Kevin Reviews His Weekly Singles #07
The Boys #18
OK, officially, the hamster joke is done. Still, the parallel trajectories of Starlight and Hughie is the sort of thing that Garth Ennis does that I absolutely love, and Robertson is as strong as ever.
The Invincible Iron Man #1
I wrote 700-something words about it over at Comic Book Resources. Short version is that I enjoyed it, feel it has a lot of potential, and want to stick my middle finger in the air at the mouth-breathing twits who inhabit their forums that think I'm a "graphic novel snob" because I thought Secret Invasion's first issue was lousy. (Dear Trogolodytes: It's not that I don't like Marvel comics; it's that I don't like crappy Marvel comics. Calling me a snob for this only lets me know that you haven't quite mastered that whole chewing-gum-and-walking thing.)
Anyhow, I'm sure somebody'll find a reason to complain about a three-and-a-half-star review, but I feel that five stars should be reserved for something truly sublime and defining, not a well-executed comic featuring a corporate character, so it'll be a long, long time before Marvel or DC gets that golden ring from me.
Jack Staff #16
Let's say I found Paul Grist in the sub-basement of a nursery school throwing toddler-sized bundles into a furnace and muttering about how baby blood is the toughest kind to get out. The conversation might go a little something like this:
Justice League Unlimited #45
On paper, a story about Gorilla Grodd stripping Superman, Mary Marvel, Green Lantern, and The Flash of their powers during a high-stress situation and the group needing to work without their usual abilities is something I'd enjoy. In fact, however, Alexander Gradet's script switches storytelling gears too many times and has an ending that I'd call a deus ex machina if it wasn't so clumsily foreshadowed early on. Nice art by Scott Cohn, however, with an on-model look that still manages to be individual.
Madman #8
Please tell me there's a plan here, somewhere, as I'm an old-school fan (who even bought the damned Gargantua) who's being left so very, very cold by this title's college freshman metaphysics. Some points were earned for the cute little backup (is it still a "backup" if it takes up half the issue?) by Mike Allred's brother J.L. with layouts by Nick Dragotta and finishes from Allred himself, as it managed to maintain some of the original spark that brought me to the series and include a mention of the Superman/Madman Hullabaloo, one of my favorite cross-universal crossovers.
Midnighter #19
So, the cover's pretty misleading (the events depicted happened last issue,) and I'm literally just reading this so I know how the series ends (an annoying, fannish habit I'm ashamed of) but at one point, The Midnighter shoves a squirt bottle of mustard up Assassin8's (blergh!) nose and squeezes. That sound you just heard was Chris Sims's head whipping around at hypersonic speed.
Rex Libris #11
Who knew a comic book about a librarian who collects overdue books and their attendant fees would feature an enthralling, high-energy parody of every Michael Bay military cliché ever and C'thulhu? Not me, and I've been reading the title for the last two years.
What did you get? Did you enjoy it?
OK, officially, the hamster joke is done. Still, the parallel trajectories of Starlight and Hughie is the sort of thing that Garth Ennis does that I absolutely love, and Robertson is as strong as ever.
The Invincible Iron Man #1
I wrote 700-something words about it over at Comic Book Resources. Short version is that I enjoyed it, feel it has a lot of potential, and want to stick my middle finger in the air at the mouth-breathing twits who inhabit their forums that think I'm a "graphic novel snob" because I thought Secret Invasion's first issue was lousy. (Dear Trogolodytes: It's not that I don't like Marvel comics; it's that I don't like crappy Marvel comics. Calling me a snob for this only lets me know that you haven't quite mastered that whole chewing-gum-and-walking thing.)
Anyhow, I'm sure somebody'll find a reason to complain about a three-and-a-half-star review, but I feel that five stars should be reserved for something truly sublime and defining, not a well-executed comic featuring a corporate character, so it'll be a long, long time before Marvel or DC gets that golden ring from me.
Jack Staff #16
Let's say I found Paul Grist in the sub-basement of a nursery school throwing toddler-sized bundles into a furnace and muttering about how baby blood is the toughest kind to get out. The conversation might go a little something like this:
Kevin: Paul, hello! What are you up to? This is quite a mess you have here! Ha ha!That is how much I love Tom Tom The Robot Man, so there's never any reason to expect anything like actual criticism from me when talking about any issue in which the character shows up on one or more pages.
Paul: Just doing a bit of the old child slaughter before going back to work on a Tom Tom The Robot Man page!
Kevin: Oh, right then. Carry on. Can't wait to see the next issue!
Justice League Unlimited #45
On paper, a story about Gorilla Grodd stripping Superman, Mary Marvel, Green Lantern, and The Flash of their powers during a high-stress situation and the group needing to work without their usual abilities is something I'd enjoy. In fact, however, Alexander Gradet's script switches storytelling gears too many times and has an ending that I'd call a deus ex machina if it wasn't so clumsily foreshadowed early on. Nice art by Scott Cohn, however, with an on-model look that still manages to be individual.
Madman #8
Please tell me there's a plan here, somewhere, as I'm an old-school fan (who even bought the damned Gargantua) who's being left so very, very cold by this title's college freshman metaphysics. Some points were earned for the cute little backup (is it still a "backup" if it takes up half the issue?) by Mike Allred's brother J.L. with layouts by Nick Dragotta and finishes from Allred himself, as it managed to maintain some of the original spark that brought me to the series and include a mention of the Superman/Madman Hullabaloo, one of my favorite cross-universal crossovers.
Midnighter #19
So, the cover's pretty misleading (the events depicted happened last issue,) and I'm literally just reading this so I know how the series ends (an annoying, fannish habit I'm ashamed of) but at one point, The Midnighter shoves a squirt bottle of mustard up Assassin8's (blergh!) nose and squeezes. That sound you just heard was Chris Sims's head whipping around at hypersonic speed.
Rex Libris #11
Who knew a comic book about a librarian who collects overdue books and their attendant fees would feature an enthralling, high-energy parody of every Michael Bay military cliché ever and C'thulhu? Not me, and I've been reading the title for the last two years.
What did you get? Did you enjoy it?
