Mini Reviews For The Week Ending 3/1/16
Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling short reviews from the staff of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full review for. These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews.
Alex
Dead Vengeance #4 Was a fitting conclusion to the miniseries. As a whole the series was a great, but as an individual issue this doesn’t stand up to being read out of sequence, but seeing as how the miniseries is worth reading, that’s not a big deal. Overall 7 Recommendation: Read now, or Read the trade later.
Extraordinary X-Men #4* There’s a chance you may have heard about this issue already (and if you haven’t don’t look it up, just go read it). The thing is, beyond That Which Will Not Be Named, this is actually a very entertaining comic. The dynamic between Old Man Logan and the others is handled with just the right amount of disbelief and humour, which is one of the reasons I’ll be picking issue #5 up in the next couple of weeks. Overall Rating: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
Lobster Johnson: A Glass Mantis (Dark Horse) Is a fun one shot comic that gives a slightly modern flavour to the stories told in the early days of comics. There’s nothing groundbreaking or original here but what is done is done well enough that merits you checking it out. Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read.
The Rocketeer At War #1 (IDW) is, frankly, fun. If you’ve ever seen (and enjoyed) the movie, then there’s a great chance you’ll enjoy this comic. Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy if you’re a fan, Read if you’re curious.
Elana
Art Ops #3 (DC)* “Art is real” and it’s getting kidnapped out of its picture frames or running wild in the streets of NYC. If you’re into comics about the NYC of years past, fine art and especially the excellent Pop Art infused work of this comic’s team, Matt Brundage and the great Mike Allred then you’ll need this fun and anarchic title. It’s definitely unique and unpredictable. The version of contemporary downtown Manhattan in this comic feels exactly like my Manhattan way back in the year 2000 but that’s cool and there are fun flashbacks to SoHo in the 80’s. Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy
Mr H
Justice League #47 (DC Comics)* Good to have the band back together so to speak, as the last few issues felt like they were spinning their wheels. This issue was not filler and had some good moments, especially with Hal and God Bruce. I like how Johns hasn’t forgot that Bruce knows the Joker’s true identity and is keeping it to himself (very Batman thing to do) the scene with incarcerated Ultraman and Superwoman was good. You definitely get the sense that the big battle is near and all the pieces are in place. Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy.
Spawn #259 (Image Comics) So the skinny is Al is back in Hell and he’s battling Satan for Wanda’s soul. We’ve seen the bait and switch before but this time it’s the real deal. This is the first Spawn comic I’ve picked up in years. Having Todd McFarlane and Erik Larson on the book helped. It was a quick read and there was a scene with Spawn acting like a hellish Moses, parting a sea of demons, which was cool. The issue ends with Al making a choice for Wanda’s fate that I did not see coming. I enjoyed Erik Larson’s art and moved along nicely. Don’t know if I will continue to get the book but was pleased I picked it up. Nothing groundbreaking but the Satan Wars commence! Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read
Well, there you have it, folks. The reviews we didn’t quite get a chance to write.
Please note that with some of the above comics, Graphic Policy was provided FREE copies for review. Where we purchased the comics, you’ll see an asterisk (*). If you don’t see that, you can infer the comic was a review copy. In cases where we were provided a review copy and we also purchased the comic you’ll see two asterisks (**).
Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!