Review Scale:
The mythical A+: Classic comic book material. Belongs next to your copy of The Notebook and The Joy of Cooking.
A: Would definitely recommend to all comic book readers. Even more so to fans of the genre or characters
B: Enjoyable read. Fans of the genre or characters will especially like.
C: Non-essential read. Can be enjoyable for fans of the genre or characters, but likely for only one or two events in the books.
D: Unenjoyable book. Read at your own risk. Might find satisfaction if major flaws are overlooked.
F: Please don’t buy this book. Donate your money to a local comic book writer’s workshop instead to inspire future generations to write something better than this trash.
Pick of the Week:
Magneto #7 – A-
This is the type of book that needs some theme music. Something… metal. Okay, bad joke. Seriously though, Magneto is one of the most hardcore action books out right now. Each issue plays out like a miniature Steven Segal movie, and it fills a void in the comic book industry. This issue, Magneto has found himself going undercover in Hong Kong, where mutants are disappearing every day. It turns out the Chinese are holding underground gladiatorial matches between mutants they find on the street and savage Predator X beasts. The issue ends somewhat predictably, but like your seventh time on a fun roller coaster, it doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. – Sherif
The thing that makes this series so awesome is watching Magneto go crazy while taking out threats to mutant kind. My only complaint is that he is still perceived as a little weak due to events before the series started. I don’t mind it but it seems like we are constantly reminded every issue when something goes wrong. If you don’t know by now why he is weak then it isn’t really relevant anymore anyways. I love this series but I hope that it starts to have diversity because while I enjoy watching him on a rampage, I would like to see a little more story development. – Robert
Other Reviews:
DC/Vertigo:
Robin Rises: Omega #1 – B+
It’s only when you read the preface of this issue that you realize just how epic of a journey Grant Morrison has taken the character of Batman on. The first few pages of this issue are a summary of nearly the past decade of Morrison’s run. As I read it, I honestly forgot there was a story to get back to – it was that good. Flash forward to the front-lines, where Darkseid’s forces are trying to retrieve a special crystal in Damian’s sarcophagus. All out war breaks out, and there are some great one-liners in there before the party gets busted up. Without spoiling too much, we definitely find out what the plan for “The Next Robin” is, but the Robin debacle does not get solved here, and I expect it won’t for another few issues. This definitely validated Peter Tomasi’s writing skills. I can’t wait to see how this works out. – Sherif
This is the perfect way to catch up if you have been out of the loop for the last year or so. It gives a clear and concise history of the important plot points of all the Bat-family without having to go in to too much detail. It was nice for me as someone who has read all of it, to make sure that there wasn’t anything that I had forgotten or needed to know in addition to what ive read. This would be a perfect entry book for someone looking to get into the Batman line of books simply based on the intro issue. As for the new material, I knew Damian couldn’t stay dead forever as comics have a sort of revolving door policy when it comes to death, especially if a character is popular. I liked Damian and was irritated to see him die right when they finally made him likable, but such is life. Assuming there isn’t anything too fishy about his revival, I welcome it with open arms. – Robert
Batman Eternal #15 – C
I honestly don’t see the point of this series anymore. It doesn’t seem to be going anywhere important and the fact that it is a weekly book doesn’t help if they aren’t moving things along. I would be pissed if this was a biweekly book having to wait such a long time for plot advancement, but it seems that even being weekly, nothing is happening anyways. This book seems a little overly ambitious and with every few issues, the plot thickens and everything we thought we knew gets turned upside down. I think this approach needs to be toned down a bit in order to reign in the story. I hope that the end game for this series ends up being interesting or at the very least changing some major things in the series, but only time will tell what the writers have in store for this book. – Robert
Teen Titans #1 – D+
The brand new Teen Titans is here. Yeah, that’s about all the excitement I can muster for this book. I really like the members of the team individually, but this debut was just a congested bunch of meh. The book jumps right into action, with the team trying to stop a group of terrorists from bombing a school bus full of children – can we get any more cliché? The characters behave more or less how they’re supposed to, but fail to really make any lasting impression. The art of Kenneth Rocafort pretty much carries what turns into quite a mundane story. Rocafort and colorist Dan Brown’s unique style fits very well with the concept, and the full-page spreads throughout are a great addition to the first issue. In the end, though, I just couldn’t get past the horribly cliché dialogue. Also, I’m curious what the target demographic is. A book aimed at teens with casual murder just isn’t doing it, and neither is an adult book with sexed up teenagers and cheesy dialog. This book needs to find an identity. Soon. – Sherif
Harley Quinn Invades Comic Con #1 – D-
What a bunch of crap. Do not waste your money on this book. There are like ten artists on this issue, none of which I have heard of and none of which can do Harley any justice at all. The art is reminiscent of a crappy MAD magazine; that’s not to say that MAD is crappy, but it’s not the type of art I’d like to see in a comic book, choppy and ugly. This book has failed to make any lasting impact, and their B.S. “Comic Con Special” is an even gaudier cash grab. There are some tidbits of humor in the story, like Harley’s geek out at a certain celebrity, and a few other inside fanboy jokes, but for the casual fan there is just chaos and bad art. Comic Con, yes. Harley Quinn, no. – Sherif
Dynamite Entertainment:
Army of Darkness: Ash Gets Hitched #1 – B+
In this new Army of Darkness series we see ash deciding to stay in medieval England with King Arthur and Henry the Red. Of course, by the title you can guess a wedding is planned but if things go the way they normally do in Ash’s world the wedding will likely change quite drastically and most likely quite violently. We don’t go anywhere really with the story here except meeting their main enemy most likely and then lots of dead things, which is obvious. The comics for Army of Darkness have always been a bit odd to me because most have had nothing to do with the characters in the film other than Ash so it is great to see it be set in the timeline and with all the characters from the film. This series is likely to be a very enjoyable one for fans and could definitely be a good intro into the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness world which of course would hopefully lead to the viewing of the films to whole heartedly understand the universe and how Ash got to be as bad ass as he is. – Jacob
IDW Comics:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #36 – B
This issue of Ninja Turtles is definitely one of the darker and creepier issues to date for this series. We get to see the Rat King for the first time and boy have the modern incarnations turned into something way more creepy than past ones. This has a much more psychological horror movie type of feel to it and although disturbing I really enjoyed it. Being able to bring more characters in and broaden to the world and the turtles themselves and boy does the Rat King seem like a great villain for the coming future. The art as always by Santolouco is great and I am finally getting used to his turtles, although Michelangelo still looks like a baby to me. But definitely pick this issue up if you want a very different type of Turtles and want to be introduced to a new and yet classic turtles villain. – Jacob
X-Files: Year Zero #1 – B-
This series definitely starts off interesting and makes me look forward to the rest of the series but ultimately it felt like a rather weak start. As with many of my reviews, the very fact I am reading about the subject at hand makes it much more positive because even if an X-Files story is bad, It is a very comforting feeling to have these characters still available at hand. The story so far is interesting giving a look at modern day Mulder and Scully and two past agents Bing Ellinson and Millie Ohio. A modern day case is connected to the first X-Files case ever and thanks to The Lone Gunmen, Mulder has much more information available to him about the case. It is a very good idea and as an X-Files fan, I enjoyed it, I would not recommend it to most people wanting to start off X-Files as it could be confusing with the two timelines but if you didn’t like either Mulder or Scully you may be interested in this giving you a look at the show without the main two leads… Oh man, I just realized that is what ended up ending the show. – Jacob
Marvel:
Uncanny X-Men #23 – B+
“The Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier.” Interested yet? That was all I needed before I ripped open the cover of Uncanny X-Men #23. Surprisingly, there’s a lot more going on in this issue than the title suggests. Dazzler, reeling from her time as Mystique’s guinea pig, is spiraling out of control, taking her far from her glitzy personality and into a much darker place. Much of the issue resolves around the build-up of revealing to the X-Men that Professor X left something behind for the team. The only catch – they have to be in the same room as Scott Summers while they read the will of the man that he killed. Talk about awkward… Brian Michael Bendis’ Uncanny X-Men continues to be one o the most solid books out right now, and I have definitely taken the bait to find out what exactly Professor X left behind. – Sherif
Ms. Marvel #6 – B-
Everything I love about Ms. Marvel is back in this book. A surprising result from the talk Kamala has with the Sheikh breathes some great cultural breath into the book that neither I nor Kamala expected; it’s almost invigorating. We jump right back into the story, with Ms. Marvel searching for The Inventor, who has kidnapped her friend’s brother. We finally get to meet the Inventor, who is not at all what I expected. The character is silly, and I instantly take the book less seriously because of it. However, the team-up with Wolverine more than made up for it. Kamala totally fangirled over him, making for some hilarious dialogue between the two. Ms. Marvel doesn’t back down, though; she manages to impress him multiple times. By now, I’m feeling that this is a fun book, and the cultural component adds a lot of value for me, personally, but Ms. Marvel isn’t living up to the potential I thought it would. – Sherif
Savage Hulk #2 – C+
I’m not too crazy about the art with this series but the story overall is pretty standard for a Hulk story. In fact, it seems like the stories from the beginning of the Hulk series many years ago. I feel like I could just read those old issues instead of making a throwback series that doesn’t really serve any purpose. I like where the other Hulk series is going, but this seems pretty unnecessary. – Robert
Funniest Panel
Panel with the Most Awesomeness:
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, Boom! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, DC and Marvel for putting out great books.
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