Rapid Reviews

[steviecool]

(contains vague spoilers)

Avengers #17
Finally! The Fear Itself storyline progresses! And apparently, is now over in this series. A great mixture of action and thinking.
Final Grade: A

Avengers: The Children's Crusade #7 of 9
Great art, great story, A-listers, potential for ramifications? Love it. Will ramifications happen? Doubt it.
Final Grade: A

Captain America #3
I hate the villains that can make anything appear anywhere. I'm in issue 3 and lost already. Was that a dream sequence or real or dreams made real?
Final Grade: F

Captain America Corps #4 of 5
Surprisingly, not very much Captain America 1/2/3/4/5 use in this issue. Wasn't really feeling the American Spirit in use here.
Final Grade: C

Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt #5 of 6
Maybe the goal for this is to show that if you're not in the Avengers or X-Men, you're Jersey-Shore out of control in the 616. What a downer.
Final Grade: C

Generation Hope #11
A great issue, with some great potential setups. Now that we know what Schism is, so glad I didn't stop picking this up.
Final Grade: A

Iron Man #508
I normally love the art, but I couldn't tell what was going on in at least 9 of the pages. It's a shame, because I think a different artist would have been able.
Final Grade: C

Schism #4 of 5
Wait, isn't there a prison of mutants on the island? Isn't there a city of Atlanteans below the island? And we just can't throw the explosives on the Sentinel and then press the button? Ten seconds before the Sentinel gets here and NOW you warn us? I think they had some great schism options here, and missed on them all.
Final Grade: D

Spider Island: Spider-Woman One Shot
I love done-in-ones - A. Refers to MTIO story - A. Gypsy Moth's re-design is an absolute F, though. Save the Egyptian re-designs for when Set is attacking.
Final Grade: A

Spider Island: Cloak and Dagger #2 of 3
Not a Cloak and Dagger fan by nature. Storyline is average, art is perfect for it though.
Final Grade: B

Thunderbolts 163.1
7 of 20 pages were a dream sequence and recap. The 13 other pages were pretty darn good. 2/3 is still pretty bad, though.
Final Grade: D

Uncanny X-men #543
Awesome. Unstoppable. And then in the end, Scott ends up threatening people Magneto-style. Total F moment.
Final Grade: B (could have been an A)

Ultimate X-Men #1
Everything is so bleak. Flashpoint Miniseries Earth seems almost chipper compared to this. Not sure I want to invest in a continually depressing series.
Final Grade: C

Xmen #18
Reads like the comics I grew up with. Action. Dialogue. Tension. Superheroes!
Final Grade: A

[Gaumer]

Hadn't read Children's Crusade yet but Rictor got his shit back in X-Factor, too. Which is the only reason I'm keeping up with Children's Crusade at all.

So at least one of the ramifications are sticking.

I will contend that the addition of a powered Rictor makes X-Factor, even over X-Force, the most powerful line-up of any of the X-Books.

[steviecool]

X-Men #19
Fun mass superhero team-up book. Like a Fear Itself that didn't suck. Lee Forrester channeling a Shanna look bonus points
Final Grade: A

Thunderbolts #164
Lots of talky talky, typical with multi-part epics. Prefer it when they do a done-in-one storyline. Expected, but not appreciated.
Final Grade: C

X-Men Schism #5
While I agree with the Schism in design, the argument of "I want to blow up the place so the Sentinel can't" is just horrible. Also, Utopia the nation never happened - it just became a backdrop - glad to leave it! I would have been happier to read this had the Sentinel been defeated in issue #3 or #4, and they just had it out anyways. I'm glad this is over. The development towards the future adds to the score, though.
Final Grade: B

DC books

Action Comics #2
While easier to read than issue #1, I'm treating this like an elseworlds experiment. You're replacing Classic Coke with meth.
Final Grade: A (if we pretend this is an elseworlds)/ F (as long as this is considered canon)

Red Lanterns #2
Is red the color of rage or your period? I hate to say that, but seriously, come on. There is WAY too much doubting and forced emotional dialogue. Also, Ghost Rider's schtick is being done by the Spectre.
Final Grade: F

Animal Man #1/#2
Previous runs have been successful going way off the deep end of traditional storytelling. This appears to be using that formula.
Final Grade: n/a (totally unfair for me to rate something that's not my cup of tea)

Hawk & Dove #1/#2
Big fan of previous series. Big fan of Liefield art (Yes, I said it). Big fan of Dove/Deadman (Doveman?). Series not winning me over for some reason.
Final Grade: D

[Gaumer]

Schism: It wasn't "blow up the place so the sentinel can't" it was "blow up the place AND the sentinel with it". Gripe about them saying the sentinel was unbeatable, Wolverine having the opinion that the kids can't help, and then having the kids do what no one else said could be done. THAT part was the weak part. Gripe about having a lame-ass Hellfire Club with absolutely no bearing on anything at all. Gripe about Wolvie having a safe full of explosives because it makes absolutely no sense at all. But assuming that the reason for blowing up Utopia was to stop the sentinel from doing it is just unfair to the story. Utopia was nothing more than the same thing that Genosha or Asteroid M ended up being: getting the mutants all together in one spot for nothing more than story purposes. What sucks is that this idea actually makes sense in the post HoM universe, but it ended up falling as flat as the others did, prolly worse. It wasn't even a backdrop worthy of being called a backdrop. Just more cheap ideas to get stories and move heroes from the east to the west coast. I would have been happier if they had left Asteroid M alone and just hung out in San Fran. The development IS the best part and this as a lead-in to what could possibly be the best run of the X-books in over a decade is the only redeeming quality of the series.

Action: Why the hate on the new take? Its only been 2 issues. Surely there is an endgame for all the pansified Supes action we are seeing. I kind of like the idea of Supes kind of gaining in both power and learned responsibility in his youth. It looks like he's kind of ignorant of his lineage and such, and a Smallville-esque journey through that time in his life is just what this character needs after decades of molding. All this "kind of" is because its 2 issues in and both issues have read extremely well and have had great art and is trying to take something that is old as shit and make it fresh for anyone who hasn't bronze plated their "S"-emblem underoos in a showing of their unconditional love for a character that was in bigger need of a fresh and new take than any other from any publisher. "Classic Coke for meth"?? Only problem with that analogy is that people are actually enjoying Classic Coke. The same can't be said for the old version of this comic or the character based on the sales.

"Big fan of Liefield art? So you're the one I'm starting to think these reviews are just bad attempts at flaming

Keep them coming though, I love them

[steviecool]

"Why the hate on the new take? Its only been 2 issues."

Yeah, I know, but there are some Superman storylines that just sing, and some that are struggles. The Superman/LSH/Earth-Man issues? Gold. The reintroduction of Kara? Not gold, but entertaining on a lower level. This stuff... it's not zinging. It seems like jibber jabber. Or, if you will, Final Crisis - a great story buried under too much talk (Batman using a gun? Way too minimized and a missed opportunity - could have done a one-shot just on that.)

I dig the concept, but it just seems... off...

And I also do hate bitching without suggestions... here's what would make the reboot (it is SO a reboot) worth it.
1. Superman on Twitter
2. Superman not allowed to use @superman because Lois bought it out.
3. Superman emailing his exploits to Ma/Pa Kent, so you get the "in conclusion" effect, but they never check their email.
4. Jimmy doing daredevilish stunts (jumping off buildings, sneakinginto battlezones) for the crazy picture angle, and expecting Superman to save him each time. And Superman really not liking Jimmy Olsen, despite the claims they're best friends.
5. Superman not able to filter out the cries for help, or unable to stop seeing via xray vision the crimes happening, and realizing he can't stop it all...

[steviecool]

Alpha Flight #5 (of 8 )
Wait, why was Taskmaster in it? He didn't do anything. Villains admit to not knowing what's going on. Me neither.
Final Grade: C

Amazing Spider-Man #671
Cover - swoon.
"I get it now" = praying for the re-marriage
"And I'm all the super hero you need" = choice
Final Grade: A. Just on MJ alone

FF #10
Another middle issue. Good water cooler moments, but still a complete talky talky middle issue. Was there any question that Ben was coming back to the FF? Come on, there wasn't.
Final Grade: C

Generation Hope #12
I'm always surprised by an interesting issue of G.H. - this was one of them
Final Grade: A

New Avenger #17
Neat. Battle, then flashback to villains view of the battle. Unresolved ending, though. Could/Should have resolved it for the A.
Final Grade: B

Ultimate X-Men #2
Half the issue is fighty, half of it is Stryker Jr. - who comes off as boring and flat. Ready to drop it.
Final Grade: D

X-Men Legacy #257
In the wake of Schism, dragging out this adventure for another issue just seems painful. It could have been a great story otherwise, but pretty much like watching "Phantom Menace"- no pull because you know what's happening down the line
Final Grade: C

X-Men Regenesis #1 (One-Shot)
It was cool. not 100% sure of why we needed Caveman Cyclops Vs. Caveman Wolverine, but the art was choice.
Final Grade: A

Aquaman #1
Only bought it because Geoff Johns writes really great stories. Was not disappointed.
Final Grade: A

Green Lantern #2
I love the story, but am totally pissed off that they're trying to make the comic match the movie. Too many unanswered questions.
Final Grade: B (-1 for spite)

Buffy Season 9 #2
Totally reads like a Buffy episode. A good one. Albeit it's a "middle issue" where very little resolution, but good build-up.
Final Grade: B