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Around the Tubes

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Brett

FanExpo is just one of the conventions this weekend, along with PAX. And while we weren’t there, below is some of the news from other sites covering the convention.

Around the Blogs:

Bleeding Cool – Comix Kiss Comix Cancelled, Blamed On Piracy – Sad to see this, but I can’t help think there’s more to the story.

Con Coverage:

CBR – FanExpo: Spotlight on James Robinson

National Post – Fan Expo: Sights, sounds & spandex

CBR – FanExpo: The “Fear Itself” Panel

CBR – Brian Wood Returns to Marvel

MTV Geek – FanExpo Canada 2011: ‘Terra Nova’ – We’ve Seen The First Hour, Here’s The Recap (Spoilers!)

MTV Geek – FanExpo Canada 2011: DC’s LAST Flashpoint Panel Recap (Spoilers!)

Bleeding Cool – Fear Itself – Bullet Points From Fan Expo Canada

The weekend is here and I plan on catching up on three weeks worth of books and begin the backlog of reviews. There’s still quite a few cons coming up, so planning begins for those as well. While I do that, what are folks plan for the weekend? While you contemplate that, here’s the news you might have missed.

Around the Blogs:

The Mary Sue – Womanthology Sets the Record Straight On Where Its Funds Are Going – One take on the controversy.

The Beat – Womanthology: $100k may go to help start a new comics imprint — UPDATED – Another take on the controversy.

The Beat – One Piece set record with 2 million sold in 4 days – See, sales can be good.

ICv2 – Wahlberg Ready to Strap on ‘2 Guns’ – Another comic movie!

Ars Technica – Spoilers don’t spoil anything – An interesting article about spoilers and if they really ruin things.

Monthly/Quarterly Sales:

ICv2 – ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #666 Tops July Sales

ICv2 – Top 300 Comics Actual–July 2011

ICv2 – Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual–July 2011

Around the Tubes Reviews:

IGN – The Amazing Spider-Man #667

CBR – Amazing Spider-Man #667

IGN – American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #3

IGN – Artifacts #9

IGN – Batgirl #24

IGN – Batman and Robin #26

IGN – Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #522

IGN – Booster Gold #47

IGN – Criminal: The Last of the Innocent #3

IGN – Daken: Dark Wolverine #12

IGN – Deadpool #41

IGN – Fear Itself #5

CBR – Fear Itself #5

IGN – Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #2

IGN – Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #3

IGN – Flashpoint: Deadman and the Flying Graysons #3

IGN – Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #3

IGN – Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #3

IGN – Ghost Rider #2

IGN – Hellboy: The Fury #3

CBR – Hellboy: The Fury #3

IGN – The Incredible Hulks #634

IGN – Morning Glories #11

IGN – The New Avengers #15

IGN – PunisherMAX #16

IGN – The Red Wing #2

IGN – Spider-Island: Cloak & Dagger #1

IGN – Spider-Island: Deadly Foes #1

IGN – Ultimate Comics: Fallout #5

IGN – The Unwritten #28

IGN – Vengeance #2

IGN – War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath #2

IGN – X-Men #15.1

IGN – X-Men Legacy #253

Paste Magazine – Comic Book & Graphic Novel Round-Up (8/10/11)

IGN – Comic Book Reviews for 8/10/11

Catching Up on Reviews, Part 11 — Hulk and Skaar

Posted on July 31, 2011 by

Hulk #30.1 (Marvel) – Sometimes the simple stories are the best. This is a simple story that works very well. It’s a straight-ahead contest of the wills between Red Hulk and his former protege (from his life as Thunderbolt Ross). It starts out as a battle of strength and ends as a battle of intellect, something the best Hulk stories often do. The trio of Jeff Parker, Gabriel Hardman and Tom Palmer do a great job.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

Hulk #31 (Marvel) – Parker’s battle-of-wits storyline continues and is still interesting, but Palmer drops off this issue and Hardman’s solo art isn’t as good as the duo was together. The back-up tale seems pointless.

Story: 8 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Hulk #32 (Marvel) – The Nightmare On Elm Street nature of this ongoing storyline is interesting (Hulk can’t fall asleep or he dies), but I wonder if it’s being drug out too long. The Zero/One sidestory isn’t holding my attention at all.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Hulk #33 (Marvel) – Black Fog is a potentially awesome new villain, but I wonder if Hulk is his best potential opponent. And I will say that it seems like they’ve been teasing this Omegex character’s “imminent” arrival for three issues.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.5

Hulk #34 (Marvel) – Planet Red Hulk? Really? It seems like the writers who do the Hulk comics these days use too many retread plots and don’t try to come up with enough different ideas. I mean, Red Hulk is repeating a Green Hulk story that is only a few years old and he’s meeting some cast-offs from Avatar along the way. Not impressive. Carlo Pagulayan’s art is an improvement, though.

Story: 6.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.25

Hulk #35 (Marvel) – So, let me get this straight, the Planet Red Hulk/Avatar story was so wrong that a Watcher came in and removed it from continuity? And Omegex arrives and is so strong and powerful that the same Watcher just removed Red Hulk from reality so Omegex would just go away. And Watchers can’t interfere? And this isn’t a deux ex machina how?

Story: 2 Art: 8 Overall: 5

Hulk #36 (Marvel) – Okay, the Planet Red Hulk nonsense is over. Good. MODOK is here. Bad. Patch Zircher is doing the art. Bad. Zzzax is here. Good.

Story: 7 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.75

Hulk #37 (Marvel) – Red Hulk belongs in the Fear Itself story. He belongs in a match-up with the Thing. He belongs in a comic with better art than this.

Story: 8 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Incredible Hulks #622 (Marvel) – This is a series that is solid and entertaining, good writing and good art, without ever really being spectacular. This issue concludes the match-up with Hulk and the Greek gods. This one features the following awesome sound effects: “GDDAAANNG!” and “ZOOUNDDS!” It also features Hulk-vomit and vultures eating Hulk’s guts. Not exactly high art, but lots of fun.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Incredible Hulks #623 (Marvel) – This series has to have more sound effects-per-panel than any comic going, what with all the Hulks. This one takes the Hulks to the Savage Land, so it’s filled with giant monsters and bugs, too. I don’t like Dale Eaglesham’s art as much as Paul Pelletier’s, but it’s still good enough for this comic.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Incredible Hulks #624 (Marvel) – I’m not a huge fan of most Savage Land tales but this one has Miek and lots of action, so it’s about as good as it gets outside of the X-Men’s travels to the South Pole.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.25

Incredible Hulks #625 (Marvel) – The Savage Land story ends with Hulk going bad before coming back to his senses to save the day. Not particularly original.

Story: 7 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.75

Incredible Hulks #626 (Marvel) – Tom Grummett’s art is a step up, but I’m not sure I buy the “Hulks as secret agents” concept here and I definitely don’t like Tyrannus as a character, even though he seems out of his usual mode here. I’m not sure I buy the use of Betty Ross here, either.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Incredible Hulks #627 (Marvel) – This issue effectively continues in the exact same vein as the previous issue, with the same strengths and weaknesses. Not a bad story, but not one I’ll remember a month from now.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Incredible Hulks #628 (Marvel) – The action in this issue ramps up a bit, but I still don’t like the Pandora’s Box stuff.

Story: 7.25 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5

Incredible Hulks #629 (Marvel) – As a lifelong fan of monthly comic issues, I’m starting to see the value of trade paperbacks. Too many issues seem like the are explicitly written to be part of a trade these days, which means that they are slow-paced and don’t stand on their own. A story that seems like it should be no more than two issues long is going on for at least twice that here.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Incredible Hulks #630 (Marvel) – Pelletier is back, but this isn’t his best art. The story spins off in an interesting direction from the Pandora’s Box tale, going into the old “be careful what you wish for” trope. I like the idea of bringing back some of Hulk’s most powerful enemies at the end.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Incredible Hulks #631 (Marvel) – What’s the deal with Fin Fang Foom being everywhere these days? I’m not sure I get the point of the character. Wendigo, on the other hand, is a creature I’ve always liked, so his presence is welcome.

Story: 8 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Incredible Hulks #632 (Marvel) – Pelletier’s art isn’t quite as good here as it was in the last few issues, although it has its moments. Greg Pak’s writing continues to be interesting and entertaining without getting too deep, which I guess is why people read Hulk comics, right?

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Incredible Hulks #633 (Marvel) – Pelletier does really good with the big action shots, but some of the facial close-ups rub me the wrong way. This issue has more Fin Fang Foom and more Tyrannus and, of course, more massive action and sound effects.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Incredible Hulks Annual #1 (Marvel) – The conclusion of the Identity Wars trilogy isn’t quite as good as the beginning, with the art being subpar and the story not being as interesting, although I will give the issue kudos for the “Ghost Spider” pun and character.

Story: 7 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.75

Skaar – King of the Savage Land #1 (Marvel) – Just what I was demanding more of — the Savage Land. I don’t buy the idea of a creature powerful enough to create the Savage Land, but somehow weak enough to be limited to possessing one of the Land’s inhabitants to come back in an attempt to take over the world, or something. Brian Ching’s art looks great in the outdoor and action sequences, less so in the close-ups and indoor scenes.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Skaar – King of the Savage Land #2 (Marvel) – This issue offers more of the same — more inconsistent art (some of which is great, such as the massive shot of Devil Dinosaur), more of a story I could care less about and more of a pointless team-up of characters that don’t really belong together.

Story: 6.25 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.75

Skaar – King of the Savage Land #3 (Marvel) – So the next logical step in a story about the Savage Land and Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil and Skaar and Devil Dinosaur and Moonboy is…of course…Kid Colt Outlaw as an adult. Yep, that makes sense.

Story: 6 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

Skaar – King of the Savage Land #4 (Marvel) – This issue has a couple of epic action shots but there really isn’t that much else in this series to make it compelling.

Story: 5.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.5

Skaar – King of the Savage Land #5 (Marvel) – A couple more random, rarely-used Marvel z-listers show up in this issue and the story, which seems to have had no real point up till now, ends in a completely random and unbelievable way. Oh, and that random ending makes Skaar the king of the Savage Land. Huh.

Story: 4 Art: 7 Overall: 5.5

Reviews

Marvel Unveils New Comics For Comics Program

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Brett

Official Press Release

Marvel Unveils New COMICS FOR COMICS Program

As part of Marvel’s unrivaled efforts to provide support to comic retailers in 2011, Marvel is pleased to announce the return of their groundbreaking Comics For Comics program, offering all retailers a chance to turn unsold comics into a rare Marvel variant! The extremely limited edition Fear Itself #6 McGuinness Variant will be made available to retailers who return the covers of select comics. In addition, qualifying retailers will gain exclusive access to a special Marvel sale.

“In these tough economic times, feel it’s our duty to help,” explained David Gabriel, Marvel Senior Vice President of Publishing, Sales and Circulation. “After the overwhelmingly positive response to our Comics For Comics programs, through which we received tens of thousands of covers, we’re excited to provide retailers with the chance to help their stores through selling an ultra-rate variant.”

Retailers – for every 50 stripped covers of the following comics from the below group sent to Marvel, you will qualify to receive one FREE Fear Itself #6 McGuinness Variant. The 50 stripped covers can be any combination of the comics listed in that group and all submissions need to be received at the Marvel office at the address below by Friday 8/12/2011. Also included with the stripped covers must be your store contact information including Diamond Account # and email address. With boxes of covers arriving every day, Marvel urges retailers to get theirs in by the due date to guarantee themselves copies of this stunning variant.

Retailers with any questions about Marvel’s Comics for Comics program, should e-mail helpme@marvel.com for further assistance.

Please note: No second printings, third printings, variants, are accepted as part of this promotion. Only the specific issues of the series listed below are eligible

FLASHPOINT ABIN SUR THE GREEN LANTERN #1

FLASHPOINT BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1

FLASHPOINT CITIZEN COLD #1

FLASHPOINT DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS #1

FLASHPOINT DEATHSTROKE THE CURSE OF RAVAGER #1

FLASHPOINT EMPEROR AQUAMAN #1

FLASHPOINT FRANKENSTEIN CREATURES OF UNKNOWN #1

FLASHPOINT GREEN ARROW INDUSTRIES #1

FLASHPOINT GRODD OF WAR #1

FLASHPOINT HAL JORDAN #1

FLASHPOINT KID FLASH LOST #1

FLASHPOINT LEGION OF DOOM #1

FLASHPOINT LOIS LANE AND THE RESISTANCE #1

FLASHPOINT PROJECT SUPERMAN #1

FLASHPOINT SECRET SEVEN #1

FLASHPOINT THE OUTSIDER #1

FLASHPOINT THE REVERSE FLASH #1

FLASHPOINT THE WORLD OF FLASHPOINT #1

FLASHPOINT WONDER WOMAN AND THE FURIES #1

Address To Send Submission:

J Friedfeld

Marvel Entertainment LLC

135 West 50th Street, 7th Floor

NY, NY 10020

Information To Be Included With Submission:

Store Name

Store Address

Contact Person

Email Address

Phone Number

Diamond Account #

List of stripped covers being returned and their quantities

All the directions above must be adhered to in order to receive the free Fear Itsellf #6 MCGuinness Variant and the submissions must be received by Friday 8/12/2011 in order to qualify.

Please note that this is not a Diamond-affiliated promotion and Diamond should not be contacted. Retailers will be contacted via email once Marvel receives the submissions.

Catching Up on Reviews, Part 8 — Fear Itself

Posted on July 25, 2011 by

Fear Itself #1 (Marvel) – For the record, I am a big fan of the thematic art that ties Fear Itself together. I think I like just about every single cover of the series and tie-ins. I also like the story better than any of the recent Marvel events, maybe going back to Secret Invasion. Issue one is exactly what the launch of a big event should be like. Matt Fraction’s writing really pulls us right into the story and sets up the importance of the conflict. Suart Immonen’s art is near-flawless, it takes chances and it captures the grandness of the epic. Some of the keys here are the supposed helplessness of Steve Rogers, the fall of Thor and the cryptic rise of the Serpent.

Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10

Fear Itself #2 (Marvel) – I’ll say that the hammer concept used here is just great and the idea that the Worthy are drawn from across the spectrum of good and evil is great as well. The level of the threat established here from the very beginning is awe-inspiring. How can anyone stand up to eight of the most powerful characters in the Marvel universe who have all been given significant power boosts. Plus the Serpent, the one who gave them all the power boosts. Plus Odin and all of Asgard. Fraction continues to tell a great story and Immonen’s art impresses as well, particularly the new appearance of Juggernaut, which I think is one of the coolest-looking characters I’ve ever seen, and the opening shot of Blitzkreig U.S.A., which is breathtaking.

Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10

Fear Itself #3 (Marvel) – It would seem difficult for Immonen to improve his art, but in this issue, he does it. Some of the most epic battle and apocalyptic artwork to ever appear in Marvel is in this issue. Fraction also ups the ante on the story with a shocking death that you wouldn’t have expected.

Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10

Fear Itself #4 (Marvel) – While it would seem likely that four issues into a series like this, it would be prime time for a letdown and, to be fair, this issue is the weakest so far, but that’s not a knock on this issue, which is better than most things on the market, it’s just not quite as good as the previous issues, which were all superb. There is still some amazing art — Immonen’s Thor looks amazing — and a couple of great plot points towards the end, involving Tony Stark-Odin and Thor-Hulk-Thing. Issue #5 will have to be a barn-burner with a set-up like this.

Story: 9.75 Art: 9.75 Overall: 9.75

Fear Itself – Book of the Skull (Marvel) – Another example of the over-used Marvel device of extensive retcons that add backstory to current events. This one isn’t a bad one, and it helps set up Fear Itself, but I think I’ve already forgotten the point of the story, and I just put it down.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Fear Itself – Deadpool #1 (Marvel) – Cartoonish art and a cartoonish story — and I don’t mean that in a good way — make for another bad comic in the extensive overuse and killing off of the quality of the Deadpool character.

Story: 5 Art: 5 Overall: 5

Fear Itself – Deadpool #2 (Marvel) – When the best thing about an issue is the picture on the cover of Deadpool in MC Hammer pants, you know that reading a comic would be a waste of your time.

Story: 4 Art: 5 Overall: 4.5

Fear Itself – Fearsome Four #1 (Marvel) – The art in this series is my least favorite in the past few months, but even the art is better than the story, which inexplicably teams up Howard the Duck, Frankenstein’s Monster, She-Hulk and Nighthawk and calls them “Fearsome” because they are interacting with the Man-Thing. It isn’t as coherent as it sounds.

Story: 3 Art: 4 Overall: 3.5

Fear Itself – Fearsome Four #2 (Marvel) – The art here is a little worse, almost unprofessional, but the story is a little more coherent. It’s still a bad comic and a terrible series. Has to be a very strong contender for Worst Limited Series of 2011.

Story: 4 Art: 3 Overall: 3.5

Fear Itself – FF #1 (Marvel) – Much better premise for a Fear Itself spin-off, how do the Thing’s friends deal with his conversion to a monster? The issue has great tension and a compelling story, something missing from most of the Fear Itself tie-ins. Kudos to writer Cullen Bunn.

Story: 9 Art: 7 Overall: 8

Fear Itself – Sins Past (Marvel) – I’m not a fan of these reprint issues from Marvel. While it does have a little bit of new material, it doesn’t reprint stories that are important enough or compelling enough that they should’ve wasted an issue on it.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Fear Itself – Spider-Man #1 (Marvel) – It’s pretty clear that, to date, The Spider-Man Fear Itself spin-off is the best of the mini-series. Chris Yost does an amazing job here of framing the Fear Itself story in terms of the regular people who face it and not just the super-heroes. Sure, Spidey is the lead here, but he’s really just another small figure going through this big event and not sure he’s going to be able to cope with it. Mike McKone’s art is stylish and unique and adds to the story.

Story: 10 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.75

Fear Itself – Spider-Man #2 (Marvel) – Yost’s story continues to impress, but the key in this issue is McKone’s art, which takes chances and more often than not succeeds. This issue has a lot of stunning art and a strong story to go with it.

Story: 9.25 Art: 9.75 Overall: 9.5

Fear Itself – Spider-Man #3 (Marvel) – The art isn’t quite as good in this issue, although it has its moments. The story is an interesting twist on past Spidey-FF crossovers, this time with Spidey clashing with the Thing instead of the Human Torch, who isn’t around anymore.

Story: 9.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

Fear Itself – The Deep #1 (Marvel) – I’m not really that big a fan of Namor and stories that focus on him frequently leave me bored, but this one has enough guest stars (Including Dr. Strange, who I like a lot) and good enough art to make it worth a read.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Fear Itself – The Homefront #1 (Marvel) – I’m not a big fan of the Marvel anthology mini-series, either, as most of the time, the individual stories aren’t that good. That is only partially true here. The first story, starring Speedball is awfully compelling and has amazing, almost photo-realistic art. The team of Christos Gage, Mike Mayhew and Rain Beredo does a great job. The Agents of Atlas story, though, is much like the rest of the Atlas stories, in that it doesn’t really grab my attention and I forget about it right after reading it since the characters and the story don’t do much to excite me. It isn’t poorly executed, just nothing special. The final story, about the residents of Broxton, Oklahoma, after the departure of the Asgardians, is interesting if not essential.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Fear Itself – The Homefront #2 (Marvel) – The first two stories in this issue are amazingly consistent with the first issue. The Speedball story is just as good and the Atlas story is just as mediocre. The third story, which is about Liz Allan and Tigershark, I think, aims high, but doesn’t quite deliver.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25

Fear Itself – The Homefront #3 (Marvel) – The Speedball story, if anything, gets better in this issue. The story in the Atlas tale is growing on me a little bit, but the art is losing me. A third tale, starring Cardiac, has a compelling tale to tell about revenge and redemption, but the art is too cartoonish for the weight of the story.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Fear Itself – The Homefront #4 (Marvel) – My thought is that the Speedball story here should’ve been expanded and given its own series or one-shot and that the Atlas story, which ends here, should’ve been eliminated altogether. Some of the art in the Speedball story is amongst the best in the entire Fear Itself storyline. The third tale here, starring someone apparently known as the Blue Marvel, is puzzling. If I’m supposed to know who he is, I don’t. If I’m supposed to get something big from the story, I don’t. I’m left with nothing but question marks, mostly the one after the question “Who is Blue Marvel and why am I reading about him”?

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Fear Itself – Uncanny X-Force #1 (Marvel) – While Simone Bianchi’s art takes a lot of chances, and some of them succeed, I don’t like a lot of the detail of the characters’ faces. The story itself is only vaguely related to Fear Itself, but it is a pretty good and interesting.

Story: 9 Art: 7 Overall: 8

Fear Itself – Wolverine #1 (Marvel) – I don’t really find much about this comic compelling, not the premise, not the story and not the art. I think that Marvel (and probably DC, too), should cut back on the number of extra series that are related to their events and make sure that every series really has a good premise and a point to its creation. This one doesn’t seem to meet that.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Fear Itself – Youth In Revolt #1 (Marvel) – I like the idea of bringing back the Initiative, it wasn’t a bad idea when it was done before and done right now, it could be a good thing. I’m not sure the characters they chose to focus on in this series are the best ones, though.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Fear Itself – Youth In Revolt #2 (Marvel) – So after the first issue, which doesn’t really have great, compelling characters, the way to expand that is to bring in Frog Man? Really?

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Fear Itself – Youth In Revolt #3 (Marvel) – Much better, bring in Juggernaut, improve the art and end it with a shocking finale that makes you actually care what happens in the series.

Story: 8 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Fear Itself – The Worthy #1 (Marvel) – Okay, so we know a little bit more about Sin’s background and it’s obvious why she is Worthy, but this isn’t something that is particularly memorable.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #2 (Marvel) – To date, I think that Juggernaut is the coolest of the Worthy, but this issue doesn’t do anything to explain why and is a bit of a weak link in the Juggernaut portion of Fear Itself.

Story: 5 Art: 5 Overall: 5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #3 (Marvel) – This issue seems to give a little bit of insight as to why Titania is Worthy, but I can’t escape the feeling that she gets in because she’s dating the Absorbing Man and he’s Worthy.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Fear Itself – The Worthy #4 (Marvel) – If anything, this story makes it seem like the Grey Gargoyle is unworthy. He’s a bit of a whiny loser, how does that make him a prime candidate for serving the serpent?

Story: 5 Art: 5 Overall: 5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #5 (Marvel) – Solid, if not spectacular, tale of why the Hulk is Worthy. Doesn’t tell us anything we don’t know, but could be valuable to newer readers.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #6 (Marvel) – I’m not sure I get the point of this backstory of why Attuma is Worthy. It tells a little bit more about his background than we previously knew, but we already knew he was an evil bastard, what does this add to that?

Story: 7 Art: 6 Overall: 6.5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #7 (Marvel) – A brief bio of Absorbing Man that doesn’t tell us anything we don’t know, doesn’t explain why he’s worthy and doesn’t help the story.

Story: 6 Art: 4 Overall: 5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #8 (Marvel) – This one focuses on the last of the Worthy, the Thing, and moreso than any of the other issues, it makes it clear why the Thing becomes one of the Serpent’s servants. The only issue of this series that really adds something to the story. Too bad the art is so weak.

Story: 9 Art: 5 Overall: 7

Reviews

Catching Up on Reviews, Part 7 — Uncanny X-Force and X-Men

Posted on July 19, 2011 by

Uncanny X-Force #5 (Marvel) – Esad Ribic’s art, while good, is a step down from what had been appearing in X-Force’s earlier issues. Rick Remender’s writing is fine, but I don’t really care for the Deathloks or this particular storyline.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Uncanny X-Force #5.1 (Marvel) – Rafael Albuquerque’s art has its moments, but I’m not a huge fan. It is good to see the return of characters like Gateway, Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers, though, which make this an entertaining issue.

Story: 9 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8.25

Uncanny X-Force #6 (Marvel) – While the idea of all of the Marvel heroes being turned into time-traveling Deathloks is interesting, it’s problematic, though, to think that after all of the enemies that these heroes have collectively defeated, they’d somehow fall this way. Not buying it.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Uncanny X-Force #7 (Marvel) – The Deathlok storyline finally concludes, which it couldn’t have done soon enough. While the creators of this series are good and they do good work, this is not the best use of the series, I think.

Story: 7.25 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5

Uncanny X-Force #8 (Marvel) – This is a transitional issue from the subpar Deathlok storyline to what looks much more promising with the Dark Angel storyline. The final page of this issue is chilling.

Story: 8 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Uncanny X-Force #9 (Marvel) – Two issues into his run and I’m not sure what to think of Billy Tan’s art. There is definitely some good stylistic and structural stuff being done here, but I’m not sure about the faces and details.

Story: 8.25 Art: 7.75 Overall: 8

Uncanny X-Force #10 (Marvel) – The Dark Angel storyline is really starting to hit its stride in this issue and Bill Tan’s art seems to be improving. Overall, a good issue, on the verge of being great.

Story: 9 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

Uncanny X-Force #11 (Marvel) – Mark Brooks provides the best art this series has had in a while and Remender’s storytelling is at its peak in this issue. The Age of Apocalypse was one of the better storylines to come out of the 1990s and it’s good to see it revived here.

Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.5

Uncanny X-Men #533 (Marvel) – Greg Land’s art continues to mostly impress while I can’t say I like the character of Lode. I do like the idea of the drug that gives people mutant powers, although it seems like DC already did this with Lex Luthor a few years ago, so the idea isn’t that original.

Story: 8 Art: 9 Overall: 8.5

Uncanny X-Men #534 (Marvel) – The parts of this issue that feature Paul Renaud’s art are noticeably not as good as Land’s stuff. The Quarantine storyline ends on a high note, though, with Cyclops once again shown to be one of the smartest and toughest characters in Marvel. I really like where Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillon are taking him.

Story: 9.75 Art: 9.25 Overall: 9.5

Uncanny X-Men #534.1 (Marvel) – Great concept for this issue, what do you do to convince the world that Magneto has changed his ways and isn’t the evil bastard he used to be. Hire a PR firm, of course…

Story: 9 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

Uncanny X-Men #535 (Marvel) – Terry Dodson’s art isn’t perfect, but it is distinctive enough that I like it a lot. This issue ties back into the Breakworld story from Astonishing, and I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of that.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Uncanny X-Men #536 (Marvel) – More Dodson and more Breakworld means more of the same quality work as the previous issue, but this issue’s somewhat expected twist is still entertaining.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

Uncanny X-Men #537 (Marvel) – Dodson’s art seems a little weaker in this issue and the Breakworld stuff is starting to drag on, right up until the last panel, which is an amazingly good shocker.

Story: 9.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.75

Uncanny X-Men #538 (Marvel) – It’s good to finally see the conclusion of the Breakworld saga, both this particular one and the original one, restoring Kitty to her natural state. A number of the recent X-storylines are ones that I don’t particularly like, even though they are very well-executed.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Uncanny X-Men #539 (Marvel) – Really one of the worst issues of Uncanny in a while, which isn’t to say it’s terrible, just that it isn’t that great, either. That may be because there is a whole lot of Hope in this issue and nobody has really figured out much of a personality or point to her character now that she’s an adult.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Uncanny X-Men #540 (Marvel) – Greg Land is back, which is awesome. Fear Itself is crossing over, which is pretty good. This issue doesn’t have much action, but it has politics and Juggernaut and character growth and all that. Very good issue for regular readers and X-Men fans.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Uncanny X-Men Annual #3 (Marvel) – If Nick Bradshaw didn’t have to draw people, his art in this issue would be amazing. There are lots of people here, though, so it’s problematic at best. The story fits the recent Marvel trend of frequently matching up teams against someone else’s villains — in this case Blastaar — and I’m not sure that it works very well.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Reviews

Catching Up on Reviews, Part 6 — Osborn & Thunderbolts

Posted on July 17, 2011 by

Osborn #3 (Marvel) – The story here seems to stall a bit after the promise of the first two issues and the issue is also weak because of the art, which just isn’t that good.

Story: 6.5 Art: 5 Overall: 5.75

Osborn #4 (Marvel) – The art once again drags down what could’ve been a great series. Norman Osborn was such a great villain and has so much of a story built up after Dark Reign that it’s sad to see this series wasted.

Story: 7.5 Art: 4.5 Overall: 6

Thunderbolts #153 (Marvel) – Kev Walker’s art is good with potential to grow into something even better, but the key to this issue is the action-packed tale of revenge that takes place inside. The characters in Thunderbolts are always more complex than in just about any other comics and the Juggernaut’s battle with Hyperion in this issue is epic.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.25

Thunderbolts #154 (Marvel) – Jeff Parker continues to do a good job writing the various characters on the Thunderbolts team and while Declan Shalvey’s art falls a little bit short, it’s more than adequate.

Story: 8.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8

Thunderbolts #155 (Marvel) – Walker’s art begins to show some improvement and could develop into something really good, I think. Parker’s writing continues to impress and there are some cool new elements introduced in this issue, including the development of the new generation of Thunderbolts.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Thunderbolts #156 (Marvel) – The series continues to bring in new characters and make them an interesting part of the overall mix while at the same time managing to tell fun and action-packed stories. Parker and Walker seem to work well together and they are producing one of the most consistently good comics Marvel publishes these days.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Thunderbolts #157 (Marvel) – Another solid story that helps develop the characters and add to an ongoing narrative about the team. Walker’s art is the worst amongst this run of issues I’m reviewing today.

Story: 8.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.75

Thunderbolts #158 (Marvel) – This Fear Itself tie-in is the first to deploy the new Thunderbolts B Team in action and the story is handled well. Juggernaut’s character is also one of the best characters in the Fear Itself stories, even if he is a bit overused.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5

Thunderbolts #159 (Marvel) – There are four Fear Itself-related stories here, all of which seem to fall a bit short both in terms of art and story. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t great, either.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.25

Thunderbolts #160 (Marvel) – This might be the best issue of this run of Thunderbolts. It starts off as a continuation of the great tie-in from Fear Itself that started two issues earlier, and it is a well-executed tale. But late in the issue it has this shift to a surreal tone and art style that is just plain awesome to read and view.

Story: 9 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.25

Thunderbolts — From the Marvel Vault (Marvel) – I can forsee an instance when going back and completing a proposed issue that was never published could turn out to be a good thing and add something to the published material about a character or team. This isn’t one of those instances. The art in this issue isn’t great and it’s easy to see why this issue wasn’t published earlier.

Story: 5 Art: 5 Overall: 5

Reviews

Catching Up on Reviews, Part 5 — Avengers Academy and Captain America

Posted on July 14, 2011 by

Avengers Academy #9 (Marvel) – I love the storyline here where Finesse might turn out to be the daughter of the Taskmaster, one of my favorite Marvel anti-heroes these days. Less well-done are the parts of the issue dealing with Tigra expelling Academy members for assaulting the Hood. The art isn’t particularly great, either.

Story: 7 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.75

Avengers Academy #10 (Marvel) – Sean Chen’s art is a step up from the previous issue and the storyline where Leech comes to give Hazmat a day as a normal kid is great. The best part of the issue is Speedball’s growth as a character and the burying of some of his Stamford demons, which is a long time coming.

Story: 8.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8

Avengers Academy #11 (Marvel) – Christos Gage writes a good connection to Avengers past by bringing back Korvac for this story arc. I’m a little annoyed at the flood of Thor movie tie-ins, though this one takes a different route than most. Tom Raney’s art is good, but not spectacular.

Story: 8 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Avengers Academy #12 (Marvel) – There are moments of very strong writing here. The concept of bringing the future selves of the Academy students back to inhabit their present bodies so they can beat Korvac is an awesome device. The story is also fleshed out by one character showing a glaring weakness and two others showing a surprising vulnerability.

Story: 8.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8

Avengers Academy #13 (Marvel) – I guess I get what they were going after with the idea of the “Superhero Prom” for the students, having an issue that focuses more on the characters and the lighter side of their lives instead of action, I’m just not sure how well it works in this case.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Avengers Academy #14 (Marvel) – I love the way the new incarnation of the Sinister Six is being used and this is another good appearance for them. It’s good to learn more about Dr. Octopus’s character than we have learned in the past, he’s on the verge of being a little over-exposed lately, but certainly not in Deadpool, Spidey or Wolverine territory.

Story: 8 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Avengers Academy #14.1 (Marvel) – Ruby is one of the dumbest characters in Marvel history and her presence here detracts from what is otherwise a really good story, focusing on one of the characters who didn’t join the Academy and his tempting offer to the would-be heroes.

Story: 8.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.75

Avengers Academy #15 (Marvel) – This is Tom Raney’s best art yet and the Fear Itself tie-in works better than most of the others. This story also does a good job of tying in recent themes from the Academy books to Fear Itself, something a lot of the other tie-ins have failed to do.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.25

Avengers Academy Giant-Size #1 (Marvel) – Cartoonish art (which isn’t my taste at all) and a retread Arcade storyline with only a few interesting elements makes this issue a waste.

Story: 6.5 Art: 6 Overall: 6.25

Captain America #615.1 (Marvel) – Mitch Breitweiser’s art isn’t my favorite, it seems he has a real problem making people’s faces look realistic (even comic realistic). Other than that, Ed Brubaker’s tale is action-packed and compelling, even if, once again, it relies a bit much on World War II elements in telling the tale of Steve Rogers.

Story: 9 Art: 7 Overall: 8

Captain America #616 (Marvel) – This massive 70th anniversary issue is packed with stories, most of the well-told. The best is probably Brubaker and Mike Deodato’s Winter Soldier gulag tale, the worst is the Mike Benson and Paul Grist Baron Blood/Captain Ameica used to be a vampire story.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Captain America #617 (Marvel) – The continuation of the story of Bucky being put into a Russian gulag is entertaining and action-packed, but I read it after I knew Bucky’s eventual fate already, so I wonder how effective it is considering that context.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Captain America #618 (Marvel) – The different artists used here vary greatly in quality, but the overall ongoing story is still a compelling one that has an impact on the future of Marvel comics, so it’s well worth the read.

Story: 8 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Captain America #619 (Marvel) – The art from the gulag section is still the best in the issue, and it takes chances and mostly succeeds. The overall storyline comes to what appears to be a satisfying end.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Captain America #1 (Marvel) – Ah, the good-old Marvel pointless renumbering trick. The worst part about that for this issue is that this really isn’t good enough to be a first issue. It doesn’t break any new ground with the character and simply rehashes things we already know while mixing in a few newly-retconned storylines that don’t let us know anything new about Cap. It is good, I guess, to see Steve Rogers fully as Cap again, but you’d think that for a first issue, they would’ve had more of a point than what this issue has.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Reviews

Comic Book Weekly Reviews – 7/6/11

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Brett

It’s a new week of books dominated by even tie-ins. Is it the status quo, with one clearly outshining the other? Find out what’s worth it and what you should skip below!

Chew #19 – The series by John Layman and Rob Guillory continues to be one of the most original and entertaining comics on the market. Consistently fun, always keeping you on the edge, never knowing what to expect, the series is fantastic in every way imaginable. It should be on everyone’s pull list.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Fear Itself #4 – It’s taken four issues, but the story has finally kicked up and started to be coherent. If only it started out this way. The art doesn’t blow me away, but the site of Steve Rogers as Captain America was too long in the making.

Story: 8 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8

Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 – There’s some slight art issues, but overall the story is great with a good angle of a group of Purifier offshoots reacting to the end of the world. Hopefully the limited series keeps it’s focus and doesn’t get too distracted.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.25

Fear Itself: Wolverine #1 – The story is ok, the art not bad, but it seems a bit silly that there’s this mini-series as well as the Uncanny X-Force one. Wolverine I’m sure will also play a big role in the main series, so along with Deadpool, as usual we get overkill and over use of a character.

Story: 7.25 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.25

Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt #3 – This issue sees one of the deaths Marvel hyped. It’s an ok series but doesn’t add a whole lot to the overall story which is what you hope the tie-ins would do.

Story: 7 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7

Flashpoint #3 – If Flashpoint is any indication DcNu is going to give Marvel a run for their money. The story continues to be solid and entertaining with great moments peppered throughout. We finally get to see what happened to Superman and Grifter is officially folded into the DC universe.

Story: 8.75 Art: 9 Overall: 8.75

Flashpoint: Abin Sur – The Green Lantern #2 – Well that was a pretty shocking and unexpected twist. A lot of questions are raised though, and hopefully we get some answers. I also notice the comic is tied into the movie a bit more as far as the look, will we see the other series do the same?

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.55

Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance #2 – Wow, just wow. Brian Azzarello shows off how much of a solid writer he is. So damn good. Do everything you can to avoid finding out about this issue’s twist. It’s a great one.

Story: 9.25 Art: 9 Overall: 9.25

Flashpoint: Secret Seven #2 – I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first issue and the second also just doesn’t do it for me. The weakest of the series for this event. Part of the issue is I’m very unfamiliar with the character at the center of it, so really don’t understand what’s going on at times.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #2 – One of the weaker of the Flashpoint tie-ins. The story is ok and you get a smattering of the world this event is set in, but again, I don’t think it adds a lot to the main series. Maybe that changes in the next issue, but so far, meh.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Heroes for Hire #9 – Fear Itself seems to be taking what were once solid comics, distracting them from their decent stories and forcing them to participate in sub-par stories that add little to the overall Fear Itself plot line. This issue for a great series is exactly that. Everything is off, especially the art. A definite skip.

Story: 6.75 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.75

Irredeemable #27 – For issues now we’ve seen Plutonian attempting to escape the insane asylum he was sent while a few also tried to rescue him. We thought he was reformed but at this point I have no idea what to expect. Mark Waid continues to keep the readers on their toes with a series that pushes the hero/villain relaitonship/roles.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Moon Knight #3 – The cover alone makes the comic worth purchasing, but there’s a fantastic story in there too as the series continues to shake out and we’re introduced to the main characters who will play some roles. Just beyond solid and such a great series so far.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Red Skull: Incarnate #1 – An attempt to copy the magic of Magneto: Testament and show the flip side of the coin. The series “historical” roots really just sits in text talking about the cost of items at the store. The series first issue doesn’t have the emotional depth as Magneto’s tale and instead just comes off as pornographic violence.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

Secret Six #35 – The series had taken a turn with distractions such as a trip to Hell, but Bane is a focused man again and is on a mission and he needs the rest of the team to help. It’s good to see villains acting the sort again and the series to return to it’s proper form.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Supreme Power #2 – The first issue was great as it was Marvel’s look at what super powered beings would really do in a modern world. The second issue picks up on that but delves a bit further into the previous volumes which I haven’t read. This makes it a bit more difficult to appreciate and understand. It’s good, but just not as accessible as it should be.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Thunderbolts #160 – A Fear Itself tie-in that again drags down the series. The issue is they take on the Juggernaut in Chicago. But, in another series we see him in Vegas, which means they obviously failed in their mission. Well, if Wolverine can be in like six tie-ins, then I guess so can the Juggernaut.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

Uncanny X-Men #540 – And again it’s the Juggernaut taking center stage as the villain. In one week of comics he’s gone from Chicago to Las Vegas and now San Francisco. That’s a lot of mileage covered and more appearances than Wolverine and Deadpool. Congrats Juggernaut, you now have the title of most overused character of the week.

Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.25

Vengeance #1 – I really don’t get it.

Story: 6 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.25

X-Men #14 – It’s funny when a retcon works and when it doesn’t at the same time. Some secret history is being wedged into continuity and it sort of works. It’ll be the end before we know how well, but overall, it’s somewhat entertaining.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8

X-23 #12 – The issue continues the whole “trigger scent” plot and the individual issue is ok, but I think the overall arc will be a lot better than any of the individual issues. The art though is fantastic with just a wonderful anime feel to it.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.75

Around the Tubes

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Brett

It’s Friday, yay! The news concerning SDCC is flooding in and we’ll have some surprises for our first trip out there. How are you spending this weekend that sees no comic book movie releases?

Con Coverage:

Fantagraphics Books – Comic-Con 2011 Thursday panels

Geekweek – Legendary Pictures To Announce MASS EFFECT Film At Comic-Con

Bleeding Cool – San Diego Debut – You Might Be A Monster: And Other Stories I Made Up

Nerd Reactor – Wednesday and Thursday Comic-Con Schedules are now up!

Bleeding Cool – San Diego Debut: Jonathan Ross’s Five Mini-Comics

Bleeding Cool – San Diego Debut – Liam Sharp’s Dead Apes In The Snow

MTV Geek – Z-Man Games Set to Debut The Walking Dead at SDCC

Bleeding Cool – Win Lunch With Tanya Tate At San Diego Comic Con

Around the Tubes Reviews:

IGN – Adventure Comics #528

IGN – Astonishing Thor #5