Friday, January 11, 2013

Comic reviews for w/c 2nd January 2012.

I think I'm going to start posting the dates of when I picked up my comics, otherwise when I get too behind with reviews it will get confusing and you readers and I will start thinking I picked up 20 titles in one week.


Onwards.  Spoilers ahead for Teen Titans 15, Superman 15, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man 19, FF 1, Thor 3.


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Teen Titans 15
 This has a horrible, if quite clever cover.  It is the Joker's skin mask which pulls away to become Tim's face.

Inside the first page is a horrific splash of Batgirl:

I nearly threw the comic out there and then.

Here's what I don't get about the new Batman timeline.  If it's only been 5 years, I'd guess that he operated for a year by himself, then got Dick on board say Dick stayed for about a year (presumably Dick was quite old when he started and didn't go through teenagerdom with Bruce).  Then say Bruce had a short break of 3 months, then Jason turned up.  Say Jason last 8 months.  If Jason did die, then Bruce would have needed mourning time before Tim came on board.  Say 4 months.  Then Tim arrived and hangs out for a year.  This takes us to 5 years and 3 months which is already more than we've got and where on earth does Damian fit into this?  How can they all forge such close bonds with  Bruce if they only spend a few months to a year with him?  How are these relationships believable?

They're not.  For them to work Bruce needs to have been operating as Batman for about ten years and should be in his mid thirties by now.


And Bart, I don't like this new Bart.  He's not innocent and he's a bit sleazy.  Not in this issue mind you, but in other ones he was.

I just don't care about this anymore.  It's dropped.

Superman 15
I bought this for the H'el on Earth tie in.  In it we find a callous, rude Superman.  I don't want to read about this sort of Superman.  It's a pity because not only does the writer have a good handle on Superboy the art is gorgeous.  Anj over at Supergirl Comic Box Commentary thinks there is a lot of dead space on the page, but that doesn't bother me.  In fact I think this was worth buying for the art alone.


You should head over to Anj's site for a more in depth look at this issue.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man 19
The boyfriend thought this was filler, just dull plot advancement.  I disagree.  I think this was full of character moments and that the events were worthy and justified.  This is a very good comic.

FF 1
I bought this on the recommendation of Twitter folk.  I thought it was a Fantastic 4 comic, it's not a Future Foundation comic.  For someone pretty much entirely new to the FF (I've read one trade and seen the movie) this was pretty good.  I get it.  I understand the premise and the art is really unusual.  This feels innovative. I will definitely be getting the next few issues.



Thor 3
Another twitter recommendation. 
I was a bit apprehensive because of the silly font used in Thor's speech bubbles:
Still, I suppose I should be pleased he wasn't speaking in rhyme.  Does he do that?  Did he ever do that?  I did notice he refers to himself in the third person a lot.

Other than that I really enjoyed this issue!  It crept up on me. I started feeling dubious but by the end I was smitten.  I'll get the next issue of this too.

A question for you all - does Marvel have a regular shipping schedule like DC?  Ultimate Spidey seems quite erratic, certainly not every 4 weeks.

Can you recommend any other Marvel titles you think I should try?  I have my eye on Captain Marvel and Daredevil End of Days.  I'm thinking of trying an X title.  Any ideas which I should go for?  I saw an advert for Uncanny X-Men in Ultimate Spidey.  Will that be worth it? I will get the Hawkeye book when it's been traded.  I think it's a mini, am I right?

I have ordered the first trade from the most recent Moon Knight series, as Echo is in it (and apparently killed off in it.. nooooooo).

On a non Marvel note I also want to get Punk Rock Jesus.  I am open to any recommendations.

1 comment:

SallyP said...

I don't read Teen Titans, and I'm glad! Bwhahaha! But yes, that's a ridiculous shot of Batgirl. And of course the time line imposed by the new 52 is absurd.

Thor has indeed been excellent. The previous story with the Thor book that just ended and the tie-in to Journey Into Mystery with young Loki is simply superb!

And the new Hawkeye book at Marvel has also been a hoot.