1. I did this week's mini-reviews and star ratings exclusively for Comics Should be Good. I guess it becomes a less funny joke when it's an exclusive for another site.
2. The latest ...And the Superhuman Review is up with Brian Cronin and I discussing Before Watchmen: Minutemen #2.
3. Alec Berry and the Guttersnipes have departed Spandexless Reads, mostly because we were thrown out since it's a column meant to spotlight what the Spandexless writers are reading and everyone who participated (save Alec) doesn't write for the site. Of course, Alec asked us all to participate because no one who writes for the site would. Logically, you'd think they would simply go "Hey, do any of you want to contribute more than this?" to work around that little problem in concept and execution, but they didn't. So we're gone. I'll miss doing those capsule reviews of "The Curse of the Crimson Corsair." They amused me. But, I was only there because Alec asked and I like Alec, so I don't mind too much. Still...
Later
Showing posts with label and the superhuman review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label and the superhuman review. Show all posts
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of June 20, 2012
The third "...And the Superhuman Review" where Brian and I discuss Before Watchmen: Comedian #1 is up. No contribution to Spandexless Reads this week, because my internet was down for a couple of days -- same reason why Random Thoughts didn't return this week. Ah well. The world survived somehow.
Casanova: Avaritia #4: I reread the first three issues on Tuesday and... I don't know, man. It feels like running away. Because it is running away. First, he sends his mom and sister away. Then, he almost saves them all by unmaking himself. Now, he runs away... In some ways, Avaritia has been a mess, spinning out from a single concept/mood towards this ending that seems like it should be big and mean something like the two before it and... it doesn't. It doesn't feel like much, man. It feels like running away. Then again, from a certain angle, that's what this series has always felt like to an extent, except the best moments came when characters didn't try to escape, didn't try to leave, they just stood and took it. I don't know, man. [Great art, though, of course]
Daredevil #14: Great-looking comic and... I... don't care...? That's how it feels when a new issue of this comes out. That whole Omega Drive bullshit just dragged me down. What began as a series that felt a little special quickly became like the rest... not really fair or anything, because this is an enjoyable comic. I loved the final page. Chris Samnee draws very, very well. Mark Waid's writing is clever. But! But but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but... [But]
Journey into Mystery #640: The finish seemed obvious a mile off, but some clever writing here nonetheless. I like the idea of old gods vs. new gods, especially when it's not about simple destruction/replacement or the idea that the new gods are somehow worse than the old ones. Neil Gaiman has done some nice work on the matter and I like this take, too. [***1/2]
The Unwritten #38: Still unsure about the new 'season' of the title. Some of the underlying bits are nice, especially Tom being kept off-panel, but it also feels like... spinning wheels somehow? Like there isn't a clear idea yet of what this book is about. It could be about the idea of Leviathan dying and what that means... but that's not there yet. Odds are the whole arc will lay things out, but this is what I'm stuck with right now. [**3/4]
Winter Soldier #7: As far as car chases/highway action scenes go in comics, this was pretty well done. [***3/4]
Wonder Woman #10: There's a part of me trying not to laugh about this comic being about Wonder Woman and the gang teaching Hades to love himself. That's... so fucking weird, man. But, Diana's "I love everyone!" was fantastic. Gotta just embrace it, y'know? Consistently good comic. [***3/4]
Later
Casanova: Avaritia #4: I reread the first three issues on Tuesday and... I don't know, man. It feels like running away. Because it is running away. First, he sends his mom and sister away. Then, he almost saves them all by unmaking himself. Now, he runs away... In some ways, Avaritia has been a mess, spinning out from a single concept/mood towards this ending that seems like it should be big and mean something like the two before it and... it doesn't. It doesn't feel like much, man. It feels like running away. Then again, from a certain angle, that's what this series has always felt like to an extent, except the best moments came when characters didn't try to escape, didn't try to leave, they just stood and took it. I don't know, man. [Great art, though, of course]
Daredevil #14: Great-looking comic and... I... don't care...? That's how it feels when a new issue of this comes out. That whole Omega Drive bullshit just dragged me down. What began as a series that felt a little special quickly became like the rest... not really fair or anything, because this is an enjoyable comic. I loved the final page. Chris Samnee draws very, very well. Mark Waid's writing is clever. But! But but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but... [But]
Journey into Mystery #640: The finish seemed obvious a mile off, but some clever writing here nonetheless. I like the idea of old gods vs. new gods, especially when it's not about simple destruction/replacement or the idea that the new gods are somehow worse than the old ones. Neil Gaiman has done some nice work on the matter and I like this take, too. [***1/2]
The Unwritten #38: Still unsure about the new 'season' of the title. Some of the underlying bits are nice, especially Tom being kept off-panel, but it also feels like... spinning wheels somehow? Like there isn't a clear idea yet of what this book is about. It could be about the idea of Leviathan dying and what that means... but that's not there yet. Odds are the whole arc will lay things out, but this is what I'm stuck with right now. [**3/4]
Winter Soldier #7: As far as car chases/highway action scenes go in comics, this was pretty well done. [***3/4]
Wonder Woman #10: There's a part of me trying not to laugh about this comic being about Wonder Woman and the gang teaching Hades to love himself. That's... so fucking weird, man. But, Diana's "I love everyone!" was fantastic. Gotta just embrace it, y'know? Consistently good comic. [***3/4]
Later
Thursday, June 14, 2012
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
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
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Because "Riding the Gravy Train" was already taken...
Over at Comics Should be Good, the first "...And the Superhuman Review" on Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1 is up. Every week, Brian Cronin and I will briefly review/discuss new issues of Before Watchmen. The title is Brian's and I like it. I was leaning more towards something a bit more childish involving the term "scab comics" or something. But, Brian is more mature than I --and less willing to be an asshole for the sake of it. Thank god.
And, over at Spandexless, I wrote about the first part of "The Curse of the Crimson Corsair" for Alec Berry's Spandexless Reads column. Alec's a good guy and, as his intro says, he's not thrilled to have Before Watchmen content in the column, but he's also on board with me writing about the strip there every week. Me, I'm looking at it as a challenge: how do you write about a serialised story that comes out every week in two pages? It's similar to writing about Wednesday Comics to a degree, I suppose; except, there, I was writing about it with Tim Callahan and we weren't limited to just one of the strips.
So, look for those every week.
And, over at Spandexless, I wrote about the first part of "The Curse of the Crimson Corsair" for Alec Berry's Spandexless Reads column. Alec's a good guy and, as his intro says, he's not thrilled to have Before Watchmen content in the column, but he's also on board with me writing about the strip there every week. Me, I'm looking at it as a challenge: how do you write about a serialised story that comes out every week in two pages? It's similar to writing about Wednesday Comics to a degree, I suppose; except, there, I was writing about it with Tim Callahan and we weren't limited to just one of the strips.
So, look for those every week.
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