Reviewing Marvel Comics a Week Early

[random_havoc]

Last 4 for this week:

Wizard of Oz
Good issue. It's nice to see the parts of the story that the classic movie didn't have time to include. Other than that, nothing surprising. Still very fitting art and good writing. 7/10

Savage She-Hulk #1
Didn't like it. Frankly this new character seems like an inferior redundancy to the She-Hulk we already had.
Art was just fine, other than that this just is getting silly. Hulk has a son, a cousin, and now a, whatever this is (I won't say cuz I don't want to "spoil" it. I'll just say I found it silly and disappointing), plus other relatives I probably am forgetting. This is the kind of sillyness I'd expect more from DC (ie Superboy, superman, supergirl, superwoman, batman, batgirl, batwoman, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr, Mary Marvel, etc etc, you get the idea).
Anyways, unoriginal idea, uninteresting story to me. 5/10

Marvel Adventures Spider-Man 50
Fun little story with Spidey versus a bunch of foes. Good art. As with pretty much all Marvel Adventures stuff it's more for kids but it was mildly entertaining. Good for what it is. 6.5/10

Odyssey #8
Very cool issue. I didn't read the first 7 issues but I'm going to go back and do that now if I get the opportunity. Good art, cool story, some sweet action. 8/10

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I've never had a problem with families springing up around heroes. In fact, it's one of the things I wish Marvel would do more, and it's why I'm such a fan of Tarene and the Asgardians who usually get booted into background roles in Thor's comic.

That said, the Hulk is a pretty crappy character to build a family around. And She-Hulk (the real one, his cousin) was pretty much the only worthwhile member of that family anyway.

 

[Manic]

rand_hav, who do you write reviews for?

 

[random_havoc]

rand_hav, who do you write reviews for?

I write for comicsbulletin.com

I'm relatively new to it, but here's one of my reviews if you wanna take a look

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/123454774880183.htm

 

[hippie_hunter]

I've never had a problem with families springing up around heroes. In fact, it's one of the things I wish Marvel would do more, and it's why I'm such a fan of Tarene and the Asgardians who usually get booted into background roles in Thor's comic.

That said, the Hulk is a pretty crappy character to build a family around. And She-Hulk (the real one, his cousin) was pretty much the only worthwhile member of that family anyway.

I find Skaar to be pretty cool.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Oh, right, I forgot about Skaar. So there's two worthwhile members of that family. I also like the new Scorpion, but not as a member of the Hulk's family.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Avengers Initiative :Reptil
6/10 Not too bad. Introduces and basically focuses entirely on a new character. Has some good moments but the new character's not that great.

Yeah, i almost passed on this...the premise didnt really grab me. I mean, between The Lizard, Stegron, and Komodo, does Marvel REALLY need another reptile-like character? (never mind all the Serpent Squad villains)....

That said, i'm glad i read it, as it finished off the Devil Dinosaur/Moonboy cliffhanger that was left over from Heroes For Hire vol. II when THAT book got canceled last year... it also built upon the Savage Land/ Wakanda treaty that was established in Marvel Comics Presents vol. II, (which i figured NO other writer would remember) so for me, this book was actually a pleasant surprise....

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Oh, right, I forgot about Skaar. So there's two worthwhile members of that family. I also like the new Scorpion, but not as a member of the Hulk's family.

Doc Samson is pretty cool.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Meh, better as a psychiatrist than a superhero.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Meh, better as a psychiatrist than a superhero.

But STILL pretty cool.

Actually, he works great as a superhero, with the proper writer...

This issue, written by the great Len Wein (iirc), is a perfect example.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Yeah, i almost passed on this...the premise didnt really grab me. I mean, between The Lizard, Stegron, and Komodo, does Marvel REALLY need another reptile-like character? (never mind all the Serpent Squad villains)....

That said, i'm glad i read it, as it finished off the Devil Dinosaur/Moonboy cliffhanger that was left over from Heroes For Hire vol. II when THAT book, got canceled last year... it also built upon the Savage Land/ Wakanda treaty that was established in Marvel Comics Presents vol. II, (which i figured NO other writer would remember) so for me, this book was actually a pleasant surprise....

I second that.

 

[Franklin Richards]

I've never had a problem with families springing up around heroes. In fact, it's one of the things I wish Marvel would do more, and it's why I'm such a fan of Tarene and the Asgardians who usually get booted into background roles in Thor's comic.

That said, the Hulk is a pretty crappy character to build a family around. And She-Hulk (the real one, his cousin) was pretty much the only worthwhile member of that family anyway.

She's prolly more a member of the FF family now. But then the FF has the strangest Rogue's Gallery and Family around. Most of their Rogues are heroes.

 

[random_havoc]

Yeah, i almost passed on this...the premise didnt really grab me. I mean, between The Lizard, Stegron, and Komodo, does Marvel REALLY need another reptile-like character? (never mind all the Serpent Squad villains)....

That said, i'm glad i read it, as it finished off the Devil Dinosaur/Moonboy cliffhanger that was left over from Heroes For Hire vol. II when THAT book got canceled last year... it also built upon the Savage Land/ Wakanda treaty that was established in Marvel Comics Presents vol. II, (which i figured NO other writer would remember) so for me, this book was actually a pleasant surprise....

Oh, I hadn't read those two stories, so I didn't get that extra benefit out of it. But I can see how that would make it more worthwhile, I hate when a storyline is left hanging.

 

[Manic]

The 2006 Doc Samson miniseries was pretty good... for about an issue. And by that, I mean there were about 23 good pages scattered across all 4 issues. I do miss Jack Holyoak, though.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

But STILL pretty cool.

Actually, he works great as a superhero, with the proper writer...

This issue, written by the great Len Wein (iirc), is a perfect example.

He should be sitting the Rhino down and talking out his problems, helping him to become a better, more mentally healthy person.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

He should be sitting the Rhino down and talking out his problems, helping him to become a better, more mentally healthy person.

Rhino wouldnt listen, so Samson beat the **** out of him.

 

[random_havoc]

Just got a new batch of advance Marvel comics to review
As usual, if you have any questions about the issues feel free to ask and I'll probably answer (with a spoiler blackout of course).

In this batch I'll be briefly reviewing:

-Sub-Mariner comics 70th anniversary special
-Punisher #4
-Moon Knight 29
-Squadron Supreme #10
-X-Factor 42
-X-Men 508
-X-Men Legacy

I'll also risk reading:
-Wolverine: Noir #1
-Rampaging Wolverine #1

And I probably won't review the following because I haven't been following the series or (in Cap's case) I'm a few issues behind so don't want to read them out of order
-Cap A 49
-Dark Tower: Sorcerer
-Halo Uprising 4
-Incognito #3
-Lords of Avalon: Knights of Darkness 5
-Marvel Adventures Superheroes 10 (not reading it cuz if features Ant-Man...ugh)
-The Stand: American Nightmares 2

 

[random_havoc]

Sub-Mariner 70th Anniversary Special
Now THIS is what a 70th anniversary special should be! The Cap one they put out was bad, this one, on the other hand, is virtually perfect.
There's 3 stories, the first two, I think, are brand new ones which both reveal motivations of Namor and his role in WWII, the third is a classic Namor tale.
The art is perfect for the WWII setting, the plot and dialogue are all excellent and simultaneously in character and revealing for Namor. Great ish! The classic tale isn't great of course, but it's a pretty interesting look back on Namor and interesting for that reason.
PICK THIS ONE UP! 9/10

Punisher #4
Oh man, this series is on a role. If you haven't read any issues yet, at LEAST pick up the tpb when you get a chance. The only reason I really read the first issue was because it had Sentry on the cover, but I'm glad I did. All 4 issues have been incredible. This one again, has some great action, a really fast pace, and Punisher is characterized perfectly (without all the unnecessary dirty content from the MAX series that personally bothers me). The ONLY downside is that the resolution to the cliffhanger from issue 3 is pretty cheap. Other than that, amazing. This is in my top 3 series so far, and that's something I'd never have guessed from a Punisher series. A pleasantly surprised 9/10 (And no, i don't usually rate comics this high. I'm sure lower ratings will come in the next couple mini reviews)

 

[AlteredEgo]

Sub-Mariner 70th Anniversary Special
Now THIS is what a 70th anniversary special should be! The Cap one they put out was bad, this one, on the other hand, is virtually perfect.
There's 3 stories, the first two, I think, are brand new ones which both reveal motivations of Namor and his role in WWII, the third is a classic Namor tale.
The art is perfect for the WWII setting, the plot and dialogue are all excellent and simultaneously in character and revealing for Namor. Great ish! The classic tale isn't great of course, but it's a pretty interesting look back on Namor and interesting for that reason.
PICK THIS ONE UP! 9/10

Punisher #4
Oh man, this series is on a role. If you haven't read any issues yet, at LEAST pick up the tpb when you get a chance. The only reason I really read the first issue was because it had Sentry on the cover, but I'm glad I did. All 4 issues have been incredible. This one again, has some great action, a really fast pace, and Punisher is characterized perfectly (without all the unnecessary dirty content from the MAX series that personally bothers me). The ONLY downside is that the resolution to the cliffhanger from issue 3 is pretty cheap. Other than that, amazing. This is in my top 3 series so far, and that's something I'd never have guessed from a Punisher series. A pleasantly surprised 9/10 (And no, i don't usually rate comics this high. I'm sure lower ratings will come in the next couple mini reviews)

could i get a spoiler on the resolution to the cliffhanger of issue three?

 

[random_havoc]

could i get a spoiler on the resolution to the cliffhanger of issue three?

Sure. SPOILER of beginning of Punisher #4:

Spoiler

If you remember, at the end of issue 3 the cliffhanger is that Frank Castle has basically dropped his guns and has bad guns pointing automatic weapons at him, supposedly with the intention to just shoot him. The disappointing resolution is that at the beginning of this issue another squad of bad guys has lost contact with the squad that had gotten the drop on Frank, and they then show that Frank killed the guys. They don't give us any indication on how he pulled of such a miraculous feat, which is quite a cop out. But besides that the issue if really excellent.

 

[random_havoc]

Squadron Supreme 10
This series has been terrible for a number of issues now. The art is pretty good, but the plot is terrible (mainly resembling just a series of excuses to have characters fight each other), and we're constantly being introduced to new superpowered characters and rarely are given any codenames, which means we're supposed to remember who Bob is, as opposed to Bryan or John. When they're characters that are almost brand new, that's just a terrible idea and makes for even more labored reading. From a company of Marvel's quality, this is just bad. Add to that a REEEEALLY cheesy ending that introduces yet more superpowered characters that I care even less about, and this equals a fail.
4.5/10 (mainly because at least the art is still Marvel quality, otherwise it'd be lower)

Uncanny X-Men 508
Well, this is Greg Land art, so it's beautiful, but who knows how much was copied. As usual for X-Men the story is highly convoluted and involves numerous characters coming back from the dead (characters dying has absolutely no dramatic value left for me in Marvel comics). If you're already reading X-Men and a big fan, you'll probably get this. Otherwise, I'd avoid it.
6/10

Wolverine Rampage
Alright, my preview copy was black and white, I hope the real copies aren't because this already stinks of "money grab" without them not coloring it.
This is yet another of the millions of Wolverine issues put out by Marvel (I'm really letting my bias show through at this point). I'm actually a fan of the character wolverine, but the character is so abused these days. Marvel's "Wolverine: Flies to a spider" that came out near Christmas was fantastic, this issue has 3 different stories. They range from the mediocre at best (the first story), to a very very cool story but that's only a couple pages long, and definitely not worth buying a whole issue for, to an absolutely terrible story with terrible art to match.
That's it for me. I highly don't recommend buying this ish, as I don't think we should support Marvel putting out crap like this.
Hard to rate overall, but I guess I'd go with a 4 if it is black and white, and maybe a 5 if they color it.

Wolverine: Noir #1
It's about what I expected it to be. Running short on time so I'll just say my rating: 6/10

X-Factor 42
I've really really enjoyed this series so far. This issue was still good, but personally I didn't think it was great (mostly cuz I think the whole apocalyptic future thing has been done to death in the X-books). I'd have rated the other X-Factor issues I've read higher yet, but this one still gets a 7, which ain't bad.

X-Men 223
About as good as the X-Factor issue was, but for different reasons. Art was solid. I HATE Danger. She's a contender for worst X character ever imo, and that's saying something. But she's not a big nuisance in this issue, and this issue has more of the old X-Men feel from the comics I grew up reading and enjoyed. Also has a nice cliffhanger ending that leaves me very curious about what's coming up. Overall, 7/10

Just a few more to come yet when I have time for it. Hope you're enjoying these mini reviews everybody. So far Punisher 4 and Sub-Mariner 70th anniversary special are easily the best this week (although I'm sure cap 49 would be right there with them if I were to read it. Gotta catch up on that series a little bit first though )

 

[random_havoc]

Okay, last ones for this week.

Moon Knight 29
Well, the art's still quite bad for a Marvel comic. The two conquistador characters are still terrible ideas, and irritating to read their dialogue. Overall a bad comic. 4.5/10

Incognito 3
Ended up not reading it. I've never read any other issues, but I've heard good things. But then I read the first page and ran into swear words. I don't read comics with swearing based on my own moral standards.

Halo: Uprising #4
Don't like Maleev's art, but it was alright in this issue. Still think there are a lot of other options that would have been better though.
Story was actually pretty good. The last page was a bad choice of ending though imo.
Overall, 7/10

 

[random_havoc]

It's that time again. Time for some pre-release mini reviews.

As per the usual I'll give a little blurb and rating, and feel free to ask any questions that you'd like and I'll respond in a blacked out spoiler section so no one has to worry about it.

Here's what I'll be reviewing when I have time to get to it.

Astonishing Xmen 29
Initiative 23
Bishop 3
Daredevil
118
Dark Reign Elektra 2
Fantastic Force 1
Ghost Rider 34
Guardians of Galaxy 13
Hercules 128
Hulk 11
Iron Fist 25
Marvels Eye of Camera 5
Mighty Avengers 24
New Avengers 52
SkrulKillKrew 1
Wolverine Origins 35
X-Force 14

 

[random_havoc]

Okay, here we go as fast as I can because I'm behind on my final papers for the semester.

X-Force 14
A good ish I guess. I'm torn because Clayton Crain's art is always so great, but yet I'm sick and tired of apocalyptic X-men futures. Urgh.
But that bias aside, this was pretty good. A bit of a predictable twist at the end though. 6.5/10

Dark Reign Elektra #2
I enjoyed it, but this is one of those comic issues that is kind of a segway between issues that kind of lead up to something. I can say though that a whole lot of people are probably goin to want to read issue #3 once they what the end of this issue is point towards
In fact, it's good enough that I'll just post it here:

Spoiler

in the last few pages Osborn authorizes "Hawkeye" to go pay Elektra the "visit" he requested

The art is still great, as is the writing. Even though it's just a segway issue I'll still give it a 8/10. I'm waiting for the tpb, where segway issues don't matter as much anyways.

Mighty Avengers
Great issue. Art is fantastic and the story/characterizations very well done (kudos Mr Slott). I'll only say that this issue confirms a theory some of us have had. 8.5/10 Very good issue.

New Avengers 52
Good and bad. Brings a character in near the end that I think is ******ed. Has about 6 artists listed in the credits, which is a bad idea. Some of the pages have awesome art, while others have mediocre art which looks worse by comparison to the excellent pages. Just a bad idea.
6.5/10

Avengers Initiative 23
Good issue. Not the style of art that I usually like but he makes it work. Good story progression. Only unfortunate part is that the story is lagging behind the rest of Dark Reign chronologically.
7.5/10

Fantastic Force #1
Bear in mind I didn't read the leading up storyline that introduced these characters in the FF series. That in mind, the art is absolutely great, the storyline on the other hand is pretty terrible imo. Boring and convoluted.
6/10 (would've been lower but the art is just so good)

Marvels: Eye of the camera #5
The art is fantastic, but this story just gets more and more depressing. At this point I wouldn't read it if it weren't free for me.
5/10 (even the art can only raise this rating so much)

Hercules 128
URGH!!! I hate hate HATE when writers dumb down and dull down characters' established power levels and abilities just to make them fit into a story.
This ish has Herc and entourage vs the Dark Avengers, and its unbearable for me to read.
The art is decent, not great.
Most people would probably rate it higher if they're big herc fans, because he easily defeats opponents that he should be defeated by (I guess the writer thought that would be "funny"). But frankly I found it insulting as a fan and insulting to comics as an artform.
4/10 (wouldn't read it again even for free)





That's it for now. 8 more mini reviews to come when I have the time.

Is anybody finding these interesting/useful by the way? Just wondering.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Haha, you're mad that Herc tossed the Sentry around like a ragdoll, aren't you?