Tag Archives: scott kolins

Preview: Blue Beetle #1

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Blue Beetle #1

Written by: Keith Giffen
Art by: Scott Kolins
Cover by: Scott Kolins
Variant cover by: Cully Hamner

Jaime Reyes is back home, but just when he thought he had a grasp on this alter-ego, the Blue Beetle, he discovers everything he believed about his scarab is a lie according to the mysterious Doctor Fate. With dire warnings about the symbiote that is fused to Reyes’ spine, Kent Nelson, the original wielder of Doctor Fate’s power, seemingly on verge of insanity, has he come to save Jaime as he claims…or will he try to eliminate the Blue Beetle, no matter the cost?

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Review: Blue Beetle #1

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blue_cv1_dsJaime Reyes is back home, but just when he thought he had a grasp on this alter-ego, the Blue Beetle, he discovers everything he believed about his scarab is a lie according to the mysterious Doctor Fate. With dire warnings about the symbiote that is fused to Reyes’ spine, Kent Nelson, the original wielder of Doctor Fate’s power, seemingly on verge of insanity, has he come to save Jaime as he claims…or will he try to eliminate the Blue Beetle, no matter the cost?

More than anything else, the above snippet from DC’s website is a little misleading. Doctor Fate is limited to an appearance in a dream (or something approaching a dream), with the comic instead spending a little more time on Jaime Reyes and Ted Kord’s not-quite-hostile-not-quite-friendly relationship as they try to make the best of the scarab that’s bonded to Reyes’ back.

It’s not quite a mentor/protege relationship, as Jaime seems to have very reluctant association with Ted, which leads to some entertaining exchanges between the two as the comic progresses. It’ll be interesting to see where that relationship leads down the road because having the teenager be the superhero and the adult the sidekick is a pretty cool role reversal.

If you’re unfamiliar with the characters within Blue Beetle #1, there’s enough background information presented by writer Keith Giffen to get you kind of up to pace, although because it’s not spoon fed to you be prepared to make a couple of assumptions that aren’t explicitly stated – this isn’t a bad thing . With that said, this is a pretty solid first issue; the dialogue doesn’t feel unnatural, and the art by Scott Kolins is solid. Honestly, only issue with the art is the way in which Jaime’s eyes are portrayed when he’s in costume. It’s a little more of a stylistic approach to a cartoon beetle’s eyes, and in the panels that you see them in, they felt a little… off. But just because it may not be to my taste, doesn’t mean that you won’t like it, however.

The rest of the comic is decent, if unspectacular. And I think that’s the biggest gripe I have here; nothing is done poorly, but it nor does ever really threaten to be anything other than decent.

Story: Keith Giffen Art: Scott Kolins 
Story: 6.5 Art: 6.75 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy a FREE copy for review

Review: Past Aways: Facedown in the Timestream TPB

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When five deep-time explorers find themselves stranded in the distant past of 2015, they’re forced to adapt to a primitive world of iPhone 6s and cars that can’t even drive themselves. But when a rift in space-time starts spitting out dinosaurs, giant robots, and other strange phenomena, only the marooned “pastaways” can defend the twenty-first century from the terrors of the timestream!

Past Aways is not your traditional time travel story, it’s more science fiction meets Castaway. Stranded in the past and unable to die, they are forced to live through history. It’s hard to imagine they didn’t affect history in some way and definitely weighed on my mind as I read the story by Matt Kindt. Their leader manages to stay determined to get back to their time, even if that means he has to kill one of his own group to do it. It adds to solid tension throughout the story.

The various time periods shown throughout the book, are well drawn by Scott Kolins. I will admit some of the stranger time abnormalities  make for curious sights which are made to stand out against the present landscape as the stuck time travelers try to find a way back home using them.

Story: Matt Kindt Art: Scott Kolins
Story: 8.5 Art: 9 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review: Blue Beetle Rebirth #1

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Blue BeetleThe first time I ever read any Blue Beetle was when Ted Kord died in the lead up to some Crisis or another – I don’t know which exactly, and it’s not relevant enough to warrant me searching for a specific name. From that death a new Blue Beetle was born, Jaime Reyes, who starred in a 36 issue series before the New 52 rebooted everything.

For some reason I never read the New 52 Blue Beetle, but I did recently just unearth the pre-New 52 comics I owned. Needless to say Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1 couldn’t have come at a better time for my renewed interest in the character. The Rebirth specials are designed first and foremost to bring readers up to speed on where the title character/s are at in their life, while also being entertaining enough to entice the reader to add said book to their pull list – at least that’s my understanding. Blue Beetle Rebirth #1 almost succeeds in doing this.

The comic is well written enabling you to get a great understanding of the people in Jaime’s life, but the events leading up to the comic – the New 52 era – isn’t quite as well covered. The relationships between Jaime and his family are hinted at, and while I would have preferred a deeper explanation this is only the first installment in this series, doing any more than giving the reader the briefest glimpse probably wouldn’t have had the best result.

What we do get is quite enjoyable, and all the elements are in place for a great story, but they never quite come together. Blue Beetle Rebirth #1  isn’t a bad comic, but it’s not the best to have come out of Rebirth, either. Here’s hoping we have a series that gets better with every issue because the potential of the comic is just beneath the surface – and it’s huge.

Story: Keith Giffen Art: Scott Kolins
Story: 6.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.

Review: Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1

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BLUEREB_Cv1_dsI’m not one who really knows a lot about Blue Beetle, whether it’s Jaime Reyes or Ted Kord. And for those that do that I talk to, they seem to either want one character to be Blue Beetle or the other. Blue Beetle: Rebirth, written by Keith Giffen, seems to have a bit for both fans as the two characters come together to figure things out.

This “first issue” drops you right into the action in many ways laying out the tone for what we can expect and having more than enough to catch up new readers as to what’s going on. Giffen sets up a mentor and mentee dynamic between the two, one the older scientist and the other the young kid just trying to get some answers.

That tone is what I really came to appreciate in the comic. It’s fun and light in a good way with humor that reminds me a lot of Spider-Man in many ways and even a touch of Batman Beyond. It’s a great introduction and even better it acts as a one-shot comic you can pick up and put down if you choose. It’s a win in many ways.

There’s solid twists too, especially towards the end when another character shows up and I don’t want to give things away. But, from what I know it seems to shift some of the things we know about Reyes and his power as Blue Beetle.

Scott Kolins art is decent with a style that feels a bit like a throwback in ways. It’s hard to describe why I think that, but the art style is something I’d expect geared towards younger readers (probably teens) and also might have found in the 90s or 00s. That’s not a bad thing at all as the art style really fits the comic’s tone. It’s a solid match that works really well.

I didn’t have many expectations going into the comic, but coming out of it, I’m pretty impressed. It’s fun in so many ways and has a great positive and fun tone that’ll be a major draw for me of the series. Can’t wait for the first issue of the main series to come and see where this all goes.

Story: Keith Giffen Art: Scott Kolins
Story: 7.9 Art: 7.8 Overall: 7.9 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Preview: Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1

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Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1

Written by: Keith Giffen
Art by: Scott Kolins
Cover by: Scott Kolins
Variant cover by: Cully Hamner

Lost in the desert with no memory of the past few years, teenager Jaime Reyes must find his way home again—but when he reaches his town, he’s shocked to find it abandoned and in the hands of government officials…officials who are very interested in the Blue Beetle and the scarab that gives him his power! How can Jaime find his family and uncover the secret behind the town’s seizure—and why Kord Industries is helping keep the world from learning the truth?

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Review: Adam.3 #3

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adam.3 #3Continuing the best work of his career, Scott Kolins (Flash, Avengers, Solomon Grundy) shows the terrifying cost of evil as Adam battles monsters who were once his closest friends in Adam.3 #3! How many will suffer as S.E.E.D.S. Part 3: Epidemic threatens to destroy all life on the island paradise?

The strange dark, alien, creature/plague comes back with a devastating grip on the land and its animal inhabitants.  Somewhere in that infested land, is Adam’s son Beo. This issue introduces the mother of Beo for the first time. However it doesn’t reveal much about her, outside of her being from another land. Hopefully they reveal more about her as the series continues.

There is a nice balance of colors in this issue. However since this is broken down in a chapter style, it actually manages to brighten the world at first. Before Adam plunges into the infected land, in search of his son. The infected land is much darker, and drastically less vibrant than the uninfected world.

Story: Scott Kolins Art: Scott Kolins
Story: 8.25 Art: 9.5 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review: Justice League: Darkseid War: Shazam

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Justice League Darkseid War Shazam CoverA boy becomes an army of Gods! No longer does Billy Batson have access to the powers of the Old Gods. Now, he commands the combined might of Highfather, Mantis and other New Gods. But these Gods are not passive. And they will sooner destroy Billy than give up control of their power.

Tied in to the “Darkseid War” story currently running in Justice League, Justice League: Darkseid War: Shazam shows us where Shazam was flying off to, and when the issue is over we’ll see where he’s going in Justice League #46.

The overall story has a lot to do with gods, and Shazam is an interesting character since his power comes directly from some. Writer Steve Orlando has some fun with that as things are shaken up for the character and done in a somewhat fun way. A lot of it feels like been there in a way as we are told where Shazam’s power now comes from, but what makes it fun is how Orlando works in what he does. Out of all the tie-ins, his is one of the tougher ones, and he does a good job making it work. The comic is basically an origin story with a battle mixed in. But, there’s a lot revealed in some cool ways.

I like the art by Scott Kolins which is very much in a “house style,” but is done in an exciting way with some solid action scenes and rather cool character design. It’s solid art, with some interesting panels that piqued my interest and got me to pause.

It’ll be interesting to see where this all goes, and how much will be explored down the road. Maybe we’ll see an ongoing Shazam comic with Orlando at the helm. After reading this, it’s something I could get behind.

Story: Steve Orlando Art: Scott Kolins
Story: 7.25 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review of Adam.3 #2

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A nightmarish plague threatens Adam’s island home and everything he holds dear—including his beloved wife, his troubled son, and the animals he watches over. Lives are lost and captives are taken as an otherworldly invader penetrates Adam’s utopian environment.

Scott Kolins does double duty providing both the art and story for the series. With a slight cliche, Adam.3 #2 opens with an unknown object falling from space. Skip back or ahead depending on your point of view, it shows a brief introduction of Adam’s son. Outside of those two events, it picks up where the last one picks off.  It manages to have a decent momentum throughout the story.

The art work is well done, in a similar manner to the last issue. It has a nice balance of vibrant, action-filled, scenes. Along with scenes that have a slight darkness to the characters and the environment.

Story: Scott Kolins Art:Scott Kolins
Story: 8.75 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9 Recommendation:Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review: Adam.3 #1

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ADAM3Award-winning writer/artist Scott Kolins premieres his first original comic book creation: Adam.3! A man born into a futuristic island utopia fights to save his troubled family as terrifying visions of a monstrous doom foretell the end to his Eden! Can Adam and his family survive S.E.E.D.S.?

Scott Kolins’ Adam.3 #1 is interesting to say the least. The world reminds me some of the Savage Land, from Marvel’s X-Men comics, just without the dinosaurs. However there is no lack of large animals. Published by Dark Horse Comics, the story has a various elements within it. While it has a mix of science fiction meets Tarzan meets an action adventure story. It has no lack of action and is defiantly worth picking up.

The story and the setting blend together well, and complement each other wonderfully. While the backstory of the story may not make a large appearance, it has subtle hints. Hopefully it will be explored fully in the issues to come.

The colorful art work, blends with story well. It gives the story a certain level of realism, into a world of pure imagination. The characters dress very vibrantly, and stand out from their earth like world.

It may not be traditional science fiction, but that is where it stands out. The slight mix of superhero elements mixed in with a world of giant animals, allows this to be to read for teens and adults as well. It could be argued that is appropriate for children as well, but there are some scenes of a sensual nature. That eliminates the possibility of it being for children.

Story: Scott Kolins Art: Scott Kolins
Story: 9.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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