Weekly Comic Reviews

And here we are again. Welcome to this week's eddition of the weekly comic reviews. I apologize for the lateness one again, I hadn't received the issues until Thursday and didn't complete the reviews until today. I would have done so yesterday, but I was in Manhattan watching Avengers. (Look for my review coming later today.) Now, without further ado, we have Avengers vs. X-Men #3, Amazing Spider-Man #685, and Detective Comics #9. Let's get started. 

Avengers vs. X-Men #3

Official Description

• The Avengers and the X-Men scour the Earth searching for the host of the Phoenix! • Hope takes matters into her own hands! • And Captain America and Wolverine come to bitter blows!

THE GOOD

The whole beginning was interesting, it amazes me that to this day a writer can still find some way to trick a reader. There was a really great dialogue sequence between Cap and Iron Man. The writing for the most part is very good. The best scene was the short, but incredible fight scene between Cap and Wolverine. So much drama and epic crammed into that fight.

THE BAD

Too much is happening quickly. It's like some of these characters have just met recently. There was no update on what's up in space. Cap seems to be ever so slightly out of character, he seems rock hard with everyone as if he has no history with them.

ART

More mixed this time around. It's great for fights, but sometimes the characters look off. In one panel Storm looks like an evil mastermind. Whenever a character is shown yelling, namely Cap, it just looks....strange. Also, these 'block-heads' are getting really annoying. Cover is fantastic however.

OVERALL

Another strong entry in the Avengers vs. X-Men event. While not as great as the previous two entries, it packs some great super-hero drama. How can a comic go wrong with a Cap and Wolverine fight?

8/10

Amazing Spider-Man #685

Official Description 

• Part four of the epic “Ends of the Earth” • Featuring the World’s Greatest Super Hero: Doctor Octopus! • Guest staring Black Widow and Silver Sable.

THE GOOD

Spidey is written perfectly, Slott is doing a great job with his character in this event. There's a certain danger feeling throughout the issue, as it should be felt. I also love the team of Spidey, Black Widow, and Silver Sable. The writing is just great with them. I like how Doc Ock is given such a creepy deranged look. And I know I've mentioned this before in previous reviews, but man, the new Spidey armor is just fantastic. Being a big Wall-Crawler fan, I love how he takes charge in this issue, it gives me great satisfaction to see my favorite character getting treated with respect. (Unlike in Avengers.)

THE BAD

Shield believing Doc Ock? I mean really? That's just unrealistic. Also, all of Sandman's dialogue is completely laughable.

ART

Humberto Ramos gives a certain style for this series, it's good stuff. It makes the Spidey armor look great and Doc Ock plain creepy. Some shots look weird though, such as Black Widow being extremely disproportionate in one panel. And I still don't get why Spidey in his regular costume is shown on these covers.

OVERALL

Another very strong entry in the Ends of the Earth event. It's been a blast so far, the best Spidey event in awhile.  The title character is back to being fun to read, plus the story is fantastic with a sense of suspense in the background.

9/10

Detective Comics #9

Official Description

• BATMAN has been poisoned at the hands of the deadly MR. TOXIC! • Featuring a TWO-FACE backup story written by TONY S. DANIEL with art by SZYMON KUDRANSKI

THE GOOD

It feels like a Batman story. Arkham Asylum inmates escaping their cells? Check. Black Mask? Check. Batman looking tough and yet not like a superhero? Check. The monologue with Dr. Arkham was a nice touch. We've probably seen the Asylum over a thousand times, but this issue still manages to make it interesting. While it ties in to the Night of the Owls, it isn't that confusing and could be read on its own.

THE BAD

Batman's dialogue is painfully bad. Here we have an arrogant Batman who smirks with "Heh." Tony S. Daniel is losing his touch with the title character. Two Face backup story was boring.

ART

The art here is fantastic, everyone and everything looks great. (There's a really nice splash page with Batman attacking an assassin from the Court of Owls.) Cover is great also.

OVERALL

A much stronger issue than the previous ones. We actually get a story worth the $2.99. So it's not going on drop list....yet. This being a tie-in to the greatly reviewed Batman, it's no surprise that this issue was good. Let's hope it stays that way.

8/10.