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| Star Trek / The Key Collection Vol 4 : 3 of 5 | |
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2.09.2010
6:56 AM | Link0 comments |
 I love Star Trek and I love old comic books, so this series is just perfect for me, and I've been enjoying reading volume after volume for the past few years! This collection contains eight issues from 1974-75, and although they aren't quite as good as some of the past volumes, I still really enjoyed following the Enterprise crew through crazy adventures that couldn't be produced for TV, yet feel very much like actual episodes if you step back and admire them. Of course, there are lots of outlandish situations, but that's part of the fun (like Scotty getting shrunk down so small that he has to fight a microbe)! It's interesting that several of the plots involve political or moral themes this time (something Star Trek has always dealt with), such as a war between red and blue races on an ice planet, or a cloned Samurai society that keeps the people in the dark about their origins. There's even a story that mimics Romeo and Juliet, right down to the lovers' suicide and memorial statue that brings peace to two feuding factions. But along with these somewhat serious stories, I get a kick out of finding hilarious details that always crop up in these comics. In one episode, Uhura is unmistakably drawn as a Caucasian, and in another Spock gives a lecture on the Big Bang by using an old school movie projector (reels and all)! There are some great lines, too, such as Kirk calling someone a "warp four looney", and once Uhura calls McCoy "Leonard" out of the blue (rather than "Dr. McCoy"). The artwork is pretty much the same as usual, with some nice shuttlecraft renderings and even a pod that looks like it was copied from 2001: A Space Odyssey! I could read these comics all day, so of course I'm getting the next volume (after I finish a huge pile of other books)!
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| Essential Godzilla / Marvel Essentials : 4 of 5 | |
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1.23.2010
3:39 PM | Link0 comments |
 One of the strangest incarnations of Godzilla was the 1977 Marvel Comics series that transplanted my favorite Japanese kaiju into the Marvel Universe of characters. I remember buying several issues of this comic back in my childhood, so it's nice to have all 24 issues collected here in one book (although it's a shame not seeing them in color, but that's how the Essentials series stays so cheap). This saga is certainly unique and bizarre because of the American landmarks and superhero guest stars. Godzilla gets to stomp up famous places like the Alaskan Pipeline, Las Vegas (including the Hoover Dam), the Grand Canyon, and even comes close to knocking over the Empire State Building, and must face the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Champions, and of course S.H.I.E.L.D., who pursues him throughout the story. Of course, there are a few Japanese scientists along for consultation, and they build a giant samurai mecha called Red Ronin, who knows that Godzilla isn't evil at heart, and helps him defeat another set of giant monsters from space. Obviously, this series is filled with every science fiction and superhero cliche you can imagine, right down to the hilariously melodramatic narration (and there's a lot of it when the main character can only roar!). But the plot sometimes crosses the line into ridiculous territory, especially when Godzilla is shrunk to lizard-size and has to fight an ordinary sewer rat, then later grows to man-size and is disguised in a coat and hat! The artwork is pretty cool, and I like the way Godzilla is drawn, as well as the 70s Jack Kirby-ish look that all of the human characters have. I had so much fun reading a new issue every morning, and now I'm going to miss enjoying these crazy adventures of the King of the Monsters!
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| JLA / New World Order : 2 of 5 | |
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12.11.2009
6:23 AM | Link0 comments |
 I probably wouldn't have picked up this book at a comic book shop, but I couldn't resist getting it from PaperBack Swap, especially since I've read so little of the recent adventures of the Justice League. This is a four-issue collection with a pretty standard alien invasion plot (although there's a nice twist involving the Martian Manhunter). I thought the first half was pretty lame, since I wasn't enjoying the overly-busy artwork, and even the dialogue was a little boring. Some of the drawing is really crazy, too - a few faces look particularly sloppy! But somehow the book really turned around for the second half, with a better pace and great one-liners from the heroes. Maybe I was just happy that Batman ends up solving the mystery, since he's the only plain ol' human in the bunch! I enjoyed how some portions of the book focus on a particular character, which was even more interesting to me since heroes like the Flash and Green Lantern are actually different guys than when I was growing up. For essentially free, this was a really fun book, but I'm definitely not on the search for more books in this series.
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| Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol 1 / The Fantastic : 3 of 5 | |
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11.28.2009
6:23 PM | Link0 comments |
 Since I recently enjoyed reading Ultimate Spider-Man, I thought it would be fun to check-out this alternate, updated origin of the Fantastic Four, especially since I've heard this series is the best of Marvel's Ultimate line. Of course, I kept my eyes open on PaperBack Swap and got a copy in great condition, and although I'm not going to make this series a priority, I certainly was intrigued by both the artwork and the story! Starting with the birth of baby Reed Richards, there's a series of scenes that highlight the awkward childhood of brainy Reed (and how he's protected from bullies by Ben Grimm), and how he's eventually discovered at a science fair and asked to join a genius think tank at the Baxter Building (which looks spectacular), where he meets Susan and Johnny Storm (as well as the future Doctor Doom). The rocket launch and cosmic rays have been thrown out this time, and instead it's Reed's experiment in dimensional travel that backfires and causes their mutation, which is pretty intense since each one is teleported to a random spot in the process! As they discover their powers, the story does a nice job of making it an emotional experience (seeing poor Reed wake up as a pile of rubber was kind of sad). The artwork is wonderful, with particularly interesting angles (featuring lots of "crane shots" looking down into large scenes), great colors and crisp lines. The Mole Man is the villain of the story, but while he definitely looks disgusting, the final battle with his minions is a bit weak, especially since the rest of the book is so good. It's always fun to read re-imaginings of great characters, especially when they're as cool as Ultimate Fantastic Four!
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| The Return of Superman : 3 of 5 | |
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11.13.2009
12:24 PM | Link0 comments |
 I started reading the classic Death of Superman saga just about a year ago (finishing The Death of Superman and World Without a Superman pretty quickly), but when I received The Return of Superman and saw it was 480 pages long, it ended up on my shelf for a long time while I read shorter books! Once I started reading it, though, the time just flew by, and I really enjoyed working though this collection of 21 different issues (from several Superman titles and even an issue of Green Lantern). Most of this book covers four different "replacement" heroes who take up the mantle of Superman after his death, so there are several side stories about each one. There's Superboy, a young version of Clark who is a clone from Kryptonian DNA, and Steel (or the Man of Steel), who is an ordinary weapons expert who creates a supersuit to fight crime (and atone for the terrible weapons he has created). Next is the visored Superman, who is all about justice to the point of being cruel (actually he's the Eradicator from Krypton), and finally the Cyborg Superman, who turns out to be the big villain after all (along with Mongul, who wants to recreate Warworld). There are lots of sub-plots about public reaction (some cults spring up to claim allegiance to the "true" Superman) and even copyright battles as different news networks chose which Superman to back, but pretty much all Lois does is worry. The story gets a little out of hand at times, such as when the DC equivalent of Los Angeles, Coast City, is totally destroyed - I guess they figured a huge event like the death and return of Superman warranted a giant catastrophe! The artwork and writing styles vary drastically over these 21 issues (as you would expect), which is both good and bad, since it's fun to enjoy the differences, but a shame when a particular issue's artwork is less than stunning. Overall, there's no way this third story arc could be as amazing as the original death battle itself, but I still had a great time reading this massive saga, and I feel like my comic book cultural literacy score just jumped up a few points!
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| Star Trek / Mirror Images : 3 of 5 | |
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9.22.2009
7:15 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've been reading a lot of Star Trek comics this year, especially anything set in the era of the Original Series, and I'm pretty impressed with the great stories out there! Star Trek comics are great because they can include scenes that would have been impossible to film or too expensive back in the Shatner/Nimoy days, and they can also tell obscure tales that only fans would adore. This comic collection is set in the alternate universe of the episode Mirror, Mirror (which everyone knows as the "Spock with a beard" episode), where the Federation is known as the Empire and all the characters are ruthless cutthroats! The plot takes place prior to the TV episode, while evil Kirk is only second-in-command under evil Captain Pike. The story is full of backstabbing and deceit, even from evil Spock (who is cruel in the name of logic, of course), and beautifully rendered with fantastic, moody artwork with great use of shadows and dramatic lighting. Most of the story involves the building of Kirk's spying device in his quarters (which he uses in Mirror, Mirror), which Scotty has to secretly build from parts smuggled in by green Orion slave girls wearing the components as their sexy outfits! The book also includes a short interlude story set in the Next Generation timeline (but still in the alternate evil universe), in which a young Picard kills a Vulcan captain to rise in rank. There are several fight scenes and lots of brief dialogue, which makes this book a quick read overall, but I still totally enjoyed this tribute to one of the most popular and unique episodes of the Original Series. I'm looking forward to buying more Star Trek graphic novels soon!
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| Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 / Power & Responsibility : 3 of 5 | |
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9.09.2009
11:54 AM | Link0 comments |
 Although my comic book tastes seem to lean to the DC side, I still love Marvel characters, too. I've been wanting to take a look at the Ultimate Marvel series, where classic heroes are "updated" into today's world, and finding this seven issue collection of the rebooted Spider-Man on PaperBack Swap was the perfect opportunity! The original Spider-Man origin story that everyone knows was only a single issue, so it's nice to see this re-telling spread out with much more detail. Truthfully, I was expecting this new version to be much more different, but all of the significant plot elements remain intact. The small changes are still interesting, though - Peter Parker is only 15 years old, Mary Jane is brainy like Peter, and Uncle Ben has a ponytail (I guess that one wasn't too significant!). The biggest change is that Norman Osborn and the origin of the Green Goblin (who is much more of a monster in this universe) is directly linked to Peter's spider bite, since the spider is from an experiment with a drug called "Oz" that also becomes the agent to create the Green Goblin. The artwork is all excellent, especially during a long aerial fight with the Goblin, and I thought the storytelling was well done (Uncle Ben's power and responsibility speech was delivered with excellent subtlety). I liked the extra time spent on Peter's short wrestling career, as well as his interaction with the high school jocks, but in general the story still feels like classic Spider-Man, retold with better pacing and care. After reading this, I don't really have the urge to keep digging into this alternate reality, although I definitely won't hesitate to pick up more Ultimate Marvel titles on PaperBack Swap if I run across them!
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| Star Wars / Darth Maul : 3 of 5 | |
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8.27.2009
12:25 PM | Link0 comments |
 Even though I’ve pretty much ignored the huge amount of Star Wars comics that have been published in recent years, I couldn’t resist getting this graphic novel (which collects an original four-issue series) when I noticed it was available on PaperBack Swap! I’ve always thought Darth Maul was pretty cool, even though he’s far more menacing than most characters I get into, and like other fans I’ve always wanted more than his few awesome fights (and sparse lines) in The Phantom Menace. This story takes place just before Episode I while Darth Sidious is preparing to start the blockade that opens the movie, but first Darth Maul needs to take out a mafia-style crime organization called Black Sun, just in case they get in Sidious’ way. I enjoyed the moment when Sidious gives Maul the Sith Interceptor (I’ve always liked that ship), along with his speeder bike and probe droids that we’ve seen him use. Most of the book is filled with extended fight scenes, with all the hands and heads (as well as bodies being cut in half) that you would expect from Darth Maul! The artwork is exceptional (Maul really looks like Ray Park, who played him in the film), and I was impressed with the use of so many cool Star Wars species (I spotted lots of cantina aliens and even an Ugnaught). Unfortunately, this story reads rather quickly, and by the time it’s over I hadn’t learned anything new about Darth Maul. More insight into his character (vile as it may be!) would have been nice, and I recommend the interesting Star Wars Journals: Darth Maul as an example. But putting that complaint aside, this was still a fun way to get into some recent Star Wars comics, and I really enjoyed all the Sith action!
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| Star Trek / Alien Spotlight Vol 1 : 3 of 5 | |
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8.05.2009
12:35 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've really been getting into Star Trek comics lately, focusing mainly on the Original Series characters. Thankfully, there seems to have been a lot of great graphic novels produced recently that fit the bill (possibly anticipating the success of the Star Trek movie), and there are so many that I want to buy and read! I decided to check out Alien Spotlight mainly because it was from the same publisher as the excellent Star Trek Year Four books, and even though it includes stories from all over the Star Trek timeline (all the way back to Captain Pike and forward to Picard and Janeway), I really enjoyed each of the six stories that focus on a different alien race and culture. The best one by far is about the Romulans, which is actually an insightful prequel to Balance of Terror (the best Original Series episode), providing an amazing look into life on Romulus, the unveiling of the first Bird of Prey with a cloaking device, and even revealing Klingon involvement in the Romulan/Federation war! As a bonus, this story is illustrated by the incredible John Byrne, who was one of my favorite artists back when I was a serious comic collector. The story on Vulcans is wonderful as well, since it's about Spock's early days on the Enterprise under Captain Pike, and shows the various conflicts among the crew when dealing with an emotionless officer. The other stories are all interesting (but definitely not as good as the Romulan and Vulcan tales), and I enjoyed the various styles of artwork and use of color. The chapter on the Gorn was fun since they try to assist after a shuttlecraft accident (in reverence to Kirk's sparring the Gorn's life in Arena), but of course things don't go exactly as planned. The Borg story is well-executed, but I'm not really a Borg fan, and the complex time-travel plot was more confusing than interesting. The final chapters covering Andorians and Orions (green girls!) were both fun, especially since they are set in interesting places, such as Babel from the Original Series. Overall this is a really cool series that I'm glad I picked up, and I'm looking forward to Volume 2. Until then, I'm going to scratch my Star Trek itch with the other graphic novels available!
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| Secret Origins Featuring the JLA : 3 of 5 | |
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7.14.2009
12:09 PM | Link0 comments |
 I love finding graphic novels on PaperBack Swap, since I know I'll enjoy just about any DC Comics edition I can find, and it feels like I'm getting them for free! This particular book isn't quite as slick as other comic collections (the pages are basic newsprint rather than glossy paper), but it's still a nice long set of seven stories that I found pretty interesting. The first story features the entire Justice League facing yet another alien invasion, but the rest of the chapters all focus on the origin tale of each hero. Of course, some of these have been told a million times - it must have been really rough to figure out yet another way to relate the Batman story, but I think they did a nice job with Batman himself somewhat narrating at a crime scene similar to one that took the lives of his parents. A few of the origins are extremely complex and complete, covering the full history of the character (including previous Golden and Silver Age versions!). Things move a little too quick just to fit everything into the book, but I still was totally fascinated to read classic facts I never knew before, such as the final end of Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern, all the different versions of the Flash, and especially the sweeping tale of Aquaman, which is definitely long enough to be it's own book (and it probably is!). Since Superman's story is so well known, the angle this time involves Bruce Wayne going undercover to talk with the Kents, which was pretty cool. Some fans might be disappointed in the "rush job" these stories get (admittedly, a few are so compact they read like an encyclopedia entry), but I had a great time reading this book!
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| Superman/Batman Vol 1 / Public Enemies : 4 of 5 | |
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6.29.2009
5:21 PM | Link0 comments |
 Every now and then you can find a nice DC Comics graphic novel available on PaperBack Swap, and since I already own Volume 2 of this series (which I got as a side-effect of my crazy scavenger hunt video project), I snatched this first volume up the moment I saw it. I'm glad I did, since I was really impressed with the story and artwork, and now I want to check out the rest of the saga! Although there have been many stories featuring Superman and Batman together, I love the way this one is written using parallel narratives. The inner dialogue of both Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne is presented in different color text blocks, and it's fascinating to constantly read what they are thinking (which is often contradictory, but always respectful of the other hero). In this story, Lex Luthor has become president, and blames a huge Kryptonite meteor headed for Earth on Superman, putting a billion dollar price on his head. Of course, this attracts tons of villains (and even heroes, too, since Luthor represents the US Government), so this book is filled with guest stars! I really enjoyed the battles with Hawkman and Captain Marvel, as well as the climax with Luthor in his mechanized armor, but unfortunately the final solution to destroy the meteor was a little dumb. However, the way this story is told more than makes up for that fault, and it's worth it just for the opening segment of Superman and Batman's origin flashbacks, presented from the exact point of view of baby Kal-El and young Bruce (brilliant!). I guess I'll have to re-read Volume 2 now that I've decided to keep going with this series!
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| Star Trek Year Four: Enterprise Experiment / DC Fontana : 4 of 5 | |
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6.12.2009
12:50 PM | Link0 comments |
 Since I really enjoyed reading the previous Star Trek Year Four graphic novel, I was excited to discover this new five-part saga, actually written by DC Fontana, one of the most popular screenwriters for the original series! She does an incredible job of weaving together an incredible tale that works as a kind of sequel to no less than three original series episodes: The Enterprise Incident (where they steal the Romulan cloaking device), Errand of Mercy (where the Organians halt the Klingon/Federation war), and even The Paradise Syndrome (where Kirk loses his memory and becomes an Indian). DC Fontana really knows her stuff, making sure all the parts of the plot fit together nicely, and including classic characters such as the Klingons Kor and Koloth, as well as animated series characters like Mr. Arex (who plays an important role). I loved the character insight (especially in McCoy's flashback memory of his daughter's graduation), as well as the small details like the old space suits they wore in The Tholian Web. The awesome story is the real star of this book, but the artwork is also spectacular (even better than the previous collection)! All of the main characters really look like the actors (even the Klingons), and the use of colors really has the feel of the original series. As a bonus, the text of Fontana's story proposal is also included, which is really interesting to read to see how she developed the plot. More than any other Star Trek comic book, the Enterprise Experiment really captured every aspect of the original series perfectly. I only wish there were more books in this series for me to enjoy!
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| Star Trek / The Key Collection Vol 3 : 3 of 5 | |
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4.03.2009
6:44 AM | Link0 comments |
 I took a little break from this series (since I read Volume 2 last summer!), but once I started this volume I finished it pretty quickly! There's just something about the original Star Trek characters that none of the other series can capture, so I love reading these cheesy comic book adventures. This volume includes eight stories from 1972-1974, but comic books were fairly long back then, so the entire book is over 200 pages thick! Each story includes the amazing cover art (and it's cool to see the original 15 cents price), and the overall look of the characters is much better than the earlier volumes. The Enterprise and the shuttle Galileo look especially good (but they manage to get a Romulan cruiser all wrong), and there are plenty of alien monsters with interesting designs (although most of the other cultures are humanoid in this collection). I'm always impressed by how these crazy plots actually feel like real Star Trek episodes, except for a few bizarre scenes that seem a little out of place (like the crew playing baseball in space suits floating outside of the ship, or transferring brain waves into robots!). The dialogue isn't as silly as it was back in Volume 1, but there are some choice phrases, such as Spock saying, "Have you ever heard of a black hole, Captain?" to which Kirk replies, "I'm afraid not, Mr. Spock. Please explain!" You would think starship captains would know about such things! A similar situation happens when Spock has to explain to McCoy what a cyborg is. But don't get me wrong - all of these humorous situations are fun to point out, but didn't stop me from totally enjoying these stories. I'm really looking forward to continuing with the next volume - anything to keep enjoying the Star Trek universe!
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| The New Frontier Vol 2 : 5 of 5 | |
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2.09.2009
8:04 AM | Link0 comments |
 I promise I didn't wait this long to read the second volume of The New Frontier after I enjoyed the first volume so much, I'm just late with my review! In fact, although I usually read in small segments over time, I read this graphic novel in one glorious session - I absolutely couldn't stop until I reached the end (even though I already knew the storyline from the animated DVD). It's tough to express just how great this comic is, from the truly cinematic artwork with beautiful two-page spreads, to the way so many cool heroes are covered, yet somehow the story managed to stir my emotions for each and every one. Actually, I can't remember the last time I cried from reading a comic book, and I completely broke down when Superman (who is assumed dead) returns with Aquaman, even though I knew it was coming! (Although I enjoyed the famous Death of Superman storyline, it didn't cause an emotional reaction in me half as much as The New Frontier did!) The focus on Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter is so fascinating to read, and I also enjoyed the brief scenes of Wonder Woman back on Paradise Island (and the images of the invisible plane defined by her bleeding wounds is unbelievable!). The final scenes of the story, where Kennedy's famous New Frontier speech is presented and illustrated by various historic scenes from the DC continuity, is some of the most majestic artwork imaginable (I cried through these pages, too!). What else can I say? I know I will enjoy hundreds more graphic novels that I will read in the future, but right now I doubt I will ever read one as moving as The New Frontier!
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| The New Frontier Vol 1 : 5 of 5 | |
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1.16.2009
7:40 AM | Link2 comments |
 After thoroughly enjoying Justice League: The New Frontier animated movie on DVD, I simply had to read the source comic books, so I got The New Frontier (collected into a two volume series) for Christmas! It's been fantastic to experience scenes from the DVD in their original form (demonstrating how closely the animation follows the story), as well as entirely new segments that are completely fascinating (such as scenes featuring the Challengers of the Unknown and John Henry, or the included faux magazine article that reminded me of the same technique used in Watchmen). I also enjoyed how an identical scene can have different nuances depending on the medium - for example, the Martian Manhunter's internal dialogue while he watches TV to learn human culture is unique to the reading experience, but in both the DVD and the comic book this scene still works beautifully. The artwork is stunning with an incredible retro style (I love seeing the 40s and 50s fashion and hairstyles, and all of the women are drawn so cool!), and the panel layout is extremely effective, with almost every page presented as three horizontal panels, giving the artist lots of room and a cinematic widescreen look! The great artwork also extends to the covers gallery, each of which would look great hanging on the wall. Finally, the epic story is so creative, and beautifully blends together lots of subplots, locations, and enough hero name-dropping to make you want to read every story of the DC universe. I'm not going to waste any time getting into Volume 2!
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| Superman Chronicles / Vol 2 : 3 of 5 | |
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1.05.2009
6:04 PM | Link0 comments |
 Even though I was really into reading these DC Chronicles series recently, lately I've been craving more up-to-date stories. But since I had already bought this followup volume to the first Superman Chronicles book, I took it with me on my flight home for Christmas, and I ended up reading most of it at the hotel bar while I was stuck in Dallas! I think my captive situation made me really enjoy this collection of Superman stories from 1939, back when Clark Kent worked for the Daily Star and Lois hardly showed up in the plot (except to tell Clark how much she hates him). Since Superman couldn't fly at this point, it was really interesting to see something as simple as being pushed out a window presented as a tense scene - he even hitches a ride on an airplane during one story! It's also hilarious to see Superman use Batman-style fear tactics, saying things like "You saw me crush steel - shall I now give you a demonstration of what I can do to your arm?" Besides wrecking shady casinos, crooked orphanages, and helping out a has-been boxer, the only real recurring villain is the Ultra Humanite, a mad scientist who looks pretty Luthor-ish to me (although his baldness keeps changing with the inconsistent artwork). The Humanite has a way of coming back from "certain death" in each story, even to the point of having his brain implanted in a woman's body! I'm sure I'll have the urge to continue reading the Superman Chronicles in the future, but for now I've got lots of great Christmas gifts to read, so it's going to be a long hiatus.
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| World Without a Superman : 3 of 5 | |
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12.12.2008
7:11 AM | Link0 comments |
 After reading The Death of Superman, it's simply impossible not to continue the story with this next collection! World Without a Superman is a really thick volume that collects the Funeral for a Friend series that was published in various DC titles after Superman's big battle with Doomsday. The best parts of these stories focus on individual character emotions, which are dramatic as you would expect. Of course, Lois is in bad shape, Jonathan and Martha Kent are in the terrible situation where they can't even publicly mourn their son's death because of his secret identity, and even Lex Luthor is bent out of shape since his entire life has been devoted to destroying the Man of Steel! There's a wild storyline where scientists from Cadmus actually steal Superman's body to try to create a clone, and the rest of the book is filled with plots about other heroes who try to take over Superman's role as protector of Metropolis. Some of these tales are fantastic, but there are some that are a little too cheesy for my taste. Unfortunately, the end of the book has this really weird out of body sequence after Jonathan Kent's heart attack, and somehow Jonathan converses with Clark/Kal-El in an etherial afterlife and starts to convince him to come back (which we all know will happen somehow!). But even with the mystical ending, this collection was really interesting to read, and I'll definitely be checking out the next volume eventually!
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| The Death of Superman : 3 of 5 | |
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11.06.2008
9:31 PM | Link0 comments |
 After enjoying the DC Universe DVD movie Doomsday, I decided I needed to check out the original story from the Superman comics, and this book collects the seven issues (all from different titles) that tell the tragic story. It was really interesting to read this epic tale (which was published in the early 1990s while I was kind of out of the comic book scene) because of its incredible presentation style, and because it introduced me to several developments and characters that I had no idea about (such as Lex Luthor's son!). The way the battle between Superman and the destructive beast Doomsday builds is really handled well, in the almost imperceptible way of reducing the number of panels on each page issue by issue. It was cool to see the number of panels go from four to three to two and finally to one, each page a full image! So this book definitely delivers on an incredible battle full of dramatic scenes, but it would have been nice to have a little more plot. I'm sure that questions like where the heck did Doomsday come from get answered later, and some of my puzzlement is my own fault for not being up to date with the DC timeline, but this book still amounts to only punch after punch. The artwork is really well-done, although I didn't really like they way Superman looked in the next to last issue. But the best thing is that now I've begun experiencing a huge important moment in comic book history, and I'm looking forward to continuing with the sequel (and eventual return of the Man of Steel) soon!
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| Watchmen / Alan Moore : 5 of 5 | |
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10.15.2008
7:52 AM | Link0 comments |
 Even though I was aware of the premise and significance of Watchmen, undoubtedly the best graphic novel ever produced, until recently I had never actually read it. But after seeing the movie trailer and all the bookstores stocking up on copies, I decided it was time, and now I can join everyone else in praising this incredible work! There's so much to say about this comic masterpiece, originally published as a twelve issue mini-series, that I don't really know where to begin, except by saying it's every bit as riveting as any contemporary, mature, best-selling, traditional novel. It's full of intense themes, shocking scenes, and some really disturbing circumstances, but every single page makes you want to keep reading and go further and further into its world! The plot revolves around a group of masked heroes, now retired after being disbanded by law, who are being murdered, and some of the group decides to investigate. Through each of the chapters you really get into the psyche of each character, not only through the story itself, but also through "additional material" (such as fake book excepts and magazine articles), all of which are amazing. This is also set against world tensions leading to a possible world war, making the whole thing even more dramatic! The artwork and page layout are really beautiful, but not so artsy that they overshadow or take away from the incredible story, which is really the star - Watchmen has some of the most fully-developed characters and detailed backstory I've ever read. Now that I've read it, I know the movie doesn't have a chance of fitting even half of this story into the plot, but of course I'm still excited to see it!
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| Batman Chronicles / Vol 3 : 3 of 5 | |
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9.26.2008
7:57 AM | Link0 comments |
 I'm still enjoying the Batman Chronicles series, although this volume lost a little of the charm of the previous books (maybe I'm just getting used to the old 1940s style, or maybe I was in the mood for something more modern). There are a couple good Joker stories, and I like how he always seems to die at the end (and then they show how he survives at the start of the next story). All of the other villains are just normal crooks, except for Clayface (although he's still just an actor with make-up at this point), but there are a few crazy stories with plots like fighting pirates at sea or teleporting into a fairy tale book to rescue a scientist's daughter (that one was particularly goofy). At first the Batmobile is still a red car, but finally gets a new paint job and bat head towards the end, and we also get to see the Batplane (which actually transforms into the Batboat at one point). In one story, Batman surprisingly uses a gun to disarm a villain, but they are careful to note that Batman would never carry a gun. Speaking of the narration, I still like the melodramatic stuff, but sometimes it gets a little annoying, since they describe every detail of each fight. This volume is pretty thick at 200 pages, but it barely covers a year of publication (ending in the middle of 1941). I'm not sure how long this series will go - I don't think I have the stamina to read it all, but I'm sure I'll hang on for a few more, especially since I want to see more super-villains emerge!
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| Superman Chronicles / Vol 1 : 4 of 5 | |
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8.09.2008
4:02 AM | Link0 comments |
 I know I should have waited until I finished a few more volumes of the Batman Chronicles, but I just had to get started on the Superman Chronicles, too (since I had a gift certificate to use)! Just like the Batman books, this series puts together all of the ancient Superman stories in order, starting with the famous Action Comics #1 in 1938 and continuing through 1939. Actually, I really enjoyed the Action Comics covers - they usually show some cool adventure or war scene, since Superman was only one of many features in each issue back then. These old stories are amazing in so many ways - Superman's famous origin is breezed through in only one page, the newspaper is called the Daily Star rather than the Daily Planet, and of course there was no flying back then, only super-jumping (which means Superman can actually fall). It's hilarious to see how much Lois Lane hates Clark, and she really lets him know it with lines like "I absolutely loathe you! You contemptible weakling! Don't you dare even talk to me anymore!" Superman himself is pretty violent, too, and often does some questionable things in the name of justice! He completely destroys a ton of buildings in hopes the city will rebuild them with better living conditions, and another time he purposely traps a bunch of rich folks in a mine to show them how the other half lives! There are no famous super-villains yet, only someone called the Ultra Humanite, who is nothing more than a mad scientist, so instead Superman is mostly fighting thieves and organized crime. The old artwork is a little better than the old Batman, and I enjoyed the funny Acquiring Super Strength panels (what advice!). As I expected, these old comics are so much fun to read, so I'll definitely be continuing with the ancient Man of Steel!
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| Scott Pilgrim Vol 1 & Vol 2 : 3 of 5 | |
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7.11.2008
7:03 AM | Link0 comments |
 I first heard about Scott Pilgrim on Pulp Secret's The Stack podcast (which I watch on my TiVo), and then later I read some other positive reviews, so I thought I should check it out (using a gift certificate from my pal Jonathan!). I considered reviewing it as part of my Manga Mentions series, since each volume is the same size and length as a typical manga, but since I only read manga that was actually written in Japan, I decided against it, so here we are! Scott Pilgrim is hard to describe, but hilarious enough to hook me into the series! The story is like a sitcom about hip twenty-something Canadians, with a healthy dose of superhero fantasy thrown in for fun. Scott is a somewhat average guy who is dating a cute Asian high schooler named Knives Chau, and trying to break up with her to date Ramona Flowers, a cool Amazon delivery girl. Ramona happens to have a "League of Evil Ex-Boyfriends" that Scott must defeat one by one, while also dealing with Knives' jealousy (oh, and he's in a band, too!). The artwork is really cartoony and crazy, but still reads well, and there are loads of comic book and video game references (when Scott wins in a fight, the bad guy disappears and leaves coins behind!). Along with the unique story, the dialogue is fantastic, filled with clever jokes and believable speech patterns. I especially love poor Knives' conversation with her friend about Scott's breakup with her, which is both sad and cute (of course, I think Knives is cuter, so I'm already rooting for the wrong girl). These first two volumes are definitely a great start to the series, and I'm sure I'll be reading the whole thing!
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| Star Trek / The Key Collection Vol 2 : 4 of 5 | |
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6.19.2008
7:12 AM | Link0 comments |
 I really enjoying reading this collection of Star Trek comics from the 1970s, even more than the first collection that I got for Christmas! This volume includes the next eight issues of the series, and the writing is really excellent. There are much fewer totally ridiculous lines, and the stories themselves really have the feel of the original TV show, because even though there are goofy plots about space buccaneers and so on, there are many original episodes that were just as silly. Of course, it's fun to spot all of the bizarre visual mistakes - Scotty is still blonde at first (they finally correct this in the later issues), Klingons are often shown as bald, one story has an Enterprise shuttlecraft looking like a ship out of Buck Rogers (and then in another story it's drawn perfectly), and the bridge interior is so inconsistent that it's hilarious. I also love reading anachronisms, such as when an evil scientist claims he has "captured the thought waves of history on punch cards"! The covers of each issue are fantastic, too, since they switched from using publicity stills from the show to amazing color paintings, depicting awesome Star Trek action in a pulp sci-fi style! At the end of the book, there are a couple bonus short features, including Captain Kirk's "psycho-file", which is like a Starfleet account of his career and history. The best part is a recollection of his first meeting with Scotty, who he wins over by knowing how to fix their broken down vehicle! I can't wait to get the next volume of stories - there's nothing like cheesy (yet honestly great) Star Trek comics to keep my fandom alive!
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| Batman Chronicles / Vol 2 : 3 of 5 | |
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5.12.2008
8:22 PM | Link0 comments |
 After enjoying the first volume of Batman Chronicles so much, I decided I had to continue with this series, since I'm fascinated by the extremely early adventures of this iconic hero, this time from 1940. The stories in this volume begin to take a different tone, since Robin is usually there to pal around with, and Bruce seems to really enjoy his pipe-smoking bachelor lifestyle, although a few plots include his fiancee Julie (which was news to me!). Besides the Joker, there are a few more villain introductions, although they are definitely different than we know them today. Catwoman wears a full cat-head mask, which looks pretty silly, and Clayface is simply an actor in makeup (for now!). The cool thing about these stories is most of them are actually presented as mysteries - lots of suspects are introduced, and Batman really gets to be a detective and solve the crime. But along with the intellectual side comes some extreme violence, with bad guys being tossed around and even slammed into walls (which the narrator loves to call a "sickening thud" over and over again). Robin often uses a sling as his weapon (always with a David & Goliath reference), the Batplane shows up a few times, but there's still no official Batmobile - I'm looking forward to its introduction. If I didn't have so many other books waiting for me to read, I would already be buying the next volume of this series by now!
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| Star Trek / The Key Collection Vol 1 : 3 of 5 | |
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12.31.2007
7:09 AM | Link0 comments |
 This was the first book I got for Christmas this year, and it was so much fun to read that I finished it before I left Oklahoma City! I've been a Star Trek fan since I was super-young, and I used to love reading these old cheesy comic book adventures of the Enterprise crew (I even remember buying a big book of them at a Star Trek convention with Dad!). This volume contains eight stories that were originally published from 1967 (when the show was still on) through 1970, but even though they could easily be compared to the series itself, they still have all kinds of hilarious errors! Scotty has blonde hair, the Transporter is called the Teleportation Chamber, and of course the Enterprise has huge rocket flames coming out of the engines. I love these goofy mistakes, but on top of that, these are really enjoyable plots, too! My favorite in this volume is called Invasion of the City Builders, about a society that's been taken over by machines that continuously build city after city, threatening to cover the entire planet. The artwork definitely has a classic charm (Kirk and Spock are drawn very well), and the dialogue has some truly incredible exclamations that are simply priceless ("Suffering solar showers!" comes to mind). All of the original covers are included as well, which featured great production stills from the actual TV show, and I swear I can remember some of them exactly. Reading stuff like this is so much fun for me, not only because I'm still a Star Trek fan, but also because I love reliving my childhood!
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| Superman/Batman Vol 2 / Supergirl : 3 of 5 | |
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12.11.2007
7:55 AM | Link0 comments |
 I like reading a good graphic novel every now and then, but this was an unexpected purchase! Since I kind of forced my pals to buy this as part of a scavenger hunt for my Christmas video (it's a long story...), I bought it from them and finally took the time to read it. This is a collection of several issues of the Superman/Batman comic series, telling the story of Supergirl's "re-introduction" to the DC Universe (I really didn't know about her part in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but the introduction filled me in). The story is really well-told, using some interesting dual narration via the thoughts of both Superman and Batman - this is a great device that really added a lot of insight into these characters, which is tough to do with icons that everyone knows so well. Wonder Woman is thrown in as well (since Kara needs some Amazonian training), and the big villian is Darkseid, meaning a good deal of the action takes place in Apokolips. Unfortunately, the transition from a story about trust and family to an action tale is way too rushed - I kept flipping back in the book to see if I had missed a page! Still, there's some good action, and plenty of cool Batman moments, as well as "Superman gets really mad" (which always has to happen in epic stories like this), but ultimately it seems like it was too easy to defeat Darkseid. The artwork is really nice, even though I wasn't too thrilled with Superman's ultra-square jaw (it looks good on Batman, but not on Clark!). I'm not really complaining, though - I enjoyed reading this book, and it makes me think I should pick up graphic novels like this more often!
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| Batman Chronicles / Vol 1 : 4 of 5 | |
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11.27.2007
12:21 PM | Link0 comments |
 After rereading the old Eternals comics I enjoyed as a kid, I've been eager to discover the original stories and artwork of famous characters, so I was excited to find this fantastic series which presents all of the original appearances of Batman in a nice (and extremely affordable) graphic novel format. This first volume was incredibly fun to read, since I had never seen Batman's original beginnings as a regular feature in Detective Comics (starting in 1939). The artwork is somewhat crude, but still dynamic and full of charm (and dramatically improves as the series progresses). I love the old style of narration, which describes everything Batman is doing right there on the panel in front of you, and I like the nostalgic touches (such as Bruce Wayne always smoking a pipe!). I was amazed that Batman's origin story isn't told until several issues have past, and it only takes a page and a half to cover it! Robin's origin is pretty short as well, but he's only getting started as this volume ends with the first issue of Batman's own comic in 1940. There are a few regular villains, such as Doctor Death, Hugo Strange, and of course, the Joker, but it's fun to see Batman go up against weird things like werewolves, too. Batman himself is definitely a tough guy, and he barely thinks twice about killing his enemies if he has to, which certainly changes later on. If you're fascinated by the humble beginnings of one of the most popular heroes of all time, you'll definitely enjoy this book, and I'm certainly ready to continue with the next volume!
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| The Eternals / Marvel Omnibus : 4 of 5 | |
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9.22.2007
7:51 PM | Link0 comments |
 When I was reading tons of comics as a kid, Jack Kirby was the first artist that I could recognize by his distinctive artwork, and I remember trying out different comic series just because of his amazing style. One of these series was The Eternals, which started in 1976 and only ran for 19 issues - I probably bought all of them, but sadly I'm sure I sold them for pennies or traded them for Star Wars cards, so I don't have them now. Thanks to Marvel's Omnibus series, which collects famous comics and reproduces them as beautiful (and expensive) hardcover books, I've just enjoyed the entire series again, and it was seriously nostalgic and fun! Kirby's art is as incredible as ever - I love how he makes every page so dynamic, even though the panel style at the time was usually just six uniform boxes! He's also not afraid to pull off full-page or even two-page spreads, which are definitely needed to tell a story this big, about the return of massive space gods (the Celestials) and their return to Earth! Of course, each comic's cover is included as well, and I swear I could remember each one as soon as I looked at it. Actually, I didn't really understand the storyline in 1976, so it was fun to read these issues again and figure out what's happening. I liked the concept of different species of beings on Earth besides humans, namely the Eternals (who inspired Greek/Roman god and goddess myths) and the Deviants (who inspired demonic myths). Kirby's overblown writing style is a blast, too, with every issue announced as the one you can't possibly miss! Reading The Eternals again was such an enjoyable experience, and I'd definitely like to check out more of the Omnibus series in the future!
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| Free Comic Book Day | |
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5.06.2007
7:05 AM | Link0 comments |
 I hope everyone had a great Free Comic Book Day yesterday! Even though I don't buy very many comics during the year, I always get excited about the first Saturday in May, since it's fun to grab a bunch of cool comic books for free! I usually go to Dragon's Lair (it's a great store and also carries manga), but since my schedule was a little tight yesterday, I decided to visit Thor's Hammer instead, since they are so close to me (they don't have manga or the charm of Dragon's Lair, but it's still a fun shop). I was expecting there to be a limit on how many free titles I could take, so I had already read some reviews of the free stuff to narrow things down, but when I asked what the limit was, the guy thought I was crazy and said, "Um, one of each?" So, I got about 15 comics for free! Way to go, Thor's Hammer! While I was there I browsed for a while, and I really wanted to buy just about everything. I was thinking it would be cool to be locked up with all those books for a least a week and do nothing but read!
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| Free comics and apes, too | |
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5.07.2006
10:52 PM | Link0 comments |
 Wow, this weekend went by fast! I usually try to fit too many "chores" into my weekends, but these week I spent more time having fun, which was nice. The whole weekend is too much to talk about in one post, so I'll just start by saying I hope everyone had a nice Free Comic Book Day! I went to two different comic book shops (Dragon's Lair and Thor's Hammer), since they sometimes have a limit on the number of free titles you can pick up, but by the time I got to the second store, most everything was gone, so I didn't get the manga samplers this year. But that's OK, since I still got five cool comics for free (I've only read the Superman/Batman story so far, and it was excellent, so I'm going to start checking out that title!). Speaking of comics, I also got the latest issue of Revolution on the Planet of the Apes, which is an incredible new mini-series published by a Mr. Comics in Canada. The plot is fantastic, taking place right after Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (the 4th film), and it's stirred up my ape-mania once again. I especially like the idea that Caesar has a "conflicted timeline", since he was conceived in the future and born in the past - cool stuff!
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| DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore : 4 of 5 | |
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4.11.2006
10:20 PM | Link0 comments |
 I haven't bought a collection of comic book stories in quite a while, but I saw this book reviewed on the Attack of the Show podcast, and it seemed like it would be cool to read some good ol' superhero stories by this famous DC storyteller. Since all of the stories are by one author, there are a wide variety of artists here, all with very different styles, some of which I think are great, and others that bore me. For the most part, though, everything is fantastic, and of course the stories are amazing. The Killing Joke, one of the best Batman/Joker stories ever invented, is saved for last, complete with a flashback of the Joker's origin, the shooting of Barbara Gordon (which ends her Batgirl career), and some truly incredible illustrations. The famous Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow is also included, which was a "possible" end to Superman's hero work, and it's really fun to read (even if the end is predictable). I also really enjoyed For the Man Who Has Everything, since it was made into an animated Justice League episode, and many of the other obscure stories, featuring folks like Green Arrow and even Swamp Thing. The Vigilante story is my least favorite (along with the artwork), but it was still cool to read a character's story that I'm not very familiar with. Since reading this book, I've seen plenty of other mentions of it, and folks are always reading it at the bookstore, so it must be something you should pick up!
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| Harley & Ivy : 3 of 5 | |
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9.11.2004
3:46 PM | Link0 comments |
 It may have come out several long months ago, but I finally took the time to read the Harley & Ivy three-issue comic mini-series. I'm definitely a big fan of Batman: The Animated Series, where these characters had their debut, and I've always had a thing for them (in fact, I have a cool limited edition cel of the girls, too!). This short comic series was really fun - each issue is fairly compact and tells its own story. There's plenty of opportunities to see the gals in their underwear (and Ivy even has a "special moment" in a rainforest), and some pretty fun plots (I think the third issue was my favorite, where the girls take over a Hollywood production!). I've really been out of the comics loop for quite a while, but it was great to be reading some again.
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| Batman: The Dark Knight Returns / Frank Miller : 5 of 5 | |
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2.03.2002
12:10 AM | Link0 comments |
 This graphic novel was a birthday gift from my pal Shelly, who knew that I was a big Batman fan, but somehow missed out on reading this landmark series. The Dark Knight series truly gave us the dark, serious Batman that we love today - even the fantastic animated series traces it's style to here. The story is fantastic - Bruce Wayne is getting old, but still must carry out his work as Batman, and the plot explores his troubled psyche quite well. Yes, we have a girl Robin and some Joker battles, and even a major Superman fight (you'll have to read it to find out why), but the real star is the characterization! All of us live double lives, right?
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| Kingdom Come / Mark Waid/Alex Ross : 4 of 5 | |
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6.02.2001
12:17 AM | Link0 comments |
 A fantastic graphic novel (loaned to me by Shelly) illustrated by Alex Ross - each page is a work of art. The story is stunning as well, weaving apocalyptic themes with a huge battle between factions of superheroes - just about everyone you can think of is in this book. Set in an alternate future, we get to see our heroes as older men and women - Superman with gray temples, Batman propped up with an exoskeleton, and Wonder Woman bitchy as ever. The epilogue is precious, with the big three eating at a "Planet Krypton" and ordering from waiters dressed as their own alter-egos. Brilliant!
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