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wktf
08-12-2010, 10:22 AM
Sam Wilson’s Review

Birds of Prey #4
DC Comics
Written by: Gail Simone
Drawn by: Ed Benes and Adriana Melo
Cover by: Alina Urusov

Waaay back in 1996 the first Birds of Prey one shot came to us via writer Chuck Dixon and artist Gary Frank. An all-female team book lead by the former Batgirl (aka Barbara Gordon aka Oracle, DCU’s resident super genius), Black Canary (duh), and that was kind of it in the beginning. The concept seemed to resonate with fans, and as time and creative teams changed so did their roster, leading to the birds golden days under writer Gail Simone and penciler Ed Benes. During that era the Huntress, Lady Black Hawk and occasionally Lady Shiva joined Barbara and Black Canary, and yeah. Enter one of my top five books of the last 10 years. Someone who is clearly a genius and a visionary at DC thought it would be a good idea to reunite that team and bring back the birds, and, well, whoever you are, I love you. Seriously…

Last issue the team wasn’t back together yet, Dinah was trying to save a kidnapped child in Iceland and it ended badly (for the kidnapper). She’s been having a rough year though, quitting the JLA, leaving her husband Ollie (never liked him anyway), giving up her kid for adoption a few years back. Dinah could use some friends, which is when Babs calls her back in action, with Lady Black Hawk and the Huntress in tow. They are lured out to GCPD’s headquarters, a new villain has commandeered the bat signal and made it a “bird signal”. This new villain calls herself the White Canary, and she’s pretty bad ass. In issue two we see her easily take down Dinah and the Huntress, and doesn’t do to bad with Hawk and Dove either (the newly resurrected Hawk and the same Dove apparently are on Bab’s speedial). It’s all an elaborate ruse to hide a more sinister plan, and Babs gets caught up in it 100%, with her old team stuck and now suddenly wanted by the police. Last issue they took refuge with Oswald Cobbelpot, aka the Penguin but he was injured pretty bad. It doesn’t really matter though because White Canary has worked her way through everyone leaving just Black Canary to square off with her, and Barbara has her own problems with Creote and Savant (who, gasp, aren’t dead and also aren’t very rehabilitated anymore). Which brings us to the final issue in our introductory arc. White Canary has it out with Dinah, Creote and Savant finish things with Barbara Gordon and the girls are betrayed by someone who was always an a**hole anyway. Yes, and to clarify, it doesn’t end the way you would expect…

Fans of the old series, rejoice. The girls are back. Gail more or less jumps back in continuity where she left off with the old series, and hasn’t missed a step. I’m a little disappointed Ed Benes only penciled about half of this issue, but its okay, the fill in artist wasn’t too bad. Most importantly, the Birds are back and for the foreseeable future I’m thinking it’s going to be good…

Dawg’s Reviews

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Dale Eaglesham

Steve Rogers has his past coming to haunt his present in this mini series that puts the former Captain America smack dab in the middle of a global adventure. Last issue Steve was led to believe the son of the scientist, who invented the super soldier serum, had unlocked and perfected his father’s formula to create super soldiers. This led Steve into a little James Bond action. What Steve found out was that there’s always more to the story that what it seems on the surface and the son of Dr. Erskine was assassinated, making him the second Erskine to die in Steve’s arms.

Someone else has mastered the super soldier serum and this issue is all about Steve tracking down the shooter and looking for answers. The answers finally come with excessive use of his fists. But the answers he finds just leads to more questions as he is being set up. He knows that he is being toyed with and even still, he can’t wrap his brain around what is going on and by the time he does it is too late. The true villain of this plot is revealed and on the last page, which is meant to be a shocker, we see something that seems like it has been used one too many times against Steve. I could be very wrong about this mind you, it just feels like this plot device is always there and after 60+ years of having the serum running through his veins, it should NOT be a plot device.

I wasn’t sure how I’d adjust to having Steve Rogers back in the Marvel Universe and not in his Captain America duds, but it certainly is growing on me. I feel like a certain side of Steve can be unleashed and he can be a bit more edgy because of it. In a way the flag that he wore as Cap was almost bigger than the man inside and his conduct without can be a bit more down and dirty. I like this because Steve Rogers is ultimately the biggest bad ass around really.

We all know that this mini series has story to come, and I am really enjoying it so far, despite my annoyance with the whole super soldier serum thing at the end. Brubaker has been with Steve for so long now that you cannot deny how much he knows Steve. The best addition to Brubaker and Steve Rogers though is Dale Eaglesham. The guy is a throwback comic artist, whose lines and panels are 100% gold compared to the more heavily shadowed and photo referenced stuff you see today.

With these guys at the helm, I am on board to see how this plays out. You really can’t go wrong as long as you have great creative working on a great character.

X-Force: Sex and Violence #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Chris Yost
Drawn by: Gabriele Dell’Otto

This mini series is sure living up to its name. Everywhere you turn someone is being shot at, clawed, and Wolvie and Domino are caught up in their sexual chemistry, and tension. You can almost smell the leather, gunpowder and pheromones in the air while reading this book. So much so that at times it’s hard to remember what the plot is…

Oh yeah…

Domino got in over her head on a job she was hired for. It was supposed to be a routine run, and she got her nose in deep, with the Hand, and the Assassins Guild both out to kill her for her trouble. Not to mention a rather large sum of money.

Who does she run to for help? Only the baddest, hairiest, grumpiest, runt in the Marvel Universe… Wolverine.

The only problem with that, is that Dom hasn’t given Logan every detail and they have a sh*t ton of renowned assassins on their tail.

They are traveling from one scrape to another and all you see is blood, laser sights, as they go.

Oh and there is that rather heated romp in a hotel/safehouse room.

Yup that’s pretty much it folks… this is not to say that there isn’t more going on, but whose to say there has to be at that? Some times comics are just meant to be fun and this one is definitely that. I love it for that as it’s not trying to be anything more than it is. It is not trying to shatter any status quo, it isn’t trying to reshape the Marvel Universe, as you know it, it is just full of ass kicking and sexual interplay between the lead characters. Throw in a bunch of expendable hand ninjas and assassins from the guild and you can expect a bloodbath.

Del’Otto is on point here and this type of story is something that plays really well to the artist’s strengths. Washed out, gritty, contrast, blurred and frenetic action… it works. At this point with the writing you could honestly expect no less from Yost either.

For the sheer fun factor and seeing Wolvie and Dom tear it up in an adult oriented comic where the violence isn’t a parody of itself, this is my pick of the week.

Wktf’s Reviews

Superman #702
DC Comics
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Drawn by: Eddy Barrows
Covers by: John Cassaday & Keith Nowlan

Well, beginning with Cassaday’s boringly iconic cover, this issue has taken JMS’ Superman run and turned it from what up until now felt unique and even refreshing to just plain flat and unremarkable. Nothing in here was especially terrible but, as well, nothing was particularly remarkable, surprising or even interesting. Even Barrows’ art, top notch as it always is, couldn’t take this story and make it visually exciting despite the fact that Superman had to face and fight a monstrous otherworldly mechanical monster.

As Superman strolls his way through America he comes to a Detroit suburb, where kids are playing basketball in run down parks, blue collar workers try to rest their bones after a long day in the factory, and even more people find themselves out of work. Superman pauses to instigate a pick-up game of hoops with a bunch of teens, with the exception of one boy whose lack of skills produce chiding on the part of his friends. How is the most powerful man in the universe to help this boy out? In the most predictable way possible, of course. And, considering who Superman is and how well known his powers are, how seriously could these kids not sniff out his approach and see through it? As well, when he comes across a wheezing older man in an abandoned factory it never occurred to me that he’d save the day both for this individual and the entire town, and then go walking off into the sunset. Maybe in a 1950s comic book this won-and-done single issue wrap-up was to be expected but, today, it seems to pat and too cliché. Even the “surprise” guest appearance on the last page, the singular most likely and popular team up in comics, couldn’t lend energy to this tale.

Hmmm….unpleasantly surprised is the last feeling I expected to experience after the intro of “Grounded” in Superman #700 and last issue’s first installment. But there it is. I’m hoping this dip is an aberration, especially given JMS’ most current track record on Thor and Brave and the Bold. I’ve been throwing props at this run up until now but another issue or two like this and I won’t be coming back to this title.

Daredevil #509
Marvel Comics
Written by: Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston
Drawn by: Roberto Pascual De La Torre
Cover by: John Cassaday

For those keeping track, and I’m not even sure I’ve got this right, this issue of Daredevil appears to take place between when The Kingpin enters Danny Rand’s soup kitchen and when Iron Fist and Luke Cage pay a visit to Matt in his Hell’s Kitchen Shadowland castle, both of which happened in Shadowland #2. So, I think this issue happens, timing-wise, between the pages of Shadowland #2, though it seems to end on a different perspective to how Shadowland #2 ended. As far as advancing the story, we have a few parallel paths running throughout this issue. Master Izo and Electra have made their way to The Hand’s stronghold in Japan to uncover their plot against Matt. Dakota and Foggy find themselves in the harm’s way that hit them at the end of last issue as they ventured into Matt’s territory, but are aided by the timely arrival of Iron Fist and Luke Cage. And Matt receives a visit from one of his many enemy/former lovers who answers his call to join his cause.

Probably the most interesting part of this issue is Master Izo’s reaction to what he learns in Japan (which isn’t made clear to the reader) and his sense of urgency regarding Matt’s state and for Electra to return and confront him. But, even with this, there’s nothing here that really moves this storyline past where it was prior to this issue’s coming out. Even De La Torre’s moody and expressive art, an improvement by leaps and bounds over what Tan’s delivering in the core “event” book, doesn’t really help take a static plot and story and push it forward. The most pressing event in this storyline so far is the combination of Daredevil’s killing Bullseye and the voices in Matt’s head that seem to be controlling him. But neither of these are getting the kind of play at this point that I feel they deserve. Marvel should not be deconstructing a major character, as the teaser images for the future Man Without Fear as well as the current The End seem to indicate, simply for the sake of deconstructing him. It should mean something beyond the shock of the event, itself. So far the Shadowland storyline just isn’t helping to bring the reader along.

X-Men #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Victor Gischler
Drawn by: Paco Medina
Covers by: Adi Granov & Paco Medina

“Curse of the Mutants” continues as a situation last issue that could only be described as bad gets seriously worse, as Scott postulates at the end of this issue, across more fronts than the X-Men know. Xarus, son and murderer of Dracula, has done something that Blade, who appears in this issue, claims even Dracula was unable to do. Unite the world’s factions of vampires under a single banner. Going a few years back to Marvel’s Legion of Monsters series of books, the Dracula story showed the vampire lord trying to do this very thing. And, again, in Captain Britain’s canceled book, Dracula tried to establish England as a beachhead home for to unite the vampire nation. But he never succeeded. But now, under Xarus’ rule, the world’s vampire sects have united as one and are descending upon San Francisco.

Last issue we saw a kamikaze vampire expose himself to sunlight in a crowded part and explode in an eruption of blood and gore all over the crowd. In doing so, he released a vampire virus that infected and has begun to enthrall all the humans who came in contact with it. One of those humans’ being the now depowered Jubilee. Over time, this virus is taking greater hold of its victims and filling them with an overwhelming and compelling longing for a darkness they don’t understand but know their entire bodies’ desire. In fact, I have to wonder if some out there might consider Gischler and Medina to be misogynistic in their portrayal of Xarus’ first victim, a slender and shapely redhead who is willingly guided crawling on all fours, stripped to her underwear, a leash around her neck, lustfully but with a tear in her eye, to Xarus’ side. No less evocative is Jubilee’s desire to come to her vampire master, a plan to bring one X-Man in particular Xarus hopes to convert. But, is this misogyny or a depiction of the way vampires are best portrayed: cruel, usurious, sensual, brutal?

The X-Men know, and learn fast, how hopelessly they are outgunned, though they don’t fully understand the full scope of their problems. And the solution Emma and Scott devise is one with which Wolverine has serious issues and which Blade angrily likens to turning to Hitler to deal with Saddam Hussein. Desperate times call for the most desperate measures. For a superhero comic book that captures all the fear and terror of some of the best horror films, this book gets my pick of the week.

rilynil
08-12-2010, 01:28 PM
Good stuff, guys!

supahman
08-13-2010, 02:05 AM
Gr8 Reviews Guys, a lot mre common on my buys this week.

Thanks for the B and B reviews, Got the HC and read 4 out of 5 stories and they r brilliant. Hope JMS continues.
Superman 702 wasn't as great as 701, i hve to agree, underwhelmed.

Justin
08-13-2010, 02:18 AM
I loved X-Men #2 guys, was the best book i read this week! :buttrock:

THECLOWN KNIGHT
08-13-2010, 04:10 PM
Re: Steve Rogers Super Soldier 2
I like when Brubaker travel or incorporate strokes of the past of Steve Rogers. Didn't know it was a miniseries of 4 issues I thought it was a regular new book.

Re: X-Men 2
Kuddos to the writer, you really can feel the struggle of Jubilee. Can't wait for the nex issue. Oh and about the crawling girl I thought Wolverine chopped her head last issue, maybe was another readhead girl.

Re: X-Force Sex & Violence 2
The violence was too graphic I'd have liked to see more of the 'sex' part that way LOL.

Re: Daredevil 509
I didn't expect to see Typoid!
And would have loved to see De La Torre art in Shadowland. The same happened with Tan in Thor.

wktf
08-16-2010, 02:55 PM
Re: X-Men 2
Kuddos to the writer, you really can feel the struggle of Jubilee. Can't wait for the nex issue. Oh and about the crawling girl I thought Wolverine chopped her head last issue, maybe was another readhead girl.


Yeah, different girl. The woman he beheaded was a vampire. This girl is a mortal woman exposed to the vampire virus in #1.

Jesse321
08-16-2010, 03:15 PM
I gotta say, I totally agree with both Sam's review of BOP, as well as (heart-breakingly so) Joe's review of Superman 702 ... God is was HORRIBLE, with a capital everything!!!

THECLOWN KNIGHT
08-16-2010, 03:44 PM
Yeah, different girl. The woman he beheaded was a vampire. This girl is a mortal woman exposed to the vampire virus in #1.

Yes, I thought that because of the necklace both girls are using.

Plus te vampire wasn't red head, a confussion because of the colors & the place where they are fighting.