Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Dec. 10, 2008 (Limited Series)

Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #2

Now this looks like it’s going to be a good series. Last month I made a comparison between Blue Marvel and Sentry, noting how they were both extremely powerful characters that were written into Marvel’s past. Now a comparison can be made between Blue Marvel and Isaiah Bradley (I think that’s his last name), the black Captain America. Not necessarily their powers or their situations, just that these two black men had very important roles in history, but they were covered up. It didn’t take Tony all that long to dig up the dirt on Adam, though. Let’s see how it’s going to be used.

Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #2

Well, this was a thoroughly depressing comic. Nothing like suicide and murder in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future to get you going in the morning. While the stories were good, I’d rather read about what’s actually going on in AXM rather than what might have happened.

Civil War: House of M #4

I understand how the mutants took over in the House of M universe, I just don’t understand how there became so many. In the Age of Apocalypse universe, the death of Charles Xavier led to a more level headed Magneto. Really, though, can you blame the guy? I guess there’s no compromising with bigots, though, so diplomacy goes out the window. I guess we’ll see next issue how the HoM universe of yesterday becomes the HoM universe that we were first introduced to.

Final Crisis #5

I have no idea what is going on. Darkseid is back, and I get that. He took the body of Dan Turpin. I’ve got no clue about anything else. Grant Morrison is just getting too weird for me. I love Carlos Pacheco’s artwork, though. I would like to see a lot more of it on a regular basis.

Final Crisis: Revelations #4

So Vandal Savage was Cain all along, or Cain was reborn IN Vandal Savage? This whole damn event is just messing with me. At least Marvel tries to keep theirs somewhat simple. I’m hoping for a great and heaving explanation next issue.

Punisher: War Zone #1

The only time I ever liked the Punisher was when Ennis was writing him humorously, so it’s great to see him and Dillon back (even though Ennis stayed around, but used a totally different writing style). And it really picks up right after that mini, and I’m no worse the wear for not having followed Frank since then. He’s back to nipping the comeback of the Gnucci family in the bud before anything sprouts. Not really any humor this issue, but some decent gore.

Death Defying Devil #1

Continuing some solo stories from Project Superpowers, where some classic heroes were brought back into the mainstream. I would imagine it would be difficult to write a book with a silent main character, hence everyone else explaining everything. I’m not sure if these little spin-offs are on-going series or mini series. I don’t know if there’s enough here for a monthly series, across the whole line not just with the Devil, but I’ll probably stick around as long as Alex Ross is involved.

Trinity #28

I’m just about ready for all the alternate reality wackiness to be over with. I guess we are making some progress in that direction if the Trinity’s friends are starting to get a bit of their personalities back, and they’ve stumbled upon where the trio might be. That part is the more interesting out of the two stories. It’s got the characters using their brains (or at least Alfred is) instead of a bunch of fighting, which is what’s going on in the second part of the issue.

X-Men/Spider-Man #2

I like how the mini is tying very well into the past. Spider-Man is my #1 hero, and the Claremont/Silvestri X-Men (the Australia X-Men) are my favorite team, so this issue was a great treat. It looks like Gage is setting up a pretty good surprise for us, and I’m wondering if it has anything to do with the Kraven that recently showed up in Amazing Spider-Man. And I’m enjoying Alberti’s art. It can be a bit muddy at times, but it’s still very vibrant and exciting.

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Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Nov. 5, 2008 (Specials/One-Shots)

Adventure Comics Special Featuring the Guardian #1

This issue picks up between the pages of the recent Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen special #1. This whole New Krypton thing is really grabbing me, which is odd considering I haven’t read Superman regularly since the Azarello/Lee arc of a few years ago. Providing you know just a tiny bit about Superman lore, you can easily get through these books. This one obviously focuses on the Guardian, or at least a clone of him. The Guardian was a pretty significant side character around the time of Superman’s death. I thought he, like the cloned Newsboy Legion that was at Cadmus, was a clone of the original Jim Harper. I’m a little confused by which Guardian I was reading back then. Is it the one that is the focus of this story, or his “father,” the one who was killed after finding out about the clones? This book read very much like one of James Robinson’s Starman issues. You’ve got two Cadmus guards discussing an existential crisis, dated references, etc. I’ve got the first Starman Omnibus on my desk right now, and that combined with this issue make me long for Robinson’s return to the Starman mythos. But that has nothing to do with this issue. This issue gives us a glimpse at part of Cadmus, lets us know why Guardian is hiding out in the desert, and sets us up for what looks to be a major storyline to begin next week in Action Comics. I may just have to pick up the book to see how things play out.

Avengers: The Initiative Special #1

This isn’t the best issue of A:TI that I’ve read, but it’s certainly very revealing. I don’t remember knowing about Hardball’s ties to Hydra, but I do remember how he got his powers. I’m wondering how this will play out, if he’ll go full-on dark side, or if he’s going to try and bring Hydra down from the inside. Then there’s the short Trauma story, which really isn’t all that interesting until the end, where we find out who Trauma’s daddy is. It makes perfect sense when you think about his powers. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.

Daredevil & Captain America: Dead on Arrival

This book was translated from an earlier Italian release. There’s no telling when it takes place because Daredevil is a friend of the cops, Steve Rogers is still alive, and Nick Fury is still running Shield. It’s hard to tell if the writing was bad or the translation was off. Regardless, the story wasn’t all that compelling, bringing a dead villain that I’ve never heard of back to life. The art was okay, nothing special. There’s really not anything about the book that I can recommend, unless you’re a die-hard DD or Cap fan.

Final Crisis: Resist #1

“Yes, I’m very good, I know.”

Okay, I get how they got the OMACs to go after everyone, but didn’t they just in essence kill everyone that the OMACs will go after? I see a massive body count in the next issue of Final Crisis.

Iron Man: The End #1

Decent story, I guess. It felt very ‘80s, very reminiscent of the Michelinie’s Iron Man, which is I guess what Marvel was going for. There were some nice touches, such as the homage of the cover to Iron Man’s first appearance and still having Tony wear a form of Extremis. The specialized armors, though, have always seemed like gimmicks to me, just ways to sell action figures. They did serve a specific purpose for the plot, though, showing Stark’s slower thinking rate.

Wolverine: Chop Shop #1

I don’t buy anything at all about this story. First, Wolverine’s healing factor would have gotten rid of the poison. Second, when harvesting his organs, wouldn’t the doctor have noticed maybe a rib or his spine coated with metal? Third, wouldn’t his healing factor kick in automatically? Fourth, because of his healing factor, wouldn’t the recipient’s body reject the organ, or would the recipient get some sort of transfer healing factor?