'Spider-Man: India' Review

So this exists.

I bought these four issues a really long time ago but didn't get around to reading it for a long time. Now I finally know that...I wasn't missing much. Much like the Mangaverse Spider-Man, this one has all the basic Spidey elements that are given cultural twist. But I feel that it's done in much more clumsy way than the mangaverse version.

Peter Parker is now Pativr Prabhakar. Uncle Ben is Uncle Bhim. Aunt May is Aunt Maya. We're in Mumbai. So on and so forth. I did really like that they use a lot of Indian terms in this comic and they have a glossary in the back explaining these slang terms. It's always fun to learn new words while enjoying a comic. I guess the first thing that I noticed about this comic is that the art is really not up to par with Marvel's standards. After doing some reading online, I found out that this was developed by Gotham Entertainment in India and then just published by Marvel over here. The art is just...not quite there yet.

I probably don't need to even explain the plot. It's just basic Spidey plot in India. Really no surprises at all. The Mangaverse Spider-Man at least had the random Hulk cameo, as strange as that was. This one is formulaic every step of the way. I thought it was pretty awesome that instead of playing Football or Basketball, Flash Thompson is a Cricket star. One moment that cracked me up is during a dramatic cricket match, Pativr has just joined the team and he's up to bat. He hits the ball far with his super strength but it goes towards a no run zone so his team loses the game. As soon as they lose, the coach goes "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, PRABHAKAR?! YOU JUST LOST US THE GAME!" Wow, what an asshole. You'd think a school coach might be a little more supportive, especially to a kid that just joined the team.

There was one scene where the writers tried to tie in some Indian mythology about men vs. demons but it really just had no purpose being in the story and made me forget that I was reading a Spidey comic. There's a random Venom reference towards the end that isn't explained on any level and then leaves it wide open for a new story arc. But that never happened so...there ya have it.

I do really like how Spider-Man himself looks in his Indian costume. But that's about as cool as it gets. This comic suffers from the issue covers being much more cool than anything that happens inside. I personally think that only way a person could really love this comic is if you've got personal ties to India and happen to love Spider-Man. If you're really hardcore into Spidey, maybe give this one a try but that's about it.

I wish I could say more about this but there's not much to tell. It's Spider-Man in India. That's it.


Spider-Man: India - 5.6/10

'Marvel Mangaverse: Spider-Man' #1

Well, this is an interesting beast. The Marvel Mangaverse comics ran from 2000 to 2002 and some of the characters got their own spin-off series, such as Spider-Man. I was a little reluctant about how this would be but I was pleasantly surprised.

Plot Summary: So this is a short and sweet issue 1, it moves quite fast. All of the basic Spider-Man plot elements are there: Peter lives with his aunt and uncle, Mary Jane and Flash and Gwen are all in it, and several other characters from the universe. But everything has been given a Japanese twist. Uncle Ben is Peter's sensei and he is killed by Venom, who is a large...guy in samurai armor. In school, Peter's teacher is Doc Oc, which I thought was kind of funny. Venom takes orders from the Kingpin, who kind of acts as the Yakuza boss stereotype. Now that Peter is the last surviving member of the 'Spider Clan', his life is threatened by the Kingpin. Peter dons his Spider-Man costume and fights Venom and some foot ninjas in a street battle and essentially impresses him quite a bit.

Kaare Andrews did the writing and art for this, which really surprised me. A lot of the panel layout shots are a lot of fun, especially in the action scenes.

There are couple elements that I'm confused about. For starters, how old are these characters? At first, I thought Peter was just a boy, but then when he's in school, it appears to be high school. The art style is great but it makes it a bit confusing as to what age group we're in. There's a moment in the beginning when Peter has a nightmare during class about Uncle Ben's death. When Professor Doc Oc asks him to leave, one kid in the class mutters 'WHATTA FREAK...PROBABLY KILLED HIS SENSEI HIMSELF...' Wow. That was uncalled for. During the final battle, there's a random moment that confuses the hell out of me: Spider-Man knocks down Venom and is about to strike the 'final blow' or what have you. He says 'Any final words, demon?' when suddenly THE HULK comes out of NOWHERE and rips through the entire building...? What? The this isn't a Hulk we're used to, he's literally the size of a building. Why is the Hulk suddenly in this comic with no warning? Why is he tearing through a city? Why is no one REACTING to the Hulk being here? No one even seems to acknowledge it. What the hell. And the final splash page of the comic is Peter deciding to save the city instead of going after Venom, with The Hulk chasing after him and Mary Jane. So the Hulk is evil or something? He doesn't speak. He's just in two panels in the whole comic! I need an explanation or something. I'll have to find issue 2 to figure out what's going on, I guess. Bizarre.

Overall, I thought this was a fun issue and I'd like to read more. Some of the Japanese twists were quite fun. On the cover of the issue, they have MARVEL and the writer's name written in Japanese Katakana, (MAABERU and KAARE ANDORYUUZ) which I thought was a really nice touch.

An interesting addition to the Spider-Man library, give it a read if you can!


Marvel Mangaverse: Spider-Man #1 - 7.9/10


Next up, I'm going to check out SPIDER-MAN: INDIA...

'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 

'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

'Showcase Presents Green Arrow' #1 Review

Time for a change of pace! Old DC comics. Really old. Showcase Presents Green Arrow features over 500 pages of comics from 1958 to 1969. DC has released these showcases with almost all of their major titles and I wanted to check one out so I picked up Green Arrow. They're all printed in black and white so they could make them much cheaper and it really doesn't take away from the art at all. I think this is really only for intense comic nerds, these issues are old and dated as hell. If you've recently gotten into DC comics and you want to check more out, I suggest something a little more...recent. All of the dialogue in this volume is so ridiculously bad, it's good. Every single character speaks like 'HEY THERE FELLA, THAT'S JUST SWELL, WHAT THE BLUE BLAZES, WATCH IT BUSTER' and so on. I swear almost every issue in here has at least one character yelling GREAT GUNS! The amount of puns and one-liners in this volume will astound you. If you can look past how corny everything is, you might be able to really enjoy it!

Plot Summary


Almost every issue in here is six pages long. Most of them are from World's Finest Comics and Adventure Comics so they're short and sweet. There's so real surprises on the stories, usually some dastardly crook has made some evil play to steal something, Green Arrow and Speedy use their wits and gadgets to save the day. For me, the most enjoyable parts are just the absurd dialogue and situations that occur. There are some cameos in certain comics from Superboy, Superman, Batman, Martian Manhunter and so on. About halfway through the volume, there's a full issue of Justice League about Green Arrow joining the team. It was surprisingly good and my personal favorite comic featured in here. The strangest thing for me was that every comic looks and feels very similar except out of NOWHERE the last comic in here is completely different. It's suddenly has the look of 1970's comics and shows the transition from the earlier style. The panels are large and poses more dynamic, there's much more inking work going on with lots of crosshatching, the faces are large and dramatic, Green Arrow suddenly has a goatee. It was a very sudden shift in style and it felt very out of place, even though it was still good!

I couldn't help but notice that early Green Arrow is LITERALLY a copy of Bruce Wayne. Oliver Queen is a millionaire playboy with no actual superpowers. He's a detective who's created all of these wild gadgets to help him fight crime. He has a sidekick who's basically with him at all times. He has an Arrow-mobile, an Arrow-plane, even an Arrow-cave! Sounds pretty familiar...

I've noticed that there are quite of few of these showcase volumes for Batman, Justice League, etc, but Green Arrow only has one?? I'd definitely like to read more where it goes into the 70's and 80's, hopefully DC will put out another one. All in all, cheesy as it gets but an enjoyable read!

"You sure turned the tables on them, Green Arrow!"
"Yes...The Camouflage King and his men will have a tough time camouflaging themselves now - behind bars!"

Showcase Presents Green Arrow #1 - 7/10

'Holy Terror' Review

WHOA! I've never heard of this before! I'm not sure where to start with this one. Holy Terror is a bit of a change of pace from my last review on here (which was shoujo). This comic book is intense. And pretty damn offensive. First off, I'd like to say that I love Frank Miller. As a writer and as an artist, but especially as an artist. Visually, Sin City is one of the most amazing works of art out there. I love 300, The Dark Knight Returns, Spawn/Batman, etc. Holy Terror starts off just as visually breathtaking as anything else by Frank Miller. The wide format Miller uses for his comics now is really interesting. The first six or so pages of the comic are all single page spreads before he starts using panels.

Plot Summary

The comic opens with The Fixer (basically Batman) right on the tail of Natalie Stack (basically Catwoman) as they swing from rooftops of a city. They start a brutal fight which eventually leads to making out. They get caught up in a much bigger deal in the form of a massive explosion across the city. This leads them to basically fighting Al-Queda (as ridiculous as that sounds). The equivilant of The Statue of Liberty gets bombed by these terrorists and this leads to The Fixer going all out against the FIENDS. Natalie Stack eventually finds herself in a massive, underground mosque lair place and having to fight her way out.

This graphic novel is pretty straightforward. Frank Miller wanted to kick some terrorist ass and he really dishes it out in this thing. It's a pretty offensive piece of work and I'm sure that's how he intended it. I wasn't really into the story much; for me, this comic is all the art. My God, it's superb. Typical Miller style whites and blacks with harsh reds. There were two pages where Natalie falls into an underwater area and the only color on both pages is pink EVERYWHERE. It's almost like she's swimming in pepto bismol but it still worked so well. The dramatic use of color really made this comic great for me. I'm surprised how much negative response this thing is getting from the comic world. I mean, yeah, it's really opinionated and offensive. I don't think that constitutes people saying Miller has 'lost his touch' or 'changed too much' or whatever. I'm shocked by how many people are bashing his artwork in Holy Terror. It does have a frantic feel to it but it's not bad at all. How can people say that it isn't good? The faces may be very bizarre looking but it's very intentional. He's still Frank Miller, his writing style and art still look like Frank Miller and this comic is very Frank Miller. It's just a fun and wild ride. I honestly thought this book was a little too short (especially for how expensive the cover price is) but it wasn't a problem. Miller depicts an obsolutely absurd-looking Obama halfway through the comic. His views are pretty clear cut for the reader. Obviously this comic is not for the easily offended. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes beautiful visuals. IT'S BEAUTIFUL. The story is definitely a little too politics/religion heavy for me to fully enjoy but the art completely made up for it.

"There's something under your coat - what is it?" "Paradise."

Holy Terror - 7.8/10

'Legionnaires' #7 Review

So I'd like to review this issue for a number of reasons. I picked this up at a local comic store for 50 cents for one reason: Adam Hughes! One of my favorite comic artists, Hughes' art is very recognizable and I had to pick this up. I'd never read a Legionnaires issue before but this is #7, still pretty early in the game. Not only was this issue GREAT, but it's one of the best illustrated comics I've ever seen. Adam Hughes' pencils with Mark Farmer's thick black outlines really makes some phenomenal artwork. Attempting to be something of an artist myself, I find this issue to be very inspirational. Since this adventure takes place underwater and everyone is in very little clothing, this issue is a great study of the human figure. Hughes' facial expressions are very well done and really bring all the characters to life.

Plot Summary



So the Earth has been destroyed (I'm not completely sure how or when) and our heroes are visiting Atlantis, which is very big in tourism. This is basically their vacation getaway and in the Legionnaires are big celebrities to the public. Inferno takes a liking to a local mermaid and hey follow her to her family's Inn and decide to stay there. Meanwhile, local Atlanteans are being randomly slaughtered by some MYSTERY BEASTS. All the Legionnaires start splitting up throughout Atlantis and doing their own thing. Matter-Eater Lad (great name) keeps trying to hit on Shrinking Violet but she keeps shutting him down. Inferno is spending time with the hot mermaid chick when some blaster fire interrupts their good time! A local starts attacking one of the "devil-fish" that's been killing people. Inferno destroys his gun and goes on a mission to figure out what's been happening in Atlantis to cause this. Later the other half of the gang is off having fun when more locals and devil-fish start fighting. The Legionnaires are caught up in the crossfire and Brainiac suddenly interrupts the quarrel speaking the devil-fish language. He explains that he's ordered them to cease their attacks on people and that they're actually intelligent creatures. He explains their history and how the rivalries started and basically patches things up between the two parties. When the Legionnaires are leaving the next day they assume that they don't have to pay anything and the inn owners didn't want to shame themselves by asking for money. Shrinking Violet realizes this was RUDE of them, they talk about it and send Matter-Eater Lad and Inferno back to ask about paying. They find the mermaid girl crying and saying her family's inn has been closed down because they were way behind on payments. The team decides to all chip in for the payments and the issue ends with Shrinking Violet commenting that Tenz (matter-eater lad) is KINDA CUTE. hee hee!

There was one panel where Triad (who is split into three different people) is commenting to herself on a previous "encounter" with Inferno. "Last time we listened to Inferno, we couldn't sit down for a month." "D-Don't bring that up again!" "Hey, the skin grew back, didn't it?"
Disturbing to say the least.

There's not a whole lot going on in the story for this issue but the art makes it a damn good read. The character relationships are pretty interesting on the team and I'd definitely like to read more in the future. It was fun to see how their hair is constantly moving underwater, usually standing straight up. I can't say enough about how great Adam Hughes is, and this issue is a great example!

Legionnaires #7 - 8.4/10

'Batman and Robin' #3 Review

YEAH. Look at that cover! My favorite one yet, the fluid motion of the capes is amazing. It's a very minor detail but I really like how the artist signed his name on the cover by making out out of Robin's bootlaces. Very clever and cool signature.

Plot Summary

So this issue opens with Damian and Alfred playing a game of chess with all these really cool chess metaphors for what's happening in the comic. Bruce is outside setting up perimeter defenses like a "knight protecting his castle". Alfred shows he's a complete badass by attaching a few homing devices on Damian as he's trying to leave. Alfred is a big character so far and I really like that, rather than just being the butler in the background that says "Yes, Master Bruce." Damian confronts some bad apples in an alley and kicks the shit out of them (he punches an iphone right into a guy's face). He goes a little crazy at the end and you see a little of bit of the beast inside. Morgan appears, gives a little speech and knocks Damian out. THEN Bruce appears and they throw hands! After a pretty brutal fight, Bruce is knocked into the road and hit by an oncoming car, blacking out. Later (how much later it doesn't say) Batman and Robin wake up in an old car sitting in an abandoned drive-in. A countdown on the large screen begins and the issue ends with Morgan's voice on an intercom. "Glad to see everyone's coming around. Make yourselves comfortable. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show." GAHHH I WANT MORE. Seriously intense cliff hanger of an ending.

I caught up now, haven't read any more of the series. I'm excited to buy the next issue. What's gonna happen next?!! THE TENSION'S KILLIN' ME! This issue also has an ad for the new series Red Hood and the Outlaws. It looks SUPERB. I've never heard of this?? I'll definitely keep my eye out for that and do a review if I find it!

Batman and Robin #3 - 8.3/10

'Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane' Review

Take a look at this! Marvel attempting to make Shoujo. Wow. I've been seeing this thing at the library for months and finally decided to pick it up. It wasn't until I had it checked out that I realized it's actually volume 4 in the series, but it's not hard to follow. Degrassi meets Spider-Man. I can see where the idea of this could sound good. There are so many different characters Peter has had relations with throughout the history of Spider-Man and putting them all in a high school setting sounds interesting. I think this series is very much directed at a target audience and I am not in that audience. They even collect it into a volume like this to make it look like a shoujo series. I mean the color scheme even looks like Fruits Basket!!


Plot Summary

So Peter and MJ aren't together anymore. Now MJ is with Harry and I guess they've also been together in the past but they broke up previously. It seems like every character has dated every other character at some point. Everyone is a whore. Not really. Spider-Man starts hanging out with Firestar and that eventually turns into make out sessions. Liz is having problems with her boyfriend Flash. They actually made Flash out to be a pretty cool guy in this series rather that just the normal Flash Thompson who yells "PARKER!!". MJ and Harry don't want to get serious but they do anyway. This comic is just constantly jumping around between relationships very fast. Warning to all guys thinking about reading this - There is no action. At all. No violence. Nothing. There's one bad guy on one page. Iceman has a random appearance at the end. That's about as Marvel Comics as this thing gets. Felicia Hardy is in it. I don't think she's Black Cat yet? They don't mention it at all. She's just a random whore who wants to screw up everyone else's relationships. She has no heart and wants everyone else's love life to fail. That's what I got out of it. She also speaks in cat metaphors. "Are you feelin' lucky?!" Recurring words like 'catch' 'bad luck' 'thief' 'jinx' and so on. They really lay it on thick. Harry opens up his 'soul' to MJ and admits that he loves her but she still loves Peter deep down. They break up and the comic ends with MJ and Peter on a bench together.

I definitely wouldn't say this series is bad, it's just not that great either...Like a mentioned before, it's all about the target audience. I don't think I'll be reading any more of this series but I'm not horribly disappointed at all. Strangely enough, this was created by two guys. The art style reminds me very much of a female artist, but I suppose the artist might have just been trying to imitate shoujo as best he could. I really didn't like the fact that it's called SPIDERMAN LOVES MARY JANE. I mean, come on, they couldn't think of something better? How about WEB OF ROMANCE? Corny but better, I think. On the back cover it says it's a 'breath of fresh air' and I really can't argue with that. Marvel was definitely branching out and I have to respect that.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane volume 4 - 5.5/10

'Batman and Robin' #2 Review

Time for issue number DOS. Right off the bat (GEDDIT) this issue opens with a 2 page spread showing events throughout Damian's life. His intense training that the League of Shadows put him through since birth. They're really trying to get across that Damian is a monster and Bruce has nurture him back to humanity. Unfortunately Bruce has no idea how to be a dad and that's part of what makes this series so damn interesting! *spoilers* Damian doesn't want to disappoint his father so halfway through the issue they're taking care of some thugs doing a weapons deal and Damian shows restraint when taking them down. Bruce notes this as "commendable". They tie up the thugs and leave them hanging from a light post when suddenly our mysterious villain shows up. He sneaks down right on top of the guys and slits their throats but they even know he's there. There's a page showing him standing under the thugs, a shower of blood flowing all around him. It was gruesome and disturbing and FANTASTIC. This comic book doesn't play games, there is some intense violence in this series. In the last scene with Damian, he's walking back to his room from his exercise session when he catches a bat in mid air and crushes it in his hand. Alfred notices as he tosses it away casually. This kid has problems.

The issue ends with Bruce purchasing a great dane and being confronted by a man named Morgan. It's revealed that this guy is a our stealthy killer. Morgan detonates a little explosive nearby to show he's one step ahead of the game and disappears. The tension is building, I'm eager to read more!! The atmosphere of this comic is so dark and it's complimented nicely at the end outside scene with it's bright colors. I'm always happy to discover new artists I like and the penciller Patrick Gleason is really skilled. I'd really like to post some more pictures from this comic but since it's so new I'm having trouble finding any! Just go to your local bookstore and buy an issue of this, you will enjoy it. I hope. You better. I have issue #3 and I'll review that soon!

Batman and Robin #2 - 8.2/10

'Batman and Robin' #1 Review

Where do I start? It's been a year since I posted anything on here. I've moved around with computers a lot recently and actually forgot my account information on here but I finally got it all sorted out and I'm back.....I don't think anyone missed me. The blog seems to be exactly how I left it..but that's okay! I've been reading a lot of comics lately and I'd like to get some of this out there again. So instead of reviewing random manga from the library, I'm going to review something actually relevent!! If you're a fan of DC comics then you probably (or should) know about DC's new 52 that's happening right now. Fifty two DC titles all rebooting at once! Pretty exciting. I was a little doubtful when I first heard about it but now that I've read quite a few current issues, I'm pretty pleased! I'm going to review my favorite that I've read so far: Batman and Robin!

So Bruce is back. Damian Wayne is now Robin. I picked up issue one because I thought the relationship between father and son would be very interesting for Batman and Robin. And I was right! Normally you've got a brooding Batman and a cheerful Robin. With 2009's Batman and Robin series, you had positive Dick Grayson as Batman and a brooding Robin. Well NOW we've got a brooding Batman and a brooding Robin! DOUBLE BROOD. I thought this might be too much brood for one comic but Alfred balances it out with his awesome self.

This comic is dark. Very dark. My favorite thing about it is probably the atmosphere of it all. Dark colors everywhere. The art is just fantastic and the writing is great. I REALLY like Frank Quitely's art on the previous Batman and Robin but this new guy (Patrick Gleason) is great too. The villain introduced seems really interesting and also quite disturbed. There's some pretty intense violence in this comic, this definitely isn't The Brave and The Bold. A lot happens in this first issue and the end leaves you wanting more! I think if you're new to Batman comics or DC in general, this is a great start. If you're very familiar with Batman, you're gonna love this series. I'm eager to read more!

Batman and Robin #1 - 8.5/10

'The New Teen Titans - The Judas Contract' Review

So if you were born in the early 90's like me, you loved Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Kids WB, etc. You might have gotten into the Teen Titans animated series in 2003. Personally, this show was a little too late for me, I think I could have enjoyed it if I was younger when it first came out, but I never got into it. I am a fan of the Teen Titans in general though, especially 'The New Teen Titans', the comic series by Wolfman and Perez that began in 1980. Even though I generally look down on the Teen Titans animated series for a number of reasons, I do like how they covered the Judas Contract, the most infamous arc of the Titans history.



SPOILER WARNING. After years of buying random issues of The New Teen Titans at my local comic shop, I've finally covered the Judas Contract, and it's quite a doozy. This arc marks some big changes for the Titans. Kid Flash leaving the group, Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing, Jericho joining the group, and obviously the finale leaves the character reeling from the shock of what's happened. This also marked the transition of the title 'New Teen Titans' becoming 'Tales of the Teen Titans'. Terra's death by rock crushing at the end was brutal to say the least. I remember her simply being changed into stone in the animated series.



My favorite aspect of the Judas Contract was simply the character Joseph Wilson, aka Jericho. He was just a BADASS. I really want to start hunting down more Teen Titans with Jericho in the team. He's got some of the coolest powers I've ever seen in a comic book (CONTACT!) and I just love his furious mutton chops. Those really show how dated this comic is, but in a good way! The relationship between Slade and Jericho was really touching at parts. I'm still a little disturbed by the romance between Slade and Terra. I don't blame the animated series for not going into that more, it's pretty weird. I really like how human Slade is in the comics, though. He's such a hardcore mercenary but he's still a father in some aspects. If you ever watched the show, Tara Markov was a shy, timid girl who had trouble controlling her powers. In the comic, she's a loud mouth, trash talking, cig smoking, brat with buck teeth. Slight change there.



In the climax of the last battle, Terra goes completely insane. Wolfman and Perez didn't try to give the character any hope at all, she just flew right off the handle and ultimately caused her own demise. Overall, really intense arc. Lots of drama, lots of emotion. Perez's art is fantastic, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I especially enjoyed Wolfman's writing in the final pages at Terra's funeral.

"But Joseph William Wilson isn't listening to his mother, his thoughts are elsewhere...soaring high on a warm spring wind, floating gently in a a clear, cloudless sky...and borne aloft by tomorrow's hopes and dreams that can still come true."

The Judas Contract: 8.5/10

'The Umbrella Academy - Apocalypse Suite' Review

Well, this comic completely surprised me. I picked this up at the library purely on the fact that it's written by Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance), whom I'm not a huge fan of. I figured it wouldn't be very good and thought it would be another reason to not care about Mr. Way. To say the least, this comic is very good. It's a modern superhero-esque story with a cast of super characters that all have personal issues.

Plot Summary

All over the world, forty-three children were simultaneously born by women who weren't pregnant. Rich inventor Reginald Hargreeves, The Monocle, tries to track down and adopt these children, only finding seven in the end. His answer for adopting these children is "To save the world". Ten years later, the children are now a super fighting force known as 'The Umbrella Academy'. Each of the seven children has extraordinary powers, except for Number 7, Vanya. The children save Paris from an evil doer but the Eiffel Tower goes flying into space. Fast forward twenty more years; each of the children has gone their separate ways to live their own life. Number 1, Spaceboy, is on the moon and gets a call that The Monocle is dead. All of the Umbrella Academy (save for one of them who has died) meet back at the old mansion for the funeral. The world is once again threatened by a villain, this time known as The Conductor, who has his own dark orchestra that is practicing to play the Apocalypse Suite. One of the children returns from the future, saying that the world will be destroyed and they have to stop this new threat before it's too late. The Umbrella Academy once again teams up for possibly another false alarm, or an actual threat to all of humanity.


This comic had some really fantastic characters. It had some intense battles, great humor, and a really awesome Chimp named Dr. Pogo. There was even a death scene that made me genuinely sad while reading it. Since this is a running series, I'm very interested in reading more. One thing that bothered me about the art was the artist contrast. The artist of the actual comic is Gabriel Ba but the cover art for each issue is James Jean. I think Gabriel's art fit the series well. It reminded of Mike Mignola's work on Hellboy. The only problem I had was that James Jean's cover art is fucking BEAUTIFUL. He creates these massive, gorgeous paintings for each cover. Frankly, I felt bad for Gabriel Ba. The reader sees James' insane cover art but then the actual comic art is a bit plain in comparison.

I HIGHLY suggest this to anyone that hates My Chemical Romance. I now see Gerard Way in an all new light. He's proven to me that he's a very skilled writer and I'm looking forward to more comics from him.

Umbrella Academy - Apocalypse Suite: 8/10

'Street Fighter Legends - Sakura' Review

For starters, this was much more enjoyable than Malibu's SF adaptation. Duh. I really like Udon's SF comics. Street Fighter Legends - Sakura is composed of all four issues of the series and a bonus prelude chapter. I also have Street Fighter Legends - Chun Li, but this one was far better. One thing that surprised me about this was that it is pure comedy. The entire way through.

Plot Summary

So if you don't know anything about Sakura, she's a badass schoolgirl who wants to be THE VERY BEST! She idolizes Ryu, SF's main man, and strives to kick ass like he does. Her rival is complete bitch Karin. I seriously hate Karin...so much. She's a spoiled rich heir to a big Japanese family. I've always hated Karin and now after reading this...so much distaste. But anyway, Karin wants to kick Sakura's ass. This comic goes from the schoolyard, to a wrestling match, to a hot dog eating contest of fury. I'd like to take a minute to acknowledge the greatest character is SF history.......DAN HIBIKIIIIII!



Seriously, this man is just amazing. Dan has always been the joke of the SF series and he is so perfectly portrayed in this comic. One part I loved is when Dan is hunting down Sakura to challenge her in battle. He is hiding in the bushes with a clever disguise of part of a bush on his head. He fires an arrow with a scroll attached from his bow and it hits the side of Sakura's house. Dan emerges from the bushes and gets the attention of Sakura's bro. "This is an official challenge to Sakura Kasugano. You would do well to deliver it with haste, young one! HA HA HA HA HA!!"
Dan is so cool.

I will now present my favorite quote from the entire comic, by the character E. Honda. He is the guest judge at the hot dog eating contest.
"Made from 100% pure kobe beef produced by Shinto priests in an isolated ranch hidden in the Rokko Mountains, and nestled into heavenly light buns baked with flour milled from the royal family's private farm, they have been aptly called "The Hot Dogs of the Gods!"

Hell yes.
There isn't a whole lot to take away from this comic on an intellectual level. But it is still amazing. Thank you Udon for making good SF comics!
Street Fighter Legends - Sakura gets 7/10!

DAN HIBIKI IS LORD!

Malibu's 'Street Fighter' Issue #1 Review

Oh boy. I would just like to say for the record that I'm a hardcore Street Fighter fan. I adore the games and the new Street Fighter comics by Udon are great. But this....THIS....
*sigh*
this should not exist.
I picked this up at a comic store a while back. It was only 50 cents, I figured it couldn't be that bad. I WAS WRONG. From the cover art alone, I knew something was horribly wrong. I mean, look at the art. It's so.....not Street Fighter. The very first page is a panel of Ryu uppercutting Sagat while screaming "DRAGON PUNCH!"
...wait. Dragon Punch? They actually translated Shoryuken? Wow. The next panel is Sagat hunched over saying "YOU...BURNED ME!" Next Ryu says "A lesson Sagat! To remind you of your defeat...BY RYU!"
Wow.
This is bad.
Really bad.
At this point i'm wondering if I can exchange it and get my 50 cents back.
So anyway, a fierce battle ensues that lasts one page. Sagat picks a fight with Balrog, then Bison shows up and he's like HEY STOP IT GUYS!
Then we scene change over to Chun Li and Ryu in a mountain temple river area place. Ryu sneaks up on Chun Li and tries to scare with a seriously terrifying face. PIG! she screams as she throws him over her shoulder. Uh oh. A battle? Then Ryu attacks! "FIREBALL!!"

...

are you kidding me?
Fireball?
alright.
So they have a fierce battle and then make out.
WHAT?!
Ryu and Chun Li just made out.
ok.
This is quite a read.
So now there's a sad attempt at plot development and then we go to Ken.
Ken time! So now Ken beats the shit out of some ninjas. OH SNAP! He's filming a movie! He's an action star! Yeah!
WHAT THE FUCK?!
Ken is Johnny Cage. This is superb. Ken finishes up shooting and goes out back and LOOK OUT IT'S BALROG! Uh oh, battle time. FIREBALL! YEAH! Here comes my favorite line, "I'm a lot stronger than I was when you beat me in the ring, Ken...AND YOU'RE A LOT WEAKER!"
Outstanding.
"You talk too much, actor! Add this to your script!" *punch*
Here come Balrog's finishing blow!
"EAT MY DASHING UPPERCUT!"

Wow.

So Ken somehow defeats Balrog and Mr. Dashing Uppercut flees in a conveniently placed limo. YAY KEN! As Ken walks away SUDDENLY SAGAT APPEARS FROM THE SHADOWS!
"YOUR FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN, AMERICAN!!"
AWWW SHIT!!

To be continued!

Malibu made 2 more issues and then the series was sadly canceled.
Well...trying to stay on the positive side. This comic made me laugh. A lot. So..thanks for that, I guess.
I'm gonna have to give Malibu's Street Fighter a 1/10.
I highly suggest not reading this.
...
Dashing uppercut?

I'm so sorry, Capcom.