Posts tagged iron man

DC Comics

DMZ #71 (pictured above) - Oh gosh, the series is almost over. This is one of my favourite books of all time, so it’s a bit sad to see Matty Roth get put on trial for war crimes. If you haven’t read this book before, you’ve got some catching up to do before the finale in #72. Author Brian Wood said that this one is “the big one” in terms of story resolution, and I fully expect to be blown away.

Flash #3 - Francis Manapul’s art is awesome, and this comic is the first book to make me care about Barry Allen. I’m really enjoying the giant set-pieces that he’s drawing, and the whole “vibrating a plane through a bridge” scene has been set up/previewed for a long time.

Shade #2 (of 12) - Wait, The Shade’s series is out, and I wasn’t notified? Time to catch up! I wrote a column about why Shade needed his own series awhile ago, but it turns out that web site has stopped publishing; oh well. Bad-ass villain turned bad-ass character.

Image Comics

Invincible #84 - I’ve been a bit disappointed by this book as of late because of the large hangover period that came after the story’s major story arc. Mark Grayson has been making a growing series of bad choices as a superhero, and to see a complete 180 in such a small amount of time is disconcerting. 

Next issue marks the return of Cory Walker to the book, which I’m quite excited for; nothing against Ryan Ottley, but I just prefer the former’s work. This seems a bit dumb, as, well, the latter has been working on the majority of Invincible’s run, but for some reason the latest arc really turned me off.

I don’t really like when comics I usually enjoy reading unsettle me; I’ve written about this before, and sometimes Invincible’s gore and violence make me want to put it down for a bit.

Marvel Comics

Captain America and Bucky #624 - I’m reviewing a bunch of Marvel books for ComicVine this week, and this issue of Cap & Bucky is the first one I’ve ever read. Shall be fun diving into a new series, and I may pick up a couple back issues in order to get an idea of where the series is.

Invincible Iron Man #510 - Quality from Matt Fraction as always; can’t go wrong with Tony, Pepper and the boys at Stark Resilient. Another review for ComicVine on the way.

Mighty Thor #8 - I’ve been liking this series because it’s relatively continuity-light, and they’ve done some lovely things with Galactus and the Silber Surfer. I’m looking forward to the Fear Itself fallout and seeing some of this “New God of Thunder” business.

Secret Avengers #19 - Warren Ellis. Secret-y things. Beast, Moon Knight, Captain America and Black Widow. Hi-jinks. Secret Avengers is like a more serious Nextwave, and I enjoy every minute.

Hey all! Just thought I’d take the time to post some excerpts of the comics I reviewed this week. As always, you can find my work on ComicVine!

Alpha Flight #1 (of 8) - Marvel

Northstar’s lover got shoved in the refrigerator pretty quickly; his death was meaningless and only served to eliminate any sense of normalcy the mutant had outside of the team. It would have been much more interesting trying to see Northstar try to manage a relationship with a non-mutant.

Batgirl #22 - DC

I’m love-love-loving the interaction between Squire and Batgirl. Beryl seems to be the friend that Steph needs that isn’t too serious, yet isn’t an emotional waif. Both seem to work well off of each other, and make for a pretty interesting story. While I’ve read a bunch of Batgirl and haven’t been impressed, this issue really grew on me due to its strong writing and the banter between the two girls.

I really like how the Squire isn’t as familiar with Batman as we all are. There’s a scene where she mimics the “ears” on Knight’s helmet and when Batgirl mentions it as Batman, Beryl just says “Oh… I suppose he does have a pair too, doesn’t he?” like it’s something she’s realized just now.

Invincible Iron Man #505 - Marvel

Since when does Tony Stark just leave a fight he can’t win it? Sure, he’s a bit damaged, but to run away from a petrified Paris (especially when people might be still alive) just seems a bit irresponsible. To crack jokes about his company “sprouting redheads” and casually saying that “Paris is a total loss” just seems a bit crass.

Legion of Super-Heroes #14 - DC

It just seem that there’s so much going on in this book that it’s hard to find the sole focus. There’s a fight against Immortus, the assault on the Wisdom world by Saturn Queen (and the preceding sacrifice scenes), drama with Starboy, drama with Mon-El, and a “Justice League Subway” mini-comic in the middle.

I know the writers can’t control that last one, but even without it, the pacing in this issue is just horrendous. I really am quite apathetic about where the series is going, as it’s clear it’ll be one of those “villains destroyed the first two MacGuffins! We should stop them before they destroy the third!” storylines.

Power Girl #25 - DC

While I’m usually not a fan of Judd Winick’s work, this issue was actually pretty decent. I’m a big fan of the portrayal of Rayhan Mazin, the Quraci superhero with the powers of a storm. Seeing the personal drama of his history unfold while Power Girl and Batman clean up his “mess” was great.

The art in this issue is great. I love the character design behind Mazin, as it really evokes a “Sayid from LOST” vibe.