Comic Capsule Reviews 5/5 and 5/12/2009

Sorry didn't make it to the comic shop last week, so I am going to double up on the last two weeks with this instalment. Thanks for giving the blog a chance.


and without further procrastination here come the reviews...


Trinity #49 and 50: Two best issues yet. strong dialogue as what looks like a defeat of Krona turns into the end of the World literally. Although Batman's plan works Le Fey sacrifices herself to free Krona and then he rips the Earth asunder. Which leads to great cosmic conversation between Krona and the soul of the Earth. Great cosmic stuff DC usually doesn't engage in. Excellent dialogue and exploration and great art by the entire trinity creative team. In the end The Trinity, Earth Soul and Krona combmine and reconstruct the Earth? Maybe? We will have to wait and see. Have to take a sex to really give a thumbs up to the great colors and efx provided Pantazis. Nice. 8.5 out of 10


Powergirl #1: Powergirl caused a bit of a Facebook stir...I guess her costume is too risque for sum...and yet no one seems concerned about the rampant whoring of pre-teen girls by what passes for pop-culture these days. But Powergirl ads on Facebook morality needs to take a stand there! Whatevah! I got the one with the Hughes cover, it was the last one...Not sure I like the style..I know Hughes is an art god, bit something was different. Nice boobage..but it didnt pop and wasn't as clever as I thought it was supposed to be. Amanda Conner can do no wrong, her interior is fantastic. Clean, open and expressive. She draws a powerful lead, and really does a great job with the action. Nice big scale action too. her style is perfect for Powergirl. She looks strong yet remains womanly, and the cartoony aspects of the style help capture great characterization and expression. the coloring is nice, but like in many comics today, the color hold on line work, especially on the faces are distracting. I don't think it enhances the art at all. But everything else was perfect. Paul mounts has always been amazing, he does a wonderful job sperating the main characters and action from the backgrounds and doesn't over do it with effects and blurs and burns. The story is interresting, although like Kara I don't get what the villain is doing even though he explains it..why life the whole island and send out an army of robots, when kidnapping few people would have gotten you the same result? Still, it made for some great action and good dialogue. I do think Kara's secret identity and interviews were kinda silly..even for a comic. Completely wrong for Kara, she needs something more mundane if you ask me, running a corporation doesn't seem right with her character. And the interview at the end with Bevlin was...well an example of the silliness to the max. I have mixxed feelings about the issue. Great art, action, nice story elements and interesting villain, I love Powergirl...but the Karen Starr stuff was completely uninteresting. Definitely going to stick around and see how it plays out. 7 out of 10


Action Comics #877: Unfortunately losing Barrows has sunk this book for me. Teles is ok at best, he may grow into a great artist, but here his dynamism, structure and layouts are a shadow of Barrow's. many of the pages with panels on top of each other are messy and do not lead the eye well, especially when bad decisions to crop or break panel boarders are made. It is like the wind was taken out of the sails of this book, because the previous issues were nothing short of stunning. And since I have no investment with these characters it's an easy book for me to drop because of the art. The story is still a decent one, and although the part with Lois lacks emotional impact, Christopher's care for Thara and confrontation with Ursa were well done. What was not well done was the ending...which was silly to the point of being down right stupid. Two Kryptonian criminals from the Phantom zone on Earth as agents for Zod..robbing a bank with Ski masks and shot guns....only to pull them off and reveal their powers because the cops showed up? And then after killing a few people still holding their shotguns kiss each other like its some big Bonnie and Clyde moment. oh, the cover don't make sense either. That was bad. It;s funny i would like Christopher to be the new Superboy actually...oh well. 4 out of 10


R.E.B.E.L.S. #4: Tell me you are reading this book. Bedard is doing an amazing job. Great characterization and developments. I love the characters. Vril is great and what is being done with STARRO(were those super-powered Starros?(WOW!)), well i don't know exactly what it is yet, but it 's great. I love the use of DC's aliens and empires and the disparate groups who are obviously going to come together some how in a big trans-galactic throw down. It's really fun, and clever and really well paced. Hat;s off to Bedard. The art is inferior to the last 3 issues. Almost like they just threw in an artist who kinda like the other guy...but you can see it's not as well defined, and weaker then it should be. What really bothered me was page in page out having art bleed to the edges of the page. very distracting. But not enough to kill the joy of a really well written space story. The art isn't horrible mind you, the story is easy to follow and the artist does a decent job, it's just not as good as it has been. Really, give this book a shot, you don't need to know anything about Legion of Super-heroes or even L'E.G.I.O.N....Bedard is weaving something new and wonderful here. Don't let anything keep you from supporting this book. 8 out 10 (woulda been a 9 if not for the art)


the Flash: Rebirth #2: Great cover. And the interior is really nice too. Van Scriver managers to throw in great detail, push the anatomy to the breaking point, tell a great story and really give the book and the Flash(es) the great energy the book needs. awesome job throughout. And I have to add terrific coloring by Alex Sinclair. Bravo. story wise Johns does his thing, but I think the book is a little too long. Too many wasted panels and pages giving Barry some history and trying to give him personality with Iris. Other then that the story is genuinely interesting, i want to know what's going on and how this is going to play out, maybe not how we all thought...Black Flash? Really? I like what johns is laying out, not sure the issue was paced right, still had good dialogue, developments...what was with the Gorillas? aren't they like super advanced? why are they drawing pics of humans on caves? 7.5 out of 10.


Secret Six #9: this book gets better every issue. i cannot praise Simone high enough for her ability to nail great dialogue, create an off beat sort of horrible fun with her use of violence and the perverse. And still manage to make a respectful nod to the Batman by her trio of sorta-good-guys-maybe then any thing the Bat-books are doing in their Battle for the cowl event. Kudos. I hated Bane..now he is an interesting character. Ragdoll's Robin is awesome. And Catman..heh...you know he wants to be the Bat. and finally amid the carnage of goodness and violence of saving babies, Nightwing. Wow that was a great moment between him and the Secret Six. Nicely done Simone. the art is tremendous. Nicola is a goddess with the pencil. Wow. Terrific balls to the wall action and just great moments of eerie violence. It is captured and presented perfectly. great backgrounds, story telling and expression. I could go on and on. And I really love the walking up the side of the building nod to the old Batman show. Brilliant. this book is amazing. I recommend it highly . A very nice interlude into the Batverse for these characters. Great job. 9 out of 10.


Superman:World of Krypton #3: Rucka and Robinson are delivering big time on this title. I love all the characters and the use of the Kryptonians here. I like That Kal outsmarts Gor's bad decision to shot after the hostage crisis and how the inevitable confrontation between he and Kal come to a head. Best Part, Kal smiling with a bloody lip, fighting Gor...he was trained by Batman..that was a nice touch. This is developing nicely. Especially with the GLs showing up. Gonna be a throw down next issue for sure. Pete Woods art is simply beautiful. Clean and precise. Elegant. I love his ability to show facial expression and gesture. and he really does a wonderful job with the layouts and panels. But most of all...the kryptonian architecture and fashion is amazing. This is great work, I really believe not only in this Pete Woods best work...but I need to rethink my top 5 artists. That's how good he is. Brad Anderson also needs an award for his coloring. Very subtle and clean. great job. great comic. 8.5 out of 10


Captain Britain and MI:13 #13: Paul Cornell is incredible. The pacing on this book is really incredible and it's full on great little moments and dialogue. I really like this team And Dracula's Vampire Invasion is brilliant. It is full of great comic book things like impenetrable force fields keeping help from getting in or escape out, guests sowing up for a moment, the heroes facing a team member turned to the dark side...all handled wonderfully. The cast of characters and villains are great. and I really love the scene with "Baron" Blood and Spitfire, and i am certain Faiza isn't dead. Nice touch of narration at the end leading to Dracula triumphant in the Parliament. The art was very nice as well. Kirk shared penciling duties but it wasn't a distraction. Nice action and characters and really great mood. Whenever they draw Dracula I love it. This is a great comic book, and as I say month after month deserves your support. For those of us who remember Claremont's classic X-men run, it has all that in it. Characterization, big events, development over time, and nice twists. a great fun comic. 8.5 out of 10.


War of Kings #3: Everything you are hearing about this book is true. It's great. Abnett and Lanning have pulled in elements from the various Marvel galacticverse and really made a wonderful tale conquest, personal exploration, and war. This issue is a great turning point for the heroes Gladiator, perhaps the single most powerful space character has decided to change sides and support Lilandra. After taking out the combined force of the Starjamming X-men and Guardians of the Galaxy. And I really enjoy this characterization of Ronan, Crystal and the odd place I am finding the Inhumans. Are they that callous and prideful to put the Kree at risk for their own needs? And then there's Vulcan, still hate him, but I am sure h is going to get his in a big way. All the elements are handled wonderfully, I can't wait for Ronan to back on his feet and Black Bolt unleashed. But will they be fighting side by side or each other? The art is masterfully handled by Pelletier. really engaging stuff. Great storytelling and powerful action. This is the stuff great, memorable comics are made off. Great job to everyone involved. I have one crit and that's Gladiator. When did he get so massive? I know its been years now..but somewhere along the way he became a muscle head, if I remember originally he was much more understated. It was his power not his size that was impressive. Any way, its a tiny minor personal crit. This book is awesome. 9 out of 10


Green Lantern Corps #36: Tomasi and Gleason give us another month of super-heroic-space action to the fullest. I love the developments with Sinestro and his daughter, should prove interesting, I especially like the fact the he is going to reclaim his corps....it's been fun Mongul. The jail break on Oa keeping the Lanterns occupied as Sodam takes the fight to Mongul for the freedom and soul of his homeworld. Wonderfully written and paced. Tomasi is really showing his chops on this book. I am guessing Sodam flying into the star is going to burn the lead out of his blood and allow him to access the Ion power for his on one with Mongul. man this book rocks. Gleason brings the A+ game to the art chores. great expression and drama...and then turns the dial to 11 with so much visceral bone gnashing action its almost mind numbing. You feel all the power unleashed on sinew and flesh as bodies and light constructs mash and fury is unleashed on Daxam and Oa. This book is consistently a great read. 9 out of 10


Finaly the pick of the week..in a week (or two) of great reads. Drumroll please...


Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1: This is a fun comic. I love that it's about Lockjaw stumbling across an Infinity Gem and then collecting a bunch of super-powered animals to go collect the rest. Throg or Thor Frog is hilarious. I love his initial telepathic conversation with Lockjaw and then the move from borough to borough to collect Redwing, Lockheed(I did know he was such an emo), Furball and MS. Lion (is a dude!). Chris Eliopoulos does a wonderful job with throwing the group together and giving them personalities. Redwing is a pompous bird, Hairball a wisecracker, and Ms. Lion..well...he;s just not with it. He's the Kramer or Dom delouise of the bunch. It's really fun and funny. The art is off the chain. The cover is great . But the interiors are simply beautiful. It looks like the art is pencils only, but with Sotomyers great washed color selections it's perfection. And I hate not having inks so that's saying a lot. The animals have great personalities and expressions, without being forced or too cartoony. It almost has an illustrative quality to it. perfection. with great storytelling, beautiful art, and wonderful fun Idea this book is a great fun read. I am certainly glad this book shot way beyond expectations, and that marvel took a chance with this. Definitely highly recommended. Can't wait to see what the next issue brings..a battle with a T-Rex!!! 9 out of 10

Comics Capsule Reviews 4/22/2009

Trinity #47: A wild ride as the Trinity face off against Krona and his cronies (Morgana and Despero). It's a huge mega fight, with allies coming from adjacent Earth's to help defeat the Dark Trinity. Good dialogue and progression by Busiek and great art by Bagely. The secondary story is interesting. Luthor has the plan that can help the trinity gain the upper hand and actually set things right. Nice Dialogue and narration. Not a big fan of Derenick, the figures are awfully bug and hyper muscled and some what awkward. But the story is very interesting. We are closing on the end game and there are plenty of players in place. Great job by all involved. 7.5 out of 10.



Supergirl #40: someone give Gates and Igle a gold star. Excellent issue. Balls out action and intrigue. Reactron is a mailto:d!@. Great fight between the two as Supergirl unravels the mystery of Superwoman. Twists, turns and drama galore. Next issue is gonna really be tremendous. I hope Supergirl stops Superwoman from running around killing people. The art is great. Igle is really a master of the craft of comic art. Great action and super powered fisticuffs in Metropolis. Great character work. And really nice backgrounds and layouts. Really fantastic storytelling. The coloring not so much. It is amateurish and a digital mess of highlights and fades. The book should be brighter. Its an unnecessary distraction from the great art Igle is presenting. Still the book is a great read every month and the certainly the best Supergirl I have ever read. 8 out of 10



Hulk #11: FUN. Balls out fun. I just decided to go for the ride. The classic Defenders line up snatched out of time by the Elders to take on their opposite the Offenders. And it is awesome fun indeed. Kudos to Loeb for the Coney Island Cyclone comic thrill ride. Great faces offs and turns as Galactus, Dommamu, and the Psycho-Man add a twist to the main event. Great art by the modern master McGinness. Thick, stylized lines and great expression and action. inked perfectly by Vines and colored beautifully by Guru EFX(that's a studio I guess?). Its a beautiful fun flurry of action and big time cartoon drama. A+. 9 out of 10



Amazing Spiderman #592: Wow. McKone is an amazing Spider-artist. I just love it. He was always good but since he joined the Spidey cabal after BND he has been at another level. he nails the costume and movement perfectly. Nice detailed backgrounds, fluid transitions and layouts. Great characterization and expression..which he nails throughout this issue...especially the naughty last page. Shame on you Mark Waid. Waid delivers a tremendous issue full for rich characters and dialogue. I love it. a great issue, kick yourself for staying away from the best Spidey in 15 years. 8.5 out of 10.



Mighty Avengers #25: Way too silly. The writing is down right silly. I think outside of a few moments most of the characters I have been reading for close to 30 years sound nothing like they are supposed to. Pietro like a high school hot head? Pym was completely off. The dialogue was terrible, especially the childish nature of the CABAL's interaction. These are the Earth's power elite of villains? And the thing with Loki/Wanda? Orchestrating things is horrible. It has never been in her nature to lead or plot. Its a complete departure from her characters. Other then that the issue managed to be fun and full of action. The art was definitely an improvement. I actually like Sandoval's version of the Pym "Wasp" outfit, and he really brought some serious dynamic energy to the action. Even the static talking heads stuff was great. I think there are a few tweaks needed. One that's a horrible design for Quicksilver. It sucks. What's with the "darker" green half moon and the awkward silver bolt? Someone needs to fix that ASAP as well as remember what his hair is supposed to look like. Second...the inking. The lines where very week and sometimes incomplete. Thinker outlines would have really made Sandoval's figures pop off the page. The major problem i have with the book...it doesn't feel Mighty any more. 6 out of 10.


New Avengers #52: Ok. Aside from that NOT being the Son-of-Satan...Bendis delivered another kick-ass issue of New avengers. I have to admit the dialogue is wonderful. Fun, character driven..clever. The bit with Clint and Bucky getting Spidey on the Quinjet was brilliant comic banter. You get all that fun and a really solid bit of action as Strange tells of his encounter with the Hood in smalltown New Jersey. Great stuff...and I loved the few pages of the Hood with Madame Masque (she has got to be super hot! LOL). This story is really building for me, a face of with Dormammu...these guys are gonna need some serious fire power. The art was very good, great transition from the powerfully stylized Bachalo to the loose line work of Tan. Both do an amazing job here...although I will say Tan much have been rushed. He can be a little messy, but some of his work here is more messy then usual. Even with that that...the entire issue is dynamic. great job guys. 8.5 out of 10

Incredible Hercules #128: Oh i so enjoy this comic. I will start with the art. Clean, open lined brilliance. This Dietrich Smith is new to me, but he can draw a comic. Great action and expression. Incredible layouts and dynamism. Good detail. This was a wonderful super fight handled like a true pro. Kudos to Marvel for adding this guy to the Herc line up. He is amazing. Pak and Van Lente deliver big. the Olympus group vs the (dark) Avengers vs Herc and friends. Fun and clever. Great dialogue and a hell of a last page. Heh. Very funny. But what i loved is Herc. Tossing around the big yellow pretty boy Sentry like a ragdoll. Awesome. This comic remains one of the pieces of joy in my comic stack every week. I really recommend it. Clever, fun and action packed, I hope it never ends. 9 out of 10

Thor #601: as much as I love it. It lacks something without Coipel on art chores. This is his book. Not that Djurdjevic is bad, his previous issues were excellent...but this is a rough, maybe rushed for him. Things look awkward and off.Still he delivers good storytelling and drama. I certainly like his Doom. JMS brings us another powerful chapter in this mythic version of the Thor series. Its funny Hercules is pure comics with myth thrown in for flavor, and this is mythic storytelling using comic. there is a difference, not sure I am explaining it. But both are great. but different. I love the dialogue between Doom, Baldur and Loki. And Loki going to Blake. the best part...I believe the Executioner will be back. 8 out of 10.

Capsule Reviews 4/8/2009

Trinity #45: Morgiane Le Fay's unholy Trinity descends into chaos as they strike a deal with Krona. Enigma and Warhound get banished and Krona makes a pact with Morgaine and Despero. We also got to see the Crime Syndicate beaten by the godly Trinity and some nice developments and action when the unholy alliance falls apart. The art is tremendous, although I am not a fan of McDaniel, its a nice transition from Bagley's pages to his. And certainly, and I haven't said it enough...the coloring by Pantazis(another Greek?) are great. Bright and energetic. They do not overpower the pages with pointless textures and highlights. Another solid issue. 7.5 out of 10.

Captain Britain and MI:13# 12: Dracula on the Moon invading Britain to become ruler of the magics on Earth. I can hardly imagine any thing cooler. Cornell continues doing a great job building his story, drawing us in and throwing in some action. I really enjoyed the parts on the moon with Spitfire and Dracula. Dracula's dialogue and PoV is great. The plot rocks and I love the idea of the short lived anti vampire-invasion skull. Its Brilliant stuff. The art is also brilliant. I think Kirk delivers on every level. Great choreography and storytelling, wonderful back grounds and wide shots. The right amount of detail, and a serious knack for expression and gesture. All wrapped up in a clean, straight forward style. I really love his Dracula and the splash of the "Serpent's Crown" was very impressive as was the last page. A static splash page but still blazing with energy. I can't get over how this book stirs up all the reasons I love comics. Fun, great characterization and plot, and high energy. 8.5 out of 10.

Superman: World of Krypton #2: Wow..if this isn't a beautifully illustrated comic I don't know what is. It's off the charts amazing. I always liked Pete Woods but this is next level. Every aspect is beautiful. The designs for New Krypton, the expression, all the nuances of the Kryptonian technology and citizens. I had no idea I was going to be blown away like this. I also love the movement of the camera..tight and long shots...the two page splash. The coloring clean and pure is a great compliment to the clean open line work. Rucka and Robinson do amazing work too this issue. Really pulling you in to the Kryptonian culture, introducing characters, setting up friction within the established Kryptonian order and setting up very interesting developments. Kal-el stopped one slaughter, can he stop another? And GL showing up? How awesome will next issue be? 8 out of 10.

New Avengers #51: Bendis is possibly the best dialogue writer in comics and also at setting up interesting situations. This Sorcerer Supreme thing and Hood plot has been brewing for some time and it plays out nicely here. Strange is looking for his replacement, and Dormammu has his own under study on the Earth plane locked and loaded to take him out. The Dialogue with Wiccan in the diner is great. That character has tremendous potential. And the team meeting around the dinner table is great. I love it. And to top it off we get a great ending..that we know is really a beginning. The art chores are shared by Bachalo and Tan. Bachalo really does a wonderfully stunning graphic job with the opening and confrontation in the streets between Hood and Strange. Hood looks evil and menacing. Tan handles his part nicely as well. Nice movement and expression around the table between the Avengers. It's an issue that all talking, but still wonderfully dynamic and entertaining. I love the relationships, characterization and banter. 8 out of 10.

Green Lantern #39 :I really liked how Johns opens this up. The Controllers seeking out their own light in the Vegan System only to be ripped to shreds by the Orange of greed. And starts a chain of events that leads the Orange and Green on a direct path for a head on colission. There is a great amount of plot in this issue and we get closer and closer to Blackest Night. It also seems like Hal has the Blue ring stuck on him until he can pass it on to some one worthy. At first I was put off by Tan's art, but upon actually reading the issue I was really pulled in by it, particularly the beginning scene with Controllers nice dramatic angles and style. The problem at times are when you get large full figures. They end up stiff and awkward. But everything else was wonderful. Another outstanding chapter in the War of light. Things are really heating up...the Guardians are going to take action themselves, hopefully they will get knocked on their haughty a$$es. 9 out of 10.