Weekly Comic Reviews

Greetings all, glad to see you're back to check out this week's reviews. I hope you've been checking out Unleash the Fanboy, you'll find my reviews of some Image, Dynamite, and IDW comics there. Now, for Spidey taking a stand, two Mr. Toxics, and a giant squid.

Avengers vs. X-Men #9

Official Description

• Their numbers dwindling, the Avengers stage a daring raid on the X-Men’s prison to rescue their captive members—and you won’t believe where it is! • Alliances begin to change as the nature of the Phoenix becomes apparent! • And in the end, it all comes down to Spider-Man!

Review

There are just three more issues left of this event, then the Marvel NOW initiative can commence. Avengers vs. X-Men is one of the longer Marvel events, tied with Secret Wars. For the most part it's been good with little to no average issues. The latest issue sees Spidey taking more of a central role. I for one am happy to see that, he hasn't done much of anything in the whole event, he's just been there in the background. Jason Aaron's writing is top of the line, I haven't found myself laughing out loud from Spidey's lines like this in awhile. The Phoenix Five are getting corrupted, and the way that unfolds is really suspenseful. By the end, you're left wanting to find out what happens next right away. There are really no complaints about the art, it's very good, I especially like the cover.

Overall it's by far the best comic yet in this event. This issue reminded me of why I'm a Spider-Man fan, I'm proud to give it a perfect score.

10/10

Detective Comics #12

Official Description

• What is the final fate of Charlotte Rivers and Hugh Marder? • Guest-starring ROBIN. • The TWO-FACE backup story continues!

Review

This little arc has been pretty fun. After some mediocre issues, this arc was welcome. While Detective Comics hasn't been astonishing, right now it's not a bad story with Batman. This issue plays out like the final part in an episode of The Animated Series. Mr. Toxic has surprisingly been an above-decent antagonist, I hope to see him more in the future. (In fact, I found myself enjoying him over Doll Maker.) The writing isn't anything fantastic, but it's good, Batman isn't acting out of character this time. Though actually the best part was the backup story featuring the Joker's face. It was greatly written and has me excited for when he comes back in Batman. The art is one of the book's strongest aspects, it's fantastic. There are some really great splash pages in there. Cover is pretty good. (Note, despite the description, Robin doesn't appear.)

Overall it's a pretty solid conclusion of the arc with a great backup story.

8/10

G.I. Combat #4

Official Description

The conclusion of “THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT” and “UNKNOWN SOLDIER” epics! G.I. COMBAT continues next month

Review

Generic. That's what describes the latest installment in the G.I. Combat series. I had originally started picking it up because the concept of soldiers vs. dinosaurs sounded awesome. The War that Time Forgot offers nothing new and just ends up being a SyFy original movie with a slightly better budget. The writing is bland and just isn't that great. There are some pretty cool scenes with the dinosaurs of course. (A highlight is the splash page with a giant squid.) In the end, The War that Time Forgot was a disappointment. Saving this comic from getting a below average score is the Unknown Soldier segment. It's a contrast from The War that Time Forgot, the writing is very good. I like how they use real time instead of a fictional world where real life current events don't happen. The art for both stories is pretty good, the dinos look fantastic. The cover is pretty nice, showcasing a Triceratops.

Overall it's a pretty forgettable issue. Nothing against the series, but after this issue I'm dropping it cause it just isn't worth the money and there are much better series out there.

6/10