Showing posts with label powers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label powers. Show all posts

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Snap Judgments: Quickie Comic Reviews for 4/16/08

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. There are probably some spoilers herein. Arranged from BEST to WORST.

The Damned: Prodigal Sons #1: A
The ignorant S.O.B that I am, I didn't realize this issue was a continuation of previous material when I picked it up. That being said, I had no trouble hopping on and getting into the demonic noir world of The Damned. Honest to goodness solid cartooning spiked with a story I actually haven't read before makes this my fave of the week. -Albo


X-Men: Divided We Stand #1: A
I heart emo superheroes! Abadonment is the theme du jour, or more specifically the sense of betrayal and loss that the x-kids feel after coming back from Iraq, er, I mean whatever went on in Messiah Complex. I didn't read that, but like many a great superhero comic, these stories work out of context as tales of the (meta)human experience writ large. -AHR

Cthulhu Tales #1, Pigeons From Hell #1, Powers Annual 2008 and Captain America #37 all after the jump!

Cthulhu Tales #1: A
As you'll see, this was a week of experimentation for me. I know jack diddly about the Cthulhu mythos, so why I picked up this anthology book from Boom! Studios is a mystery. Actually, it's pretty simple: I like Steve Niles' work on Simon Dark and his name was on the cover. But enough about me. Every one of these stories was a great little nugget of horror goodness, especially Niles'. Their only fault is that at the end of each I wanted more more more. Except maybe the last one that was about a bunch of fat sports fans. -Albo

Pigeons From Hell #1: B
If you can believe it, this book also has a backstory that I was unaware of before I picked it up. Apparently the story was originally told by Conan creator Robert E. Howard, and this is just a "modernization" of his tale. The story is pretty contrived and the dialogue is way hokey, but the energetic art by Nathan Fox and superstar colorist Dave Stewart is enough to make me not regret the purchase. -Albo

Powers Annual 2008: C
You know, there may be something great about this ish (primarily written by artist Mike Oeming) but I'm really not sure what it is. It's a story about cavemen fighting. Maybe it's an allegory? Maybe it's just boring. -Albo

Captain America #37: D
If you have friends who think all comics are about smarmy, laconic, self-righteous manly men in tights, DO NOT give them this book. Cause there's a lot of that crap, and it's boring. All posturing and intense stares, zero drama. -AHR

Friday, August 10, 2007

Panel Discussion: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Panels of the Week

Clearest Example of Batman's Insanity - Batman Confidential #8
When you find yourself dressed as a bat, thinking about ninjas, and looking through a window at a naked woman...this is the time to take a step back and really ask yourself, "Have I chosen the most efficient method of achieving my goals?"

Most Over-Sold Cover Story - Black Adam: The Dark Age #1Rookie mistake, boys. Any time someone has this much to say about how awful a person is, you can bet the speaker is that awful person in disguise.

Beatdown of the Week - Daredevil #99Seriously, what was this guy thinking? "Hey, Daredevil just kicked my ass, how about I get up, put my glasses back on, and interfere with his interrogation?" Guy's got chutzpah.

Too Much Information Alert - Powers #25
Sex happens, alright? It happens in life, and it happens (more attractively) in art. I generally appreciate it in both instances, but after taking in this SEVENTY PANEL sex spread I realized I knew waaaaay too much about how Walker likes to get down. It's what you might call... excessive.

Best Visual Framing Technique - Batman #667
J.H Williams III uses a very cool trick here, illustrating a static conversation by splitting a single image into several panels, making the reader consider the cut-up images with more attention than they would a single image. I also love how it's implied that Wingman (great bad-choice superhero name) is a stiff, uptight character by the way Ranger crosses behind him in the bottom two panels while Wingman remains frozen in time.

Related: More of Geekanerd's Panel Discussions