in one of the numerous offshoots.

*** The end of the first volume had the remaining members of the main zombie crew we followed assert dominance over the right to eat Galactus. They were, quite simply, the alpha zombies. I recall it being pretty clearly implied they wiped out the rest of the zombies who tried to get in the way of their cosmic meal. The events of volume 2 - where aside from the docile Hawkeye, Wasp and Colonel America there isn't a zombie to be found on Earth - backed it up. As you can probably guess, this volume shows us that there's still a pretty damn big contingent of zombies floating around after the cosmic zombies left. Doesn't make much sense, but the first two miniseries were riddled with odd contradictory moments, so it's not worth thinking on too much.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (video game)

2011-04-28T17:14:00.001-04:00

Platform: PSP
Developer: Atlus
Genre: RPG
ESRB Rating: T
Release Date: September 22nd, 2009

Can we all agree that the Playstation era was a bitchin' time for RPG's? Seems like that system had a truckload of classics in the genre. Many of them hold up pretty well to this day, despite now antiquated graphics*.

Today, I'm going to talk about one that hasn't aged gracefully; this game's the equivalent of a hundred year old man who's nothing but skin and bones kept alive through an IV drip and an oxygen mask.

The story is that you're a group of students at a local high school. In this school rumors about gaining magical powers by circling a room are apparently taken at face value, so you find yourself goaded into doing this by the class jerkoff. Shockingly, it works and each student finds themselves with a "Persona", or basically some spirit thing that gives them abilities and determines their strengths and weaknesses.

Because this is clearly not something to be overly concerned with, they then proceed to a hospital to check on a friend. Then demons invade because what the hell else were you going to use your Persona for, cooking? Clearly, this must be stopped, so off you go to find some baddies to stomp.

This PSP port is billed as a remake, but the truth is that it's really more of an upgrade. When I think remake, I think rebuilt from the ground up. When you look at screenshots of the original and this, however, it's obvious that little has really changed. The graphics are essentially the same - even the neat first person dungeon crawling view has it's early Playstation pixelation intact - the gameplay hasn't really changed - which is the real shame - and the music seems the same. That's... a lot of things left as is for a "remake".

So what has changed? The script, mostly; while I haven't played the original localization, what I've seen makes it clear the new translation is leagues ahead of it. There's less Americanization as well. Hell, they even kept Mark as a goofy white graffiti artist instead of randomly changing his race. There's an entirely separate quest line available that was never localized in the original edition. Cut scenes were apparently touched up too, switched over to more of a cel shaded look - they still look like really bad early CG animation with a new coat of paint though.

The graphics are... well, dated. The isometric view for rooms with NPC's and battle scenes look alright for their age, but the first person dungeon crawling definitely retains that old "early Playstation" look. Oh, have I mentioned the cutscenes? I really do not get why, if they were serious about the "remake" aspect, they didn't give it a facelift or redo this stuff entirely. Say what you want about Square, but if this was one of their projects the visuals would have been rebuilt from the ground up.

The gameplay is where this old game just falls apart. It's clear the developers were going for something different with this game, but clearly forgot that different doesn't necessarily mean good. Each character has different weapons and skills, all of which have attack ranges. You place your characters anywhere on a grid on your side. Neat idea, but far from practical; if a character doesn't have an enemy in range of any of his attacks, he's going to sit there like a doofus unless you waste a turn switching the positions up.

The result is a combat system that feels boring. Mix with the fact that this is one of those "two or three steps before a random encounter" games and you've got a recipe for trouble. The battle system wears out its welcome before the halfway mark. I'm usually not averse to level grinding, but games like this make the process extremely tedious.

Speaking of leveling, that's another problem. This game went with the lovely idea of having experience for each party member depend on how much damage they've done. You probably know where I'm going with this. Eventually, a party member is going to lag behind the others in level pretty significantly. This party member is usually Mark, who sucks. So they end up being little more than canon fodder for a turn or two. This is not the best leveling system I've ever encountered.

Oh, there's the phases of the moon thing, too. As you play the game, it cycles through the different phases. In theory, this is supposed to give different advantages and disadvantages depending on the phase. In practice, it does little of value. Aside from giving you a bit of a head start on negotiations with the monsters during a certain phase, it really doesn't affect the game much at all, or at least not in a way that's very apparent, making it a worthless feature.

It's not all bad though; occasionally there's a good idea hidden in the rough. In this game, you're able to contact your enemies and try to befriend them, with the rewards ranging from spell cards used to conjure up new personas to items. Each characters has different ways of interacting with monsters and not all of them will appreciate the same responses. Obviously, if you fail, there are drawbacks, but it adds an interesting wrinkle. Why not just talk your way out of a situation from time to time, right?

I also liked the fact that, depending on your choices, you can basically pick your fifth party member. Unfortunately, you can't mix and match your party with the available options - otherwise, Mark would be the first to go given his general uselessness - but the option is nice to have and was still relatively novel in RPG's back in '96. It just didn't happen very often - in the RPG's people actually played, at least - barring a notable exception or two.

A lot of other mechanics are kind of confusing, though. The game does allow you to have guided creation of personas, but manual is like an odd puzzle without a clear solution. You really don't know what will affect what and the possibility of creating fusion accidents is frustrating. There are so many variables involved with it that even the basic instructions given to you don't help much, leaving guided fusion as the preferable option.

Mechanics like this seem to come with the expectation that you were probably going to drop a twenty on a strategy guide - remember those days? - to help you grasp it. Even with free game FAQs readily available online, I still don't care for needlessly obtuse things like this. The kind of guesswork required by things like the manual fusion of this game is not the fun kind.

Sounds a bit iffy as well. The voiceovers are pretty iffy for an upgrade made about a year ago - I assume they didn't bother redubbing - and sometimes some of the music can get a bit grating. Usually video game music is fantastic and easy to listen to over and over again. This game uses some ambient scores with plenty of j-pop. Listening to a battle song over and over every time you have a random battle is much easier when there aren't vocals.

The Score: 6 out of 10

I'm afraid I can't really recommend it. I'm interested in some of the ideas put forth here, so I'll be back for the sequels, but this game doesn't really stand the test of time. Why Atlus didn't just go the full remake route, I haven't a clue, because this game has aged badly. It's very easy to find yourself bored around the halfway mark. It's probably only worth it if you're a die-hard Persona fan; otherwise it's a relic that was probably better left buried.

* Antiquated is my way of being nice. Seriously, I cannot believe the crap we used to think was stunning back in the late nineties. Back then 3D models were the new, shiny thing, so it was a big step forward, but good lord do some of those games look like ass. I suppose time's affected my opinion on this though; I'm used to the HD era, which is a stark contrast to the blockiness of early 3D modeled games. They just don't hold up like 2D sprites do, but back then it was an exciting new frontier. Ah well.

Marvel Zombies 2 (comics)

2011-04-16T19:42:00.005-04:00

Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Sean Phillips
Collects: Marvel Zombies 2 #1-5

As with all things uber popular, Marvel Zombies eventually found itself with a sequel by the originals creative team. They teased it being kind of a "Marvel Zombies Civil War", to which I responded "oh really now? This I gotta see!" Because, you know, how do you really do that, much less follow up with a sequel? There weren't even enough zombies left by the end - somewhere around seven, I recall - for much more than a minor skirmish, much less a war.

Besides which, for all its goofy stupidity, the first series had a relatively solid conclusion; the remaining zombies took the place of Galactus in the galaxy while the remaining humans arrived back on Earth to take back their planet.

Turns out you do it by twisting things a bit. The zombies didn't really take the place of Galactus. They end up being worse than Galactus, literally devouring the universe within the space of forty years. Once they run out of food, they remember, hey, Reed Richards had a dimensional portal, so lets use that and go to a universe with fresh meat. Back on Earth, the survivors have etched out a respectable living for themselves, but of course, political strife is evident. These two things colliding spells trouble for the surviving humans.

This go around, the dark humor is toned down. The sequel isn't as darkly comic as the original was, which I'm unsure is a good thing. It's played a bit more straight this time, with even a hint of redemption for the zombies afoot. All this means that there's more of a real story here this time, but there aren't as many "moments" that stick in your mind like the first go around had.

I mentioned in my review of the first volume that I lamented the lack of different perspective on the overall zombie infection of the heroes. Kirkman wisely avoids the pitfalls this time, as we find ourselves with focus split between the survivors and the former heroes. It actually made for a better story, I think, because the last time the humans weren't much more than meat. There was no way to get attached to the two or three left barring Magneto, which was a bit of a problem.

Everything isn't a bed of roses here, though. Kirkman even tries to make the zombies a bit more likable this go around - a real problem last time - but whether he succeeds or not is debateable. He elaborates on the concept he introduced at the end of the first volume; mainly, the zombies lose their hunger the longer they go without eating. Spider-Man has noticed this too and starts to relate it to Luke Cage. Seems simple enough, right?

Here's the problem. With the hunger gone, their heads are clearer, but it was established last time that their thoughts were clear right after they ate as well. Spider-Man was the only one who felt any real remorse. So they've turned into these gigantic pricks thanks to the zombie virus, but once the hunger is gone, hey, please forgive us, right? A bit hard for me to buy; even in their most lucid moments prior they still didn't have much problem with hunting down survivors for their next meal.

Also, how would this only just happen in such a short span of time after forty years of hunting the galaxy. It seems like it's only a couple weeks at best before they get to Earth again. They even stop to snack on Ego the Living Planet along the way. But in the forty years they spent in space, they didn't realize this until just now? Even with the time spent between worlds, traveling the stars?

So, as you can tell, there are still logic problems here. Like the first miniseries, you can't think about this one too much, otherwise too many unanswered questions and plotholes crop up. This is, again, stupid fun comics. Just with a bit more of a real story this time around. I'd say it holds up around the same as the first series, maybe just a bit weaker.

I won't spoil the ending, but there is a cliffhanger at the end. One that may not even be resolved. Kirkman didn't return for a third round - there's an entirely different creative team for three on - so what he had planned for the rather obvious second sequel is a mystery. There's overall resolution to the volumes events, but if he wasn't sure he'd be coming back, Kirkman probably shouldn't have had a cliffhanger epilogue.

As for the art, Sean Phillips is back and everything I said last time applies here too. His work is still good and he does well with providing a squick factor to the dark proceedings. There isn't as much dark comedy for him to work with as in the original miniseries, but he makes due regardless. I hope to see more or his art outside of this context, though, as it's hard to judge how he'd do on a more traditional story.

The Score: 7 out of 10

I still don't get why this was such a phenomenon, but at least they turned out to be solid comics so far. How long it can hold up as legitimate stories, I'm not so sure. Even Kirkman seems to realize the joke has a shelf life, because he mixed more of the same in with something new. I guess I'll have to find out, won't I? Worth it if you just really like Marvel Zombies, even if the novelty's started wearing off.

Kick Ass (comics)

2011-04-15T01:37:00.000-04:00

Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: John Romita Jr.
Collects: Kick-Ass #1-8

So, Kick-Ass. Another of Mark Millars lovely projects that feel like they were tailor made more for the silver screen than the comic page. Hell, the film adaption of this one was actually in development while the miniseries was running; for a bit there, it looked like the film might have even released before the series finished. Millars public persona may be grating as all holy hell, but it seems to work for him.

Kick-Ass tries to use a very basic concept I'm sure a lot of us have given thought to before. "What if superheroes existed in the real world?" The main character - Dave - is a comic geek with some pretty crappy luck who decides, hey, this life is pretty boring, Imma get a wetsuit and go beat the hell out of a couple of Hispanic guys. Excess foul language and ridiculous amounts of violence ensue.

Right off the bat, we've got a problem. No matter how much he brings up things like Myspace or Youtube, Millar can't get out of his old habits. It doesn't take long - by the end of the second issue, in fact - for the perceived "realism" to vacate the premises. At first, it seems like he's going to stick with it - the consequences of Dave's hubris costs him six months of his life and requires intensive therapy to recover from - but then, fresh off his crutches, Dave suits back up and goes to pick a fight. Only this time, he wins. Right after months of healing and with no training. From there it's all downhill.

Everything is over the top here, from almost every character swearing worse than a sailor - Daves dad is literally the only character not to curse every other word - to little girls no older than ten being badass ninjas who slice people to ribbons. Literally, from the first time we see Hit-Girl, we know that any sense of realism has gone straight out the goddamn window. We're in Millars domain; the comics with the most disgusting, shocking ideas he can think of to try and appeal to the lowest common denominator.

As far as unrealistic goes, I could talk about some of the dialogue - I swear whenever Dave is in a comic shop I think Millar's contracted Whedonitis - but we won't go there.

Worse still, it often seems like there's an undercurrent of racism here. Again, not shocking, given this is Millar, but still a worry. It seems like everyone Kick-Ass fights, from street toughs on down, is a minority of some kind. From hispanics to blacks to italians, everyone offed in the course of this series is of some sort of racial stereotype.

Necessary? No. But it'll sure get some attention.

Mark Millars writing tends to come back to bite him. He is, as we all know, about as subtle as an atom bomb when it comes to pretty much anything. You pretty much know which character is going to be a traitor as soon as you see him and another characters fate is blown thanks to overuse of foreshadowing plus a flashback late in the book so blatant the narration box might as well have screamed "THIS IS CHEKHOVS GUN, PAY ATTENTION".

Then, as I briefly mentioned earlier, there's the lack of adherance to the concept. I expect the violence and the cursing; Millar does it whenever he isn't writing corporate owned superheroes. But as much of a huckster as Millar tends to be, I still expected him to stick to the "vigilantes in the real world" concept, or at least make an honest effort. Sure, superpowers are kept out of it - and Millar even makes some jokes using some superhero cliches - but the book doesn't stick to anything resembling "realistic". Considering that was the line that sold me on reading it at all, that's a legitimate disappointment. I feel like Millar could have made more of an effort, or at least been a little clearer up front.

So, with all those problems, why the hell is this goddamn book so endearing? Why is Hit Girl endearing? Most everything in this book sets off every alarm bell I've got, yet I still somehow enjoyed it. This should be a textbook case of "EWW, EWW, BURN IT, BURN IT!" Yet, despite this undeniable fact, I find myself interested in seeing where Kick-Ass and his pint-sized affront against good taste go from here. There's something crude but oddly likable here, even though our main character is a downright insulting stand-in for a typical comic reader and our breakout characters main feature is that she's a ten year old that kills everything in sight and swears like you read about.

It's fun, in an odd way. It's crude, it's tasteless, it's really ridiculous and it completely fails to uphold it's promise of showing superheroes in the "real world". But it's kind of like a roller coaster ride of gratuitous violence and numerous other negative adjectives as only Mark Millar can provide. I'm not exactly Mark Millars biggest fan - sometimes, I feel like he's a one trick pony - but he's put together enjoyable projects in the past. I think this one fits, even if it's offensive on every conceivable level.

Make no mistake, a lot of why this works despite everything against it is the artwork of John Romita Jr. He seems to revel in the hyperviolence he's tasked to draw, getting pretty gratuitous with some scenes. When someones head is chopped off, you WILL see the actual chopping. Romita's a bit more polarizing an artist than his dad ever was - he seems to have as many detractors as he does fans - but he does good work here, aside from the occasional page that just looks off. Mark Millar's kind of like Jeph Loeb in this way; while it's a crapshoot whether a given project will actually be decently written, he's pretty damn good at attracting top tier talent. In a way, it saves some of his books.

The Score: 6.5 out of 10

This one was kind of hard to grade. On the one hand, I enjoyed it in a goofy, dumb fun kind of way. But on the other hand, this book can piss you off; and really, this is not exactly premium comics. Either way, it may be worth a look, but it warrants a warning. If certain social issues tend to be your red button, skip this. It's practically designed to offend.

Batman: The Bat and the Beast (comics)

2011-03-23T21:46:00.004-04:00

Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Andy Clarke
Collects: Batman Confidential #31-35

So hey, one time, Batman totally decided it would be a rad idea to go chill in Russia and smack around their mob; unfortunately, this does not involve any communists finding themselves acquainted with Batmans boot, but I guess you can't have everything.

Peter Milligans back in this arc of the gone-too-soon Batman Confidential. Milligan apparently had a respectable run on the Dark Knight in the very early 90's, but I've never read any of it as of yet. It's not collected in trade and for the most part - Dark Knight, Dark City aside - seems like it was completely forgotten over time, especially considering Knightfall is the storyline everyone equates with the early 90's. Regardless of the quality of his work then, he's managed to come back now and pen a solid Batman adventure.

Basically, the Russian mob decides it wants to expand its business and Gotham seems as good a place as any. Batman gets wind of it - because there's nothing that slips by a badass of his caliber - and promptly boots them back out. Once he warns them off, something disturbing is brought to light; the person behind the whole thing has a nuke and if Gotham won't be the city destroyed by it, he'll just detonate it in another city.

Batman, never being one to leave a job half done, immediately leaves for Moscow to settle this matter. This is the meat of the story. Essentially cut off in a very foreign land, he has to start off from scratch. Unlike Gotham - where his name and reputation sends shivers down the spines of the underworld - the criminal element of Russia are not afraid of him. Oh sure, they've heard of him - something very likely, despite the Bat offices insistence in the 90's that word of Batman wouldn't get around as anything but an urban legend - but as far as fear they just see him as a kook in a costume. So if Batman wants to get at the head honcho of the whole thing, he needs to make them afraid, one goon at a time, while avoiding the big nasty beastie looking to protect its master.

Now, I've mentioned in the past that I like it when Batman has an adventure or two in other countries - it's good to get an adventure outside of Gotham once in a while - so right away you can probably guess that the choice of setting won points with me. It's more than just that, though. Milligan writes a very solid adventure in general with a fitting ending. He clearly knows what he's doing; and while we're always keeping an eye out for the next classic, it's never a bad thing to have a book that's just good, solid Batman comics. Especially when they get out of Gotham.

There aren't any real problems with the writing. Milligan writes an enjoyable, somewhat standard Batman adventure in a foreign setting. There aren't any greater meanings to be found here. Milligan does show us Batman essentially starting from scratch in his new setting, however, which isn't something we see too often. Here, he's faced with a different type of criminal; and Milligan shows Batman adapting, as he always does.

Andy Clarke is the artist and his work even helps elevate the book into something really enjoyable. Sometimes it's hard to describe why an artists work is good when there isn't some truly noticable style or choice. Sometimes an artist simply knows how to tell a story through art to the point where you don't even think much about it. I'd say Andy Clarke is one of those artists.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

This is just good, solid Batman comics with the twist of a foreign setting. I had fun and felt like Milligan did good work, which makes me hope to see his old Batman work hit trade so I can check that out. Sometimes a guy just wants to see Batman kick ass and do his thing in a different country. This story scratches that itch nicely, so if you're down with that, give it a look. Stuff like this is why it's a shame Batman Confidential is ending.

World of Warcraft: Book One (comics)

2011-03-21T23:22:00.004-04:00

Writer: Walt Simonson
Artist: Ludo Lullabi
Collects: World of Warcraft #1-7

I've never played World of Warcraft. I know, it's odd. I must be one of the three guys who haven't. But it's not even just that. I've never really paid attention to Warcraft, period. Of Blizzards franchises, I was always more interested in the others; your Starcrafts and Diablos. So why am I reading a World of Warcraft comic?

Well, the name "Walt Simonson" is a pretty good reason to give anything a fair shot.

The story follows a dark elf, an elf druid and a human they dub Croc-Bait, all three slaves to an orc who trains them to be gladiators. But slavery is not for them - or, well, anyone really - so naturally they decide to flip him the bird and escape. Since it quickly becomes apparent that there's more to Croc-Bait than meets the eye, they decide figuring out who he is and why he's important is as good an idea as any. Thus, it's time for our trio to get into trouble, because what else is going to happen?

Since, as I mentioned, I'm not at all familiar with Warcraft, I suspected it might take a while for me to get what was going on. Surprisingly, it was easy to catch on. The Warcraft universe appears to pull from some pretty standard fantasy tropes, which made it easy to get the gist of the races. The only thing I was particularly in the dark about is the characters. I assume the three are at least semi-important to the WoW universe - who Croc-Bait turns out to be is one of those things that seems to be one of those "this guy is from the game" deals - but how or why eludes me. Doesn't much matter; they're likable for the most part, even if Croc-Bait himself is a bit stiff a character.

As I expected he might, Simonson plays the long game. There's no real "story arc" to be found here; while a given issue might contain some measure of resolution or revelation, there's no real stop to the flow between issues. Issue seven ends with the three sailing onwards towards their next destination, more or less saying "buy the next volume". I like it; you don't always see much of this kind of thing anymore.

Overall, the book is pretty well written. It feels a bit old fashioned - the amount of dialogue and exposition makes it feel a bit more 80's than something from the 2000's - but that seems to fit it just fine. For some reason, that sort of writing goes well with fantasy and Simonson knows how to make it work for the book.

Now, Walt Simonson is a definite legend - his Thor run alone puts him at that level, but I'm also a sucker for Robocop vs Terminator - but he doesn't draw this. Ludo Lullabi - who the inside cover tells me is a French artist - does and manages to keep pace. I'd say his art is almost manga-esque in appearance. Lots of simple lines keep a clean look to the book that's rather appealing to the eye, especially great use of color all over the book. Lullabi's storytelling deserves some praise as well; action beats are easy to follow and flow well from panel to panel.

Speaking as someone who's not really knowledgeable about Warcraft, I was able to enjoy this volume just fine just as a fantasy themed ongoing. I imagine there's a lot here that will carry a lot of weight with actual Warcraft fans, but I was pleased with how readable it is on a basic level. I'm not sure just how much of that is Simonson and how much of it is the accessible nature of this variety of genre setting, but no doubt Simonson played a part.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

I don't know how much better this might be to a fan, but at the very least it's an enjoyable book from start to finish. Not even for a video game based comic. It's just enjoyable in general. I think it's worth giving a shot and I had a decent enough time once I got my head around the world I was presented with that I'll probably check out volume 2 at some point.

The New Avengers: Power (comics)

2011-03-05T00:18:00.003-05:00

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Billy Tan, Alex Maleeve and a truckload of guests on issue #50
Collects: Secret Invasion: Dark Reign, New Avengers #48-50

After a two volume interruption for some Secret Invasion tie-ins, New Avengers is back to it's regular programming. Whatever that is. I don't read the book aside from occasional, random times like this. I like team books, but I've got a good idea of what I want and expect out of a book starring the triple A team of a comic universe. The Avengers very rarely hit that ideal.

First up is the Secret Invasion: Dark Reign special that bridges one even to the next overarching theme, included here because where the hell else were they going to put it? It's basically Norman Osborn - now the head of national security because 90% of the regular humans of the Marvel Universe are borderline retarded - telling other top shelf villains how it's gonna be. Cute, but too long. It's a lot of talking stretched to full comic size and as such it gets old quick. It's the kind of thing that, these days, would be relegated to a free twelve page digital exclusive to be collected later.

Instead, it's a full issue. Of talking ad nausem about things we could either already figure out or did not need so many pages. Yeah.

Next are the three issues of New Avengers they decided to collect with this volume. Two deal with a plot point that was set up at the end of Secret Invasion, with Luke Cages daughter swiped by the Jarvis Skrull as a hostage. Surprisingly, Bendis doesn't drag the kidnapping plot out for months, instead wrapping it within two issues, a much appreciated move on his part.

It feels a bit transitionary; I got the feeling just reading this volume that the Skrulls weren't going to be around for a while as they give way to the new Dark Reign plot. Bendis toys a bit with the remnants of the Skrulls - even the ones who just want to exist amongst humans with no problems - being essentially walking targets; much like how the Japanese were mistreated during and after World War II, it looks like, if found out, they'll receive little mercy*. Bendis doesn't exactly go anywhere with it though.

The last issue of the three is issue fifty; as you can probably guess, it's oversized. In it, the New Avengers become acutely aware of the fact that a dude who's crazy about goblins now controls SHIELDS and Avengers assets, not to mention has assembled his own team using their names. Understandably, they're kind of annoyed by this, so they decide it would be a pretty good idea to lure him into a trap before he's got his crap together. It's probably not much of a spoiler to say this doesn't exactly go as planned. Afterwards, Clint Barton proves he actually has a working brain by pulling a move the others should have thought of, but then considering what morons populate the Marvel Universe you can be sure he'll be brushed off.

It's all written okay, but I'm hard pressed to think of anything that really stood out here. It was nice to have the baby disappearance story play out as quick and neat as it did, but aside from that there's really nothing of note aside from the reactions to Osborns Avengers. The only thing it has going for it is the usual witty banter Bendis is known for, but that's not exactly enough to carry it.

The art's pretty mixed. Alex Maleev handles the Dark Reign special. I've enjoyed his work in the past, but I did not care for it one bit here. It's common to see characters not looking remotely like themselves. See Norman Osborn or even Namor, who looks like an unshaven hobo fresh off an alcoholic blackout. He draws a nice Emma Frost and his Dr. Doom is suitably menacing, but the others just look outright bad. Even female Loki has some unflattering panels.

Billy Tan handles the bulk of the rest. He's not too bad. Still, there are some "what the hell" moments. One full page splash shows a Norman Osborn at his desk who must have recently taken up weightlifting, judging by the sudden bulk he has. Other odd moments crop up, but not on the level of the SI:DR special.

As for the rest, issue fifty has a truckload of guest artists that literally draw a page a piece of the fight. I didn't understand the purpose of it at all. I get the whole issue fifty thing and that it's something of a milestone. No, the problem is that it's not exactly what I'd call a suitable conflict for such a showing of artists. It's basically a brawl with a super-powered gang. Sure, maybe it was too early into the new status quo for it, but the teased fight with the Dark Avengers may have served it far better.

The Score: 6 out of 10

It wasn't all that great, but it wasn't aggressively terrible either. It's not exactly something I imagine making someone desperate for more of the book. Not much really happens and not much is collected in this thin volume. Can't recommend it, unless you're a completist or you have more of an attachment to the series than I do.

*By little mercy I mean shot in the side of the head, which is pretty much the heroes fault for happening. They walked into a bar filled with stressed, now unemployed SHIELD agents who just got done fighting for the planet and pointed out a skrull amongst them with the intent of interrogating her. What in the blue hell did they think was going to happen? A pat on her shoulder and "no hard feelings about that whole invasion thing"? I realize there was the pressing matter of finding Cages kid but goddamn. Good going heroes.

Top Five Couples in Entertainment

2011-02-28T20:24:00.001-05:00

You know, I wrestled with whether to do this. I've run this blog for about two years now and for the most part, I've kept shipping or preferred couplings out of here. I was going to do this on or right before Valentines Day, but instead I went for a Random Train of Thought. It is, however, still February, so it's still appropriate to some degree, so I made the last minute decision to do this list.

The following are what I think are some of the best pairings in entertainment. Obviously, with only five, I'm only going to hit so many. But hey, that's what next year is for. These are in no particular order, merely numbered for convenience.

1) Cloud and Aeris/Aerith (Final Fantasy VII)

Obviously, there's a fair bit of revisionist history going on with Final Fantasy VII. There are, to this day, people who absolutely insist that the main character was destined to hook up with the self centered but very well endowed martial artist. To anyone paying attention, this is patently moronic, due to a lot of evidence as well as the fact that Tifa wasn't even included in the game until very late in development.

There's obviously a lot of people missing the point of Final Fantasy VII, which is frankly a modern day, fantasy based Romeo and Juliet. These two were there for each other and it was spelled out that they more or less belonged together. But death is what seperated them. Only, it didn't. She lived on in his heart and despite the fact that her body may have perished, he never stopped loving her. Even at the very end of the game, when everything appears at it's zenith and he can do no more for the planet, he's concerned only with finding the Promised Land and seeing her again (while Tifa's right next to him looking crestfallen, which, come on, means that even she knew what time it was).

Even in the CG animated film, when he has other responsibilities - like the folks he's shacked up with that includes Tifa, Barret, who's away at the time, and Marlene - she's first and foremost on his mind. When Sephiroth threatens to take away everything dear to him, she's what he thinks of the most. Without her, his life seems almost unhappy. She appears to him in his darkest moments and, while it's up to interpretation as always since they don't want to upset any of the shipper fans on either side, it seemed pretty obvious to me that the Calling credits video made it clear he'd finally seen her again in the flower field. The physical aspect may be gone, but the love is not.

The point of Final Fantasy VII is that death may separate, but love lasts forever regardless of it. Frankly, that's a message far more beautiful and poignant than we get from a lot of stories. Certainly more-so than any liaison with a breasty, pushy bartender he rarely pays much attention to.

2) Beast Boy and Raven (Teen Titans)

Despite being a stalwart fan of the Titans - through good and oh-my-god-make-it-stop alike - I'm not much for shipping there. Comic Robin and Starfire, okay, but I've long since given up the ghost on that one. But aside from that, there's only one other I give a rats ass about, whether it's in the cartoon or the comic. You're looking at it.

In the show, they were antagonistic, but beneath that they had a great friendship and a solid foundation for possibly something more. In the comic, they were more. Despite the fact that the comic version has frequently been on hiatus or happening off panel, I still love it to pieces and hope to see more of it soon.

Obviously, there are some differences to the characters, but there are a lot more similarities. The two frequently have a lot in common, from their past on down. Overall, though, their relationship - when not written by people who have no clue how to write either of them - is sweet and believable; and frankly I see a lot of potential with them together, not just as a pairing, but in their own adventures. Despite, you know, the fact that such will never happen. Le sigh.

But above all else... come on. A dejected, half demon empath often feared and shunned finds love in a green man who can shapeshift into animals or other beasties, yet is never taken seriously by most anyone but her and his best friend. Tell me that's not like a modern day fairy tale. That's right. You can't.

3) Naruto and Sakura (Naruto)

I'm pretty hesitant to include this one. Not because of any dislike of the pairing or reservations. The reason is more because the manga went down the toilet a long time ago, to the point where I can't even read it anymore, not without having a conniption. Still, I can say that this pairing is a lot of the reason I held out for as long as I did - over two years of questionable material with only occasional good chapters - so that's probably a testament to how well done it is. Frankly, it's probably the only redeeming factor of the manga anymore.

What makes this one special is that we literally see it built from the ground up. For the entire series, Naruto's been in love with her, but at the outset she didn't like him one bit. She judged him based on shallow terms - actually, how shallow she was initially is why she still has haters, despite the fact that she grew up a long time ago - and harbored a crush on the Naruto equivalent of the school jock everybody loves.

But that was not to last. Naruto always went above and beyond the call of duty for her and over time, she realized that it was he who was always there for her, not the boy she had a crush on, who frequently berated her. After the timeskip, they quickly became something of a formidable duo who could count on one another in time of stress. It was a long journey, but it's now clear both have feelings for one another and the two seem ever on the verge of consummation.

It's the kind of long term plotting that makes stories special; and frankly, it's kind of hard not to root for the two. Only problem? The manga they star in stopped being worth your time ages ago. Ah well.

4) Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan (Starcraft)

As you've probably guessed from number one, I'm not adverse to a little tragedy or sadness in my love stories. This one's probably about as downbeat as the first one I named. But both have the potential for a happy ending of sorts; and hey, I like me a good happy ending too.

So, boy meets telepathic girl. Boy wonders how she'd look with no clothes on. Girl becomes agitated. Boy becomes closer to girl. Boy and girl come close to a real relationship. Girl is abandoned by the dick they both work for and finds her very being warped into an evil mass murderer. Boy never gives up. One day, boy perserveres.

If there's one thing this series does a lot of, it's shit on Jim Raynor. No, seriously. Of all the characters in the franchise, Jim's right up there with the best of them in having it bad. Basically a good man caught up in things beyond him, he loses everything, from his position as marshal of his home planet to the girl he has the hots for on down the line. Worse still, he blames himself for not doing enough; a sticking point is the fact that he regrets not acompanying Kerrigan on the New Gettysburg mission that saw her left behind by Mengsk.

But there's always that chance that Jim can get her back; and when the oppourtunity arises, he's there to take it, while saving a lot of lives along the way.

Sometimes it's fleshed out as much in the media outside the games as it is in, but either way it's a compelling love story and compelling drama. Sometimes, we lose the ones we love. But it's not too often they transform into a mass murdering monster. Even rarer is the one who will never give up on them. If that's not real love, then what the bloody hell is?

5) Bruce Wayne and Zatanna (Batman)

Boy, this one came out of nowhere to worm its way into my heart. I used to be a much bigger Batman and Catwoman fan. I still am, but it's been replaced by this pairing as the number one.

Paul Dini can take a bow for making this one a pairing I'd like to see more of.

It started with repairing the friendship the two had before that whole mindwipe thing. From there, it became clear there might be something more. Then the question of a relationship was broached and while they decided not to go anywhere with it, it's still lingering, despite her claim to being resigned to being second fiddle to Catwoman. Honestly, it feels more interesting than Batman and Catwoman have been in years; and while any thing with a guy who has the compulsion to dress like a bat and beat up crime will be tough, but considering Zatanna's lousy love life, she's certainly been with worse. Not to mention Zatanna herself would be much better for Batman than the woman who can't keep her sticky fingers off jewels for too long.

I wish DC would go somewhere with it, but for now - with Zatanna in her own series and Batman doing his Incorporated thing - it's probably going to be a bit of a wait. But I've warmed to this one enough to be real patient.

Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves (comics)

2011-02-27T01:21:00.000-05:00

Writer: Kevin VanHook
Artist: Tom Mandrake
Collects: Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves #1-6

I can't help but sit here and ponder whether it's even remotely possible to have a more straightforward name than this. I'm not so sure it is. I don't think you can be much blunter about the contents.

There are probably about a million jokes to be made about the name alone, but really, there isn't much point. I was sold from the cover alone, because if a man's not allowed to be even a little excited about the Dark Knight and Superman taking on frickin' vampires and werewolves there's something seriously wrong with the world today. Granted, it's a bit tougher these days, but this book doesn't use the sissy varieties of either like you might find in certain uber popular franchises I could name but won't.

Sure, the names a little bland - they could have come up with a snappier title, for sure - but it's just a wrapper on what's an otherwise fairly enjoyable romp pitting two of our favorite DC heroes against two of horrors most beloved types of monster.

The story starts with a body someone had for a meal tossed off a roof. Now, a half eaten corpse falling from the sky isn't an everyday occurrence, even for Gotham, so naturally Batman knows something's up. Before too long, he crosses paths with a vampire and a werewolf, both of which become uneasy allies with the Dark Knight against a lot of feral vampires and werewolves released by your typical mad doctor type. Superman shows up too and since werewolves are based on magic in this story, he quickly finds himself vulnerable. Then at some point we find that these supernatural creatures are the result of these crazy demon things that look like aliens from a low budget horror flick. Time for some punchin'.

The story feels old school. It's heavily narrated in a way I haven't really seen in a while and maybe a bit over-written. But in that way, it feels like an engaging adventure that might not have been out of place in, say, the 70's, barring loosened standards on blood and such.

Despite my feeling it's a tad over-written, I didn't feel it was to the stories detriment. I felt it gave it mood. It felt like an old fashioned horror comic. Pulpy even. Sometimes you're just over-writing something. Chris Claremonts work tends to have that problem. But there are cases where that might be pertinent; I'd say this is a case that benefits from it.

The artwork is fairly decent, if not always to my taste. The best way to put it is that it's stylized. Exaggerated, even. But it really works for the story. Mandrake's also pretty good at drawing the numerous beasties that come with the territory, which is really essential if you're going to do something like this. Better still, he's able to put those same beasts in a comic with the often brightly colored superheroes and make it work. Tom Mandrake's proved to be another one of those guys who I never heard of before - which is actually happening a bit too much to me lately - and managed to succeed in surprising me.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

It's not going to change how you look at things or challenge your mind, but if you're looking for some superheroics with a supernatural twist, you could do worse than this. There's another story by this creative team called "Batman vs The Undead" and I assume that it's a sequel to this story. I had enough fun to guarantee I'll be back for that.

Random Trains of Thought 2/14/2011

2011-02-14T01:52:00.003-05:00

- Welp, it's Valentines Day. I've seen a few of the usual "blah blah blah this holiday sucks it's a holiday based on consumerism" comments, either from friends or otherwise. It's interesting, actually, in that this is really a common slam against several of the chief holidays. But the argument frankly blows.

All holidays have an element of consumerism no matter what you do. It doesn't matter if you're buying chocolate for that special someone, getting a Christmas gift for a family member or buying groceries for a huge feast. You are consuming and it has to come from somewhere.

What seems lost these days is the fact that, despite the profit of corporations from them, holidays bring out some of the best traits of human beings. A vast majority of them are celebrations of concepts as great as giving to someone else for no other reason than to make them happy. Some inspire compassion. Hell, around Christmas time, being amongst other people is a far easier, more pleasant experience than any other time; everyone seems to be in the spirit, seem to be nicer to others and are more giving, even if the holiday itself is weeks away or already over.

These things are bad somehow? Why? Because a company makes money from an aspect of it? Who gives a god damn. They make money regardless all year 'round; and most of the year it isn't for good reasons. The only holiday I think you can make a case for is Thanksgiving - if you prescribe to the whole gluttony thing - but even that has higher reasoning behind it. If it means something to someone and makes people happy, it's a good holiday, to me.

- On that note, concerning Valentines Day, I don't currently have a girlfriend, but regardless of that, I like the holiday anyway. As far as I'm concerned any occasion to celebrate an emotion as awesome as love can't be all bad.

- I don't usually bring shipping stuff up on here, but since it's Valentines Day I'm going to make an exception for something. Did you ever notice that a fair amount of people ship a certain pairing chiefly because they had a crush on one of the characters as an adolescent or just really like them, even if the other character clearly doesn't return their feelings? I'm not going to name the two ships in general - or the game - but I've taken note over time that many people who stick with this one pairing - that I honestly think is flat out wrong, but when does that ever stop shippers - admit that they had a crush on the big breasted female in particular. So adding everything up, it becomes clear that such is a fair amount of why they ship her with the main character you play as, who very clearly loved someone else, even well after the most unfortunate of circumstances.

Doesn't that seem like an odd reason to ship something? No? It's just me? Oh.

- Actually, the above situation applies to the shipping wars of a certain manga about ninja's that are oddly unfamiliar with the concept of stealth. Shy, big breasted girl likes main character. Some male fans think she's hot. So of course, the main character has to end up with her, despite the fact that he doesn't even notice her and clearly has eyes for only one other girl. Same goes for females who relate to the shyness and want her to win out due to that reason.

That particular one is far less pressing, though, since I hate that manga to pieces now; used to like it a lot, but those days are long over since the quality went down the toilet.

- I think one of my greatest recent disappointments stems from Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Not because of the game itself, really. More that one of the featured dimensions, Marvel 2099, is woefully under represented outside of the game. Obviously the 616 Amazing universe is all over and it's really not hard to find material pertaining to either the Noir or Ultimate universes. Trying to find something from Spider-Man 2099, however, is akin to pulling teeth.

The comic, after all, ended over a decade ago. This is, I believe, the first major media outside of it to feature the character and his world in any fashion. But there's nothing to seek out. Spider-Man 2099 had some of my favorite levels from the game and I was immediately inspired to seek out the comic and whatever was related. To my utter dismay, there was nothing. No trades, no reprints, not a thing. There was a trade of the first ten issues, but that was issues back in early 2009. Said trade has been long out of print and I've never cared to back issue hunt if I don't have to.

Worse still, there doesn't seem to be a damn thing on the horizon for it, be it trades or new comics. Marvel is usually better about this kind of thing. I'm rather let down about it. This is probably the only taste of Spidey 2099 I'm likely to get for a long while, unless we get a sequel and the universe returns. Thanks Marvel. Way to cater.

- Speaking of the game, it feels short to me. Obviously there's a healthy amount of levels - twelve not counting the tutorial and the final boss - but that leaves a mere three stages a pop for each universe. For something like Noir and 2099, that doesn't feel like it's even remotely enough. I'm left wanting more; normally that's a good thing, but in this case it's more along the lines of simply not getting enough of each.

- Ever since I recently got a PS3, I've actually been playing online a fair bit. It is legitimately fun, but damn am I glad it's free on this system. Micrsoft can stick their Live Gold program up their ass; I did the trial and the actual multiplayer itself isn't any better than this, yet they charge for it.

- Actually, I've been switching over to the PS3 more lately in general. I'm finding I'm using it far more and making more game purchases for it over the 360. It's not surprising, honestly; I was really tired of Microsofts BS with the system itself and otherwise. I went through their customer service once. What a nightmare.

- On that note, I do have to give Sony some props. I recently had trouble with my PSP and simply did not want to do the customer service routine. I did it online and shockingly, it was quick and painless; I did a back and forth with a correspondent for a bit on what was wrong and then I had a box and instructions shipped to me on their dime. It was a very good experience, which is very nice.

I'm not just using Microsoft as a comparison here as it isn't even just them; in my experience, customer service for anything is frequently lousy. Navigating the computers is always a nightmare and even if you can get a correspondent on the phone it's no simpler. I really, really hate customer service.

- Why does Marvel seem intent on reminding us that the 90's in their comics are a thing that happened? Do we really need to see Onslaught again? No, we really don't, but damn, are they going to give it to us anyways. And that's with the insistence on bringing up the Clone Saga lately? A few scattered die-hard Ben Reilly fans aside, I think most of us were perfectly happy forgetting that mess was a thing that exists. It's quite possibly the lowest quality Spider-Man has ever reached, even within the confines of the Marriage Era. Cut that shit out, please.

- No, seriously; why the **** are we getting a Scarlet Spider action figure, complete with 90's ankle pouches? Seriously, what is the market for this stuff? That's even more shocking than the fact that Darkhawk's getting a figure in the same series.

- Possible reaction if anyone read this site: "then don't buy it troll STFU lolololol"

- Yes, I realize Spider-Man 2099 was a 90's thing. There were the occasional diamonds amidst the proverbial turds.

- I realize slamming the Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark musical is a popular thing these days but it's for good reason and I can't help commenting on it. As much as I like a good trainwreck, I'm genuinely concerned this musical is going to get someone killed. It's about as troubled a production as I've heard about in a long time, but stuff like how long it's been in previews, the savage reviews and large quantities of WTF-ery means little compared to the real danger of critical injury. You can bet your ass that if someone is crippled or died during this show, that 65 million will look like a pittance compared to the lawsuit.

- Being a bit of a pro wrestling fan - mostly the old stuff; I drift in and out of paying attention to it lately - the falling from a high flying cable stunt business with that musical never fails to remind me of Owen Hart, who, as you may recall, died from a malfunction during one of those stunts, falling a long way down to the ring. That was one stunt, too; not the constant use of such stunts a musical like this is going to require. I doubt the people involved even know of the incident - can't imagine there's much crossover with musical theater folk or their fans and pro wrestling - but it serves a lesson. All it takes is one screw-up.

- You know, the more I think on it, the more it makes sense that I'm enjoying the Spider-Man 2099 sections of Shattered Dimensions so much. I'm pretty much a total whore for cyberpunk and this is basically cyberpunk Spider-Man. It literally fits the majority of the classic criterion.

- I've been listening to grunge lately, which of course means that I'm listening to some awesome music. But, you know, I've come to a conclusion. I like Nirvana. Really, I do. But I honestly think Alice in Chains was the better band of the grunge movement. They lasted about the same amount of time - actually, Alice never really broke up for the longest time, but at some point the releases just stopped - and I think, judging by the body of work - which for both was about three albums and a couple EP's - AiC was simply the better band.

Alice in Chains is actually back together, I hear, with a new album. Haven't heard it yet. But I'm willing to go in with an open mind. This past decade was very kind to older bands, to the point where it was a decade of comebacks for the 80's and 90's best. So, you know, assuming trends hold it should be pretty awesome. Though, you know what they say about assumptions, so who knows.

- Actually, Bush is apparently back together as well. Ugly Kid Joe too. All we need are the Circle Jerks to get back together from their latest spat and most of the greats from the past will be back.

- Big events are back in comics. Sigh. To be fair, I'm looking forward to DC's Flashpoint, but unless it's absolutely fantastic, I'm not sure whether I'm going to even touch Marvel's Fear Itself. I like the creative team a lot, but I've been burnt enough by their events. I'm not liking how it's beginning to sound like all the tie-ins are going to be in the ongoings either, which is the method of tie-ins I hate. I said it once before, but occasionally that method leads to situations like with Incredible Hercules, where every other arc is an event tie-in, which kind of pisses me off and tells me I should look at other books.

- Really, I can't say I blame them for going back to events anymore. Marvel tried a year without the huge events. Sales seemed to plummet across the line and people actually started to say comics felt less exciting without them. So basically, my fellow fans blew it. Thanks guys.

- Called it on one of Dini's two Bat related ongoings getting canned. It was my second choice, though; I'd honestly thought Gotham City Sirens was going to be the one to go and I'm kind of shocked it's still alive. Dini hasn't been writing it for a long while though. The situation changed since I made that prediction, though; at the time I was still assuming he'd return to GCS and then there were some odd goings on with Streets of Gotham. A couple issues only alloted ten pages to the much hyped "House of Hush" storyline, with the Two-Face back-up taking most of the page space. In one issue, the Two-Face story took up the whole thing. Even DC didn't seem to know just what the hell was going to occupy a given issue until it was too late; their solicits were all kinds of messed up for a while there.

- Actually, I wonder if Dini really had his heart into the Dick Grayson Batman status quo following RIP. A lot of people seem to indicate the quality slipped when he went to Streets and that's around when his absences from the title went from occasional to frequent. Either way, I'm getting the feeling we won't be seeing him on a Batman comic for a while; Zatanna seems to be his main ongoing moving forward and he's got new TV commitments now. It's a bit sad; hopefully he comes back for another stint when he has enough time to devote to it.

- This has been bugging me for a while now, but I've never really said much about it. Exactly why the hell do we not have a comprehensive collection of the O'Neil/Adams years on Batman in trade? Seriously, it's one of the pivotal runs of the character - one of the definitive runs, actually - and the only thing we have is a collection of the Ra's Al Ghul issues. Anything else is scattered across a bunch of different "best of" collections. It's one of those things that I can't believe doesn't exist. What the hell gives?

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps

2011-02-06T21:11:00.000-05:00

Writers: Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi, Sterling Gates
Artists: Rags Morales, Gene Ha, Eddy Barrows, Jerry Ordway
Collects: Tales of the Corps #1-3, Adventure Comics #4-5, six pages from Green Lantern #49, Book of the Black

We're still in tie-in land here, but unlike last time, this ones actually got some measure of worth to it.

I kind of get the impression that a lot of what's collected here are odds and ends that didn't fit in any other collection put together in it's own trade. Obviously, the Tales from the Corps mini needed to go somewhere and I imagine the two Adventure Comics issues weren't exactly easy to place in a trade. Slapped together with six pages from Green Lantern #49 - which is clearly there only to give a chapter to the Black Lanterns - and the "Book of the Black" segments and you have quite the odd collection. The end result is a trade that feels like an anthology, which really isn't a bad thing.

It's fairly enjoyable and really serves as something of a primer to the Green Lantern franchise as it exists now. The bulk of what's collected are origin stories for various characters across the seven Lantern Corps, giving insight into some key supporting players in the franchise. If you ever wanted to see Killowog as a Lantern recruit or, say, Monguls history, this is the volume to go to. All of them are fairly enjoyable little stories - well, except for the Indigo Lanterns piece, which shows us that they're supposed to represent compassion and then tells us nothing else about the mysterious group - though the nature of the exercise keeps all of them at a short length. To be honest, despite the clear Blackest Night branding, the Tales of the Corps issues really have more to do with the "War of Light" amongst the different corps.

The latter half of the book is the one that justifies the tie-in banner. Six pages of Green Lantern #49 provide a Black Lanterns chapter for the book, rounding out the book with at least one story for each corps. It's presented as an origin story, but it isn't. It's the only story of the volume that doesn't work on it's own, because frankly it reads like what it is; six pages of a Green Lantern issue in the middle of the event. There's also a small prose section detailing the thoughts of Black Hand which was fairly interesting and perhaps even a bit creepy.

The last part collected is a two issue tie-in centered on Superboy Prime. Look, I like Superboy Prime. I'm not going to apologize for it. Ever since Infinite Crisis - and hell, even during it - he's become a gigantic indictment of comic fanboys, which I suspect is primarily why a lot of them hate him. I mean, he prowls on the DCMB for chrissakes. He's also good for a lot of metatextual stuff, since he supposedly lives on "our" Earth, or real life.

This tie-in seems to signal the character being set aside for a while. It's probably a good thing, as while I hope he comes back after a couple years, he probably needed a break, since doing the same joke without a pause tends to wear it out. Still, it's an enjoyable, goofy story in that Superboy Prime way, seeing him trash the DC offices and demanding they leave him alone to fighting Black Lanterns of all the heroes that he killed in Infinite Crisis. Well, all of them save Pantha; I guess Geoff Johns didn't want to piss off the four people who actually give a goddamn about the character again.

The art's held down by a bunch of pencillers that are particularly good at their craft, which is the long way of saying the art's pretty rad. They don't always get much to work with - these are short vignettes that typically clock in at six pages and never exceed twelve - but they make the most of it. Even Eddy Barrows turns in some good art - as you'll note my previous experience with his work was not positive - and how the hell can you go wrong with art from guys like Gene Ha, Tom Mandrake, Jerry Ordway and Chris Samnee? That's right, you can't.

The Score: 7 out of 10

It's ties to the event may be tenuous and it's probably the least necessary of all the Blackest Night tie-in volumes, but what the hell. I enjoyed what I read and to me that means a lot. If you want to read some origins, are in the mood for some quick stories or are looking for decent Blackest Night tie-in volumes, you could do worse.

Seige: X-Men (comics)

2011-02-02T15:44:00.000-05:00

Writers: Daniel Way, Marjorie Liu, Kieron Gillen
Artists: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Niko Henrichon
Collects: Dark Wolverine #82-84, New Mutants #11, Siege: Storming Asgard - Heroes and Villains

So, from the long, not so proud tradition of useless tie-ins comes Siege: X-Men, a volume as pointless as the name is misleading. That whole X-Men thing? Might want to ignore it. This volume has only tangential ties to the X franchise, with only one issue of the four collected having anything to do with them. It should have been labeled a Dark Wolverine volume, but then I doubt anyone would have bought it.

So, three issues of Dark Wolverine in here; this is in some ways my introduction to Wolverines son Daken. Not exactly the best one. The whole of the "story" is that Daken dicks around Asgard for three issues while the siege occurs, occasionally finding some chicks of fate trying to lead him to bringing about Ragnarok. That's pretty much it.

Such could be an interesting story, but here's the thing; absolutely nothing happens in the course of these three issues. Nothing. We just see Daken douching it up, getting blown up occasionally, making team-mates uncomfortable and having occasional visions of the future from the fate chicks that lead nowhere and carry no consequence. This three issue tie-in isn't even an actual story; absolutely nothing of consequence happens, Daken is in the same place he started in at the end - because, you know, any instance where something goes badly for him turns out to be a vision of the possible future - and I couldn't discern any ongoing storyline for the character - other than the fact that he's just a prick and at some point he needs to get his comeuppance - so I don't even think it serves to advance anything at all.

As for Daken himself, I'm not sure what to think of him as a leading man. He is a douchebag of the highest caliber and if he has any redeeming qualities, I sure as hell didn't see them. When friggin Bullseye seems the sanest person around - to the point where he's the only one of the two of them even remotely concerned about the wellfare of the men under their command - something is seriously wrong. There isn't even any personal plot I can see to get attached to; apparently he's positioning everyone for a backstabbing, but other than occasionally mumbling about wanting to be a god we don't get a sense of what he wants to accomplish and how he plans to do it. I'm not adverse to villain centric comics at all, but I at least expect them to have a general idea of where the hell they're going, which this volume gave no indication of.

I'm left completely unsure of whether I even want to give the Dark Wolverine series the most remote of shots in trade. That might seem harsh to some, but consider this. The whole point of a tie-in is not to tell a great story within the framework of an event. That's what we want out of them - and certainly the comic companies would prefer we get them, since it's better for them in the long run - but a tie-in to an ongoing is usually to boost sales. They're hoping that someone, maybe looking for more action related to the ongoing event, will pick up a tie-in to a series they wouldn't spare a glance at otherwise, like what they see, get invested in the characters ongoing plots and stay on board.

As a tie-in, the Dark Wolverine issues fail on even the most basic levels; and it doesn't deliver on any others either. The art is the sole saving grace. As seems usual for me lately, I'm not familiar with Camuncoli, but the work speaks for itself. It's a bit... looser, for lack of a better word, than I'm used to, but the facial expressions are quite nice and some interesting use of panels can be found. This is the only good thing I can say about these issues, other than some decent dialogue and the fact that it's not an unreadable mess.

The only other actual comic collected is the New Mutants issue and it's the only thing in the book with the most remote tie to the X-Men. It doesn't deal with the whole team, though; only Dani Moonstar. It picks up on a plot point from a previous X-Men tale, where Dani made a deal with Hela - of Norse mythologies Hel - to get the power of a Valkyrie for a day, as per Cyclops plan. But bargains with creatures like Hela never come without a price and now the favor is being called in. Amidst the Siege, the fallen cannot move on to their afterlife, so Dani is trusted to be their guide. This doesn't go as planned, because of course Dani would rather save lives first before tending to those already dead.

It's a relatively solid one issue tie - a hell of a lot better than Dark Wolverine - with some really nice art. Niko Henrichon's style seems at home in the sort of granduer of Norse mythology, enough so that I might be interested in seeing it on a Thor book itself. The work seems to lack some heavy inking, which combined with the style gives it an interesting look I'm not sure I've seen too often outside of some work associated with the Fables franchise over at DC's Veritigo imprint.

Still, it's one good issue out of four; and good as it is, it's not worth picking up this volume alone; I'd sooner go out and get the back issue of it and I really don't deal in single issues much.

The only other thing collected is one of those books that gives out bios for important characters in a coming story. Marvel puts these out every once in a while, usually whenever an event is scheduled to hit. I guess they're Marvel's version of Secret Files. An okay read - one that does a fair job of getting you caught up on recent events with the main players - but it's of more use to people who want to read Siege itself. What's it's doing here, I haven't a clue. Best guess is that it was thrown in to pad out the volume, because for an X-Men tie-in volume the X-Men had jack all to do with Siege, so there wasn't much else to collect.

The Score: 5.5 out of 10

Put a wide berth between this volume and you. The only reason I even gave it a score this high is because I liked the New Mutants issue and the art was pretty good. But most of the volume fails as a tie-in, it fails as a story and it fails to do anything. It's not worth getting at all. Save your money and leave this trade on the shelf.

Transformers: The IDW Collection Volume 1 (comics)

2011-01-30T19:24:00.000-05:00

Writers: Eric Holmes, Shane McCarthy, Simon Furman
Artists: Alex Milne, Casey Coller, E.J. Su, Nick Roche and others
Collects: Megatron Origin #1-4, Spotlight: Blur, Spotlight: Cliffjumper, Spotlight: Shockwave, Spotlight: Nightbeat, Spotlight: Hot Rod, Spotlight: Soundwave, Infiltration #0-6

This is only my second real foray into Transformers comics. Clearly they have fans - though they've never reached the heights of popularity that GI Joe did in the 80's, as far as I can see - but I've admittedly been a bit skeptical about it. I love the brand and have since I was a kid, but comics never struck me as a great fit for the Transformers.

The reason for that is because one of the key distinctive features of the Transformers has always been the transformation itself. Back when the toys first came out, it was what set them apart from the action figures of the day and to a young mind offered more play oppourtunities than the standard figure. In cartoons, it was still a major strength of the brand, because it was just cool to see them in motion, the transformations animated. For all the strengths of the comics medium, this is not something you can properly depict in detail without spending panel upon panel on the transformation itself. What's left are the characters themselves - and the allure of giant fighting robots - without one of the key features of the brand.

Luckily, I'm quickly finding myself convinced that's enough.

My first taste of the IDW continuity was the opening volume of All Hail Megatron, which takes place further down the line. I liked what I saw quite a bit, but instead of jumping right into the second volume, I figured I'd jump back to the beginning and read back up to that point. IDW had started putting together the big hardcovers, so damn, that's about as good an opening as any, right?

IDW started up their continuity in a rather unique way, one which is on full display in this volume. Instead of sticking with a lot of long story arcs, the bulk of the work is made up of one shot spotlight issues - each focusing on a different Transformer - sandwiched between two bigger stories that play out through the course of a miniseries. The spotlight issues are a great way to get to know the bot in question and while most of them generally begin and wrap in the course of the twenty two pages, the writers are slick in using the issues to set up numerous subplots, several of them feeding into the miniseries.

The result is a continuity that feels connected without being overpowering, which is a nice use of it as a tool instead of a crutch.

The opening story - the first of the two miniseries included here - is the IDW continuities official origin of Megatron. It's not quite the standard opening you might expect from this franchise. Megatron's a disgruntled miner in the midst of having his job ripped from him and his fellow miners by the Autobot government.

It's an interesting switch in that the Autobots, before the rise of the Decepticons, are portrayed as almost corrupt in the upper echelons, their government just as cold and uncaring as ours might be. For a time, it almost looks as though they're shooting to make Megatron sympathetic, even going so far as to show him shook up from his first kill. But that's not what they're going for; any sympathy for Megatron quickly melts away as he becomes increasingly ruthless, finding the killing easier and easier. Soon, he's become the evil tyrant we all know he is.

Speaking of Megatron, before I talk about anything else in the Origin, it's worth noting that this is not the mostly incompetent buffoon we know best from G1. Clearly, this is meant to be the Generation 1 Megatron, but by the end of the collections it's obvious IDW's version follows on the general trend since G1 of making the Megatrons far more dangerous and far better at what they do.

This is the first iteration I've seen of Generation 1 Megatron that was as vicious and competant as the Beast Wars Megatron - without the latters crippling arrogance - who has long been the gold standard. He may turn out to be even more ruthless than the BW counterpart; it's too early to tell, but if he continues in this vein he may just take the crown. Upon learning of Starscreams treachery, Megatron casually dispatches the cronies who followed him before completely trashing Starscream like it ain't no thing. This is not a Megatron to be trifled with; even BW Megatron had a bad habit of letting guys like Tarantulus and Terrorsaur hang around a bit too long.

Anyways, back to the mini itself. The writing is pretty good, but I think it's hurt by the art. Alex Milne isn't a stranger to the Transformers - he's done work on the Energon comic prior to Dreamwaves closure, as I understand - but while he draws some awesome looking robots, there are occasional storytelling hitches. There were instances in the course of the mini where it was difficult to figure out what was going on. I'm not entirely sure it's Milne's fault - much of my confusion seemed to result when the coloring messed up - but it's still disappointing.

After the Origins mini, the next third of the book is taken up by the spotlight one shots. They're all enjoyable and well written, setting up future plots while serving as enjoyable stories in their own right. A couple of them are written by Shane McCarthy, who I recognize as the writer of All Hail Megatron, but halfway through Simon Furman takes the reins, penning the rest of the material in the book.

It's a bit difficult to talk about the art for the one shots. There's literally a different artist for each one. So talking about each one would take all day. But what can be said is that it's uniformly good. No problems following them either, which is what hampered the Megatron Origin.

The last third or so of the book is the Infiltration mini, which seems to be the first "big" storyline of the continuity. I really enjoyed it. Humans are introduced here for the first time; I don't carry the disdain for human characters like some Transformers fans do, but the ones introduced here are probably the best bunch I've seen from the franchise as actual characters. Furman's got a good handle on everyone; I'd expect as much from a long time writer for the franchise, but I was still surprised, considering this was my first exposure to his work.

The brunt of the story picks up on plot threads introduced in the spotlight mini's; Starscream gets hold of some totally awesome energon and decides hey, now seems like a bitchin' time to betray Megatron and take over. Megatron doesn't really care for that, of course, so off he goes to give Starscream a stern talking to. Which, for this Megatron, involves creating giant holes in Transformers bodies and leaving them for scrap. Like I said, this Megatron doesn't screw around.

It's fitting that it closes out the volume, because it does so on a high note. This is probably my favorite of the volume. The writing is good and the art is great. It also sets up the future nicely and leaves me ready for volume two. IDW's Transformers work is pretty awesome, from what I'm seeing.

There's also an unusual risk taken with this continuity in that - Megatron aside - it doesn't focus on the better known Transformers much. Bumblebee isn't seen until Infiltration and Optimus Prime isn't seen at all aside from a cameo or two. Optimus in particular is the most surprising omission, since he's a principal character and arguably the face of the franchise. But it works; when he finally does show up, it feels kind of like a big moment, arguably the one we've been waiting for, and helps with that whole "looking forward to Volume 2" thing.

Overall, this is a very nice package. It's a handsome hardcover and while it's not, say, omnibus size, there's a decent amount of content here. Seventeen issues isn't anything to sneeze at and makes for a pretty thick hardcover. It feels substantial, really; and while I'm normally not a hardcover guy, this is the sort of package I could make exceptions for. Very good work in putting this together.

The Score: 8 out of 10

Seventeen issues of good writing and mostly good art in a beefy, well produced hardcover. As a whole package, this book earns its high mark. I look forward to where things go from here and most of my skepticism about Transformers comics is pretty much gone now. Hopefully the second volume is as good, if not better.