Friday, April 26, 2013

Quick Comic Reviews -- Superman, Star Trek, and Hawkeye

Have I mentioned Ottawa Comiccon lately? Probably but I'll mention it again because I love attending comic conventions. And Ottawa Comiccon is looking very good this year. I'm eager to meet Jewel Staite, Summer Glau, Felicia Day (for a second time), Wil Wheaton, and Nicholas Brendon but they've also seriously upped their comic guest line up from last year with George Perez, Chris Claremont, Neal Adams, Dale Keown, Richard Starkings, Arthur Suydam, Herb Trimpe, Larry Hama, Pia Guerra, and many others coming out. It's looking to be a great (and expensive) weekend.

But as for the latest batch of comic reviews...

Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness - I had high hopes for this book as I really enjoyed the comic they put out prior to the previous movie. I felt it really flushed out parts of the backstory and set up the movie well. I didn't get that feeling so much this time. There were hints of an upcoming story but nothing as major as last time. It didn't seem really that important to the story. The writing was okay, the art was pretty good, but it was just an okay Star Trek comic. Not really a must-read, just an "if you're interested."

Superman: Secret Identity - I didn't have a lot of confidence in this one after reading the first chapter, it seemed a bit silly to me at first, but it quickly becomes an incredibly engaging story. There is some really beautiful artwork that really connects you with the story. I can see it not being for everyone, but I might put it in my top 5 Superman stories (up there with All-Star, Red Son, Kingdom Come, Whatever Happened To...). Definitely glad I picked this one up and I would definitely recommend it. Maybe not for everyone, but for many.

Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon - I now get what all the fuss was about. Was this ever a fun book or what. Great stories, had me chuckling throughout, and an edge-of-your-seat ride from start to finish, through each story. So it looks like I'll be adding another Marvel book to my reading list after all. I'd definitely recommend this book to everyone. And that's all I can really say about it.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Quick Comic Reviews - Red She-Hulk, X'ed Out, and Hive

My power went out last night which meant I had time to read some comics (by candlelight no less).

Red She-Hulk Volume 1 - I had mixed feelings about this book. The main story seems just okay. The military is creating its own team of superpowers (as if that's never come up before) and the Red She-Hulk sees (through a somewhat convoluted story) that this is going to end badly. So, instead of doing something rational she decides to go it on her own (I think the Red She-Hulk and the machine that showed Betty the future) had something to do with that but it still seemed a stretch to make up some reasons for her to fight off the Avengers. And now that I'm typing that up I realize I wanted this story to be okay but I don't really think it is. But worst of all for me is that most of this volume is from Machine Man's perspective. We get glimpses of Red She-Hulk and Betty doing stuff but usually through Machine Man's eyes. So it doesn't really feel like a Red She-Hulk book until the end when she starts describing things to Machine Man. So I guess in a way, it's still really about Machine Man. So all in all, a rather disappointing book. I hope the next volume is better as I'll stick it out for a little while but it really needs to improve or I'll be dropping it.

X'ed Out and the Hive - I chalk these up to great artistic comics where I'm still wondering what the heck is going on. Things are starting to come together in the Hive but we still don't have the full picture. And it's what, two more years for the final book? Perhaps I'll avoid saying one way or another until I'm able to read the thing in full because for now, it's tough for me to recommend these books for most people. But if you're really thinking to try them out, then yeah, I'd say do so.