The Green Arrows pinged about in time out of the necessity of keeping their family separate? It's a nice plotline and it allows Williamson to visit a The Green Arrows pinged about in time out of the necessity of keeping their family separate? It's a nice plotline and it allows Williamson to visit a number of different times and places, including the Bendis Legion era (but they get if anything even less characterization than in the awful Bendis volumes).
Unfortunately, Williamson does _not_ stick the landing. The reveal to what's going on is not just overly mundane for such a fantastical problem, but it's unbelievable that it could happen.
And then we get a really nasty cliffhanger. Sigh....more
This comic has the most ridiculous premise: Selina decides to train Gotham's minions to be high-end cat burglars, and suddenly Gotham's crime rate droThis comic has the most ridiculous premise: Selina decides to train Gotham's minions to be high-end cat burglars, and suddenly Gotham's crime rate drops by 75%. It's hard to believe that Selina post-Taylor would dive so deep into crime, it's hard to believe that Gotham's minions would go in for such a ridiculous plot, and it's hard to believe that these die-hard murderers and killers would suddenly become hoity-toity cat burglars. In other words, this whole crossover is based on a god-awful idea, and seeing the Bat family come to blows over whether the support it or not is all the more ridiculous. It's like watching the Friends cast start shooting each other over whether the moon landing was faked.
The addition of Vandal Savage to the plotline originally seems like a boon, but by the last issue, everything has become a muddled mess. The character assassination of Scandal Savage, who seems nothing like the character from Secret Six, doesn't help.
About the only interesting thing is this godawful mess is the continued deterioration of Bruce, with his attitude toward Jason being particularly shocking, but believable given what Zdarsky has set up so far. But that's not a lot to carry a muddy, unbelievable story with poor character continuity....more
Slott is back rerunning his redemption arc on Doc Ock, and it needs rerunning because Doc Ock died and then rebooted from a past backup before he was Slott is back rerunning his redemption arc on Doc Ock, and it needs rerunning because Doc Ock died and then rebooted from a past backup before he was redeemed? Or something like that?
Honestly, this doesn't have the heft of the original. Mainly because instead of focusing on Ock as Spider-Man, we get an Ock and Spider-Man team-up. I mean, it's believable with Anna's life on the line, but it seems more like a foes-may-team-up-for-the-common-good sort of thing instead of the amazingness that was the original.
Maybe it'll improve? Because shockingly this isn't just a limited series, in fact it's not even a complete story. The darned thing ends right in the middle of the plotline....more
So many of the Fall of X miniseries are simple water-treading.
And Resurrection of Magneto sort of is, and it takes a single pre-determined plot point So many of the Fall of X miniseries are simple water-treading.
And Resurrection of Magneto sort of is, and it takes a single pre-determined plot point (highlighted in the title) and stretches it out over four issues.
But Ewing is a strong author, and he does a good job of describing the mutant afterlife here (though the connections he makes between a number of foes are never entirely clear). Then we get a single issue about Magneto in the Orchis-Ascendant era, which is quite nice.
So, overall a fun read, despite it being a Fall of X miniseries....more
Painfully bad, to the point where I likely would have DNF if I was borrowing this from the library as opposed to having bought it. (Isn't that weird tPainfully bad, to the point where I likely would have DNF if I was borrowing this from the library as opposed to having bought it. (Isn't that weird that when we waste money we're also more likely to waste our time, so as to feel that the money wasn't as wasted? Yeah.)
The biggest problem is that it's entirely pointless. Much like the Jean Grey Fall of X volume, it leaves things in approximately the same state as the start, so as not to get in the way of the next plotline. Which makes this just another cash grab.
But the writing is quite bad too. The individual issues are entirely formulaic. Orchis mercenaries try to kill pseudo-mutants. Bobby intervenes. Bobby succeeds but falls apart and reforms in the Fortress of Solitude. Rinse, Wash, Repeat.
There's also an entirely bizarre conceit where Romeo is basically playing the Bobby video game down at the Fortress, even having an action-icon that shows him how Bobby is doing.
Wow, I hope this is all entirely forgotten by the time Bobby returns.
And it's going on my giveaway pile. Even though I keep almost all of my X-Men books, really bad miniseries get a pass (off)....more
A bizarre little Nexus story that feels very much like the classic oeuvre. One can kind of see why Rude might have disagreed with this direction, becaA bizarre little Nexus story that feels very much like the classic oeuvre. One can kind of see why Rude might have disagreed with this direction, because it's repetitive, but on the other hand it's a very nicely told classic story....more
V2 is damaged by a two-issue crossover with Superman Jr. that disturbs the flow of the story, which is a pity. It really should have been left out sinV2 is damaged by a two-issue crossover with Superman Jr. that disturbs the flow of the story, which is a pity. It really should have been left out since we just get the setup to that story, and not its finale.
Where the volume instead continues to focus on the story of Bloodhaven, it excels. The single panel story is amazing (despite being hard to read on a tablet). Generally, the story of politics, charity, and Dick's life genuinely being in danger is terrific, and teaming him up with the Teen Titans (and especially Wally) is great too. I just wish Babs and Bitewing weren't downplayed in this volume. Oh, they're there, but primarily for pragmatic reasons, not enjoying character development.
Not one of Taylor's best (that's a high bar), but still a very enjoyable volume....more
It feels like a fairly typical Transformers comics, with Autobots befriending humans and fighting against DThe main course(?) of the Energon Universe.
It feels like a fairly typical Transformers comics, with Autobots befriending humans and fighting against Decepticons, but the difference is that it's BRUTAL. Lives are lost and Transformers are blown up really good.
The jagged art (also by author Johnson) fits pretty well with the brutal plotting, except it often makes it hard to really figure out who a Transformer is.
Still, an interesting story despite the fact that it's almost all fighting....more
Is there a good, coherent story here? It's hard to tell because this omnibus organization is such a wreck that I'm not convinced I want to keep it insIs there a good, coherent story here? It's hard to tell because this omnibus organization is such a wreck that I'm not convinced I want to keep it instead of the individual volumes. (I think my answer is that I won't.)
The problem is that the original AvX collection was already a mess because they separated out the main miniseries and the short fights AvX comic. For these omnibus they maintained that and they just stacked all of the crossovers on the back. They even choose to keep the crossovers in arcs rather than integrating them. It's a mess to read. You're constantly going back and forth over the story line, which is why this omnibus has no value as an omnibus. If they're not going to try and tell a story, then you might as well just have the individual collections.
Marvel is usually much better with their omnibus mapping. This is deeply, deeply disappointing.
As for the story: not one of the best X-crossovers, not one of the worst. The core storyline is overly decompressed, mainly to have lots of big fights. The fights miniseries, AvX, is almost total trash (especially when you don't really see where they occur in the larger story). But a lot of the crossovers are pretty good. UXM, Bendis' Avengers, even the weird cosmic storyline in Secret Avengers: it's all worth read and some of it's pretty good. Then it all ends with Consequences, which is terrific.
I'm not thrilled by the mass character assassination that happens in the story (with all of the Phoenix Five being treated like criminals despite the fact that probably every hero in the Marvel Universe has been mindcontrolled into doing terrible things at this point). But the setup for the rebel-Scott-Summers arc is nice, as is the use of the Phoenix to deal with the No-More-Mutants problem....more
This is a slow-moving book, I think because of the author's over-reliance on text (both captions and full-page text walls). But it's nonetheless a gooThis is a slow-moving book, I think because of the author's over-reliance on text (both captions and full-page text walls). But it's nonetheless a good story. A return to Asgard for our mutants, but not quite Asgard (Vanaheim instead). And some of the characters (particularly Magik, Mary, Curse, and to a lesser extent Dani) get great characterization and growth. Yeah, Dust and especially Marrow are barely there, but they're the exception, not the rule. And then we get an antagonist that really ties in nicely to one of the main Krakoa story threads.
Not sure why this gets so many bad to mediocre reviews, other than the slow pacing, it's a good read....more
I must admit that I grew a little sour on Kirkman after The Walking Dead and Invincible both overstayed their welcome. But, I was intrigued by his creI must admit that I grew a little sour on Kirkman after The Walking Dead and Invincible both overstayed their welcome. But, I was intrigued by his creation of an original SF series in the Transformers universe. What was he going to do with it?
The answer appears to be a Romeo and Juliet story (though they thus far call each other "Rivals"), which sort of means it's a Saga story, which feels a bit repetitive.
Still, it's a fun story. The two characters are intriguing and the world that Kirkman is creating is interesting. Less so, the references to the Transformers, which are bewildering whenever they come up. But, I'm interesting in seeing where it goes....more
Turns out, it's hard to care about yet another DC-adjacent reboot of Wildstorm. Also, the whole Waller is eveil trope has gotten super old.
There are eTurns out, it's hard to care about yet another DC-adjacent reboot of Wildstorm. Also, the whole Waller is eveil trope has gotten super old.
There are elements of this book that are fine. It's got a good Lois Lane (no surprise, since the author is a journalist) and it picks up toward the end, but despite loving these characters I just have so much ennui toward yet another one-off reboot that it became increasingly annoying as I read....more
Alternate universe hi-jinks in Antarctica. Should be great, yes? Unfortunately: no.
The writing is decompressed to within an inch of its life, and so aAlternate universe hi-jinks in Antarctica. Should be great, yes? Unfortunately: no.
The writing is decompressed to within an inch of its life, and so almost all we get is action-adventure.
The writing is also not that strong, and so a lot of this just feels wrong. I mean, homeless girl suddenly becomes Anarctic super-spy? Everyone has dupes across the two worlds that happen to be in the same place at the same time? Everyone is a super badass? It all just feels fake.
This isn't helped by the fact that the artwork is often dark and muddy exactly when it needs to be crisp and clear, making it hard to discern exactly what's going on.
I struggled through this volume and despite the dull cliffhanger at the end definitely don't need to read the next.
Duggan's X-Men supplement in the Fall of X, Uncanny Avengers, has an unfortunate feel of artificiality to it, like he's just coloring by the numbers tDuggan's X-Men supplement in the Fall of X, Uncanny Avengers, has an unfortunate feel of artificiality to it, like he's just coloring by the numbers to advance his plot points before the curtain falls. Beyond that, the strong support of Captain America but not the rest of the Avengers is hard to believe. It feels like it'd be all or nothing. Finally, the characterization of this whole volume is so shallow as to be almost non-existent.
About the other strong point is the revelation of who Captain Krakoa is. It's a pity there wasn't a strong story around it.
And why is it exactly that a nuclear bomb makes Rogue revert to one of her worst costumes & hair styles? (Part of this is the artist. It looked awful in some classic volumes like Rom, great in some of her early X-Men run, and awful again here.) I mean maybe it's an all-my-hair-was-burned off thing, but if skin regenerates one thinks hair would as well. Weird....more
WARNING: DC's ever-mediocre collections team messed up YET AGAIN. Read the six Birds of Prey issues AFTER the Secret Six v2, NOT like they're arrangedWARNING: DC's ever-mediocre collections team messed up YET AGAIN. Read the six Birds of Prey issues AFTER the Secret Six v2, NOT like they're arranged in this volume. DC somehow managed to mess up the chronology (or maybe it was on purpose, they make really bad decisions about collections) and a major character event in Birds of Prey #109 will entirely confuse you if you read it before Secret Six v2, instead of where it belongs, afterward.
Anyway, aside from that tremendous blunder on DC's part, it turns out that Gail Simone's excellent Secret Six comic is even better when read in a big omnibus like this. That's because it really focuses on characters, a bunch of degenerate characters as it happens, as we really get to seem them grow and change over the course of this volume.
It's also a great look into the seamier side of the DC universe, following on great past works like the Secret Society of Super Villains. The difference here? This group may be trying to be good. Or not. Watching where they fall is part of the joy....more
Ah, it's good to have Penny and Maggie and Hopey back in the story. This is an intriguing volume because it's taken all of our characters into adult lAh, it's good to have Penny and Maggie and Hopey back in the story. This is an intriguing volume because it's taken all of our characters into adult life, with real-world issues such as marriage, divorce, and death. How do our once-young Hoppers react? It's great to see, and even if there are no standouts in this volume (except maybe the story of Izzy and Young Maggie and maybe the story of Maggie's marriage), it's nonethless a fun, easy read....more
Better than Zdarsky's premiere arc mainly because it's not so derivative of every other Batman arc ever. I mean, going to another multiversal worldwheBetter than Zdarsky's premiere arc mainly because it's not so derivative of every other Batman arc ever. I mean, going to another multiversal worldwhere Things Are Different (tm) isn't original and the whole Jokers of the Multiverse feels a bit repetitive after all the Batman that Laughs bit. But still there are bits of originality in the story and its more interesting to read than the constant battle against Failsafe. Oh, and the alternate story with Tim was quite good even if the art was mediocre.
The best Wonder Woman since Rucka. This is Wonder Woman as an elemental force, but it's also a story that bravely spans decades, to the next-generatioThe best Wonder Woman since Rucka. This is Wonder Woman as an elemental force, but it's also a story that bravely spans decades, to the next-generation of heroes that DC is increasingly setting up (even if they quailed last time they considering jumping to that generation). And it's a well-told story primarily because King truly understands the comic medium and its focus on episodic stories, each contained within a single issue, that nonetheless transform into something more.
The captions get a little heavy, a problem shared with King's other recent work, Danger Street. But here at least they serve a purpose and tie us to our future frame.
It's intriguing to see where all of this is going....more
This book was short-lived and the ending was a little abrupt, but it was nonetheless a good take on the WildCats in the DC Universe, mixing their corpThis book was short-lived and the ending was a little abrupt, but it was nonetheless a good take on the WildCats in the DC Universe, mixing their corporate grittiness with the superheroism of the DC Universe. Compare and contrast. I'd like to see more, but alas this is once more it....more
I love the conceit of a real-time superhero universe. The New Universe and Valiant's VH-1 Universe were both my jam. So it's fun to see the trope applI love the conceit of a real-time superhero universe. The New Universe and Valiant's VH-1 Universe were both my jam. So it's fun to see the trope applied to Marvel itself.
Except, there's just not that much innovative or exciting here. The story feels little connected to the decades it travels through. Other than the first, terrifying vision of Galactus, there's also not much that new or exciting here. It's color-by-numbers storytelling, and it's not even that emotional until the very, very end. ...more
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