Comic Book Round Up

How do. I intended to post more than this here on comic book round up but it seems like I only post when I've actually read some comics and have the time. Anyways, enough preamble.

52 (up to issue 24) -

Im always running behind on this but I just read 23 and 24 and oh, they were goodies. I like how Black Adam has his own Black Adam Jnr, I also love how the Question stole the scene with Black Adam Jnrs debut.

It was a shame about Super Chief that dude seemed to have promise and he only just got off the ground, hopefully the writers will sneak him back in somewhere, it was cool to see the Elongated Man again though.

Whos not chuffed to see Ambush Bug back in the fold? I don't think hes been in a comic since the early nineties. I love that about DC, just when you think you've got a good knowledge on all the characters/histories they sucker punch you with someone you totally forgot about.

Oh, something that did annoy me was the actions of Green Arrow. When he heard about Firestorm putting together a ropey league he should have either gotten himself involved to keep an eye on them or got some other veteran to do so. Having a inexperienced team running round with the Justice League name is just going to hurt everyone. Im not asking for a big name either, christ, Metamorpho would have done a treat, ah well, I suppose it will be an education for everyone.

I haven't really commented on the art as its to the same standard as its been throughout, not beautiful but good, which im more than happy with from a title that comes out once a week and has numerous pencillers on it. The recent covers though have been gorgeous, I'd go as far as to say they're poster worthy.

Supergirl (issues 9 and 10) -

These issues really impressed and I'd say of the last moth or so Supergirl is the best Kryptonian comic on the shelves. I think somewhere that Kara is really shining is that she provides actual insight into Krypton as she actually lived there. You'll see more of Krypton in an issue of Supergirl than you would in a years worth of Superman comics and for a Supes geek this is awesome. Granted all that we see from Kara might be false but hey, it's still cool.

Im impressed with how much they got through in issue 9, Kara questions Supes relationship with Superboy, specifically, how come Kon was invited to live with the Kents and Kara never was? Excellent question, a possibly character defining question. It's most likely that after what happened with Kon another young person walking round with an S on their chest would just be upsetting. But the the question will most likely never be raised with Clark so it IS character defining in that it could drive a wedge between the Supergirl and Superman.

Kara also has a sort-of boyfriend now, I think, again I think that its the new Cap.Boomerang but im not 100% sure, hes a good choice for Kara as hes going to be able to show the underside of the humanity plus hes actually a fun character so their conversations are going to make for fun reading. I know some people had hopes of Supergirl and Nightwing but that would just have been dull.

And (yes theres more!) Kara is now friends with Wondergirl, which makes sense since she did chill on Paradise Island for a while. Im glad to see someone else is missing the Amazons, this could be the first mention of them I've read since PI disappeared during infinite crisis.

Issue 10 was interesting but frustrating. In the space of an issue Supergirl gets a secret idenity goes to highschool then exposes her true identity and leaves. Kinda felt pointless. However, it was kinda neat to how Ultimate Spiderman would work with Supergirl, if DC falls on hard times they could push out Ultimate Supergirl under this format and it would sell oodles (possibly).

The Flash (issue 5) -

I want to like this book, I do, I really do but it keeps winding me up. The art work is just getting dire and the story is limping from frustrating main storyline to frustrating sub plot.

Cyborg was in this issue, that should have been cool but it just came off odd and a bit static. DC should put Bart back to the age he used to be, I miss Kid Flash!

This villain of his is really started to frustrate me as well, hes just shit. The guy himself is dickhead but what annoys me more than that are his non-descript vague powers, he has this green glow and has super strength and can sometimes fire this green electricity type stuff and it just looks naff. This sort of villain isn't worth the Flashes times, Bart or Jay, I don't mind which, should just give him a super fast punch to nutts and move on to a good villain.

Tales of the Unexpected (issue 1)-

Now this was a good read. Get the Mike 'Hellboy' Mignola cover as the Spectre looks badass whereas the cover not so much. The story is split in two, the first story featuring the Spectre (duh) in a pretty cool one shot story with gorgeous artwork and the second featuring a new character the DCU a Dr.13 who was quite interesting.

The Spectre story was good although I was confused as to this conflict between Allen and the Spectre, at the end of Aftermath they became one. I did like Allens questioning of the Spectres methods but I thought we'd moved past that.

With Dr.13 it was the dialogue and narration that really shone for me. The character himself wasn't that interesting (I hasten to add 'yet') and what was going didn't intrigue me that much but everyone said pretty cool stuff and the Dr.13 narration made it something I'd want to read again. A scene early on that made me think that this might get a bit weird down the line was the scene where, whilst in a dream the doc is in bed with his daughter, that's something you don't see everyday in a main stream comic.

* Gosh this is a long post, I had a few other titles to talk about but I'll save those for another time*

Another round up, as I've done some more comic reading and need a place where my views are king. King I say! Or maybe not.

OMAC issue 3 -

Hmmm, iffy. I enjoyed the first two issues as they kicked along at a pretty break neck speed with murder and explosions galore. This issue had a lot more dialogue and I can't help but feel that it suffered as a result. Basically our hero ends up amidst three Las Vegas strippers and the way they talked seemed to have been lifted from a bad 80s movie.

What also cheesed me off (yes, I said cheesed, im bringing it back), was the air fight the OMAC has with some fighter planes. The whole thing was just confusing to read and not very exciting as we know the fucker is pretty much indestructible.

Liking the continued cameos of Cyborg and Firestorm but with a real threat of a Brother Eye resurgence wouldn't they be contacting some super team? I know you can argue that the Outsiders are considered dead and at this point the league aren't back together but how about the society?

Did we really need a flashback to infinite crisis? Probably not.

It all hinges on next issue as it really could pick right up again *fingers crossed*

Trials Of Shazam issue 1 -

So, I finally get to read one of the comics I've most eagerly looked forward to this year. Did I enjoy it? Yes... but it wasn't what I expected.

I've always seen Captain Marvel in other peoples comics and I consider this title as my chance to really get to know the Captain of Lightning and Thunder. As DC continually reminds us magic in the DCU universe has totally changed since IC, as Cap is composed of magic it's going to affect him severely, they weren't kidding.

Back to the issue itself, I like the artwork, it's kinda dreamy with the blurred edges and psychedelic colours but I definitely put this down as a plus as this is all about magic and stuff so it fits. Cap Marvel himself? It's not what im used to. Cap Marvel has always been, to me at least, the epitome of right and wrong. He's a bigger boy scout than Superman could ever be. Here though we see him making quips and chilling out, it does shake the image I have of the character but at the same time it actually brings some character to his, errrr... character.

I'll tell you this, as I was reading this issue I couldn't help but catch myself thinking this was the start of a Hellboy story. I can offer no higher praise.

Awesome (I really over use the word awesome) cameo from Zattana, possibly my fave magic wielding, fish net wearing super heroine.

That final page? I pity the fool who doesn't want to pick up issue 2.

Next Wave issues 3 and 4 -

I return to Marvels most hyped/praised comic of the moment (barring Runaways, but I haven't read that, so... whatever) and enjoyed the second visit more than the first.

Next Wave is a team book with a lot of levity, which is something the comic book world has been lacking for a long while. *Tangent alert!* Who have you got though? Seriously? Teen Titans are the youngest team on the block and they nearly get killed every week. The X-Men, as always remain a good read, but light hearted? Hardly. For my money, Young Justice was the best team book ever. *Tangent over!*

The team itself consists of five characters you may or may not have heard of, as they are all old characters from the Marvel back catalogue which haven't been used in an age. Those being - Photon, Boom Boom, Captain *******, Machine Man and Elsa Bloodstone. Of the five I only knew two so don't feel bad if you don't recognise them, their previous exploits matter not a jot to enjoying them here.

The first story saw them face off against Fing Fang Foom, which was great as he is sorely underused (how many Chinese demonic dragons do we have kicking around?) and the second (over these two issues) saw them take on a giant robot cop thingy. A good, fun read. What more do you want?

My favourite character so far? Captain *******. Obvious I know but he does rock.

Crisis Aftermath - The Spectre issue 3 -

This came out a while ago but I've only got round to reading it, what a mistake that was. This issue brings to an end the mini series which establishes our new Spectre post IC and what a cracker it is.

Im not going to go into the background of Allen as it takes more typing than im prepared to undertake but I will say that he is the ideal choice for the new Spectre host. Do I think the Spectre looks silly with a beard? Very much so but the writing makes it inconsequential.

After reading this im gagging for more Spectre exploits. If you didn't read this first time round, go pick them up and read them, the writing is awesome throughout and the character of the Spectre is explained and portrayed perfectly.

Comic I re-read just for the hell of it -

Kingdom Come TPB -

DCs finest hour? I love this story, love it. The world has gone to hell and one pastor and the Spectre take us through to possibly the end of the world, whos to blame? Superman, for his ten year absence? The new generation of heroes who have no sense of responsibility? Luthor and Co for progressively making the world a worse place to live? You decide.

The artwork is amazing, every panel is a well crafted painting. The rendition of the Flash here is my favourite of all time, hell, pretty much everyone here looks great. You also have each character (Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman) arguably better examined and defined than ever before.

Comic that's going to lead to some venting -

52 issue 18 -

Overall it was good but one bit wound me up, I'll be posting about that over in Are You Up To Test!? It's a cross promotional type of thing.

Till next time.

Welcome to the first comic book round up. Im going to give my thoughts and opinions on what I've recently read comic wise. There are some amazing comics which aren't going to be reviewed here as im not reading them at the mo, something your interested might crop up though, if you really want my opinion let me know which comic it is and I'll give it a gander just for you.

So, the following is what I've read recently and my thoughts thereon -

I.O.N issue 5 -

Isn't it interesting that as Hal Jordon turns up it starts getting better? The last two issues though have really improved on the pacing and cohesion of the separate stories. The artwork hasn't really sat well with me since the beginning but I couldn't help but think it fitted almost perfectly here, either that or im just getting used to it.

Robin issues 152 and 153 -

It's taken some flak but I've enjoyed the recent run on Robin. I think the comments about Cain being out of character were valid but c'mon, the Lazarus pit does mess you up. These issues feature the new Captain Boomerang, which is cool as I haven't seen him since Identity Crisis. He works well here, in this nice little story which enjoyed some good input from Bruce.

52 issue 17 -

Cool to see Lobo but he doesn't exactly do much although he seems a little less goofy, a definite plus.

Finally another look in on Luthor, about time, im not sure what to make of his team, a little on the dull side. The speedster junkie reminds me of the Flash from Earth 3. Can't wait for more Black Adam. Black Adam rules.

Justice League issue 1 -

I was excited about this issue after the build up from issue zero. Despite moving slow I really liked it. You had a lot going on here, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman trying to decide on whos in the new team, meanwhile you've got separate stories with Vixen, Black Lightning and last but not least Red Tornado (what the hells a fatherbox!?). Oh, and lets not forget Green Arrow, poor dude.

I would have liked some critical questions to be asked. How many members will there be? Wheres the base of operations going to be? Im sure all this will be addressed, im just impatient to see the new team.

Wonder Woman issue 2 -

A big improvement on the first issue. It's nice to finally have some perspective on Diana although im left wondering who is the actual focus in this book. Is Diana coming back or is she returning to her secret persona?

Awesome to see Batman and Robin. I thought Wonder Girl was great here, Dr.Psychos manipulation by creating a Superboy dripping in blood was quite shocking as you don't expect anything so creepy in whats so far been a quite light hearted read. Not sure about the final page but I'll definitely be reading the next issue.

So that's it for what I've read recently, im sure i'll read some other stuff soon and have more to talk about.

Books I can't wait to read -

* Ultimate Spider-man issue 99 - after the events of last issue this is either going to sell this amazing turn of events or make it look like a gimmick. Knowing Bendis he'll probably pull it off.

* Trials of Shazam issue 1 - Black Adam and the Marvels have rocked in 52 and the preview in Brave New World was a treat to read. Need to lay my eyes on this bad boy.

* Next Wave issue 3 - I read the first two issues and was left with a pretty so-so feeling about it but I've heard that it really raises its game so im going to give the title a second chance.

* 52 issue 18 - Doctor Fate? Should be cool.

Yes, a blog just for my thoughts on comic books.

If you have a general interest in comics you should find this quite interesting, if not, well... you might possibly want to look elsewhere, I'd recommend the awesome blog Are You Up To Test!? It's written by myself and there isn't quite as much talk of comics.