Comics Reviews and Releases

Yeah, very late as I was in Bournemouth this week.

Captain Britain and MI13 #13

W: Paul Cornell

A: Adrian Syaf/Leonard Kirk

Just started collecting Captain Britain, also bought the previous three issues at the same time to catch up with Vampire State, and then it goes and gets cancelled.  Having read the current arc and the first trade now, that seems like the kind of decision typical of entertainment companies these days, not to mention the wider economy as a whole, only thinking in the short-term and making decisions based only on a narrow range of business criteria.

But anyway, a great issue that shows Dracula's strategic brilliance without making MI13 look like blundering idiots with no capability for strategic thought as can sometimes be the case when trying to depict an enemy's military genius.

There are two different pencillers on this issue, but the transitions do not jar or ruin the story and both Syaf and Kirk produce good, consistent work.

I am greatly looking forward to seeing how Paul Cornell wraps up the arc as well as the series in the next two issues plus annual.

A - Book of the Week

X-Factor #43

W: Peter David

A: Valentine de Landro/Marco Santucci

Another book I've just decided to pick up, and though I haven't got any of the issues leading up to this one, I had no trouble understanding what was going on.  There are several strands of story going through this issue and all of them were interesting with good characters.  The different plots do seem though to be linked even though Madrox is 80 years in the future.

Again, two different artists on this issue, but both styles match well and I didn't really even notice any difference, and both de Landro and Santucci produce very good work.

A

War of Kings: Ascension #2

W: Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning

A: Wellington Alves

Part 2 of a 4 part tie-in to War of Kings, as of yet not directly linking to the main story, but this issue gives hints of the Fraternity of Raptors' future influence on the conflict.  Its interesting to see a group of evil characters playing a part in an event, as usually the ongoings and miniseries that make up such an event tend to be focussed on the good guys.

I'm also interested in how Chris Powell will manage to reassert control over his Darkhawk armour, if he does before the end of War of Kings or the Raptors' damage is done.

Wellington Alves' art is very good again, so I think that the War of Kings event has one of the best groups of artists across the four main books: Paul Pelletier on WofK itself, Andrea di Vito on Nova and Brad Walker on Guardians.

B

Of this week's releases, I've ordered Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3, Wolverine: Weapon X #2 and also Secret Six #9 from earlier.

20 May Releases

I'm going down to Bournemouth this week, so I'm not sure when I'll get this week's releases, it depends if I go into Poole to Paradox Comics on Thursday before coming home.

Only two comics that I'm planning on buying this week:

Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3

W: Tony Daniel

A: Tony Daniel/Sandu Florea

Wolverine: Weapon X #2

W: Jason Aaron

A: Ron Garney

I had been thinking of buying Captain America #50, but I'm not really that interested in it and don't see the point of buying three extra-sized anniversary issues in a row.

13 May Releases

I'm going to order again this week, so I'll receive them early next.

There are three new releases  I will be buying:

War of Kings: Ascension #2

W: Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning

A: Wellington Alves

X-Factor #43

W: Peter David

A: Valentine de Landro

Captain Britain and MI13 #13

W: Paul Cornell

A: Leonard Kirk/Adrian Syaf

I will also be getting the previous three issues of Captain Britain in order to catch up with the Vampire State story arc.

I had been thinking of getting Action Comics #877, but I've ultimately decided against continuing with that series. Though I enjoyed the first two issues of Greg Rucka and Eddy Barrow's arc featuring Nightwing and Flamebird, it seems this issue has a fill-in artist and then the next few will have a different art team, and from the solicitations it looks like the next arc will lead into a Superman crossover which I don't want to get caught up in.

Comic Reviews - 6th May

War of Kings #3  W: Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning

Marvel Comics A: Paul Pelletier

Another great issue of War of Kings from DnA, who manage to fit a lot of action in while also giving plenty of time to quieter moments and character development.  

Paul Pelletier's art is brilliant yet again, especially in the final battle between the Imperial Guard and Guardians of the Galaxy.  

Which brings me to the best moment of the issue and the week, Rocket Raccoon taking down Gladiator with a mop! (with help from Rachel Grey's telepathy).

A - Book of the Week

Cable #14 W: Duane Swierczynski

Marvel Comics A: Ariel Olivetti

Part Four of Messiah War starts just after Stryfe has captured Hope and Warpath, so there are several strands running through this issue as X-Force split up to attempt to salvage their mission, and the events within Stryfe's citadel. 

All of these strands seem to be being set up for resolution in later parts of the crossover, so there isn't really much resolution in this issue, though it does appear that Archangel has made his decision regarding Apocalypse. 

Ariel Olivetti's art is quite good, I think it depicts the weird ambience of this Age of Stryfe well.

B

New Mutants #1 W: Zeb Wells

Marvel Comics A: Diogenes Neves

I decided to try out this new series featuring the (remaining) members of the original junior X-Men team and though I'm not familiar with those characters, I enjoyed this issue, an intriguing start to the story. 

Magik especially is an interesting character and gets a lot of good lines in this issue. 

Neves' art was pretty good on the whole, so while I'm still not sure I'll continue to pick it up, there is a good chance I will.

B

6th May Releases

I reckon I'll be ordering this week's comics online as I don't really feel like going all the way into Birmingham, though I don't know when they'll be available to order on the website because there was a bank holiday this week.

Anyway, there are two issues I will definitely be buying:

War of Kings #3 and Cable # 14

I think I'll also order Thor #601 from a while ago, I wasn't sure whether to start collecting Thor but now think I will.

A couple of other comics I might just get are Battle for the Cowl - the Network and New Mutants #1 (though I don't know whose bright idea it was to put #1s at the higher price, you'd think they'd discount them to get people interested).  I was thinking of getting The Trojan War #1 as well, but I'm not so sure now, I'll decide once I've seen a few reviews for these three.

Free Comic Book Day Free Comic Books

Just a quick look at and a few comments on the FCBD issues I picked up on Saturday.

The Avengers Marvel Comics Bendis/Cheung

An interesting little story about the New and Dark Avengers being forced to team up against the Frost Giant Ymir who's busy turning New York into a snow globe.  It's a good introduction to the two teams and Dark Reign, but several of the characters are barely noticeable, so you wonder why so many were included.

Blackest Night #0 DC Comics Johns/Reis

This was a bit disappointing as a prologue to Blackest Night as it doesn't catch you up with everything that's been happening in the Green Lantern books, it only runs through a number of character deaths that may or may not mean much to you depending on how knowledgeable you are about the DCU.  The profile pages of the eight Lantern Corps are however interesting, but don't tell you the exact status quo among the Corps going into Blackest Night, which may possibly impact on the accessibility of the event.

Savage Dragon #148 Image Comics Erik Larsen

This issue very helpfully recapped the entire story of the Savage Dragon up to his children being kidnapped.  I enjoyed this issue and the team up with Daredevil.

Resurrection #0 Oni Press Guggenheim/Greenwood

A prologue issue to a new post-alien-invasion series, this was quite good, but not enough to really get me interested in it.  The Tek Jansen backup story was also pretty funny

Star Wars The Clone Wars/More Dark Horse Comics Various

This collection of short comics was pretty good considering that it seemed to be pretty child-friendly stuff.  The lead Clone Wars story showed off the skills and know-how of a Jedi general.  The Usagi Yojimbo story was good, as was the Indiana Jones, but Beanworld comic was weird, though not nearly as pointlessly weird as Emily the Strange which I didn't see the point of at all.

Comics Reviews - 29th April

Rather late, as its now May, but I only got them on Saturday, then there was a power cut on Sunday and after that I couldn't be bothered.  Anyhoo:

Nova #24 Marvel Comics

W: Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning

A: Andrea DiVito

C: Bruno Hang

Cvr: Daniel Acuna

It's a comic written by DnA - and what d'you know, it's good! In issue #24, the new Nova Corps make their entrance into the War of Kings, attempting to kick Shi'ar forces off a Kree world, but their initial success crumbles when the Imperial Guard drops in and wipes the floor with them.  

Also, Richard Rider, now Quasar, catches up with Ego, the home of the Corps, to deal with the Worldmind, but makes a startling discovery indeed.

The art from Andrea DiVito is brilliant once again, so there's nothing really to complain about this issue, except that Richard Rider isn't in it all that much (though it looks like next issue will be more focused on him) and that the fight between the Nova Corps and Imperial Guard was over in a flash, but I very much look forward to how the consequences of this issue play out.

A

Battlefields: The Tankies #1 Dynamite Entertainment

W: Garth Ennis

P: Carlos Ezquerra

I: Hector Ezquerra

C: Tony Avina

Cvr: John Cassaday

Battlefields: The Tankies focuses on a tank crew in eastern Normandy, part of the forces trying to break out from the post D-Day beachhead.  Early on they lose their lieutenant, but gain a Geordie corporal as replacement as they try to catch up with their regiment. 

Elsewhere, another tank regiment is destroyed by a single Tiger, showing the odds against our main crew and along with a scene of a SS soldier killing a British medic who was trying to help him, sets the tone of the conflict.

Garth Ennis is obviously good at writing interesting and unique war comics and Carlos Ezquerra (of 2000AD fame)'s art suits the very British tone of the book.  Plus, John Cassaday cover art!

 Overall, another book I really enjoyed and I look forward to the next two issues.  I think I'll also have a look at the previous Battlefields mini-series at some point.

A

And from last week, though I bought it this:

Star Wars Dark Times #13 Dark Horse Comics

W:Mick Harrison

A: Douglas Wheatley

C: Dave McCaig

Cvr: Douglas Wheatley

I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, it's been a long time since I last saw the original trilogy, though I did love it.  And the prequels... well, let's just say they didn't set my world on fire.  

However, the Star Wars universe is full of interesting places and peoples and has a very rich history, ably demonstrated by Dark Times, which is set. Having read the prologue to this Blue Harvest arc on Myspace, I decided that I'd give this series a go and I don't regret that at all.

The main character Dass Jennir is a survivor of the Jedi purge, forced to deal with a new galactic status quo and find a new path.  Darth Vader also features, but only appears at the beginning and end of this issue, wondering what the Emperor's plans for him will lead to.

Wheatley's art is beautiful and otherwordly and brilliant throughout.  This issue sets up an intriguing story for the rest of this arc which I will definitely be buying.

A

Xbox!

My Xbox 360 suffered the RRoD a few weeks ago, though after two whole years it was only slightly annoying.

So, I sent it off and yesterday got a replacement, much quicker than I expected, and I was hoping for a replacement because my previous had a problem with scratching discs when it was standing up, so all good really, especially with a free month of Live Gold subscription.

So, having an Xbox again, I'm back to thinking that really, there aren't any games that I'm looking forward to this year.  Last year there were loads, this year only a few that I'm even vaguely, possibly interested in buying.  I really liked both Dirt and Grid, so Dirt 2 will be good, though I don't know whether/when I will buy it.  Mass Effect 2 of course, though I'm not really sure when that's coming out.  There's also going to be Fallout New Vegas in 2010.

What I probably will buy is a bunch more Microsoft points, so I can buy The Pitt and Broken Steel (after I've finished Operation: Anchorage and then the main quest) DLC for Fallout 3; the next DLC for Fable 2; and perhaps Battlefield 1943 for some good ol' fashioned multiplayer like mamma used to make it.

I've also at the moment got a few bits of Oblivion DLC to play that I got when they were half price last month, as well as the Survival DLC for Left 4 Dead I haven't been able to play yet.