Tag Archives: the Watcher

Review: The Watcher #1

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The Watcher #1

As a fan of horror movies, it can be difficult to find a film that is both good narrative-wise and in relation to entertainment value. The movies that usually stay with you re the ones that are completely plausible. Take, for instance, the plot of The Purge. A film series and television show which answers a very real question concerning overpopulation. Then there’s Hostel, a story based on actual acts that take place in Thailand.

Then there’s entertainment that “feels real,” but is less so because it deals with the supernatural.  Take, for instance, the 2004 movie Sightings-Heartland Ghost starring Nia Long and Beau Bridges. The film crew on the show Sightings filmed a demon possession. It was an event that would forever change the film crew and the family that was being haunted. The debut issue of The Watcher features a story much like that film unspools and is one of the best “jump scares” I have ever read.

We open on a young woman who’s seemingly asleep having nightmares. The dream becomes too much, as every night it feels even more real. We’re taken to Saint Michael’s High School, in East Point, Massachusetts, where we find our protagonist, Erica, beginning at her fifth school in so many years. Her acclimation to her new surroundings has its own bumps in the roads. Finding friends is easy but someone she can trust is more difficult. The series spirals into the introduction of a brutal killer whose targets seem more than coincidental.

Overall, The Watcher #1 is a story that mixes coming of age tropes with supernatural and horror elements. That changes the paradigm on the genre. The story by Ralph Tedesco and Victoria Rau is horrifying, smart, and exciting. The art by the creative team is stunning. Altogether, a story that looks to make the reader jumps out of their socks and does it exceedingly well.

Story: Ralph Tedesco and Victoria Rau
Art: Carlos M. Mangual, Julius Abrera, Fran Gamboa, and J.C.Ruiz
Story: 10 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.4 Recommendation: Buy

Catching Up on Reviews, Part 10 — Deadpool

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Deadpool #33 (Marvel) – Without a doubt, Deadpool is the most over-exposed character in Marvel comics — maybe all comics — and it is seriously harming the quality of the work related to his name. His main series is still the best thing going with his name on it, but that isn’t saying much as most of the other related series are bad or terrible. This issue starts a story with Deadpool fighting the living moon Id while falling in love with some alien-cow thing or whatever. It’s not terrible, but it is pointless.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Deadpool #33.1 (Marvel) – Marvel seems to have decided to have Deadpool appear in a comic with everyone in their catalog, regardless of the lack of quality of those characters. This issue has him battling the Wrecker, who is one of the better characters they match him up with, but the art isn’t anything of value and the story isn’t great.

Story: 7 Art: 6 Overall: 6.5

Deadpool #34 (Marvel) – Back to the story of Deadpool vs. Id in space, seemingly an attempt to cash in on the “popularity” of Deadpool’s space tails in Deadpool Corps. The art isn’t terrible, but there are too many images here that should never have been drawn.

Story: 6.25 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

Deadpool #35 (Marvel) – Carlo Barberi’s art is the best part about the series at this point, but that isn’t meant to be high praise. Luckily, the Id storyline ends with this issue.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Deadpool #36 (Marvel) – Taskmaster is totally wasted here and the only really good joke here is a Leeroy Jenkins reference.

Story: 7 Art: 6 Overall: 6.5

Deadpool #37 (Marvel) – The concept is interesting, Deadpool attempts to commit suicide by Hulk, but it isn’t well-developed and the art is subpar.

Story: 7 Art: 6 Overall: 6.5

Deadpool #38 (Marvel) – How many issues does it take to play out a simplistic plot? And how overwrought can the art be for a Hulk-related story? Read this issue to find out the answers to these and other questions you didn’t know needed answering.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Deadpool #39 (Marvel) – Three issues, that’s how long you can stretch out a Hulk-related simplistic plot.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Deadpool #40 (Marvel) – Barberi’s back to at least improve the art a bit, but the story isn’t that great and really seems to take Deadpool in an unfamiliar and unwelcome (and unfunny) direction.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Deadpool Annual # (Marvel) – I’m not a huge fan of Juan Doe’s art here, but it isn’t terrible. The story is an interesting continuation of the Spider-Man-Hulk cross-dimensional team-up, but it’s far from essential reading.

Story: 7.5 Art: 6.5 Overall: 7

Deadpool & Cable #26 (Marvel) – I guess this is meant to be a tribute to the history between Deadpool and Cable in the wake of Cable’s “death.” It doesn’t work.

Story: 6 Art: 5 Overall: 5.5

Deadpool Corps #10 (Marvel) – If you thought the Deadpool-Hulk team-up was drawn out, this pointless storyline with the Deadpool Corps saving or ripping off or whatever it is they’re doing on the planet of blue Avatar people is drawn out even longer. For no reason.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Deadpool Corps #11 (Marvel) – One cool exploding villain scene and some more-than-adequate art is about all this issue has to offer.

Story: 6 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

Deadpool Corps #12 (Marvel) – I should give this one a higher grade simply because it’s the last issue of this waste of a series. But I can’t.

Story: 6 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

Deadpool Family #1 (Marvel) – If you thought that the Deadpool Corps were bad when they were together, this issue breaks them up into their own individual stories. It’s worse than it sounds. When the highlight of the issue is zombie Headpool kissing Lady Deadpool (yes, zombie self-incest) with graphic gore and lots of tongue, you know you are in lots and lots of trouble. Quite possibly the worst comic from Marvel of the year.

Story: 2 Art: 4 Overall: 3

Deadpool MAX #5 (Marvel) – To be quickly followed up with possibly the worst ongoing Marvel series of the year. I will give Kyle Baker some credit for his art, which is stylized and, at times, not unpleasant (occasionally verging on great, but not too often). I can’t, however, give any credit to David Lapham, who continually does tasteless and unfunny MAX things in these comics so he can achieve the MAX guidelines or something. It bores me at its best. This issue is about as good as it gets (which isn’t a compliment), with a tale of a female Taskmaster who apparently trained Deadpool or some such thing.

Story: 5 Art: 6 Overall: 5.5

Deadpool MAX #6 (Marvel) – This one manages to repeatedly insult not only the mentally ill — in extreme and unfunny ways — but also to include some of the most racist depictions of Arabs I’ve ever seen. Shame on Marvel.

Story: 1 Art: 1 Overall: 1

Deadpool MAX #7 (Marvel) – This issue is slightly better, in that it only manages to make fun of the mentally ill and leaves out Arabs. The art is still bad and the jokes are even worse. There are no redeeming qualities to most of the issues in this series.

Story: 1 Art: 2 Overall: 1.5

Deadpool MAX #8 (Marvel) – Ah, there are the racist Arab characters we missed in issue #7!

Story: 2 Art: 1 Overall: 1.5

Deadpool MAX #9 (Marvel) – Just when you thought that Kyle Baker’s art couldn’t get any worse, he’s replaced with Shawn Crystal’s art, which is worse. This issue decides to place anti-Arab and anti-mentally ill sentiment with blatant sexism. Yeah, that’s funny.

Story: 1 Art: 1 Overall: 1

Deadpool MAX #10 (Marvel) – Baker’s back and his art is better than it has been in a while. Offensiveness is replaced in this issue by boredom.

Story: 2 Art: 4 Overall: 3

Deadpool Team-Up #885 (Marvel) – Deadpool and Hellcow. Yep. That’s one of the dumbest ideas ever. At least it’s better than MAX.

Story: 3 Art: 6 Overall: 4.5

Deadpool Team-Up #884 (Marvel) – Deadpool and the Watcher in what is supposed to be a comedic adventure. I think. That’s what I pick up from the comic art.

Story: 2 Art: 6 Overall: 4

Deadpool Team-Up #883 (Marvel) – Deadpool, Herald of Galactus. Well, it can’t be worse than the rest of these recent issues. It also can’t be much better. I really used to like Deadpool. Now I’m not so sure anymore.

Story: 4 Art: 7 Overall: 5.5