Justice League International

Comic Reviews for Early March

/ skoce / 1 Comment

I have some more comics this week. Most of DC’s best stuff hits early in the month, so I have a load of good stuff from that company.

Action Comics 7
Morrison moves back to his Brainiac/Superman introduction story and it is a strong as it has been since the first issue. This young Superman is brash and a bit reckless, but he is still the character readers have loved for 80 years. Morrison’s take on Brainiac is as brilliant as one would expect. After a few months of great back-ups, this one is completely pointless. This title still feels like the deleted scenes from All-Star Superman, but even a pale shadow of the greatest Superman story is still pretty good. A-

Animal Man 7
Lemire is working wonders on this title, and doing it in a way completely different from the previous well-loved take on this character. Animal Man is somehow a family horror comic. The horror is never far from the front of this comic, only ever a few pages away, but there is still tons of true family moments, this has some nice ones between Buddy and his son Cliff. This issue is still in cool down mode after the frightful first arc, but it is no less entertaining. A

Kirby Genesis: Captain Victory 4
After last issue’s surprise attack, this issue of Captain Victory follows his aquatic lieutenant Orca as he tries to raise their ship from the ocean it crashed into. It is also an origin story for the character. There really isn’t much surprising or original, except for a micro-troop attack, in this issue but it was well executed. Still, it is largely enjoyable. C+

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 7
What a difference an inker can make. Not a good one in this case. No offense meant to Walden Wong, but he smoothes Ponticelli’s scratchy lines, making for a comic less appealing looking than either Ponticelli’s usual look or something more traditional. The story is still the same outrageous fun that its been from the start. The only problem is that the threat doesn’t really feel threatening, not after what Frank and the gang have dealt with. A-

Green Arrow 7
The addition of Ann Nocenti to this comic immediately elevates it to being worth reading. While I don’t think this issue is especially good, but it is interesting and intelligently written. The art isn’t quite as good, but I don’t hate it. New villains Skylark could go either way, but at least they are something fairly new and original. This isn’t the best start, but it is good enough to get me back for the next issue. C

Huntress 6
This was a 5 issue mini that went on for an issue too long. There is nothing really wrong with this comic, but there is really nothing too it. Huntress’s mission was wrapped up last issue and there aren’t really any loose ends. This is mostly a twenty page prologue for the upcoming Worlds’ Finest comic. Fortunately, this comic looks good enough that is still is a largely pleasant read. C-

Justice League International 7
Eughh. After six issues of turgid team building, Jurgens decides to blow it all up. Even Lopresti’s art can’t save this mess. Though there are a few moments that are redeeming, like Guy’s worrying over the injured Ice, but mostly is it a lot of death and destruction for no reason effectively erasing all the character work over the last six issues. I tried, I really did, but I’m done with this. I just can’t. D

OMAC 7
Didio and Giffen’s romp through the Kirby created portion of the DC Universe, this time with a loose take on the Kamandi mythos. It is pure comics magic, even if the overall story is barely anything. It is sad that next issue is the last of this. Giffen’s art is very Kirby like, though it is not just a pastiche. This is the kind of story that only happens in comics, with talking Zoo animals and evil underground factories. Good stuff. B+

Saga 1
There is a lot of buzz about this comic right now, and I don’t really have anything to add. It is good. Not quite great I don’t think, but its well written with nice art. A good start to this magical sci-fi story. B

The Shade 6
In some cases I would be annoyed with a comic where the main character even admits that the current story has little to do with the main story. But the current side story in The Shade is so good that I can’t feel bad about it. Shade and his vampire daughter are still trying to track down the Inquisitor, La Sangre’s arch nemesis, in Barcelona. Robinson introduces more foreign superheroes and quickly and effectively sets up La Sangre’s status quo. Plus great art by Javier Pulido. I love this comic. A+

Swamp Thing 7
This vegetarian counterpart to Animal Man is still almost as good as that title. After nearly 7 full issues, Swamp Thing finally appears. Paquette’s art is amazing, as always, and Snyder is working his usual magic. Underneath all the creepiness, there is something of a love story brewing. Another one of DC’s best titles. B

Comic Reviews for late August

/ skoce / 1 Comment

Time for more comic reviews.

  • Batgirl 24. Brian Q. Miller and Pere Perez.

If there is one book disappearing in the big DC relaunch that I’m going to miss it is Batgirl. Unfortunately, this issue rushes through what was probably supposed to be an epic showdown with Steph’s in order to have an actual farewell. As a single issue, it is not that impressive. As a goodbye at the end of a phenomenal 2-year run, it is terrific. Perez’s art is perfectly fitting and there are some wonderful and touching heart-to-hearts. There are also a few great fantasy pages (due to Batgirl being infected by a Black Mercy) that are all worthy of Elseworlds miniseries on their own. It is a good issue, but only for those sentimental for this title. ***½

  • DC Retroactive The 90’s: Justice League 1. Keith Giffen, J.M DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire.

The old JLI team reunites one last time. This feels like a greatest hits of the old JLI team, in a good way. Villains who are more a danger to themselves than anything else being stopped by heroes who are more a danger to themselves than anything else. Guy Gardner is a jerk; Blue Beetle and Booster Gold are lovable doofuses. Martian Manhunter having to put up with them. If you are a fan of the old JLI, this is a worthy farewell. If you are not go die in a fire, if you can Satan spawn. JLI is one of my favorite comics, and all the characters from there a favorites of mine. Giffen and Dematteis say this is the last time they will write this crew. If so, that is sad, because we will never get anymore, but this is also a nice goodbye. I loved it. *****

  • Mystic 1 (of 4) G. Willow Wilson and David Lopez.

This is a really good comic. It is a steampunk Charles Dickens story. Two young orphan women who slave away at the orphanage where they were raised spend as much time as possible sneaking in to the library to study, in the knowing unachievable goal of being accepted as apprentice magicians. When they must leave the orphanage, they end up as maids in the castle. The art is cartoony, expressive, and just really damn good. Wilson establishes the characters and the world without losing sight of the actual story, something most writers fail to do. The friendship is poised to shatter because one’s dream was denied and given to the other. This is really good. ****½.

  • Spider-Island: Cloak and Dagger 1 (of 3). Nick Spencer and Emma Rios.

Rios’ art is great. There is really nothing else to say about that. Spenser’s writing is not quite as great. It is not bad, this comic does a good job of setting up who Cloak and Dagger are and the problems they face, but it feels hollow. The dueling thought boxes work well, except when the work in tandem. Most of the issue the two heroes seem to be on completely different pages, but sometimes they are basically finishing each other’s sentences. It just sort of shifts back and forth. I’m still interested in the rest of the mini; hopefully with the explanation of whom these characters are out of the way we can get to something substantive. **1/2

Flashpoint:

  • World of Flashpoint 3 **
  • Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown 3 **1/2
  • Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager 3. ***

I’ll lump these together. Not because they are all equally good, Frankenstein is a good deal better than the others are, but because these are three Flashpoint minis that no one seems to be talking about. There is a good deal about how great Batman: Knight of Vengeance and Project Superman are and how terrible all the books about the Aquaman/Wonder Woman war are. While I do not disagree with that, these three were also pretty good. They are also the only three Flashpoint tie-ins, as far as I can tell, that had happy endings. World of Flashpoint is easily the weakest of the three. It follows young witch/magician/whatever Traci 13 as she teleports around the Flashpoint universe looking for help to stop her dad from nuking Europe in the hopes of saving the world. This gives her the knowledge to combat her grief-crazed father and save the world. In the end, both Traci and her father lose their magical powers and walk off to rebuild their lives. The art is somewhat bad and the dialogue is spotty, but it is a fairly enjoyable comic.
Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager ends the saga of pirate Deathstroke. His crew, upset with how little profit there seems to be in their current path, mutinies against Slade and his new partner — in more ways than one — Jenny Blitz. So they kill all the mutineers while the mutineers kill everyone else, leaving just Slade and Jenny. Slade finally finds his daughter Rose being held captive by yet more pirates. So they kill them too, leaving a happy family amidst the wreckage. It had to end this way, but it actually manages to be a spot touching.
Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown is a comic with crew consisting of Frankenstein and his bride, a werewolf, a vampire and a creature from the Black Lagoon who try to escape killer government robots by going to Transylvania. There they find a village of monster men, all slaughter by the robots that beat them there. So while the creature and the werewolf, as well as their one human friend, try to find the scientist who created them so they can cure the werewolf’s debilitating lycanthropy, Frankenstein and the rest fight the robots. They win, and the former werewolf and creature settle down to live a long happy life, Frankenstein and his bride ride off into the sunset to save the day again. It tries to fit in too many ideas for the amount of pages available, but when the ideas are that great it is hard to fault them.

Really Quick Reviews:

  • Green Lantern Emerald Warriors 13 ***. Guy and Bats solve a locked room mystery on a space station. A very nice done-in-one.
  • Jonah Hex 70 ***½. Terrific Sook art and a thoughtful end to a very good five year run on Hex.
  • Superboy 11 ****. A fine end to a fine comic. It hints at all the great things this comic could have been had it continued. One of the real tragic losses of the relaunch.
  • Supergirl 67 ***. The only real flaw is the yucky faces. Snappy dialogue, I wish DeConnick had more time on the title.