'The New Avengers Volume 3' Review

Picked up this volume a while back, it collects issues #16-24 of The New Avengers. While it's quite good, it suffers from a problem I have with some volumes like this. Every single issue is illustrated by the same artists...except one. JUST ONE. So this volume starts off with a pretty unusual art style for current Marvel stuff, kind of a fun 70's style, more cartoon-ish flare to it. And that's fine but as soon as you get used to it, the next issue has a COMPLETELY different, very realistic style with lots of hatching and very thin lines. I wouldn't have a problem with this if I were reading single issues but when something is collected into a volume like this you pretty much expect the style to stay the same throughout.

Plot Summary

 In this volume, our villain is the one and only Norman Osbourne. Even though he's made comebacks an absurd amount of times for so many years it's ridiculous...he's Norman. He's a villain you can't help but enjoy. So Norman has a bunch of villainous friends on the inside and he's managed to escape from his prison. He starts building a dark army with people from A.I.M., Hydra and the Hand. Eventually things escalate to an all out brawl between The New Avengers and...The New...Dark...Avengers...yeah. Not the most original name but alright, we'll take it. All of the members of The Dark Avengers have their own agendas and you're not sure who's going to turn on who, I really enjoyed that. The final issue has some pretty fun twists as well.

The art is fantastic in this volume, Mike Deodato and Will Conrad set up their panels with great drama. Small events are in small panels and when crazy action scenes show up, they have a great use of one and two page spreads. There's a huge amount of characters packed in this volume and it's really enjoyable seeing all the dynamics between them. I really don't have much to say other than great action, great art, great characters.

The New Avengers Volume 3 - 7.6/10 

Couldn't resist posting this...

Quite accurate, I think. Unfortunately, I can't find the original post or artist to credit, found this on facebook.

'Action Comics - New 52' #13 Review

I'm a big fan of Action Comics and I haven't reviewed any on here so let's start with this one! It's a random issue I got at a comic store and it's part of the New 52 reboot that DC did. If you're unfamiliar with Action Comics, most issues are kind of their own episodic adventure, so you don't have to worry about missing the previous issue or anything. And in some cases, this one included, one issue will include multiple stories. This issue has two stories in it, both by different writers and artists.

First thing I have to say is, look at this cover. It's really well done but what is with this annoying Arrow ad taking up the top section?! C'mon DC, are we gonna see this a lot now? As if the back cover and pages throughout the comic aren't enough ads, now the front cover is getting taken over. A bit much, I think.


Anyway, the first story is called The Ghost In The Fortress of Solitude. It's kind of a fun Halloween type story, being that it takes place on Halloween. It starts with the story of Doctor Xa-Du on Kypton who his banished to the PHANTOM ZONE by his superiors. Later, we cut to the present in the fortress where Superman encounters Xa-Du still trapped in the Phantom Zone through a mirror he has. After some events,Kal-El becomes trapped in this realm but soon discovers that Krypto the SUPER DOG is also in the Phantom Zone with him. In a nutshell, a battle ensues and in the end Superman is able to pull Krypto out of the zone. While reading this, I was thinking to myself 'how did Krypto even get in there, how long has he been in there, did Superman even know' and so on. Well, this leads me to comic number two!

Far better in my opinion, the 2nd story, A Boy and His Dog, is much shorter and simpler. With very little dialogue, it's a visual story showing Krypto's life from a pup, how he got in the zone and so on. It answered all the questions I had and I found it to be a very touching little story that's only EIGHT PAGES LONG.

The art for both stories is quite good but not consistently good. The first story's artist, Travel Foreman, is really amazing in some panels but completely unimpressive in others. I think that he was trying to go for a really simplified style in some of the Phantom Zone sequences to articulate this bizarre realm that Superman is stuck in. But I felt that it didn't translate as well as it could have. Sometimes a small figure will be super detailed and a very large figure will have hardly any. I honestly thought there were different artists working on different panels but it says there's only one artist...hmm. The 2nd story's art is great all around, the inks by Andrew Hennessy are particularly great.

After glancing at the cover afterwards I noticed that the hand of Xa-Du is clutching the collar of Krypo, a nice touch!

Overall, this comic is an interesting example of how less is more. 'A Boy and His Dog' is more touching and entertaining than 'The Ghost in the Fortress of Solitude' and it does so in less than half the pages used.



Action Comics #13 - 7.4/10

'Slam Dunk' #1 Review

Slam Dunk. Classic. It's awesome. Let's discuss.

Plot Summary:

Hanamachi Sakuragi is a freakishly tall freshman who's constantly being shot down by the ladies. After seeing the beautiful Haruko Akagi in the hallway, Sakuragi is instantly head-over-heels. He discovers that she has a passion for basketball and decides he's gonna become a SPORTS GUY and win her heart. He tries out for the team but basketball ends up becoming a far more intense endeavor than he planned.

This comic is just great. It falls into that fantastic category of manga that starts off quite funny and absurd and slowly builds up the seriousness over time. After a couple volumes in, you'll find yourself deeply caring about these characters and reading some really powerful scenes that bring a tear to the eye.

But I don't want to get into the main story, this is just discussing volume one. This first book has by far the most comedy; the first few chapters are a riot. Takehiko Inoue doesn't focus on instantly throwing out basketball action, he focuses on introducing and developing plenty of characters in this high school. For me, this series reminds me of Hikaru no Go: a sports manga that has a huge amount of characters that are all ridiculously likeable. Once the 'protagonists' of the series are introduced, the other teams in the area, you'll find yourself enjoying those characters just as much.

The relationships and dialogue between everyone is hilarious, Sakuragi's "posse" in particular (on the left) really crack me up. Everyone makes fun of everyone else in this comic. 

The art is obviously great. You get to see Inoue's earlier style gradually develop into his fluid, realism. Reading this manga just makes you want to run outside and play some ball, it's really inspirational at times. If you're interested in basketball, comedy, shonen, action, slice of life, any of that good stuff, Slam Dunk is for you.

Slam Dunk #1 - 8.7/10