Review: Wolverine and the X-Men #10 – Cyclops Comes Calling

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May 9, 2012

Wolverine and the X-Men #10
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Chris Bachalo [Penciler/Colorist]; Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, Al Vey, and Victor Olazaba [Inkers]

The events of Avengers Vs. X-Men had to hit home at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning sooner or later, and when Cyclops comes calling, boy do they ever.

Taking place between Avengers Vs. X-Men #2 and 3, Wolverine and the X-Men #10 provides some additional insight into what happened between the storming of Utopia and Captain America organizing teams of Avengers to search the planet for Hope Summers (and ultimately betraying Wolverine by throwing him out of a Quinjet).

To sum it up, Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Magik show up at the Jean Grey School and insult everyone there so they can recruit additional X-Men to their side.

Perhaps more interesting than the main plot, Genesis finally figures out who Apocalypse is (but remains unaware that he is a clone/reincarnation of the villain) and Angel finally realizes that he isn’t an angel, but a mutant who used to be known as Warren Worthington. Genesis and Angel are also quickly forming a bond, which will be interesting to see play out in the months to come considering Angel was once Apocalypse’s Horseman of Death and replacement prior to losing his memory and gaining his new abilities.

With this issue, Jason Aaron has crafted a tie-in issue that doesn’t exist solely as an extension of the event it’s a part of and continues to develop stand-alone plot threads. Additionally, some of these plot threads are likely to have an impact on the event as a whole–namely the entry of Gladiator and the Shi’ar Death Commandoes, who have dealt with the Phoenix and the X-Men before, into the fray.

Chris Bachalo’s art in this issue also transitions much more smoothly between panels, feeling much more in line with his earlier work on the book and his stellar art on the 2010 Amazing Spider-Man “Shed” arc.

This isn’t a perfect issue, but it’s still a damn fun ride.

STORY: 8/10
ART: 8/10

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Review: Wolverine #306 – The Doctor Is In

By

Roger Riddell

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May 9, 2012

Wolverine #306
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Paul Pelletier [Penciler], David Meikis with Cam Smith [Inkers], Rain Beredo [Colorist]

Wolverine tracks down Dr. Rot as a federal manhunt, believing Logan responsible for a nationwide killing spree, closes in on him.

The Feds search for answers at the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning, where Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey are still trying to find answers themselves. Later, pressing Logan’s ex-girlfriend Melita Garner for information in New York, she finally mentions Dr. Rot. Meanwhile, Wolverine is tracking the sadistic doctor down using files from Dunwich, uncovering more grisly scenes and disturbing individuals along the way.

Cullen Bunn continues a solid first arc on Wolverine, fleshing out Dr. Rot’s past–something that wasn’t really covered during Jason Aaron’s introduction of the villain in Wolverine: Weapon X #6-9. Rot is a villain who works because he gets inside Logan’s head and takes advantage of the worst parts of him, so it’s interesting to start to see a little bit of what makes him tick. Like last issue, it’s good to see the Jean Grey School continue to have a presence in this book, as well.

Rounded out by the same high-quality art that keeps the ultra-violence popping off the pages, this is another stellar issue of Wolverine for Bunn to add to his list of achievements. After being introduced to his work with these last two issues of Wolverine, his assist to Rick Remender on Venom, and the Free Comic Book Day preview of his Spider-Man: Season One graphic novel, here’s hoping Marvel keeps him around for a while.

STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10

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Review: Uncanny X-Force #25 – Final Execution Begins!

By

Roger Riddell

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May 9, 2012

Uncanny X-Force #25
Writer: Rick Remender
Art: Mike McKone, Dean White [Color Art]

The latest Uncanny X-Men story arc, “Final Execution,” kicks off with the team in a state of upheaval.

Psylocke, having processed the toll being on a mutant kill squad is taking on her psyche, is leaving the team after “satisfying her curiosity” with a one-night stand with Fantomex. Fantomex, on the other hand, is leaving because no more Warren [See last year’s epic “Dark Angel Saga”] means no more money–and he’s probably sulking over being spurned by Psylocke.

Meanwhile, there’s a mysterious figure at the Jean Grey School targeting Genesis, the reformed clone of Apocalypse, and Deadpool has gone down while on a mission–which is a big deal following Deadpool #54, where Wade [YOU SHOULD READ Deadpool #54 AND FIND OUT INSTEAD OF LETTING ME SPOIL IT].

Anyways, this all culminates in a sort-of return of a long-dead X-villain.

Overall, this is a great start to Rick Remender’s latest major X-Force story arc. With a title like “Final Execution,” there are a lot of inferences that can be made. The way things have developed with all the characters on the team, as well as the people around them, will surely only help to further speculation about what that title refers to.

Regardless, Rick Remender has crafted an excellent first part to this storyline with an art team that rivals the work on any other issues of the book, and the two back-up stories are a nice look at Remender’s earlier work with artist Jerome Opeña on stories starring Wolverine and Deadpool, respectively.

STORY: 9.5/10
ART: 9.5/10

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Review: Deadpool #54 – Deadpool is Dead, Long Live Deadpool

By

Roger Riddell

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May 9, 2012

Deadpool #54
Writer: Daniel Way
Art: Ale Garza [Penciler], Sean Parsons [Inker], Dommo Sanchez Amara [Colorist]

Deadpool finally gets what he wanted, but does he still want it and is it too late to go back?

After setting off a massive goose chase for a serum that could allegedly negate mutant powers, Deadpool is finally “cured” of his healing factor–but not before some of the most dangerous people in the world find out that he was always aware that the serum only works on him. The serum, as it turns out, is made from DNA samples taken from a lock of Wade’s childhood hair. It even has some unexpected side-effects that are likely to have a huge impact on the character going forward–but I won’t spoil that here.

By altering the character in several ways, Daniel Way has shown his willingness to take a risk and step outside of the traditional Deadpool formula. Deadpool’s new status quo makes a ton of new stories possible, which will hopefully (I’ve got my fingers crossed) allow Daniel Way to stay on the book for another 50 issues.

Despite what certain people around here have to say about me never having anything bad to say about Deadpool, I stand by my belief that this book has been one of the most consistently fun, leave-your-brain-at-the-door reads on my pull list since I started picking it up four years ago. For anyone willing to put aside their “everything should be super serious and full of meaning” comic book elitism, now is as good a time as any to jump on.

STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10

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Review: AVENGERS – Whedon Strikes Out When It Counts

By

Matthew Sardo

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May 4, 2012

This will go down as one of the most hated movie reviews in comic book geek-land, but Joss Whedon’s Avengers was a beautiful film in the same way that James Cameron’s Avatar was an amazing film. Both films had great visuals but no substance.

The biggest criticism of the Marvel films so far is that they’re too campy. Not every comic book movie needs to be Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, but they do need to have a balance of serious and light moments. Maybe I want too much but I was not inspired to join the Avengers after the film. There is no moment in the film where I feel like the Avengers will ever lose. No suspense in a $250 million budget film means that they forgot to pay the writers when they were planning to blow-up Ohio. Which is a waste because the film is well casted and the actors bring their A-game.

The Avengers will make a billion dollars and kids will love it, but is wrong to ask for just a little more. The set-up of the film was good and the movie paced well for two plus hours but when the going gets tough and the Avengers need to rise up to save the day, the moment was hollow. This happens because Nick Fury cons them into the moment instead of Captain America kicking some ass. How hard is to write a Captain America inspirational speech?

The Avengers film does nothing to progress Steve Rogers as a character. When the film ends you learn nothing new about the character that you didn’t know already from the “Captain America” film. Rogers is the heart of the Avengers and whether is was the writers fault or the actors fault, there was no inspiration. There is a scene in the film when Captain America gets shot with a laser and Thor is getting tired, this could have been the instant when the Avengers pulled themselves up by their boot straps and make an inspirational moment but Whedon doesn’t swing the bat. Whedon directed the film very light and never attempted a suspenseful moment. The problem is there are at least five moments in the film when Whedon could stepped in and said, ”Hey guys, this is our Oscar moment so let make it happen.” The most inspiring moments are in the trailer and those moments are inspiring because the way the trailer is editing not the way the lines are delivered in the film.

The Avengers is a very solid B+ film, but they had many chances to hit the grand slam and struck out looking at the plate.

The best part is this film is that it will make and insane amount of money and a sequel will come out in a few years.

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The Avengers: Whedon and Company Deliver One Hell of a Fun Ride

By

Matthew Sardo

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May 4, 2012

the-avengers-mondo-poster — Mondo's Limited Edition Movie Poster

Review By Mike DeVivo

After more than 5 years of world Building Marvel’s The Avengers comes out today. Before watching the film I spent the last few days re watching Iron Man , Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 , Thor , and Captain America . Iron Man aside I felt at some point each of the other films had some glaring issues. My excitement for the film out weighed my concern however and I was looking forward to seeing what Joss Whedon had in store. After all the early screenings and overwhelming positive feedback I was sent into frenzy mode waiting to see this film. So is it any good?The answer is a resounding yes! More on that later , for now let me take you through the film without getting into major Spoilers.

Loki has returned by way of the Tesseract that was found while looking for Captain America. He obliterates S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters and with the help of some unexpected allies gets away with the Tesseract in hand. His plan is to open up a portal using the Tesseract so that he can unleash an Army upon Earth leaving him to Rule.

Fury out of Desperation decides to move forward with The Avengers Initiative. That is the basic core of the Movie. Joss Whedon focuses more so on character moments over Story which works well for most of The Avengers. He does pay close attention to detail even using all the past films as building blocks to progress the story. Standouts include Black Widow played by Scarlet Johannsen and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk. In fact movie goers have seen a group of Heroes who band together to save the world from certain disaster tons of times before . The plot isn’t what makes this movie so enjoyable its the characterization, writing , and acting that make this movie shine and turn it into Marvel’s crowning jewel along with their first film Iron Man. No one phones this movie in. You can tell of the actors enjoyed working on the project together and it shows in how much fun the movie is.

The action set pieces and Special effects are damn near perfect in execution. There were more than a few moments where the crowd in unison were clapping and cheering together which brought a smile to my face. The Chitauri in the film look great and I love the look of the Hulk in this Film. The last 30 min of this film had me grinning from ear to ear. Each Avenger has more than their share of awesome moments in the film.

There are a few minor complaints I’m going to point out. First I feel like Steve Rogers’ story never really progresses at all. It would have been nice to see possibly Sharon Carter inserted as Steve’s love interest to try to show another side of Steve Rogers. There are some small moments with Tony that could have been fleshed out and I know that Joss had mentioned that he cut at least 30-40 min off the film. Also a minor complaint but they never explain how Thor makes it back to Earth. After watching the films that’s a glaring issue that should be addressed considering how great Joss was with all the other plot lines from the past films and his attention to detail. Again these are minor nit picks about a movie that was nothing short of amazing

I’m honestly quite amazed at how well marvel was able to pull this off. There’s an intent and confidence in the writing that really shows off Whedon’s strengths as a director. Some people may feel like he hijack’s the movie a bit but I couldn’t imagine anyone else capable of delivering such a high quality product. Whedon and company remember that movies like this should have strong characterization first and most importantly showed that a Superhero Movie doesn’t have to just be “Dark” or “Hard Edged” to be good. I honestly cant wait to see this again myself. Oh and the mid credits scene sent me into sensory overload! This is a blue print for how to pull off a Summer Blockbuster in an intelligent and successful way. Run out and see this it will put a smile on your face regardless of what mood you’re in.

Review Score: 9.5/10

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots

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Review: Venom #17 – ‘Savage Six’ Begins!

By

Roger Riddell

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May 2, 2012

Venom #17
Writers: Rick Remender and Cullen Bunn
Art: Kev Walker [Pencils], Terry Pallot [Inks], Chris Sotomayor [Colors]

You’d think that after joining an Avengers team, things would be looking up for Flash Thompson. Unfortunately, he’s about to get the ride of his life thanks to team of six villains (sound familiar?).

If you’ve been keeping up, Crime-Master and Jack O’Lantern know that Flash is Venom. Deciding to end his issues with Crime-Master once and for all, Flash borrows the Venom symbiote from the Secret Avengers in order to kill the criminal mastermind. It’s one last hit and then he’s a hero for good, or so he thinks.

About to snipe the root of his problems during a meeting between Crime-Master, Jack O’Lantern, Human Fly, Death Adder, and Megatak, Venom is interrupted by an intruding Eddie Brock–the former Venom host who has been on a one-man crusade to kill all of the symbiotes.

Needless to say, things don’t go well for Venom or Brock.

Rick Remender and Cullen Bunn do a great job of setting up how much the odds are stacked against Flash–especially in the reveal on the issue’s final page–with the perfect balance of action and exposition. Remender in particular has made a point of having certain aspects of Flash’s role as Venom parallel aspects of Peter Parker’s role as Spider-Man, so it only makes sense that he should give Venom his own 6-villain team-up to face off against. After reading his first issue of Wolverine last week, the fact that Bunn is involved in this, as well, is icing on the cake, as it appears they are both prepared to drag Flash (and Eddie Brock, as well) through Hell and back.

Additionally, Kev Walker’s art is a great fit for this book. It has a gritty ’90s feel to it that works for the character and never feels too exaggerated, striking the right balance between realism and cartoon. The inks and colors–provided by Terry Pallot and Chris Sotomayor respectively–add to that grittiness, filling out the grim and bleak feel this storyline should have.

This is the perfect jumping-on point and one of the best issues of the series so far.

RATING: EXCELSIOR!

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Review: Amazing Spider-Man #685 – Versus the World

By

Roger Riddell

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May 2, 2012

Amazing Spider-Man #685
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba [Inks], Edgar Delgado [Colors]

With the promise of a permanent solution to global warming, Doctor Octopus has swayed the world and its peace-keeping forces against Spider-Man, who knows better than to trust Octavius’ word. Meanwhile, Spidey, Silver Sable, and Black Widow are making runs to shut down all of Doc Ock’s factories in a last-ditch effort to prevent him from launching his satellites.

Meanwhile, the remaining members of Ock’s latest Sinister Six–Mysterio, Chameleon, and Rhino–are beginning to have second thoughts about seeing Octavius’ scheme through now that they have $2 billion each in their offshore accounts. As a safety measure, Ock secretly contacts several more villains around the globe–one of whom isn’t the villain that Octavius thinks he is, and informs Spider-Man. In turn, Spider-Man organizes global countermeasures of his own with fellow heroes Union Jack, Sabra, Kangaroo, Big Hero 6, and the aforementioned not-quite-a-villain-after-all.

Whether or not these efforts are enough to prevent Ock’s true motives from coming to light is another question entirely.

With another solid issue in his “Ends of the Earth” storyline, Dan Slott shows just how high the deck is stacked against Spider-Man–and even how far the hero is willing to go to prevent global catastrophe in a Sandman interrogation scene. Slott also throws in another segment where the Silver Sable shows a romantic interest in Spider-Man (Anyone remember that old What If? issue where Spider-Man married Sable instead of Mary Jane?) and more hinting at the potential rekindling of the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson relationship.

Humberto Ramos keeps the story moving at a brisk pace and the panels transitioning smoothly. It can be easy to get lost between panels when there’s this much action going on, but Ramos avoids that pitfall for the reader entirely.

Now quit reading the reviews and go pick up the actual story!

RATING: EXCELSIOR!

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Review: Daredevil #11 – Omega Effect conclusion!

By

Roger Riddell

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April 25, 2012

Daredevil #11
Writer: Mark Waid
Art: Marco Checchetto, Matt Hollingsworth [Colorist]

Mark Waid wraps up his Avenging Spider-Man/Punisher/Daredevil “Omega Effect” crossover with Greg Rucka in Daredevil #11 with all of the elements that made the first two parts of the story so damn good intact.

Daredevil, having the Omega Drive (a nigh-indestructible drive made from unstable molecules and possessing intel on all of the Marvel Universe’s “Megacrime” cartels), teamed up with Spider-Man and the two formed an uneasy alliance with the Punisher and his ally, Rachel Cole-Alves. The goal of this alliance was simple–they would all lure out members of A.I.M., Hyrdra, Agence Byzantine, the Secret Empire, and the Exchange so that they could destroy the Omega Drive in front of them. Also, Punisher and Alves had to promise to use rubber bullets and not kill anyone because killing isn’t really Spider-Man or Daredevil’s thing.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan. Alves, a former Marine whose husband was murdered by the Exchange on her wedding day, double-crossed Daredevil as he was about to destroy the drive–giving him a rubber bullet to the back and escaping with the drive herself. With Punisher covering their exit, Spider-Man and Daredevil split up to find Alves and retrieve the drive.

Waid does a stellar job of presenting the story from Daredevil’s perspective (it is DD’s book, after all), exploring how Matt Murdock feels that he failed the Punisher by never being able to pull him back from the proverbial ledge before he went all the way over. Feeling he can do the same for Alves, we’ve seen Murdock try to talk sense into her once before in this crossover (during Rucka’s Punisher #10). Whether or not he gets through in this issue remains to be seen.

Marco Checchetto and Matt Hollingsworth continue to deliver the goods artistically. There really isn’t much I can say about it that I didn’t already touch on in my reviews for Avenging Spider-Man #6 and Punisher #10, so check those out, too.

What are you still reading this review for? GO PICK UP THIS CROSSOVER!

STORY: 10/10
ART: 10/10

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Review: Wolverine #305 – Something’s Rotten in Dunwich

By

Roger Riddell

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April 25, 2012

Wolverine #305
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Paul Pelletier [Pencils], David Meikis [Inker], Rain Beredo [Colorist]

The first issue under new writer Cullen Bunn, Wolverine #306 sees the return of an antagonist from previous scribe Jason Aaron’s Wolverine: Weapon X run.

Feds are investigating a cross-country killing spree, when a child who witnessed a New York slaying from a second-story apartment window draws a crayon sketch of the killer he saw–and the killer looks a lot like Wolverine. Cut to California and we find Logan in a bar, drowning his sorrows and shunning the advances of a server–because, you know, it’s never been that safe for “normal folks” to be around him.

He exits the bar reflecting upon this, as well as the fact that he’s been waking up in strange places, covered in gore and with no clue of what he’d done. Only one person could be responsible for this (well, maybe a few), but Logan somehow instinctively knows that Dr. Rot is behind it.

See, back in Wolverine: Weapon X, Dr. Rot operated a mental hospital known as Dunwich Sanitorium where he had a machine powered by dozens of disembodied brains that used to control the patients. Using this machine, he “strip-mined” Logan’s brain, leaving him unable to remember who he was or how he got there. He wanted to use Wolverine as his own personal killer, so he could, in turn, get even more brains.

Now, Rot is at it again, and as Logan heads to the now-vacated hospital to search for answers, the feds come calling at the Jean Grey School–where Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey are looking for answers of their own.

Too often, a character’s solo book and any team books they might be part of seem to exist in parallel universes. Bunn begins his Wolverine run on a strong note by continuing to keep Wolverine tied to Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men by doing one of the things that Aaron did best–acknowledging that Logan’s solo adventures don’t exist in a void. Additionally, his decision to use Dr. Rot allows him to deliver the visceral ultra-violence Wolverine is known for without just relying on that to carry the book.

The detail of Paul Pelletier, David Meikis, and Rain Beredo’s art isn’t to be overlooked, either. The Dunwich Sanitorium is as creepy as ever, and the blood and gore pops off of the pages.

Seeing one of your favorite writers leave one of your favorite books is never easy, but if this a precursor of things to come from Cullen Bunn, I think I’ll be fine.

STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10

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