Comics For 06/30/2004: Reviews, Reactions, & Random Thoughts

[Clayface]

This is the place to talk about the books you purchased this week (June 30th - July 6th). Feel free to talk about anything you got, whether it be a brand new title or old back-issues. It's all fair game. Want to share your thoughts on any current news that's happening in the industry? You can mention it here too. All we ask is that you please use spoiler brackets in the event that your comments get too detailed concerning a particular storyline. This way the book won't be ruined for anyone who hasn't read it yet.

For a list of the new stuff shipping this week, please consult Diamond Comic's Shipping List (http://www.diamondcomics.com/shipping/shipping_063004.txt).

To find a comic book store near you, check out the Comic Shop Locator Service (http://csls.diamondcomics.com/).

Comic store too far away from where you live? Want to support Toon Zone? We've teamed up with Things From Another World (http://www.tfaw.com) to provide an avenue for you to buy comics. Click here (http://www.qksrv.net/click-1001569-5533438?url=http://www3.tfaw.com/comics/newreleases.html?cart=3183189286606656?qt=cjtoonzone) to see a listing of this week's comics being offered by TFAW.


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Highlights of the Week!



Coming soon!




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[EJill34]

Batman: Harley & Ivy #3 (of 3)-Comments are up on the talkback thread in the DCAU forum. *****
Batman #629-Comments are up on the talkback thread. ***1/2
JLA #100-I was expecting to hate this issue, but it wasn't all that bad. Well, maybe it was. I'm not too fond of using The Elite again, and I still think that JLA #100 should have been something more spectacular than a lead-in to the upcoming Elite mini-series. The art served its purpose, and the dialogue was ok. All in all, it just didn't feel special like a 100th issue should be. Oh, and how many times have we seen that "The JLA is disbanded" thing done? **1/2
Superman Secret Files 2004

I'll put comments up when I finish reading them.

[Thanos]

Batman #629 See talkback C+
Batman: Harley and Ivy #3 (of 3) My poorly composed review is in the DCAU forum. A+
JLA #100

Iron Man #85
Spectacular Spider-Man #16

The Punisher #8 Another wonderful installment in the best series on the shelves right now. The story progresses and Ennis gives the reader more reasoning to truly loathe these villains, namely Maginty. Maginty's raw actions in front of his crew and the unfortunate, kidnapped boy create a sense of hatred for the character. He looks completely formidable and is portrayed as so. With the two foremost malefactors being developed as the series progresses, yet another gang of villains is introduced. Even with all these characters, the story still maintains a feeling of order. I'll credit this to Ennis's amazing ability to craft together a story. The ending was the culmination of the issue with Frank Castle's declaration to put a stop to one of the major villains of the arc. A

Ultimate Fantastic Four #8

[Mattashell]

Akira 3 (Manga/TPB): Akira has escaped, and both the Military and the Resisance are seeking him. This Volume was packed with action, but was so chaotic I had trouble following. The ending however was totally mind-blowing shocking, and made up for the weakness of the pulp of the story. ****

Fables: Legends in Exile (TPB): Centuries ago, the inhabbitants of many tales both fiction and folklore, flee a conquerer invading their worlds, and seek sanctuary in the "real" world. Fast forward to the modern day, when the Big Bad Wolf, now a "Fable" police detective, must solve the disappearance and possible murder of Rose Red. This was very cute, I especially liked the Agetha Christy style ending. I'm ashamed to admit, I missed most of the clue I should have seen. I'll definitely look for more from this enchanting series. **** Backup: A Wolf in the Fold: A "text" story about how the migration came to happen. A great fantasy, I loved it even more than the main story. *****. Overall, ****1/2

JLA #100: Elitism: A group appears to challenge th JLA for dominance over the people of Earth. I'm not a Kelly hater, but I did not enjoy a great deal of his work on JLA especially The Obsidian Age which was a confusing mess, and I'll tell ya' buddy. JLA #100 took me right back to that low point. The chronology of the story is intentionally out of order, but it doesn't help, it hurts, and the end tries to be clever, but really it's just predictable and unoriginal. The Clairmont/Byrne run was great, but unfortunately a lead-in to another series, as is this issue. And as happy as I am to see Joe Kelly go, his replacement will be Chuck Austen. The future is looking dim for this book. **1/2 Pick of the week!

[Reed Richards]

I've posted in this sort of thread in a LONG LONG time, so here goes...

Amazing Fantasy #1: First issue was sorta interesting-- enough to make me go and get issue 2 when it comes out. I'm willing to ride out the first story arc to see where it goes in fact. 3 out of 5 stars

JLA #100: Yeesh. A new Elite? Can't stand the dragon with the Hat-- what happened to the guy who liked to drink all the time? And the plot-- TERRIBLE. same with the ending. I think this issue actually HURT to read. I hate you Joe Kelly. 2 out of 5 stars

Challengers of the Unknown #1: Not that impressive, but since its a limited series, I'll be buying the whole thing. 2.5 out of 5 stars

Spiderman/Doctor Octopus Year One #2: I couldn't stand the art, or the story. Just not working for me. I won't pick up another issue of this. 1 out of 5 stars

Powerless #1: Started off pretty strong. Very interesting stuff here-- I thought the opening sequence was actually from EARTH X. Is this book a regular or a limited? if its a limited, I'll get all the issues, if its a series, I'm willing to ride out the first story arc at least. 4 out of 5 stars.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #8: This book just gets better. I love Victor's new body, I like the way the N-Zone is explained, and I really like Sue. I could do without the sides-of-his-head-shaved look that Reed sometimes sports, however. 5 out of 5 stars, Book of the Week.

Next week I should hopefully have the newest AGE OF BRONZE TPB to reflect upon :)

[Spider-Man]

The books I picked up this week are as follows:

Spider-Man 2 Comic Adaptation
Spectacular Spider-Man #16 (Talkback (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=115126))
Wolverine Vol. 1: The Brotherhood
Wolverine Vol. 2: Coyote Crossing
Batman: Harley & Ivy #3 (Talkback (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=115129))
Batman #629 (Talkback (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=115125))

And I picked up the new Wizard, too. I haven't had time to read through these yet. I had enough time to buy them, skim through a couple books and then take off to see Spider-Man 2. I read through Batman: Harley & Ivy and Spectacular Spider-Man #16 before leaving for the movies. I'll add all of my comments tonight or tomorrow whenever I get all of this read.

[Clayface]

Spiderman/Doctor Octopus Year One #2: I couldn't stand the art, or the story. Just not working for me. I won't pick up another issue of this. 1 out of 5 stars

I'm curious - are you a fan of Tim Sale's work at all? I saw this book on the shelf, and was drawn to it because of the art style - when I first flipped through, I thought it was Tim Sale's stuff. But, I ended up passing on the book anyway - never been a huge fan of Doc Ock.


Powerless #1: Started off pretty strong. Very interesting stuff here-- I thought the opening sequence was actually from EARTH X. Is this book a regular or a limited? if its a limited, I'll get all the issues, if its a series, I'm willing to ride out the first story arc at least. 4 out of 5 stars.

FYI, Powerless is a six issue mini-series.

[Reed Richards]

LOVE Sale's work, but his work is his own, and as I think this artist shows, the style is best left in Sale's own hands, rather than others. The story just wasn't that interesting either to be honest. The art lacked the life that seems prevelant in Sale's work.




I'm curious - are you a fan of Tim Sale's work at all? I saw this book on the shelf, and was drawn to it because of the art style - when I first flipped through, I thought it was Tim Sale's stuff. But, I ended up passing on the book anyway - never been a huge fan of Doc Ock.



FYI, Powerless is a six issue mini-series.

[Clayface]

LOVE Sale's work, but his work is his own, and as I think this artist shows, the style is best left in Sale's own hands, rather than others. The story just wasn't that interesting either to be honest. The art lacked the life that seems prevelant in Sale's work.

Yeah, I wasn't familiar with the writer or the artist, and once I realized the art wasn't by Sale, but by someone obviously trying to copy his style, I was turned off to it. Sounds like I haven't missed much. I'll be interested to see what others thought of it.

[PaQ]

Getting back into the comics, yesterday I got:

Teen Titans Go! #8 - Good issue.
Identity Crisis #1 - Wow.
Batman: Harley and Ivy #3 - Cute ending.
Batman Adventures #15 - Poor Viktor.
Batman #629
Batman/Superman #8
Robin #127
The New Adventures of Batgirl and Robin #53


Batman - Bruce Wayne: Murderer?
ThunderCats - The Return

Now I just have to finish reading them.. :D

[Nick K.]

Ultimate X-Men #48 - Great Issue. The character interaction and direction of this book continue to impress.A+
Ultimate Fantastic four #8 - Same. Great Issue, as well. The story arc is progressing nicely. A+
Powerless #1 - This was awesome. I like the direction this is going. A+
Wolverine/ Punisher #4

[Jor-El]

GREEN LANTERN 178 wasn't worth buying. It read so quickly that it was over before I had completed the act of picking it up off of my desk. C-

SUPERMAN SECRET FILES 2004 looked so boring and dull and repetitive that I just did not even read it. I'm sorry. I know I was a Geoff Johns champion for so long, but this man is writing too much and I'm not feeling anything in his writing like I used to feel.


All in all, a very disappointing week for comics.

[Conekiller]

Transformers Summer Special: Very fun issue. Some of the stories happened so fast (they had limited page allotments) but most got their point across quite well. The Beast Wars Story was awesome and I'm voting for that over RiD (which was cheesy featuring shouted attackes and such I was quite impressed by the Energon story, it was very funny and interesting to see how cunning Megatron is. A

Transformers: Micromasters #1 of 4: Interesting concept, but had a few things against it. We were tossed a lot of characters we're not immidiately familiar with so it took a while to get used to who was who. Putting the perspective almost completely fomr the Micromasters made for very clutterd panels/pages and led to re-reading of pages just to understand what was going on. The main story is also very reminiscent of Armada's Minicons and their plight. Overall, not a bad book, just needs some refinement. C+

I also found my missing Ultimate X-men Graphic Novel #4:D

[randomguy]

Phew. Quite a week. I'll have reviews of all this stuff up by tomorrow night, so expect it to be one hell of a post.

Free Comic Book Day Titles
The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty- A gunslinger and a young boy ponder past events as they await death by hanging in the old west. Oh, and Sleeping Beauty is involved too. It's good stuff- the read is far too quick, with some of the most uneconomical use of page space I've ever seen, but the art is excellent and the setup is compelling. Besides, it's a western comic, and I've wanted more of those for years. Good stuff, and a great giveaway. Grade: A

Reggie 12- A collection of comics featuring Reggie 12, a thinly-veiled Astroboy ripoff/homage. The art is good, but everything else is pretty pathetic. The jokes aren't funny, the timing is bad, and the dialogue is trying way too hard to be clever, a common problem with underground comics. Besides, the characters just aren't likeable. Really sub-par stuff. Grade: F

Keenspot Spotlight 2004- 100+ pages of comics from Keenspot, printed in a nice, manga-esque format. This is an anthology collecting stuff by a large variety of creators, so the quality is pretty inconsistent. I lack the patience to review everything, so I'll say this: as a rule, the "adventure" (or serious, serial) comics are really bad, and the comedy stuff is mediocre with an exception or too. A lot of the dialogue, again, is trying way too hard to be witty and unique, coming off more like bad high-school writing than anything else. The art is generally pretty good, but the adventure strips have cliche setups while the comedy strips have punchlines that never seem to get there. There's a bright spot here or there, but most of the material is amateurish and uninteresting. Big high-five to Matt Wilson for the ad for Bonus Stage, though, because it looks great. Grade: C

Everest/Love Fights Preview- This is a nice little sampler. It includes all of Love Fights #1, as well as a few-page preview for Everest. Love Fights follows the exploits of an artist in a city with its own superhero as he struggle with life and love. The art is merely functional, but the romance angle is handled very, very well. The superhero concept seems out of place, though, and frankly, I've grown rather tired of indie and underground creators trying to do a new take on the superhero instead of just doing something else entirely. This gets a Grade: C. At the back of Love Fights, there's a great preview of Everest which got me even more psyched about this project. For those of you who haven't heard about it, Everest is a twelve-issue maxiseries from Oni Press, written by Greg Rucka with art by Scott Morse, following a team of climbers trying to reach the summit of Mount Everest. I really like the premise, because it's something I haven't seen done in comics before, and the talent is top-notch. This preview is very early, with nothing but pencil lines and some sketched-in dialogue, but it's still compelling and well-done. Expect me to be pimping this series like crazy once it starts. Grade: A

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures- I like the idea of comics following the aesthetic and storytelling style of the Clone Wars shorts, but I was let down by this offering. It's not that it's bad, because it's not, it's just so incredibly boring and unremarkable that it might be the single blandest comic book I've ever read. Certainly the blandest comic that doesn't have the word "Archie" on the front. The art's a little iffy, too. Grade: D

Teen Titans Go! 1- I like the Teen Titans cartoon, and I like this comic. There's not much I can say about the series, other than that it's not supposed to appeal to people my age, and it does an excellent job entertaining its target audience. It's a great read for kids, something we need more of in the industry, it captures the spirit of the cartoon well, and the art is solid. Certainly not something I'd read month in and month out, but something I would happily subscribe my young cousin to. And, if nothing else, it's nice to get a standalone story with a good opening, rising action, climax, and falling action, with a great action scene. Rarely does a comic have this level of completeness. Grade: A

Marvel Age: Spider-Man #1- The basic idea with this line is to repackage the Stan Lee/Stevie Ditko stories from Amazing's earliest days with new art and dialogue to appeal to today's kids. It's not a bad idea, and although serious fans couldn't be less interested in this series, it accomplishes its purposes well and is the perfect read for six and seven year-olds who dig the Spider-Man movie. The plotting is perhaps, at times, a bit juvenile even for them, and the utter lack of anything new is both a strength and a weakness. You also have to question the long-term viability of a series retelling only Stan Lee/Steve Ditko tales, as there's kind of a finite amount of those. Grade: B

IDW Preview (30 Days of Night, The Shield, 24)- I'll confess that I didn't read the previews for anything but 24, because that's really the only thing here I'm interested in. What I saw had good art, but super-boring dialogue and plotting. Grade: C

Top Shelf Tales- A collection of short tales by noted indie creators, inluding Scott Morse and (yay!) James Kochalka. Not everything in here is perfect (the opening superhero parody is remarkably bad), but the best offerings, primarily the Kochalka bits, are very, very good. Grade: B

Other Stuff
Ultimate X-Men #48- Part 3 of "Tempest". The X-Men go searching for Sinister in New York, more or less unsuccessfully. A good issue with some interesting mysteries. There's a strong conversation between Wolverine and Storm, and the teaser at the end is great. There's also a revelation concerning Ultimate Apocalypse that is very interesting indeed. Oh, and the Ultimate Brood make an appearance. Seriously. Grade: A

Invincible #13- Invincible and his mom deal with the aftermath of last issue's events. The art and writing are as solid as ever, but there's some government coverup stuff in this issue which just reeks of Authority-esque cliche. It's also super-dark, which is not why I originally got into Invincible. Still, there's a particularly good conversation scene between Invincible and a freedom fighter on the moon, in addition to the first signs of hope we've seen since this storyline began. All things taken together, though, this is probably the weakest issue of the title yet. Grade: B

Green Lantern #178- Kyle Rayner and Fatality make sweet, sweet love. Wait, no, they kick each other's asses. At any rate, this is an all-action issue, which is not a bad idea after two issues of talk. Barry and CK are right, it's a short issue and a quick read, and doesn't feel very substantial at all. But the fight is really well-done, especially an inspired sequence where a drugged Kyle creates garbled, meaningless shapes with his ring. The art, despite a generally lukewarm reaction across the rest of the internet, is, in my opinion, very good. Yeah, it's one big battle scene, but it's a good one, so I can overlook the brevity. There are revelations regarding John Stewart and Mr. Big from last issue, but they aren't terribly interesting. Grade: B

Batman Adventures #15- The conclusion of the Frances, Victor, Nora love triangle is a dissapointing one indeed. Though the art is strong, too much in this story is really frustrating. D'Arjou doesn't really act in a way consistent with his past potrayals, Nora comes off as shockingly uninteresting (I maintain my belief that it's best not to see Nora at all), and Batman acts like a total jackass. That's especially true in a moment where he seemingly kills Freeze, a remarkably-out-of-character action. There are some nice moments, but the whole thing just doens't work, and the story never comes together in a satisfying way. Grade: D

Fallen Angel TPB- In the mysterious city of Bette Noir, a mysterious woman does mysterious things. I picked this up on a reccomendation from Barry and Clayface, and although I enjoyed it, I have mixed feelings on the series and can't decide whether or not to look into the singles. The characters and the world are extremely interesting, with a nice hook and a very strong, foreboding atmosphere. The art is excellent, and the storytelling is top-notch. So what's the problem? Although I liked the first two issues, which are standalone stories, the ensuing four-part storyline didn't make much sense to me at all. I've read and reread it, and I still don't really know what's going on. Ambiguity can be good when well-realized, but here, it's just kind of frustrating. Also, although the series is good, with so many great books on the shelves, it's hard to justifying picking up a new one unless it's really distinctive and interesting and fascinating, and I just don't think Fallen Angel fits those criteria. Still, I might splurge on a couple of the singles and see if the series picks up a little after the first trade. Grade: B

Ultimate Fantastic Four #8- Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen would seem to be the perfect creative team for this title. In this issue, we get more of Ellis' exploration into the science of the Fantastic Four's powers, and once again, he provides some very interesting insight in the nature of having superpowers. There's some nice characterization of Johny Storm, great teasing concerning Dr. Doom and Latervia, and I'll be damned if Ultimate Sue isn't as loveable as they come. A strong issue showing a considerable improvement over Bendis and Millar's ho-hum introductory arc. Grade: A

[Condiment King]

Free Comic Book Day stuff in the talkback.

Fantastic Four 514: Dysfunctional Part One
- I miss Wieringo. The art isn't bad. Its just awkward. Like learning a second language. Sue and Johnny especially looked stranger. Johnny seemed to have a much more serious tone with the way he was drawn. Some interesting and fun plot lines here but that has to be the cheesiest and out of nowhere endings I've read in a while. ***

Green Lantern 178: Homecoming? Part Three
- Homecoming? isn't so much of a good story as it is Ron Marz destroying Kyle's universe. This story was nothing more than a Kyle/Fatality slug fest and was a quick read. I'm intrigued with the setup for the ending. Ron has chosen what I feel to be the most suitable ending for the comic book. The storytelling really could improve though. In comparison, this is gold, but only in comparison. ***

Teen Titans 12

Ultimate Spider-Man 47-53
- The introduction of Ultimate Black Cat had me with low expectations about this arc. On the contrary, Black Cat was practically in the background compared to the MJ developments and the return of the Kingpin. This might not have been as monumental as other arcs but it was the most character building. Bendis' writing stays strong and I can't wait for Hollywood next time. ****

[Parallax]

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies HC
JSA #62

Ultimate Fantastic Four #7 - Question, what's up eith Man-Thing being on page where everyone changes? I haven't read the first arc, so is it explained there?
Ultimates Spider-Man #61
The Amazing Spider-Man #508

[Clayface]

Ultimate Fantastic Four #7 - Question, what's up eith Man-Thing being on page where everyone changes? I haven't read the first arc, so is it explained there?

That was Ultimate Man-Thing's first appearance in the title (and as far as I know, his first appearance anywhere in the Ultimate universe). It hasn't been explained why he's there in that shot. Perhaps he's a creature from the N-Zone that crosses over in the accident, or maybe someone else was caught in the blast and changed into Man-Thing and we're just not aware of it yet. I'm sure it'll be address eventually.

[Parallax]

I kinda figured it was someone who changed, seeing as it goes with the elements theme. (Wood, Water, Wind, Fire, Earth, and Metal)

[randomguy]

That was Ultimate Man-Thing's first appearance in the title (and as far as I know, his first appearance anywhere in the Ultimate universe). It hasn't been explained why he's there in that shot. Perhaps he's a creature from the N-Zone that crosses over in the accident, or maybe someone else was caught in the blast and changed into Man-Thing and we're just not aware of it yet. I'm sure it'll be address eventually.
Actually, I'm pretty sure Man-Thing showed up in an issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, the cancelled title forever cursed to screw up continuity.

For my part, I can't help but laugh hysterically every time I hear the words "Ultimate Man-Thing". It can't beat "Giant-Sized Man-Thing" from the 70's, but is still pretty funny on its own merits.

[Clayface]

Actually, I'm pretty sure Man-Thing showed up in an issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, the cancelled title forever cursed to screw up continuity.

Ah. My bad. I've never read Ultimate Mervel Team-Up. :o

[randomguy]

Comments are up.

[Clayface]

Fallen Angel TPB- In the mysterious city of Bette Noir, a mysterious woman does mysterious things. I picked this up on a reccomendation from Barry and Clayface, and although I enjoyed it, I have mixed feelings on the series and can't decide whether or not to look into the singles. The characters and the world are extremely interesting, with a nice hook and a very strong, foreboding atmosphere. The art is excellent, and the storytelling is top-notch. So what's the problem? Although I liked the first two issues, which are standalone stories, the ensuing four-part storyline didn't make much sense to me at all. I've read and reread it, and I still don't really know what's going on. Ambiguity can be good when well-realized, but here, it's just kind of frustrating. Also, although the series is good, with so many great books on the shelves, it's hard to justifying picking up a new one unless it's really distinctive and interesting and fascinating, and I just don't think Fallen Angel fits those criteria. Still, I might splurge on a couple of the singles and see if the series picks up a little after the first trade. Grade: B

I'm curious: what did you find confusing about it? Maybe Barry and I can clarify it or answer your questions?

[EinBebop]

Wasn't the 24: One Shot supposed to have come out by now?

[Clayface]

Wasn't the 24: One Shot supposed to have come out by now?

According to IDW's website (http://store.idwpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=191), its due in stores July 21st.

[Spider-Man]

The books I picked up this week are as follows:

Spider-Man 2 Comic Adaptation
Wolverine Vol. 1: The Brotherhood
Wolverine Vol. 2: Coyote Crossing



The comic adaptation of Spider-Man 2 was just like any other adapration. Not great but not terrible. I was glad to see Ron Lim doing some artwork again. I was a fan of his artwork in the 1990's before he disappeared. His rendition of Spider-Man was one of my favorites.

I really liked the two Wolverine trades I picked up too. I have been reading alot of X-Men lately and was recommended to get these. This is a cool take on Wolverine. He's on his own and placed in some great stories. I liked the art in "The Brotherhood" story more than the "Coyote Crossing" story. The next X-Men trade I want to get is called "Days of Future Past" (or something like that).

Any otehr comics I got will have comment in their respective talkbacks soon. I just wanted to post some quick comments in this thread before the new thread is put up tomorrow for the new books.