Story – The New Guardians

Review
Yeah I know I said earlier that I was not going to be able to get Blackest Night #6 but somehow found myself going to the comic shop after having a very busy morning. In any case I got this 6^th issue of DC’s big event and like the other five issues of this event Geoff Johns seriously disappoints with another issue. This issue more so than the last five issues relied heavily on Ivan Reis’s artwork to deliver the “WOW” moments.

I am going to be honest in saying that the last part of the issue where each one of the leaders of the 7 different Lantern Corps choose seven different heroes of Earth was entertaining more so for the fact it was something I was hoping would happen in Blackest Night than what it means to the story. Johns did a very good job giving the reader a reason why each character was chosen to be a member of their respective Lantern Corps. The only weird one I found was Wonder Woman as I have never seen her as the DC character who symbolizes love but that is more because I have never being a fan of the character and have never actually read her ongoing series.

The one thing I will praise Johns for is his characterization of the various characters he is handling. Each of the leaders of the Lantern Corps was all great. I especially liked how they acted when Ganthet revealed that all of the Lantern rings have the power to clone a ring and give the power of a Lantern to one person. Also I did like the scene with Barry going into the future by two seconds in order for the Black Lantern rings that were chasing him and Hal to stop.

The problem with what Johns wrote, however, is that there is absolutely no plot progression in the first half of the issue. The first half of the issue was just one giant recap of what the reader already knew and all the scenes we got where just recycled scenes from previous issues. And with us being in the latter part of this event and only three issues left in this event I should not feel like I read most of these scenes before. It is just unacceptable for Johns to continue to do this after we already got five issues of the same thing, not counting the Green Lantern tie-in issues.

Also because the first half of the issue felt like a recap what happened in the last issue with the resurrected heroes who were turned into Black Lanterns had absolutely no consequence in this issue. The roles Johns gives the various heroes turned Black Lanterns in this issue could have been taken by any of the Black Lanterns, even the ones without a connection to the heroes on the scene. We never see the Johns play up the emotions that Hal, Barry, Wonder Girl, the Titans, and the JLA that are on the scene actually react to what is happening. The heroes that where turned into Black Lanterns is yet another example of Johns employing flashy cliffhangers and spread pages that don’t add anything to following issues as he instead continues to waste page space on scenes we have seen in other Blackest Night issue and in Green Lantern.

Also though I liked the explanations that Johns gave for deputizing the various DC characters as temporary Lanterns I did think that was a waste of pages as well. I probably would not have felt that way if the first half of the issue did not feel like a bunch of recap BS. But after Johns dedicated half the issue of recapping what the reader already knew to waste another 7 pages on just choosing the characters felt like Johns was again wasting time.

Another good example of Johns providing us nothing but filler was the scenes with Atom and Mera in the Black Lantern ring fighting Jean and John Stewart heading to Earth. Those two scenes were just recycled material of what happened in Green Lantern #49, which came out last week. And though I can understand why the scene with John heading to Earth may have been needed the scene with Atom and Mera did not anything to move the story forward and was just felt like Johns was trying to fill the page count.

And honestly the only plot progression we actually got in this issue was Ganthet introducing the fact the leaders of the Lantern rings can clone their rings, which was about two pages, and the last page which gave us a two page splash page of the seven new Lanterns. That is a total of four pages of development if you count the splash page as two pages. That is unacceptable at this point in the event. And the reason that the last page got me excited for the next issue was more to do with Reis’s artwork than Johns writing.

The other problem with this issue is the other problem I have had with Blackest Night so far aside from the poor plotting. And that is that there is no sense of the epic scope of this event. Even though I was not a big fan of Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis the one thing I thought he did very well with the event was portray how big and devastating what Darkseid was doing had huge ramifications for the entire DC Universe and the Multiverse. For all of its faults at least in Final Crisis I understood why it was such a big event as it had huge ramifications for the DC Universe if the heroes were unable to stop Darkseid.

That is what Johns fails to do here as Blackest Night feels more like an event that only affects the Earth and not the entire DC Universe. Even with the involvement of the other leaders of the various Lantern Corps it feels like they are just there to save the Earth and not the entire universe. If anything Blackest Night feels like a Justice League story and not one deserving of a company-wide event. And what hurts Blackest Night the most is that even though this is supposed to be the main book Johns and Peter Tomasi have done a much better job making this event epic in Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps than this main book.

Which makes for another case why this event should have stuck to being in Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps and not its own mini-series event. But in the end Blackest Night has just turned into what Secret Invasion turned into over at Marvel last year with the main story being told in what are supposed to be side books while the main mini-series is nothing but popcorn for the brain.

And that brings me to my final point, what the hell happened to Nekron and Black Hand. They did not even appear in this issue. For the two characters that are supposed to be the end bosses of this event they have done very little to make them a true threat. Johns has done nothing with the characters to make them come across as deserving villains for our heroes to band together to fight them. Nekron himself continues to come of as nothing better than a B-List villain at best.

As has been the case with Blackest Night so far the one part that does not disappoint is Ivan Reis gorgeous pencils. Along with his inkers Oclair Albert and Joe Prado and colorist Alex Sinclair they turn in some stunning artwork. For all my complaints about the story what helps Johns snail-like paced story out is Reis’s artwork. Without Reis this event would have been even worse.

Reis is near perfect with all of the artwork and with all of the spread pages and action Johns gives him to draw Reis is able to make Blackest Night at least look like a big event. From Barry running two seconds into the future to the choosing of the various DC characters to become Lantern Corps members to the final spread page the issue looks absolutely fantastic.

The only complaint I had against the art of this issue is the uncreative look of Lex Luthor’s Orange Lantern costume. It just looked like Sinclair colored Lex’s kryptonite suite orange. But that is just a very minor complaint as Reis artwork looked incredible throughout the issue.

Issue Rating
Story: 5.2/10 – Again Johns provides very little in terms of plot progression even though now he only has two issues left in this event. Though I still will give Johns credit for some quality characterization even though it did not equate to making the story any better than the previous installments of this series.
Art: 9.6/10 – Outside of one character design Reis’s artwork was incredible yet again. Reis and his inking and colorist crew are really the one’s carrying this event. The artwork is just awesome.
Overall: 7.8/10 – Blackest Night #6 was another disappointing issue by Geoff Johns as he continues to stretch out the story to fit the eight issues of this series. The snail like pace that this event has been moving at is just unacceptable. Those who are waiting for the trade paperback of this event made the right choice as this event might read much better in one complete sitting than in single issues. Though because of all this recapping that Johns continues to makes me wonder about how it will read as a trade/hardcover.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Blackest Night #6 Review

Story – The New Guardians

Review
Yeah I know I said earlier that I was not going to be able to get Blackest Night #6 but somehow found myself going to the comic shop after having a very busy morning. In any case I got this 6^th issue of DC’s big event and like the other five issues of this event Geoff Johns seriously disappoints with another issue. This issue more so than the last five issues relied heavily on Ivan Reis’s artwork to deliver the “WOW” moments.

I am going to be honest in saying that the last part of the issue where each one of the leaders of the 7 different Lantern Corps choose seven different heroes of Earth was entertaining more so for the fact it was something I was hoping would happen in Blackest Night than what it means to the story. Johns did a very good job giving the reader a reason why each character was chosen to be a member of their respective Lantern Corps. The only weird one I found was Wonder Woman as I have never seen her as the DC character who symbolizes love but that is more because I have never being a fan of the character and have never actually read her ongoing series.

The one thing I will praise Johns for is his characterization of the various characters he is handling. Each of the leaders of the Lantern Corps was all great. I especially liked how they acted when Ganthet revealed that all of the Lantern rings have the power to clone a ring and give the power of a Lantern to one person. Also I did like the scene with Barry going into the future by two seconds in order for the Black Lantern rings that were chasing him and Hal to stop.

The problem with what Johns wrote, however, is that there is absolutely no plot progression in the first half of the issue. The first half of the issue was just one giant recap of what the reader already knew and all the scenes we got where just recycled scenes from previous issues. And with us being in the latter part of this event and only three issues left in this event I should not feel like I read most of these scenes before. It is just unacceptable for Johns to continue to do this after we already got five issues of the same thing, not counting the Green Lantern tie-in issues.

Also because the first half of the issue felt like a recap what happened in the last issue with the resurrected heroes who were turned into Black Lanterns had absolutely no consequence in this issue. The roles Johns gives the various heroes turned Black Lanterns in this issue could have been taken by any of the Black Lanterns, even the ones without a connection to the heroes on the scene. We never see the Johns play up the emotions that Hal, Barry, Wonder Girl, the Titans, and the JLA that are on the scene actually react to what is happening. The heroes that where turned into Black Lanterns is yet another example of Johns employing flashy cliffhangers and spread pages that don’t add anything to following issues as he instead continues to waste page space on scenes we have seen in other Blackest Night issue and in Green Lantern.

Also though I liked the explanations that Johns gave for deputizing the various DC characters as temporary Lanterns I did think that was a waste of pages as well. I probably would not have felt that way if the first half of the issue did not feel like a bunch of recap BS. But after Johns dedicated half the issue of recapping what the reader already knew to waste another 7 pages on just choosing the characters felt like Johns was again wasting time.

Another good example of Johns providing us nothing but filler was the scenes with Atom and Mera in the Black Lantern ring fighting Jean and John Stewart heading to Earth. Those two scenes were just recycled material of what happened in Green Lantern #49, which came out last week. And though I can understand why the scene with John heading to Earth may have been needed the scene with Atom and Mera did not anything to move the story forward and was just felt like Johns was trying to fill the page count.

And honestly the only plot progression we actually got in this issue was Ganthet introducing the fact the leaders of the Lantern rings can clone their rings, which was about two pages, and the last page which gave us a two page splash page of the seven new Lanterns. That is a total of four pages of development if you count the splash page as two pages. That is unacceptable at this point in the event. And the reason that the last page got me excited for the next issue was more to do with Reis’s artwork than Johns writing.

The other problem with this issue is the other problem I have had with Blackest Night so far aside from the poor plotting. And that is that there is no sense of the epic scope of this event. Even though I was not a big fan of Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis the one thing I thought he did very well with the event was portray how big and devastating what Darkseid was doing had huge ramifications for the entire DC Universe and the Multiverse. For all of its faults at least in Final Crisis I understood why it was such a big event as it had huge ramifications for the DC Universe if the heroes were unable to stop Darkseid.

That is what Johns fails to do here as Blackest Night feels more like an event that only affects the Earth and not the entire DC Universe. Even with the involvement of the other leaders of the various Lantern Corps it feels like they are just there to save the Earth and not the entire universe. If anything Blackest Night feels like a Justice League story and not one deserving of a company-wide event. And what hurts Blackest Night the most is that even though this is supposed to be the main book Johns and Peter Tomasi have done a much better job making this event epic in Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps than this main book.

Which makes for another case why this event should have stuck to being in Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps and not its own mini-series event. But in the end Blackest Night has just turned into what Secret Invasion turned into over at Marvel last year with the main story being told in what are supposed to be side books while the main mini-series is nothing but popcorn for the brain.

And that brings me to my final point, what the hell happened to Nekron and Black Hand. They did not even appear in this issue. For the two characters that are supposed to be the end bosses of this event they have done very little to make them a true threat. Johns has done nothing with the characters to make them come across as deserving villains for our heroes to band together to fight them. Nekron himself continues to come of as nothing better than a B-List villain at best.

As has been the case with Blackest Night so far the one part that does not disappoint is Ivan Reis gorgeous pencils. Along with his inkers Oclair Albert and Joe Prado and colorist Alex Sinclair they turn in some stunning artwork. For all my complaints about the story what helps Johns snail-like paced story out is Reis’s artwork. Without Reis this event would have been even worse.

Reis is near perfect with all of the artwork and with all of the spread pages and action Johns gives him to draw Reis is able to make Blackest Night at least look like a big event. From Barry running two seconds into the future to the choosing of the various DC characters to become Lantern Corps members to the final spread page the issue looks absolutely fantastic.

The only complaint I had against the art of this issue is the uncreative look of Lex Luthor’s Orange Lantern costume. It just looked like Sinclair colored Lex’s kryptonite suite orange. But that is just a very minor complaint as Reis artwork looked incredible throughout the issue.

Issue Rating
Story: 5.2/10 – Again Johns provides very little in terms of plot progression even though now he only has two issues left in this event. Though I still will give Johns credit for some quality characterization even though it did not equate to making the story any better than the previous installments of this series.
Art: 9.6/10 – Outside of one character design Reis’s artwork was incredible yet again. Reis and his inking and colorist crew are really the one’s carrying this event. The artwork is just awesome.
Overall: 7.8/10 – Blackest Night #6 was another disappointing issue by Geoff Johns as he continues to stretch out the story to fit the eight issues of this series. The snail like pace that this event has been moving at is just unacceptable. Those who are waiting for the trade paperback of this event made the right choice as this event might read much better in one complete sitting than in single issues. Though because of all this recapping that Johns continues to makes me wonder about how it will read as a trade/hardcover.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Blackest Night #6 Review

Creative Team
Writer: Bryan Q. Miller
Artist: Lee Garbett
Inkers: Trevor Scott and Sandra Hope
Colorist: Guy Major

Story – Batgirl Rising: Point of New Origin Part 3

Review
Batgirl #3 is more or less the same as the previous two issues. Bryan Q. Miller is doing a solid job on the writing but it is just not impressive. And most of that falls on Stephanie as a character and not the writing of this series. After three issues it just does not feel that Stephanie as the new Batgirl is enough to carry an ongoing title.

Even inserting Barbara into the title in the mentor role hasn’t helped. In many ways this series feels like a Birds of Prey re-launch but with just Batgirl in the group. But it just feels that Stephanie is not enough to keep this title from lasting more than a year since she feels like more of a supporting character than a star of her own book.

As a fan of these characters I think what this series needs is more of a supporting cast to make it more interesting as the Stephanie and Barbara dynamic isn’t enough to carry this book. I think this title needs characters like Huntress and Misfit to play recurring roles on this series to give it something extra and keep it from going stale.

Now I will say that Miller does do a solid job with creating a nice master and student dynamic with Barbara and Stephanie. In many ways Stephanie is like how Barbara was in her early days of Batgirl. Miller does a good job paralleling the two characters in this issue, while showing how Barbara has changed.

With her battle with Scarecrow in this issue it is clear Stephanie has a long ways to go before being capable as a solo hero and Barbara should help her become her own character than just being known as Tim’s girl. Though I think the whole candle ceremony thing was a bit much and should have just been Bruce and Dick’s thing as it was special to the dynamic between Batman and the first Robin.

Issue Rating
Story: 6.6/10 – Miller provides some solid dialogue as he shows he understands both Stephanie and Barbara as characters. But supporting character feel of the star, Stephanie, makes the story feel very average.
Art: 6.7/10 – Lee Garnett again provides some solid artwork but nothing to impressive.
Overall: 6.65/10 – Batgirl #3 was an average read. While I would like to continue to read this series to see if Miller can make this a better read but with things like Realm or Kings and Siege coming up I am dropping this title. Still if you are a fan of Stephanie and Barbara this is the title for you as Miller has done a solid job setting up this title to improve with later storylines.

Blackest Night: Batman #3

Creative Team
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vicente Cifuentes
Colorist: Nei Ruffino

Story – Who Burns Who: Conclusion

Review
In what has so far been the best story of Blackest Night, Peter Tomasi does an excellent job finishing up Blackest Night: Batman with this final issue. The thing that has been killing Blackest Night is that the story has been very thin with every ones reaction to the Black Lanterns has been “Oh no it’s my dead friend. What do I do? They are about to kill us if we don’t do something.” That has been Blackest Night as a whole, save for Green Lantern #46, which has made the story a thin and boring read.

And while that theme is in this issue what really separates this issue and mini-series from Blackest Night is that we are actually seeing the emotional toll it takes on the characters, in this case Dick Grayson and Tim Drake. Tomasi perfectly nails how these characters would react to seeing their parents back alive. It is something that hasn’t been shown in Blackest Night as all the characters reactions so far to the Black Lanterns has been the statement I said before.

I like how in the beginning Tim thought seeing his father again was his second shot at saving them and Dick tried to be the voice of reason telling Tim that they weren’t his parents. Then when Dick looked into his father’s eyes he let himself go in the moment just like Tim and was the twelve year old kid who performed in the circus with his parents again. This paralleling of Dick and Tim is a good reminder how similar these two brothers are and how their history is similar to Bruce’s tragic history with his parents.

Then the scene were Dick and Tim come face to face to the ones responsible for the deaths of their parents was great as it is a very different way of having characters reach an emotional breaking point as Dick and Tim were filled with rage. It is much different to how other Blackest Night titles have used to make the characters reach their emotional breaking point.

Adrian Syaf helped make these scenes especially more powerful with his artwork. He showed a great range to illustrate emotion in the scenes with Dick and Tim seeing their parents. This is the first time I am exposed to his Syaf’s artwork and he impressed me very much. I hope I see his artwork on something like Batman again as he has a good style to fit with Batman.

It was cool seeing Etrigan involved in this issue as Dick had Deadman go get him for back-up. It was an effective plan and shows that Dick knew that the situation he and Tim were in was not something they could get out of alone. Also we got to learn that there are certain magical creatures that don’t register on the Black Lantern radars. Hopefully this means Etrigan plays an integral role in taking down Black Lanterns but he probably won’t from how Geoff Johns has been telling the Blackest Night story and the characters he is using.

Also it was good to see Dick take up more of an aggressive approach with Damian as he made Damian listen to him and not try to act on his own. It is a good way to show the master/student relationship the two are having with Dick finally taking the role of the master while trying to make the cocky student, Damian, listen to his instructions.

It was also interesting to see that the Black Lanterns can’t see people unless they have some emotion as they could not see Dick and Tim in front of them since they froze themselves. It adds another wrinkle to the Black Lanterns concept as works similarly to how infrared vision works as they need people to show some sort of feelings in order to see them or else they don’t see those people, even if they are in front of them. I hope that this means that Batman will play a bigger role in Blackest Night as it would be good to see how Dick as Batman handles the first big Crisis as Batman and stands side-by-side with Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash.

Issue Rating
Story: 9/10 – Tomasi again shows why he should be helming a Batman title as he writes the best version of Dick Grayson and the entire Batfamily. I am hopeful DC wakes up and sees how great a story he wrote here, and with his Nightwing work, and actually gives him a one of the Batman titles starring Dick Grayson as Batman to write.
Art: 8.5/10 – Adrian Syaf provided some great artwork in this mini-series. He did a great job with all the action and the wide range of emotion that the characters in this issue showed.
Overall: 8.75/10 – Blackest Night: Batman #3 was a great issue and ending to this mini-series. This mini-series has so far been the best story from Blackest Night and I hope that with what was learned of the Black Lanterns is used soon in the main series and it is not pushed to the side. If you are looking for a fun action packed story with some emotional depth than I recommend picking up Blackest Night: Batman as it is a solid three issue mini-series by Tomasi and Syaf.

Green Lantern Corps #41

Creative Team
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Patrick Gleason
Inkers: Rebecca Buchman, Keith Champagne and Tom Nguyen
Colorists: Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltaeb

Story – Hungry Heart

Review
In another Tomasi written Blackest Night tie-in Green Lantern Corps #41 continues the current battle between the Green Lanterns and the Black Lanterns on Oa. For the most part Tomasi presents a very well told story. Still there seemed something off about this issue.

Before I get into that I will admit the thing that Tomasi effectively presents here is the chaos that the Black Lanterns appearance has on the War of Lights. In many ways Tomasi shows why the stars of Blackest Night should not be the heroes on Earth but the various Lantern Corps especially the characters we have gotten to know through GL and GLC titles like Kyle, Guy, Killowog, Arisa, and Soranik. Even if we have seen a lot of battles with the Black Lanterns already happen in Blackest Night it feels like the Black Lanterns pose much more of a threat when battling one of the members from one the Lantern Corps.

And similar to what he did in this week’s Blackest Night: Batman issue the thing he nailed in this issue is the emotional toll the dead rising from the grave as Black Lanterns. It was great how we were shown Guy, Killowag, and Arisa each overcoming their own battles with the Black Lanterns. It drives home why they are part of the Green Lantern Corps as they push through anything that is thrown at them and have the willpower to overcome even their dead loved ones.

What helped these battles out was Patrick Gleason’s great artwork. He continues to do a great job on this title and making each battle feel epic and bounce of the page. And the scene with the Black Lantern children was effectively creepy.

Also I am interested to see were Tomasi takes Kyle and Soranik’s relationship after their battle with Black Lantern Jade. It looks like Kyle may be in the dog house after Blackest Night is over.

Now the thing that keeps this issue from being great is that it suffers from the pitfall that has made Blackest Night into a boring read which is that the Black Lanterns are dull and uninteresting villains. This isn’t really the fault of Tomasi but more the execution in which the Black Lanterns are presented. Other than being different dead characters all the Black Lanterns are the same. There isn’t much of a difference from the dead heroes, villains, and characters loved ones coming back as Black Lanterns. They all have the same personality.

And this is very bad for Blackest Night as we haven’t even reached the midway point of the event and the main villains of the series are already becoming stale. It makes me question the choice of making the event eight issues long even more. With how Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps are proving to be important tie-ins to Blackest Night I think the main series should only have been issue long as there isn’t enough material to justify eight issues.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.4/10 – Tomasi continues to do a superior job in telling the Blackest Night story than what Johns has been doing over in the main Blackest Night book. With that said the story suffers from the main villains of the story, the Black Lanterns, being dull and uninteresting characters.
Art: 8.2/10 – Gleason along with his inking crew, Rebecca Buchman, Keith Champagne and Tom Nguyen, and colorists, Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltaeb, do a great job presenting the chaotic feel of the Black Lanterns presence in the War of Lights, which had already thrown the universe into chaos.
Overall: 7.8/10 – Green Lantern Corps #41 was a very good read though it suffers from the main villains of the event being very boring. It would have been better if we could have seen other Lantern Corps members involved in this issue other than just the Green and Black Lanterns.

The Marvels Project #3

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

Story – Chapter 3

Review
In what has been the surprise of the year, Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting continue to tell a very enjoyable and intricate story of the origins of the Marvel Universe. The reason I choose to pick up this mini-series was only because of me being a big fan of Brubaker and Epting’s work, specifically Captain America. But I did not expect to enjoy reading the beginning of the hero age in the Marvel Universe as much as I have been.

The big factor that is making The Marvels Project such a wonderful read is that Brubaker and Epting aren’t telling a parody story of the early age of the universe that is now filled with super powered individuals. Most of the time that is where most writers do, they try too hard to imitate the way people spoke during that time period making it hard to take the story seriously making it feel like a parody of that time period.

But Brubaker and Epting aren’t necessarily trying to imitate the time period. Instead they are taking a serious look at the 1940s and how people acted in a time of uncertainty and fear due to the war and the first super powered individuals appearing out of nowhere. It is really an amazing look as Brubaker nails the tone of that era in our history making this story feel like an extension of the story that he was telling in Captain America.

Brubaker is able to show both the wonder and fear in the people’s eyes as they witness the first battle between super powered individuals in Namor and the first Human Torch. That is where Eptings fantastic artwork comes into play as his artwork perfectly captures the mood of the time period and also making the battle between Namor and Human Torch feel like an epic showdown. Even though we have seen similar and even bigger fights happen in both the Marvel and DC Universe this battle feels like it has more of an importance as it is the first recorded battle between two super powered individuals.

And the tone of the time period is not the only thing that Brubaker nails but also all the dialogue in the various scenes we get. Whether it be Human Torch, Namor, Angel, Nick and his crew or the people on the streets all of the dialogue has a natural flow to it. Nothing feels like it being forced in for dramatic effect. It is just great character with the development of the early stages of what shaped what we know now as the Marvel Universe.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.3/10 – Brubaker continues to do a great job building the origins of the Marvel Universe and making me care for characters I had very little knowledge of before this mini-series.
Art: 9/10 – Eptings artwork is continues to be incredible. His artwork for the Namor vs Human Torch scene was especially well done as the inking and coloring for the scene make it stand out from every other scene in the issue.
Overall: 9.15/10 – The Marvels Project #3 was another great read. This mini-series continues to be one of the best written comic book on the market. Brubaker and Epting continue to build a wonderful tale of the beginning of the Marvel Universe. I highly recommend picking up this mini-series when it comes out in trade paperback format as it will read even better in TPB form than in individual issues.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 10/14/09

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Doug Mahnke
Inkers: Christian Alamy, Tom Nguyen and Doug Mahnke
Colorist: Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltaeb

Story – Feared

Review
This is what I am talking about. Even though I have probably been the biggest critic of Blackest Night it is not because I don’t want to like the event but that it is not up to the quality I expect from the event and of Johns. The story has been slow and pondering on the same position it has been since the first issue. But if this issue is an example of where the event is going it looks like the series will finally be moving forward for the first time instead of backwards.

So far the tie-ins to Blackest Night have been much better and more effective in telling a more compelling story than the main series itself and Green Lantern #46 was another example of this. I think the thing that is making these tie-ins to Blackest Night better than the main series is that the writers are free to focus on the story than trying to make the stars of the DCU stand out above others, specifically the Black Lanterns JLA. This issue is an example of this as he is able to focus not on only the Black Lanterns and the threat they present to the universe but also on other members of the various Lantern Corps than just Hal Jordan.

And as this issue also shows Hal is an interesting character when he is interacting with characters like Sinestro, Carol, and Indigo-1 who each have their own distinct personalities and not a similar like Barry has. Johns did a very good job balancing the dialogue between the four characters as each one plays of the other very well. The dialogue was what carried the first half of this issue and kept things moving at a great pace as we entered the main event of this issue.

What was interesting to see is how we already have four of the seven main characters of the Green, Violent, Yellow, and Indigo Lantern Corps members together very quickly. It was stated that one of the other Lantern Corps members is needed to mix their “light” with the Green Lantern “light” to destroy the Black Lanterns and it was fun seeing it being shown with Hal and Carol combining their powers. The next main Lantern Cops member that will probably join the group of Hal, Sinestro, Carol, and Indigo-1 will be Saint Walker. That is if Sinestro stays with the group. It will be interesting to see if Agent Orange and Attrocius will join the ranks since those are the two that will be hardest to convince that they must join forces to defeat the Black Lanterns.

The best thing about this issue was of course the last half of the issue that gave us the main event fight of Sinestro vs. Mongul. The fight was properly brutal and epic as it has been built up to be in Tomasi’s “Emerald Twilight” story arc that happened just before Blackest Night. Even though Mongul dominated most of the fight the fight really showed why Sinestro is a badass character. The way the fight ended was awesome and is another example of why Sinestro has become one of the best and most interesting characters in the DCU.

The only problem I had with this issue is how slow and little attention is being paid to John Stewarts sub-plot that has been running through Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. Each issue of GL and GLC for the past few months have only given us a page or two showing us what John is doing and it is getting very boring. Personally with how little attention Johns, Tomasi, and other writers have paid to John this past year he has become the least interesting of the four Earth Green Lanterns as I haven’t found a reason to care what happens to the character.

Doug Mahnke’s artwork was again spectacular. He gives this issue the big event feel that Ivan Reis is giving the main series. The fight between Sinestro and Mongul was the highlight of the issue and Mahnke perfectly captured how epic the fight between two titans was. The only problem I had with the art is the inkers by committee this issue had. There were a few panels that had some inconsistent art.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.4/10 – Johns does a great job with all the dialogue in this issue and I hope we get more quality dialogue and storytelling like we got in this issue in the main series that Johns just has not provided.
Art: 8.7/10 – A few minor inconsistencies aside Mahnke’s artwork was phenomenal. Mahnke’s artwork did a nice job helping Johns dialogue by carrying the last half of the issue with the big fight we were given.
Overall: 9.1/10 – Green Lantern #46 was a great read. This is how Blackest Night should be written. We got some great dialogue and artwork that moved the overall story forward more than the main series has so far. Hopefully Johns carries this quality storytelling ability to the main series.

Teen Titans #75

Creative Team
Writer: Felicia D. Henderson (main story); Sean McKeever (back-up)
Artist: Joe Bennett (main story); Yildiray Cinar (back-up)
Inker: Jack Jadson (main story); Julio Ferreira (back-up)
Colorist: Rod Reis

Story – Wyld Thing

Review
After a great arc by Bryan Q. Miller we get yet another writer change for Teen Titans. Even though McKeever was on this title for a while before Miller and now Felicia D. Henderson came onto this title, Teen Titans has had a problem with major inconsistencies with the stability of the team. And I think that was one of the best things about Miller’s story arc as it felt that we finally had a permanent Teen Titans team.

For her part Henderson did a nice job carrying what Miller started. This is Henderson’s first comic book writing job with having previously only written for TV shows Fringe, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters and other shows. While she does not blow me away with her writing in this issue she definitely showed potential for growth as she transitions to being a comic book writer.

Henderson did some nice writing with the team chemistry as we see Aquagirl and Bombshell’s antagonistic relationship, Blue Beetle and Static showing themselves to be the stand outs of the team, and what looks like Miss Martian having a new crush. There were moments where the dialogue wasn’t very good but overall Henderson has a nice handle of each member of the team. The best writing Henderson provided was for Blue Beetle and Static as both continue to grow as their own characters with Blue Beetle especially standing out in this issue with the lecture he gave to Beast Boy at the end of the main story.

The problem Henderson faced in this issue was with re-visiting the Raven being controlled by her father or some demon. This storyline is old and has been told before and it feels like every time Raven appears this is the way a writer introduces the character to a title. Though the one part of this story I did like was Joe Bennett’s artwork as he was able to flex his muscle with some crazy things to draw.

Also I did not like how Beast Boy was written. If Henderson is trying to convince the reader that he is the new leader of this team she needs to portray him as a much more confident individual, which he showed a few times in the issue. Beast Boy came off as an immature school girl with how he acted anytime someone said something about Raven.

The Ravager back-up for this issue was probably the best we have gotten so far. McKeever showed why Ravager is a badass character. While I am not sure what this will do for the overall character.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.2/10 – While Henderson did not blow me away with the dialogue it definitely showed potential. The only problem I had with her writing was how she wrote Beast Boy.
Art: 7.6/10 – Bennett provided some solid artwork with the best being the dinosaur, tiger, gorilla, bull, hawk, and wolf hybrid monster.
Overall: 7.4/10 – Teen Titans #75 was another solid issue with the new creative showing some potential on this title. The only problem this story arc faces is it feeling “been there, done that” with Raven being possessed for the hundredth time.

Wolverine: Weapon X #5

Creative Team
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Ron Garney
Colorist: Jason Keith

Story – The Adamantium Men Part 5 of 5

Review
After the last issue giving us one of the most entertaining Wolverine issues we have gotten in a long time it was hard to see how Aaron and Garney would top what they did. And the truth is that this issue doesn’t reach that level which is a bit disappointing.

Even though this has been an action centered story arc this issue disappointed as it felt like the Aaron tried too hard to finish the story quickly. I would have much rather preferred it if we saw more action with Wolverine and Maverick fighting the rest of the Adamantium Men. The way Wolverine took them out with a helicopter felt to quick and not up to the standard set before it.

What I did like about this issue is that Aaron continued some strong characterization of Wolverine and giving us a strong supporting cast for the character that aren’t just the X-Men. Wolverine does come off the badass he should always be and the one person you do not want to piss off. While I didn’t like that the story was ended to quickly after thinking about it I did like how Wolverine took the methodical approach to take out the people after him instead of risking certain death in a fight that he probably would have lost.

Also this approach he took was made better because Aaron took Wolverine’s healing factor back to basics. His healing factor has become ridiculous over the years with how fast it is as he has become almost invincible. And I like that with his fight in the last issue Aaron showed Wolverine’s healing factor does have a limit again. Hopefully this limit is used more as Wolverine gets involved in bigger fights in this series.

The ending was very good as it set-up future plotlines with Maverick and Wolverine going against Norman Osborn. Aaron wrote a great Norman Osborn and it would be interesting to see Wolverine go up against him and the Dark Avengers which we might get in the Dark Reign: The List –Wolverine which is also written by Aaron.

Issue Rating
Story: 8/10 – Though Aaron does not reach the level he did with the story from the last issue his characterization of Wolverine was again very strong which made up for the lack of action.
Art: 8/10 – Garney’s wasn’t given much action to draw in this issue but it was still some solid artwork. His artwork is a great fit for this title.
Overall: 8/10 – Wolverine: Weapon X #5 was another solid read. This title feels like the old school Wolverine stories we used to get. Aaron and Garney have brought back the character to being the awesome and less convoluted character he once was. I definitely recommend any Wolverine fan and fans of action oriented titles to pick up Wolverine: Weapon X.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Weekly Comic Book Review for 9/30/09

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
Inkers: Oclair Albert and Joe Prado
Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Story – Blackest Night Chapter 3

Review
While I understand why some people may think I don’t want to like Blackest Night because of what I said in my review for the previous issue the truth is I really want to like this event. This is an event I have looked forward to since reading Sinestro Corps War, which was my first exposure to the Green Lantern franchise outside of the JLA. Geoff Johns did a very good job building up this event and making the Green Lantern mythos one of the most interesting parts of the DC Universe. But I think that is where the biggest problem Johns faces with this series.

Johns has been building up to this event not just for a few months or a year but since the start of Green Lantern: Rebirth which makes this event five years in the making. With such a long build up Johns has built such a great cast with not only the Green Lantern Corps but also all the Lantern Corps he has introduced in his run. But now that the event is finally here he is largely ignoring the great cast he has built up in favor of two of the blandest personalities in the DCU in Hal Jordan and Barry Allen.

Now I am not going to say that Hal and Barry are uninteresting characters but it is more that I am just tired of seeing these two together. Between the Flash: Rebirth, Blackest Night 1-3, and Green Lantern #44 these two continue to have the same conversation and I have become disinterested in their conversations since they all run the same lines of “Why am I back? There has to be a reason. Is this the reason?”

Yes there is more to their conversations but this is the bare bones of their conversations. Having these conversation and beating the reader over the head with it is just bad writing when you take into account this event does not affect only these two characters but the whole universe. When Hal was about to leave the battle field to save his ex-girlfriend that he has not been together with for years and we had Barry talk some sense into Hal I really did not care and just wanted to flip the page as it is just the same drawn out conversation we have heard before between the two.

The other problem with not just this issue but the series in general is that I still do not have a good sense by just reading this event that the Black Lantern threat truly has universal ramifications. Johns has purely focused on what is happening on Earth with a few panels dedicated to everywhere else in the universe. I would have understood this move if Johns made the focus of the Black Lanterns attack on Earth because it was going to become the planet for the Black Lanterns, since later issues say the Earth is evacuated, but that is not the case as we already saw the Black Lanterns have their own planet somewhere else in the universe. So really there is not much of a reason why Earth should dominate 99% of these three issues since there is not much reason for why Earth is more important than say Oa or one of the other Lantern Corps planets since they are needed to defeat the Black Lanterns.

The only interesting part of this issue is that the Indigo Lanterns finally made their appearance. The Indigo Lanterns appearance is really what save this issue as we finally get answers of who the Black Lanterns are and what is needed to defeat them. And just like many people thought, myself included, it is the White Light that is the combination of all the Lantern Corps power that is able to wipe out the Black Lanterns. Maybe that is to simple but when I heard that White Light explanation I could not help but think of this from my childhood. Still I hope that with the appearance of the Indigo Lanterns we will get to see more of the universal impact of the Black Lanterns appearance that just being told they are a big threat since this is a comic book after all and it is as much a visual form as it is the writing.

Also I did think it was cool to see that Ray (The Atom) felt compassion throughout the issue even when he was almost killed. It was a cool thing to add to the character and I kind of hope that we see him become an Indigo Lantern.

Now going back to the problem this issue faced I found myself again caring less and less about all the action of that was going on. As someone who is not familiar with Firestorm I can say I did not care about Jason’s scenes with his girlfriend as it was incredibly predictable that she was going to die since that is all Johns has done in these three issues (i.e. Hawkman and Hawkgirls death in issue #1 and Tempest death in issue #2).

And that was this issue in a nut shell since everything that happened in this issue is like we are just going around in circles in terms of story progression. I can honestly say that we have seen more story progression in the tie-ins to Blackest Night than we have in this series. And this reminds me of a series that just came out not to long ago. What was it called again? Oh yeah: Secret Invasion.

While I know some people may not see it that way but Blackest Night is turning out to be DC’s version of Secret Invasion. Almost nothing is happening in the main series and if a reader wants to get a good sense of what is going on and how big of a threat the Black Lanterns are Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps are doing a much better job at this.

I really wish Johns would stop focusing on characters that he seems to be forcing us to like such as Mera, Firestorm, and Barry Allen and let us see the characters that are truly interesting and will play a big role in stopping the Black Lanterns such as Sinestro, Carol Ferris, Attrocius, Saint Walker and so on. Now maybe I am underestimating Mera, Barry, and the other non-Lantern Corps members involved in the series but sadly other than them seeming to be Johns pet characters I don’t see them playing a huge role in stopping the Black Lanterns other than Hal since he seems to be the “chosen one.”

Now even though I have mostly complained about the story of this issue and series I will say the biggest positive for this series has been Ivan Reis gorgeous artwork. Reis artwork in this issue, like it has been in this series, is just incredible. Along with his inkers Oclair Albert and Joe Prado and colorist Alex Sinclair the artwork is really what is saving this series from being worse, which it could be. Reis artwork throughout the issue does a great job making the issue feels like there is some true suspense even though many of the things that happen in the issue were predictable.

Issue Rating
Story: 4/10 – The story for this issue was saved from being a complete loss because Johns finally introduced the Indigo Lanterns. Johns really needs to pick up things up and move on from taking a methodical approach to the series since this event has had five years of build up.
Art: 9.6/10 – Reis artwork was phenomenal. It is really what saved this issue from being a complete loss.
Overall: 6.8/10 – Blackest Night #3 was another disappoint read. While I can see why many fans are enjoying this event Johns story has yet to click with me. So far this is nothing more that Secret Invasion Power Ranger style with the different color Lanterns. I am still hopeful that Johns can turn things around with the next issue but I am starting to doubt he can.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Blackest Night #3 Review

Amazing Spider-Man #604 – So far the Red Headed Stranger has been a solid story though it has not blown me away especially after the great “American Son” arc and Amazing Spider-Man #600 issue. Hopefully Fred Van Lente can provide a good showdown between Spider-Man and Chameleon as well as some aftermath from Chameleon ruining some of Peter’s personal relationships.

Blackest Night: Batman #2 – I really liked the first issue of this mini-series as Peter Tomasi proved yet again to be one of the best Batman writers, especially when it comes to writing Dick Grayson. The first issue made a strong case for Tomasi to actually write one of the Batman series with Dick as Batman once this mini-series is over. He just understands the character and the Batman universe. I actually would like it if he got to take over Batman to give him a main stream title to take him out of Geoff Johns shadow.

Green Lantern Corps #40 – Just like Blackest Night: Batman the first issue that tied into this Blackest Night for this series did a very good job giving a grander scope to the event than the main book. Tomasi has done a spectacular job on GLC that this title has actually eclipse Green Lantern by Geoff Johns as the best Green Lantern title. And I am definitely looking forward to seeing how the rest of the Green Lantern Corps does against the Black Lanterns especially Kyle vs. Black Lantern Jade.

Red Robin #4 – Red Robin has been the weak link out of all the Batman titles. Chris Yost has not done a very good job convincing me that Tim’s mission to find Bruce is actually worth reading. The whole characterization of Tim post-Battle for the Cowl has been horrible and just seems to have come out of knowhere. I am hopeful that with this fourth issue that Yost can convince me to keep reading this title past this arc.

The Marvel Projects #2 – While the first issue did not blow me away Brubaker and Epting did the job of getting me into this mini-series about the Golden Age of the Marvel Universe’s history. I am interested to learn more about the Marvel Universe’s past as before this series I only have some working knowledge of.

Ultimate Comics Avengers #2 – The first issue of Ultimate Comics Avengers was just a fun comic to read. It was like Miller never left the Ultimate Universe. I look forward to learning more about the Ultimate Red Skull and see what he has planned after the revelation of being the son of Steve Rogers. But honestly I just want to see more kick butt action from Ultimate Captain America who is just a badass in this universe along with some of the other Avengers.

War of Kings: Who Will Rule? One-Shot – This is the issue I am most looking forward to reading this week. War of Kings was a spectacular mini-series event and one of the best comic book events I have read. Though we have seen some of the aftermath of War of Kings in Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova I am interested in seeing how DnA set up the various characters in the Marvel Universe cosmic corner. DnA definitely have a lot of toys to play with in this one-shot to set up Realm of Kings.

DVD/Blu-ray
Bleach: Diamond Dust Rebellion – I am a big fan of the Bleach anime and I really enjoyed the first movie of this series. The first movie was a solid story that mixed every element that makes this series so fun. Though the second movie looks to have a much darker story that will involve the whole Soul Society, and not just Ichigo, as Captain of the 10^th Squad Toshiro Hitsugaya will be hunted down by the Soul Society. This movie definitely speaks to the popularity of Toshiro, a secondary character in the manga and anime, as he has a whole movie centered around him. Look forward to seeing some great action this series has been known for.

The Office Season 5 – One of my favorite TV series is no doubt The Office. Though the show has lost some steam in these past two seasons this is still an excellent comedy with plenty of laughs. Season 5 had a lot of funny moments that this series has been known for. I am really looking forward to the six season of this series and this box set should tie me over until the new season begins.

Movies
9 – What a coincidence that this movie is being released on 09/09/09, or 9/9/9? Sarcasm aside, I will admit that like many people I loved The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. Sadly I have not liked any of Tim Burton’s movies since The Nightmare Before Christmas. Though I was hesistent at first if “9″ was going to be any good, as I did not know much about it, after seeing a few trailers and TV spots this actually looks like it may capture the magic of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I can hope can’t I?

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Previewing this Week’s Releases: 9/7/09 – 9/13/09

Adventure Comics #1 (#504)

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Francis Manapul (main story); Clayton Henry (back-up)
Colorist: Brian Buccellato (main story); Brian Reber (back-up)

Story – Superboy The Boy of Steel Part 1 (main-story); Long Live The Legion Part 1 (back-up)

Review
DC has always had a problem trying to get me hooked on their titles outside of Batman. It has only been recently with Sinestro Corps War that I started reading Green Lantern. While I have tried giving several different DC titles a shot I just have DC has never hooked me with most of their titles. This is especially true with Superman related titles. I have probably given Superman and his family of titles more chances to hook me than any other but I just have never read many stories outside of The Death and Return of Superman and the recent Brainiac storyline that I have actually liked. So coming into Adventure Comics #1 I wasn’t very optimistic about this title even if I liked Geoff Johns run on Teen Titans and how he wrote Superboy.

With that said Adventure Comics was a solid start to the new Superboy comic. Johns does a very good job with his characterization of Connor and his relationships with Superman, Krypto, and Ma Kent. It was nice to see that Connor’s death helped him realize that his life with Ma and Pa on the Kent Farm was much better than he originally thought.

Also I liked the mystery that Johns gave us with the swamp monster and how it is looking for Connor. I am not sure if this is a new threat or just an old Superman villain but I am interested to find out what the swamp monster wants with Connor.

With the mystery and Connor new outlook on life I am going to leave this title on my pull list for at least the Blackest Night tie-ins. The only negative about the main story was that not much really happened in this issue as this the main story was more about establishing Connor back to the present which is not such a bad thing.

Now I only wish the back-up was as good as the main-story. I not really too familiar with the Legion of Superheroes but the back-up really did not get me interested in the cast of characters. Overall nothing really happened in the back-up as it was only an introduction to the characters and I didn’t really get a good sense of who the characters really are. And since I am going to be getting the rest of this up to at least the Blackest Night tie-ins I hope Johns does a better job with the Legion story

Issue Rating
Story: 7.3/10 – Geoff Johns did a solid job with the main story with Connor but the Legion back-up story he wrote wasn’t very good.
Art: 8.4/10 – Francis Manapul’s artwork for the main story was gorgeous. Too bad that Clayton Henry’s artwork wasn’t as good as his artwork was just average.
Overall: 7.85/10 – Adventure Comics #1 was a solid start to this new Superboy title and it was enough for me to at least pick up the next few issues of this title.

Amazing Spider-Man #602

Creative Team
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Barry Kitson
Inkers: Barry Kitson and Rick Ketcham
Colorist: Jeromy Cox

Story – Red-Headed Stranger: Tenth of September

Review
The last time Fred Van Lente wrote Amazing Spider-Man was back in the one and done story involving The Spot, which was also his first issue as part of the Spider-Man Brain Trust. In that issue he showed a great sense for Spider-Man and that his writing style is a great fit for Spider-Man. But now after that one and done story he did Van Lente finally gets a shot at writing a multi-issue Amazing Spider-Man arc. And this first issue of this new Chameleon story arc was a good, but not great, start to the latest Spider-Man story.

In truth this wasn’t a great issue of Amazing Spider-Man there really isn’t anything wrong with this issue. Van Lente provided plenty of solid dialogue and Barry Kitson did a good job with his artwork and keep the look of the issue consistent.

I liked that Van Lente continued to show Harry is in worse shape than he was before the “American Son” arc. Though I am not really excited to see Harry fall into another state of depression and alcoholism I like that Van Lente used Harry’s problem as a way to get Peter and MJ together to help out a friend.

I also liked the new job Peter got in JJJ’s office. It is a new setting for Peter as he will not be able to wisecrack his way through this job as he won’t be allowed to mess around as much as he did back in the Daily Bugle.

Now the best part of this issue was the Chameleon. Van Lente did a great job making this new and improved Chameleon a much more menacing threat than he was before. I liked what Chameleon did to his victims after he stole their faces. It gave Chameleon a Batman villain feel with how violent it was.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.6/10 – Van Lente writing style is a great fit for Spider-Man as he did a great job giving this issue a nice mix of humor and drama.
Art: 8/10 – Kitson did a good job with the artwork. Hopefully he is given a little more action to illustrate in the next few issues.
Overall: 7.8/10 – Amazing Spider-Man #602 was a solid read that did a good job starting the new Spider-Man arc.

Batman #689

Creative Team
Writer: Judd Winnick
Artist: Mark Bagley
Inkers: Rob Hunter
Colorist: Ian Hannin

Story – Long Shadow Part 2: New Day, New Knight

Review
I feel a bit bad for Judd Winnick because out of the three Batman titles (Batman and Robin, Streets of Gotham, and Batman) the work he has been doing on Batman feels average when compared to the work Morrison and Dini are doing on over on the other two Bat-titles. This isn’t a bad thing as I am enjoying the work Winnick has done so far but so far he hasn’t done enough to set this title apart from the other two Bat-titles. So far Batman has given us good but not great reads, and this issue is no different, which is why this title is third among the three Batman titles.

With that said I did enjoy Batman #689. While I have not liked any of Winnick’s recent work over the past few years I actually like what he is doing on Batman. I am actually surprised that Winnick hasn’t really written anything that has made me hate his writing.

What I like about what Winnick is doing on Batman is exploring the relationship between Dick and Alfred now that Bruce is gone. Dick and Alfred were the closest and most trusted allies to Bruce both in his personal life and in fighting crime as Batman. And while Morrison and Dini have briefly touched upon how both these characters are handling Bruce’s death Winnick is fully exploring this aspect of the characters. And it is actually good to see that both Dick and Alfred are having a hard time with the aftermath of Bruce’s death and that each one of them is helping the other person ease the pain of losing a father and son, respectively. It gives Batman a nice family feel as both Dick and Alfred are showing how close of a family they were with Bruce and that these two characters have a nice father/son relationship that is similar to the one Bruce and Alfred had.

Also it is good to see that Winnick isn’t trying to force Dick to become like Bruce when he puts on the cowl. It makes sense that Dick would be a different Batman in his early adventures as Batman. As of right now he still seems to be acting as he did when he was Nightwing just in the Batman costume. While he will have to adopt more of the darker aspects that made Bruce successful as Batman even in his later years I like that we are seeing a transitional phase with Dick going from being Nightwing to Batman.

And I like that Winnick is using Two-Face as one of the main villains that Dick will have to face in his first adventure as Batman. If done right Two-Face could really become the new Joker for Dick as Batman. Tomasi did a great job in his final arc showing that Dick and Harvey share a long history with one another and it is good to see that Winnick picks up on this fact as it looks like Harvey knows that Nightwing is now the one under the cowl.

As for the art Bagley does a great job with the artwork in this issue. Bagley’s artwork is a great fight with this title as he gives plenty of energy to the fights that Dick’s acrobatic fighting style should have. And I especially liked the scene were we the Batmobile transformed into its flight mode and I look forward to seeing how he illustrates the big fight that was set up in the final page of the issue.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.5/10 – Winnick does a good job exploring more of the emotional aspect of Dick taking up the cowl but has yet to set his story apart from the one Morrison and Dini are telling in their books.
Art: 8.3/10 – Bagley’s art continues to impress. He gives this title a lot of energy and does a good job illustrating the dark scenes as much as the more light and action heavy scenes.
Overall: 7.9/10 – Batman #689 was a good solid read. While it is nothing special it does do a good job giving the reader their money’s worth.

Green Lantern Corps #39

Creative Team
Writer: Peter Tomasi
Artist: Patrick Gleason
Inkers: Rebecca Buchman and Tom Nguyen
Colorist: Randy Mayor

Story – Fade to Black

Review
While I have not been enjoying much of Geoff Johns work on Green Lantern and Blackest Night over the past few months I have been immensely enjoying the work that Peter Tomasi has been doing on Green Lantern Corps. And this issue of GLC does a great job not only developing the whole dead are rising aspect of Blackest Night that Johns has been focusing on in the first two Blackest Night and one Green Lantern issues he does an even better job developing the other aspects of the story by giving attention to what is going on with the Sinestro/Mongul Corps, the people in Daxam having powers, and the reaction of the whole Green Lantern Corps to the Black Lantern rings bringing back the dead.

First and foremost Blackest Night is a Green Lantern event and the Green Lantern Corps and the other six Lantern Corps have yet to appear in the event much less react to the Black Lantern threat. And Peter Tomasi does a great job showing that the Black Lanterns are a threat to the whole universe and not just one planet (cough*Earth*cough).

And that is what I have been complaining about with Blackest Night so far as Johns has yet to convince me this is an event that affects the whole universe. Tomasi doesn’t even show us the War of Light but what he does do is show us that the universe is about to go through one of its worse disasters in history by showing us how the Black Lanterns are already starting their attack on Oa.

I also liked that Tomasi continued to develop the Daxam storyline and Mongul’s takeover of the Sinestro Corp. What made those two scenes even more powerful by Patrick Gleason’s artwork. Gleason does a great job giving all the characters plenty of emotion and knows how to use light and darkness in scenes to make them more powerful.

The only thing I would have liked is that we would have gotten this issue before Blackest Night #2 as this issue, just like Blackest Night#1, felt like a set-up to the event. This issue would have benefited much more by being released before Blackest Night #2 as by now the dead rising from the grave isn’t the “WOW” feeling it had in Blackest Night#1.

Issue Rating
Story: 8/10 – Tomasi continues to tell a superior story than the one Johns is telling and he did a great job showing us how big Blackest Night really is.
Art: 8/10 – Gleason’s artwork is as great as it has always been. He does a great job capturing the sci-fi feel of this book.
Overall: 8/10 – Green Lantern Corps #39 was another solid issue by Tomasi and Gleason. GLC #39 did a much better job convincing me that Blackest Night is a big epic event that threatens to destroy the whole universe and not just one planet.

Red Robin #3

Creative Team
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Ramon Bachs
Colorist: Guy Major

Story – The Grail Part 3

Review
Out of all the Batman: Reborn books out Red Robin has shown itself to be the weak link in the bunch. Yost has not made me invested in the story that Bruce is alive and that Tim is not crazy for believing it. So far Yost hasn’t made me believe that Tim is not crazy as he has yet to show the reader that there is one shred of evidence for our protagonist, Tim, to believe it other than he has a gut feeling. Even in this issue Yost tries to use that it may have to do with when Tim was infected with the Anti-Life Equation that he feels this way which is still not believable.

The Tim I am reading in Red Robin just does not look or read like the Tim Drake that has been written before this series. Tim continues to say that no one is trying to help him other than Ra’s but we have seen in these first three issues that Dick, Stephanie, and Cassie are trying to reach out to help him. Tim isn’t showing himself to being one of the best detectives around. Instead Tim just comes off as a very crazy and unstable person.

Also what doesn’t help Yost story is that the character already went through a similar storyline after Infinite Crisis when he became depressed and reclusive after Connor, and later Bart, died. And with both of his best friends back I don’t see why Tim is really pushing everyone one away and only trusting Ra’s. If anything Tim just seems like another version of Jason Todd, who also used the Red Hood name to cross lines that Batman and the Batfamily couldn’t cross. Yost really needs to give the reader more than just pure gut feeling by Tim to believe that this is a useless adventure that will only lead the character to become worse.

Issue Rating
Story: 4.7/10 – Yost story does far has been very thin read. He has yet to make me believe that Tim’s journey to find Bruce holds any logic to it.
Art: 5.5/10 – The art for this issue doesn’t make matters better. Red Robin #3 wasn’t a very good looking book as most of Ramon Bach artwork is very inconsistent through the issue.
Overall: 5.1/10 – Red Robin #3 was another weak read. So far out of all the Batman: Reborn titles this has been the weak link in the group.

The Marvels Project #1

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

Story – The Beginning

Review
When a series has the creative team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting you do not need much to convince me to get the series. The team of Brubaker and Epting has been just money on Captain America. What makes this story of the same team telling the story of the Golden Age characters from Marvel’s history is that they have already been exploring some of the Golden Age throughout their run. And just looking at Captain America it can be said that they have been setting up to tell this story for a while on Captain America.

For a first issue Brubaker and Epting do a good job hooking me into this story. While this first issue was a slow start to this mini-series I really enjoyed the narrative focus on of this issue being told mostly from Thomas Halloway, who is the future Angel. It is an interesting choice made by Brubaker and for this first issue it works as an introduction to the WWII setting of Marvel’s Golden Age.

There isn’t much to say about this issue other than it was just good solid story telling that sets up the rest of this mini-series. And really that is all this issue was, as it works as a set-up for the rest of the series to introduce all the heroes of Marvel’s WWII stories in Captain America, Human Torch, Namor, Angel, and others.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.7/10 –Brubaker used this whole first issue to set-up the rest of this story. He provided plenty of solid dialogue to establish the main players of this mini-series.
Art: 9.2/10 – As always Epting’s artwork is very impressive in this issue. He does a great job giving The Marvels Project #1 a very grounded and gritty look that feels like we are going to be in store for a great espionage story.
Overall: 8.45/10 –The Marvels Project #1 was a solid start to the re-telling of Marvel’s Golden Age. If you have been enjoying Brubaker and Epting’s run on Captain America than this series is definitely worth checking out.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #001

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

Story – A World According to Peter Parker

Review
There isn’t anywhere else I can start this review for Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #001 than by saying that this was another quality issue by Bendis that this series was known for throughout the 133 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man. In truth, while this series has been renumbered with a new #1 this issue very much feels like issue #134 of Ultimate Spider-Man.

This issue is everything I expect an Ultimate (Comics) Spider-Man penned by Bedis to be like. It has great humor, action, drama and solid character dialogue. It is an interesting dynamic that Bendis gave this issue as Spider-Man is seen as a hero and well liked by New York City but is having trouble with his new job. It is a interesting change from were Ultimate Spider-Man used to be as before the 6 month time skip Peter was actually holding down a solid job at the Daily Bugle and was hated as Spider-Man by the city.

And Bendis does a great job building up Ultimate Mysterio as a credible threat already with the actions he took at the end of the issue. Even though Bendis introduced to the character back in the third annual we never got to really see Ultimate Mysterio as a viable threat. But with the actions the character took in this issue it looks like Peter will be having his hands full in later issues

There were only two complaints I had with this issue. The first is the $3.99 price increase. We aren’t getting anymore content than we did when this series was simply called Ultimate Spider-Man. What I recommend Marvel to do to make the price increase not seem as bad is instead of publishing a four Ultimate Comics title is to put back-ups for the Ultimate Fantastic Four, X-Men, or other ultimate characters in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man to make up for the price increase.

As for the issue itself I really did not like the new Peter/Gwen relationship Bendis introduced in this issue. It just doesn’t feel since Bendis have always shown these two characters to share a brother-sister relationship and the new relationship just feels wrong.

Now as for the art David LaFuente artwork kicked ass in this issue. I loved his artwork for this issue. LaFuente inserts plenty of energy into every scene. The manga/anime style that LaFuente gave this issue does a good job giving this Ultimate Comics Spider-Man a much different look than most comic books Marvel and DC published that is refreshing to see.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.4/10 – Minor complaint aside Bendis provided some great mix of humor, drama, action and character work that this series has been known for.
Art: 9.2/10 – LaFuente provide some great artwork and his manga/anime style gives this series a great look that is different from most comics.
Overall: 9.3/10 – Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #001 was just a great read. Bendis was able to make this issue very reader friendly while still not missing a beat from his run on Ultimate Spider-Man. It is great to see that after going through the horror that was Ultimatum that this title continues to be one of the best titles being published right now.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 8/12/09

Comics
Adventure Comics #1 – While I have questioned the return of Connor I have to say I am interested in seeing what Geoff Johns will do with the character. Though the main attraction for me in getting this title is Francis Manapul’ artwork that looks incredible in the preview we got for this issue.

Amazing Spider-Man #602 – The last issue of Amazing Spider-Man was a good, not great, start to the new arc that brings back MJ to Peter’s world. This time around though Fred Van Lente will be handling this issue, and the rest of the arc. The last time Van Lente was on Amazing Spider-Man he did an excellent one and done story involving the Spot. I am interested to see how he handles Spider-Man and his supporting characters in a full arc.

Batman #689 – So far I have been enjoying Winnick’s run on Batman. Winnick’s work hasn’t been as good as Batman and Robin or Streets of Gotham but he still has done a good job handling Dick’s new role as Batman and with Two-Face being involved in this story arc it will be interesting to see how Winnick handles the rivalry between the two.

Blackest Night #2 – While I enjoyed the first issue of Blackest Night for the most part I was disappointed with a couple aspects of the issue. Hopefully Johns can fix the problems with the last issue and make this series live up to the high expectations that have been set for this DCU event.

Blackest Night: Batman #1 – Though I have my reservations about having the Batfamily involved in Blackest Night but I would be lying if I didn’t say that I am interested to see Dick Grayson fighting/meeting his parents.

Green Lantern Corps #39 – While I have been mixed with the work Geoff Johns has been doing with Green Lantern and Blackest Night I have love all the work Peter Tomasi has been doing on Green Lantern Corps. He did a great job with “Emerald Twilight” and it seems that even though this issue and future issues will tie-in Blackest Night it doesn’t look like the event will slow down what Tomasi and Gleason have been doing on this title.

The Marvels Project #1 – This is a series I am not sure if I should get it on a monthly basis or in TPB. While I do like the team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting this series sounds like it will be much better in TPB though I will try out this first issue to see what Brubaker and Epting are going to do with this story of revisiting Marvel’s Golden Age characters before making my decision.

Red Robin #3 – So far I have been really disappointed with the work Chris Yost has done with Tim Drake and his new role as Red Robin. Still Tim is one of my favorite DCU characters and I can only hope that Yost improves with this issue and stops giving us this emo Tim he has been giving us the first two issues.

Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 – I am really excited to see what Mark Millar has in store for his return to the Ultimate Universe. And the concept of this title having a black-opts team has me even more interested to see what crazy story has in store for these characters and the introduction of Ultimate Red Skull.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 – This is probably the book I am most looking forward to reading out of this crop of new titles we are getting this week. Bendis is just money when it comes to writing Ultimate Spider-Man and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for Peter and his supporting cast, new and old.

DVD/Blu-ray
I Love You, Man – This was probably the funniest comedy movie we have got this year though I may wait a couple weeks before purchasing this movie on DVD.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Blu-ray) – Ah, TMNT! These were the movies I grew up with as a kid. So there is no doubt I will be getting these movies that include the three live action movies and the recent CGI TMNT movie from a couple years ago.

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

Previewing this Week’s Releases: 8/10/09 – 8/16/09

Review
Before I start this review for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra I am going to admit I have never really been a fan of the toy franchise, cartoon, or have any experience reading the comic book. The only GI Joe toy I had as a kid was a Snake Eyes toy. Personally as a kid I played with those old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the 80s and 90s cartoon, Power Rangers, and with some Marvel and DC superheroes toys. So going into this movie as completely new into the franchise with the only thing I know is that Snake Eyes is a badass.

Going into this movie I thought it would be a typical action movie that is nothing more than a waste of 2 hours. And really my expectations for this movie could have been lower.

From the few trailers and commercials I saw of this movie I went in thinking it would be similar to Transformers 1 and 2 teasers. I went in thinking Paramount Pictures, the distributor of the movie, just showed us all the action scenes in the trailers and not really have a good clear story behind it ala Transformers 2, though I did not hate Transformers 2 as I liked it for what it was.

But to my surprise I actually came out liking this movie a lot. Just like most first movies of a franchise now a days G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is yet another origin story movie of not the team but of the central characters of the movie namely Duke, Ripcord, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, The Baroness, and the Cobra Commander. Outside of those characters all the other characters origins are only briefly mentioned during the course of the movie.

From what I can tell the director and writers of the movie did a good job picking these characters as the ones to tell their origins about. All the characters had interesting backstories and for the most part the actors did a very good job giving these characters a lot of charisma and show why the characters are well liked by fans. Though at times there was the occasional cheesy dialogue that most action movies have anyways.

Out of the characters origin story that were the best told and detailed was the one showing us the connection between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow and why they are rivals. And this whole movie could have be devoted to those two characters backstories and various fights and I would have been happy. The fight choreography for the whenever these two fought, whether in the childhood flashbacks or in the present, was very well done and the highlight of the film.

I honestly came out of the movie theater wishing we got to see more of Snake Eyes in the film than we did. The writers really did a great job with the character and showing why the character is such a badass.

Outside of those two characters probably my favorite character in the film was The Baroness. I’ve be lying if I didn’t say that it was in no small part because of the actress portraying her, Sienna Miller, wasn’t smoking hot. Sienna Miller did a great job giving The Baroness both the character plenty of sex appeal and badassness. I did find it interesting to see that The Baroness wasn’t actually evil but being controlled by her brother, but more on him in a bit, and the relationship between her and Duke.

As for Duke and Ripcord, who could be considered the stars of the movie, were well handled for the most part as rookies within the Joes. I don’t really have much to say about the characters other than they both played the role of the heroes of the movie, along with Snake Eyes, well. The actors did a good job giving the movie comedy, specifically Ripcord (Marlon Waynes), and they had a great scene with the accelerator suits.

Were this movie really falters is with the members of Cobra, outside of The Baroness, never really interest me, specifically the guys who play Cobra Commander and Destro. Something about the performance of the two actors just didn’t click for me. The performance felt like it was enough to push the story forward to build up this movie franchise but they never do more than that to make either performance memorable. And didn’t really like the connection between Cobra Commander and The Baroness as it felt a bit forced in order to give more drama for the two characters and Duke. But I guess for the origin movie that is fine, I just wish Cobra Commander would have worn mask from the toy and comic line than the metal mask that they gave him.

Also while Duke, Ripcord, and Snake Eyes were well developed the rest of the Joes weren’t really well developed. The Joes from the Alpha Team, Hawk, Scarlett, Heavy Duty, and Breaker, were just their as supporting characters and never really given much to do other than watch Duke, Ripcord, and Snake Eyes save the day. And with how strongly The Baroness was developed throughout the movie I couldn’t help but feel that Scarlett could have been develop much more than she was.

Now as for the plot itself it was probably the most comic book feeling type story that these toy/comic book based movies have been. At no point do the writers try and convince you that this is something that could take place in the real world. The whole plot felt like something straight of a comic book.

While that may sound like a bad thing it’s not. I actually think it is a good move by the writers, director, and producer to make this movie franchise feel like it is a comic book as almost every comic book movie being produced is aiming to make the story and characters feel like they can exist in our world. And I think they set up the movie as a good launching point for a movie franchise especially with how the movie ends.

Personally, the movie’s plot is actually refreshing as everyone involved just lets their imagination run wild and try to think of some things that wouldn’t be possible in the real world and make them happen in the movie.

The Joes secret base is under a desert in Egypt, the villains have big secret underwater base in the North Pole, accelerator suits, camouflage suits that make you invincible and have a 360 sight, holo deck-type training, and other stuff that would not exist in our world. And that is really what has been missing from other comic book movies like Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, The Fantastic Four, and others were they try and give a scientific explanation for everything to make you think this stuff could actually happen. It is not a bad thing for those movies and I have actually liked what they’ve done with Batman Spider-Man, and Iron Man but having that sense that this stuff can only happen in your imagination is a nice way for G.I. Joe to set itself apart from other comic book movies.

As for the CGI work done in this movie I will say that there were specific spots like when we first go to the desert location were the Joes are located and other scenes that weren’t very well done. Some of them, specifically the first desert scene, felt like it was work done for an old PS2 game. Overall though the CGI did a good job with all the action scenes and the accelerator suit scene in Paris was fun to watch.

Were this movie does shine though is all the action we get in the movie. There very few slow moments in the movie as there was almost always some sort of action going down or someone getting beat down. And really that is what I came into this movie looking for. The movie plot was secondary. The fight and stunt coordinators did a very good job giving this movie plenty of great action scenes. I especially liked the fights between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow that we get throughout the movie with their fights in the past and present.

Now would I put this up there with my favorite movies of the year? Not really, but for what it was G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is an entertaining 2 hour action movie. G.I. Joe is one of those movies were you just got to go in thinking it as a good action movie and nothing else. As long as you go into this movie expecting that, similar to how you have to think of Transformers 2, you will like. But if you are expecting greatness from the movie you will be highly disappointed. Just go into the movie theater thinking about having some fun watching some good action and let your imagination run wild and you will most likely like the movie.

Final Verdict
Good summer/popcorn action blockbuster movie that is fun to watch that is worth watching. As long as you do not have high expectations about getting a great story and just have fun with it. And really that is what watching movies is all about. Just go in and enjoy the ride.

Movie Rating – 7.5 out of 10

Copyright © 2009 Good Books

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review