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New Comic Book Reviews Week Of 4/1/15

New Comic Book Reviews Week Of 4/1/15

A big week for comics. I will be at WonderCon this weekend so if you see me say Hi. Lots of new comics this week so let’s get started.

Avengers: Ultron Forever #1

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Marvel Comics Writer Al Ewing, Penciler Alan Davis, Inker Mark Farmer, Colorist Rachelle Rosenberg, Letterer Travis Lanham

Alan Davis does a book and I will be there. The question is always, will the book be worth reading or just staring at his gorgeous artwork. Well at lest this time the story actually surprised me. Between Secret Wars and the Avengers films clogging up the stands with books this summer, it’s going to be tough for regular readers to enjoy a lot of the regular Marvel comics this year. I really give writer Ewing for making this story very accessable to new readers. While there are obvious character plot threads from current stories he does not let them interfere with this book. This is a stand alone story in the vein of Days of Future Past where it’s sort a What If type story of a team of Avengers that has been pulled into the future to stop Ultron. I was very surprised how much I enjoyed the story that Ewing has crafted for the book. He also does a great job of capturing each hero and not just thrown together because Marvel wanted them together. This is a perfect book for Davis with lots of action and a real tour de force with some of the best Marvel characters. This is a great looking book.

Is this book worth your time and money? I was quite surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. It has a good solid story and beautiful Davis artwork that made is a solid read this week. RECOMMENDED!

The Big Con Job #2

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Boom! Studios Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Matt Brady, Artist Dominike Stanton, Colorist Paul Little, Letterer Jim Campbell

I really enjoyed the first issue of this series and was looking forward to the second issue. While the book is still good the second issue does tread a bit of water compared to the first issue. The first issue moved along at a nice pace but the second issue seemed to not keep the momentum that they had in the first issue. Palmiotti and Brady seemed to have been bogged down by too much exposition in the second issue. The story does move along but I felt that the story seems to be drug out a little too much. Stanton’s artwork is good but there were some shaky panels but overall pleasant visually.

Is this book worth your time and money? With the second issue being shaky I still think the book has agreat premise and will stick it out with only two more issues to go. I just wish that the second issue was stronger. It was a bit disappointing.

Gotham Academy: Endgame #1

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DC Comics Writers Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher, Artist Jeff Stokely, Colorist Jenny Donovan (main story) Writer & Artist Clio Chiang, Writer & Artist Joy Ang, Writer & Artist Vera Brosgol, Colorist Sonia Oback (Kid’s Stories), Letterer Steve Wands

I have not read any of the Batman Endgame series but after the very impressive Batgirl one-shot book a few weeks ago I was willing to give this one a try because of the regular writing team doing the book. Boy am I glad I did because this was a really great book that really blew me away. Cloonan and Fletcher create the framework of the story of the girls bring tapped in the academy while the infected Joker Zombies are loose in Gotham. So they have different writer/artist creators tell scary “campfire” tales to each other that involve the Joker. Each artist bring a great visual style that matches the style established in Gotham Academy by Karl Kerschl but bring their own style to the individual stories. Sometimes when you have different artist do this in a book the styles can sometimes clash. In this case each creators blend so well together that while different make the book work incredibly well. All three of th kids stories are super creepy and some of the best horror stories I have read in quite a while. Hats off to Cloonan, Fletcher and Stokely for doing such a great job of framing the three stories so that he flow of the book is flawless.

Is this book worth your time and money? This book is fantastic and beyond worth the$2.99 cover price. Usually these tie in books are quick cash grabs by th publishers but the thing that is most impressive is that if you have never read either the Endgame or Gotham Academy you can totally pick up this book and not need to know any back story on either book. I really loved this book and can not recommend it enough. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!

Blackcross #2

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Dynamite Writer Warren Ellis, Artist Colton Worley, Colorist Morgan Hickman, Letterer Simon Bowland

Honestly most Dynamite comics are not that spectacular but Blackcross has really surprised me. Of course getting Ellis to write the book wasn’t a half bad idea either. Ellis is really building the story in this book and while some might find the pacing too slow, I like that he is not rushing the story and keeping the mystery surrounding the story. He is keeping you on your toes as to what is going on with the events in Blackcross. In this second issue the elements are starting to come into focus. Worley does a nice job on the artwork and gives the book a nice visual mood that the story needs.

Is this book worth your time and money? While the story is a slow burn Ellis does keep the book going in a good direction. He is a writer that wisely does not reveal thing too soon and lets the tension build. So far I continue to like what I am reading and want to see where he is going to take the story. Give the book a shot if you are a fan of Ellis.

Rick And Morty #1

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Oni Press Writer Zac Gorman, Artist CJ Cannon/Marc Ellerby, Colorist Ryan Hill, Letterer Crank!

Oni surprised everyone with getting the comic rights to do a [adult swim] comic book based on Rick and Morty. As with most adaption of shows if you enjoy the show you will probably enjoy the comic. If you have never seen the show will you like the comic? That is a tough question. I have seen a few episodes of the show and thought it was fun but not a super fan. I did enjoy the comic and it does a good job of feeling like the series. Gorman’s story is a fun time travel story that continues in the next issue. I did find that a bit odd to start a comic of a not super well-known series with that. The bigger question is that he probably should have done a better job of introducing the characters to new readers. While not bad for new readers they ar going to be pretty lost on the premise of show and the comic. Cannon does a nice job of capturing the look of the animated series and keeps the story moving nicely visually. Th back up story by Gorman and Ellerby is OK but the art style look a little to Seth McFarland than Rick and Morty.

 

Is this book worth your time and money? If you are a fan of the animated show then your going to probably enjoy the book. If you have no idea who the hell Rick and Morty are then I don’t think that this book is going to win you over.

No Mercy #1

no-mercy-1Image Comics Writer Alex De Campi, Artist Carla Speed McNeil, Colorist Jenn Manley Lee

No Mercy is one of those books that suffers from being average. While it’s not bad by any means it really suffers from the fact that you have read this story a million times before. While the script by De Campi is good it really doesn’t bring any new ideas to the story of a group goes on an outing and their bus crashes and they are stuck out in the middle of nowhere. The other problem was that the characters were not that interesting. De Campi tries to infuse them with back story it just never quite sticks and so when the accident happens you don’t have any strong feelings towards any of them. McNeil’s artwork is very good and give the book a bit of a boost but in the end nice art can not save a midocore story.

Is this book worth your time and money? The book is by no means a disaster but it’s so average that it’s just not worth your time when there are a lot more better comics right now. While the book could get better the first issue is so weak that I won’t be bothering to read the second issue. SKIP IT!

The Uncanny Inhumans #0

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Marvel Comics Writer Charles Soule, Penciler Steve McNiven, Inker Jay Leisten, Colorist Justin Ponsor, Letterer Clayton Cowles (Back up story Writer Ryan Stegman, Artist Ryan Lee, Colorist James Campbell)

The Inhumans gets off to a decent start but might be a bit difficult for new readers. Soule story gets off to a good start but only if you know who the Inhumans are. This is one of the big problems that I have with Marvel is that the book is for normal readers of comics and in this case the Inhumans. If you have never read or know who the Inhumans are there is not a lot here to get you up to speed. Soule script is one of those that you feel like you have been dropped into a story that has already started. With that being said there are some interesting elements of the story that are intriguing and have some potential. McNiven’s art is the main draw of the book and it’s a really gorgeous to look at and really brings the book to life. The back up story is pretty weak in both the story and art department and feels as if it was added to jack up the cover price to $4.99.

Is the book worth your time and money? I did like the book but the story was awkward for new readers and there are good ideas but not overwhelming in the end. The book looks really good but with the mediocre back up story it really is not worth the $4.99 cover price. I might give the second issue a shot but not sure.

Convergence #0

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DC Comics Writers Dan Jurgens & Jeff King, Artist Ethan Van Sciver, Colorist Marcelo Maiolo, Letterer Travis Lanham

DC’s big east coast to west coast event “Band-Aid” series has landed and sadly the first book is a real mess. The book is Superman being trapped by “Brainiac” and is confused as to what is happening to him. Well guess what you will be as confused as Superman after reading this mess. Supposedly the story is a side story to a recent Superman story event. What was DC thinking? When you do these event type books you have to assume that most of the readers are buying this book and haven’t been reading the regular Superman books. The “story” by Jurgens and King drones on and really doesn’t have much point to it. In fact when you get to the end of the issue you discover that you probably didn’t even need to read this Zero issue and that the story appears to start in issue #1. The only saving grace in this book is the lush artwork by Van Sciver that doesn’t make the story any better but at least visually the mess looked nice. The other big problem with the book is that with a $4.99 cover price you are getting only 30 pages of story and 11 pages of cover galleries covering the different earths in DC’s history. I hate to say it but I enjoyed the cover gallery better than the main story.

Is this book worth your time and money? DC newest event gets off to a terrible start and while I will pick up issue #1 it’s really going to have to be leaps and bounds over this mess. Overpriced, terrible story, with the only saving grace of nice artwork is not going to win many over to the “Event” DC really dropped the ball on this one big time. DON’T WAIST YOUR MONEY!

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