Comic Reviews for September 28, 2011

DC Comics

This is the last week of the official relaunch books. We will be starting #2's next week. My next blog will tell which I wish I would have picked up, which books I am keeping, dropping and what is hanging by a thread.

This will also most likely be my last week of reporting DC's new game of Where's Waldo with the woman in the blue cloak. At first it was kind of fun but now it feels tedious and silly

So on to my reviews. It is a big week

Green Lantern New Guardians #1

Team Tony Bedard/Tyler Kirkham/Batt

I really like this issue. In fact, I will go out on a limb and say this is my favorite issue of the Green Lantern books from the relaunch.

This book starts out with the origin of Kyle Rayner getting his Green Lantern power ring. It is a story that has been told but a great refresher in this title.

The action then goes to a member of each of the lantern corps (Red, yellow, blue, Violet ect) and one of each of them has their ring leave them and say they are going to a new replacement.

Wouldn't you know it, they all end up circling Kyle, trying to recruit him while he is in total bewilderment.

Last thing we see is members of all the Corps getting ready to attack Kyle for "stealing" their rings. To be continued....

The art is great. I also really enjoyed the storytelling and am very excited to see what happens next

The lady in the purple cloak shows up in the panel that the kid is making fun of Kyle's GL uniform

Grade A

I, Vampire #1

Team Joshua Fialkov/Andrea Sorrento

I was really looking forward to this title. It feels a lot more like a Vertigo book than a DC title which is just fine with me

The art looked like the stuff from the Gunslinger series.

Although I am not hooked yet, I am interested enough to buy the next book.

The story seems to circle around a Vampire killer that just happens to be a vampire as well (sound like Vampirella?) who is in love with another vampire... At least it isn't twilight and they don't sparkle

The woman in the cloak was actually cool to find in this one because it looked so good and creepy. She was hiding in a tree when Mary turned into a wold to hunt a swan

Grade C+

Teen Titans #1

Team Scott Lobdell/Brett Booth/Norm Rapaport

This is another title I was really looking forward to. I think that it did deliver big time.

We get introduced to 4 of the team in this issue. It starts with Bart Allen (Kid Flash) so far I don't like him at all. Then we meet Tim Drake(Red Robin, the third Robin) who will be masterminding everything. Then we meet Cassie (Wondergirl) who really doesn't want to be there and we finally get a brief shot of Superboy, who will start out as the teams enemy.

I like the art, and the storytelling. Really like the pacing. So far so good

I found miss Thing watching when Cassie was about to be taken into custody

Grade B+

Batman The Dark Knight #1

Team David Finch/Paul Jenkins/Richard Friend

I loved this title Pre-reboot and had high expectations for it. This one definitely feels a lot different from its predecessor. It is different but it is still good. Once again, we are getting a lot of Bruce Wayne out of his costume. No more of the heavy magic stuff in this title. It feels like a Batman book. Not that that is a a bad thing, but with all of the Bat-Books flooding the market, I would have like to have seen something to make it different from the pack.

There are shades in this book of Batman Inc with Bruce being questioned by Internal Affairs of Gotham PD with suspicions of funding the Batman

Art was great.

I couldn't find the woman in the cloak in this issue, or maybe I just didn't care enough to find her

Grade B-

The Flash #1

Team Francis Manapul/Brian Buccellato

Other than Flashpoint, I haven't read Flash in years. Nothing about this comic really stood out to me. It is not that there was anything wrong with it, but it was pretty much forgotten by the time i closed the book.

Perhaps I will try this one more time, but I don't know

I found the Woman in the cloak hidden among the reporters when Barry is being asked if the Flash may have anything to do with the crime that was committed

Grade C

Justice League Dark #1

Team Peter Milligan/Mikel Janin

The name does say a lot about this, it is very dark. It would definitely fall into the horror comic label.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. It really exceeded my expectations. The art was really beautiful. I will be picking up this book for the foreseeable future

I am not really familiar with any of the characters, other than Zatanna and Deadman. I really look forward to learning more about all of them.

A few cameos by Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg (and they get their asses handed to them)

This book also had the best line of the entire relaunch. "But what is the smell of sanity? The Reek of skinned Babies and sliced eyeballs."

The woman in the cloak shows up when Superman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg are about to face up with the witch that looks like the Spectre

Grade A+

All Star Western #1

Team Justin Gray/Jimmy Palmiotti/Moritat

This was the second book in my stack. As soon as I saw the art, I shut it and moved it to the bottom of my stack. So when I finally picked it up, I wasn't expecting much.

I WAS WRONG. The art so fit the story. It was like Batman meets Sherlock Homes meets John Wayne. Absolutely fascinating, I even turned around and immediately read it twice.

This takes place in the old west days in Gotham. Jonah Hex gets called in by Dr Arkham to help solve a Jack the Ripper type case.

Going back to the art, i suppose I just needed to get used to it. All of the art is washed in a Sepia tone that actually starts to make sense as you read the comic and are almost sucked into that time.

The Woman in the cloak can be found in the Bar when Jonah Hex and Dr Arkham are discussing Jonah's facial deformity

Grade A+

Marvel Comics

Wolverine #16

Team Aaron/Sudzuka/Wilson

This is the Wolverine that I love. It is the final aftermath of the rather bizzare story arc that has been happening.

Wolverine is slowly coming out of his insanity and gets to go kill people again for all of the right reasons. By the end you just get the feeling that everything is finally ok, well as ok as it can ever be for Logan.

I like the way this book left me feeling by the end of it.

Grade A+

Wolverine The Best There Is #10

Team Huston/Ryp/Mossa

Ok, I have given this title a lot of chances because, well, it is Wolverine. Not even going to waste my time on a review. This is officially off of my pull list. Done.

Grade D-

Venom #7

Team Remender/Fowler/Rauch

I really am not into the whole Spider Island thing and I would not have bought this if I wasn't digging the Venom title.

It is Venom vs Anti-Venom. I always hate saying Anti anything because it feels so cheesy to me. However this is an exciting fight and I feel that the Anti-Venom was explained very well. Although the origional Venom was evil so shouldn't the Anti-Venom be all good? Just a thought.

A bit confusing but that is mostly because I have been avoiding the Spider Island stuff.

Not bad but I expect that it will return to what I love about this comic next month when this event is over (I hope)

Grade B-

Icon Comics

Kick-Ass 2 #4

Team Mark Millar/John Romita Jr

This is still one of the best comics on the shelves today. I have not seen an issue that is less than stellar.

This book takes a very dark turn. There is shooting children, implied rape, beating of women, cop killing...Dark stuff. I feel like this would be way over the line but I feel it is very necessary to the storyline.

We see Kick-Ass' father go to jail at the end of the comic to protect him.

The stage is set for Hit Girl to return next issue and raise all kinds destruction to the bad guys.

This issue also makes for a complete turn of Red Mist from dopey stoner that is a bad guy but could find some sort of repentance in the end, to a fully evil human that there is no forgiveness and no semblance of any redeeming quality.

Grade A++

Image Publishing

Avengelyne #3

Team Liefeld/Poulton/Gieni/Weeks

Love this title. This is the end of the first story arc. Avengelyne gets her body back (hooray!). We really get to see that the Big Bad throughout this series will most likely remain the Red Dragon.

I was thrown off and almost didn't buy this title when I saw the cover of this. It is misleading in the fact that I thought that they had left the very distinctive art style that I have fallen in love with in this book. Luckly, that was just the cover and not the book itself

Grade A