Comic book reviews for the week of August 11, 2010

Morning Glories #1 - (Nick Spencer & Joe Eisma) - This was a really good first issue. It is about a group of gifted teenagers who are all going to some new, but quickly prestigious boarding school. However, once they get there, they find out that it is more like a jail. Actually, jail isn't quite the right word as they still have class and such, but they cannot leave. Spencer tosses out about 8 cool little unexplained things in this issue. I'm hooked. The art is quite good. Nothing spectacular, but it tells the story well. 9.0/10

Hack/Slash: My First Maniac #3 - (Tim Seeley & Daniel Leister) - Given that this is my first exposure to Hack/Slash (since it has just switched over to being published by Image), I'm surprised at how much I enjoy this. In this issue, Cassie Hack discovers the real menace that is haunting the cornfield and it isn't at all what you thought it was. I really enjoyed the misdirection. Otherwise, it also has a neat little subplot of what a social misfit Cassie is. As you can see from my #1 pick this week, I do like teen stories because teenager characters actually grow over the course of a series whereas Batman takes decades to change much. Nice art too. 8.6/10

Daytripper #9 - (Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon) - I think we're finally beginning to see what is going on in Ba/Moon's 10 issue series. This thing is going to turn out to be a series about life and the human condition as our protagonist, Bras, reviews his life after he has died. At least that's what I think. Easily the most mature, thought provoking comic I'm reading right now. This is something you could give to an uncle who thinks comics are silly to prove them wrong. 8.5/10

The Walking Dead #76 - (Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard) - I really enjoyed this issue and you can read my full review at WCBR by clicking the link. Not a lot happens in this issue, but it is interesting what doesn't happen: Rick doesn't get exiled. Amazing how little this series depends on the actual zombies for the story anymore. Sure, they're there.....but just as a background roar. 8.3/10

X-Force: Sex + Violence #2 -(Craig Kyle, Chris Yost & Gabriele Dell'Otto) - The story in this is really kinda incidental: Wolverine and Domino on the run from the Hand and the Assassin's Guild. But, even then, the story is good enough. The real attraction is the art and if you like painterly style art, this is going to be your thing. I do like that style and think this book is beautiful. My only problem is that this book doesn't fit into continuity at all. What happened to Wolverine's girlfriend that was introduced in Wolverine Weapon X? 8.2/10

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #2 - (Ed Brubaker & Dale Eaglesham) - I'm really enjoying this series a LOT more than Captain America proper (which I am close to dropping). Brubaker and Eaglesham are telling a cool little Steve Rogers story that has action, espionage and ties in well to his background with the super soldier serum. This is a series worth checking out. 8.0/10

Invincible Iron Man #29 - (Matt Fraction & Salvador Larroca) - Pepper Potts has her own suit of armor! This series is so much better when Pepper is in it and I love how Fraction had Tony wipe his brain so that he doesn't remember sleeping with Pepper (but she does). I'm still bored to tears with the aspects of Tony Stark rebuilding his company. Seriously, a comic about entrepreneurship? But, the joy of the Pepper parts more than makes up for that. 7.4/10

The Unwritten #16 - (Mike Carey & Peter Gross) - After seeing a few other people's reviews of this issue, I clearly didn't like it as much as they did. We do get the long awaited appearance by Wilson Taylor (Tom's dad) and he rambles on in riddles for pages before he get's killed. I think part of the problem is that I don't like Tom as a character. Much more interested by the Lizzie Hexam storyline and what happens to her now that she's confronted he "true self" inside the Dickens novel. 7.3/10

Dungeons & Dragons #0 - (various) - I really enjoyed this. It probably wasn't the coolest, straight-up comic book I've ever read, but the creators did a really great job of tying it into the D&D universe by making subtle references to game mechanics. Maybe that doesn't sound like much of a hook, but without that.....this is just another fantasy-themed comic book and the world doesn't need that. Perfect for the 30-45 year old guy who liked the concept of D&D as a kid, but never had 5-6 geeky friends willing to devote ever Saturday afternoon to running a proper D&D campaign. I dunno about you, but I was playing sports. However, I did read the Monster Manual, DM Guide, etc. all the way through. 7.3/10

The Thanos Imperative #3 - (Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Miguel Sepulveda) - There is no reason NOT to like this if you like Marvel Cosmic.....and I do. BUT.....I'm just having a hard time getting worked up about this invasion of our universe by this parallel universe where Death has been defeated. For one thing, if the fate of the universe is really at stake, why is it only the Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, the cosmic artifacts, etc. fighting it. Shouldn't EVERYONE be there, or at least the Fantastic Four. For another, why is it such a horrid thing that this other universe has no death. That sounds like a good thing, kinda. So, I'm having a hard time getting into the story and then my favorite part of Marvel Cosmic (things like Rocket Raccoon and Groot) are reduced to a panel or two so we have more room for boring explanations of the plot. Otherwise....its good. 7.0/10

Batgirl #13 - (Bryan Q. Miller & Pere Perez) - This was another solid issue of Batgirl. This is 13 in a row, making it one of the most consistently good superhero titles out there. The only thing holding it back (I'm saying this again) is a spectacular, "book of the month" type issue to put it over the top. I'm enjoying seeing Stephanie "grow up" before our eyes and have to take down a A-lister like Clayface. Fun all around. The only thing I didn't like was the seeming switch away from Barbara Gordon/Oracle to "Proxy". I think this title works better with a big sister/little sister vibe. 7.0/10

X-Men #2 - In some ways, this was pretty good. It has a neat concept......The X-Men are set upon by vampires and to save the day, they will cause dissension within their ranks by resurrecting the greatest vampire of all: Dracula. Cool! Ummmm....except that this means that they're bringing back Dracula (who has only been "dead" for a whole month or so) and that could cause its own set of problems. The art was a mess too. Saving grace is a several page team-up of Wolverine and Colossus going hunting for vampires. Wish we got more of this: seeing two of the old-school X-Men without having someone like Anole tagging along. 6.7/10

Daredevil #509 - (Andy Diggle, Anthony Johnston & Roberto de la Torre) - Well.....I love de la Torre's art. It is perfect, perfect for this type of book. The story.....not so much. Perhaps I'm panning it because Marvel has hyped the hell out of this "event" and I'd like it better if Shadowland was just a 6-issue story arc in Daredevil because this story isn't THAT bad.....it just isn't doing much for me. I also was confused because DD 509 seemed to be set before Shadowland #2 which was out last week. WTF???? 6.3/10

Dark Wolverine #89 - (Daniel Way, Marjorie Liu, Stephen Segovia & Paco Diaz) - Boy did this story go into the shitter quickly. I was really enjoying the rematch between Daken and a powered-up Franken-Castle (nee, The Punisher), but just as Wolverine showed up at the end of last issue, this went bad. The art was a mess and I couldn't follow the action (which is kinda important in an issue that is one big fight). It also didn't make sense when Wolverine explained that Daken was just after Franken-Castle's bloodstone. Didn't Frank ambush Daken and Daken only learned about the bloodstone during the fight? 6.0/10

Dust Wars #3 - I feel a little ripped off by this. It wasn't really a comic as much as an advertisement for Dust Wars toys. Even then, it is no excuse.... The premise for Dust Wars is kinda cool: It is a reimagined WWII with mechs and different alliances (the Chinese are more involved) and it was advertised as having "pin up art". But, the story is confusing, none of the characters are memorable and there is no pin up art. 4.5/10

Source: http://allthiscrap.blogspot.com/2010/08/comic-book-reviews-for-week-of-august.html