Month: September 2018

Review: Maneaters #1

Maneaters #1

Maneaters 1

Maneaters #1
Publisher: Image Comics
Released: September 26th 2018
Rating: 3 1/2 Star

Maneaters is a new series by Image Comics. I’ll be honest and tell you that I didn’t even bother reading the description for this one before I picked it up. The cover was pink and black with cat paws on it. That was all I needed to hear before I decided to read it. I know, I’m horrible.

This series ended up being a lot more intense and political than I anticipated. I actually quite like the points they were trying to make though. It takes the subjects of public safety, bodily autonomy, and government control and mashes them all together into one chaotic mess.

You know those series were you read the first issue, and it’s good but you don’t love it – yet you suspect that the series will be worth continuing anyway? That’s how I felt about this series. I didn’t love the introduction to it – but I can see the potential. Some series just have trouble getting the first issue going; there’s so much information to tell us and very little time, after all. I’m going to give this series at least three issues worth before I make any final decisions on the matter.

The cover for this issue was fantastic – and like I said was the sole reason I picked it up in the first place. The artwork inside isn’t really anything like the cover – but that’s kind of a good thing. There wasn’t a lot on the cover to go by, after all. There are a lot more details inside, with bolder lines. The colors seemed dull – but only in direct comparison to the super bright cover. On the whole I was very happy with the art style used.

 

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Review: Wonder Woman 55

Wonder Woman 55

Wonder Woman 55

Wonder Woman #55
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: September 26th 2018
Rating: 3 1/2 Star

Okay, I know I’ve said this before, but this time I think I’m right: this issue brings with it the end to the current plot arc. Since it wasn’t my favorite Wonder Woman plot, I’m more than okay with that. I can’t wait to see what Diana gets herself into next. It’s been a while since we’ve seen her main supporting cast – so hopefully they’ll get thrown into the mix soon.

The way everything was solved in this issue felt a little repetitive. It seemed like Diana kept going for the same tool again and again (because she did) to solve all of her problems. I mean, I guess if it works why bother trying something else? It did make everything slow and predictable though, which I doubt was the goal.

Artemis played a major role in this issue, which makes sense all things considered. I wonder if the changes made to her character (specifically the item she now carries) will appear in any of her other cameos? Or if this is a onetime deal? Either way, I do like the change they’ve made here.

Actually, on that note. I wouldn’t mind a longer running series with those two. They’d probably need a few more characters to help round things out, but I think it’d be a fun team-up. And yes, I’m aware that they don’t really get along all that well. That’d be part of the fun of it.

The artwork for this issue was pretty decent on the whole. Wonder Woman seriously has some of the best dramatic poses of all time, and this issue is no exception. And as an added bonus, Artemis gets a few as well.

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Review: Faith Dreamside #1

Faith Dreamside #1

Faith Dreamside #1

Faith Dreamside #1
Publisher: Valiant
Released: September 26th 2018
Rating: 4 Star

Okay, so confession time. I’m not even up to take on the older Faith series. I keep meaning to read them all, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Still, I love Faith so I knew I was going to give this series a try (hey, sometimes it’s easier to get into a series and stay caught up then it is to get caught up in the first place!).

So obviously I’ve missed some things. Like the bad guys teaming together and framing Faith for murder. Man does that stink. I feel like this is the sort of trial any legit superhero has to go through though, so in a twisted way I’m glad to see we’ve hit that point with her character.

I’m not surprised by the way Faith has decided to handle the dilemma – she’s never been the type to want to hurt people, and by showing up at scenes she risks altercations with the police. So while it’s a shame to see it happening, I sort of agree with her decision in this case.

I can’t wait to see what’s going on with the girl and how Faith is planning on helping her. Again, I think the girl is something else I’ve missed in the series, but I’ll get through the backstory of it all some other time. Right now I think I know enough to understand what’s going on.

As per usual the artwork for Faith was fantastic. I love that Faith doesn’t really look or act like a typical superhero. I mean, she’s a total nerd so obviously I relate to that. So it’s hard not to love her. I also like that her mild mannered alter ego is the one that wears the wig and disguise, as opposed to the other way around. It’s a really nice change.

 

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Review: Scarlet #2

Scarlet #2

Scarlet 2

Scarlet #2
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: September 26th 2018
Rating: 4 Star

I still can’t get over how many new series Brian Michael Bendis has managed to get going in such a short amount of time. I knew he was a creative person, but wow! Scarlet was one of the series that caught my attention right from the introduction (unlike Pearl – where it wasn’t until the second issue I found myself getting really invested), which is always a nice thing.

I still don’t know what specifically happened to bring this part of the city into such a state, though it was heavily implied and hinted about this time. Okay, I pretty much do know what happened. The people were over-policed and abused from the looks of it, and they stood up for themselves. I don’t really need to see what happened in between, because the condition of the buildings around gives me a fairly good idea that it was horrifically awful.

I’ve grown really fond of Scarlet’s character over time, but that’s no surprise. I’ve always liked the type of character that steps up for what they believe in. Scarlet doesn’t want to be in charge, but she also doesn’t see any way around that right now. Likewise she’s done taking anybody else’s shit – while still trusting those around her to help her make the right decisions. It’s an interesting balance, and one that we got to see a lot of this issue.

I’m curious about the soldier that was sent in. He was called out for his motives as well as the motives of the people he represented and he didn’t even flinch…so either he’s trying very hard to shut his emotions down or there’s something else going on here. My moneys on the latter, but I guess we’ll see, won’t we?

I loved the artwork for this issue. Everything is so stylized and almost washed out looking, but again considering the state of the city this is based in it really enhances the effects. The character designs have been interesting on the whole, with each (named) character being fairly distinct from one another. The use of bright hair colors help of course, which is good since my memory isn’t always the greatest.

 

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Review: Batgirl #27

Batgirl 27

Batgirl 27

Batgirl #27
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: September 26th 2018
Rating: 4 Star

The last issue of Batgirl left us off with an anxiety inducing cliffhanger, though I can’t really say that this one treated us any better, truth be told. There’s been a lot going on in Barbara’s life lately, but she never seems to be able to fully escape her past.

At first I hated the villain Grotesque – and I don’t mean that I hated how horrible he was. Rather, I felt like they were trying too hard to make him…well make him live up to his name. I also took the whole art thing a bit too personally. He’s grown on me a bit, as far as Batgirl villains go. I think I’ll be happy when they move away from him, which is sort of looks like they’re doing now.

There were some parts of this issue that I really enjoyed. There are things that happened in Barbara’s past that we can’t just pretend didn’t happen – like the Killing Joke. That’s been coming up a lot lately, thanks to certain things happening to her chip.

What I thought was interesting in particular about this was how Barbara handled it all. The insight on how she believed everyone (such as her father) felt about what happened to her – or more accurately their inability to deal with it all. It was an interesting perspective – though one I hope she can resolve with time.

Loved the artwork for this issue. They did a great job of showing not only what was happening to Barbara on a physical level, but a mental one as well. That will make more sense when you read the issue, I promise.

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Review: Batman Beyond #24

Batman Beyond 24

Batman Beyond 24

Batman Beyond #24
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: September 26th 2018
Rating: 4 Star

Okay, so I may be in the minority here, because I loved this issue. I’ll fully confess that I’m biased in having enjoyed it though, as I’m a huge fan of Melanie/Ten and she played a huge role in this one. So obviously that alone made me love this issue.

Batman Beyond #24 wrapped up the Scarecrow plot, but it opened the door for so many others for dear Terry. I honestly don’t know how he’s going to clean it all up. It also got me wondering – how are all those people that were manipulated going to react? Do they remember the damage and destruction they caused? Do they remember nearly killing innocent people around them in an attempt to get to Batman? And if so, how badly could that mess a person up? Does Gotham have good insurance – the type that’ll cover mental health issues? Granted if Arkham Asylum is any indication for the mental health experts in the city, they may just be better off dealing with it on their own…

There were a couple of big moments and revelations during this issue. I’m not ashamed to admit that I squealed so loudly at one point that my husband came over to see what I was freaking out about. So if that gives you any ideas for the roller coaster you’re in for this issue…

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Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour #3

The Thrilling Adventure Hour 3

The Thrilling Adventure Hour 3

The Thrilling Adventure Hour #3
Publisher: Boom! Box
Released: September 26th 2018
Rating: 4 Star

The Thrilling Adventure Hour is quickly becoming one of my favorite series from Boom! Box, which is saying something. It’s so cute, oddly casual, comical, and fantastic, all in one small package. The main characters are adorable (kind of hard not to love how smitten they are with each other), yet remarkable unphased with the supernatural. The plot has been humorous, but with a touch of seriousness blended in with it.

I love how light this series has been. This is a talent that Boom! Box in particular seems to have nailed. They get these grand plots with crazy events happening, but it all seems to chill and casual. Even when everybody’s rushing around it still feels oddly relaxed and content to exist as it is.

They’ve been hinting since the beginning that there’s something larger going on here; something that the main cast is yet aware of. Finally we’re starting to get an idea of exactly what that was. The final twist that resulted in the big revelation was spectacular – I can safely say that I didn’t see it coming.

I’ll admit that I’m extremely curious about the way they introduced this issue. So far I don’t see the connection to the rest of the plot, but I’m sure that will change with time. The question is, is it related to the larger growing issue, or is it a secondary issue developing?

The artwork has been spectacular. I love the way the characters are drawn. They’re all so distinct – not just from each other, but from characters in other series as well. The expressive nature of the characters is perfect as well – their personalities really do seem to be drawn right over their features at times. The art itself is understated, never going for bold colors or highly detailed images unless it’s called for.

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Review: Heroes in Crisis #1

Heroes in Crisis 1

Heroes in Crisis 1

Heroes in Crisis #1
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: September 26th 2018
Rating: 3 1/2 Star

Heroes in Crisis is a new DC series/event…and I have so many questions. It was an interesting start, but either I missed the beginning of this, or they’re going to fill us in on it all later (I suspect it’s the latter).

So far the two characters with the most ‘screen time’ in this series would be Blooster Gold and Harley Quinn. An interesting combination, right? A ton of other superheroes make cameos of well, though they’re not all of the happy sort of cameo…

I’m a little conflicted about this one. On the one hand I can see what they’re trying to do (I think) and how they wanted to approach it. On the other I’m not thrilled with some of the decisions they made. A lot of those complaints revolve around the way they interpreted Harley though, so that may be my bias showing.

It seems like lately Harley’s character has been deviating more and more from her original persona. Don’t get me wrong, change can absolutely be a good thing and I won’t fight change on principle. However, I prefer that the change be…well, good? I’m just not liking the new interpretation of Harley. Every time I see her (either in her own series, Suicide Squad, or any other appearance) I think that this will be the issue where I start liking the new her…but it hasn’t happened yet. This one in particular rubbed me the wrong way – the way she talked about mental health and her old patients. Not only did it not sound like Harley, but it wasn’t exactly sensitively done either (something that they can get away with thanks to the perspective saying those things, I suppose).

4
Green Lanterns #55

Green Lanterns #55

Green Lanterns #55
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: September 19th 2018
Rating:  4 Star

I am so glad that Green Lanterns releases every other week. I don’t think I could have waited a month after the cliffhanger of the last issue. Granted this issue didn’t explain what’s happening with a very specific character (and if you’ve been reading the series, you know exactly who I’m talking about there).

I’ll admit that I don’t know as much about the antagonist for this plot as I should. Actually, there are technically two antagonists working together here, and I don’t really know either of them all that well. Though I know both have made appearances before, so that’s my bad.

Still, even without knowing much about these guys (and thus their threat level) I’ll admit that this has been an intense and interesting plot. I can kind of surmise their threat and lack of humanity (in this case I’m referring to the way they act, as opposed to their species, in case that wasn’t clear) based on what they did to Penelos.

I’m curious to see what happens next, as I feel like this issue left off with an even worse cliffhanger than the last. Now I find myself worrying about the same character as last time, AND yet another one from this issue! I can’t take much more.

I loved the art for this issue. Jessica looked amazing, as always, and I especially loved the scenes where she was swimming around with the Penelopians in their new home. That was a really sweet touch.

0

Review: Batman Damned #1

Batman Damned #1

Batman Damned #1

Batman Damned #1
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: September 19th 2018
Rating: 5 Star

There have been so many spinoff and miniseries coming out of Batman’s arc lately, I almost overlooked this one. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I took the time to read this one! Seriously, if there’s one Batman miniseries you read this year, let it be this one.

This is a darker telling of Batman and his antics, both in regards to the plot, perspective, and art style. But it all works together perfectly. The tone compliments the art style, and both reflect the plot in perfect balance.

Here we find Batman getting himself in a mess, as per usual. Unlike usual though…things go poorly for him. Okay, that isn’t exactly out of the norm for him either, but it certainly seems and feels like things go slightly worse for him than usual.

Side note: in regards to the introductory scene of this series. Holy cow! I won’t spoil it by saying exactly what happened, but man! If ever I needed an example of Batman not being a perfect good guy archetype, this would be it. I understand he was injured and possibly delirious, but those were not the actions of a good man.

Ahem, moving on. The biggest twist of the whole plot has to be the person that’s telling the story. And no, it isn’t Batman. Nor is it anybody we typically see running with Batman, or any part of the Bat family. I was shocked…but I’m also really into this new perspective. It also explains the darker tones being shown. Here’s a hint for those impatient few out there: you can narrow the character down by the title of this series.

I’m not sure where this plot is going to go just yet…but I am incredibly excited to see what happens next. I feel like this comic is the perfect example of the dark tones the recent round of movies was trying to hit. Granted, that’s my personal opinion and I haven’t actually seen those movies…so…grain of salt.

I’m completely in love with the art for this issue. It’s hyper-detailed and stylized at the same time. It’s strikingly beautiful, with lots of motion and stylistic shading. Sometimes the full image won’t be visible on a page, having a chunk of it concealed by shadow. But it actually works really well in this context.

3

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