These here are all the singles I've bought for the past 2 weeks:
Godland #1
Justice #1
Rex Libris #1
Pirate Club #7
Seven Soldiers: Klarion #3
Conan #19
Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight #4
B.P.R.D. The Black Flame #1
NYC MECH: Beta Love #3
The Losers #27
Astonishing X-Men #12
If you wanna read my Quik-reviews of em, click here:
I'll start with the most recent ones. Onto the reviews!
Astonishing X-Men #12
What a disappointment. Astonishing X-Men is the unofficial sequel to Grant Morrison's New X-Men, a comic book that revitalized the X-Men franchise and made superheroes fresh again. Astonishing X-Men takes everything new and cool about New X-Men and throws it out the window. Sure, Josh has a great ear for dialogue. But this storyline is so retro-uncool it's unbelievable. The Danger Room becomes sentient and tries to kill the X-Men! Oh no, Professor X did something bad!
But the fanboys seem to enjoy it. Yuck. This is everything that's wrong with the American comics industry. It's so insular. ONLY fanboys could enjoy this tripe. I lent my New X-Men hardcovers to friends a while back and they loved it, even though they'd never read X-Men comics before. I lent them my Astonishing trade and they just said MEH. They thought the costumes were silly and the storyline, well, underwhelming. That sums this comic. 'Nuff sed.
Verdict: 2 thumbs, way down.
The Losers #27
This series hurtles towards its impending conclusion and the roller-coaster ride just doesn't let up. Pooch has been captured and faces torture at the hands of Roque. Meanwhile, the rest of the team scrambles to find and rescue him. The end of this issue is a real cliffhanger. For the 1st time, it seems like there's really no way out for one our heroes! So will Pooch live or will he die? Oh the suspense!
Verdict: Nail-bitingly tense
NYC MECH: Beta Love
Our hero gets fired from his job and the girl he's romancing (or is it the other way around?) is getting involved with a very dangerous, very powerful man. Andy Macdonald's art continues to shine on this series and the story's moving along nicely too. Writers Ivan Brandon and Miles Gunter really get into our protagonists head. This story may be about robots but it's got heart and humanity.
Verdict: Robot birds rock
B.P.R.D. The Black Flame #1
Whoa! B.P.R.D.s turned into a big fight comic! This issue continues the storyline from the previous B.P.R.D. series and sees the B.P.R.D. team, led by Captain Daimio, exploring a sewage plant to find out what the frog-men are up to. They shoot up loads of frog-men in an Aliens-style bughunt! The last page of the comic gives us a tantalizing hint of old foes to come with the appearance of the word ZINCO, which should send tingles down the spines of Hellboy fans.
Verdict: ZINCO!!!
Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight #4
Awesome. Just plain awesome. The twist presented in this issue was completely unexpected (at least to me) and the issue also manages to tie in neatly with another Seven Soldiers issue, Zatanna #3. It doesn't quite end Justin's story- judging by the end of this issue, I guess we'll only find out the fates of the Seven Soldiers in the bookend Seven Soldiers #1. But that's fine by me. I'm enjoying the ride.
Verdict: 2 thumbs up, way up!
Conan #19
Conan has some lady trouble and encounters a supernatural monster. There's nothing much to say about this comic save that it is one of the most consistently excellent titles on the market and is a fine retelling of Robert E. Howard's original tales. Next month will see the start of the reknowned Tower Of The Elephant storyline. If you like Conan or fantasy or just plain old good comics, you should be reading this book.
Verdict: Read this comic!
Seven Soldiers: Klarion #3
In this issue, Klarion, along with a gang of super-powered delinquents, sneaks into a museum of Golden Age superhero artefacts and steals a drilling machine for the enigmatic Mr Melmoth. By the end, Klarion realises Melmoth's betrayal and decides to save the day, albeit reluctantly. Klarion has been one of the most inventive series in the Seven Soldiers line and this issue is no exception. Frazer Irving's moody, expressive art continues to be a highlight, too.
Verdict: Goth-Punk Superhero Goodness!
Pirate Club #7
So like, Pirate Club's a very imaginative and slightly surreal story about a gang of schoolkids- our titular Pirate Club- who accidentally kill a kid (in the 1st issue!) and find themselves on the run from the police, rival gangs and the spirit of the kid they killed (who's turning out to be much more than just the loser he initially appeared to be). Oh and this issue has NINJAS. So go check out the 1st issue here. Then go order the back issues.
Verdict: Pirates + Ninjas = Ultimate Cool
Rex Libris #1
A book about a librarian doesn't seem very exciting, does it? But Rex Libris is not an ordinary librarian. He defeats an evil Samurai Demon in the first few pages. Rex Libris is such a bad-ass, he teleports into outer space to make an astronaut return an overdue book. He's also been around since the Library at Alexandria burned down and he works for Toth, ancient Egyptian god of writing. This is one fun comic. Read the preview here and run down to your local comic shop and buy yourself a copy!
Verdict: Don't mess with librarians- they'll kick your ass.
Justice #1
Wow I didn't really like this. Not only was the story plodding and self-important, I'm beginning to dislike Alex Ross's art too. Sure, he's a good artist, but more and more it's striking me that superrealistic art detracts from superhero stories. Where's the wonder, Ross? Bring back the wonder!
Verdict: Superheroes Done Wrong
Godland #1
Oh this is so cool. Joe Casey writes and Tom Scioli draws this very excellent Silver Age styled comic about Adam Archer, an astronauts who gets cosmic powers while on an ill-fated mission to Mars. Scioli, who did the art for the criminally underrated Freedom Force games, produces artwork in this issue that would make Jack Kirby himself proud. Joe Casey's script updates the kind of big cosmic tales Marvel Comics used to produce in the '60s for the 2000 generation. This is a BIG SUPERHERO STORY done right for 2005. If my comic shop doesn't get the 2nd issue in by next week, I may throw a fit. Read the entire 1st issue here and tell me this ain't cool!
Verdict: Superheroics Done Right
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