EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of June 13, 2012

The second "...And the Superhuman Review" is up at Comics Should be Good. It was amusing to watch the comments section of the first one devolve into a bunch of idiots saying stupid things. My favourites were the comments that basically said "Contracts are too hard to understand, so Alan Moore was screwed" and "DC fucked Alan Moore by not forcing him to hire a lawyer to make sure he understood what he was signing." And I say that those are stupid things to say in the broadest sense, looking at ANY situation, not the DC/Alan Moore one specifically. I wonder how long it will take before the comments sections for those posts are dead, because no one wants to talk about the situation surrounding Before Watchmen... My bet is never.

Avengers Assemble #4: Why the fuck did they get rid of Star-Lord's helmet? That helmet was badass. Not as badass as Thanos, though. Bendis comes pretty close to getting the character right here -- much better than the Dr. Strange attempt from Avengers. Of course, Bendis doesn't have to get it right, because this Thanos is a clone. Obviously. [***1/2]

Batman #10: Thomas Wayne, Jr. It was at that reveal that I officially decided that this was a little too similar to Grant Morrison's Black Glove/Dr. Hurt story. It's like the mainstream movie adaptation of that story. Something a bit more easy to swallow by the masses. Something that doesn't quite hold together as well. After all, halfway through this issue, Batman suddenly solves the mystery and we all collectively went "Wait... there was a mystery?" Not that there's something inherently bad about a story recalling a previous one; it's just that... "Batman RIP" is only, what, three years old? Part of me wonders how long it will be before we get a resurrected Dr. Hurt teaming with undead Thomas Wayne, Jr... (Also, if you JUST read Batman, the Court of Owls was a group with a lot of build-up and almost no payoff.) [***]

Captain America #13: The panel where Henry Gyrich screams "I'm the hero here! Me!" as he's arrested sums up that character in the most profound way that I can imagine. [***1/2]

Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #10: I forgot when Matt Kindt was taking off (and so did the person who proofread the credits on the cover) and I'm glad that I stuck around. This was a good start to his run -- not radically different, but definitely a shift in storytelling. I love the flashback/hallucination stuff. AND(!) that final page...! Awesome. Glad to see Ponticelli sticking around, too. [***3/4]

The Massive #1: This was Brian Wood Week at the shop or something with this series kicking off on the same week that he took over Ultimate X-Men and X-Men. Unfortunately, my shop didn't have any rack copies of X-Men, so I only got two-thirds of the experience. This was a decent first issue. It didn't quite address the central idea of the series, but it laid a lot of groundwork. Definitely a good enough hook for me to stick around -- and I do dig that art. [***1/2]

The Mighty Thor #15: I wish this were nothing but Amora and Don Blake. I'm kind of putting in times right now until the crossover with Journey into Mystery, I guess. [**1/4]

Spider-Men #1: A total impulse purchase. I was curious. This was your typical first issue where you get to see the premise you already knew played out. But, I do enjoy the way that Bendis writes Spider-Man -- and once the comic has him fighting Mysterio, it hums along nicely. The ending was a nice, especially the "Thanks, but that costume is in bad taste..." scene. And the comic looks pretty, pretty good, too. I'm a sucker for stories where alternate versions of characters meet. AND where they're not zombies or vampires. Wait -- is Miles Morales a vampire or zombie? [***1/4]

Ultimate X-Men #13: It's funny jumping into this book as a reader of The Ultimates where the southern states seceding doesn't seem like an anti-mutant Sentinels thing -- it seems like a nation panicked over Washington getting blown to bits thing. For the first 2/3s of this issue, I had little interest in buying issue 14, but I like the way it built at the end there, making those first 2/3s seem necessary and worthwhile. You don't see that too often and Wood pulled it off. This could be an interesting little book. [***1/4]

Untold Tales of the Punisher MAX #1: I said that there need be no more Frank Castle stories, but this isn't a Frank Castle story. Like most of these one-shots (and this feels like a one-shot that got put into this mini-series) featuring the Punisher (MAX or otherwise), he appears at the beginning and the end only long enough to kill folks. Otherwise, it's someone else's story. I dug this. I like Roland Boschi's art -- especially when he's working with Dan Brown on colours. The writing was solid. I wasn't sure if I was going to buy this and, then, it was in my pull file, so... And I have to admit, they've got a decent set of creators lined up for this title so far. I guess I'll ride it out... [***1/2]

Later

CBR Review: First Wave Special #1

I recently reviewed First Wave Special #1 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "In the course of this issue, Batman and Doc Savage attempt to convince the Avenger to not kill the head of a crime family. Not because killing is wrong by their moral codes, but because they’re afraid of the next gang in line to take over when this leader dies. On some level, that makes sense. On another, this is Batman and Doc Savage we’re talking about. They actually argue in this comic that the leader of a criminal organization should be kept in power because they’re too scared to take on the gang trying to replace him. That doesn’t sound right to me, how about you?"

You can read the rest HERE!

Sketch Reviews (November 10 2010)

Big week for me this week with 13 comics, six of which I'm reviewing for CBR. So, let's not waste time with chit-chat...

Avengers Prime #4: Hey, this book is still coming out! This issue gets bogged down in long-winded speeches to a degree. Every time Thor or Hela is on-panel, get ready for lots of bombast that becomes tiresome quickly. Unlike previous issues, this one felt empty, like nothing actually happened. I was really digging this series when it began and, now, I'm fine with it ending two months from now. But, Alan Davis/Mark Farmer art? Always worthwhile. [**3/4]

Doc Savage #8: I'm beginning to think that the opening scene of Doc Savage #6 was the high point of this storyarc. Not a bad issue or anything, it's just lacking the tension and boldness of that opening scene. Nic Klein already needs help on the art as well. I do think this will probably read better as a whole. I'm going to miss the "Justice, Inc." back-up after it ends next month, though. Definitely worth the extra buck. [***1/4]

glamourpuss #16: I didn't read this yet. I haven't read the past four or five issues of this series. I want to save up a lot of issues to get a better sense of what Sim is talking about. Reading it issue by issue every two months doesn't seem to work in favour of what Sim is doing. Can't remember if I said this already, so I wanted to mention it. [N/A]

New Avengers #6: The final page of this comic was awesome. I want every big story to end with Hellstrom telling off a crowd of people. Great visuals from Immonen, but the fight between Super-Wolverine and Agamotto wasn't as big and exciting as I'd have liked. Not sure about the death that we get either... what was the point of that? [***1/2]

Thanos Imperative #6: The twist on the final page of last issue was actually surprising, but the end result wasn't too hard to see coming. By trying to kill Thanos, Lord Mar-Vell allows Death into his universe. That was a pretty easy solution to the Cancerverse, but the stuff that came after was very surprising and explains why the two cosmic ongoing titles aren't coming back. This series has been very enjoyable and got me back on board with Marvel's cosmic stuff completely. Curious to see what DnA have in mind for the future. [***3/4]

Thor #617: I wanted this. When the idea of someone replacing JMS on Thor was raised, I always said I wanted Matt Fraction. Boy was I fucking wrong. Despite what Tim tried to say about last issue, this doesn't feel epic or musical, this is just plain boring. I'm now debating how long to bother with this book before dropping it. Thor is one of my few 'buy because I'm a fan' books and I don't want to keep buying it just because, but... I gave JMS six issues when the first couple didn't wow me back when he began and Fraction gets the same. Three more before I decide yay or nay. [*3/4]

The Unwritten #19: Of all the books to focus on now, Moby-Dick? I read that in my fourth year of undergrad in a weekend before my American Lit exam, because it was the only work from the course guaranteed to be on the exam and we had to use it as a topic in one of the essays. It's not a bad book, obviously, just dull and not where I'd go if I had all of literature to choose from. Still, a pretty good issue. Like the short chapters/chapter headings -- they tie into Moby-Dick well. Also like Vince Locke's finishes on a few pages. I love how this book will embrace different art styles while keeping Peter Gross as the layout artist, so things are different with the same foundation. [***1/2]

Later

CBR Review: Doc Savage #1

I recently reviewed Doc Savage #1 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "It’s a little odd for this title to launch before the second issue of First Wave has even shipped, but Doc Savage #1 hits the ground running, jumping into the story right away and explaining things as it goes, which is a positive. Paul Malmont’s script is constantly pushing forward, giving the issue a real energetic and dynamic feeling that is hampered by Howard Porter’s awkward, angular, overly-posed art. But, paired with Jason Starr and Scott Hampton’s 'Justice, Inc.' second feature, it makes for a solid first issue full of action."

You can read the rest HERE!