'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

'Vagabond' #1 Review

Holy shit. This is good. I'm a fan of Takehiko Inoue, I've read a fair amount of 'Slam Dunk' and 'Real', his art is FANTASTIC. I think in terms of his artwork, Vagabond is even better than his previous series, and that's really saying something. I think Inoue is one of the best manga artists out there. I can't think of many other manga ka out there that have the same degree of realism to their art. Hirohiko Araki's (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) artwork has that same life to it in his current series, Steel Ball Run. Him and Inoue should draw each others characters (NEW FANTASTY OF MINE).



So going from reading lots of Teen Titans to this was pretty odd. These panels are just so HUGE. Right off the bat, I have to say that this series is really violent. I figured as much, but once I started reading I was pretty surprised. There doesn't seem to be any warning anywhere on the volume saying "mature readers" or anything. A little odd. I think if 8 year old Timmy is browsing through the comic book section at Barnes and Noble and starts flipping through this manga, he's gonna have problems. Honestly though, I'm a boy, I love the violence in this manga, it's awesome. It takes me back to the days of being an 8 year old in Barnes and Noble, browsing through the comic section, flipping through the manga Akira and marveling at it's violence. I turned out alright, didn't I? o.O
Moving on.


Plot Summary
Vagabond is the story of the legendary samurai, Miyamoto Musashi. This story is directly based off of Eiji Yoshikawa's famous novel Musashi. The manga begins with two young men, Shinmen Takezo and Hon'iden Matahachi, leaving a battlefield full of corpses. They've been best friends most of their lives and they start traveling together from there. The two meet up with a mother and daughter living as thieves and are given food and board. Takezo is pretty much the definition of a badass, to the point where it's scary. People keep mentioning how he has eyes like a demon, and he really does. Vagabond has bits of romance in it, but violence is definitely the main element I get. This is a Seinen series in every aspect and I loved every page. I'm very eager to read more, it's been running for some time now.

If you have any sort of interest in Japanese history, this series is for you. Also, if you just want to see how far a manga can be taken in degrees of realism, most of the panels look like full on paintings; especially the beginning pages of a chapter which Inoue colors. All I can say is this manga is great. Seeing a volume of Vagabond in a bookstore puts everything else around it to shame just from Inoue's art on the cover. I can't imagine a person reading this first volume and being disappointed.

Vagabond #1 - 9/10

'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

Awesome JLA Cover

So far, I've only posted comic reviews on this blog, but I had to share this with someone, and my comic blog seems fitting. I was at my local comic book store a few days ago looking through the huge selection of 3 for a dollar comics, and came upon this gem.











Look at this dialogue ->


WOW. JUST...YES. Jive bunch of turkeys. That just says it all. Welcome to 1979. I always thought Black Lighting was hilarious. Damn. I had a good laugh over it.






That is all.

Update!!

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted anything on here! I'm sorry guys!! I really don't know how many people (if any) actually read this blog. I've been very busy with school and art and life in general lately! I really want to pick up reviewing things on here again. It's a lot of work though, all support is GREATLY appreciated!! In other news, my friend and I are starting a web comic, i'm really excited about it so i'll link that to here once we start getting things up. Hopefully i'll get some more reviews up on here soon. Lately i've been reading tons of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and The New Teen Titans! I'll probably post a new poll on here, see if anyone votes on it haha. Super special awesome hugs to anyone who reads this blog!!! :D

-Max

'Chobits' Review

More manga from Clamp! SHOCKER! I watched the anime quite a few years ago and I've been wanting to pick up the manga for comparison. As per usual, the manga is far better. Only eight volumes in all, Chobits is a great sci-fi/romance.

Plot Summary

Hideki Motosuwa is a guy (in his late teens?) going to cram school in Tokyo. Taking place in the near future, the world has been introduced to persocoms: human-looking androids used as personal computers. On his way home from work one evening, he spots a persocom in the form of a girl laying in a pile of trash outside. He takes the android home and after she has awoken, has no memory of anything. Only being able to say the word 'Chi', Hideki names her Chi and decides to take care of her and teach her as much as he can. Chi's mysterious past is slowly revealed throughout the series and Hideki begins to fall in love with her.


This series has many interesting relationships, a major one being love between a human and a persocom. More examples are a boy who has built a persocom to replace his deceased sister, a woman who is abandoned by her husband after he buys a persocom, and at the end, a developing relationship between two persocoms.

The art is Clamp, so I loved it. It's a very different style compared to other Clamp works. It's very sketchy compared to the art of  xxxHolic, which is all smooth, even lines. Also, I noticed the noses of males in Chobits are all just a few sketchy lines on the bridge of the nose. Very different compared to other works by Clamp.

One thing that really bothered me about the Tokyopop (douchebags!) translation was that the amazingly awesome persocom, Sumomo, was given the name Plum. What the hell? Everyone else has their normal Japanese names: Hiromu Shinbo, Minoru Kokobunji, etc. WHOSE IDEA WAS 'PLUM'?!

One thing I'd like to mention about the anime: There was an entire episode dedicated to Chi getting her first pair of underwear. In the manga it was about two pages. Wow.

I noticed in a bookstore recently that Dark Horse started publishing Chobits in massive volume formats. I thought this was pretty awesome. Even though it seems kind of unnecessary, I have a lot more respect for Dark Horse than Tokyopop. Overall, this series is very well put together. Not too long and not too short. Since it's only eight volumes, it moves pretty quickly. Very enjoyable series with good romance and lots of great humor!

Chobits: 8/10

Poll #1 Results

So for my first poll, 'what's your favorite kind of comic?', the time has ended and the results are in. Out of the choices there was: american comics, manga, manhwa, manhua, graphic novels, and comic strips. And the winner is..............
.......
......
....
...

...........MANGAAAAAAAAA!!!! YAY! *confetti explosion*

My personal favorite out of these choices would have to be manga, so that's cool. Manhwa (Korean) and manhua (Chinese) didn't get any votes, so I guess no one cares about them. Sorry =/

There were only eight votes in all, but considering I just started this blog, that was more than I expected. So I'll start a new poll soon and hopefully we'll get more than eight votes!

HOORAY FOR MANGA!

Here's a page from one my favorite manga, Akira.

=]