Marvel’s Secret Avengers has taken on its fourth regular writer in under two years, and it’s one that perhaps fans would not have instantly associated with the property. As of issue #21.1 Rick Remender (Fear Agent, Punisher) has taken the reigns of Marvel’s covert ops superhero team. Now, four months later (with issue #25), his first proper story arc has come to a close. How he’d do? — more
Arc in Review: Princeless #1-4
Last week we published our commentary on the 2012 Eisner Award nominations, and I lamented that every year it seems like I never read enough books to know most of what’s up to win. As it happens, the author of one of the nominated books (several noms, actually!) saw the article and e-mailed me asking if I’d like to check out his work. Well, of course I would! So this morning I sat down and read the first four issues (the first story arc) of Princeless. — more
Arc in Review: Action Comics #1-8
After what some (well, me at least) might consider a rocky start, Grant Morrison and Rags Morales‘ Action Comics reached the end of its first arc with a pretty satisfying confrontation wherein Braniac forces Clark Kent to choose between his adopted home and his biological one. It was nature versus nurture for the fate of the planet, and Clark’s solution — which found a way to incorporate both — saved the world and set him on the path to becoming the Superman we all know and love.
But how does Action‘s first arc measure up as a whole? — more
What I Read 4/4: Daredevil, Animal Man, iZombie and more…
I can’t read every book every week, but I read the ones I think I’ll like and write about them here. — more
Justice League #5
I’m not sure what the problem is anymore. I’ve read a lot of Geoff Johns comics that I like a lot. I don’t have any strong feelings about Jim Lee’s art. I love the Justice League, I love the Fourth World, I love the idea of Cyborg being on the League.
But I do not love this comic. In fact, this comic is pretty awful. — more
Tank Girl: Bad Wind Rising
Thanks to Rachel Talalay’s 1995 film I’m familiar enough with the character of Tank Girl, but until Bad Wind Rising, the latest collected miniseries from Titan Books, I’d never really experienced her comics. Going into this series relatively blind is a pretty interesting experience. You’ll need to check your expectations of traditional narrative structure at the cover, and your sense of decency too. Fortunately, those are two things that don’t really hinder me, so I was more or less prepared for the weird world constructed by Alan Martin and Rufus Dayglo. — more
Charley’s War: Hitler’s Youth
There will always people for whom World War II and especially Adolf Hitler provide a source of endless fascination. Perhaps it’s because Hitler seems like literally the most evil person to ever exist — people feel the need to analyze and unpack this larger-than-life figure who caused the world unimaginable misery. Those people will likely be captivated by the contents of this eighth volume of the 1980s serial Charley’s War reprints, subtitled Hitler’s Youth. — more
Quick Hits: Reviews of Batwoman #5, Frankenstein #5 and Secret Avengers #21
Batwoman #5: JH Williams III and W Haden Blackman’s first story arc ends as Batwoman figures out how to defeat the supernatural “Weeping Woman” who’s been abducting Gotham City children. Williams’ lush, creative art is obviously this book’s biggest selling point; simply put, no one crafts comic pages like him. But a conversation I had on Facebook last month made me realize another one of this book’s biggest strengths: story-wise it just has so much going on. — more
Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #1
After 30-some issues plus assorted one-shots and minis, IDW’s line of Transformers comics has reset to #1 — two #1s, in fact. This week’s More Than Meets the Eye is the first volley in a soft reboot of the Transformers comic franchise. And while reboots seem to be all the rage in comics right now, ultimately they’ve got to be judged by what they bring to the particular story they’re telling. If MTMTE #1 is any indication, IDW’s made a strong decision here. — more
Green Lantern #5
SPOILERS AHOY.
Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke’s Green Lantern deserves a lot of complimentary adjectives, but I think “surprising” is probably right there at the top. — more