Rapid Reviews

I'm pretty much caught up on reviewing now... just in time for this week's books to arrive. I won't be reviewing the Free Comic Book Day books, but I may sift through them and tell you what caught my eye. More on that tomorrow.

19 April 2006

JSA Classified #11: "The Fall and Rise of Vandal Savage part two": More savage tales. I'm mostly enjoying this book. I guess I do like the retro attitude of the JSA over the Justice League's sense of invulnerability. It's a strange little story, let's see how it ends.

JLA Classified #20: "Conduct Unbecoming": I've never seen Batman's thoughts represented quite like that before. I like it. As for the rest... well, the ending was a shocker. I can't say I liked that. I do wonder what it will lead to. This story has been a bumpy ride.

Justice #5: Yet less of Aquaman. At least we get to see his apparently lifeless body in this one. And we get hints of Brainiac having a use for Aquaman against Luthor. Still, not enough for me. The story isn't too bad, but the coloring is getting to me in parts of the story. Not enough of a difference between different scenes. I'd be happier with more Aquaman, but it's still a decent Justice League tale.

Birds of Prey #93: "Gunshot Redemption": The addition of Gypsy to the team is actually pretty cool. She seems to have developed more powers. But for some reason I thought she was dead. Oh well, heroes never stay dead for long. This was another engrossing issue, with a little more emphasis on what's happening to Canary. This is one of the best OYL titles.

Wolverine: Origins #1: "Born in Blood part one": Why does Wolverine need a sword? Ahem. Promising beginning, but I feel like there's a little too much testosterone floating around in this book. Not really my kind of book at all.

Squadron Supreme #2: "First Steps": Ah... the Voice. I get it. This is a much better issue than the first one, because we get to see the team in action and, more importantly, interacting with one another. I can't quite figure out what the plan was, but the individual bits worked nicely to show us how the team members work. Not bad for a second issue.

Phantom #10: "Slave Trade part 2 of 2": This issue is all action, as the Phantom fights off the slave traders now chasing his train of soon-to-be-free slaves. There really isn't much story, but what there is works well. This was a pretty good story.

Angel: Old Friends #5: Is this missing a page? I can't figure out why the false Angel stopped fighting Angel. It just doesn't make any sense. Not that much wrong with the story, except for that unexplained twist. A slight letdown, as a whole series, but I liked it anyway.

Midnight Kiss #2: "Fallen part 2 of 6": Wow, one page in the book and I'm already annoyed. It's "Glinda" not "Glenda". Sheesh. At least the Oz connection on this one starts on the very first page. With some nice exposition to get us up-to-date on the situation in Oz, which isn't pretty. And we also get cool flying monkeys. Not the best book ever, a little too steeped in gore and profanity for my tastes, but not horrible.

Midnight Kiss #3: "Fallen part 3 of 6": I actually got this issue before I got issue two, so I've been holding on to it to review once number two came in. Then, when it did arrive, I didn't really feel the need to read it until the fourth issue came out. Then I figured I would catch up. This book reads a bit like a poor man's Neverwhere. It's not horrible, it's just not that great. We only got it for the Oz bits, and this is as dark an Oz as I've ever seen. The brains that the Scarecrow got were used, and he got nasty as a result. At least this issue had a bit of a twist in it.

Midnight Kiss #4: "Fallen part 4 of 6": Not sure what to think of this series now. I don't hate it, but it really isn't my sort of thing. Looks like the Oz bit is just about over now. We'll continue to get it until the end of the storyarc for sure, just to make certain.

Conan: Book of Thoth #2: "The Serpent Stirs": Thoth brings Set back with him, and starts to climb to the top of the ruling class while killing off his enemies. This is really brutal. Thoth is completely evil, and his actions are nasty through-and-through. I'm enjoying this origin tale.

Conan #27: "The Blood-Stained Crown": The meta-story with the prince from the framing sequence reading Conan stories is just great. I like how the prince eventually outsmarts the vizer, but allows him an excuse. This story ended on a good note. I like the evolution of the prince since the zero issue where he started out the framing sequence. And while I don't want him to be the focus, I hope we get to see a little more of him in the future.