Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Steve Epting
Colorist: Dave Stewart

Story – Chapter 4

Review
Brubaker and Epting yet again do a fantastic job showing the beginning of the Marvel Universe with The Marvels Project #4. Though I am not familiar with much of Marvel’s history before the appearance of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the X-Men this team of Brubaker and Epting are doing a great job catching me up.

The best thing about what this creative team is doing is that outside of the brief origin of Steve Rogers before he became Captain America that we get in this issue this series has been dominated by characters like the original Angel and Human Torch. These are character I have very little knowledge but after reading about them in these four issues I am fascinated to learn more about them.

The slow and methodical approach Brubaker is taking with this series is very appropriate in the WWII context that he is telling this story in. Other than seeing a guy in a costume and another one igniting on fire most of this story is being told through the eyes of the people involved in the war. And with the approach Brubaker is taking he has allowed us as readers to learn much more about all of these figures in the Marvel Universe that were important in shaping the current era. A great example of this is learning much more about the person responsible for Dr. Erkskine’s murder the moment after Captain America was born. It is a great character study that adds more depth to Steve’s origin story.

Speaking of Steve’s origin story it was interesting to learn that before he was chosen to be part of the Super Soldier experiment that he was originally going an artist. I don’t ever remember this part of Steve’s past ever being mentioned and I am actually surprised someone like Steve was ever any sort of artist, but was a cool thing to learn.

To go along with the wonderful story that Brubaker is writing a lot of credit for this mini-series to be such a wonderful read is because of Steve Eptings phenomenal artwork. Epting is the only artist I can think of that is able to make this story feel like it is taking place in the real world during WWII. He captures the mood perfectly of the era. His artwork makes this story into a much more powerful read especially when this series focus more on the people of the streets of New York City. I especially liked the short scene with the firefighters in this issue as he showed us who the true heroes of this world are.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.7/10 – Brubaker continues to do a great job in both writing the start of the hero age of the Marvel Universe while also making it feel like the story is taking place in WWII.
Art: 10/10 – Epting artwork was just phenomenal. His artwork is a perfect fit for the tone of the story and I could not think of another artist who would be able to provide us with such a great looking comic that also looks like it can take place in our world.
Overall: 9.35/10 – The Marvels Project #4 was a great read. This mini-series is making a case for being the mini-series of the year. Brubaker and Epting are knocking it out of the park with this series and I can’t wait to see what happens next even if I know how the story ends.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5

Creative Team
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Lafuente
Colorist: Justin Ponsor

Story – the New World According to Peter Parker

Review
With the event that will not be named long behind us it is great to be able to have Ultimate Comics Spider-Man return to the quality it once was at before that event. Even after writing over 140 issues of this series, counting annuals, Brian Michael Bendis continues to not miss a beat and provide one fun issue after another. And Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5 is probably the strongest issue of the new relaunched series so far.

More so than the previous four issues Bendis was able to balance the Spider-Man action and Peter’s personal life very well with each being given half the issue. This is the first time Bendis has been able to split the issue in half like this since the relaunch. By doing this he does a great job showing the reader why Peter’s personal life and Spider-Man life are equally interesting to read about.

The battle between Spider-Man and Mysterio did a good job building up the threat that Mysterio is as the new Kingpin of crime. And I like that Spider-Man was unable to take Mysterio on by himself and needed the help of the mysterious Shroud to defeat him. Bendis has done a great job building up Ultimate Mysterio as the Ultimate version of the character has become much more interesting than his 616 counterpart ever was.

Also I like that Bendis continues to play up the mystery of who Shroud actually is. This issue eliminated Kitty from being Shroud as some were expecting it to be. Personally I still think that Shroud is Tandy Bowen as Bendis has always said back during the first volume he wanted to introduce the Ultimate version of the character and even made her the president of Peter’s school. And it would be cool to see Bendis give the character a new identity especially after teasing her appearance on the series for so long.

But again, what stole the show, story wise, in this issue was what is going on in Peter’s personal life. Bendis has a wonderful handle of Peter and his supporting cast that even the addition of Bobby (Iceman) to the cast feels like a natural fit. He gave a very good and believable reason for Bobby to be a part of this series. And as a fan of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon I love that vibe Bendis is giving this series as now we have Kitty, Johnny, and Bobby as Peter’s super powered friends. Also having the rest of the Fantastic Four on call Peter really has his own Avengers team under his roof. And I like that Bendis has made Aunt May the mother hen for all of these characters as the Ultimate version of the character is being shown to be a much more stronger character than the weak fragile 616 version of the character.

David Lafuente’s artwork continues to be just plain awesome. His anime/manga art style gives this series such a unique look that it stands out from all other titles on the stands right now. Also the transition from panel to panel is very well handled. And throughout the issue he gives a wonderful energy that everything feels like it is one constant motion which works well with this series. Also the facial reactions he gives the characters are great.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.5/10 – Bendis continues to do a wonderful job with the relaunch of this series. He just understands how to write all of these characters that even additions to the cast feel like a natural fit to the series.
Art: 9.5/10 – Lafuente’s artwork continues to look awesome. His artwork makes this series even more fun to read especially with how he draws the action and character facial reactions.
Overall: 9.5/10 – Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5 was another phenomenal read. This is just a fun comic to read and if you have picked this series up I highly recommend picking it up if you like superhero comics. This is just one of the best pure superhero comic book on the stands right now and one of the best overall comics you will currently find.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 12/3/09

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Steve Epting
Colorist: Dave Stewart

Story – Chapter 4

Review
Brubaker and Epting yet again do a fantastic job showing the beginning of the Marvel Universe with The Marvels Project #4. Though I am not familiar with much of Marvel’s history before the appearance of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the X-Men this team of Brubaker and Epting are doing a great job catching me up.

The best thing about what this creative team is doing is that outside of the brief origin of Steve Rogers before he became Captain America that we get in this issue this series has been dominated by characters like the original Angel and Human Torch. These are character I have very little knowledge but after reading about them in these four issues I am fascinated to learn more about them.

The slow and methodical approach Brubaker is taking with this series is very appropriate in the WWII context that he is telling this story in. Other than seeing a guy in a costume and another one igniting on fire most of this story is being told through the eyes of the people involved in the war. And with the approach Brubaker is taking he has allowed us as readers to learn much more about all of these figures in the Marvel Universe that were important in shaping the current era. A great example of this is learning much more about the person responsible for Dr. Erkskine’s murder the moment after Captain America was born. It is a great character study that adds more depth to Steve’s origin story.

Speaking of Steve’s origin story it was interesting to learn that before he was chosen to be part of the Super Soldier experiment that he was originally going an artist. I don’t ever remember this part of Steve’s past ever being mentioned and I am actually surprised someone like Steve was ever any sort of artist, but was a cool thing to learn.

To go along with the wonderful story that Brubaker is writing a lot of credit for this mini-series to be such a wonderful read is because of Steve Eptings phenomenal artwork. Epting is the only artist I can think of that is able to make this story feel like it is taking place in the real world during WWII. He captures the mood perfectly of the era. His artwork makes this story into a much more powerful read especially when this series focus more on the people of the streets of New York City. I especially liked the short scene with the firefighters in this issue as he showed us who the true heroes of this world are.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.7/10 – Brubaker continues to do a great job in both writing the start of the hero age of the Marvel Universe while also making it feel like the story is taking place in WWII.
Art: 10/10 – Epting artwork was just phenomenal. His artwork is a perfect fit for the tone of the story and I could not think of another artist who would be able to provide us with such a great looking comic that also looks like it can take place in our world.
Overall: 9.35/10 – The Marvels Project #4 was a great read. This mini-series is making a case for being the mini-series of the year. Brubaker and Epting are knocking it out of the park with this series and I can’t wait to see what happens next even if I know how the story ends.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5

Creative Team
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Lafuente
Colorist: Justin Ponsor

Story – the New World According to Peter Parker

Review
With the event that will not be named long behind us it is great to be able to have Ultimate Comics Spider-Man return to the quality it once was at before that event. Even after writing over 140 issues of this series, counting annuals, Brian Michael Bendis continues to not miss a beat and provide one fun issue after another. And Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5 is probably the strongest issue of the new relaunched series so far.

More so than the previous four issues Bendis was able to balance the Spider-Man action and Peter’s personal life very well with each being given half the issue. This is the first time Bendis has been able to split the issue in half like this since the relaunch. By doing this he does a great job showing the reader why Peter’s personal life and Spider-Man life are equally interesting to read about.

The battle between Spider-Man and Mysterio did a good job building up the threat that Mysterio is as the new Kingpin of crime. And I like that Spider-Man was unable to take Mysterio on by himself and needed the help of the mysterious Shroud to defeat him. Bendis has done a great job building up Ultimate Mysterio as the Ultimate version of the character has become much more interesting than his 616 counterpart ever was.

Also I like that Bendis continues to play up the mystery of who Shroud actually is. This issue eliminated Kitty from being Shroud as some were expecting it to be. Personally I still think that Shroud is Tandy Bowen as Bendis has always said back during the first volume he wanted to introduce the Ultimate version of the character and even made her the president of Peter’s school. And it would be cool to see Bendis give the character a new identity especially after teasing her appearance on the series for so long.

But again, what stole the show, story wise, in this issue was what is going on in Peter’s personal life. Bendis has a wonderful handle of Peter and his supporting cast that even the addition of Bobby (Iceman) to the cast feels like a natural fit. He gave a very good and believable reason for Bobby to be a part of this series. And as a fan of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon I love that vibe Bendis is giving this series as now we have Kitty, Johnny, and Bobby as Peter’s super powered friends. Also having the rest of the Fantastic Four on call Peter really has his own Avengers team under his roof. And I like that Bendis has made Aunt May the mother hen for all of these characters as the Ultimate version of the character is being shown to be a much more stronger character than the weak fragile 616 version of the character.

David Lafuente’s artwork continues to be just plain awesome. His anime/manga art style gives this series such a unique look that it stands out from all other titles on the stands right now. Also the transition from panel to panel is very well handled. And throughout the issue he gives a wonderful energy that everything feels like it is one constant motion which works well with this series. Also the facial reactions he gives the characters are great.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.5/10 – Bendis continues to do a wonderful job with the relaunch of this series. He just understands how to write all of these characters that even additions to the cast feel like a natural fit to the series.
Art: 9.5/10 – Lafuente’s artwork continues to look awesome. His artwork makes this series even more fun to read especially with how he draws the action and character facial reactions.
Overall: 9.5/10 – Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5 was another phenomenal read. This is just a fun comic to read and if you have picked this series up I highly recommend picking it up if you like superhero comics. This is just one of the best pure superhero comic book on the stands right now and one of the best overall comics you will currently find.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 12/3/09

Captain America: Reborn #4

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice
Colorist: Paul Mounts

Story – Reborn Chapter 4

Review
After a slow start Brubaker has really been on his game these past two issues. Issue #4 is the best issue we have gotten so far. One of the great things that Brubaker has done with Captain America: Reborn is that, like War of Kings, this feels like it could be the big event for Marvel this year. The way it has been competing with Blackest Nights in the sales chart it very well could be considered Marvel’s big event. And with Bryan Hitch’s artwork this book looks like a big event while also reading like one.

While this mini-series does have a big event feel with the involvement of some big names within the Marvel Universe it still has a has a sense of this being a self-contained story that is just an evolution of the stories Brubaker has been telling since he started his run on Captain America. With what happens between Steve and Red Skull it just seems as though this is where the Cap has been building toward. And depending on how Brubaker handles the ending of this issue there is a ton of potential stories for Captain America and were Marvel can go with Siege when it starts at the beginning of the next year.

Outside of the ending the other standout of this issue is how Brubaker writes the three big bad guys of Red Skull, Dr. Doom, and Norman Osborn. Any time there is more than one big A-list villain into an issue and an arc a writer will usually sacrifice some of them to make another one look like the ultimate badass. But Brubaker handles each character wonderfully.

Each character was completely in line with how a reader expects them to act. Norman Osborn is perfect in his super political mode with wanting to use Steve Rogers to further his credibility among the American people. For Dr. Doom it is all about being a man of his word and showing himself to be one of the top scientists in the universe, on par with Reed and Hank. And then there is the Red Skull who is just as well written as Brubaker has been writing the character throughout his run. When you see these three big villains working together in such a cohesive manner it makes you wonder how the hell the heroes can fight them.

And not to let the villains dominate the issue, even though they did, Brubaker did a fantastic job writing all the heroes in this issue. From the scenes with Reed, Hank, and Vision to Bucky’s to what is going on with Steve it was all well written. Brubaker just does a great job writing these scenes and showing us the desperation with each character as they try to find a way to save Steve and the sadness in Steve’s inner monologue of reliving his past. Just some great stuff all around.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.6/10 – Brubaker has really stepped things up on Captain America: Reborn. With the ending of this issue I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.
Art: 9/10 – Bryan Hitch’s artwork continues to be great. His artwork does an awesome job making this mini-series into a big event.
Overall: 8.8/10 – Captain America: Reborn #4 was great. Brubaker and Hitch are moving this story in a great pace. With that said this mini-series will read much better in trade than in single issues so I definitely recommend picking up this mini-series when it ends.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #4

Creative Team
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Lafuente
Colorist: Justin Ponsor

Story – New World According to Peter Parker

Review
With the dark age of the Ultimate Universe over, with the event that will not be spoken, it is great to have Ultimate Spider-Man return to being a top quality book it was for over a hundred issues. And Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #4 is probably the greatest example of how great this series can be when Bendis is allowed to do his own thing, and without having to write with the limitations of an event pulling in this series into it. This just had everything a Spider-Man comic should have: action, comedy and drama.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man has always been the one character whose life is like a soap opera which Bendis has a great hand for writing. Case in point the scene between Peter, MJ, and Gwen could have easily been awkward and very forced love triangle type situation. But Bendis just has a great feel for writing each character that all the dialogue feels fresh and never a rehash of what he himself has written in the past on this series.

It’s actually fun seeing how things are now and even though I am still not a fan of Peter and Gwen being together it is clear that Bendis put the characters together in order to mine the story possibilities of Peter and MJ apart. And I am hoping the Kitty is thrown into the mix sooner than later as it seems she has sort of disappeared.

Also I enjoyed the addition of Johnny to the cast of this book. It just seems like a great fit in this book as it gives Peter a male best friend. And I it was funny hearing Johnny talk about getting a secret identity and later his surprise about doing chores. With Kitty already on this title it seems as though Bendis might be going for a Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends type story telling which should lead to some great stories. Personally I can’t wait for when Spider-Woman(-Girl) shows back up on this title just so we can see Johnny’s reaction to finding out the girl he has a crush on is actually Peter’s female clone. Should be hilarious moment and issue.

Not to be outdone Peter’s Spider-Man life gets some attention in this issue as well. The balance between seeing both Peter’s personal life and his adventures well balanced in this issue. And after being made out to look like a bit of a loser in the last issue it is cool to see Mysterio show himself off as being a big threat like he showed to be when he killed Kingpin. It should be interesting to see how Spider-Man gets himself out of this situation as he look pretty messed up in the final page.

David Lafuente continues to provide some excellent artwork in this issue. I completely dig his work on this series as I think Lafuente’s anime/manga style of artwork is a perfect fit for this title. He gives each panel a certain energy and life you don’t see in most comics. The art is very distinct and stands out from any other art style you will find in a comic. It is just great work by Lafuente and his colorist Justin Ponsor.

Issue Rating
Story: 9/10 – Bendis continues to work his magic on Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. The three different stories of the love triangle, the mysterious Shroud character, and Spider-Man’s fight with Mysterio were a lot of fun to read.
Art: 9.3/10 – Lafuente and Ponsor combine to deliver some phenomenal artwork. The art just makes the story even more enjoyable to read.
Overall: 9.15/10 – Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #4 was another fun read. There is just nothing bad I can say about this issue or series. It is just a blast to read. I highly recommend picking this series up, whether in sigle issues or in trade paperback, as it is one of the best comic books on the market.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 11/4/09