Greg's Comic Book Reviews for the Week of April 14, 2010

This week was HUGE! 20 titles (10 Marvel , 3 indies, 6 DC/Wildstorm and one $1 Vertigo reprint) and one very cool plastic “Flash” ring! Last week’s run of #1 (mostly one-shots this week) continues with 12 first issues (six one-shots). This week, this blog is introducing a new feature, the “Book of the Week”. There is also a new category “the Not so Good”, which aren’t really bad books, but aren’t good either. We’ll see if that category sticks around.

Overall, there were a lot more good books and even some surprising titles (Brightest Day?!?)

Enjoy!

The Reading Order

NEW MUTANTS # 12

SIEGE: LOKI # 1

SIEGE: YOUNG AVENGERS # 1

SIEGE: CAPTAIN AMERICA # 1

GREEN ARROW # 32

BRIGHTEST DAY # 0

FLASH # 1

BATGIRL # 9

IRON MAN: NOIR # 1

SPIDERMAN: ORIGIN OF HUNTER # 1

SPIDER-MAN: GRIM HUNT – THE KRAVEN SAGA # 1

BLACK WIDOW # 1

DOC SAVAGE # 1

PUNISHER MAX # 6

IRON MAN: LEGACY #1

The UNREAD (from this week and previous weeks)

ENDER’S GAME : LEAGUE WAR

IRREDEEMABLE SPECIAL # 1

CHEW # 10

GREEN HORNET : YEAR ONE # 2

The Cream of the Crop

IRON MAN: NOIR #1 (w: Scott Snyder/a: Manuel Garcia) is a re-imagining in the vein of “Gotham by Gaslight”. IM: N #1 is a “period-piece” (set in 1939) that spins Tony Stark into the Indiana Jones/Howard Hughes role to the fullest. The plot and art are everything you would want from this kind of re-imagining. It is fresh, in a simple, throw-back way, with twists and turns and a lot of great character work. IM: N #1 spins a very creative twist to all-too familiar characters and storylines. You don’t have to be a “Noir” (series) fan to enjoy Iron Man: Noir, this first issue is the perfect jumping on point, for what promises to be a wild ride. Grade: A+ (story: A/art: A)

The Good

PUNISHER MAX # 6 (w: Jason Aaron/a: Steve Dillon). You might expect a let-down from the previous “Kingpin” story-arc, but Aaron and Dillon move quickly and smoothly into the “Bullseye” arc. Bullseye v. Punisher almost always promises to be a good time. With Aaron & company’s new take on the Kingpin, there was no telling what to expect from this Bullseye. True to form, this does not seem like the fella’ running around in a Hawkeye costume, this character harkens back to Bullseye of old, except that he has that moronic bullseye tattooed on his forehead (nice of the Kingpin to bring that up by the way). Another excellent installment from Punisher Max, surprisingly one of the best parts is Frank’s dialogue with his physician. Grade: A (story: A/art: A)

GREEN ARROW # 32 (w: J.T. Krul/a: Federico Dallocchio). I admit, I haven’t been reading Green Arrow for quite awhile, but seriously… nobody knew Oliver Queen (the Mayor) was Green Arrow? It’s one thing for Superman man to put on glasses and become Clark Kent… but Ollie’s little GA mask and cute little Robin Hood hat… uhm… wow, seriously DC? Okay, moving along. Aside from that mind-boggling, inexplicable faux pas, Green Arrow #32 wraps up the “Fall of Green Arrow” saga. The story waned and flagged a bit in the middle (and the “Rise of Arsenal” is really flagging), but the conclusion to “Fall” is satisfying and well executed. There is a scene in which most of the Old School JLA sit “behind” Ollie and that sequence is classic. Right before I read GA #32, I read Siege: Captain America, ironically Dallocchio penciled both. He has an interesting style to his pencils which is very reminiscent of Barry Kitson. In both books this week, he does a good job. Grade: A (story: A-/art: A)

NEW MUTANTS # 12 (w: Zeb Wells/a: Ibraim Roberson). Second Coming is a crossover event done the way crossover events (or MegaEvents) was meant to be done. There is an exciting main plot, there are at least two sinister subplots and so far (only three chapter), each issue does focus on the title characters (in this case the New Mutants), while still advancing the overall story. Did you hear that “Blackest Night”? each book advances the story. New Mutants #12 has two cool villain plots unfold – one overtly (Hodge is very cool) and one more subtle, but if it is what it appears to be, it is going to be awesome! Roberson’s artwork is unremarkable, but does not distract from the story. Grade: B (story: A/art: B-)

SIEGE: YOUNG AVENGERS # 1 (w: Sean McKeever/a: Mahmud A. Asrar). If an ancillary book isn’t going to advance the main storyline, it should at the very least add substance you wouldn’t normally get from the main book. Siege: Young Avengers #1 tells a good “team story” in three parts and does a good job filling in some “color” of the Siege storyline. The appeal to the Young Avengers has always been the same kind of genie-in-a bottle magic that the Wolfman/Perez “New Teen Titans” had. This one-shot does a good job of re-capturing that magic without a lot of pre-amble or re-introduction. Asrar’s artwork isn’t bad, but is a little scattered. Some panels of Asgardian look they’re right out of Matt Wagner’s Mage. Grade: B (story: B/art: C)

SPIDER-MAN: GRIM HUNT – THE KRAVEN SAGA # 1 (w: Joe Kelly/a: Michael Lark) This free comic is a great companion to the “Gauntlet” Spider-man has just run in prelude to the grim hunt. The scripted part of Spider-Man: Grim Hunt – the Kraven Saga #1 is a nice complement (summary) of the Gauntlet and bridge to the Grim Hunt. The other half of the book is a very chaotic timeline of everything you need to know about Kraven the Hunter. While it is completely convoluted and almost schizophrenic, you have to admire the diligence put into the effort. It is also a very poignant reflection of what these poor characters that we follow go through year after year! Maybe continuity isn’t such a good thing after all. Just kidding. Grade: B (story: B/art:B)

SIEGE: CAPTAIN AMERICA # 1 (w: Christos N. Gage/a: Federico Dallocchio) “I knew this was gonna happen. A floating city of freaks who call themselves gods shows up on American soil, sooner or later there’s gonna be a fight.” Oh, truer words have seldom been uttered! Siege: Captain America is one of three satisfying Siege one-shots that came out this week. S:CA is a little bit sappy-melodrama (“oooh, should I be Cap…”) wallowing, but has an amusing little “silly innocent people” story. Focusing mostly on Bucky-Cap, there is also some good Old-Cap material. It has been percolating throughout Old-Cap’s appearances, you can see the “old mentor” role that is coming for Steve Rogers. Could a long overdue promotion be in store? General America and Captain America? Regardless, Steve is being portrayed as a man ready to move from out from under the cowl and there is a path (set previously by Tony Stark and Norman Osborn) clearly laid out before him. S:CA advances that crazy supposition. Grade: B- (story: B-/art: B+)

BATGIRL # 9 (w: Bryan Q. Miller/a: Lee Garbett). A new story arc begins and “Team Batgirl” begins its first real mission, after establishing themselves as a viable part of the modern Batman mythos. The framing story is unfortunately better than the on-going plot, “Flood”. Perhaps the best part of Batgirl #9 is that it relies solely on the central characters (Batgirl & Oracle) for a change. Grade: B- (story: B-/art: B)

SIEGE: LOKI # 1 (one-shot) (w: Kieron Gillen/a: Jamie McKelvie). At first glance, Siege: Loki is “another one of those pointless ancillary books”, but winds up being a decent Loki story. It isn’t a fantastic (think JMS) Norse tale, but is a better than average (to be expected?) one-shot about Loki. Though, it has less to do with Seige than it could, we are all grateful that it isn’t just a Siege re-hash either. McKelvie’s artwork is not a plus to the issue, which might have scored even if it had better accompaniment. Grade: C+ (story: B-/art: D)

BRIGHTEST DAY # 0 (w: Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi/ a: Fernando Pasarin). If this is what Blackest Night was all about, then it was about three-times the size it needed to be (money, uhm, spent, well probably not). Brightest Day #0 follows Boston Brand (“Alive Man”?) playing the role of Harbinger from the original Crisis series, as he does his best Ghost of Christmas Past impersonation, visiting the resurrected heroes and villains from the “seminal” series, BN. Interestingly enough (said in a mocking tone) the returned heroes/villains all have different takes and seemingly unconnected (yet somehow connected) theories on why they are alive and what they plan to do about. All that is fine and good, as you can imagine 12 different people would probably take resurrection differently, but what’s irksome about BD #0 is that the “banner blurb” at the very end ties them all together as a “mystery”. Great. Simply by not having ridiculous zombies running around, Brightest Day is off to a better start than Blackest Night. One of the fatal flaws of BD is going run into is the choice of leading characters. The 12 “returned” characters (Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawk Man, Hawk Girl, Captain Boomerang, Firestorm, Hawk, Jade, Black Adam’s kid, Alive Man and Maxwell Lord) are all characters who have been second-rate or failed at least once to maintain their own series. Yes, even Aquaman. Sure, each of them have had a “moment in the sun” where they were well written and compelling, but none of them really has that kind of staying power. Put them all together, wrap them in a mystery and all you really have is another Maxi-Event that is probably going to be hard to take seriously. The Flash is the obvious exception to that broad generalization, but selling the idea that bringing Barry Allen back from the dead is good for the DCU is going to be a rough sale. Grade: C+ (story: C/art: A)

BLACK WIDOW #1 (w: Marjorie Liu/a: Daniel Acuna). The Black Widow character suffers from simply being around too long. Her actual comic history, going back to Tales of Suspense through the Avengers, Champions and then re-emerging as a viable mystery-suspense assassin in Miller’s Daredevil, was bad enough, but then when you back-date her existence to World War II and give her history with Captain America and Wolverine, it starts to get a little convoluted. Don’t even try to count her bedfellows. She has had more men (heroes and villains) go through her boudoir than she has bed bugs. Why the long pre-amble? Well, all of it sort of comes to play in Black Widow #1.Liu’s plot is slightly better than average, as Natasha’s past catches up with her. Wolverine, Tony Stark and Bucky-Cap are on hand for male muscle. Some of Wolverine’s part of the story is pretty cool, but ultimately leaves a lot to be desired. Of course, the real draw to Black Widow is Acuna’s artwork. Like the last Flash re-launch and the Eternals series a from a few years ago, Black Widow will probably be worth picking up as long as he stays on the title. Grade: C+ (story: C/art: A)

The Not so Good (but not really “Bad”)

THE FLASH #1 (w: Geoff Johns/a: Francis Manupal). If you read comics, you are used to a certain level of suspension of disbelief. You’re going to need a lot if you want to enjoy Flash #1. For example, the Flash has time to rescue the bad guys from the car falling towards innocents (and who brings a kid to a hard hat zone?), but the best he can do is turn one giant falling object into hundreds of dangerous missiles hurtling towards the crowd? Um, maybe just make one of those wind tunnel thingies and land the car? Or how about vibrating the car safely through the crowd into the ground. No you’re right, hundreds of car parts flung at break-neck speeds is a much better idea. Wow. And while age is always going to be a problem for comics, just how old are Barry and Iris supposed to be? Say, compared to Wally? Or Bruce? They look about thirty. And for Barry’s coworkers to think he’d been “gone” (witless protection?) long enough for the population of Central City to triple, that must mean he what, started working when he was about eight?

Okay and that’s just the first half of Flash #1. It gets better before it gets worse. Okay one more nit-to-pick, have you ever seen an episode of CSI (or NCIS) where the CSU guys go to a crime scene without gloves? Someone should mention that to Barry (or Francis). But then, surprisingly, as the issue ends, the story gets good. The first story arc looks like it’s off to a good start, after about the first 17 pages. Unfortunately, the two-page splash preview for “Flashpoint” (think of the very first Blackest Night promo you saw two years ago) looks absolutely awful. Overall, there’s a lot to really dislike about Flash #1, but if you can set aside (my obvious bias) there is an okay Flash story here. That only seems a little derivative of the “Titans of Tomorrow…” story line from the Teen Titans awhile back(circa 2005). Grade: C (story: C/art: B+)

The Bad

IRON MAN: LEGACY #1 (w: Fred Van Lente/a: Steve Kurth). First off, the idea that Jarvis had been in Tony’s life since he was a kid is a little too Alfred-like. Just sayin’… A few pages and a decent fight scene later we are watching Tony Stark at a press conference, talking about “his bodyguard”, Iron Man. Just what reality are we talking about here? The Iron Man in question was wearing the new Iron Man suit and it has been years since Tony has gone public as Iron Man. Overall, the story is out of place, out of time and makes little sense. The technology (even common tech that “civilians” have) would place this as a modern Iron Man story, but it doesn’t seem to fit into any continuity over the last four or five years. The plot, another armor wars is not only old it is tired. And redundant, as this would be the third such story in the last few months. Then as surprise villains go… well, this issue ends remarkably like the first issue of one of the other two “Armor Wars” series. Van Lente has been turning in fantastic work on Amazing Spider-Man, but Iron Man: Legacy #1 is a letdown. On the other hand, Kurth’s artwork is a pleasant surprise. Grade: C (story: C-/art: A)

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: ORIGIN OF THE HUNTER #1 (ONE-SHOT). (w: Marc Gugenheim, Stan Lee, Phil Jimenez/a: Mike Mayhew, Steve Ditko, Phil Jimenez) is one framing story, a back-up and two classic reprints. If you’re looking for a good Spider-Man story or segue between the Gauntlet and the Grim Hunt, save yourself $3.99 and pick up the free SPIDER-MAN: GRIM HUNT – THE KRAVEN SAGA # 1. The classic reprints are nice, but the new material doesn’t add anything to the previous story-arc or the Grim Hunt. Grade: D (story: D/art: B), not counting the reprints.

The Unreadable (almost)

DOC SAVAGE #1 (w: Paul Malmont/ a: Howard Porter) is the worst-case scenario for “First Wave”. The plot is anemic and the artwork is not only below average, but it is so mainstream below-average and such a huge departure from all the “First Wave” material that it speaks volumes to what DC thinks of the whole “First Wave” franchise. The Red Circle franchise at least boasted decent storytelling (and was summarily canceled). First Wave (particularly Doc Savage) has to overcome being a “period piece” (which Savage #1 barely establishes) and also standing alone as a distinct (but similar, there’s a Batman) Universe.

Something good: The Doc Savage story is truly unreadable, however the Justice Inc., back-up story (w: Jason Starr/a: Scott Hampton) is a much better representation of “First Wave”. In fact, while the Doc Savage story has no redeeming qualities, the back-up is worth the price of admission.