Two of the books were delayed and I had to re-confirm them to stay on track.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Barnes and Noble Update - Pre-Order Received!
Two of the books were delayed and I had to re-confirm them to stay on track.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Here There Be Monsters Review
Marvel Comics
Softcover Trade Paperback
112 pages
$9.99
ISBN 9780785113331
Contributors: Paul Jenkins, Damion Scott, Paolo Rivera, and Rob Campanella
Reprints: The Spectacular Spider-Man (2003) #11-14
Synopsis: Curt Connors is still recovering from the tragic loss of his wife to cancer. He's trying to take care of his son, but still battling guilt over not being able to save her life. It's difficult enough for a one-armed man to function in society, but this man has a monster just waiting to be get out.
Connors' attempt to land a research grant goes horribly awry and the grant winner is the victim of a mysterious explosion. Spider-Man finds Connors at the scene and attempts to help him deal with his demons. Will human nature prevail or will the monsters rule?
Pros: Jenkins' crafts a decent psychological thriller, Rivera is a great new painter
Cons: Scott's art is overly stylized and somewhat inconsistent, Rivera's art couldn't save a weak story, Jenkins' should have upped the ante in terms of danger (the Lizard is a bloodthirsty killer after all)
Mike Tells It Straight: Jenkins tackles another Spider-Man staple villain and triumphs. He adds a psychological twist to the Lizard bringing more depth to the character. A good story and the art mostly keeps pace. The final story was somewhat touching, but very obvious.
TO BUY and Recommendations:
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Countdown Review
Marvel Comics
Softcover Trade Paperback
120 pages
$11.99
ISBN 9780785113133
Contributors: Paul Jenkins, Humberto Ramos, and Wayne Faucher
Reprints: The Spectacular Spider-Man (2003) #6-10
Synopsis: Otto Octavius has been busy and his newly improved arms are stronger than ever. He's spent many long hours welding and tightening screws, all the while fuming over his greatest failure in life -- constant defeat by the unworthy wall-crawler!
Confronting Spider-Man and defeating him easily with his new arms Doctor Octopus offers a choice -- death or willingly unmasking in public. Spider-Man refuses and manages to escape, but the Doctor kidnaps the Palestinian ambassador on his visit to New York during a critical time in the Middle East peace talks. Now Spider-Man must weigh the peace of an entire section of the world over the safety of his loved ones.
Pros: Jenkins takes a deeper look at Octopus' origin and motivations, Ramos' art is very unique and expressive
Cons: Ramos' art is highly stylized and not very realistic (anime-ish)
Mike Tells It Straight: Hot on the heels of the Spider-Man 2 movie came a slew of Doctor Octopus centric storylines. We get more origin details and a new leather-clad look for the character. While the story by Jenkins and Ramos is well done it doesn't break any new ground for either main character.
TO BUY and Recommendations:
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Fantastic Four Hardcover Review
Marvel Comics
Hardcover
144 pages
$19.99
ISBN 9780785120292
Contributors: J. Michael Straczynski, Mike McKone, Andy Lanning, and Paul Mounts
Reprints: Fantastic Four #527-532
Synopsis: Recent events have seen the Fantastic Four lose all of their patents and corporate income to the US government. It's been a struggle to stay financially afloat for the entire family, save one member. Ben Grimm discovers his financial fortune is still intact and very sizeable. He gets a taste of the good life for a change.
In the meantime Reed is brought on a secret government project to investigate repeat phenomena of the cosmic rays which originally transformed four ordinary humans into the fantastic. They plan to send up a score of servicemen and women with hopes of the same purposeful transformation. The question of why each member of the team was affected differently by exposure to the same cosmic rays is answered with amazing results.
While Reed is away Sue gets a visit from New York child services to investigate the safety of their two children. When Blastaar or some other cosmic menace appears every week how can they possibly be in a safe environment? Sue must face down the scariest foe yet -- bureaucracy!
Pros: Straczynski's take on the FF is spot on, McKone's art is lushly detailed, great colors by Mounts, story is initially fascinating, great real-world situation as child services investigates the safety of the Richards' children's surroundings
Cons: After initial setup the story quickly falls apart becoming too cosmic in scope (even for an FF tale)
Mike Tells It Straight: Great art and characterization, but story is too far-fetched and all the pieces don't quite fit together in the end.
TO BUY and Recommendations:
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