Reviews 7/17/13

here we are another week and another round of reviews!

Avengers #16
6/10
another two weeks have past with another setup issue of Jonathan Hickman's Infinity crossover event. i would love to tell you what happened in this book, but I'm not too sure. The Avengers got their collective asses handed over by a robot. I will say, that fight did deliver one of my favorite moments of this series so far when the mega robot throws captain america face first into a wall, nothing stellar. just really cool to see some heroes get beat up once and awhile.



Animal Man #22
9/10
BOOK OF THE WEEK
the Vultures only like to pick from the dead. this story is really something, telling the tale of our hero, Animal Man, at his darkest moment after feeling responsible for his son's murder. But, just when he thought nothing could get worse he gets nominated for an oscar for his portrayal in the indie movie, 'tights'. there's significantly more, but for time, i'll leave you with that. if you're looking for a DC book look no further. Jeff Lemire has such a good handle and clear direction he wants to steer this character. the art matches the tone perfectly reflecting the horrors of a animal serial killer. i will say though, if you're squeamish, don't engage in this book. not a issue goes by where i clutch my cat and hope nothing happens to her like in this book.

Superman Unchained #2
7/10
Now why doesn't Scott Snyder write more Superman? He seems to have more of a handle on the character than he does the bat. I'm liking this more sci-fi take on Superman, as he  fights a group of hackers akin to Anonymous. Eventually throwing him in front of General Thunderbolt Ross, oh i'm sorry, Lane... the book has a good cliffhanger. but i got to say, Jim Lee is one of the best artist of this generation, but his Superman has always been lacking. he just doesn't have that good hopefully vibe that Superman should have.


Ultimate comics: Spider-Man #25
8/10
Spider-Man no more continues in a dramatic fashion as Miles realizes that he can't continue to ignore his responsibility as Spider-man anymore. after losing his mother in a spider-man vs venom fight, he gave up the mask for a solid year. after 4 issues of updating us on what happened in this year, Miles finally dons the mask again. But, even with that i have to say that it was the final three pages with Jessica Drew's (spider-woman) monologue that stole this show. I swear, if i ever do another monologue again in my life, I'm choosing this one. David Marquez still shows that he has the chops to be a top tier spider-artist. i mean for god sakes look how cool that cover is?! I MEAN, C'MON!?!?

Justice League of America #6
7/10
Follow the events of Justice League #22, we start off with an all our brawl of heroes kicking the teeth out of other heroes. the action gets halted though when a panicked Superman yells for his own lockdown which ended being one of the cooler looking moments in the book. with supes lockdown, i can only imagine of his own volition, the finger pointing begins as wonder woman starts the search for the woman she thinks corrupted him, Pandora. which leads her head first with the justice league dark, its a good second act, but i don't think that Doug Mahnke had enough time or handle on this book. his pencils is usually pretty clean and precise, this, not so much.

X-Factor #259
8/10
gonna be honest, my heart breaks everytime i see a new issue come out. knowing that the end is nigh for one of my favorite books is always rough. But, in my time reading comics in 20 years, i've seen this book come and go so frequently that its almost moot. but the way they are handling this time. it seems final. with that, we finally get an explanation as to how exactly shatterstar and longshot are related. this was a mystery that nobody was really asking anymore, but that's whats so scary. why answer that question if you're going to come back to these guys. its a bittersweet ending with only 3 more issues left to go.

Nova #6
6/10
This book catches us up to current events in the Marvel U, with Nova being away from his family for a few months saving the world from the Phoenix and all (that takes place in Avengers Vs. X-Men) this was a good issue. not much happens but it's got a great handle on dialogue and the exchange between Sam and his Mom was just fantastic.





All-New X-Men #14
8/10
HOLY FIGHTING MUTANTS! It's been almost a year of talking about how our favorite original five time-displaced X-Men shouldn't be here. this is the first time we talk about why they shoudl be here. and the answer is because they are badasses! this was the first real action book we've had in the series of actual bad guys fighting the good guys. it was fun seeing Sabretooth get taken down by someone else than Wolverine. but, the scene stealing moment happened when the Uncanny Avengers showed up and Iceman trying to confirm that they were real, throws a snowball at Thor's face... oh, Young Bobby Drake, you so crazy, and terrified.

Green Lantern: New Gaurdians #22
3/10
SNORE! wow, i'm really trying here on this book, but there's a good chance this was my last issue of New Guardians. its just such a boring book. even with it being the first appearance of the new big bad guy for all the GL books. i just can't find it a giant space dude with a light vacuum strapped to his back all that threatening.





Fantastic Four #10
7/10
Well, this cover pretty much spells everything out for you. its the FF vs. a Ben Franklin skrull while trying to make slavery last longer in the US. it's a bold move by the writer, Matt Fraction, to take such a hard stance against slavery, but at least finally someones standing up against it!




Batwoman #22
5/10
ever buy something that just looks really pretty but doesn't really serve any other purpose. that kind of sums up the last few issues here. they are setting up a big showdown between Batwoman and Batman soon, but, other than that, i really couldn't tell what else was going on here. but damn, this book looked good.





Savage Wolverine #7
7/10
excited for the upcoming wolverine movie? well, nothing will wet your whistle quite like this. Wolverine kills a bunch of ninjas, like a bunch! he even comments about how tiring it is that he only ever really get to cut loose on ninjas. but, Joe Mad is really what you should be buying this book for. his characters look great and he really has a good handle on the toon style that comics need.





FF #9

8/10
a sequel to a Fantastic Four book from earlier, we meet up with an alien julius caesar, and he ends up giving the FF a time machine to save the Fantastic Four. but that's not what made this book good, in fact it actually got in the way. the real core of this book was the kids at a pool party. you really get the sense of chaos that kids at pool party can cause, particularly those that have super powers. this was just a delight to read.