Comic Book Review: Wonder Woman #38

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan

Cover by Aaron Lopresti

Plot

Alkyone has taken things beyond everyone’s expectations, even Achilles.  Wonder Woman is in prison and has threatened to kill her mother if she tries to escape.  Now as Wonder Woman awaits her death sentence, the rest of the village, who is against this unjust action, must decide where their loyalties lie and if that loyalty is worth the price.

My Thoughts

I read this issue twice.  The first time I wasn’t sold on it.  There seemed to be something lacking with this story but I couldn’t pin point it.  I then decided to give it a second read through, and to my surprise, the second reading was a huge difference.  I found different aspects of the story very appealing and motivating; a more profound message was there that I didn’t see when reading it the first time.

This issue was much more character driven than anything else, and I think that’s what threw me off in the first reading.  I was expecting something different and not reading the issue for what it actually was.  This issue gives a clear voice and motivation to every character.  Diana has a very passive approach to life and accepts it for what it is, but does not allow that to keep her from fighting.  And with the help of Artemis, who is an even more determined individual than Wonder Woman, she reminds her of who she is and why it’s important to fight for what is right.  Achilles, however misguided and unworthy he is to take over as ruler of Paradise Island and the Amazons, portrays a certain amount of dignity in which the readers can respect and support.  I was very surprised in how unsupportive he was of Alkyone’s decision to put Wonder Woman to death.  It showed me that really does want justice and does care for the people he rules over.  And even with Alkyone going all “looney tuney” on us, there is still motivation that is clearly defined and illustrated.  To a certain extent you can respect and sympathize with her; maybe even understand WHY she is taking the actions she is.

Again, Aaron Lopresti brings an unmatched level of artistic ability that puts him among the best comic book artists to have ever lived.  Every page gives us superbly sculpted characters that show incredible emotions and meaningful expressions.  Yet, even with Lopresti personifying each person so perfectly, there is a level of planned imperfection that melds with Simone’s writing style perfectly.  The team of Simone and Lopresti is perfect in every way and can never be matched or bettered.

Overall

One of the best for the month of November.  This Story is building up so much that I can’t figure out if it’s going to beat out the last story arc or not.  Two Thumbs Up!

9.5 out of 10 stars.

Next Issue Coming December 23, 2009

This is it! The secret behind Wonder Woman's new power and the true meaning of the Olympian are revealed right here!

It's an all-out action issue as Diana faces an old foe with a hideous new face!

Comic Book Review: Green Lantern #48

Written by Geoff Johns

Art and cover by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy

Variant cover by Rags Morales

Plot

The moment Geoff Johns has been promising us for so long has finally arrived, the formation of the “All Lantern Corps.”  Larfleeze takes on a horde of Black Lanterns, whose souls he consumed into his ring long ago, and fights for his life with the aid of the other representatives of different Lantern Corps’.  After the threat has been neutralized, Atrocitus is forced to relive a memory, which causes his uncontrollable rage to subside momentarily.

My Thoughts

If I were to ask myself what makes this title so good, my response would be two words…Geoff Johns.  Now I don’t think this issue was his best work, but I found it incredibly captivating and moving on every page.  He has turned this title into something that transcends science fiction, fantasy, and horror all jam-packed into one incredible piece of literature.

Each character had his or her own unique voice that held up on it’s own.  Johns has done a stellar job at characterizing each newly introduced Lantern Corps member, which now leads us to this very spot of the “All Lantern Corps formation.”  However, even with this new pact made by these Lanterns, Sinestro, Larfleeze and Atrocitus have plans to destroy the Green Lantern Corps, which means, of course, that this pact will only end in chaos. 

I have absolutely no respect for Larfleeze.  Even though Sinestro and Atrocitus are just as evil and sinister as the Orange Lantern, Larfleeze shows no sign of pain or anguish.  There is nothing compelling him to be like this other than his own selfish nature.  At least Atrocitus and Sinestro have something compelling them to lead a life of evil, Larfleeze just wants more stuff.  I’m wondering how this is going to play out in the end.  First off, we have a guardian pledging himself to the Muppet-like villain, and secondly, Larfleeze seems to continually get more airtime as we get closer and closer to the climactic ending.  Will Larfleeze have some mysterious role in the ending of Blackest Night?  I’m starting to think this to be a good possibility.

Doug Mahnke shows off his stuff again by giving each character their own distinctive look.  Hal being very confident, Saint showing a great sense of religious fervor, Atrocitus completely angry looking and without remorse, Sinestro…well…Sinister, and so on and so forth. 

Overall

Above average and definitely entertaining.  I’m looking forward to seeing the end of Blackest Night, but also dreading it because I know I’m going to be pissed off and happy all at the same time.  But maybe I should hold off on making a preconceived judgment on the series until the end.

7 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming December 23, 2009

BLACKEST NIGHT continues! John Stewart comes face to face with his greatest failures, the planet Xanshi and his wife and fellow Green Lantern, Katma Tui. Plus, what does Fatality truly want with John?

Comic Book Review: Superman #694

Written By James Robinson

Art By Javier Pina

Plot

Mon-El has escaped captivity from General Lane and is back in the crime fighting life style.  Everything is new for Mon-El as he attempts to change his voice and receives a new costume that resembles the Man of Steel’s in every way, but reversed.  Mon-El wants to be the symbol of hope that Superman was and become a worthy “replacement” in Superman’s absence.  But can Mon-El be the “carbon copy” of Superman he hopes to be, or should he find his own direction?  Should he be the Superman Metropolis never had?

My Thoughts

I can’t figure out where to take this review.  The current storylines that have been bestowed onto the Superman title are drastically wearing me down.  I would have dropped this title a while ago and gone strictly with World of New Krypton except that I subscribed to the title, so I get it no matter what.  Robinson is continually beating down the title with a rubber mallet desperately trying to make the stories relatable to his reader’s.   However with every issue, sadly, Robinson goes beyond what is necessary and fails to give Mon-El the humanity that I’m sure he’s attempting to achieve.

Now I do like the new costume, despite the “S” symbol attached to his suits left pectoral.  It is new and creative, yet resembles the suit worn by the Man of Steel enough to be more than acceptable.  But the means behind the new costume is less than appealing.  According to Mon-El, General Lane has corrupted the Superman legacy and it needs to be put back into a positive light among the people.  So Mon-El decides to revamp himself, change his voice and be something that can help remind the people of Metropolis that Superman is, and will always be, the savior of the city.  But this was explained in a very long, drawn out, boring bit of dialectical jargon between him and Superboy in a flash back, consisting of the two of them sitting in a poorly drawn kitchen while eating breakfast.  It was unnecessary and bored me to tears.

Speaking of art, how much worse can it get?  I feel like one of the kids at the middle school I work could have drawn and inked this garbage.  The only really good artistic expression in this book was Mitch carrying a small child out of a fiery mess, and it was really good!  But every other page did not help me engage the story in the least, and having good art is necessary to help boost a story up from it’s repulsiveness.

Overall

The worst comic of the month.  I’ll be so happy to see Superman come back from New Krypton and save this title from humiliation and low sales.  But I think the only way to really fix this is to exile James Robinson from ever writing for Superman again and arrest Javier Pina for creating such awful artwork.

0 out of 5 stars

Next Issue Coming December 23, 2009

Part 2 of Man of Valor! Metropolis gets a chance to see the new Mon-El in action. But now the stakes are raised even higher and the action escalates as Mon finally goes mano-a-mano against the Parasite! This is a battle that's been brewing since Mon's emergence on Earth and now it explodes into the streets and skies of the city.

Plus, with Mon-El's secret identity publicly known, how will the Science Police react to him now that they know he's been living among them all this time? All this plus the return of Natasha Irons and the fate of Steel!

Bobby Bowden, A Superbowl Lantern?

hmmmm, so this is recently retired ead Football Coach Bobby Bowden.  For all you Green Lantern fans out there, who does this remind you of?  (This shouldn't be too hard right?)  Comic Book Review for Superman #684 comig later today!

Tom Waits Casted In The Hobbit (rumored)

Tom Waits , best known for his music, has acted in quite a few movies. He was in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mystery Men among others. Most recently he played Satan in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus .


Cinematical are reporting that an AICN source has word that Waits could be playing an unknown role in Guillermo Del Toro's The Hobbit:

"As much as I'd like to say he's a lock (certainty), I'm told he's simply someone the production is talking about -- but they seem to be talking about him pretty seriously."

Waits steals the show in everything he does, and that unmistakable voice would fit perfectly as the menacing, gravelly voice of Smaug. That’s the character I can see Waits voicing. But I try to pre judge. Hopefully Waits gets the part!

Toy Story 3 Movie Trailor

Not until June????  Oh man, I can't wait that long!!!

Alyson Hannigan Expreses Her Opinion Of The Buffy Reboot

At long last, a Buffy cast member speaks out at the news of making a Buffy film without creator Joss Weadon. Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow in the show since season one, verbalizes her disgust with even entertaining the idea.

"Yeah, and that's a very big mistake in my opinion. I mean if Joss isn't involved, it's only the title. Joss is the only reason that we would go back. I mean, it's just ridiculous to think of that TV show without Joss. That's just silly to me… And all the fans know that, too, so I don't know what they're thinking."

Typically, I always thought a reboot was to help a show, movie to allow fans to forget about what came before it. They did that with the Hulk movie, they are doing it with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, and they are currently working on a reboot for the latest Superman film. But what gets me is that Buffy did so well on its own, why is a reboot needed?

Now if it was being announced that a Buffy film was in the works, and its base is founded off of what Joss Weadon has already put in place, I could accept that a lot more and would probably get excited about it. But from what I’m hearing, they want to REBOOT the whole thing, and for the life of me, I can’t understand why they feel it’s necessary since the show was a smashing success!

It’s like Fox is stomping on the foot, hand, face, and genitalia of Creator Joss Weadon, as if they were saying, “You know all those shows you did of Buffy? You know, the incredibly successful show that fans all loved? Well, we think we can make even better! So we are going to redo everything you’ve done. Oh! And we won’t need your assistance either. Bye!”

And just like in the Harry Potter films, I honestly can’t see anyone else playing Buffy accept Sarah Michelle Geller, she IS Buffy. And to even think that anyone BUT Alyson Hannigan might be playing Willow…no sir!! It just won’t fly. If you want to do this film project, get Joss Weadon in on it, and bring back the original cast. Simple! Thank you Alyson Hannigan for being completely and utterly the coolest person in the world by speaking up about this issue! No wonder all the nerdy males in the world love you!

Comic Book Review: Superman World Of New Krypton #10 (of 12)

Written by Greg Rucka and James Robinson
Art by Pete Woods; Cover by Gary Frank
Variant cover by Dustin Nguyen

Plot
In issue #9, we are left with a council member, dead on the floor and Adam Strange, standing above him, as the most likely suspect. As Kryptonian authorities immediately throw guilt upon Strange, Superman utilizes his commanding status to keep Strange from being tried and wrongfully convicted. But the questions still remains, “whodunit?” Clues lead Superman and his band of officers to believe the culprit to be one of the labor guild and immediately start their search within their company.

As Superman and Adam Strange come closer to solving the case, another wrench is thrown into the mix and Superman rattles his brain desperately trying to solve this case. But while Superman thinks, things are already being set into motion which could endanger the life of one member of New Krypton’s elite…time is of the essence!

My Thoughts

Issue #10 brings us back to what made #8 so good, the classic way of writing mystery tale! Adam Strange is an amazing character who brings so much life to this suffering title. The book needed something to help it get out of the dull drums and into some thought provoking story telling. We get not so much of the political struggles and troubles within the different social classes and more dialogue and story which analyze the mystery of the murdered council member. This was a much needed change and I’m glad to see Rucka is helping James Robinson finally focus this title into something understandable and tangible.

I find it interesting that, even though Superman swore to leave his home world of earth and everything he took from it behind and embrace New Krypton’s way of doing things, he was unable to bow down to the Council’s need to pass immediate judgment. Whether this was the writers intention or not I don’t know, but the sociological comments found in this scene are tremendous. It made me ask myself “Can one truly leave their upbringing behind to embrace the exact opposite?” It’s a hard thing to do, as shown that even Superman can’t escape his learned behavior.

The double paged layout formats of each and every issue has been slowly bugging me as we get closer and closer to the final issue. I’ve tried to keep quiet about it, hoping that it was just me getting used to it, but I honestly believe this format and the way they use it is incredibly confusing and distracting. I would be reading one page, confused as hell, then realized what I did. My wish? That the ones organizing this would think a little harder about how they place panels on the pages, it would make my reading experience much more enjoyable.

Now I’m still confused at where this miniseries is going even though we are two issues away from being done with the story. I can see where the focus is going to be, but I can’t figure out why this is all happening and what its significance is in the DC universe. There aren’t even that many clues given to us as to why all the chaos is going on.

Overall

While this particular issue is good in and of itself, I’m starting to think the ending to this mini will be a huge let down, and I will have wasted $36 on a 12 issue series. James Robinson is not getting high points from me for this series, which is a double whammy seeing as how he’s doing an even worse job with Justice League: A Cry for Justice.

4 out of 5 stars

Next Issue Coming January 6, 2010

"Mystery in Space" Part 2! As the murder mystery on New Krypton deepens, Superman and Adam Strange's investigation leads them to uncover a conspiracy involving all five Kryptonian guilds that threatens to devastate the entire planet. This chain of events will touch everyone – Alura, Zod, even General Lane – and will lead directly into next month's explosive finale!

Comic Book Review: JSA All-Stars #1

Written by Matthew Sturges
Art and cover by Freddie Williams II
Variant cover by Ryan Sook

Plot
The JSA splinters off into two groups, and “All-Stars #1” brings us the younger, more attack happy group of heroes. Under the leadership of Magog, the team now goes under some serious new tactical and hand to hand combat training. However, what seems to be missing from the team is confidence in Magog as a leader. Can the new JSA All-Stars come together as a team to fight injustice without killing each other first?

Meanwhile, the mystery of Stargirl unfolds as the perpetrator makes his presence know!

My Thoughts
To start off, I wasn’t too thrilled to learn that the JSA was splitting up into two separate teams. But I understand the necessity of it seeing as how Geoff Johns made the team way too big for most writers to handle. But much to my dismay, I picked up this new first issue curious as too what changes will be made under the leadership of Magog. And I must say, I still haven’t made up my mind yet.

One thing to keep in mind is that this is a new chapter in the world of the JSA and it may take some time to build up momentum. But along with that comes the possibility where it ends up flopping on its face. What I did enjoy in the story however was the tension between Power Girl and Magog. PeeGee came out of the JSA as a leader, and now she has submitted to following someone else, and she hasn’t figured out how to let the team leader take charge. But of course, the directions from Magog to his team weren’t all that brilliant either. If PeeGee hadn’t intervened in the way she did, the team may not have succeeded in defeating the android army. (Wow, Power Girl’s been doing a lot of busting up androids lately hasn’t she?)

But of course, my favorite scene was with Power Girl and Star Girl with their heart to heart on the roof of their New York City headquarters. Here’s Power Girl, a defining feature of the DC universe sitting down expressing her need for this teenaged wonder being on the new team. How many adults in the world will admit to a child that they are necessary for a collective group to survive on a journey? It seems we only find this type of phenomenon in fiction and fantasy. It happened with Frodo in Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter in his self-named series of books, Richard Tyler in The Pagemaster, and with Bod in The Graveyard Book. Now here, Star Girl finds herself chatting with one of her Icons about how she (Star Girl) is necessary for the team to survive. And with the unexplained mystery of villains not laying a finger on her, there will probably be more divine providence to come with Star Girl.

Freddie Williams II has some interesting ways of expressing his art work. But I begin to wonder how much of his creativity is coming from his brain, and how much of it is coming from his penis. I realize there are some pretty “ris-kay” comics out there with virtually naked women in them, but Williams certainly pushes the envelope. Here are a few examples….

And that’s just the tip of the ice berg! The issue ends with Power Girl, after stopping a huge explosion, ends up with almost nothing to cloth her. I know Power Girl is a hottie, but geez, keep it in your pants buddy!

Overall
This is a fun issue, but not exceptional. I’ll probably be giving this title another two issue trial before deciding if it’s worth it, especially if it continually runs at $4 an issue. Wow!

3 out of 5 stars

Next Issue Coming January 6, 2010

In "Constellations," part 1, The All-Stars have survived their first major battle, but in the aftermath, one team member is missing without a trace. The mysterious Strike Force has that member captive, but there's someone else who wants the missing All-Star even worse than Strike Force does. Plus, the rift between Power Girl and Magog widens.

And in the first chapter of a new co-feature, Liberty Belle and Hourman embark on a worldwide hunt for a mysterious book – and the killer who may be after the secrets held within it! Icicle and Tigress aren't responsible for the murder, but they just might hold some keys to solving the mystery!

Superman Wedding Reception......MUST WATCH!!

So first off, I think this is hilarious.  Secondly....WOW!  I'm not sure I could have done this a my wedding, but I sure wish I could have!  And thirdly....um.....yeah, I got nothing.  In-fuckin-credible