ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #7

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Chris Samnee (pencils/inks), Justin Ponsor (colors)
Publisher: Ultimate Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Johnny Destructo

Written reviews. Podcasts. Comic shop discussions. Emails. There are only so many ways I can profess my love for ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN before it gets boring, even to me. Yes, it's one of my top 5...no, top 3...ok, it's my number 1 favorite book out right now. It's at the top of the stack every single time it hits the streets.

This here is another issue where we follow Miles through the experience of trying to become Spider-Man. He's watching footage of the late Peter Parker's shenanigans and trying to duplicate what he's seeing on screen, which leads to a very awkward moment with his mother that almost every boy can relate to. I really enjoyed watching him as he bounds around the city, testing himself and his new powers out. It's exactly what anyone would do if they found themselves in this situation. What can I do? What are my limits? How high CAN I climb? Where did Peter get those incredibly useful webs??

I know that people may be bored by these scenes, but they have honestly been my favorite bits, more so then the noisy, punch-filled battles that have to occur every once in a while for it to be a super hero book. While I'm not really enjoying Bendis' AVENGERS titles right now, I feel like his best work has always and will always be on this title. Also, nice Will Ferrell reference, BMB ("I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!")

As for the art, full disclosure: people have been mentioning to me that they don't like the artist on the book for this arc, and I have to say that yes, Chris Samnee is a vastly different artist then Sara Pichelli, but that in no way implies "bad" to me. I am as enamored with Samnee's work as Pichelli's. I will say that I find Chris' black and white sketchbook work to be leaps and bounds above what I've seen in this series, but in those pieces he is concentrating solely on the shadows. Like when you take a black and white photo into Photoshop to increase the contrast 100%. Everything that is light or white appear as the same thing, and only the blackest blacks remain. It's beautiful work, and while his work here is less flashy, it's certainly more practical to storytelling. I love his simplicity of line, the expressions that he's able to convey THROUGH Spidey's mask, and I appreciate that he draws Miles as a 13 year old even when he's in costume. Many artists make Spidey into a full-grown man with a filled-out man's musculature and it always looks strange, like there's a stunt-person in the suit.

Speaking of art, I would be remiss in forgetting to mention the image that is absolutely MADE to be a poster hanging in the man- (and woman)-caves of geeks everywhere: the cover. Kaare Andrews has absolutely wrecked shop on this one. Overall, I've found Kaare's ULTIMATE covers to be lacking in his usual excellence, but this one is such an iconic and beautiful image, it may go down as my cover of the year come December. Jock and Dave Johnson have their work cut out for them this time.

I know that certain people have purposely started picking up this series based on the fact that I cram it down everyone's throats every time it comes out. If you're not reading this book, what are you waiting for? Get ON it!

JD can be found hosting the PopTards Podcast, drawing a weekly webcomic, discussing movies, comics and other flimflam over at www.poptardsgo.com, graphically designing/illustrating for a living, and Booking his Face off over here. Follow his twitter @poptardsgo. His talkback name is PopTard_JD. He is also now co-hosting another Comic Book discussion show on Party934.com alongside Bohdi Zen. They discuss comics and play music, check it out live every Saturday from 4-5pm.

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #6

Writer: Dan DiDio
Artist: Jerry Ordway
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: The Dean

I love the idea of this whole DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS thing. It’s the perfect venue to introduce, or I should probably say reintroduce characters, or to tell stories for those without a regular monthly title of their own, as in the series’ inaugural Deadman run (he shares JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, so we won’t call it his own title). The somewhat uninhibited nature of a series like this fills me with so much hope for it, and if it’s used to really explore the lesser known DCU, and they just let the writers go nuts, I really think this title could produce some of the most fun to be had in the entire DC lineup. Maybe we’ll get to see what Mr. Mxyzptlk does when he’s not bothering Superman, or what it would be like if Black Manta took adult education courses! These are things I’ve always wanted to see, and DC UNVIERSE PRESENTS gives me my best chance at it.

For now, though, we’ve got CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKOWN, and so far it’s not quite as exciting as what I think this series or creative team is capable of. This issue starts the Challengers off in familiar fashion – a plane wreck forces them to band together to survive the…well, the unknown. To be honest, there isn’t much banding together in this issue, but future banding is implied. It’s nice to see that the ol’ gang is all here, too, for the most part - we’ve got Ace, June, Red, Rocky, and a smart guy named Clay, who I would have guessed was supposed to be Professor Haley if it weren’t for what happens to him. The Cat Grant blurb in the beginning was a nice touch as well, and did just enough to set up the new reality show take on this new Challengers team, in what I found to be a succinct, relatable way for new and old readers.

Writer Dan DiDio throws a few other characters at us (presumably to be killed in future issues) in addition to the Challengers, and boy are they ever annoying. Personally, I’m hoping the dude obsessed with his Twitter followers is offed first, and brutally, but I’m not going to rag on DiDio for these characters that he probably wants me to hate. What I will rag on him for is a twitchy script, which relies heavily on June fainting, and then waking up in a new setting to transition between scenes. It’s fine if it happens once, twice is pushing it for one issue, but DiDio does it three times here. It might have been nice if during one of those blackouts, DiDio would have switched the focus to one of the other Challengers for a bit, but we’re stuck with June for the whole ride. So far we don’t really know anything about Red, or Rocky, and since Ace is busy being stabby, we’ve only got one clear hero here at this point who we really don’t know much about, except that she should probably see a doctor soon about all that passing out she does.

With Jerry Ordway on pencil duty for this one, the art is looking pretty great, and really stands out in June’s first post-crash interaction with Ace. He’s certainly bringing the most violent interpretation of these characters I’ve ever seen, but I’d like to see him unleashed on this title a little more, since there are a few too many talking head panels for an adventure comic like this for my taste. Also, that mountain monster thing at the end was dangerously close to being adorable. If it weren’t for its giant size and murdering tongue, that big, dumb, sleepy face would have won me over. It even looks like it falls asleep when it’s done attacking them!

Ultimately, though, I’d suggest passing on this one for now if you’re not a big CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN fan already. There are better ways to spend that $2.99, and while it’s definitely a cool concept, it’s feeling a little too rushed at this point for me to recommend anyone invest in until I see at least one more issue. In a fun homage to the characters’ Silver Age origins, June makes a comment toward the end that the group is “living on borrowed time.” What interests me most about this comment is the metafictional honesty of it, since once this story is finished in a matter of months, these characters will be out of print once again. This issue feels like it wants to be two, and I think if CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN were its own monthly title, it would have been. But since the end is already in sight after just its first issue, DiDio brings a bit too much to the table in this one, and leaves the presentation a bit cluttered and underwhelming. Hopefully now that this brief origin part is through, and the chaos of the initial crash is over, we’ll see some better pacing, and less fainting. But it’s certainly not all bad, and I think I’ll be buying the next issue just to see if it improves. Plus like I said, I really want to see that Twitter guy die.

GLORY #23

Writer: Joe Keatinge
Art: Ross Cambell
Publisher: Image Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug

Though Glory is obviously a riff on DC’s Wonder Woman, Rob Liefeld’s female powerhouse Glory seems to be pretty well known in comics. I can’t say that I have read any of Glory’s past issues, but this issue shows promise. This issue reintroduces modern readers to Glory and does a pretty decent job doing so. I needed an issue like this to reintroduce the character to me, but longtime readers might feel the need to flip forward through the pages in this one.

Most of this issue is dedicated to letting the reader know who Glory is and what she can do. Writer Keatinge does a good job of establishing both her awesome power (in a fun opening sequence as Glory punches the top off of a tank and breaks a Nazi’s spine over her back) and her personality (as she puts Supreme/Liefeld’s Superman in his place in a quiet moment on a beach). In illustrating Glory’s power, Keatinge relies on Cambell’s offbeat imagery and does so smartly, as Cambell does a fantastic job of putting the heroine into interesting action poses as well as battling a menagerie of interesting beasties. Like Doug Mahnke, Campbell has a fantastic eye for alien forms and flexes these drawing muscles greatly in this issue.

To Cambell’s credit as well is the form of Glory, which is not necessarily what one typically thinks when comic book heroine comes to mind, but at the same time, his stout, muscle bound Glory distinguishes her from the herd. I find it refreshing that a different form rather than supermodel was used in the image of Glory.

Occasionally, the dialog does get a bit heavy. Glory’s speech to Supreme on the beach is just that. It is exposition-heavy and necessary for the story, but a bit clunky nevertheless. The dialog from the soldiers is difficult to swallow as well, and comes off as slightly clichéd. Nevertheless, I like the way this story ended, suggesting that even the pale powerhouse has a weakness after all.

All in all this is a good reintroduction to the character with nice action beats, a fantastic artist, and an intriguing cliffhanger. GLORY is off to a good start.

Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, original @$$Hole/wordslinger/reviewer/co-editor of AICN Comics for over ten years. He has written comics such as MUSCLES & FIGHTS, MUSCLES & FRIGHTS, VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS TINGLERS & WITCHFINDER GENERAL, THE DEATHSPORT GAMES, WONDERLAND ANNUAL 2010 & NANNY & HANK (soon to be made into a feature film from Uptown 6 Films). He is also a regular writer for FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND & has co-written their first ever comic book LUNA: ORDER OF THE WEREWOLF (to be released in October 2012 as an 100-pg original graphic novel). Mark has just announced his new comic book miniseries GRIMM FAIRY TALES PRESENTS THE JUNGLE BOOK from Zenescope Entertainment to be released in March 2012.

GHOSTLY TALES OF LORD GOTHIC VOL.1

Writer: Ron Vanneste
Illustrator: Ron Vanneste
Publisher: Self published. Find out more about this book here
Reviewer: Mr. Pasty

GHOSTLY TALES OF LORD GOTHIC is one of those books that come across your desk that is just so damn hard to categorize. I guess a very crude way to describe it would be if Arthur from Sega’s old GHOULS’N GHOSTS video game fucked his way into Lucifer’s chamber, you might have a fairly good idea of what to expect. Seriously, there’s a lot of sex and gore in this graphic novel and as a kid that grew up reading HEAVY METAL, I was kind of digging it. That’s not to suggest this book is in the same league as the legendary sci-fi magazine, because it does get problematic at times, but fans of the genre should nevertheless find this entertaining.

The protagonist is Professor Erich Faustus, who we quickly discover is “the only human ever inducted into the elfish order of ghost hunters known as the Shadow-Weavers.” I’ve never pledged for a spot on the Shadow-Weaver roster, but I understand you have to have your heart removed and replaced by a creature known as a “Zyxnig.” Kind of makes you long for the old days of banging sheep and drinking beer out of a frat boy’s ass. Anyway, Faustus is trying to stop an ancient and evil race of shape-shifting, hybrid angel-men known as the “Nephelim.” Stop them from what? Well, they’re going back in time, T-800 style, to destroy Noah’s Ark. Let’s face it, all the world’s eggs are in that gopher-wood basket and sinking that sumbitch before it gets to Mount Ararat pretty much gives fish the planet’s top billing. While going back even farther and ambushing Adam and Eve while they were still naked and dumb might be a little easier, I was really into the book’s premise. The execution? Well, that’s another story.

I found the GHOSTLY TALES OF LORD GOTHIC to be difficult to read. The story is presented well and the writing is sharp, but it’s just so damn busy. The panels appear disjointed, dense and heavy on color with a lot of text crammed into a little bit of space. Ron Vanneste pulls double duty here as writer and illustrator and regrettably the artwork is consistently inconsistent. Sometimes it’s just downright ugly. It pains me to say that because there are flashes of brilliance here, but I think this is a question of talent run amok. Vanneste has the chops to make this thing work, but perhaps not the subtlety. I know it’s a strange word to use for a story as preposterous as this one, but I really believe a “less is more” approach could serve him well here. Still, the book has an underlying charm that made me stick with it and I wasn’t sorry I did. At worst, GHOSTLY TALES OF LORD GOTHIC reads like an unfinished piece that could still benefit from a nip/tuck. At best, it’s a wild ride through a startlingly original universe filled with rich characters and unforgettable landscapes. Fortunately for Vanneste, the good outweighs the bad so if you’re looking for a recommendation on purchasing it, I’d probably vote yes. After all, where else can you save Noah’s Ark and get laid in the process?

Web heads who can’t get enough of Mr. Pasty’s word vomit are encouraged to watch him operate as Nostradumbass over at MMaMania.com here. Love, hate and Mafia Wars requests should be directed here.

CATWOMAN #6

Writer: Judd Winnick
Artist: Guillem March
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Optimous Douche

I don’t hold to sentimentality. I find lamenting what once was an exercise in futility until we invent time travel. With that, I refuse to compare past iterations of DC titles to the New 52. However, I’m not blind; I can see the clear difference between the New 52 from what was. The new DC was more than a trip to the Lazurus Pits to restore our heroes with a youthful visage; it marked a dramatic turn in story telling where artists reign supreme over dense stories. So to compare this version of CATWOMAN to past iterations is as fruitless as comparing today’s Presidents to George Washington. We are a different people in a different time.

Personally, I think Winnick is hitting this out of the park in light of what these stories are now. No, the prose isn’t as dense as a Brubaker word bubble, but this is also a different Selina Kyle. She is no longer a Silver Age barrage of innuendo or the tragically dark prostitute from Miller’s incarnation of the cat. There is darkness in this character, and innuendo easily transcends to hot cat on bat action, but this is a modern woman who doesn’t need to hide her femininity to show strength, but rather uses it to take…well, whatever she wants.

Where most DC titles are stretching out their first arc to as many issues as possible, it feels like we’ve lived a lifetime with CATWOMAN with each issue serving as an arc--you know, kind of like a monthly should be written as opposed to forcing trade pacing for further upsell. We’ve learned she’s a woman that longs for excitement, but there’s a psychological rationale for this highway to the danger zone that only came to light this issue – a death wish. This is a hard juxtaposition to past iterations of Kyle; in the past she was just a fun loving gal who liked shiny baubles. Personally, I never bought it. I’ll take this rationale any day of the week over a thirst that could be satiated with a trip to Zales.

In the first three issues we saw her death wish send her into a spiral of miscalculated risks that sever the few connections she has to the human race. In the second three issues once again a heist serves as the plot crux, but the true “joy” once again came from her inner monologue.

Now, we need to talk about the white bat in the room by examining Kyle’s relationship with Bruce Wayne. After seventy years of sexual tension the two finally partake in coitus with some ultra violence as foreplay. DC caught holy hell from mommy bloggers about the “love” scene between Catwoman and Batman in the first issue. To those mommy bloggers, this was not sex: yes, sex was alluded to, but if we actually LOOK at the scene, this is called dry humping, especially since it doesn’t get dryer than latex on latex. Other non-puritanical detractors are bemoaning this choice because they say this is not Bruce Wayne or Batman. To them I say, unless you’re under DiDio’s desk, you don’t know who Batman is yet. DC is clearly trying to undue the psychological damage Bruce underwent during his “death” by making him more human. In BATMAN & ROBIN we see him trying to be a father, in BATMAN proper he is a man that feels fear, but overcomes these moments to be a true hero. Why can’t CATWOMAN explore the sexuality of Batman? Sexuality is part of human existence. Whether you choose to embrace it fully like I did as a man-whore in the 90s or cloister away these feelings like a nun, our sexual drive directly affects our life choices. I think it makes perfect sense that two people dressed in animal garb who are adrenaline junkies to the extreme would absolutely engage in animalistic volatile sex.

High action, hot art, sexual tension and fun heists – more please!

Optimous has successfully blackmailed fellow @$$Hole BottleImp into being his artist on AVERAGE JOE. Look for Imp's forced labor on Optimous brain child in mid-2012 from COM.X. Friend Optimous on FaceBook to get Average Joe updates and because ceiling cat says it's the right thing to do.

PETER PANZERFAUST #1

Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe
Artist: Tyler Jenkins
Publisher: Image Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee

Apparently there is a revolution afoot, my brothers, and I wish to be at the forefront of it. Oh, didn’t you hear? We’re finally ready to overthrow our Corporate Comic Overlords in the wake of a controversial court case against Marvel and now we’re taking a stand! At least that’s what the Facebook and Twitter are telling me. Are…are we still doing this? Is this still a thing? No one’s going to buy AVENGERS VS. X-MEN now, right? …oh. Well, whatever. Here’s a review for an indie book (by “indie” I mean “moderately successful business entity that has a moderate amount of market share in a top heavy marketplace”) that looked good, was good, and that should be bought regardless of agenda. Consider me part of the “comics should be good” agenda.

PETER PANZERFAUST is a comic about war and charisma. Not to sell this book short, but so far that really is the bulk of the selling point this first issue presents. The setup is simple: via an interview style in the present day with a survivor of the Second Great War and someone who ran with the fabled Peter, whose legend is about to begin for us. From there it’s bombed out buildings, some young gentlemen in mortal danger, and a gaunt, wavy haired Yank with (what looks to be) a MAS rifle appearing from literally nowhere to lead them out of their Nazi-infested peril in France.

Despite being pretty plot-light, this book makes up for it via execution. It immediately sells you on Peter as a rallying point in his first page appearance, in no more than his somewhat aloof stance on a pile of rubble, floppy hair waving and rifle in hand. From there it’s a mix of fight-and-flight as Peter nonchalantly has this ragtag group of survivors jumping rooftop-to-rooftop and dodging artillery while never losing his “follow me, I got this” grin. Never once does he falter, and he revels in what is occurring around him so much so that the characters within buy it, and I definitely did as well.

While the book is ultimately lean, there are some nice hints at some interesting, character-based things to come. Obviously there’s a whole cast of characters to develop here and this little old thing called World War Two to develop plotlines and stories from. But Peter himself, besides the charisma and grin, has a lady he’s looking for and, given what we’re seeing here, he’s going to find her Hell or high water. From what I’ve read from Kurtis Wiebe thus far (essentially his GREEN WAKE series) he has a knack for deeper plot development, and I’m sure that will follow to this title with subsequent issues. Tyler Jenkins’ art nicely compliments this type of story as well, as it has a fine, kinetic charge to it. It’s very spartan where it has to be and then hits the high notes properly, which is really the best way to finish up describing this book.

PETER PANZERFAUST: It’s really good and you won’t be selling your soul when you buy it…

Humphrey Lee has been an avid comic book reader going on fifteen years now and a contributor to Ain't It Cool comics for quite a few as well. In fact, reading comics is about all he does in his free time and where all the money from his day job wages goes to - funding his comic book habit so he can talk about them to you, our loyal readers (lucky you). He's a bit of a social networking whore, so you can find him all over the Interwebs on sites like Twitter, The MySpaces, Facebookand a blog where he also mostly talks about comics with his free time because he hasn't the slightest semblance of a life. Sad but true, and he gladly encourages you to add, read, and comment as you will.

EDGE OF THE UNKNOWN VOL.1

Writer: Jon Vinson
Art: Marco Roblin
Publisher: Self published. Available for download on iTunes.
Find out more about this book here!
Reviewer: Ambush Bug

A story starring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, and H.P. Lovecraft? How are you not all reading this?

A young girl is missing. Her father contacts his friend Harry Houdini to see if his celebrity can get more attention to the case. Houdini, whose interest in spiritualism is well documented in that he attempted for years to contact his mother after her demise, in turn consults with his friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose keen deductive mind has aided Houdini in his quest to seek out charlatan psychics attempting to steal from the world-famous escapist numerous times. As the two would-be detectives investigate the case, they begin to uncover a secret society with ties to numerous disappearances of young girls.

EDGE OF THE UNKNOWN is the name of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s essays on spiritualism he wrote examining the escapist powers of his friend Harry Houdini. Writer Jon Vinson has encapsulated the book with all of the trappings of a noir mystery. The fact that Houdini and Doyle were friends in real life is astounding enough. To think of what theses two dynamic characters had to talk about is up to debate, but Vinson’s story casts them as old friends working with one another because of that bond. Vinson gives this bond form in many a scene throughout this trade paperback collection. As many scenes as there are that raise the hackles on the back of ones neck and chill the spine, there are also ones that warm the heart in that this is a story of old friends who will do anything for one another.

The mystery here is a good one. A missing girl. She has ties to Houdini’s past—a past he is not proud of. And with that, he is dedicated to see this case until the end. Throughout this story, many twists and turns are present to keep you on your toes and that’s even before the Cthulhu-stuff shows up.

That’s right, tentacle-philes, at the heart of this mystery, Houdini and Doyle find a secret sect of cultists and a word: “Nyarlathotep”. Doyle and Houdini find nothing upon researching the world, except for a mention of it in a comic book, WEIRD TALES, by an author H.P. Lovecraft. I was in love with this story before Lovecraft showed up, but when he does it adds yet another layer of cool to it.

Needless to say, things get dark. Really dark. This is one of the cooler concepts and even cooler executions I’ve read in quite a while. Roblin’s art is fantastically suited for this pitch black story, though occasionally, due to the dark black and white nature of the art, it was difficult to distinguish one character from another at times. That said, the dark twisted horrors both real and unreal are amazing to see in this book, and that’s all due to Roblin’s work.

If you’re looking for a horror story that is original, clever, and expertly crafted, EDGE OF THE UNKNOWN is it. It takes a page from THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and makes a deft supernatural mystery out of it. It’s fantastic reading and a must for fans of horror comics.

EDGE OF THE UNKNOWN is available for download on iTunes and the first issue can be read for free here. Do yourself a favor and check it out!

WITCHBLADE #153

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Diego Bernard
Publisher: Top Cow
Reviewer: KletusCasady

“…this pussy can’t be tamed.”

This is another comic that I never really paid any attention to. Honestly, the concept just seemed kind of lame to me and an excuse to have a hot lady running around with her butt and breasts hanging out, fighting mystical baddies in a cheesy looking suit of organic metal. Nothing about it was appealing to me and any time in the past 3 years that I’ve decided to thumb through an issue to see what was going on, the art did nothing to raise my interest. About two months ago I decided to flip through an issue, as I tend to do when we get in the new comics for the week, and hot damn…the art was awesome! Also, Tim Seeley (HACK SLASH and the hilarious ANTMAN /WASP team up book) was writing it…so…color me interested…thus my review of issue #153 of WITCHBLADE.

I think that one of the best things someone can do when writing a superhero is give them a job or something that occupies their life when they are outside of the costume. This way, when the superheroics do start, it adds to the suspense and also makes those heroics seem more special (that’s just my opinion, so take is as you will). Tim Seeley does a great job setting this story up in that respect, being that Sara Pezzini’s job as a private investigator is what drives this story forward as opposed to the fact that she is the holder of the WITCHBLADE, which allows us to see her process as a detective as well as a hero. In the first couple issues we learn that she’s an ex-cop, now a P.I. working on a routine case, which then leads to shit getting weird and that’s where we find ourselves now, knee deep in crazy town with a group of folks called ‘The Flesh’ (long live the flesh!) who found a pocket of hell they could use to their advantage and now are learning the consequences of exploiting even just a tiny slice of the Devil’s domain. What I like about this story is that the main character seems like a real person with real problems outside of being in possession of a mystical artifact. This actually makes her an interesting person before she gets in to trouble, and once shit starts to hit the fan seeing how she deals with and reacts to the tasks at hand makes this an interesting and engaging read. Seeley also does a great job with Sara’s inner dialog, which makes up some of the best parts of the last couple issues and really adds to the depth of the story. There’s actually a lot of good dialog in this issue as well, especially when Jackie (of the comic THE DARKNESS) makes a cameo--I laughed out loud at some of the things one of his demons had to say about him: “…you still have a soft spot for Bitchblade,” I want more of that little demon guy in this series.

The art in this comic is really what drew me in. This is definitely some of the best artwork I’ve seen in any TOP COW book (especially in the last few years). I was actually pleasantly shocked when I opened this book and art was as good as it is. It kind of reminds me a little of Ed Benes (RED LANTERNS) or Aaron Lopresti (JL INTERNATIONAL) and it looks kind of like Tim Seeley’s artwork as well--I wonder if he did the breakdowns? Anyway, the colors look great, the detail is good, the panel layouts are varied and dare I say that the WITCHBLADE costume actually looks cool!

As I said last week, art is a priority to me in a comic and this series is doing great in that department. The story is easy to follow, fun and not at all predictable. Seeley does a great job with inner and outer dialog and this book has quite a few funny moments. These last 3 issues of WITCHBLADE have been pretty damn good; I think new and old fans alike can enjoy this book because even though there are subtle hints to things that happened in the past, the reader isn’t bludgeoned over the head with vague references only an avid WITCHBLADE fan could enjoy. This book looks good and is a pretty damn enjoyable…and this is coming from someone who didn’t give a shit about WITCHBLADE 3 months ago.

WONDER WOMAN #6

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Tony Atkins
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Henry Higgins is My Homeboy

Of Kings And Queens.

Since its inception, I’ve been particularly critical of the new 52. Even beyond my annoyance at inconsistencies present in the universe and my general apathy towards the new direction, I’ve simply found the new books to be lacking. While there are some stand outs (I, VAMPIRE, FLASH, and ACTION COMICS notably), the only book DC has been putting out recently that I’ve been anxiously awaiting each month has been WONDER WOMAN. Under Brian Azzarello, the title has soared, giving direction and purpose to a character that, despite possessing some of the greatest potential of any of DC’s big name heroes, has been mostly forgettable. The book improves with each month, and hasn’t stopped picking up momentum this month either.

Writing: (4/5) This issue, despite its larger than life opening set piece, is more focused on the politics and bickering of the Greek pantheon. Azzarello writes a compelling drama between the remaining gods, and manages to give them personality beyond the clichéd approaches to them. All three are distinct and memorable, and will hopefully reappear during the course of the series. Dialogue is well crafted and realistic here, while remaining very big when it needs to be. Wonder Woman appearing before Hera is one of the coolest scenes I’ve seen with Wonder Woman in recent memory.

Most importantly, it shows Diana’s craftiness, a trait usually forgotten in her series. Wonder Woman is engaging and interesting in this issue particularly, twisting and turning the Gods against one another incredibly well.

Some of the story beats aren’t perfect, but it’s still a solid read.

Art: (3/5) Tony Atkins is reliable for most of the book. The designs for Poseidon and Hades are creative and fulfilling, giving both a sense of grandeur. It’s oddly fitting, too, and that’s a nice change of pace from the tired approach of simply having all the Greek Pantheon be white men in togas. The action sequences are brief and flow well. The fight on the bridge is short and sweet, not wasting too much time on it but not simply forgetting it either. It is also engaging as all hell, being more creative than then typical “Wonder Woman punches something” tact usually enforced.

Where it lacks is in some of the character. There’s a wide margin between how a character will look in one panel to the next. Wonder Woman will go from incredibly bold in one scene to a very bland looking character in the next.

Best Moment: Wonder Woman’s bargain to Hades and Poseidon.

Worst Moment: Some of the faces.

Overall: (4/5) WONDER WOMAN maintains its momentum, and manages to continue on as one of DCs best titles.

Editing, compiling, imaging, coding, logos & cat-wrangling by Ambush Bug
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
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AICN COMICS REVIEWS: CATWOMAN! WITCHBLADE! WONDER WOMAN! GLORY! & plus some comics with dudes in them!