Long Box: Jan. 28, 2009

New Avengers #49
Color me impressed; Bendis ties up more loose ends in this one issue than in any comic he's written as of late. And here I thought the whole 'Luke Cage's stolen baby' story was going to drag through the majority of Dark Reign. Turns out, Bendis is content to bring that saga to a close and introduce the New Avengers to their replacements; the Dark Avengers. This is all a set up for next month's big 50th issue of the New Avengers in which the two disparate teams will allegedly meet up and duke it out. Billy Tan's art for this issue is a valiant effort, but looks a little bit rushed at times. There are a few characters he draws that consistently look odd, and one of them is Norman Osborn. The only thing that made him recognizable in some panels was that weird widow's peak of his. Hopefully he's got some help on next month's double-sized issue, or maybe he just got through this issue as quickly as possible to get to work on that one. Another extremely solid issue of New Avengers that moves the plot along and makes me that much more excited for next month's big showdown.

Ender's Shadow: Battle School #2
This wasn't quite what I expected out of the second issue of this series. Call me impatient, but most of the Ender's Game story I remember took place in space, a place that Bean doesn't even make it to by the end of this issue. That being said, I did really like how this month's edition showed us the origin of Bean and hinted at why he's such an important player in this story. The relationship between Bean and Sister Carlotta got played up quite a bit, but it made the separation of the two that much more gut-wrenching. Sebastian Fiumara's artwork seems a little more reigned-in this time around, but equally as good. I'm certainly looking forward to the first meeting between Bean and Ender, and seeing how the writers of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow decide to intertwine their respective stories. So far, these adaptations have done a pretty admirable job of accurately capturing the spirit of Orson Scott Card's novels. I really recommend these series to anyone who's a fan of the books or just science fiction in general.

Greatest Hits #5
I had a few qualms about the way the story was being told in the last issue, but this month's edition brought me back into the fold. We finally get a look at what REALLY happened when the Mates went to space, and it's actually not entirely what I was expecting. There's some really great battle scenes towards the beginning of the book, but Glenn Fabry's art really shines in a black and white sequence involving Solicitor and Soul Sister that recalls John and Yoko's bed-in. The Paul McCartney superhero Crusader gets a great scene towards the middle of the issue that is a commentary on his post-Beatles band Wings. The only dip in the quality of the writing of this issue came at the very end when we're introduced to one of the documentarian's old flames via some really cheesey narration. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all wraps up; the series may have taken a few wrong turns, but it's been consistently enjoyable and a pretty humorous take on the lives of the Fab Four.

Long Box: Jan. 7, 2009

2009 finds my pull-list in a pretty great place, and this column will surely reflect this. Marvel's Dark Reign has thus far proved to be pretty entertaining, with titles like Invincible Iron Man and New Avengers really coming into their own. I'm looking forward to seeing what Dark Avengers has to offer later this month. From Dark Horse, I've got Hellboy AND BPRD coming in on a monthly basis, with some groundbreaking story lines to boot. Rounding my list out is Vertigo's Young Liars, which looks like it'll be a continuing series, and the last few issues of Greatest Hits, which has been a pretty good read thus far. Expect coverage on these titles and more in the weeks and months to come. Here's the week (and a few stray titles) in review:

Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #2
This issue was a bit on the short-side; it's becoming apparent that in order to stretch this arch across 8-issues, some supplemental material is being included to back up the main story. It seems as if the information presented in these supplements will play some part in the main story somewhere down the road, but for the time being I found it pretty dry and uninteresting. The main story on the other hand, does not disappoint in the least. This issue gives us our first look at the giants that Hellboy was hunting. Perhaps the best part of it all is when Hellboy is sneaking through the crowd of giants, then abruptly decides to just come out and fight them. This results in a crowd-pleasing fight scene that stands shoulder to shoulder with classic Hellboy showdowns. I like how Mignola is keeping his cards close to the chest in this one, showing us glimpses of a parallel plot that will likely start to influence Hellboy's path. The climax of this edition certainly poses more questions than it answers, but it only builds the anticipation for next month's issue.

Greatest Hits #4
This issue was kind of a mixed bag in terms of ideas that worked and ideas that didn't. I liked the decision to open with the Mates battling the aliens in outer space. However, the story of the Mates was almost relegated to a sort of side story after this point. I kind of feel as if the Mates' story is being rushed through at this point in order to provide more narrative about the documentary film-makers who are trying to discover more about the Mates. While I've liked, for the most part, the way these stories have been balanced in previous issues, this one seemed to tip the scales firmly in one direction. It seems to me like there was alot more that could have been done with the story of the Mates. There were quite a few Beatles eras that weren't covered; in retrospect the jump to the psychedelic Sgt. Pepper era was much to abrupt. While I look forward to seeing how the series ends, and how the fates of each member of the team are reinterpreted, I don't find myself quite as excited about the concept as I initially was. Certainly pick this up if you've been following the series, but to those new to it I can't find a whole lot to reccomend here.

Kick-Ass #5
At first I thought the whole reason behind the continual delay of this issue (I think the last issue came out in August?) had something to do with the upcoming movie adaptation; some kind of ploy on Marvel's part to further increase the buzz surrounding this series. After reading this issue I now suspect that perhaps this issue was delayed only because it's an embarrassment. The only reason I started reading this title was because of all the buzz surrounding it, and I must admit that I enjoyed the first four issues. Sure, it wasn't anything revolutionary, but I really dig John Romita Jr.'s art, and Mark Millar's writing has been pretty solid thus far. Well, now let's prepare for the inevitable Kick-Ass backlash, because if this issue is any indication, the remainder of this series might just be downright awful. The biggest complaint here is Millar's writing; both the dialogue and the overall story. Anyone who sends a couple of regular kids with capes and masks running into a burning building in the name of heroics clearly doesn't grasp the term completely. On top of that, we're subject to monologue after angst-y monologue about how one kid just wants acceptance in the form of more MySpace friends. Tack on over the top profanity that doesn't sound remotely believable and you're left with a story that almost seems as if its TRYING to rid itself of any scrap of credibility. So much for a "real-life superhero story"; this one just comes off looking like it has no grasp on reality.

Long Box: Nov. 19, 2008

These reviews are a little bit late this week, thanks to me moving back home for the beginning of my winter break. But, I certainly didn't forget about them! Here's this week in review:

Ender's Game: Battle School #2
With the exposition taken care of in issue #1, this is where the real meat of the story begins. I really liked the choice of writer and artist on this series, and was extremely satisfied with the results in the first issue. However, I think things take a little bit of a turn for the worse in this installment. My first major complaint is the character design. I'm having some real trouble telling Ender apart from all the other children. Pasqual Ferry's cartoon-ish character designs blend together a great deal, so I always had to do a double take to figure out who was in the panel. Another problem in this issue is the condensing of the story. Those who have never read the novel are going to be a little lost by the end of this issue. Christopher Yost spends a great deal of time detailing Ender's shuttle ride to battle school; time that should have been spent on Ender's arrival and the introduction of some of his classmates. As it stands, the reader is pretty much just thrown into the thick of things, with very little idea of who's who. The issue redeems itself at the end, with Ender's first trip into the Battle Room which pretty much hits the nail on the head visually. I realize that it's hard to pack every detail of a fairly lengthy novel into a 5-issue mini-series, but I hope the next few issues pick up the slack a little bit. It shoud be noted that December will see the release of the Ender's Shadow mini-series, which focuses on the character of Bean and his experiences in Battle School. Perhaps this will act as a companion piece that fleshes out the supporting characters more thoroughly. I've got high hopes for this one, despite my slight dissapointment with this issue.

Greatest Hits #3
Vertigo definitely has something very unique with this series that follows a Beatles-esque team of superheros. This issue marks the halfway point of the series, as tensions between the Mates begin to rise, and their future as a team seems unclear. In a last ditch attempt to keep the fab four together, Crusader (the Paul McCartney equivalent) arranges for the team to be sent to space to face an alien threat. Meanwhile, in the future, the group making a documentary about the Mates stumble across some suspicious footage that suggests that the four heroes might not have been entirely truthful about their adventures in space. While I admire the unique presentation of this story, juxtaposing events from the past and present in a sort of comic-doc style, it certainly requires the reader to pay ALOT of attention to who's speaking and where they are in time. That being said, this is a title I've been looking forward to for the past few months simply because the story is so well written and engaging. It'll be interesting to see how things develop as the Mates head into space; it sounds like there are some pretty crazy issues ahead.