atomich00ligan (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} atomich00ligan) wrote,@ 2006-07-26 14:28:00 |
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Comic Reviews
With not much to do except sit and wait for bugs to come in, I've been reading a lot of comics lately. I tend to be very fussy about the characters and art. For instance, I won't touch a spiderman or superman comic. Ever.
Here we go:
Daredevil vol 2 Guardian Devil story arc written by Kevin Smith (of Clerks fame). It's too bad Smith doesn't have the time to keep writing comics, because this was one of the best stories I've read recently. It built so well to a great climax, while exploring a lot of religious aspects that are largely ignored in comics. At the heart of it was if DD was a man without fear, he was a man without faith. Quesada's art really helped as well, as he ranks among my favorite artists. Too bad his EIC job keeps him from drawing much.
Daredevil vol 2 Echo story arc written by David Mack. The second story arc wasn't as impressive as the Guardian Devil one, but was still great. Of course, Quesada's art shined, but the really enjoyable part was the dynamic between a blind man and a deaf woman.
Daredevil vol 2 Scoop story arc written by Brian Michael Bendis. First of all, the art flip-flopped all over the place on this story arc, and really wasn't all that great following Quesada's work. The story was excellent, as Matt Murdock represented a client who wanted to sue Daredevil. Unfortunately, who was all behind the scheme wasn't dealt with very well and left to linger as this arc concluded and DD moved into the return of the Kingpin.
Daredevil vol 2 Murdock Papers story arc written by Brian Micheal Bendis. It must be said that Alex Maleev's art is either loved or hated. There is no inbetween. Personally, I don't like it that much, *but* it does work within Daredevil's world, so its acceptable. The story here is the fake papers the Kingpin has on DD exposing him as Murdock. All the way there is a great confrontation with Bullseye and the return of Elektra before DD is finally brought before court and sent to jail. These leads into Ed Brubaker's current storyline called A Devil in Cell Block D where DD is on Ryker's Island, the same place the Kingpin is locked up in.
Daredevil: Father mini-series written and illustrated by Joe Quesada. This is an exceptionally well done stand-alone story done by Joe Q. It takes place during a summer heatwave as a serial killer is loose. The story builds up to an inevitable conclusion and then pulls the rug out from under you with the ending of issue 5.
Annihilation mini-series. Of the four mini-series, Nova is by far the best. Written by Abnett and Lanning, this is a great story changes the cosmic landscape of Marvel while setting up Nova for a cataclsymic confrontation with Annihilus. With guest appearances by Quasar and the new (and improved) Drax, this lead in to the Annihilation six-issue series is perfect. The same cannot be said for the Silver Surfer series, which returns SS to the side of Galactus. Too bad the art was so horrible that it was barely discernible what was going on. Of the four, Ronan and Super Skrull were surprise series in how good they were. Keith Giffen wrote Ronan, and allowed the character to grow into someone who will play a pivotal role in Annihilation. Super Skrull, alas, did not survive his mini-series, but it was a great tale nonetheless.
Ion maxi-series written by Ron Marz. This was first tentative attempt to read a DC book. Ion is the powered up Kyle Rayner of Green Lantern fame. Too bad its taken 4 of the 12 issues to get anywhere in the story. Of course, that would be perfectly acceptable if the art was spectacular along the way. It wasn't. I don't know where they got Greg Tocchini from, but he should be sent back. This made me remember why I don't like DC much: their artists are inferior.
Green Lantern One Year Later story arc written by Geoff Johns. While I'm not a fan of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, this has been an excellent arc so far, with a great plot and decent enough art. I wanted Van Scriver on this after his stunning work on the great Green Lantern Rebirth mini-series, but Reilly isn't too bad.
Uncanny X-Men Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar story arc written by Ed Brubaker. I have been away from the X-men for quite awhile, so this seemed like a good returning point. Brubaker assembles a new team with some lesser-used characters like Warpath and Havok and sends them into outer space for what is shaping up to be a great story. Billy Tan's art has been great as well, which was part of the attraction to this series.
With not much to do except sit and wait for bugs to come in, I've been reading a lot of comics lately. I tend to be very fussy about the characters and art. For instance, I won't touch a spiderman or superman comic. Ever.
Here we go:
Daredevil vol 2 Guardian Devil story arc written by Kevin Smith (of Clerks fame). It's too bad Smith doesn't have the time to keep writing comics, because this was one of the best stories I've read recently. It built so well to a great climax, while exploring a lot of religious aspects that are largely ignored in comics. At the heart of it was if DD was a man without fear, he was a man without faith. Quesada's art really helped as well, as he ranks among my favorite artists. Too bad his EIC job keeps him from drawing much.
Daredevil vol 2 Echo story arc written by David Mack. The second story arc wasn't as impressive as the Guardian Devil one, but was still great. Of course, Quesada's art shined, but the really enjoyable part was the dynamic between a blind man and a deaf woman.
Daredevil vol 2 Scoop story arc written by Brian Michael Bendis. First of all, the art flip-flopped all over the place on this story arc, and really wasn't all that great following Quesada's work. The story was excellent, as Matt Murdock represented a client who wanted to sue Daredevil. Unfortunately, who was all behind the scheme wasn't dealt with very well and left to linger as this arc concluded and DD moved into the return of the Kingpin.
Daredevil vol 2 Murdock Papers story arc written by Brian Micheal Bendis. It must be said that Alex Maleev's art is either loved or hated. There is no inbetween. Personally, I don't like it that much, *but* it does work within Daredevil's world, so its acceptable. The story here is the fake papers the Kingpin has on DD exposing him as Murdock. All the way there is a great confrontation with Bullseye and the return of Elektra before DD is finally brought before court and sent to jail. These leads into Ed Brubaker's current storyline called A Devil in Cell Block D where DD is on Ryker's Island, the same place the Kingpin is locked up in.
Daredevil: Father mini-series written and illustrated by Joe Quesada. This is an exceptionally well done stand-alone story done by Joe Q. It takes place during a summer heatwave as a serial killer is loose. The story builds up to an inevitable conclusion and then pulls the rug out from under you with the ending of issue 5.
Annihilation mini-series. Of the four mini-series, Nova is by far the best. Written by Abnett and Lanning, this is a great story changes the cosmic landscape of Marvel while setting up Nova for a cataclsymic confrontation with Annihilus. With guest appearances by Quasar and the new (and improved) Drax, this lead in to the Annihilation six-issue series is perfect. The same cannot be said for the Silver Surfer series, which returns SS to the side of Galactus. Too bad the art was so horrible that it was barely discernible what was going on. Of the four, Ronan and Super Skrull were surprise series in how good they were. Keith Giffen wrote Ronan, and allowed the character to grow into someone who will play a pivotal role in Annihilation. Super Skrull, alas, did not survive his mini-series, but it was a great tale nonetheless.
Ion maxi-series written by Ron Marz. This was first tentative attempt to read a DC book. Ion is the powered up Kyle Rayner of Green Lantern fame. Too bad its taken 4 of the 12 issues to get anywhere in the story. Of course, that would be perfectly acceptable if the art was spectacular along the way. It wasn't. I don't know where they got Greg Tocchini from, but he should be sent back. This made me remember why I don't like DC much: their artists are inferior.
Green Lantern One Year Later story arc written by Geoff Johns. While I'm not a fan of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, this has been an excellent arc so far, with a great plot and decent enough art. I wanted Van Scriver on this after his stunning work on the great Green Lantern Rebirth mini-series, but Reilly isn't too bad.
Uncanny X-Men Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar story arc written by Ed Brubaker. I have been away from the X-men for quite awhile, so this seemed like a good returning point. Brubaker assembles a new team with some lesser-used characters like Warpath and Havok and sends them into outer space for what is shaping up to be a great story. Billy Tan's art has been great as well, which was part of the attraction to this series.
