Statue Forum 





Go Back   Statue Forum > Comic Heroes > Comics > The Mighty Reviews

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 07-07-2012, 11:36 PM   #1
Rocket
Art of Mod
 
Rocket's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Melbourne, Aust
Posts: 63,785
WE HAVE ISSUES! Comic Reviews 07/08/12 POTENTIAL SPOILERS

Hey gang, here we are first a first round of reviews!!
Dipping our toes in the water with reviews from myself, 67wm, and JLM! Hope you guys enjoy, and would love to hear all your thoughts!

Rocket:

AVENGERS Vs X-MEN #7 (of 12)



Matt Fraction - Script
Olivier Coipel - Pencils
Mark Morales - Inks
Laura Martin - Colors

It's a little hard to jump into a review midway through an "event" book, but with this being the major focus in the Marvel Universe right now, I figured what better way to start up the Reviews.
A brief recap of where we are at so far; The Phoenix force has been headed to Earth, presumably to make contact with Hope Summers and thus reignite the Mutant race. This has caused difffering viewpoints between Avengers and X-Men resulting in, well, a lot of fighting and not much else.

Then:


So we open with the newly crowned "Phoenix Five" (groan) on the offensive, having secured Avengers Tower and essentially playing the role of hunters, seeking out the Avengers resistance and taking them down. Whether or not this is a deliberate move, considering mutants have always been hunted and feared throughout Marvel history is unclear at this point, but the assumption is that the Phoenix Force is playing a part in Cyclops motives here.
The issue plays out in three stages. We have The X-Men as the hunters, the Avengers as the now underdogs, then we see the Avengers counterpunch, finally striking a return blow on the X-Men by capturing the young mutant known as Transonic, and finally the issue ends with a cliffhanger as Emma Frost tells Namor, and not Cyclops that the Avengers are hiding out in Wakanda. The final page leading in to issue #8 with Namor launching his own assault on Wakanda.
Key points in this issue to note are the continued development of the Phoenix Force as corrupting the five mutants it has merged with, with Emma Frost actually burning Hawkeye alive (she later makes an offhand comment that she can heal his near fatal burns in an instant).


Also, reference is made to the Scarlet Witch's Hex Power and the Phoenix Force being somehow linked.
It must be said that as usual, Olivier Coipel's art is a joy to behold. I'm not sure there's anyone out there right now who does action scenes as well as he does. He manages to depict battles clearly, so you aren't forced to strain to work out what's happening, while still keeping you engaged and entertained.


Writer Matt Fraction is one of the most polarizing writer's out there today. When he's good (Iron Man, Iron Fist) he is DAMN good, but when he's not (Fear Itself, Thor) it's a departure from characters that makes them barely recognisable.
In this issue he does something very curious. He takes aspects from multiple storylines he's written in the past five years, namely the budding affair between Namor and Emma Frost


The Lei Kung\Kun Lun universe he created in his AMAZING Iron Fist opus AND his Tony Stark universe



and kind of throws everything together almost as insurance against the main storyline. It's a move that puts all the good he's done in the MU at risk if this storyline doesn't work, especially considering the rotating writer and artist teams on the main book mean he's allowing others to play with what he established, and only time will tell if it's the right move.
At this point I feel that this entire storyline iis what many have speculated it is, simply a lead in to the universe altering event Marvel will be announcing this coming weekend at San Diego Comic Con. Much like Flashpoint for DC, this looks to be a catalyst for sweeping change in the MU, which means a long term assessment will be required down the road.

If you're planning on embracing (or at least giving a chance) to the Marvel NOW era, then this storyline will be worth picking up in collected form at a later date, but in terms of jumping in now, consider it best to play the wait and see game. With the amount of actual plot progression being so minimal, a general recap after issue #12 will be enough backstory to sample Marvel NOW.

Last edited by Rocket; 07-07-2012 at 11:41 PM.
Rocket is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-07-2012, 11:36 PM   #2
Rocket
Art of Mod
 
Rocket's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Melbourne, Aust
Posts: 63,785
67wm:

Before Watchmen:Nite Owl #1 (of 4)


DC Comics - $3.99 cover price - MATURE READERS

J. Michael Straczynski - writer
Andy Kubert - penciler
Joe Kubert - inker
Brad Anderson - colors





DC comics has finally decided to pursue the effort to publish more adventures in the Watchmen Universe. Before Watchmen: Nite Owl is one of several mini series focusing on events that occur prior to what transpired in Watchmen. Nite Owl shows us how a young hero worshipping Daniel Dreiberg steps into the shoes of his idol.


Straczynski does a fine job taking Daniel Drieberg from the wide eyed kid to the novice hero who steps into the shoes of his idol, even incorporating a couple scenes from Watchmen.



It's only the first issue, but I felt Straczynski captured the character pretty well. My only 'complaints' might be that he presents Nite Owl as a very Batman-like character, which is kind of understandable but he was originally meant to be Blue Beetle. In one of the scenes the first Nite Owl, Hollis Mason, is even very reminiscent of the '60's campy version of Batman with the 'Owl' prefix



This is, however, only his public persona. When fighting the criminals there is no slapstick and Mason even brings a gun to his first meeting with Daniel, which happens after in a public park after Daniel manages to track him to his hidden lair. Another part that felt too Batman related, reminding me of Jason Todd trying to steal the wheels off the Batmobile and even Tim Drake deducing Batman's real identity - both of which may be retconned out of existence by this point.


I was happy to see Kubert's work on this title and feel that by having Joe ink the book it gives the pencils a feel for the older style of pencils that Joe did. While you can still see Andy's hand in the art it fits a story that is set in the 1960's, at least for me.



This page, in particular, really took me back to the original Watchmen and as seen in the example above with the incorporation of an original scene, the Kuberts were able to capture mood and take us back to the original while still having their own unique look. I also mentioned the colorist, Brad Anderson, because I thought he did a really nice job on lighting and shadows throughout the book. The coloring frequently gets overlooked but I think it is an asset on this book.


Overall I was pleased with this book and, despite my original thoughts on holding off and getting the trades on these Before Watchmen books, I am looking forward to getting the rest of this series as it comes out. Even with my minor issues on the heavy handed Batman 'borrows' I still feel this title shouldn't disappoint fans of Watchmen. Might be worth mentioning also that it has been about 3 years since I have read the original so what I thought reminded me of the books may have actually been from the movie.

4 STARS


JLM:

Usagi Yojimbo or: The Best Kept Secret In Comics?
I am no newcomer to comics, and have been reading them for as long as I can remember. Tastes have changes, but interest in the medium has been fairly consistent. As a result, I know quite a lot of people who know quite a lot about comics.

In all that time, I have somehow completely managed to completely avoid the brilliance that is Usagi Yojimbo.

I have seen it periodically pop up on shipping lists and thought “That’s an odd name. I wonder what that is all about?” I never answered the question, as I can never recall seeing on the shelves.

Things changed in the summer, when I saw an enormous double volume hard back book sitting in the local comic shop. It was kind of hard to miss, and intrigued, I picked it up, and flipped it open (carefully, of course). Inside, there were a bunch of cutesy animals running around.

A few years back, I would have just closed the book and put back where I found it (still carefully, mind you). However, the twin genius that is Bone and Blacksad taught me that a comic filled with cutesy animals can still be ace. With the encouragement of the owner of the shop, I parted company with some money, and took the book home.

Within pages, I was hooked, and wondered how I had missed this. I undertook some Wikipedia research, and was slightly aghast that I was reading stories that were 25 years old! Yes, Stan Sakai had been writing and drawing this tale for a quarter of a century, and it had totally passed me by. On the upside, there was a ton of material that I could get to grips with.

The basic plot is fairly simple, Myamoto Usagi is a masterless samurai rabbit. He wanders around feudal Japan, getting into adventures. There is nothing to dislike about Usagi as a character, he’s polite, honourable, a bit down on his luck, a bit awkward with the ladies, a strong sense of justice. And he totally kicks ass in a sword fight. This is not a series light on action. Usagi might not be keen on getting into fights, but when he does, he commits to them.

I’ve called the plot “simple”, but don’t be deceived, but there is a always a completeness to the individual tales, often a sense of justice, and a lot set up far in advance. Nor does it mean that the stories don’t surprise, and quite often don’t end up where you expect them too. There is a lot of historical research undertaken to prepare the stories, although Stan Sakai admits that details get changed where the story demands it. As one might expect, there is a lot of humour, but perhaps less expected, quite a few moments of genuine sadness.

As ever there are a team of supporting characters, bounty hunter with a heart of gold Gen, wily trickster Kitsune, noble bodyguard Tomoe, headstrong young Jotaro, and Usagi’s sensei, to name a few. All get involved in the action, and their backstories themselves unfold over time.

Sakai’s artwork is, like the stories, beautiful, clean and simple. It’s all black and white, but strong lines. Whether Usagi is enjoying watching leaves fall, or sipping a tea, there’s quiet reflection. But equally, there is a strong sense of action when swords are drawn. And when Usagi’s blood is up, or he’s facing a demonic foe (especially evil spearsman, Jei) , things do look downright scary.

I have now read all the books currently available, and I genuinely can’t fault this series, or recommend it highly enough. Don’t make my mistake, pick it up now!

Ryaaaa!

JLM:

Bone: Full Colour Addendum
Shortly after Bone was completed and collected into the one volume edition, Scholastic Books started to publish the individual books that comprised the overall story, but this time in colour.

Creator Jeff Smith is quite happy to admit that he wasn’t initially convinced about this idea. Nonetheless, those around him persuaded him to give it a go, including famed (black and white) Maus artist, Art Spiegelman. Teaming up with colourist Steve Hamaker, Smith gave it a shot and brought Bone from monochrome into Technicolour. He was so pleased with the results, that colouring the whole story was given the go ahead.

When the last of the books, Crown of Horns, was made available in colour this paved the way for the chance to collect the whole story in a one volume colour edition (which I shall call the “OVCE” to save typing).

I have perused the individual editions of the colour books, and would freely admit that I have never been that bothered by them. Partly because I didn’t have much desire to pick up nine separate books, and partly due to a sniffy-ness about appreciating the original black and white. I mean, who’d want to see The Maltese Falcon in colour?

With Bone’s 20th Anniversary this year, plans for a box set containing a hardback OVCE, and some very nifty extras were announced. After some serious thinking, I elected to order this. It arrived a couple of weeks back, and having re-read it again the whole story again, I am very glad I did.

I won’t repeat what I have previously said about the characters, story, brilliant comic timing and use of perspective. That still holds up as well as ever. The colouring is superb, and (although I did call it Technicolor above) quite muted. The strong blacks and shadows are as present as they were in the original black and white, but the colours really do add an extra dimension to the flora and fauna of The Valley. In a story where a large number of the cast are animals, and the setting plays a big part, this really is a welcome addition.

Currently this is only available in a limited box set, so there is an expense to this one, so at present probably only one for serious fans alone. A solo hardcover of the OVCE is due towards the end of 2011, which won’t hit the wallet so hard. The question for the uninitiated will be which version to get, or for the converted do you double dip? Appreciating the original black and white is unquestionably worthwhile, but there is much to commend the colour. If forced to come down on one side of the fence, I would say go with the colour.

Now, do I keep my black and white copy?
Rocket is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2012, 02:56 AM   #3
JLM
Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?
 
JLM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: England
Posts: 7,058
Gosh, I'm back on SF.

As an update, the Bone review was written about a year ago. The box set is probably now long gone, but the hardcover on it's own is now available.
JLM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2012, 03:59 AM   #4
abarron
Batman
 
abarron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 20,187
Gotta agree about Usagi.

Love the series.
I originally wasn't too keen on it being black and white. But I soon got over it. One if not the most consistently great storytelling in comics for me
abarron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2012, 04:18 AM   #5
Rocket
Art of Mod
 
Rocket's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Melbourne, Aust
Posts: 63,785
You know, I have to shamefully admit that my only exposure to Usagi Yojimbo was through the TMNT television series (and related action figure) as a kid.

Is it easily accessible or is there a convoluted history?
Rocket is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2012, 04:44 AM   #6
JLM
Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?
 
JLM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: England
Posts: 7,058
Quote:
Originally Posted by abarron View Post
Gotta agree about Usagi.

Love the series.
I originally wasn't too keen on it being black and white. But I soon got over it. One if not the most consistently great storytelling in comics for me
For sure. Eagerly awaiting the latest trade. My comic shop got the nifty hardback signed version, but still waiting for the paperback!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket View Post
You know, I have to shamefully admit that my only exposure to Usagi Yojimbo was through the TMNT television series (and related action figure) as a kid.

Is it easily accessible or is there a convoluted history?
I missed it in the TMNT!

It's not convoluted, in the sense there aren't any franchise reboots, but there are a lot of recurring characters and long running plot threads.

Equally there are quite a few "stand alone" stories that can be enjoyed without prior knowledge. Book 21; "The Mother of Mountains" is quite a good stand alone.
JLM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2012, 11:12 AM   #7
PureInvasion
Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?
 
PureInvasion's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 8,155



Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #10

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: David Marquez

Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 2nd, 2012

In case you’ve been living in a bubble for the past 10 months, let me catch you up on one thing. Peter Parker is dead. Miles Morales has claimed the title of Spider-Man. Now that I’ve just shattered your world let me add one more thing, this book should be at the top of your Marvel pull list each and every month.

I’ll be the first to admit that I usually can’t stand Bendis’ writing 99% of the time. Usually any book he touches I tend to stay away from. Oddly, his version of Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe is incredible. Bendis was born to write Spider-Man. Bendis was born to write Miles Morales.

The rooftop exchanges in this issue between Miles and his Uncle Aaron (The Prowler) are so good that you’ll find yourself flipping through the pages so quickly, you’ll wonder how you came to the end of the issue so fast. Aaron not only fills Miles in on the origin of the spider that bit him, he also tests just how fast and strong that spider bite made his nephew. Little does his uncle know, Miles has a few tricks up his sleeve as well. After a quick back and forth, Aaron makes Miles an offer: Help him take down Scorpion or else he’ll reveal to Miles’ father that his son is a “mutant”. Not only that, but by taking down Scorpion, Miles will be accomplishing his ultimate goal which is to take care of the bad guys.

As his uncle departs, Miles looks to the sky and notices Thor and Iron Man flying overhead. Miles and his problems seem so insignificant in the grand scheme of things that he can’t help but feel frustrated.

With seemingly no choice in the path he should take, Miles sends a simple text to his uncle that reads “I’m in.”

The art in the issue is another strong point. I was only left a tad confused in 2 panels throughout the issue as Aaron kicks Miles well into the air only to somehow have Miles’ Spider-Man mask in his hand in the next panel. I have no idea how Aaron managed to pull off Miles’ mask without moving when Miles is seemingly flying through the air.

Regardless this issue is solid. If I have any complaint about it is that I wanted more. I want more of this book each time I finish an issue. This wasn’t the strongest issue since Miles’ debut but the book is an excellent lead in to issue 11 where sparks should fly.

I never thought I’d be happy to see Peter Parker die. Miles Morales is quickly making Peter an afterthought.

Final Score: 4/5


~~~~~




Action Comics #10

Writer: Grant Morrison
Art: Rags Morales

Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 6th, 2012

First thing I notice when I open up this issue is that Grant “Morrision” is writing the issue. When the editor fails to catch a typo in the writers name (especially one of this caliber) it really makes you think what the editor is there for in the first place.

After a relatively strong start in issues #1 and #2, Action Comics quickly died out with me. Aside from the new origin story in #5, I had sold the other comics I had collected from this series and outright passed on purchasing issues #8 and #9. Something about Morrison’s new run in Action just wasn’t doing it for me. Granted I’ve never been his biggest fan in the first place, but this new Action Comics really left me scratching my head. Plot points jumping all over the place, writing making little to no sense unless you’re willing to spend hours breaking it down on forums, and a timeline that would confuse even the most loyal fans only made matters worse.

With all that said, I didn’t think I’d be picking up another issue of Action until Morrison was off the title. For some reason I found myself buying it anyway and for the first time in a few months I found myself not regretting the purchase. While not an excellent issue by any means, it was not a complete failure either.

We are introduced to Maxim Zarov, codename “Nimrod”. We come to learn on the very first page that Maxim has already learned the identity of Superman’s alter ego (Clark Kent). The main focal point of the issue is Maxim’s drive to try and track down Clark Kent and kill him (and Superman at the same time). Before he can reach Clark, a man with a bomb strapped to his chest detonates the explosive and seems to take Clark out in the process. Not believing that Clark is dead, Maxim goes to his apartment only to find it empty with no sign of Clark. As a shadow looms over Maxim, he turns to come face to face with Superman. A few pointless weapons being fired at Superman leads to Maxim receiving a burn on his face via a close range explosion. As the story ends we see Maxim laying in a hospital bed with a doctor offering to make him “part of an army against Superman”.

The story is fairly solid and leads well into the next issue which will tackle Superman’s new secret identity since Clark was “killed”.

Now for the bad…

Grant Morrison cannot just have a simple story. He needs to inject certain scenes that really serve no purpose. Right after the opening scene (introducing Maxim) we see Clark reading a newspaper about a murdered girl. Even though the article does not state who murdered the girl, Clark seems to know. As Superman, he bursts through the door of the apparent killer and slams him into a wall. He leaves the apparent killer for the police…then proceeds to save the killers two hamsters.

Yup…he saved the hamsters. Do you know where he proceeds to bring them? Straight to the Justice League for safekeeping who are all sitting in a barn for some reason. Apparently the fact that these two hamsters are alone is comparable to the fact that people in Somalia are living in poverty. I’m sure that some of these ideas appear good on paper initially but often with Morrison’s work it just leaves the reader wondering why scenes like this exist in the first place. Considering it was the first introduction of the Justice League within Action, it was certainly out of place. Superman is crying out for change and a way to help the world, yet provides no actual way to do it. Batman and Flash question him on this but Superman simply has no answers to the questions and walks off with his hamsters.

The artwork for this issue is rough at the best of times. Confusing panels, reused panels, no consistency in costumes, and awkward facial expressions fill the issue.

For example, as Superman leaves his apartment to go find the apparent killer of the girl he seems to run down his apartment stairs only to go to what seems to be his mailbox and get a classic “S” shirt. He then appears to be in a train station. So now it looks as though he has a locker full of “S” shirts in the train station. Why does he have a locker full of shirts when he has an apartment with plenty of storage space, who knows? After taking care of the killer (note that Superman is wearing jeans and a “S” shirt) he appears with the hamsters in his full Superman costume in front of the JL. Did he change sometime in the last panel that I wasn’t aware of? Later in the book, Superman appears once again in his jeans and “S” shirt. Can we get a little bit of consistency in his costume? The biggest thing that bugs me though about this brief Justice League appearance is that the exact same panel is reused three times in a row during this short two page conversation. There’s really no need for that.

This month’s backup story is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Cafu. Oddly, it takes place after Action Comics #11 even though it can easily take place after issue #10 considering the whole issue was about Clark “dying” and the backup serves as a small memorial of sorts from his co-workers. Both the writing and art are well done and it brings a sense of closure to Clark’s life for both Jimmy and Lois.

Action #10 serves perfectly fine as a standalone issue though you can’t help but wonder where Morrison is going with Superman’s new secret identity which will be revealed in issue #11. I really hope Morrison is finally going somewhere with Action as Superman truly deserves a book that puts him on the map in the New 52.

Final Score: 2.5/5
PureInvasion is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2012, 04:09 PM   #8
Rocket
Art of Mod
 
Rocket's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Melbourne, Aust
Posts: 63,785
Supahman:


Action Comics #11

I’ll give a quickish background which may not cover all the beats, but covers the important plot points.

Sorry about the length, the next one’s on AC won’t be so long.

Background:

Superman works as a young reporter at the Daily Star ( not the Planet ) in metropolis, arriving after Ma and Pa Kent both have departed. At the beginning of the series he has just taken to coming out in public eye in his other identity as the superhero called Superman by the public. At the start of the series, he had no costume / uniform. He fights to good fight, trying to expose corrupt leaders and help out the common man.

Lois and Jimmy both work for the Daily Planet which is competition. Lex Luthor is a scientist / intellectual ( nah not a businessman owning half of metropolis ) who’s tasked with bringing down supes by the Gov’ment.

Superman at this point does not know who he is, etc. while escaping from captivity he finds his spaceship, and adventure ensues, 7 issues later, he’s confronted Brainiac, defeated him, taken over his spaceship which contains 204 Miniaturized civilizations, and this is his fortress of solitude. Here he also acquires Kryptonian armor, which is his new uniform. Till now he was wearing a tee shirt, jeans and a cape ( workman style ).

In the last issue, to save the publisher of Daily star he dives on a bomb and ends up killing Clark Kent in Public Eye. There is a sweet obituary thing which Lois writes, and Clark hears his friends talk about him. This is where this issue picks up.

What happened in the issue and my thoughts:

First off, Lemme make it clear, that I like Grant Morrison, on most days. He may have screwed up Batman, but I’ve really liked all of his earlier and other current work. His take on superman in Action comics has been for me Off and On, there are things I like, and things I don’t. This Superman, is not ‘My’ Superman, he’s not the noble, boy scout do-gooder I think of, but still, it’s a fresh take, it’s a new take. If a smiling Superman, who’s having fun as he takes on baddies is what it takes to get kids into comic shops, m game for the experiment.

I liked this issue for the new direction it takes, for a an interesting plot and a new villain / villains introduced to the mythos, and as usual, the sheer numer of ideas and plots Morrison brings to the pages.



The issue started with Superman fighting a metal construct, which Keeps on screaming “Bow to Metalek”. Superman makes quick work of it. And helps rebuild whatever the robot thing destroyed. For some reason he is back in his Tee shirt and Jeans, instead of the costume.

Next we see, that since Clark Kent is dead, Kal El has a new secret Identity as Johnny Clark ( Brilliant :-P ) the Fireman. He helps almost superhumanly, saves a boy and his cat in the fire. Next he visits his old editor (disguised in a winter cap, yeah, those r gr8 to hide your identity ) hears some gr8 things abt Clark.

Next somehow, he’s back in armor, and he goes to visit BATMAN ( yeah ! ) with his little problem. A nice tete-a-tete ensues, and Batsy promises to help Kal with his problem.

Pov Shifts to Susie, Lois’s niece, who Lois is babysitting. Susie talks very weird, and it seems like she knows much more than a 3-4 year old should. In the last panel, he eyes glaze over black with white spots ( kinda like a view of the night sky ) when she’s talking.

In the meantime, Clark is trying to figure out what is up with Metalek, in brainiac’s ship, and comes to know that the threat is called the Multitude and Jor El had done the impossible once and repelled it.

Lois and Susie are approached by a man with a hood-cloak with glowing red eyes who speaks telepathically and wants to secure Susie, who apparently is the ‘future child’ . Mayhem ensues, Susie is a ‘nutant’ – born one hundred thousand years ahead of time to prepare the way. The Hood Glow boy quickly mentally overpowers supes, and gets the ppl around to throw themselves at Superman while the Man n Susie make their escape.

As usual, Morrison has a ton of ideas throughout the comic it feels like you’ve read so much that could be explored more, each idea could have a smaller arc of its own but Morrison plows on, throwing new ideas and plot points at you. I am not sure how much is going to connect back, but past experience tells me that Morrison books are always better when you read them again in a row.

I enjoyed this issue, the frantic pace, with some slow-down moments, a new direction a new development, a new obstacle for Superman to overcome.

The art is divided amongst Rags Morales ( who is the regular ) and Brad walker. I like Morales’ take. Brad walker’s take on Superman is very greek statue like, with Curly hair and sometimes it gets Horse-facish, which jars, but overall, it’s just that the switch is not organic.

Art issues aside, I’d give the main story a 3.5/5

As usual, there is back-up one shot story which adds to the mythos. This is written by Sholly Fisch with excellent art by Cafu. It’s a sweet story about an out of towner coming to metropolis and looking for a souvenir Superman tee-shirt. The Tee shirt seller spins an awesome tale about Superman coming into town and ordering 50 Tee shirts printed with the Logo. Supes goes on to help put down a junkie who tried to burgle the tee-shirt shop. This is how Morrison explains the sometime blue, sometime white / red color off the tee’s worn by superman in his Jeans n Tee outfit.



I’ve tried not to give away any major plot points. Sorry if I spoiled it, but I was just excited to be reviewing action comics. J



Dinosaurs Vs. Aliens:

Dinosaur’s Vs. Aliens ( DVA going fwd )is Barry Sonnenfeld’s baby ( Director of MIB films ) written by Grant Morrison with some excellent art by Mukesh Singh.



With such a crazy title / concept, it needs some truly great writing and art to keep ppl interested and to keep the comic from turning into a total disaster. I had read the DVA free comic book day sampler and I was intrigued. Are we talking about intelligent Dinosaurs, aliens messing with the DNA chains, or Aliens hunting dinosaurs – Predator style. An Interesting concept. If it was interesting enough to pry top talent like Morrison to write, it felt like I should give it a shot.

I have the HC in my hands, and the cover is just beautiful. I am sorry, I am just going to talk a lot about the art, so let me get that out of the way. I have seen some of the stuff Mukesh does ( please check out 18 Days or Gamekeeper ). He has such a beautiful grasp of colour and shading, that you will keep on staring at the different hues and shades and all the details crammed into the page. You would think, that what kinda colour would you have with Dinosaurs in a forest, it’d all be green’s n browns. Please check a few pages out online, and be amazed. The pencil’s are extremely detailed, with excellent pacing IMO, at no point I felt that I was drawn out of the story ( simply because I had already drunk in the colours and art before I started reading the words )

The story is told from the POV of one of the Aliens who is a scientist who is recording their memoir which he calls a confession and a warning. The aliens are a typical intellectual spieces coming onto a savage world and working on their assumptions and taking decisions to change / experiment as per their thought process without caring about the implications / reaction of the resident populations.

All the while the captions tell us what the aliens did, the panels show us what is going on at the surface, a lot of cool Dino’s fighting panels, which are metaphorically what the captions are talking about, a slight bit of story / feeling is introduced for example, via, an allosaurus protecting her young.

The Aliens, who are an insectoid-ish race, start with sending probes to collect data, and eventually, going out of the spaceship themselves. They do end up confronting some of our D’s, and use their tech to neutralize a triceratops or 2. They capture different speices, conduct experiments and conclude that the life is not intelligent or self aware. Obviously, some of them did not agree. We then find out, they themselves are facing problems with procreating and spread of their own race, and research around strengthening their dna framework is one of the goals of collecting the D Specimens.

I don’t want to spoil the main plot point, so I wont go into any further detail, but it’s an interesting premise, which sets the A’s vs. the D’s, and some actions which sets the D’s vs the A’s.

I thought this was an excellently paced book with superb art. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who likes Dinosaurs, or a good Sci-Fi story.

There’s 16 extra pages of artwork including rough sketches, sketchbooks, and pencils for the pages. There’s 12 pages of Morrison’s script also in the extras.

There’s an intro by Sonnenfeld which is also fun reading.

Final thoughts, a solid 4.5/5
Rocket is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2012, 12:23 AM   #9
supahman
I don't have a solution but I admire the problem.
 
supahman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Land of sweat
Posts: 2,504
Thanks Rod, i was kinda intimidated to be writing this, so.. gr8 to see some awesome books reviewed.
Added Bone to m 'wants' list.

I gotta say i'm enjoying AvsX a bit more with Coipel Pencils.
M nto reading the Ultimate comics Spidey as i just got the first HC, will spoil myself layters.

Grea reviews all, M gonna kick myslef n get crackingon my next one.
Dibs on masters of the Universe
supahman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2012, 06:27 AM   #10
Rocket
Art of Mod
 
Rocket's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Melbourne, Aust
Posts: 63,785
Lol no probs mate! I'll be trying for multiple reviews this week and to mix it up a bit. I think I may post the weekly reviews thread in the comics section proper each week too
Rocket is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:19 PM.



Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright StatueForum.com