Review! Age of Ultron: Book One (Marvel)

COVER: Bryan Hitch. Nice chromium embossed cover! Ultron shiny...huh huh

STORY: Brian Michael Bendis. Another apocalyptic, alternate reality for the Marvel U. Do these people
                have any hope at all for a normal future? Anyway, this one starts off good, even if we never get to
                see the main villain. Hawkeye rescuing a captured Spider-Man is very cool.

ART: Bryan Hitch. One of the best...even with those strange poses he sometimes throws in (page 11,
           Spider-Man's left leg, what is he doing? And page 12, what is wrong with Hawkeye's right arm?
           Ouch, looks painful).

FINAL FILE: BUY,READ,BAG IT!...one complaint, why did they put the "roster" page toward 
                        the back of the book? Wouldn't it serve the story better in the beginning?

Bad days for New York and our heroes

Blurry...hurt...eyes

what the heck is wrong with Spidey's left leg?

Review! Secret Avengers #1 (Marvel)

COVER: Tomm Coker. Fits the book, nothing special.

STORY: Nick Spencer. So agent Phil Coulson (of the Avengers movie fame) gets to lead a secret team of
               Avengers that seems to consist of Hawkeye, Black Widow, and the new Nick Fury. A surprise
               ending leads us to see that S.H.I.E.L.D. will use some dirty tactics to get the job done. Good start
               to the series but this can only end one way...badly, when the heroes discover what is really going
               on. I look forward to it.

ART: Luke Ross. Very good fit.

FINAL FILE: BUY,READ,BAG IT!...good start, look forward to this monthly read.

Review! Star Wars: Legacy #1 (Dark Horse)

COVER: Dave Wilkins. Very nice painted cover.

STORY: Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman. I never like two writers. It tends to blur the vision of
                the story. This book is set 138 years after 'Star Wars: A New Hope' and it stars Ania Solo, a
                descendant of  Leia and Han. She comes across a light saber that becomes hot property real fast.
                I'm not sure how old this girl is but she seems to be too young to be running around the Star Wars
                universe all alone...well, with a young Mon Calamari, Sauk. It also looks like the war between
                Sith and Jedi still exists, but with new players. Good start, just have to get used to all the new
                faces.
ART: Gabriel Hardman. This is the kind of art that best fits the Star Wars Universe. I have never liked it
           when they use a cartoony or bright style. Hardman has just the right gritty feel that this book needs.
           Good choice.

FINAL FILE: BUY,READ,BAG IT!...good start!

Film Review! Oblivion

Yawn-ish.

A bit scattered.

There are a few sci-fi genre films coming out this year and I think this might be the weakest of the lot. The story of Jack (Tom Cruise) and his post-apocalyptic adventures is rather all over the place and somewhat confusing. I cant give away the"secret" of the film but it is one that has been used before. Think hard. The usual survivors of a world ending event are all present. Even Morgan Freeman makes a mandatory turn as the leader of a group of surviving rebels. It has some nice visual effects that are large in scale. The story is just too weak and the motivation of almost all the characters is not very clear.( I'm still not sure what Jack was fighting with when he falls into a hole that was once the New York library...they did not seem human)
There is a bright spot in Julia (Olga Kurylenko), very hot.

FINAL FILE: Skip the theater, wait for the DVD.

Yes...you my feel this way too

Tom Cruise's ship is the co-star

Love concept art

Love Olga...a young Catherine Zeta-Jones right?!

Review! Batman and Robin #18 (DC)

COVER: Patrick Gleason. Great cover!

STORY: Peter J. Tomasi. This is a tricky one. Tomasi wrote the book, but the book has no dialogue. So
               we give him credit for the plot and the panel descriptions? Sure.

ART: Patrick Gleason. It is books like this that make comic books such a great medium. A silent issue,
          told only in pictures, and told incredibly. You can see the heartbreak and anger in Bruce, Alfred, and
          even the bat-dog Titus. True storytelling.

FINAL FILE: BUY,READ (or look at), BAG IT!...as much as I liked this issue I hope that this
                        death (if it sticks) has true repercussions for Bruce and his bat-universe. Like
                        "no more Robins" for one, or any kid vigilantes of any kind.

Great, moody, cover

Original cover solicitation...to throw us off...used in story

Loneliness 

A fathers pain

Review! Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (Marvel)

COVER: Steve McNiven. Always good!

STORY: Brian Michael Bendis. The Guardians are a pretty well known team in the Marvel universe. This
                allows for Bendis to get us right into the meat of the story without too much intro (plus they did
                have a point one issue to help). The set up is that Earth is the focal point for the teams adventures
                and Bendis did this very well. Putting Iron Man as a member of the team helps too. Good start.

ART: Steve McNiven. This guy can make any book look good. Always in the top five comic artist list.

FINAL FILE: BUY,READ,BAG IT!...without the great artwork I'm not sure i would have given 
                        this book a chance, but I'm glad I did...the Guardians of the Galaxy have always
                        been C-list characters at best, I hope Marvel can keep them going...with the film
                        coming out it will help, but I predict it will be Marvels first bomb at the theaters.
                        They are just not that well known.

Star-Lord's conflict with his father is interesting.

Cool team shot! Cool team!

Review! X-Termination: Part One (Marvel)

COVER: Ed Mcguinness. I know this guy is a fan favorite ( whatever that means now-a-days) but I just
                think he draws everyone too thick. Okay cover.

STORY: David Lapham, Marjorie Liu, Greg Pak. (really? three people?) This feels like Marvel had
                intended it to be a major crossover event...but it is not. 'Age of Ultron' is out at the same time and
                I don't think people care too much about an alternate universe character (Age of Apocalypse
                Nightcrawler) off of a canceled book (Uncanny X-Force) that teams up with two other canceled
                books ( X-Treme X-Men and Age of Apocalypse)...bad timing Marvel. "Who cares" story with
                "who cares" characters. Too bad because 'Age of Apocalypse' was one of my favorite titles when
                it started, and it has ton of potential.

ART: David Lopez. Just okay. I went to this guys blog to see more of his work and it is much better than
           the art in this book. Maybe his next project will be better.

FINAL FILE: SKIP IT!...When I ordered this book it was a big deal...Marvel killed it...it deserved
                        a better death along with the titles it ended.

Review! Poison Elves #1 (Outlaw/Ape Entertainment)

COVER: Darick Robertson. Not a big fan of Darick's work, but a nice pic.

STORY: Robb Horan.  Wow. Where to start? Totally confusing. I believe the story is being told by an
                elf character who,obviously, has survived some form of quest for him by another elf. I'm not sure
                if this book is easy for old fans of 'Poison Elves' but I was totally lost. Too many new names and
                places and with the black and white art it was hard to tell who was who some times. Then, to
                make things even more confusing, we get some kind of zombie-elf-jester that breaks the fourth
                wall and comments on the action. I hate fourth wall breaks in comics. That is the main reason I
                don't read any 'Deadpool' comics. Anyway, this issue is just not for new readers...wait...they put
                a primer at the back of the book? The back? So you find it AFTER you mud your way through
                this puzzle of a story? Thanks for nothing geniuses!

ART: Montos. Who? Mediocre at best.

          * There is also a four page backup story by Keith Davidsen and Shannon Ritchie. Just as confusing as
             the lead story. The artist also feels the need to fill in every micro-inch of space of every panel with
             his art. That is not the way to tell a good story people. Color would help.

FINAL FILE: SKIP IT!...if you are a fan and know what you are getting then go buy it...if not...this
                        book will not be fun. The entire book feels like student work, bad student work.

Best thing in the whole book.

Unless you are Frank Miller, do not do B/W comic art.

Must...fill...every inch...with art...

Review! Sex #1 (Image)

COVER: Piotr Kowalski. Rather nice cover.

STORY: Joe Casey. He named the book 'Sex'.What the title has to do with the story is not clear to me.
                It looks like the story is about a retired hero who comes back to the big city he used to protect.
                The main character never puts on a costume and we never see one in this entire book. So if that
                is what you are looking for this wont be the book for you. If you picked up the book because of
                the title, well, you do get some graphic, unneeded, over the top lesbian action that was probably
                put in to justify the title. Maybe a second issue will clear things up a bit, but I'm not spending  my
                money to find out.

ART: Piotr Kowalski. Nothing special. The line work is rather weak and the figures are generic looking
           in design. I'm sure the sex scene was fun. The art is just overwhelmed by the coloring ( by Brad
           Simpson). I think he was trying to channel a 'Watchmen' feel from the 80's, but its not the 80's
           anymore and it just looks bad. I actually think Brad just doesn't have any green to paint with.
           * The lettering by Rus Wooton was good...but what the hell where those color block highlights?
             
FINAL FILE: SKIP IT!...this is how I picture the pitch for this title playing out...
                                          Comic Creator: " I have this great idea for a new series about a guy that comes
                                                                    back home after retiring"
                                          Comic Publisher: " Cool, what is it called?"
                                          Comic Creator: "Uuuuu..."
                                          Comic Publisher: " Call it 'Sex', sex sells."
                                          Comic Creator: " But that doesn't fit my story."
                                          Comic Publisher: " So make him a sex addict."
                                          Comic Creator: " Okay."

Gratuitous sex scene,CHECK!...bad coloring, CHECK!

Review! Shrugged 2 #1 (Aspen)

COVER: Jonathan Marks. Cover B. Cute.Nice colors.

STORY: Frank Mastromauro. If this is your first 'Shrugged' comic, like me, I hope you did not expect
               much. The story seems to be about a teen boy who has a female conscious (named Ange...really
               ..."ANGEL"?) on one shoulder and a male demon (named 'Dev'...really..."DEVIL"? how very
               not clever) on the other. I'm not sure if this is Franks first writing gig, but it sure feels like it. The
               "banter" between Ange and Dev is beyond annoying. They are perfect stereotypes of the goody
                goody angel and the bad boy devil, but they argue like brother and sister. Frank also needs to
                brush up on his teen lingo. No teenager talks the way his characters talk. The African American
                kid says things like, "slow your roll", and "your creepin on my airspace", and "gotta jet"...who talks
                that way?! What year is this comic set in? Then he has a female classmate say "Heya sport" to the
                lead character. Really? would a teen girl say that to a teen boy in any high school in any era?!
               Horrible!! Then comes the strange scene ( out of nowhere it seems) where some demons are
               racing through some caves? Who?What?Where?...no explanation given or introduction. (also
               what the hell is happening on the second to last page?) Not user friendly for new readers.

ART: Jonathan Marks and Micah Gunnell.  Don't know who did what but they are both very
           amateurish looking. The cover is the only good drawing in this book. The coloring by Beth Sotelo
           is too bright and shiny, makes it cartoony.

FINAL FILE: SKIP IT!...if you read the first series and liked it, go balls, but this book is not for
                        new readers...or readers of good comics.

Nice cover...but thats about it.

Review! Green Arrow #17 (DC)

COVER: Andrea Sorrentino. I get the 'We Can Be Heroes' cover when available. The Sorrentino cover
                 is rather nice.

STORY:  Jeff Lemire. So I guess the young Oliver Queen has lost his company,friends, and money?
                 There is also another archer ( is that the only kind of villain an archer hero can have?) trying to
                 kill him. At one point, Olie gets shot by an arrow through the wrist, he pulls it out and continues
                 as if nothing happened...?? Is Olie super human now? Or is his healing factor really good?                
                 This is a hitting rock bottom story that is setting things up for the next chapter in Olie's
                 life. Good jumping on point for new readers.

ART: Andrea Sorrentino. This guy still feels like a wanna-be Jae Lee to me, but not quite as good. Most
          of his faces look oddly shadowed. He also makes Olie look too young in some panels. Overrated.
          * From the credits it looks like Andrea also colors the book. Well, he has a habit of "not coloring"
             certain parts or the story that is more distracting than cool. His coloring is also flat.

FINAL FILE: SKIP IT!...unless you are a die hard Green Arrow fan, this title is not for you. I was
                        hoping the hype surrounding the artwork was true...it was not.

Odd "non-coloring" by Sorrentino.

More "non-coloring"

Super Olie!!

OPENING DAY!

Its here!

Go DODGERS!!