Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST. There is a potential spoiler within for Teen Titans, but I can't imagine you care.
Teen Titans: Year One #6 gets an A from AHR
This book is beautiful. Moments of terror, sadness, and victory. And still good for all ages. Also includes my favorite absurd bat-quote ever, "HRM. DAMN IMs". If only this wasn't the last issue.
Blue Beetle #30 gets an A from AHR
Oh, I was a fool to drop this book when John Rogers left...this issue is excellent. Funny, uniquely latino-minded, exciting, everything that made this series great in the first place. Lots of nerd jokes too, FTW.
Runaways #1 gets an A- from AHR
I know, I'm dumb, I didn't read this when Joss Whedon was writing it, but I'm reading it now and it's awesome! I'm a big fan of Humberto Ramos's super-cartoon anime style, though I wish the colors in this book were a little less day-glo. Terry Moore does an excellent job at making the heroes sound just smart and spontaionous enough to be believable kids, and you can tell you're in the hands of a pro for whom story and character comes miles ahead of one-liners and trying to be cool.
Kick Ass #4 gets a C from AHR
I only enjoy reading about the main character in this book when he's getting hurt terribly, and there's not much of that since #1. But there is some satisfyingly unflinching gore in this issue, and it's nice to see a "creepy little girl" character who can actually string a sentence together, as opposed to Cassandra Cain, the Female of the Species, The Little Sisters, Layla Miller, and the villain in every Japanese horror movie.
Teen Titans #62 gets a D from AHR
Jesus Christ, DC, we get it! You're not afraid to gruesomely murder lovable silver age characters who never hurt anyone. Enough. Enough.
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Worst Battle Cry - Teen Titans #61
Truly putting the "kid" in Kid Devil, looks like someone is still hanging on to their third grade zingers.
Inappropriate baby imagery, inappropriate places to have sex, and inappropriate uses of the English language, after the jump...
Supervillainscuties - King Size Spider-Man Summer Special
Chris Giarrusso's brain-hungry symbiote and Colleen Coover's squat little Modok make for some adorable little miscreants.
But what's up with the Spectacular Spider-Chub?
How They Like It - Catwoman #81
Catwoman and Batman have sex while falling off a building.
Is She or Isn't She? - King Size Spider-Man Summer Special
Hmm, that would explain her obsession with Thor--the girliest hero in all of comics. I also submit into evidence the fact that this story was drawn by Colleen Coover, the writer/artist responsible for the lesbian porno comic Small Favors. Coincidence? Perhaps.
Class Act - Blue Beetle, Teen Titans #61
Blue Beetle is such an enjoyable character to read, you have to wonder why more teen super heroes aren't written beyond petulant, angsty stereotypes. Here he tries to make piece with Kid Devil after they find their tracking the same vllian...
And though this next panel may seem like a dick move out of context, I feel that this is a honest attempt to respectfully keep KD in the loop, and to downplay the awkwardness of the situation by injecting a little humor. Tactful texts are very important in this day and age...
Stay classy, Double B.
Spider-Man is Creepy - King Size Spider-Man Summer Special
Keeping an eye on the missus? Trying to stare down her blouse? Any way you cut it, this is a little weird.
Irony Alert - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight #17
Buffy has done more than her share of twisting the english language into a near unrecognizable web of adjective-nouns and superfluous suffixes, and only a thousand years in the future does Buff realize what her valley-speak hath wrought.
Woah, Overreact Much? - NYX: No Way Home #1
What? There's nothing I understand about this interaction. Her art? What the hell? Dumpster diving? And that face! She's really really pissed about this. I just don't get it.
Celebrity Casting Corner - Army @ Love: The Art of War #1
Paris Hilton makes an appearance here as Sylvia Stein, a hot actress who just happens to spend much of the issue as a giant ape that blesses a fanboy soldier with some rough monkey sex. Oh, that sounds like something you'd like to see?
Kyle Baker Goes Too Far - Special Forces #3
Going...
Goooiiiinnnggg...
Gone.
Writer's Worst Nightmare - Army @ Love: The Art of War #1
This issue opens up with writer Rick Veitch getting waterboarded for the suspicious web research he did when writing the first series. I'm sure this scenario has played itself out in the heads of anybody who has ever Googled something like "how to build a nuclear bomb" for the sake of some creative work. Or published the words on their public blog. Be right back, someone's at the door.
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Every week we at Geekanerd rip panels from our comics and put them on display here, recognizing the best, worst, and weirdest moments of the week. Beware some major SPOILERS.
Click the pics for high res goodness!
Celebrity Cameo Corner - Thunderbolts #121
How long has Penance been Edward Norton? I read the entire Deodato Thunderbolts run and only now did this jump out at me. And regardless of how you feel about photo referencing, isn't it a little unadvised to model a Marvel character off an actor who is playing a DIFFERENT Marvel character at a theater near you?! Or is this some sort of insane cross-promotion? Are they trying to tell us that Penance is really Bruce Banner? I'm sure it's all something to do with Secret Invasion. - AHR
Every Man's Worst Nightmare - Mighty Avengers #15
Hank Pym experiences every man's worst fear: that the cute naked co-ed you're sitting in bed eating ice cream with will transform into a Hulk tranny and kick your ass. -Albo
Hero Most In Need of A New Costume - Robin, Teen Titans #60
Tim, you're not the Boy Hostage any more. You're not flipping around the sidelines while Batman does the dirty work. With this in mind, you MIGHT want to re-enforce the spandex outfit at least to the point where Clock King (CLOCK KING!) can't stab you in the stomach like he's punching a hole in a Capri Sun. - AHR
Someone Call Tony Stark... - Avengers: The Initiative #14
A method for detecting Skrulls has been found! They loooooove pickles and strawberries! And I love Dan Slott for being goddamn hilarious. -Albo
What I loved about that moment is that Skrull Man uses quotes when he names the food, because it's so unfamiliar. You know he's internally pronouncing them as "pick-ELLES" and "straw-BERRIES". -AHR
Most Chilling Ending - Avengers: The Initiative #14
This issue has a hell of an ending, with the first actual method of detecting Skrulls (other than the aforementioned Skrullian T'Manja berries mention earlier) being fritzed by a Skrull who's actually a good guy but happens to be in hiding because he's genuinely afraid of the predjudice that will be leveled against him if he is revealed. So he "hacks" the Skrull-detecting goggles, and now poor Delroy faces the very Twilight Zoney twist of "seeing" that EVERYONE IS A SKRULL. I fear for his mental health. Great end to a great issue. -Albo
Snappingly Good Dialogue - Mighty Avengers #15
"I didn't kiss anyone. And I could have." I know it doesn't seem like much, but it's just the sort of biting non sequitur that you rarely see in comics but often hear in actual relationship arguments. Not that I would know, because any ladies I let into my life worship the ground I geek on, but that's beside the point. -Albo
Project Runway Winners - Final Crisis #2
Japanese club kids plus superhero outfits = the height of geek chic. I wonder if these are all J.G Jones originals, or if he found some superhero fashion reference material? I thought I recognized some of these looks from the recent exhibit at the Met Museum, but no dice. Fashion aside, the best thing in this panel is the guy in the Stormtrooper/Samurai suit, proving once again that Star Wars fans will use any event as an excuse to cosplay. - AHR
What I Hate About Secret Invasion - New Avengers #42
So much of Bendis' "flashback" stories are just a slew of Skrulls hanging out in some dark New York warehouse talking. Not about anything all that interesting. You know, "Sentry is a threat... We should figure out how to get Stark out of the picture... The plan is coming along nicely..." Blah blah blah. It doesn't help that I often can't tell who the hell everyone is supposed to be.
Malpractice Lawsuit in the Making - New Avengers #42
I've really racked my brain for any plausible explanation, but... Can those blobs on the operating tray be anything BUT breast implants?
Hydra Nurse: "But Doctor, her chart says she's in here for power renewal, not--"
Hydra Dr.: "Silence, Nurse! Scalpel!"
And I guess that's how she went from manageable C-cups to these monstrosities in the same issue:
It's only fair to note that the second Spider-Woman is actually Spider Skrullette. Which only raises more issues. -Albo
Cute Alert - Teen Titans #60
That long gaited, big feet teenager walk is too adorable. I like it when action books aren't afraid to get a little cartoonish, when appropriate.
Someone Please Explain... - New Avengers #42
What exactly is supposed to be happening at the end of this issue? What's the "film melt" effect supposed to mean? Surely I'm overlooking something obvious... Help, Geekanerds of the world! -Albo
[UPDATE: The internets work fast, ladies and gentlemen. Alex Zalben of Pulp Secret and Comic Book Club stepped in like the crack of Indiana Jones' whip to let me know the same film melt effect was used in the first issue of House of M, which coincides with what's happening in these panels. Guess I should have read that. Thanks Alex!]
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Every week we at Geekanerd rip panels from our comics and put them on display here, recognizing the best, worst, and weirdest moments of the week. Beware some major SPOILERS.
Click the pics for high res goodness!
Tou-flippin'-che - 1985 #1
More awesome shit from the books you love (or hate, or whatever) after the jump...
She Must Get That All The Time - New Avengers #41
Spidey's pretty confident he's caught some Skrulls when really he's just confusing his Queens of the Jungle again.
Visual Repetition Alert - Teen Titans #59
It doesn't really matter what's going on in the following panels, all you need to know is that they're from two completely different scenes in the same book.
And later....
The weirdest thing about these panels is although they're conveying the extact same expression in the exact same way, the artist actually took the time to draw it twice with very small differences, most notably Robin's hair. If Robin is going to keep hammering us with this look, it should have a name a la Derek Zoolander; I nominate "Red Dawn". - AHR
All In The Timing Award - All-Star Superman #11
These two panels actually made me laugh out loud. An evil sun-planet/supercomputer crashing to earth could have easily been drawn in one panel, showing the spectacular moment of impact from a distance, or could have been dragged out over several panels to build suspense. But by giving us one quick taste of what the approaching sun looked like from a bystander's point of view (just enough to merit a "wha?"), and then going directly into this ridiculous bounce....beautiful. -AHR
Millar Rips Marvel in Marvel? - 1985 #1
Millar sets up the 1985 world as "the real world" the same way he did in Kick-Ass... By having them talk about comics! This time the convo takes place in a comic shop, and a disgruntled employee interrupts a conversation about Secret Wars to denounce mainstream comics. Funny, though, that he looks like the mangiest, loneliest, grumpiest kid in town. - Albo
I'd hit it. - AHR
Naturally. He looks like you in a stocking cap. -Albo
Artistic License - Final Crisis #1
If an artist wants to reveal a superhero via his alter-ego, they can get away with pretty much anything. Think of all the bat-shaped shadows has Bruce Wayne has cast over the years. J.G. Jones is a master of composition, as notably displayed by his stellar 52 covers, and I adore his spin on the classic opening-shirt-to-reveal-costume bit. It's nonsense, but who cares? It's an expressionist medium, people! - AHR
Clearest Example of Batman's Insanity - Batman #677
Okay, so this entire issue is centered around Jezebel Jet telling Bruce that he is nut nut nutty as a nutbar, mostly based on the fact that he owns and operates a giant cave filled not just with surveillance equipment but with dinosaurs and and other loopy items of interest one might expect to find at a roadside tourist trap. But nothing sums up Batsie's unique brand of clinically formal obsession like this drawing of Jason Todd's costume; I don't think I've ever seen it portrayed as all torn up and perforated. This of course implies that this is not just one of Jason's costumes, but the actual outfit taken off of Jason's corpse. I've said it before and I'll say it again; Yikes. -AHR
The Subtle Touches - 1985 #1
There's a fun little coloring trick in this panel that works so well! The black level is lighter in the upper left than it is in the rest of the pic, simulating a lens effect that occurs when you've got a lot of bright light coming right into the lens. The boy here is squinting up to the top floor of a spooky house where he may-or-may-not see something. Lining the subtle coloring effect up with the boy's gaze doesn't just emphasize the squint--it makes it a squint! Look in his eyes and see if you can even fight the urge to squint along. This is something I recall feeling on my first read-through but it wasn't until another flip-through that I realized what was going on. You're a star, Tommy Lee Edwards! - Albo
Realism 0, Expressionism 1 - Batman: Gotham After Midnight #1
I know that some people hate this shit, but Kelley Jones really wowed me this week with his return to Gotham City. I'd forgotten how much I loved his valuing of mood and graphical impact over realism. There's a magic and a theatricality to his portrayal of the Batman, something he is given the most freedom to exploit in the Caped Crusader's, uh, cape. - Albo
Eschery goodness! - AHR
Look at that! Is that the Batman, or a demon emerging from the mists?! Or *gasp* Is there a difference? Jones doesn't shy away from anatomical inaccuracy (re: Batman's gigantic knee) in his quest to deliver a kick ass image. Oh, and about that theatricality I mentioned...
Yeaahhhh, there she is. I love the idea that Batman is so intent on maintaining his image that he strikes scary poses even when talking to friends. But really, in context it's almost immaterial what position Bats is standing in, because you get the impression that the story is more of a foggy nightmare recollection than a video recording--Bats was probably just leaning against a wall picking his teeth or something, but the memory of it is so clouded by his weighty presence that the ordinary becomes fantastic, like in the stories where eyewitnesses actually identify Bats as a man-sized bat creature. He's just that terrifying.
And I couldn't resist one more killer cape shot. Our hero "dead," his faithful cape companion slumped and lifeless all around him. Awesome!
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Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST.
All-Star Superman #11 gets an A- from AHR
This book is like a great dream you only half remember. There are characters I don't recognize and references to things I don't understand. But I was thrilled from start to finish, and the last page made me actually say "Ahh!" out loud. That is a quality comic experience.
Grant Morrisson week continues after the jump...
Final Crisis #1 gets a B- from AHR
JG Jones' art kicks off with a eye-popping prehistoric sequence, though it's down to business after that. There are a bunch of fun moments of villains bickering and a short appearance by Gnerd fave (or AHR fave) Renee Montoya, but the last half gets a little bogged down in Monitor-Land, the DC Universe's black hole of boringness. In true Don Quixote fashion Grant Morrisson is trying to bring some humanity to these wooden super-beings, but I resent the fact that I'm expected to have read Countdown at all.
Batman #677 gets a C+ from AHR
I love stories about how crazy Batman is, but hearing his newest true love repeatedly tell him that he's just a wounded boy on the inside is a little too old news. Plus I was really looking forward to the Joker after the cliffhanger in the last issue, and he's MIA.
Teen Titans #59 gets a C from AHR
Wait, so The Clock King is a terrifying juggernaut in hand to hand combat? Really? The guy with big glasses, kind of looks like Scarecrow without the mask? Okay, comic. The one thing that impressed me about this comic is that it ties in perfectly with a thread from Final Crisis, and how often do tie-ins EVER actually match up. Blue Beetle is given the only really funny line of the issue (referring to Clock King as "Rolex Chronoberg") and it makes me hope Jaime Reyes may have a secured a future in the DC universe as a comic relief character, when (sorry IF) his book gets canceled.
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Every week Geekanerd brings you the best, worst and weirdest panels from our week in comics. If you didn't read your books, there will be giant SPOILERS. Click the images for high res action!
Best Opening Page - New Avengers #39
Albo: This issue is basically a Maya solo story, so starting through her eyes on a silent page (she's deaf) is perfect. The hand reveal is a wonderful "fade in", and the subtle touch of leaving the right side of the last panel open elegantly guides our attention to the next page. David Mack's got them skillz.
Saves, Skrulls and Slurs after the jump!
Best Save - All-Star Superman #10
AHR: What really gets me about this sad, elegant sequence is the first long panel of the girl dropping her cell phone. It's a lonely image that sharply conveys a final decision to close off from the world. I think it gets to the heart of what makes Superman unique that even with all the crazy shit going down in both his life and the world at large, saving people from their own personal despair still registers on Superman's hero-sense. He wants to save everyone, and it's nice to believe he can.
To Me, My X-Monkeys - Transhuman #1
Albo: These familiar-looking primates are interspersed within a double page gag where a number of genetic engineering test monkeys are being evaluated.
Doom Gets Serious - Mighty Avengers #11
Albo: "You're a fat piece of furniture... Cow-mouth... Whore's Heart..." This is not your daddy's Dr. Doom.
SkrullWatch '08 - Mighty Avengers #11
Albo: To escape Dr. Doom's clutches earlier in the issue, Spider Woman did some wacky energy crap she's never done before. Needless to say, this makes Black Widow nervous because the earth is infected with shape shifting aliens and exhibiting a heretofore unknown power is suspicious behavior. Plus that look Spidette's giving the reader in panel four is totally evil. The complication is that Spider Woman is the person who brought the Skrull invasion to Iron Man's attention in the first place, when she brought Skrullektra's corpse to him. My guess? Skrulls are too smart to reveal themselves so recklessly, and Black Widow's nervousness isn't Skrullspicion (I can do this all night, ladies) but concern that HER SKRULL INTEL ISN'T COMPLETE. Oh yeah, babies, THE BLACK WIDOW IS A SKRULL!!!
Best Threat - Ravager, Teen Titans #57
AHR: "The only thing I'm scared of....is that I might not get a chance to hide your body before my teammates show up." There's nothing I love more than when a pseudo-evil member of a non-evil team gets a chance to cut lose and show their sadistically insane stripes. It's worth noting Ravager does indeed kill this so-called Persuader (worst villain name ever), or at least she would have if Robin hadn't killer-proofed her lightsabres(!) so they operated only on a non-lethal setting(?!), thus denying both Ravager and the reader a cathartic murder spree. *Wamp wamp waaaaa!*
Smooth Talkin' Mutie - New Avengers #39
Albo: If I had moves like Logan... Man what I could do.
Nerd Alert - New Avengers #39
Albo: You betcha Hawkeye Ronin has an MC Chris t-shirt.
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Geekanerd's second attempt at writing short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST.
Blue Beetle #25: A+
This comic makes me want to be a better man. - AHR
Mighty Avengers #11: A
Probably the best Dr. Doom story I've ever read. Really! - Albo
New Avengers #39: A
Finally the Skrulls are here! Too bad they're pansies. Aside from the lame Skrull fight this is a fantastic standalone Echo story. - Albo
Teen Titans #57: A
An entire issue of Ravager sneering, quipping, and being excessively violent; that, my friends, is exactly what I came to see. - AHR
All-Star Superman, Transhuman and Gunplay after the jump...
All-Star Superman #10: B+ from AHR, C from Albo
A collection of moments that are alternately confusingly plot-heavy and timelessly emblematic of why folks love Superman. The issue feels disjointed without a single clear narrative line to reassure the audience that the book will eventually become coherent, but like most of Morrison's work it's worth the effort. - AHR
Trying to do way too much at once. Where the hell is Morrison going with this? - Albo
Transhuman #1: B from AHR, C from Albo
Setting a story about genetic engineering in the innately evil world of corporate pharmaceuticals is a stroke of GENE-ius, and despite a constraining "documentary" storytelling device (which visually translates as all talking heads all the time) it's a surprisingly fluid read and if you make it to the middle you get a great comedy interlude with monkeys and violence and X-Men jokes. - AHR
Comic masquerading as a documentary on genetic engineering and human manipulation. All info, no story, no thanks. Hickman's Pax Romana is a much better read with similar themes. -Albo
Gunplay #0: C+
The first bit of a soon to be released graphic novel, which judging from the first few pages I thought was going to be an anti-racist revenge fantasy/vaguely racist castration anxiety nightmare, and though this issue indicates a story more thoughtful and nuanced than that, you get the sense that the preview ends before the interesting stuff starts, which seems like a gamble, marketing-wise - and by the way, I'm not crazy for thinking there are castration themes in this book, like mid-way through a dude gets his balls grabbed. - AHR
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Summary only...
Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST. There is a potential spoiler within for Teen Titans, but I can't imagine you care.
