Reviews of books, comics, movies, and other random stuff.
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]The Big Two ended 2004 with a so-so week, the edge going to DC thanks to the New Avengers' no-show, and despite the underwhelming Legion of Superheroes relaunch. The highlight of the week, Adam Strange #4, is joined by Marvel's self-indulgent What If...Jessica Jones had Joined the Avengers and Viper Comics' acclaimed Dead@17: Revolution #2, making for a mixed bag, heavier on the…
Like many of Marvel's b-list Stan Lee/Jack Kirby creations, Adam Warlock has remained something of an enigma - a putative fan favorite that has never been able to sustain a solo title. An interesting character in search of a re-interpretation that unlocks its true potential. While this new spin by Greg Pak and Charlie Adlard doesn't come close to Alan Moore's now-legendary take on Swamp Thing, it had some potential to at least make an ongoing Warlock series worth killing some trees for. Taking his original genesis as the secret project of a group of scientists seeking to create the…
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]Not counting their Vertigo and Wildstorm imprints - for whom The Losers and Sleeper ably represented - it was DC's turn last week to come up empty on my interest radar, allowing Bloodfire Studios' Kindergoth #1 to join Black Widow #4 and Arcana Studios' 100 Girls #1, making this week's round of comic book carnality an all-girl affair.The Black Widow has always been…
Steve Niles' Secret Skull mini-series starts off strong, jumping from a quick dream sequence featuring a cemetery zombie attack in broad daylight to a Batman-like vigilante in a skull mask tracking a gang of thugs through the night, one of whom it somehow knows will kill an innocent girl the next day. Except he won't get the chance as the Secret Skull executes a violent pre-emptive strike, leaving the thug's head on a pike in an alley along with the sliced-and-diced corpses of his cohorts. For the past two and a half years, the Secret Skull has been at work,…
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]"The best laid plans..." sometimes go awry, and in this case, it's Marvel's fault as I wasn't interested in anything they published this week. As such, it's a double dose of the Distinguished Competition, with Identity Crisis #7 and Batman: Gotham Knights #60 hooking up with Devil's Due's Mu #1 for an immensely satisying group session.First up, arguably the most anticipated comic book…
With Marvel not publishing a single thing of interest to me this week, I decided to throw an extra $3 towards an indie comic I'd never read before and let me preface its review with this offer: the first person I don't know personally to leave a comment here, I'll mail it to you, bagged and boarded, postage-paid, completely free of charge. Someone involved in its creation would be ideal, actually! I told someone recently that when it came to indie comics, if I didn't have something nice to say about a particular title, I simply wouldn't review it. The…
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]Since it's our first time, I'll kick this format off comfortably with two regulars and a newcomer I'm already fond of: Gotham Central #26, Spectacular Spider-Man #22 and The Lurkers #1. Much like the real thing, it's a bit of an awkward mix that ultimately makes for a pleasurable, if highly subjective, experience across the board.Gotham Central, one of my Top 5 Comics…
