Archive
Recent Reviews: July 13 Releases
It’s time once again for me to recap those books released last week that I’ve reviewed over at CX Pulp.com.
Flashpoint: Grodd of War #1
June 30, 2011
Title: Grodd of War
Writer: Sean Ryan
Pencils: Ig Guara
Inks: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Stefani Rennee
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Cover: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Publisher: DC Comics
I actually passed up this book when it was released a few weeks ago. There are a hell of a lot of Flashpoint tie-ins, and I had to pick and choose which ones I was going to sample. But I was told by several trusted advisors that this one-shot was definitely one of the ones to get, so I snagged the last copy at the comic shop the last time I visited.
In the mainstream DC Universe, Grodd is a superintelligent gorilla whose frequent attempts to conquer his home kingdom of other superintelligent gorillas (as a stepping stone to world domination) are always thwarted by the Flash. But in a world where the Flash never existed, Grodd went unchecked. Gorilla City is now his, and soon, his reach had extended to the entire continent of Africa. So why is he so disappointed? This is a really great character study, picking into Grodd in a way that you don’t often see. The utter boredom on his face sells this issue time and again. Sean Ryan really gets across the idea that this is a character without much of an identity outside of his enemies (and even the brief appearance of Congorilla in this issue doesn’t assuage that at all). Ig Guara puts plenty of emotion into Grodd’s face, and although the range only goes from anger to ennui, it’s always very evident what the ape is feeling at any given moment.
I was surprised at how good this issue was. If all you’re interested in is following the strict blow-by-blow of what’s happening in the main storyline, this issue won’t matter much to you. But as a strong look into one of the Flash’s most entertaining villains, it really can’t be beat.
Rating: 8/10
The Imaginaries (2005 Series) #2
June 6, 2005
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Lost and Found Part Two
Superhero G learns the ropes of the Imagined Nation.
Writers: Ben Avery & Mike S. Miller
Pencils: Mike S. Miller & Greg Titus
Colors: Lynx Studios & Greg Titus
Letters: Bill Tortolini
Editor: Mike S. Miller
Cover Art: Mike S. Miller & Greg Titus
Publisher: Image Comics/Alias Productions
The second issue in, I continue to find mmyself very impressed with Mike S. Miller’s newest Alias production, The Imaginaries. In the first issue we met Superhero G, the imaginary friend of a boy who outgrows him when his parents are divorced. G finds out the hard way what happens to discarded imaginary friends – they are cast to the Imagined Nation, a walled city where teddy bears rule with an iron fist and anyone who doesn’t comply is cast out into the sandy waste beyond the city, where they will be forgotten and eventually fade into nothing.
This issue we see more of the city, including the hierarchy of the imaginaries that exist there. The less well-thought out an imaginary friend is, the greater the likelihood that they will be considered a second-class citizen, something that doesn’t sit well with Superhero G at all. What’s more, we also get an explanation for why the teddy bears run the show. It seems like a goofy concept at first, something that the creator just conjured up because it’s such a bizarre idea, but as it turns out there’s actually a very good reason for the bears to hold the reigns of power.
We also see how the imaginaries cope with the world that cast them out through a kiosk that allows them to look into the “real” world at the humans that created, then abandoned them. As you can imagine, this is very much a double-edged sword, and creates great pain in some of the imaginaries even as they are unable to stop watching.
Superhero G is our star, our viewpoint character, but the book is less about him than it is about the world that Miller has created. The real drawing point here is seeing the different, bizarre creatures inhabiting this comic book, seeing how that world was pieced together from pieces of our own, and seeing how those two worlds relate to each other.
Miller and Titus do a nice tag-team job on the artwork, with one handling the real world and one handling the imagined nation. They’ve got great visuals on the various creations, especially the “Nazi Teddies.” The unusual juxtaposition of those elements is one of the things that really sells the comic book.
I’m enjoying it. I’m a fan. Can’t wait to see where it goes next.
Rating: 8/10
Avengers/Invaders #1
May 6, 2008
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Old Soldiers, New Wars
Rating: T+
The Invaders of World War II are wrenched through time – can they survive in 2008?
Writers: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Pencils: Steve Sadowski
Colors: inLight Studios
Letters: Todd Klein
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Alex Ross
Publisher: Marvel Comics/Dynamite Entertainment
As the Invaders take on yet another European battlefront during World War II, most of the team is enveloped in a bizarre green mist. When the mist dissipates, they find themselves back in New York, but flung forward to the year 2008, in the middle of the Thunderbolts’ effort to bring the unregistered hero Spider-Man to justice.
As confused as the Invaders are, Spider-Man and the Thunderbolts are just as confused to see the dead Captain America burst back onto the scene, with the World War II versions of his old teammates by his side. The time-tossing rings right up to the highest offices in the superhero world – specifically, to the director of SHIELD.
This isn’t a bad book. The idea of the current Avengers being contrasted with the classic Invaders is one with real merit. The characterizations are good, and Steve Sadowski brings a really good style to the event. The book looks quite good.
Most of the problems I have are really little things. It kind of bugs me, for example, that none of the lesser-known Invaders seem to have been pulled along for the ride, or that there doesn’t appear to be any recognition between Spidey and the Thunderbolts, most of which he’s fought with (or even fought alongside) in the past. The modern scenes feel like they’re at a slight tangent to continuity as well – the story seems to be clearly pre-Secret Invasion, but with a 12-issue series, the Skrull saga will be long over before this concludes.
Like I said, these are all relatively minor things, but together they add up enough for me to knock half a point from the overall rating. It’s a good book, but there are just a few things that I feel could have been tweaked a bit better.
Rating: 7/10
The Back Issue Bin 