Weekly Comic Reviews

Hey all, I apologize for the lateness of these reviews. I didn't get my comics until yesterday night, so there's a legit reason. (And if you haven't already, check out my review of Godzilla: Half Century War #1 here.) This week we have the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy teaming up....in space, and Peter Parker hanging out at his deceased counterpart's house. Let's do it.

Avengers Assemble #6

Official Description

• Thanos is claiming Earth as his own! • The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy team up to bring the Mad Titan some cosmically-charged pain!

Review

If it's one comic fans of the film should be reading, it's Avengers Assemble. It's a smart way to introduce Thanos and the Guardians of the Galaxy for them. For veteran readers like me though, sometimes it could get a bit jarring at how new reader friendly the dialogue can be. In the past few issues it's like the Avengers have never encountered Thanos before. The writing in this issue is not close to triple A stuff, but it's fun, which I think was the purpose, to mimic the fun writing in the film. (Spider-Man has the greatest and most funny line this time.) The Guardians were never really a mainstream team, but thanks to the upcoming film, that's going to change. With them in the mix for this story, it's been a blast. If the purpose is to get readers familiar and like the Guardians, then they have succeeded. The best parts in the issue is actually not the action scenes, it's any scene with Thanos. If he wasn't Marvel's premiere villain before, he certainly is now. The art is great, fits the title 100%. Cover is pretty good, showcasing the Avengers along with the Guardians.

Overall it's a pretty fun issue, looking forward to the big battle.

8/10

Spider-Men #4

Official Description

• Can the Spider-Men stop Mysterio? • Peter Parker comes face-to-face with the family he never had! • ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL MOMENTS IN THE LIVES OF BOTH SPIDER-MEN!!!

Review

It's hard to believe this crossover is ending next issue, felt like it just started. I've heard pretty positive things about this issue, getting five stars all over the place. It's terribly overrated. The writing is just off for the most part, Spidey doesn't sound like Spidey for the majority of it. Like, in his fifty years of crime fighting and reality jumping, he should know better than to tamper with these things. (This is canon, correct? Unless they do a mind sweep of the event or go back in time, that the conversations is canon to the Ultimate comics.) There are some admittedly funny dialogue sequences, such as Nick Fury inquiring about the other Fury and Spidey talking with that world's Tony Stark. It was hard for me to find this comic emotional, the writing just didn't have that touch. Nothing really important happened either, as Miles is pushed to the side and became more of a side character than a main focus, which is wrong. There's really nothing bad to say about the art, it's good. The cover is great, but doesn't really make sense for the actual story.

Overall it's a pretty disappointing comic that attempts to be emotional and ends up almost being a time-waster.

6/10

Weekly Comic Reviews

Hey everyone, welcome to another round of my Weekly Comic Reviews. This week we have the Guardians of the Galaxy teaming up with the Avengers and Spidey battling a Venom illusion! Let's start. 

Avengers Assemble #5

Official Description

• The secret behind Avengers Assemble is revealed but what does it mean for the future of the Marvel Universe? • PLUS: The return of the characters you demanded!

Review

Obvious movie marketing aside, Avengers Assemble has been a pretty fun ride. It feels good to take a break from the current massive crossover for a simple Avengers story. Of course, add Thanos, and we have the makings of a great read. The Guardians of the Galaxy take center stage. Adding them in right now is an interesting move. For new fans reading the comic thanks to the film, they're introduced to them so they can get ready for the 2014 film. Interesting strategy on Marvel's part. Anyways, aside from the opening flashback, this issue is dialogue-centric. It's the Guardians explaining things to the Avengers. After I read it I had to look back on the front to see if Bendis had really wrote it, this issue has the strongest writing so far. I really haven't read much stories with the Guardians, this issue makes me want to go check out some of their stories. I'm still annoyed that the Avengers are acting like this is their first time seeing Thanos. And was it really necessary to start a romance between Hawkeye and Spider-Woman in the main title if it's not going to go anywhere? The art is one of my favorite aspects, my favorite Avengers art currently. They gotta get Bagley on the main title.

Overall it's a surprisingly good issue with some great dialogue.

8/10

Spider-Men #3

Official Description

• The ULTIMATE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EVENT OF THE YEAR! • Can both Peter Parker and Miles Morales defeat CLASSIFIED? • Guest starring Nick Fury and the Ultimates!

Review

The second issue of this crossover was a fun one. We get to see what are Spidey's and Ultimate Spidey's fears materialize thanks to Mysterio. (Whom I still think was a stale choice for this event.) Though the Carnage illusion didn't get to do anything. Still, always fun to see Spidey and Venom come to blows. The writing is pretty strong, the best parts is Spidey's monologue in the latter part of the issue. The scene with him asking a store clerk on how that world's Peter dies was great. The ending I didn't like. It felt complety forced and shoehorned in just for the 'wow' factor. The art is great for the most part. But I really cannot stand how small Spidey's eyes on the mask are drawn, they look really silly. Cover is fantastic, a contender for cover of the week.

Overall it's a pretty fun continuation of this crossover. Ultimate Spidey is still annoying and I really didn't like the ending. But Spidey does battle a Venom illusion, and that's all that really matters, right?

7.5/10

Weekly Comic Reviews

Hey everyone, it's that time of week again. Before I begin, I have some bittersweet news. Thanks to being chief comic reviewer for Unleash the Fanboy, I'm going to be able to read  IDW titles early for free! That's right, I get to read Godzilla stuff early. Only disappointing part is that since I'll be writing the reviews there, they won't be popping up here anymore. Well, life can't be perfect. So be sure to visit Unleash the Fanboy for my Godzilla reviews and other cool stuff. Now for this week, we have the return of the Lizard, a clash of Spideys, and the Justice League getting completely OWNED. 

Amazing Spider-Man #688

Official Description

Someone has tampered with the grave of Billy Connors and all signs point to the Lizard! But Spidey won’t be alone in his hunt for Curt Connors, because Morbius the Living Vampire  is hot on his trail! Can Spidey handle both of these monsters before it turns into an all-out brawl? The superstar creative team of Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli bring you high stakes action and drama like no other as the celebration of Spider-Man’s 50th Anniversary continues in Amazing Spider-Man #688, swinging into comic shops everywhere, the Marvel Comics app and the Marvel Digital Comics Shop this June.

Review

With the new film coming just next week, this new arc's timing is pretty convenient. Shed was the last major  Lizard arc, seeing our reptilian friend (enemy) becoming a complete beast with Dr. Connors no longer in any type of control. The arc was brutal, with the death of Connors' son, Billy, which no one saw coming. Part One of Never Turning Back is by far the best Spidey comic in awhile. After the worldly Ends of the Earth, it's good to be seeing more of grounded Spidey story. The Lizard has always been one of Spidey's biggest villains, just underneath Venom, Green Goblin and Doctor Ocktopus. He is at his most savage here, with no hint of remorse, just a deadly predator. But he's not mindless, he's an evil reptilian mastermind. This makes him such a compelling villain, I've pretty much had enough of Doc Ock. The writing is pretty strong here, especially with the Lizard and Spidey's confrontation with Morbius. The art is another strong aspect, the battles are gritty and Lizard has never looked more deranged. Only complaint there is that Peter doesn't look like Peter, he looks more like Flash Thompson with that hair,

Overall it's a fantastic start to this arc. This could very well be the best Spidey story in awhile. If only the upcoming film's Lizard could have looked like the one here. But yeah, if you haven't been reading any Spidey comics, now's a good time to jump on board, this is going to be one heck of a gritty, gruesome, and awesome story.

9/10

Spider-Men #2

Official Description

When Peter Parker is thrown into Miles Morales’ world, the duo begin a journey that will not only answer questions about their own identities, but also reveal the truth about a major character in the world of Spider-Man!

Review

With establishing out of the way, this crossover can finally delve into the fun part. Every Spider-Man fan is going to have a blast with this one, we get some great and funny dialogue between 616 and Ultimate Spidey. It's cool how after after all these years the writing could poke fun a bit. "So, uh, what's the deal? Is this a clone thing?" Priceless. The whole scene with Spidey and Nick Fury is pretty much worth the price alone. (Got to love the potshot at 616 Fury.) Of course, if this arc is also meant to bring readers into the Ultimate side of things, it isn't doing such s great job of that. Miles Morales is portrayed as an extreme rookie with his dialogue, it doesn't make me want to go buy his comics. There is one little error I noticed in the writing. The part where Miles says "For real it's really him?" Then in the next panel the dialogue cloud has him saying "Kinda sorta" directly after, which doesn't make sense. The art is pretty good here, it really brings the battles alive. (The battle with the Spiders was wonderfully drawn.) Only minor complaint is the eyes on Spidey's mask, they look way too small, especially when it's next to the other Spidey's mask, the eyes look good there.

Overall it's a great and fun installment in this crossover, which surprisingly isn't getting that much hype like I thought it would. It's great to see the two much different Spider-Men interact, the next three issues look to be Spider-rific. But, Mysterio? I really hope another villain pops in to take over, ol' fishbowl head has been used too many times already.

9/10

Justice League #10

Official Description

• “THE VILLAIN’S JOURNEY” part two! • The identity of the Justice League’s newest and deadliest foe is revealed! • Part four of the debut of SHAZAM!

Review

It feels like it's been FOREVER since the last issue. The latest issue has the team getting pulverized by the new villain Graves. I will say that this arc is doing a great at making this Graves character a menace and pretty cool at the same time. I hope his defeat isn't generic and that he becomes a returning villain. The dialogue has some strong moments, but some very weak moments too. The civilians and news reporters sound really, really bad. Green Lantern is nothing but a joke here, even Flash is a little off this time. Some of the dialogue between the team was admittedly funny, such as with Batman and Superman. I'm not really sure, but it's like the team still doesn't trust each other, even though this is taking place in present day. That's a lot of years of being a team. While the dialogue isn't juvenile like in some of the earlier issues, it still needs some work. Naturally the art is the strongest aspect, Jim Lee is perhaps the greatest comic artist right now. The next installment in the Shazam backup story was pretty good, with a great ending. Though in some panels Billy looked a little too evil.

Overall it's a pretty good issue with a horror touch, the dialogue is a little weak in some parts, but it's still a good read.

8/10