Archive
Recent Reviews: June 29 Releases
Listing, for your reading pleasure, the reviews of June 29 releases I posted at CXPulp.com…
JLA #102
July 25, 2004
Quick Rating: Average
Title: Scarlet Speedster (Pain of the Gods Part Two)
When the Flash isn’t fast enough, will he be able to go back and outrace his mistakes?
Writer: Chuck Austen
Art: Ron Garney
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Pat Brosseau
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Ron Garney
Publisher: DC Comics
As surprised as I was to enjoy the first chapter of Austen’s “Pain of the Gods” storyline, I was equally disappointed in this second installment. Is it because it’s bad? No. In fact, I rather liked this issue the first time I read it. When it was called JLA #101.
Let’s recap. Last issue, Superman failed to save a would-be superhero from a burning building, had a personal crisis of conscience and then, with the help of his fellow Justice Leaguers, came to a state of resolution. This issue, the Flash fails to save some children from a burning build – oh, but I don’t want to spoil it.
It seems that this will be the pattern of this storyline. The hero will suffer some sort of failure (if there are any more burning buildings I’m officially going to give up), have an overdramatic reaction to it, and then find some sort of closure. I could be wrong, I suppose. Could be next issue, with Green Lantern, will be completely different. I hope it is, in fact.
This issue didn’t work as well as the last either. Superman may not be used to watching hero wannabes die on their first mission, but Flash was been doing this way too long to be this broken up by not saving people, even children. Would he take it hard? Sure. But would he go off the deep end like he does in this issue? He’s been doing it too long.
Ron Garney fortunately, continues to impress on the artwork. He draws a really great Flash, with nice speed effects. David Baron does a really good job with the fire scene, as well. I’m glad to know that Garney will be staying on when Kurt Busiek takes over as the regular writer in a few months.
It could be worse, I’ll admit, but this issue’s big sin isn’t poor quality, it’s repetition. Which is a pretty big problem in its own right.
Rating: 5/10
Recent Reviews: June 15 Releases
Hey, look, I remembered! Here’s my roundup of the June 15 comics I reviewed over at CX Pulp!
Green Lantern: Rebirth #3
December 24, 2004
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Yellow
The truth about Parallax – and the Green Lantern Corps!
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Inks: Prentis Rollins
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics
A lesser writer than Geoff Johns would have me fuming right now, because of the various theories regarding Hal Jordan’s return as Green Lantern, he seems to have gone with one that I liked the least. However, he’s executing it extremely well, to the point where I find I’m actually accepting of an explanation that I thought would cheapen the character himself and years of stories.
Kyle Rayner and Ganthet find themselves battling maddened members of the Green Lantern Corps, even as the Justice League is battered by brave men who should be their allies. A desperate Kyle heads to the JLA Watchtower for help, only to find the place leveled and only one hero standing – Hal’s best friend, Green Arrow. There, Kyle tells what he found at the edge of the universe, the truth about Parallax, the truth about Hal Jordan, and the truth about the Green Lantern Corps.
This issue, I must admit, really surprised me. We’ve only hit the halfway point of this series, and it seems like Johns has already laid all his cards on the table. All the revelations, all the surprises, all of it is already right here. That seems to leave three issues for an extended fight scene. I hope Johns has more up his sleeve than that.
I’ve also got to deduct points for the last-page surprise appearance by a character that’s died twice already (at least), and who seemed dead for good last time out. He’s apparently going to start trying to rival Magneto in the resurrection category.
Ethan Van Sciver’s artwork is phenomenal. With Moose Baumann giving the entire book a green tinge, this book looks more like a Green Lantern comic than any issue in years. He does a fantastic job not just on the GLs, but on the various other heroes herein. This is a guy who could easy have a spot illustrating the big DC team books – JLA or JSA – they’d be in great hands.
I am enjoying this series. Johns is probably telling the best story about Hal’s return that anyone could, and while I may not be crazy about all of the nuances of the tale, he’s executing it better than anyone in comics could.
Rating: 8/10
Final Crisis #1
May 30, 2008
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: DOA: The God of War!
As the New Gods begin their evolution, a hero falls.
Writer: Grant Morrison
Art: J.G. Jones
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: J.G. Jones
Publisher: DC Comics
The culmination of four years of storylines begins here. With the “last” New God, Orion, falling to Earth, the Justice League assembles quickly, and the Green Lantern Corps even quicker. The Monitors, meanwhile, prosecute one of their own, and Libra’s attempts to restore the Society of Super-Villains exacts a terrible price on the heroes of the world.
Although this first issue is pretty slowly paced, there’s still an enormous amount of story in here. We’ve already seen the deaths of the New Gods, and here, we begin to see their inevitable rebirth. The forms these characters are taking are intriguing, as is the newfound reverence they seem to be commanding. The involvement of the Alpha Lanterns is interesting as well, and helps to demonstrate the true scale of what’s happening. As for the much-ballyhooed murder that takes place in this issue, Morrison’s handling of the situation was very unique, and actually makes for a very different take. Some people were upset that there was no monster “death” scene, but really, how many ways are there to do it that we haven’t already seen? Libra, meanwhile, is still something of a cipher. There’s not quite enough here yet to be invested in the character as more than a stock mastermind villain, but there’s definitely the promise of a secret that will elevate him past that simple point.
This title is being touted as the last chapter of two different trilogies: a cosmic one (begun in Crisis on Infinite Earths and followed through to Infinite Crisis) and a thematic one (begun in Identity Crisis and also flowing through Infinite Crisis). Reading this book, it’s easy to see how it fits in with either tapestry. There are clear implications for the Multiverse here, for a story that will impact all 52 Earths. I’m confident that this story won’t be yet another restructuring of the Multiverse, but it does feel like it will be a redefinition of the concept. Furthermore, by launching the book with a murder mystery, a “crime against one of our own,” the tale has the flavor of Identity Crisis, but applied to a cosmic scale. It’s easy to see the flow-through that began in that book four years ago (that long already?) that took the DCU to this point.
J.G. Jones and colorist Alex Sinclair do fine work here, and I expected nothing less. The Alpha Lanterns two-page spread (actually, all of the Green Lantern stuff) is really good, with colors and energy that just pops off the page. The redesigns for the New Gods work well, and I just love his interpretation of Dan Turpin (one of my favorite old-school Superman supporting characters who hasn’t seen action in far too long).
Although this book didn’t start with a bang, the slow burn we feel here is simmering, into something cool.
Rating: 8/10
Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1
June 28, 2007
Quick Rating: Excellent
Title: The Second Rebirth
The greatest threat to the Green Lantern Corps rises!
Writer: Geoff Johns
Art: Ethan Van Sciver & Dave Gibbons
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics
For months now, a mysterious force has been going throughout the universe, recruiting beings with the ability to create great fear. In this exemplary special, the full power of the Sinestro Corps is known, and the DC Universe knows fear like never before.
While on Earth, the Justice League rounds up members of the Society to inquire about Sinestro’s whereabouts, in outer space, Kyle Rayner and a pair of fellow GLs encounter Sinestro rings spinning through the universe. The rings are only the first salvo, though, and before the book is halfway over it is clear that the Green Lantern Corps is in for perhaps the deadliest war it has ever known.
Geoff Johns does what he does best here – he pulls together disparate continuity threads to tell his story. It’s clear, reading this issue, that he has been planning this epic for a long time, as he picks up on story threads from his own Green Lantern: Rebirth, Infinite Crisis and 52, as well as several tales written by other writers (Ion, for instance), to create a story with a universal threat, but that is singularly unique to the Green Lantern titles. This is a story about fear – that’s Sinestro’s weapon. And to have any chance at victory, he has to find a way to create fear in a warrior class specifically chosen for its fearlessness.
And he does it.
Johns re-teams with his Rebirth partner Ethan Van Sciver on the artwork, and Van Sciver again proves just how good he is. His designs for the disparate aliens that make up the Sinestro Corps are the stuff of nightmares, and it’s easy to see on the faces of our heroes just how much hell they’ve been put through. They look like heroes who have already come through a war, and this is a war that’s just beginning.
Johns and Dave Gibbons team up for a back-up tale as well, re-telling Sinestro’s origin from his own particularly biased point of view. This works well as a nice primer for a newer fan who may not quite recognize Sinestro or understand what makes him such a threat.
If you haven’t read Green Lantern in a while, this is the book to come back for. Johns and Van Sciver have made magic together more than once in the past, and it’s a blast to see them doing it again.
Rating: 10
Recent Reviews: June 8 Releases
As you may or may not know, in addition to the tons of reviews I post here at the Back Issue Bin, I also write reviews of new comics over at CX Pulp.com. I thought I would start making it a habit to link BIB readers over to those other recent reviews on Tuesdays… y’know… when I remember. And have time. And feel like it.
Anyhoo, here are the comics released on June 8 that I’ve reviewed over at CX. These links (as well as all of my CX reviews) can be found right here on the archive page as well.
- Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life #3
- Donald Duck #367
- Echo #30
- Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #1
- Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1
- Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Kilowog #1
- Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Tomar-Re #1
- Love and Capes: Ever After #5
- Morning Glories #10
- Space Warped #1
- Supergirl #64
Green Lantern: Rebirth #2
December 5, 2004
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Enemies Within
As the powers of the few remaining Green Lantern go haywire, the Justice League prepares to have words with Hal Jordan.
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Inks: Prentis Rollins
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics
Before I get into the review proper, I should disclose that I’m one of the voices that wasn’t too happy about this project. I like Kyle Rayner. I think he’s earned his place as a Green Lantern and I feel like DC capitulated to a vocal minority by backtracking this way.
That said – man, if you’re going to bring back Hal Jordan, this is the way to do it.
A wounded Kyle Rayner lies in the desert, his spaceship in wreckage, with a mysterious, but very valuable cargo. Meanwhile Hal has come back to see his old girlfriend, Carol Ferris, who has moved on with her life in Hal’s absence. Elsewhere, virtually everyone who has ever wielded the power of a Green Lantern is suffering odd symptoms – John Stewart’s control is eroding, Alan Scott is weakening and Guy Gardner is on the verge of death. And somehow, this all spirals back to the different aspects of Hal Jordan.
Geoff Johns is the man for this project without a doubt. As he proves every month in Flash, JSA and Teen Titans, there are few if any writers who can pull together continuity and weave an exciting, engrossing tale the way that he can, and he puts all of his skills to work on this issue.
Ethan Van Sciver has been considered an “up and coming” artist for some time – with this series I think it’s safe to say he has arrived. Every character in the book is spot-on perfect, with great action and some really beautiful high-energy pieces that seem to reply on good classic art instead of computer tricks the way a lot of comics do these days.
A lot of people were dying for Hal’s return. I was not one of them. But since it is an inevitability, I have to admit, this is about the best way to bring him back one could hope for.
Rating: 8/10
JSA Classified #12
May 22, 2006
Quick Rating: Good
Title: The Fall and Rise of Vandal Savage Part Three
It’s Vandal Savage versus Green Lantern – for the last time?
Writer: Stuart Moore
Pencils: Paul Gulacy
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colors: I.L.L.
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Paul Gulacy
Publisher: DC Comics
In a way, I’ve been slightly disappointed in this series. One of the cool things about JLA Classified is that the creative teams have permission to go to any era of the Justice League, but in JSA Classified, the book is rooted in current continuity. For the world’s first superhero team, that just seems like a wasted opportunity. On the other hand the current arc, featuring a dying Vandal Savage plotting revenge against his greatest foe, the Golden Age Green Lantern, has been a pretty darn good one.
Savage, dying, remembers a fateful encounter with own daughter as Alan – who recently lost his own child – races to confront the villain with an old friend. Savage, however, has been around for millions of years, and even as he faces his final, imminent death, he’s got something up his sleeve.
Moore has done a pretty good job with this arc. I’m a big fan of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern for those embroiled in the endless Hal/Kyle debate, and it’s nice to see him get something of a spotlight. However, he’s still technically the antagonist this issue, as the focus is squarely on Vandal Savage, one of the most interesting villains in the DCU. Part of me doesn’t believe they’ll actually kill him off, but then, they haven’t even finished counting the bodies from Infinite Crisis yet, so what would one more be?
Moore’s story is fine, but I’m slightly disappointed in Paul Gulacy’s artwork. He doesn’t quite have the right sensibilities for the sci-fi and magical aspects of the two lead characters – the panels look somewhat awkward, and the revelation of a monster towards the end isn’t as grotesque as it should be – the creature winds up looking like a cross between X-Statix’s Doop and Mr. Potato Head.
Overall, this has been a solid arc weighed down by less-then-stellar artwork. Gulacy, to my liking, is better suited for street-level characters like his run on Catwoman.
Rating: 7/10
Ion #1
April 24, 2006
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Torch Bearer Part One
It’s a new universe for Kyle Rayner… what’s his place in it?
Writer: Ron Marz
Art: Greg Tocchini
Ink Assist: Jay Leisten
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editors: Eddie Berganza & Ivan Cohen
Cover Art: Ivan Reis & Marc Campos
Publisher: DC Comics
A year after the Crisis, Kyle Rayner is still struggling to find his new place in the universe. He has accepted what he was intended to be all along, and knows he now has a new role with the Green Lantern Corps – but somewhere in all that, Kyle Rayner himself got lost.
Let’s face it, Kyle’s luck has sucked since early in Judd Winick’s run on the previous Green Lantern series. He goes into space, his girlfriend leaves him, he’s replaced in the Justice League, and even though he’s instrumental in the resurrection of the Green Lantern Corps, he soon watches his third girlfriend since getting the ring killed – and this time, he gets her power to add to his own. He’s been through the wringer, and even though it’s a year later, it’s not far-fetched to believe that Kyle still doesn’t know who he’s supposed to be anymore.
Marz was a fine choice to guide Kyle Rayner once again – he created this incarnation of Green Lantern, after all, and turned him from a green rookie (pun intended) into a proud, capable hero. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but since Marz left him the first time, he’s been put through hell. Hopefully the point of this series will be to bring him back.
Marz’s characterization and setup is fine, but I’m afraid I have to take off points for Greg Toccini’s artwork. He has a definite style, but I don’t think it works for this story. It’s too scattershot, too disjointed – kind of like a less-refined Bill Sienkiwicz – and the issue suffers as a result.
This issue isn’t a knockout, but it’s a solid setup. The real question is going to be, of course, where it goes from here.
Rating: 7/10
The Back Issue Bin 