Comic Book Reviews 3-3-09

My review is extremely late. I apologize for the tardiness. After moving to LA I threw off the daily schedule I developed back East. That coupled with trying to find a job and a few bouts with home-sickness, left me lacking the motivation to deliver a quality article. Instead of turning in garbage, I took the lazy way out and did not submit an article. Remember kids, a good set of excuses will always get you out of trouble.

So, here it is: Stack Attack! I have a back log of books I’ve read and a trade or two. Let’s get right down to the good stuff. There are some heavy hitters that finally turned in a bad issue and some new comers (for me at least) that might take the crown.

Avengers/Invaders #8, Thor #600, Batman #686, Hulk #10, Umbrella Academy #4, Superman #685, The New Avengers #50, Joker TPB

This is the issue that took me out of the series. It’s sad to say because this was a strong title but with issue #8 it’s starting to lose its cohesion. The iconic battles are over and now situations are being rehashed. The book is starting to play out like a video game, one boss battle or puzzle makes way for another more difficult one. There are still some highlights, though; for instance, when Human Torch destroys the Replicants. The twist ending of the issue is interesting but the story feels like it’s being dragged out. I will continue to purchase this series and I hope anyone I recommended this book to will continue to read, but I’m doubting it will finish strong.

I have a huge confession to make… this is the first Thor comic I have read in its entirety. Please, cease your hail storm of tomatoes! I always thought Thor was lame. I’m not big into sword and sorcery, so the character never appealed to me. I hated how his dialogue was written and I couldn’t stand his awful costume. I’m glad I got that out of my system. I heard good things about the latest Thor run. I like Straczynski’s work, minus The Changeling, and Coipel’s art has an original style (not to mention he redesigned the whack costume: “excuse me, sir, do these boot tassel straps come in yellow? Great, they’ll go perfectly with my hair!”) The cover of #600 really caught my eye, so I flipped open the book and saw it was a brand new story arc. I was sold. I have to say I was blown away. The art was amazing. The story was intriguing. Loki is a crafty villain and the perfect counter point to Thor and his almighty power. Not to spoil this issue, but a godly fight in Times Square really gets my nerdy juices flowing. The end result will leave you with the question: where does The Mighty Thor go from here? I’ll be back next issue to find out.

Whatever happened to entertaining, well-planned, Batman stories? I get the Bat-allegory going on here. The symbolism. The iconic representation of Batman through each age. I don’t really care. I want to see a classic Bat-tale pitting my favorite hero’s wits and physicality against a worthy opponent. I don’t care if it’s been done. If your are going to “kill” Bruce Wayne/Batman you drop him in a situation where his pride gets him in way over his head. Plain and simple. Maybe issue #2 will be more clear and actually have a satisfying ending.

Hulk slipped up, noooooooooooo! This issue was a real snoozer. I am so disappointed that the champ is dethroned. Hulk was a consistently entertaining book but it lost its charm on #10. Seems as though a new twist to the story arc will lead to a tournament of champions brought on by some cosmic beings. This came completely out of no where. We still don’t know who Red Hulk is and I think the pay off won’t even be worth it. There were some clever elements to the story, but overall, they were not exactly what I was expecting or hoping for.

There is a new champ of consistent entertainment. UA really delivers on every level. It’s funny, has some nice one-liners, filled with action, and the art is amazing. Just when you think the two psychotic, highly trained assassins have won the day, Seance, the creepy dead Academy sibling, pulls off the sickest death defying (literally) save-the-day moment. Next issue features time travel and the JFK assassination…and who doesn’t like those… I take that back. I could see Caroline Kennedy opposing.

When humanity makes a decision to cast out the Kandorian Kryptonians, the Man of Steel is left to make an impossible sacrifice: he must give up his citizenship of the Earth to bring peace to Kandor. In a sad and touching issue, this amazing run of Superman continues to redefine and further cement this character as the greatest of all time. A hero is made through sacrifice. The anguish of one creates peace for billions. The last pages of this issue will move you in some way, guaranteed.

Shut up already. Talk and talk and talk. I don’t want to see the Avengers talk for half of the issue. Everything about this book is lazy. I know it’s Bendis’ style to reuse panels but that shit is boring. The action at the end of the issues is nice, though. The avengers take on a group super villains led by The Hood, but I would much rather see an interesting, well-paced story throughout the entire experience. Mr. Bendis, I challenge you to write a story where dialogue/voice over is used at a minimum and the action, not necessarily fighting, drives the story.

I was expectng more. Azzarelo created an interesting Gotham City and he put an interesting twist on the characters. My main gripe comes with Azzarelo’s choice for the narrator role: Jonny Frost. The character is dull, flat, and predictable. I wanted to take this wild ride from the Joker’s perspective. I wanted to see more confrontations with Batman. I was scared of the Joker, but he was scarier in A Death in the Family. The tale wasn’t all that twisted and anxiety-inducing. It was short and simple and tired. The art, on the other hand, was amazing and some of Bermejo’s best. I believe Bermejo draws the best version of Batman and the Joker, for that matter. For the price and the length this trade falls far shorter than my expectations.