Comic Book Reviews 12-24-13

Pick of the Week:

Avengers #24.NOW – A

After a great run in the Infinity arc, Avengers.NOW begins the Rogue Planet arc with this issue. Thoroughly entertaining and full of mystery, #24.NOW is a great jumping on point for Avenger fans. While Stark and Rogers talk shop in the lab of a potential expansion of Avengers members, are heroes on the balcony, throwing a BBQ, are paid a visit from the future. It’s a great issue to build towards the rest of the arc. I’ve always thought that Esad Ribic’s art was a bit too fantastical for an ensemble cast like The Avengers, but with the subtle humor and nerd talk to break up the talk about other-worldly threats and inter-galactic battles, I feel like I can really relate to the story.

Other Reviews:

DC:

Justice League #26 & Forever Evil #4 (DC Comics) – B

Knee-deep into the Forever Evil/Crime Syndicate story arc, we’re really starting to delve into these mysterious characters – an element missing from their canon material. Introducing the origins of Power Ring, Johhny Quick and Atomica to the readers give a great yin and yang comparison of these characters to their Justice League counterparts is very entertaining. Frighteningly so, Grid, who is the self-actualized machine part of Cyborg’s body, looks like he dropped in from the Terminator series. What really makes this arc great is that, through all the twists, turns and secrets, there is enough juice in the orange to squeeze out another entertaining issue while still keeping enough in the dark to make it suspenseful. It’s evident that DC is going to take their time with this story, and with Geoff Johns at the helm (and some great art by Ivan Reis), did you expect anything different?

Forever Evil #4 (DC Comics) – B

Meanwhile, in the Forever Evil arc (notably also written by Geoff Johns and penciled by the great David Finch), Batman has finally made it above ground. There’s not a lot of breathing time in the issue, which equates to some badass panels and reveals, but really doesn’t do much in terms of story. The tease of Batman wearing a Yellow Lantern ring in the variant cover was poorly realized, but the appearance of another ring bearer more than makes up for it – even though an epic panel by David Finch gave me an 80’s fist-pump moment. I’m also thoroughly enjoying the bromance form between Bizarro and Lex Luthor. It’s okay to let love in, Lex! This is shaping up to be an epic alien invasion, with the gravity of an “us vs. them” mentality amongst the Rogues.

Image:

Saviors #1 – C-

An alien invasion, lots of marijuana and a lizard that practices active listening – that’s what you will find in Saviors #1. Centered around a small-town pothead who is content with his mundane life, he accidentally stumbles upon the town sheriff and another man in stripes casually talking but with lizard faces. His friend tries to convince him that it is just paranoia, but it turns out that there is a much bigger conspiracy at work. The raw art of the book is something that has become a staple of image Comics. I find it endearing, but would like to see a little more detail in a series that can’t quite carry itself based off story alone. I’m interested enough to read the second issue, but not enough to recommend the book to anybody else.

Marvel:

Origin II #1 (Marvel Comics) – A-

After the enthralling first chapter of Wolverine’s origin through Joe Quesada and Andy Kubert’s Origin: The True Story of Wolverine, it’s evident that exploring the primal side of James Howlett is necessary to tell his tale. Fortunately for fans that read the original origin series, you can pick up Origin II and understand what is going on immediately. Wolverine has become an animal, and found his home with a pack of wolves. There is no dialogue, just a narrated internal monologue. The art is crisp and the colors are beautiful; most fans won’t even realize that it was penciled by Andy’s brother, Adam. I mean, the Kuberts are to comic book art what the Kennedys are to politics. The best aspect of this book is the thoughtful pace put into making you want to feel every moment that Logan is feeling, instead of rushing the natural progression. This is a must-read for any fan of Wolverine.

Funniest Panel of the Week:

Welcome to the Thor-B-Q in Avengers #24.NOW

Epic Panel of the Week:

Batman has a surprise for Power Ring in Forever Evil #4

Cover Art of the Week:

Forever Evil #4 Variant cover by Ethan Van Sciver

That about wraps it up for our reviews this week! Look for next week’s previews coming soon. Any comic books you didn’t see reviewed that you want reviewed? Any grades you didn’t agree on? Let us know in the comments!

All images taken from ComiXology app and the credit for them goes to the respective publishers; thanks to IDW Comics, image Comics, Dark Horse, DC and Marvel for putting out great books.

Written by Sherif Elkhatib

October Comics and Collectibles Preview

At Hush Comics, we will be starting a new monthly piece reflecting on Diamond Comics Distributors’ monthly PREVIEWS issue. For those not in the know, PREVIEWS is a monthly magazine (almanac-sized each month) that shows you all the ways that you could lose your money through comics, collectibles and games. With the thousands of items to throw money at, we figure we’d make it a little simpler and suggest five comics and five collectibles that will definitely be on our shelves when they are released.

Comics & Books

1.) Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett is one of the coolest piece of Star Wars memorabilia I’ve seen in a while. At only $60 and releasing October 29th, Bounty Hunter Code is part collectible, part book, but all awesome. To unlock the goodies inside, you actually have to insert your bounty hunter data card into the slot, ensuing some sweet lighting and sound effects – I wish more books that I read gave me this level of presentation when I opened them. There are plenty of removable documents loaded with easter eggs and fun facts. Each book encased in the Files holds some significance to something in the Star Wars universe; for example, the Death Watch booklet inside, given to Boba by his father, features hand-written notes from Jango himself. I tell ya, when Star Wars does a specialty book like this, they never half-ass it, and I’m sure we can expect the same quality of thoroughness with Bounty Hunter Code.

The case includes:

• The Bounty Hunter Code
• The 48-page memoirs of Cradossk, former head of the Bounty Hunters Guild, with an inscription from the author to Boba Fett
• A Kamino saberdart
• Boba Fett’s captain’s license
• Boba Fett’s arms permit
• Slave I’s official operating license
• An Imperial wanted poster for Han Solo
• An inventory slip from the Rebel Alliance forces who discovered and seized Boba’s property

2.) Batgirl #26 written by Gail Simone and drawn by Fernando Parasin and Johnathan Glapion is going to be a fun one. Although comics, DC specifically, have been trending towards a lot of crazy covers that don’t exactly depict what happens inside of them, Simone’s Batgirl has been a cut above the rest and I’m sure it will be epic either way. After recent events have led Commissioner Gordon vowing to personally take down Batgirl for committing murder (Yeah, you need to read that story, Batgirl #20), Barbara Gordon has retired as Batgirl, but she keeps finding a way to don the cowl when her dad is in trouble. Is this the moment we’ve been waiting for? Does Babs finally reveal herself as the Batgirl to her dad? I may have to wait until December 11, but I’m psyched to find out.

3.) The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Kevin Eastman Cover Gallery collects some amazing work from the legendary TMNT creator, Kevin Eastman. In a single-issue priced book, you can ogle at the turtles in all their glory. This is a no brainer for any fan of the TMNT and, at only $3.99, you don’t need to be a baller to get it. You can find all Kevin Eastman’s cover art for the new series here. Hopefully this will suffice for you until the December 4th release date.

4.) Wolverine: Origin II #1, written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Andy Kubert, looks to pick up right where the original Origin left off, which I’m not going to tell you about because it’s an amazing book (and now a Marvel Knights DVD). It visits more of Wolverine’s primal back-story, and teases to even highlight another character’s secret origin. The main bad guy in the story seems to be Sinister as of now. I hate that asshole, but he makes for some interesting stories. I’m a sucker for Kubert art, and this looks to be visually striking, regardless of storyline. Look for Origin II #1 to be in stores this Christmas Eve.

5.) Justice League 3000 could be something special. Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMattels , with art by Howard Porter, Justice League 3000 looks to be a pretty sweet futuristic look at the Justice League. With no connection to the Legion of Super-Heroes, a series that takes place in the time period, nor any connections to the current Justice Leaguers, it’s difficult to say what to expect with book. DC Comics has made a habit of putting out new series and themes for more of a cash grab than substance (ala “Villains Month” this month or even the new Batman “Zero Year set to drop next month). For now though, we can revel in the awesomeness that is Green Lantern and Flash’s character design. Expect mixed responses when 3000 hits stores on December 4, 2013.

Collectibles

1.) Revoltech Yamaguchi Metal Gear Solid Snake and Raiden action figures

You may think you’re too old to play with action figures, but that is a bold-faced lie! At $55 a pop though, these beauties are not for children. They are some pretty nice collectibles, if you can allow yourself to keep it in the box. Unlike the norm for this kind of figure, this Reevoltech Yamaguchi figure is completely poseable, making for some really cool shots like the one below. It’s nice to know that sometimes you don’t need to keep everything in the box to get value out of it. With both Snake and Raiden having a release date of 11/15, this will make some nerd very happy come this holiday season.

2.) Square Enix DC Comics  Variant Batman Statue – Red costume

On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with admiring a well-sculpted statue still in the box. The Square Enix DC Variant line, the first pieces of which just recently released, are a sort of exaggerated Japanese superhero twist on the Justice League characters. While, of the original releases, Green Lantern was my favorite, the new red costume variant of Batman takes the cake. He has some weird kinda gun thing, he has this weird flowing cape with harpoons at the end… it’s like Flashpoint Batman had a love-child with Megazord. This bad boy won’t be out til February 2014, but its a pretty cool exclusive to add to the closet of other things you never take out of the box… Hard sell lol.

3.) Batman Arkham Origins Firefly action figure

The Batman villain Firefly has been very seldom used  throughout video games, television and movies, despite having been created over sixty years ago. That all changed when Firefly made an appearance on the live-action Arrow series earlier this year. The character was now a demented pyromaniac with a revenge plan, instead of some guy with a flamethrower. In the new Batman videogame, Batman: Arkham Origins, the Dark Knight is set to take on Firefly head-to-head. Although Firefly is a more obscure villain, I have no doubt that comic book rookies will know his name after battling him in the game. He looks like he belongs in Killzone or Mass Effect, a testament to just how bad-ass this figure looks.  Unfortunately, you won’t be able to get your hands on it until next March, when the game is but a distant memory as a PS3/360 swan song.

4.) The Walking Dead socks

Don’t judge me! Socks are awesome. A lot of women don’t understand what socks mean to a man. Socks are to men what lingerie is to women. You don’t wear cool socks with the intention of showing it off, but you need to be prepared for that moment that somebody special might get a glance at your feet. “Why yes,” you’ll croon. “These are  officially licensed socks from AMC’s The Walking Dead.  Yes, I suppose I can let you touch them.” Anyway, my imagination got away from me.  Releasing near the start of the mid-season premiere in January 2014 and at $8 per pair, which is pretty decent compared to any other pop-culture branded socks (yes, I’m an expert in that field), you won’t have to break the bank for some of the coolest designs they could choose from in both men’s and women’s sizes. You can find the other designs here. Just a bit of advice to everybody: don’t let your feet smell as bad as the dead things on them.

5.) Firefly Captain Malcolm pistol replica

Bang, Bang!  Ok… It’s been out for a while, but who doesn’t want one of these?!  For one its cool.  For two, its Captain Mal’s freaking gun!  If the world goes the way that Joss envisions it in Firefly and Serenity then don’t you want to be prepared for that?  You won’t get very far without this beauty.  It should go on you coffee table.  It is the perfect art piece to discuss.  This does mean however, that I will need to get a coffee table to match my new pistol.

written by Sherif Elkhatib and Adrian Puryear