Geekscape Comic Reviews 2-6-09

The best part about the new comics this week was buying them. DJ’s Universal beats the pants off of any comic shop I’ve frequented on the east coast. That being said, I was completely bored with this week’s purchase. I was only entertained by one issue. One out of five! Thank god for the 30% discount because I would be extremely ticked off if I paid full price. 

It’s been a while so let me lay down the way I do things here. I review the comics I buy each week. They usually range from 3-5 issues per week. I read mostly super hero titles but I do pick up a few indies occasionally. Sit back relax and get ready to take a nap.

the Amazing Spider-man #584 and 585, The Boys #27, X-men vs Hulk One Shot, Secret Six #6

Hot diggity, I know what I said. Don’t you dare try to throw it in my face. I know I quit Amazing, I know I did, but I love JR’s work. He is the best spider-man artist there is. No one delivers such dynamic, fresh, and textured approaches to the web head and his rogues quite like Romita . The writing, on the other hand… well, that blows a big old bubble. Slow and steady and boring. Menace is a whack villain. The spider-tracer storyline is such a waste of panels that I almost want to cut them out. Harry Osborne already played the tired role of “Am I a villain or am I a nice guy?” And if this story didn’t suck enough, the twist at the end of #585 will leave you shocked… that anyone would ever put this story into print.

A steaming pile of green and chrome shit- that is the best way to describe this book. Wolverine decides to get cute and pit a young Colossus against the Incredible Hulk. You would think that would be interesting – Wrong! Claremont loads this ish up with words. Raapack’s art is inconsistent, going from slick to lazy from panel to panel. It ends with a moral, like Aesop’s fables. Whipe your ass with this one.

Garth Ennis is capable of making some very serious social commentaries, and this issue in particular is a prime example of that. I have always loathed gross displays of drunkenness and perversion i.e. St. Patrick’s day. My girlfriend, who is Irish, is a small percentage of the population that celebrates responsibly, but for the most part it’s a bunch of people drinking way too much. The opening page gives a harsh but eerily familiar depiction of the “holiday” celebration. The social commentary aside, this issue is gross. The issue also moves at a snail’s pace. I hope The Boys starts to pick up or at the very least stops relying solely on shocking images every five issues.

I liked this issue but I think this series is starting to run out of steam. The show down with Junior was kind of weak but there was a cool back story reveal. The action was well placed and the dialogue, per usual, was snappy. The twist at the end of the book left me with mixed feelings. I will be interested to see where it goes. One thing Simone does really well is give these crazy super villains very psychotic personalities. She definitely gave the Mad Hatter a dash of sadistic that worked very well.

Sorry for being tardy with this weeks reviews. I hope that next week stacks up a better offering. Until then, take it easy, Greasy.

-Nick Gregorio