Avengers vs. X-Men #1
Official description
• It’s No Longer Coming—It’s Here!• Does The Return Of The Phoenix To Earth Signal The Rebirth Of The Mutant Species? That’s What The X-Men Believe!• Unfortunately, The Avengers Are Convinced That Its Coming Will Mean The End Of All Life On Earth!• The Stage Is Set For The Ultimate Marvel Showdown In This Oversized First Issue!
THE GOOD
Wow, now this is what I'm talking about. First off, I just want to say that I like how there isn't much 'explaining' or 'building-up.' The first few pages has the Phoenix attacking some kind of place as it makes its way toward earth, but that's it. There isn't an over abundance of characters, (Fear Itself,) the story doesn't become too much, (Fear Itself once again) and it looks to keep the reader invested. (Another potshot at Fear Itself.) The character portrayals are all spot on, especially Cap's. The writing here is especially strong, there are some great dialogue sequences. The whole Cap and Cyclops scene had a great tension, and the brief scene with Cap and Wolverine was well written too. I like the simplicity of the story, the build-up to the final page is incredible, it will be hard waiting the two weeks to see what happens next.
THE BAD
I'm really tired of Spider-Man being a wisecracking fool used for comic relief. All his lines are awful, he looks to be in this event just show that 'Spider-Man is here.' Cyclops comes off as rather too impulsive, once again being clouded in judgement, c'mon man. And just like that they go to war? A bit TOO fast if you asked me. Also some of the writing felt off in the beginning, namely with Iron Man and Protector.
ART
John Romita Jr. really surprised me here, the art is fantastic. There are some really great splash pages with the Phoenix. There are some drawbacks however. Cap looks way too young in some panels, and Thor looks a bit off sometimes also. The main cover is fantastic, showcasing all the Avengers and X-Men about to square-off. Now that's a cover.
OVERALL
It looks like Marvel has finally got it right. The first issue of Avengers vs. X-Men is everything the reader wants as a start to an event of this magnitude. Intriguing plot, great characters, solid writing, and very good art makes the first issue of Avengers vs. X-Men a must-read. Of course, Fear Itself had a fantastic first issue too, and we know how that event ended up. Let's see if this event continues to meet expectations.
9/10.
Amazing Spider-Man #683
Official description
• The Biggest Movie Stars Of The Summer Team Up As The Amazing Spider-Man And The Avengers Square Off Against Doc Ock And The Sinister Six!•The World May Be Ready To Buckle Under And Give In To Doctor Octopus’ Demands…But Spider-Man And His Fellow Avengers Sure Ain’t!
THE GOOD
The event continues to impress. Spider-Man is finally given the respect he deserves, I love how he takes charge of the situation. The Avengers are here, but they don't take 'center attention,' it's still a Spidey vs. Doc Ock event. Slott's writing here is at its best, for the first time in awhile, I'm enjoying reading Spidey. He's not a comic-relief character as portrayed over at Avengers. The battle between the Avengers and Sinister Six is also great, there's a fantastic splash page with them about to attack the latter. There also some great concepts here. Thor using his hammer to absorb Electro? Pretty darn awesome if you ask me. Another jaw-dropping ending, should be interesting to see how they pull out of this one. Also, loving the new Spidey suit.
THE BAD
The writing is solid, except for the world leaders scene. Are people really that naive that they would believe Doctor Octopus? It's almost as bad as putting Norman Osborn in charge of the government, good thing that hasn't happened yet. Oh wait...
ART
Fantastic job by Stefano Caselli, one of the better artists for this series. Easily beating the Avengers art, everyone looks great, especially the new Spidey costume. The main cover is very dramatic, showcasing Spidey with Cap, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Black Widow.
OVERALL
The second installment in the Ends of the Earth event is another solid one. Spidey is at his finest, with an awesome new costume to boot. The Avengers makes nice guest-stars without overtaking the issue. Doc Ock makes a fine main villain, even surprising and outsmarting Iron Man. The pacing and dramatic atmosphere makes this another blockbuster Spidey comic.
9/10.
Detective Comics #8
Official description
Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend, investigative journalist Charlotte Rivers, tries to protect a long-hidden secret even when her own life hangs in the balance. The Scarecrow is after knowledge only she possesses, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it from her. Can Batman uncover Charlotte’s secret past in time to save her future? With the clock ticking and a dose of newly designed fear gas in the air, Batman must first fight his own nightmare as all of Gotham City turns against him. Plus, don’t miss the start of a new backup story written by Tony S. Daniel and illustrated by Szymon Kudranski (PENGUIN: PAIN AND PREJUDICE)!
THE GOOD
The story is simple but effective. It's cool to see Batman and how he does things, love those thought boxes, really brings out the 'detective' in the title. It was also nice to see Catwoman, guest stars are truly needed in this book right now. Scarecrow had a great design.
THE BAD
Filler. That's what this is, complete and utter filler. You could probably skip this issue and it wouldn't matter. To sum it up: Batman stops Scarecrow, who in turn isn't revealed to be the villain. Cliche and overused, but here it just feels so rushed. It should have been made into two parts. Scarecrow, a really interesting character in this issue, is finished off too fast. Also, some of the writing is really questionable. "Show's over. Anyone got a problem with that?" Yes, that was a quote from Batman. The majority of his dialogue was extremely off, Tony S. Daniel didn't seem to be quite on par here.
ART
The art is fantastic, Batman looks great, Scarecrow looks great, the backgrounds looks great, everything looks great. The cover is also fantastic.
OVERALL
A sub-par issue of Detective Comics. The last one wasn't that great, scoring a 5/10. While this one is better, it's not by much. The story is alright, but felt extremely rushed with apparently no ramifications for future issues. Scarecrow was a wasted villain opportunity, and I'm tired of the back-up stories. The actual issue becomes too short with them. Detective Comics is lacking the punch the first arc had, it better actually get a little exciting, otherwise in a few issues, this series will go on my drop-list.
6/10.
My advice would be have a section critiquing the writing and also touch on other books the writer or illustrator may have done that you really like/hated.
ReplyDeleteYeah I'll probably play around with it in future weekly reviews, this is a good prototype.
ReplyDeleteI like the new format. The weekly breakdown works best for me as well. AVX was better than I thought it would be, but not quite as good as I was hoping it would be. It does do a good job at being new reader friendly for the most part. Detective was better than it has been. Two months ago, there was a back up feature with Hugo Strange and his "son" so it looks like he is going somewhere with this, however it looks to be interrupted by the Night of the Owls Event.
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