Category Archives: Purchases

Comic Book (sort of) Weekly Reviews – 4/18/12

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Ok, time to kick this into overdrive and get totally caught up…..

The Avengers #25 – This was supposed to be a tie-in to Avengers Vs. X-Men, but really the connection is flimsy.  It has a lot of wrapping up of the previous story arc, which for people wanting to get into Marvel’s big event throws you off.  The characters are often off and the art is a bit of a let down.  Overall, I finished the comic and scratched my head.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Avengers Vs. X-Men #2 – The second chapter of Marvel’s big event is choppy and poorly written.  I just can’t describe the issue, but the narrative just has tons of issues.  It jumps around and just sets up a bunch of fights, that’s about it.  For such a huge event, it really doesn’t hold up to what it should be.

Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7

Batman #8 – The beginning of the Batman event, The Night of the Owls first issue shows off how it’s supposed to be done.  Snyder’s writing is just fantastic.  A solid comic in every way.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Captain Atom #8 – I’m honestly shocked this series is still going and expect it to get chopped at some point.  The series really steps it up a notch as there’s now a bigger story arc involving the destruction of the world and preventing it.  The art is great, concepts interesting, people, you should be reading this!

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Fables #116 – So many story lines, so much to keep track of.  The series isn’t quite as solid as it once was, but it’s still pretty damn solid.  The concepts are great and I really have no idea what to expect next.

Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

Green Lantern Corps. #8 – Guy gets promoted and the Alpha Corps steps up.  Overall a quieter story that I think is an improvement over the last few issues.  Not amazing, but intriguing.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

The Invincible Iron Man #515 – That was one hell of an issue.  Tony is being attacked from all sides and the Mandarin sure as hell looks like he’s got a solid plan.  There’s one shocker of a moment, one I wasn’t expecting and then a twist that I again wasn’t expecting.  So good.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Justice League #8 – Wow is the team filled with a bunch of dicks.  This is a team I just don’t like.  That being said, the Shazam back up story has a lot of potential actually giving us interesting characters and some emotion that doesn’t drive me away, but makes me want to find out more.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.75

New Mutants #41 – Wow did I not like this issue.  I don’t know much about Blink, is she always this irritating of a character?  It’s like an anime character I want to punch.  And the art is so off.  Not my cup of tea at all.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Nightwing #8 – The Night of Owls starts here for this series, though it say prelude.  It really jumps into the storyline.  There’s a great backstory that’s told giving a lot of history of the Owls and it’s ties to Dick Grayson.  I’m mix on the whole concept, but it feels like villains who can really challenge Batman and his family.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

The Punisher #10 – The second part of the Omega Drive story, the action and banter is so good.  This is how you do a solid crossover.  Each character has only added to the story and brought out the best in each other.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

The Shadow #1 – I’ve like some Shadow comics, this, not so much.  The story is choppy, some of it doesn’t make sense.  I struggled to get through the issue.  A shame, because I’ve really been digging Dynamite’s recent comics.

Story: 5 Art: 6 Overall: 5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro-Series: Leonardo – Leonardo meets the Foot Clan in the latest entry in this nice series of one shots that tie into the main series.  So fantastic.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Thunderbolts #173 – The team fights their past selves and a plan to get to the present is set out.  That ending, I wasn’t expecting that.  But still, not a fan of the time travel story.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Uncanny X-Force #24 – Deadpool, Logan and Kurt take on the Age of Apocalypse Iceman while the Otherworld storyline gets wrapped up.  The story is an absolute improvement over the last few issues, but the art is still off.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Venom #16 – Venom is tasked on a mission to transfer a prisoner which goes awry.  The issue is pretty solid and I definitely liked the ending.  I just wish the mystery of who the assassin was went on a bit longer.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

The Walking Dead #96 – Not a lot of action, but a very important moment as writer Robert Kirkman continues to drive the series in a whole new direction.  Some major changes are under way.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Wolverine and the X-Men #9 – It’s a prelude to Avengers Vs. X-Men in an excellent issue that’s all set up.  You can tell the tough choices being made, there’s some fantastic back and forth and great art.  All of that dashed with a sense of humor.  So good.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Wonder Woman #8 – Wonder Woman heads to Hades to free Zola.  The action is ok and take on Hades is interesting.  Overall, the story is just ok.  The series is definitely losing the steam it once had.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

X-Factor #234 – This is the beginning of a bigger story arc and with Jamie back, that’s the whole team.  The series has always been about the interaction of folks, and that’s top notch.  The art is a bit off and other than the lots of talking not a lot happens, but it’s really damn entertaining.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

X-Men #27 – The X-Men’s battle by the side of the vampires ends.  I yawn.  There’s lots of set up, but for all of the action it seems like it’s just a dangling story and not complete…. sigh.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

Comic Book (sort of) Weekly Reviews – 4/11/12

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That’s another week covered.  Slowly catching up and hopefully there’ll be another week reviewed by the end of this one!

America’s Got Powers #1 – Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch’s new series might be the Hunger Games meets superheroes and holy crap is it good.  I kept turning each page with glee.  So solid, words don’t do it justice at all.  This is an absolute buy and will be the mini-series of the Summer.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Avengers Assemble #2 – The Zodiac are gathering devices of amazing power and someone is in the background guiding them.  The story is interesting, but series still seems a bit second class compared to the other Avengers titles.  Still, the story is entertaining enough.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Avenging Spider-Man #6 – Spider-Man, Daredevil and the Punisher team up to protect the Omegadrive and take down five crime syndicates?  Yes please!  This issue combines the best of this series and Waid’s Daredevil with Rucka’s Punisher.  So fantastic.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Batgirl #8 – Barbara deals with one of the Joker’s henchmen that was present when she was shot.  It’s a decent issue that’ll keep me interested in the series that much longer.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Batman and Robin #8 – Bruce must deal wit the after effects of his and Damian’s battle with Nobody.  It’s a fantastic issue that focuses on a father and his son.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

Batwoman #8 – Great art and layout with a confusing and muddled story.  This is a pale comparison of the greatness that this series once saw.  A shame too.

Story: 5 Art: 8 Overall: 6

The Bionic Man #8 – Kevin Smith and Phil Hester’s comic is the big screen movie I want to see.  So much fun.  So much action.  So much entertainment.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Fantastic Four #605 – Reed and his father head through time to see what their recent actions have caused.  The issue is fantastic I think focusing on the heart and relationship of characters.

Story: 9 Art: 8 Overall: 8.75

Fatale #4 – Brubaker’s series is interesting, but not my cup of tea compared to his other previous noir series’.  Something just isn’t clicking for me.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7

Green Lantern #8 – Sinestro and Jordan are prisoners of the Indigo Tribe and it looks like we’re going to learn more about this mysterious Corps.  So far, it’s pretty interesting.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Journey Into Mystery #636 – The final piece of Loki’s plan is revealed and it’s really entertaining.  This series deserves a bigger audience with some fantastic writing.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

Mega Man #12 – The series has taken a familiar formula and made it work.  Luckily that formula changes a bit in the next issue, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a fun read for the whole family.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

The Mighty Thor #12.1 – We get some various tales about Thor that hint at a lot.  If this is to introduce people to Thor, I definitely don’t think it’s interesting enough to hook them.  Again a “point one” fails.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7

The New Avengers #24 – Luke and Jessica have issues to deal with.  We also get a behind the scenes look as Captain America rallies the troops for AVX.  The issue is one giant build up, but it’s solid.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5

Resurrection Man #8 – Shelley’s secrets are being slowly shown and released.  This series is fantastic and one of the best new ones of the DC relaunch.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Saga #2 – Wow, Brian K. Vaughn’s series is amazing.  It’s a sci-fi action adventure that has familiar parts, but in an all new way.  Just beyond fantastic and one of the best series of the year.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

Saucer Country #2 – I love this series.  The X-Files meets West Wing series is just so fresh and so new.  I can’t say I’ve ever read anything like this before.

Story: 10 Art: 8.25 Overall: 9.5

Scarlet Spider #4 – I’m not a Spider-Man fan, but I’m a fan of this series.  There’s something so fresh and so fun about it.  I can’t recommend it enough.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Secret #1 – Hickman’s latest series is one hell of a mystery.  It’s more than enough for me to come back for the second issue, but I can’t say it blows me away like other series of his in the past.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Secret Avengers #25 – The story arc has been interesting, but I didn’t see that ending coming.  It’s so good.  So, so good.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5

the Secret Service #1 – Millar’s latest series in his big push, it’s just not all that solid so far, but it has enough for me to check out the second issue.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Superboy #8 – Dropped!

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6

Suicide Squad #8 – We get a bit more of the story behind Waller and the formation of the squad.  There’s also a secret hinted at that’s really entertaining and builds potential for the series.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Thief of Thieves #3 – Kirkman and Spencer’s series is amazing.  Redmond is a great main character and the fact the series focuses on the individuals and characters is top notch.  An absolute must buy.

Story: 9 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8.5

Ultimate Comics X-Men #10 – Holy shit was that a hell of an ending.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

Uncanny X-Men #10 – There’s a lot of build up and foreshadowing here, but it looks like there’s some stuff that has good potential for future plotlines.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Winter Soldier #4 – Bucky teams up with Doom and it is awesome.

Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

Wolverine #304 – Sabretooth throws a party and I’m irritated in the art constantly switching.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Comic Book (sort of) Weekly Reviews – 4/4/12

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Ok, I slowed down in the whole catching up on my reviews thing… but back to it and hopefully I’ll totally be caught up by the end of June… if not sooner.

Age of Apocalypse #2 – The remaining resistance is on the run and Jean Grey and Sabretooth’s role is still up in the air.  The series is solid and different, with some solid art.  The series is different enough to stand out from the rest of the “X” books.  I missed the original Age of Apocalypse, so this’ll do for me.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

American Vampire #25 – Scott Snyder’s series is amazing and this issue ties so many threads together.  I can’t wait to see what he does and what he has in store for the series.  I can’t get enough of this series and it absolutely shows off why Snyder is one of the best writers out there.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5

Animal Man #8 – The battle against the Rot continues as Animal Man and Swamp Thing are going to team up and collide.  The series shows that the Vertigo feel can work and work well in the modern DC universe.  The art is solid on top of it.  This is one of the best series to come out of DC’s relaunch.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Avengers Academy #28 – The team up with the Runaways continues and there’s a bunch I like, and a lot I don’t.  The series just feels like the B-team for Avengers.  We’ll see where it goes, but hopefully post Avengers Vs. X-Men the series will get a nice shake-up.

Story: 7.25 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.25

Avengers Vs. X-Men #1 – This is it?  There’s some great build up and tension, but the old quote about sound and fury signifying nothing stands out to me.  It’s just one issue, but I hope there’s more to it all than just this.  The art is pretty solid, but overall, pretty meh so far.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Batman: Detective Comics #8 – While the art is pretty decent, I think the story really shows how excellent Snyder’s Batman is compared to this inferior series.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Batwing #8 – We find out the identity of Massacre.  I can’t say I’m shocked.  The ending to the first arc is ok.  It’s not quite the solid series it was when it started, but still a nice addition to the Bat family.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Brilliant #3 – A debate rages as to how to handle the discovery as the FBI attempts to put together what happened.  This series feels like a tame Mark Millar series.  Without the swearing and over the top violence.  Not sure if that’s a good thing… either part.

Story: 7.25 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25

Chew #25 – Tony is captured and this series shows why it’s one of the most creative and original ones out there.  The story is as off the hook as can be expected and art entertaining as usual.  A series that should be on everyone’s pull-list.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Danger Club #1 – The adults are away and the children will play.  The adult super heroes might be dead, so the kids have taken over.  The series just has awesome punch to it with solid art.  It’s not totally original, but it’s damn entertaining.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Daredevil #10.1 – A great point one that introduces Daredevil to new readers and catches them up on information you know.  I’m loving the Omegadrive story.  Watching the groups after it attempt to get it is beyond entertaining.  Mark Waid is at the top of his game with this series and the art is amazing.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Fairest #2 – The art is fantastic and story solid in this spin-off from Fables.  Two issues in and you can see the series falls more into the fantasy end of things, picking up on some threads left from the main series.  It’s only two issues, but it’s two solid issues.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Fear Itself: The Fearless #12 – So, Hellstrom is a bad guy in this book, but a good guy in Circle of Four and Journey?  Get the characters straight!!!  There’s some interesting stuff set up here, but overall, this twelve part series was a mess.

Story: 6 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.25

New Mutants #40 – Douglock fights Ani-Matter and I yawn…

Story: 6.5 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.5

Red Lanterns #8 – Take this story and switch the color to a different Corps… does it make a difference?  No, not really and that’s where the story fails for me.  Red Lanterns should have an animalistic feel to them and here they just come off like a bland version of Yellow or Green.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

Secret Avengers #24 – A cool story still with the team taking on various cyborg like beings in the Marvel universe that have come together.  It’s a somewhat original story, and the art is pretty solid.  I think the series is finally finding it’s footing.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Stormwatch #8 – The team takes on a pretty huge threat and Midnighter makes a hell of a decision.  The series is finally getting good for me, and hopefully it continues on this pace.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Swamp Thing #8 – A series that’s been more Vertigo and horror than superhero swings the superhero way as Swamp Thing goes after the Rot in the beginning of a hell of a battle.  Compared to past issues, the issue is just ok, but it’s one piece of a much bigger and excellent story.

Story: 7 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7

Thunderbolts #172 – The renegade Thunderbolts fight the original Thunderbolts in a pretty typical battle issue.  There’s some potential here, but so far it’s pretty average but still somewhat entertaining.

Story: 7 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #9 – Miles meets the police and his uncle comes calling when he runs into trouble.  The series continues it’s excellence as a new Spider-Man still gets his act together.  The art is great and story solid.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Venom #15 – Flash must deal with the last few weeks and his getting up and heading to Vegas.  His personal life is unraveling while he deals with having been attached to Venom so long.  The series is getting back into the swing of things focusing on Flash’s personal life as much as the superhero.  That’s when it’s great.

Story: 8.25 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8.25

Wolverine and the X-Men #8 – The kids head off to find God (not really) while Wolverine deals with his getting beaten down at the Casino.  Meanwhile the Hellfire Club hires Sabretooth to give them some tips which leads to Sabretooth fighting Beast in an awesome fight.  The issue is all over the place and pure amazing.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Comic Book (sort of) Weekly Reviews – 3/28/12

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Another week down… now, only about a month and a half behind. Sigh.

All Star Western #7 – Hex heads to New Orleans and deals with anti-immigrant terrorists.  Along the way he meets up with Nighthawk and Cinnamon who also have a back-up feature.  The issue is pretty good, though there’s a bunch that’s not explained like his recovery.  Still, it’s a transition to a new story arc.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Aquaman #7 – Some characters from Arthur’s past are coming into play as we get to see Black Manta and further explore the mystery of Atlantis.  The series continues to be solid with great art and some solid storytelling.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Astonishing X-Men #48 – And there’s the story I’ve been looking for in this series.  Some of Wolverine’s side is still getting settled in NYC when all hell breaks loose (shocker).  And is that who I think it is at the end?  I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s awesome.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

the Avengers #24.1 – The Vision returns and learns about everything he’s missed in a simple story that hints to new readers as to what they’ve missed and some of the major players out there.  It’s a solid stand alone story that does what it needs to, hits you at an emotional level.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.25

Avengers Vs. X-Men #0 – A story about Wanda and a story about Hope.  As far as getting me interested in this event it fails in every way.  To explain to new readers what’s up, it does an ok job.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Avenging Spider-Man #5 – Cap and Spidey have a moment in this solid issue dedicated to Joe Simon.  The story is simple, but touching at the same time and Spider-Man is his usual entertaining chatty self.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Batman: The Dark Knight #7 – The White Rabbit was an  interesting twist, but it’s the usual Batman fights Bane, but a very much less interesting Bane from what we saw in Secret Six.  Talk about taking a character a few steps back.

Story: 6 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

Captain America & Bucky #628 – The battle with Adam III comes to an end.  The story is ok, but really it made me think how a real world campaign to help Veterans featuring Captain America would be great.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Daken: Dark Wolverine #23 – Is that the end of Daken?  This final issue is really great at times, the story only has minor issues and the same with the art, but Daken is the best when he reflects on himself in an almost poetic way.  Such a shame such an interesting character never found the audience he deserved.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Daredevil #10 – A solid ending as Daredevil fights Mole Man and deals with the damage done.  Mark Waid continues to impress in the series that deserves all the buzz and kudos it receives.  Just fantastic in so many ways.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

FF #16 – The prologue to Hickman’s epic story is ok, but it’s those last few pages that made me giggle.  I got chills seeing it and can’t wait to see what happens next.

Story: 7 Art: 6.75 Overall: 7

the Flash #7 – The Flash has to deal with his actions and make things right.  That includes a pseudo time travel story (already?) and some there’s some movement in his personal life.  The story is ok, not quite the quality we’ve seen.

Story: 7.25 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.25

Green Lantern: New Guardians #7 – We get the origin of the Angel and the team starts to come together.  The story is pretty blah.  Why this series exists?  No idea really….

Story: 6.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

I, Vampire #7 – The second part of the Rise of Vampires crossover is so much better than the first.  The art, the writing, Joshua Hale Fialkov knocks it out of the park as expected.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Justice League Dark #7 – So, why isn’t Batman more involved in this crossover?  The first issue of the Rise of the Vampires crossover with I, Vampire makes a point a few times how messed up the team is and how not in sync they are.  It fits the tone of the series, which just doesn’t click at all for me.  Once this crossover is done, I’m done with the series.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6

The Mighty Thor #12 – Thor is back!  It took WAY too long, but he’s finally back.  I might not have enjoyed the entire story arc, but that last page of this issue got me choked up quite a bit.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Moon Knight #11 – The series heads to it’s conclusion as Moon Knight takes on Madam Masque to get back the Ultron head.  There’s tons of action and all kinds of crazy, but I have to say it’s a bit dissapointing to finally see under Masque’s mask.  That was a great mystery I liked seeing continue…. oh well.

Story: 7 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.25

The New Avengers #23 – It’s Skaar vs. Osborn’s Avengers in the final chapter in that story.  There’s some fantastic art here and story telling like the Iron Fist vs. Gorgon fight.  Overall, a quick but solid issue.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.75

The New Deadwardians #1 – One of Vertigo’s buzzed about new series comes off like PBS Masterpiece theater mashed together with Law & Order and a zombie/vampire story.  It’s an interesting blend that has me interested enough to come back for the second issue.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Teen Titans #7 – The team saves Superboy and we meet a new bad guy named Harvest who looks like a rip-off from Hellboy 2.  The story has it’s moments but overall, the series isn’t quite doing it for me.

Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #8 – Mousers!!!! So very very very excited.  The series is awesome for new and old fans of any iteration of the Turtles.  So fantastic and highly recommended.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

The Twelve #11 – The team takes on Dynamic Man.  There’s something retro about it.  The story is ok, but nothing to blow me away and the fact it’s taken this long to read, just makes it more frustrating.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #8 – The President makes a dramatic decision to take on the escalating threats as the Hulk smashes his way around.  All hell is breaking loose and I have no idea where things are going from here.  Things usually end from this.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Uncanny X-Force #23 – The story… bad.  The art… bad.  What the hell happened to this once excellent series?

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

The Walking Dead #95 – Rick and his team finally get to see the other town and that ending was one hell of a punch.  Where will things go from here?  I can’t wait and see!

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

X-Men: Legacy #264 – Now that’s an interesting story.  Weapon Omega shows up with Mimic and things get a bit interesting.  The art is up a notch and so is the story.  Hopefully it stays this way for a bit.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

THE RENOWNED ANIMATED MOVIE CLASSIC

ARRIVES ON DVD FOR THE FIRST TIME!

 

The Smurfs™ and the Magic Flute

HITS U.S HOME ENTERTAINMENT SHELVES NATIONWIDE

 

OWN IT ON DVD AUGUST 14, 2012 FROM FABULOUS FILMS

               Distributed by Shout! Factory

 

Smurf fans rejoice! On August 14, 2012, the original full-length animated feature The Smurfs and the Magic Flute will finally debut on DVD for the first time in the U.S. from Fabulous Films. Based on the original comic book story by the same name, this beloved animated movie classic debuted in U.S theaters in 1983 and has remained a fan favorite for more than twenty-five years. Delivering wholesome family entertainment, The Smurfs and the Magic Flute DVD also features bonus content including an image gallery, animated menus, a glossary of Smurf terms, The Smurf Story, a character guide, and an About the Smurfs and the Magic Flute featurette. A must-have for Smurfs fans, collectors, animation enthusiasts and a new generation of kids, this collectible DVD is priced to own at $14.93 SRP and available for pre-order now. 

 

In The Smurfs and the Magic Flute, a magical flute is just what Court Jester Peewit needs to play delightful tunes that make everyone in the kingdom dance — until the dancing turns dangerous. Sir Johan tries in vain to recover the musical instrument, but a thief named McCreep beats him to it, intending to use the flute to steal gold from the King’s subjects. It’s the Smurfs to the rescue when Papa Smurf devises a plan to create a second magical flute, and Peewit and Sir Johan go on a great adventure to find McCreep, win the musical duel and save the kingdom!

 

DVD Bonus Content

Image Gallery

Glossary of Smurf terms

The Smurf Story

Character Guide

About The Smurfs and the Magic Flute

Animated Menus

 

Technical Information

The Smurfs and the Magic Flute DVD

Street Date: August 14, 2012

Running Time: 71 min.

Aspect Ratio: 4 x 3

Audio: stereo

Rating: Rated G

 

About the Smurfs

The story of the Smurfs – a property created by Peyo – started in 1958 with the creation of comic books which were later brought to the big screen and on television. Over the years, the little blue characters haven’t just limited themselves to the page and the screen. The Smurfs have inspired records and CDs that have sold millions of copies, entire collections of figurines and toys, and many more products. In all, more than 3,000 derived products have been produced and leading brands and companies have spread their messages worldwide with the help of the Smurfs. A multitude of new projects appear regularly, thus making the success of the Smurfs planetary!

Movie Review – The Avengers

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I’ve actually been sitting and delaying my writing a review for The Avengers for almost a day, having seen it in 3D at midnight on opening night.  It’s because I was torn.  So much of the movie I really enjoyed, then what I didn’t…. I really didn’t.  And it took me a while to figure out why.  I went to the show with someone who knows comics, but doesn’t know the ins and outs of the Avengers universe.  She knows the characters, but not specific details, so being able to discuss it with her has been interesting and helped me figure out my issues with the film.

The movie is uneven to me.  Some great action parts are followed with slow scenes that drag on.  There’s awkward pauses and lines that sound like horrible B movie material.  Special effects at times have the same result.  The parts of the movie that work, work really well, and the rest, feel like a Joss Whedon television show.  And there’s the rub and what my issue is… I’m not a Whedon fan.  I didn’t enjoy Buffy, Angel, Firefly or Serenity.  And his rather small scale of the past at times shows in a big budget film like this.

The first quarter of the movie, up until they’re all on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarier is rubbish.  The acting is bad, the lines laughable, and pacing completely off.  Scenes make no sense and things aren’t explained (we’ll get back to that).  It’s not until Thor’s arrival the movie takes off and then everyone’s “A” game begins to show.  It takes Loki (a brilliant scene chewing Tom Hiddleston) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to get everyone else to step up a bit.

But, I come back to the plot which have holes that giant mechanical space worms could fit through and questions that aren’t addressed at all.  Here’s a few:

What happened to Loki at the end of Thor?

How did Thor arrive since the Bifrost bridge was destroyed?

Who the hell are Loki’s army and why do they give a shit about Earth?

What is the way too many numerous plans that Nick Fury references as if we’re supposed to know them?

Who is the Council and why do they have a say in anything?  And why is a “world council” all white?

The highlights of the movie are Tom Hiddleston as Loki and the Hulk (not Ruffalo, but the CGI beast).  Both steal the show.  This is really the definition of a summer popcorn movie.  Go in without notions, turn your brain off and watch things blow up and ignore the plot holes and lack of explanation of anything.  But, even attempting to do that, I still wondered at times “What would Michael Bay do?”  And the fact I did that got me to pause.  Whedon is talented, but his lack of experience on this scale shows.

Direction:  As explained above, this was the Joss Whedon show.  There’s a pop culture zing at times and some great interaction, but it all seemed a bit too cutesy.  This was The Avengers done Buffy.  The tone was much more “comic booky” than the previous films.  There were some great moments, even in the quieter times.  Lines zinged along and punchy dialogue that’d make Kevin Smith’s head spin.  Whedon though falls in the action part.  The end battle uses shaky cam way too much, when a steadier shot would do.  Special effects look like a Roger Corman Fantastic Four movie.  This wasn’t the quality we’ve seen from those previously at the helm.  Grade: 6

Acting: Hiddleston steals the show chewing every scene but not coming off as a goof.  He’s excellent as Loki, much as he was in his previous appearance in the role.  Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man is at his arrogant best.  Chris Evans does quite well as Steve Rogers/Captain America and Chris Hemsworth as Thor continues the quality he showed off in his own movie.  It was a CGI Hulk though that got the crowd going and I expect to see his own movie again in a few year’s time.  The rest of the cast did their job not adding anything, but also not taking away from the enjoyment.  Grade: 7

Plot: Holes the size of that giant thing at the end.  So much not addressed, so many questions not answered.  There’s just issues and issues here.  Turn your brain off for this one.  Grade: 5

Overall:  The movie really sums up the issues many perceive of comics.  It’s popcorn entertainment for kids that doesn’t challenge the mind.  There’s also another issue that’s a problem for comics.  This was one part of a multi-part story started in Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor.  Much is left unanswered and not explained expecting you to have seen those movies.  I get asked by my friends where to start to read comics, and often I’m left not sure of the answer.  To me, this movie has a similar problem.  Can you see it by itself?  Sure.  Is it coherent if you do?  Not really.  Marvel attempted to do something impressive with this movie by having a shared movie universe.  But, in this execution, they fell a bit short.  The movie is fun and enjoyable and definitely for the big screen where the giant explosions will get you to stop thinking for just a tiny bit.  Overall Grade: 7

Comic Book (sort of) Weekly Reviews – 3/21/12

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Another week down, hopefully I’ll speed things up and get caught up with reviews.

Avengers: X-Sanction #4 – Wow, just so bad.  Why is Spider-Man in his black costume and Wolverine in his X-Force when they don’t wear it at all?!  And that ending?  This is the lead up to the war between the X-Men and Avengers and if it’s goal was to get me excited, I’m not.

Story: 6.5 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.5

Batman #7 – Batman suffers from the trauma he experienced from the Court of Owls and we discover the truth behind Talon.  This is some of the best Batman I’ve read in years and Scott Snyder’s writing with Greg Capullo’s art is just beyond so much of the other material being put out there.  Fantastic.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Captain Atom #7 – The concept of time is explored as we learn the origin of Captain Atom.  Such a fantastic issue, I hope this series finds the audience it deserves.  The art is fantastic, story top notch.  A great series.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

DC Universe Presents #7 – Well, well done DC, another series I don’t have to buy.  Hopefully the next arc is more worth it than this one.  I just don’t care and I’m just not entertained about the Challengers of the Unknown.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #1 – Taking place post Katrina in New Orleans this is a pretty interesting story full of Voodoo, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches and who knows what else.  There’s an interesting vibe to the series, but I’m not totally sold.  It’s a decent start, but not quite the kick I was hoping for.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Fables #115 – Another chapter in the war in Oz, the toys of Discardia and the events going on in Castle Dark, so many stories, so much to keep track.  Maybe too much to keep track?  The series is still solid, I just think there might be too many storylines weaving about.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Fear Itself: The Fearless #11 – Is it just me or does Hellstrom’s actions and depictions not add up in the three different series’ he’s been depicted in this past month?  As far as the rest of the story… yawn.

Story: 6.5 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.5

Generation Hope #17 – And that’s the end of the series.  It ended much better than it’s been for quite a bit, but it still feels very junior league to me.  The ending was ok, but I think Kenji was a waste of a character even though he was so stereotypical.  Oh well….

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Green Lantern Corps. #7 – Stewart deals with his actions in an ok story that throws out a lot of possibilities in the future.  We’ll see what all of this might lead to in the future, here’s hoping some decent emotional long term repercussions.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

Hoax Hunters #0 – It’s Scooby Doo and all of those ghost reality shows mixed together in an entertaining series collecting the short stories that’ve appeared before.  The series is entertaining and fun mixing some light horror and humor with original ideas.  The series will be kicking off into an ongoing soon and it’ll be great to see what they do with the ability to pull off a story over multiple issues.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

The Invincible Iron Man #514 – Tony is presented an option instead of facing a trial and like a game of chess so many moving parts are going on.  It’ll be very interesting to see how this all plays out because as Tony hints towards the end, he’s a few steps ahead of the rest.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Justice League #7 – The main story was pretty damn bad.  The quiet moments when the team is talking to Trevor is good, and the Shazam short story is interesting enough, but overall, this is supposed to be a top line DC title?

Story: 6.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.5

Kick-Ass 2 #7 – And that’s the end of the second volume.  There’s some good stuff here, but it’s still mostly violence for violence sake.  There’s a bit of character development and the third volume has potential to be much better than this second one.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 6.75

New Mutants #39 – If you need more evidence that Warlock in large doses is annoying… well here you go.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.5

Nightwing #7 – Seven issues in and it was all a lead up to a crossover with Batman and his Court of Owls storyline.  Overall, we really still don’t get the why of it all, it just seems like an empty lead up to me.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

Rebel Blood #1 – Another hot series from Image that fills a nice horror niche.  The series is great and left me not totally understanding everything.  The story looks great and left me wanting more.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Supercrooks #1 – Why do criminals always commit crimes in cities where super heroes are?  That’s the question this new series from Mark Millar and Leinil Yu asks.  The series’ first issue is a solid start with some great action, great characters and solid art.  The concept is good and this is a more subdued comic compared to Kick-Ass.  This very well might be Millar grown up a bit.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.5

Supergirl #7 – Supergirl fights the Worldkillers and it’s all a set up for Doomsday to eventually show up.  The art is great but story flimsy.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7

Thunderbolts #171 – Songbird goes on vacation and of course that goes wrong.  The story is very meh, but I guess the point was to get Songbird to a certain point in her powers….

Story: 6.5 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Uncanny X-Men #9 – There’s an escape of aliens that make an otherwise boring day exciting, except the writing is bad, the dialogue laughable.  The art is decent though.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7

Wolverine #303 – The battle between the Hand and Yakuza wages on in what I can only assume is a way to shake some things up when it comes to those entities in the Marvel universe.  The story is ok, but I hate hate hate hate hate the switching of the art in the different chapters.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Wonder Woman #7 – Wonder Woman prepares for a trip to Hell and meets Eros and finds out a truth about the Amazons and any boys born.  The story is ok, but not quite the quality we’ve seen from the series, depicting men as victims instead of strong women.

Story: 7 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.25

X-Factor #233 – The team thinks Jamie is dead so they’re out doing some work for Val and Havok is in charge.  The series veers from it’s usually noir feel with more of an action story, but the writing is solid as always.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Comic Book (sort of) Weekly Reviews – 3/14/12

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Another week down.  Almost getting caught up on reviews.

the Avengers #24 – We now know Osborn’s powers and it’s a bit predictable as to how he’s beaten.  The story’s ending is ok, not quite the long term shake-up you’d expect from this type of story.  Overall, a solid story arc that doesn’t quite end the way you’d hope.  It feels rushed and a bit predictable.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Avengers Assemble #1 – A new Zodiac has formed, but other than the Hulk being in this comic, there’s not a whole lot that makes this series stand out from the other Avengers comics out there.  In fact the art is a bit off and story fairly unexciting.  Not sure this is a comic I want to assemble for.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Batgirl #7 – More of the Barbara Gordon pitty party as she seeks out the Black Canary to spar a bit, then she goes on a mission.  There’s parts where the art is great and other parts, not so much.  The story is just ok.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.5

Batman and Robin #7 – Batman vs. Nobody and the art is solid.  That ending though, I didn’t quite expect.  The comic was simple, but it kept me on my toes as to who would do what in the fight and how they’d deal with Nobody.  Interesting stuff…

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Battle Scars #5 – Hmm, the secret is out and I saw yawn.  The series is an attempt to get the 616 universe more like the movies, which is a bit silly.  Overall, we’ll see what idiocy comes of this.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

Batwoman #7 – The story jumps around, and I’m not sure I know everything that’s going on.  The visuals aren’t quite as amazing as they used to be, but the series is still a solid read with some amazing artwork at times.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Captain America #9 – Steve is still depowered, Sharon makes a deal to save him and Falcon goes after Bravo, I wonder where the comic’s quality has gone.  Just not quite as fund as it used to be.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.25

Daken: Dark Wolverine #22 – Daken continues to lash out and spread terror as he dies.  He’s setting off bombs and generally just causing chaos.  I really hope there’s some long term plan with the character.  I’d hate to see him go to waste.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Fantastic Four #604 – And with that, the end of the battle with the Mad Celestials.  A lot is thrown out there in this issue and I’d imagine it’ll have a lot of repercussions for the Fantastic Four going forward.  It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Green Lantern #7 – The series finally focuses on the Indigo Tribe which we know so little about. Looks pretty interesting so far.

Story: 8 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Journey Into Mystery #635 – Loki, Daimon and Leah continue to fight Nightmare.  Loki does the usual Loki thing and cuts a deal that’s clearly not what it is on the surface.  As usual, the comic is thick with material (aka words), but they’re weaved so well together.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Mega Man #11 – Mega Man takes on Air Man, Metal Man and Flash Man and then gets caught in Dr. Wily’s plan.  The ending is so cool.  I can’t recommend the series enough.  It’s fantastic for kids and parents alike, especially for fans of the video game series.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

The Punisher #9 – The prelude to the crossover with Spider-Man and Daredevil the issue is short and a quick read.  But… looks like Punisher has a new partner and that never seems to go well.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Resurrection Man #7 – On the run in Metropolis, Resurrection Man runs into another super being and gets another power.  He’s finally at the point where he’s going to look for his past and figure out who he is.  It’s a great mystery and one I want to see more of the answer to.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Saga #1 – Brian K. Vaughn’s new series deserves all of the hype.  It’s very familiar, but at the same time, beyond fantastic.  This’ll be a hot series for a long time coming and the usual excellence I expect from such a talented writer.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

Saucer Country #1 – A Governor must deal with her political future as she contemplates running for President of the United States.  Something is wrong though.  Is it something having to do with her ex-husband?  Is it something stranger like aliens?  And what does a college professor have to do with it all?  The first issue is absolutely amazing.  One of the best comics of the year and one of the best political comics in a long time.

Story: 10 Art: 8.75 Overall: 9.5

Scarlet Spider #3 – Kaine’s supporting cast is growing and looks like some decent baddies are coming to town.  I don’t want to ruin it, but the story is solid, interaction great and art is amazing.  I’ve never been a big Spider-Man fan, but this series has me hooked.  So fantastic, I kind of want to find out more about this character and his background.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

Suicide Squad #7 – The search for Harley Quinn continues as a bunch of members of Task Force X storm a police station.  There’s some holy shit moments that show this series leaves it all out there and anything can happen.  The series is pretty decent and it’s draw is more the fact that everything is on the table and anyone can die.  I was not expecting quite a few moments in the story and thats a good thing.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Superboy #7 – Superboy continues to show how much of an arrogant brat he is and gets his butt kicked.  The series is ok, but how it ties into Teen Titans is what keeps me coming back.  If I dropped one, I’d feel like I’d need to drop both, especially since there’s a lot of crossover occurring.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Thief of Thieves #2 – I think the second issue might have outdone the first with a look into Redmond/Conrad’s life.  There’s a lot of looking into his past and his ex-wife.  The comic is fantastic focusing on the characters instead of the action.  I can see why this is being turned into a television series, it’s that damn good.

Story: 9.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9.5

Ultimate Comics X-Men #9 – The news of mutant’s origins hits Camp Angel which doesn’t go over well.  All hell is about to break loose in this series as an oppressed people decide to stand up for themselves.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Wolverine & The X-Men #7 – So much action, so much humor, so much fun.  The series is a kinetic blast that’s all over the place.  There’s just so much to take in, this series is now the best “X” series going right now.  Just beyond fantastic.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

X-Men: Legacy #263 – Exodus is defeated, lots of arguing goes on and something is hinted at.  The story is ok, but plays well as a piece of the bigger picture.  We’ll hopefully see what that is soon.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

X-23 #21 – I think this is it for the series.  In this final and quiet issue, Laura deals with her dual sides, the vicious killer and the human being she wants to be.  It’s an interesting ending, understated and quiet. A nice reflection of a character who hasn’t quite found the leading solo series position she deserves and a character that has a lot more depth than any fan is willing to give her credit for.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Comic Book (sort of) Weekly Reviews – 3/7/12

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That’s three week’s of reviews taken care of this week.  Getting closer to catching up.

Age of Apocalypse #1 – It’s the last remaining humans versus Weapon Omega and a world full of mutants.  It’s the reverse of the 616 in a way and while I missed the Age of Apocalypse the first time around, the writing style, voice and art have me wanting to come back for more.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Animal Man #7 – The battle along with Swamp Thing is growing nearer as the Rot continues to hunt Animal Man and his family.  The story is solid as expected and it’s the fright along with the quiet moments that makes this series great.  Vertigo has come to DC and damn is it good.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Avengers Academy #27 – Part one of the Runaways’ visit to Avengers Academy starts with a stereotypical fight and looks like the second part will be one too…. sigh.

Story: 7.25 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25

Avengers: the Children’s Crusade #9 – After so much build-up.  After so many delays, the final issue of this mini-series is kind of a let down.  Not much really happens other than events being set into motion concerning Iron Lad and what happens to Vision, but really it’s all to neat and tidy when the vents leading up to it and depicted during were anything but.

Story: 6.75 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7

Batman: Detective Comics #7 – The story involving Penguin’s Casino is over and I’m all mixed up as to what the hell is going on.  Too many Batman comics with not enough distinction.  The stories seem to blur together a bit and that’s not a good thing.

Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7

Batwing #7 – We find out the horrific thing the Kingdom did and really, it’s impact just didn’t hit me.  But.. the fight heads to Gotham.  What’s it say that Batwing has to run to the other “white” Batman and friends to solve his issue?  Doesn’t really make the character stand on his own….

Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7

the Defenders #4 – The first arc is over, but that doesn’t mean the story is over.  There’s a dream machine and Strange doesn’t know what it does and how it works.  The issue really focuses on Strange and his history and a lot of potential of what the story could be.  Lots of hints of excellence, but it doesn’t quite work for me.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Fairest #1 – Spinning out of Fables, what ever happened to Sleeping Beauty?  Ali Baba is the Prince of Thieves in search of treasure and this first issue harkens back to the quality of early Fables comics.  So good.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Hell Yeah #1 – It’s the last generation of heroes and there was a lot of buzz about this book and there’s a reason.  It’s so good, Hell Yeah lives up to it’s name.  The comic has great art and the story has me very interested.  Such a solid first issue that shows why Image is one of the most buzzed about publishers.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

The Manhattan Projects #1 – Jonathan Hickman’s latest series is so interesting involving the Manhattan Project and how that was really a front.  The ideas are so out there as expected, Hickman knocks it out of the park with this first issue.  The art is interesting and not quite to my liking, but overall the series is a great read and absolute buy.

Story: 9 Art: 8 Overall: 9

Night Force #1 – What the fuck did I just read?  This is really only for hardcore fans of whatever came before.

Story: 6 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.25

Rachel Rising #6 – Wow.  A slow burn of a horror series that seems to only get better with each issue.  I really wish more people were praising the series because it deserves the mass exposure a certain other horror comic series is getting.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

Ralph Wiggum Comics #1 – The things that come out of Ralph’s mouth are some of the best things ever said on The Simpsons.  He’s easily one of my favorite characters.  I was giddy when I heard about this series and it’s as funny and innocent as I expected.  I had a smile on my face the entire time and was laughing out loud.  So much potential, so much fun.

Story: 9 Art: 8 Overall: 8.75

Red Lanterns #7 – Atrocitus still searches for Krona so Bleez decides to take the Red Lanterns on a mission.  Then there’s the Red Lantern of Earth, who of course lashes out and fights Guy Gardner.  For all good there is, there’s also so much bad…

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7

Stormwatch #7 – The series is so close to being something great, but it just doesn’t quite do it for me.  I’m still reading hoping it’ll get there.  It shows improvement, but still not there yet.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

Swamp Thing #7 – The Green is under assault by the Rot and Alec must choose what he’ll do.  Does he become the Swamp Thing or does he let the Rot win.  Here’s what we’ve been waiting for… the decision.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #8 – Miles and his uncle have a talk while the Scorpion is after the Prowler.  Miles is still dealing with his new role as others are adjusting to the news of a new Spider-Man.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Uncanny X-Men #8 – The Tabula Rasa story is over and I’m sure that’s not the last we’ll see of it.  Overall a poor follow up to X-Force’s story that created it, but interesting concepts.  The art is still very uneven.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Venom #14 – The battle in Vegas is over thankfully… such a bad story arc.  Here’s hoping the series gets back on track.

Story: 6.5 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.5

Villains for Hire #4 – And with that, a good concept comes to an end.  So sad as the Heroes and Villains concept had a ton of potential and the Heroes version was a lot of fun.  This ending was a bit convoluted, but still entertaining.  We’ll see if there’s any lasting impact to this all.  I hope there is.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Winter Soldier #3 – Not as quite good as Cap stories of the past, the series is slowly finding it’s own voice and coming together.  Bucky and Widow have to break into the Latverian Embassy to have a chat with Von Doom after figuring out who is behind all the activity they’re tracking.  There’s a lot of action here, but the comic stands out when it slows down and focuses on the characters.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5

Wolverine #302 – Wolverine struggles against mind control, what a shock.  His battle with the Hand continues and gets noticed by the Hand’s leader Wilson Fisk…  The story is ok, but the art is sub-par.

Story: 7.5 Art: 6.75 Overall: 7.25

Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #3 – And the point to this miniseries is?  I really need to learn to not buy these.

Story: 6.75 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.75

X-Men #26 – Wow is the art bad in this issue.  Storm looks anorexic in the majority of panels.  The story is so-so, but really, I kind of hoped someone would stake Jubilee and get this story arc over with.

Story: 7 Art: 6 Overall: 6.75

Comic Book (sort of) Weekly Reviews – 2/29/12

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That’s two weeks down… catching up!

Astonishing X-Men #47 – A rather complicated ending that doesn’t quite satisfy as it should and if one more storyline with this series involves Ghost Boxes….

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

the Avengers #23 – Osborn and the President negotiate as Osborn tortures the Avengers.  It’s a solid storyline going between the two series.  Well worth the read and the art is pretty cool too.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8 Overall: 8.25

the Bionic Man #7 – Col. Austin deals with the world he left behind while he also learns the truth as to what he’s up against.  I was never a fan of the television series, but the comic has hooked me, so good.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

The Cape #4 – Such a great series.  I want to see more this…. please!

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

FF #15 – We get to see the other side of the fight with the Mad Celestials and the Power Pack is involved… yay!  The dual stories is interesting and the two series work well together.  The art is improved too, but not quite the quality we have seen in the past.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Green Hornet #22 – Some other costumed fighters hit the Green Hornet’s city in a story that focuses nicely on the side kicks.  The series continues it’s quality.  WAY better than the craptastic movie.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Justice League #6 – This was supposed to hook people?  The fight ended too quickly.  The solution too simple.  Like a big budget movie, all flash and little substance.

Story: 6.5 Art: 8 Overall: 6.75

Moon Knight #10 – The series is wrapping up and definitely feels a bit rushed because of that, but that’s some pretty big ripples caused by it.  We’ll see if there’s impact after this series ends.

Story: 8 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8

The New Avengers #22 – Wait, what!?  Double agents. Triple agents.  Does anyone just play on one team anymore!?  The war with Osborn gets even bigger as all sorts of hell breaks loose.

Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro-Series Donatello – These one-shots have been great as they flesh out the individual characters more, and also tie into the main series.  I’m loving all the TMNT that IDW delivers.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

The Twelve #10 – Well, things certanly turned weird.  Not sure what to think really, just such a bizarre turn.

Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7

Ultimate Comics the Ultimates #7 – The Ultimates face threats on two fronts, but can they take care of both at the same time?  The series is turning into a game of chance as the stakes are raised.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5

Ultimate Comics X-Men #8 – The huge issues of the last seven issues are shoved to the side as this issue ties into the evens of the Ultimates.  No idea what’s real and what’s fake in this issue and the fact it keeps me on my toes is impressive.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Venom #13.4 – Well, the ending of this issue was original at least and had a semi-cool image.  When did Drum stop being the Sorcerer Supreme!?  The story just doesn’t fit the Venom series… can’t wait for it to be over.

Story:6.75 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

The Walking Dead #94 – Kirman’s series has hit that slow period just before all hell breaks loose.  But it’s still the quality you’d expect.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

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