Worse, now there's more of them. It's like four times the slut.
Showing posts with label Thunderbolts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thunderbolts. Show all posts
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Bill March 2, 2011
Hey everybody, I hope you're ready for the internet's most mis-named (and soon to be renamed, once I figure it out) comic review feature: The Bill. Let's check out what I got this week.
Just End Already:
Secret Warriors #25
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Alessandro Vitti
If you've been reading these reviews for any amount of time, you've probably noticed that I level a lot of hate on this book. In my defense, from it's bland characters to it's overly mysterious story, there's not a whole lot to love. So why do I keep buying it? Because I refuse to let this series beat me! That and it's going to end here soon. My morbid curiosity about the ending and secret hope that it'll tie everything up in a neat bow keeps me around. Terrible reasoning, I know.
Anyway, in this issue, we get a bit of history on the relationship of the major players in the book. Long story short, it seems that someone from the other Hickman SHIELD series (search me as to who. Maybe that kid who was all powerful and who's dad dressed in bondage gear?) brought these major spies together to collect some shit for him only for it to go awry and result in three warring factions (Hydra, SHIELD, and Leviathan). In all honesty, it's a nice little continuity dovetail with the other SHIELD series and almost makes me want to go pick it up for background. Almost.
The problems are all ones that I've mentioned before: An overly murky plot, the characters are bland and uninteresting, and it's just plain confusing. Combined with some continuity rejiggering (I think there might be a retcon in this issue, but I'm not 100% sure) and an ending that just feels out of place, this is one of the most unsatisfying reads in a while.
Can't wait for the next one.
Now That's More Like It:
Thunderbolts #154
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Declan Shalvey
I love this book. Between this and Avengers Academy (which also came out this week, make sure you go buy it!), Marvel's really tearing it up when it comes to awesome team books. Even if this month's Thunderbolts is a character spotlight on Man-Thing, but you know, whatever.
There's nothing about this one that's hard to like. Salamander riding extradimensionals start killing innocents in the everglades only to be turned back by that which is neither plant or man (but incredibly similar to Swamp Thing). A bit of action, some nice character moments with Man-Thing, and some phenomenal art from Declan Shalvey make this a book to look out for.
The only downside with this book, if it's really a downside, is that I feel like they're treading water until the next event. It's a cool look at the most quiet character of the team, but I couldn't help but to wish that it had more impact on the larger narrative. It was solid, but I wonder if it wouldn't serve the same purpose as a six page back up as opposed to a full on story when there's only so much time before the next big Marvel Crossover takes the book off the rails again.
Seriously though, check out this series. It's fantastic. The complete opposite of Secret Warriors.
And there you have it. If you want to challenge my Secret Warriors hate, ask me about Avengers Academy (again, go buy it. Seriously!), or have any recommendations of other non-shitty books I could be reading, I'm all ears.
Until next time!
Just End Already:
Secret Warriors #25
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Alessandro Vitti
If you've been reading these reviews for any amount of time, you've probably noticed that I level a lot of hate on this book. In my defense, from it's bland characters to it's overly mysterious story, there's not a whole lot to love. So why do I keep buying it? Because I refuse to let this series beat me! That and it's going to end here soon. My morbid curiosity about the ending and secret hope that it'll tie everything up in a neat bow keeps me around. Terrible reasoning, I know.
Anyway, in this issue, we get a bit of history on the relationship of the major players in the book. Long story short, it seems that someone from the other Hickman SHIELD series (search me as to who. Maybe that kid who was all powerful and who's dad dressed in bondage gear?) brought these major spies together to collect some shit for him only for it to go awry and result in three warring factions (Hydra, SHIELD, and Leviathan). In all honesty, it's a nice little continuity dovetail with the other SHIELD series and almost makes me want to go pick it up for background. Almost.
The problems are all ones that I've mentioned before: An overly murky plot, the characters are bland and uninteresting, and it's just plain confusing. Combined with some continuity rejiggering (I think there might be a retcon in this issue, but I'm not 100% sure) and an ending that just feels out of place, this is one of the most unsatisfying reads in a while.
Can't wait for the next one.
Now That's More Like It:
Thunderbolts #154
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Declan Shalvey
I love this book. Between this and Avengers Academy (which also came out this week, make sure you go buy it!), Marvel's really tearing it up when it comes to awesome team books. Even if this month's Thunderbolts is a character spotlight on Man-Thing, but you know, whatever.
There's nothing about this one that's hard to like. Salamander riding extradimensionals start killing innocents in the everglades only to be turned back by that which is neither plant or man (but incredibly similar to Swamp Thing). A bit of action, some nice character moments with Man-Thing, and some phenomenal art from Declan Shalvey make this a book to look out for.
The only downside with this book, if it's really a downside, is that I feel like they're treading water until the next event. It's a cool look at the most quiet character of the team, but I couldn't help but to wish that it had more impact on the larger narrative. It was solid, but I wonder if it wouldn't serve the same purpose as a six page back up as opposed to a full on story when there's only so much time before the next big Marvel Crossover takes the book off the rails again.
Seriously though, check out this series. It's fantastic. The complete opposite of Secret Warriors.
And there you have it. If you want to challenge my Secret Warriors hate, ask me about Avengers Academy (again, go buy it. Seriously!), or have any recommendations of other non-shitty books I could be reading, I'm all ears.
Until next time!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The Bill September 15, 2010
Another super slow week for me this week. I know, I know, I should almost put this feature on hiatus until I can figure out how to rework it.
But that would be quitting. And momma didn't raise no quitter!
Instead, let's look at what I did get and why I haven't been buying a lot lately (which isn't at all related to lack of work, I promise!)...
Buy of the Week:
Thunderbolts #148
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Declan Shalvey
Man, Thunderbolts is GREAT! Great pacing, great art, great characters, great premise. Even when they have a fill-in artist liek Declan Shalvey, it still looks totally amazing. I wish there was more of it every month, there's just too much story for one book! It also doesn't help when they get pulled into a line wide crossover.
Here's the thing, I love it when my Marvel Universe crosses over with itself; it makes me feel like everything that's happening is real and impactful (which is part of my problem with Young Allies, but I digress). That said, it's weird when I'm not reading the big central story line.
Disassembled, House of M, Civil War, World War Hulk, Secret Invasion, Siege; I was in the thick of it for all of those, for better or worse. I felt like I needed to so I could understand the books I love so much. And then there were the smaller events, mainly the X events, that I thought I could ignore and not miss much.
Apparently not so with Shadowland.
It hit me today as I was reading this Shadowland tie-in that Shadowland is actually a pretty big event. So much for it being a small family book crossover, I guess. Or maybe it's my fault for reading a bunch of street level books?
The point is I put together why I haven't been buying so much lately: I'm not buying into the big event. Normally, like with Siege, I bought a good chunk of extra books to keep up, which meant I had more to talk about during reviews. But since I'm not getting this one, suddenly my comic buying has shriveled to it's normal levels, unbolstered by big events.
It makes me feel kinda empty.
So there's the other problem. We're smack dab in the middle of this thing. Do I go buy up all the issues I missed? That seems dumb. The only answer I see is to hold tight for the next big event and never let this happen again. That, or do something really silly like buy something that's not Marvel.
Buy something other than Marvel? I say crazy things sometimes...
Can't wait for Chaos War! WOOO House of Ideas!
Opinions on my little Shadowland rant are greatly appreciated. Am I missing something awesome? Should I be buying it all? I'm thinking I should at least read the Power Man book, if for nothing else than the awesomeness that is Fred Van Lente.
Next week should be back to normal, so instead of reading my rants about crossovers, you can read my rants about hating Bendis. Try not to get too excited in the meantime.
But that would be quitting. And momma didn't raise no quitter!
Instead, let's look at what I did get and why I haven't been buying a lot lately (which isn't at all related to lack of work, I promise!)...
Buy of the Week:
Thunderbolts #148Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Declan Shalvey
Man, Thunderbolts is GREAT! Great pacing, great art, great characters, great premise. Even when they have a fill-in artist liek Declan Shalvey, it still looks totally amazing. I wish there was more of it every month, there's just too much story for one book! It also doesn't help when they get pulled into a line wide crossover.
Here's the thing, I love it when my Marvel Universe crosses over with itself; it makes me feel like everything that's happening is real and impactful (which is part of my problem with Young Allies, but I digress). That said, it's weird when I'm not reading the big central story line.
Disassembled, House of M, Civil War, World War Hulk, Secret Invasion, Siege; I was in the thick of it for all of those, for better or worse. I felt like I needed to so I could understand the books I love so much. And then there were the smaller events, mainly the X events, that I thought I could ignore and not miss much.
Apparently not so with Shadowland.
It hit me today as I was reading this Shadowland tie-in that Shadowland is actually a pretty big event. So much for it being a small family book crossover, I guess. Or maybe it's my fault for reading a bunch of street level books?
The point is I put together why I haven't been buying so much lately: I'm not buying into the big event. Normally, like with Siege, I bought a good chunk of extra books to keep up, which meant I had more to talk about during reviews. But since I'm not getting this one, suddenly my comic buying has shriveled to it's normal levels, unbolstered by big events.
It makes me feel kinda empty.
So there's the other problem. We're smack dab in the middle of this thing. Do I go buy up all the issues I missed? That seems dumb. The only answer I see is to hold tight for the next big event and never let this happen again. That, or do something really silly like buy something that's not Marvel.
Buy something other than Marvel? I say crazy things sometimes...
Can't wait for Chaos War! WOOO House of Ideas!
Opinions on my little Shadowland rant are greatly appreciated. Am I missing something awesome? Should I be buying it all? I'm thinking I should at least read the Power Man book, if for nothing else than the awesomeness that is Fred Van Lente.
Next week should be back to normal, so instead of reading my rants about crossovers, you can read my rants about hating Bendis. Try not to get too excited in the meantime.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Bill July 21, 2010
Super super quick reviews tonight because everything was so great I just couldn't not say anything. So let's get to it!
Change of format too, I'm just going to rundown what I got and what I thought.
1- Avengers #3. Starting to fall into that Bendis I don't like where the story stagnates for three issues before an unsatisfactory ending. Maybe it would be a good idea to make your villains show up more than just a cameo in the first issue. Just saying.
2- Scott Pilgrim in his Finest Hour. Super great! I want to read them all in one sitting, just in case I missed anything, but I liked it. Even if I didn't totally get all that 'glow' nonsense.
3- Thunderbolts #146. I need this book to come out faster than once a month. The writing and art is super fantastic, one of the best books out there right now.
4- Prince of Power # 3. Whenever this thing comes out, I'm surprised at how clever it is. Case in point, my favorite page of the week and the aftermath of Amadeus getting the Egyptian goddess of destruction drunk:
What a fantastic way to kick off the convention. Speaking of, don't forget to follow me on twitter and/or try to run in to me on the floor. I think I'll be wearing my Aargvark shirt.
See you soon!
Change of format too, I'm just going to rundown what I got and what I thought.
1- Avengers #3. Starting to fall into that Bendis I don't like where the story stagnates for three issues before an unsatisfactory ending. Maybe it would be a good idea to make your villains show up more than just a cameo in the first issue. Just saying.
2- Scott Pilgrim in his Finest Hour. Super great! I want to read them all in one sitting, just in case I missed anything, but I liked it. Even if I didn't totally get all that 'glow' nonsense.
3- Thunderbolts #146. I need this book to come out faster than once a month. The writing and art is super fantastic, one of the best books out there right now.
4- Prince of Power # 3. Whenever this thing comes out, I'm surprised at how clever it is. Case in point, my favorite page of the week and the aftermath of Amadeus getting the Egyptian goddess of destruction drunk:
What a fantastic way to kick off the convention. Speaking of, don't forget to follow me on twitter and/or try to run in to me on the floor. I think I'll be wearing my Aargvark shirt.
See you soon!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Bill June 23, 2010
Are you ready to hear my ranting on this week's books? Well too bad because it's time for you're new favorite comic blog reviews: The Bill!
Best of the Week:
Thunderbolts #145
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Kev Walker
When I was through with this book, I couldn't believe that it was only 22 pages. It's been forever since a book truly felt packed with action, and Jeff Parker really pulled out all the stops with this one. Parker has done in two issues what some writers **couBENDISgh** would stretch into six to ten.
In this issue, The Thunderbolts: fight Baron Zemo, learn it was all a test, meet the new warden (a laid up, and newly armless John Walker), get a mission briefing, and fight some Asgardian trolls. It felt epic when compared to most of the other books on the stands.
It also doesn't hurt that Parker handles all the characters amazingly well. Everyone sounds more in-character than they have for years, from Moonstone's eagerness to please to Songbird's desire to be seen as a hero. Even with all of the crazy action happening, Parker was still able to cram in the tiny character moments that make reading the book so worth it.
This is, hands down, the best Thunderbolts has been in a while. From the gorgeous art from Kev Walker, to Jeff Parker's deft storytelling, it's quickly becoming my favorite book of the month.
Not-Quite-The-Best of the Week:
Avengers #2
Writer: Brian Bendis
Artist: John Romita Jr.
First things first: This is a really solid read; a lot happens, there's a couple of fights, some cool cameos (Spider-Girl!), and a great reveal on the last page. If I had to compare this to say, Dark Avengers #2, it's night and day. Avengers #2 is totally old-school Avengers adventures through the pen of Bendis. And that's kinda the problem.
I know I give Bendis a lot of shit, and I don't REALLY mean to. He has really solid ideas, really solid characterization, and normally great character moments. This issue it all became a bit much. Somewhere along the way all the fun quips became just snarky and mean.
The main offender in this was Tony Stark. Tony's a tough character to get right, he needs to be equal parts suave, smart, and arrogant without seeming like too much of a dick. In this issue, he just seemed like a dick. From his dismissive attitude when he meets Noh-Varr (The Protector), to insisting Noh-Varr work for him, Tony seemed like more of a jerk than he should have. It just kinda rubbed me the wrong way.
In addition to this, everyone stopped to talk about how time was broken for five pages. So, spoilers, the future Hulk gets angry and breaks time somehow, which no one quite understands. FOR FIVE PAGES. I get that it's a hard concept to grasp, but it just came across as... repetitive. I kinda got annoyed, if you couldn't tell.
Aside from all of that, it was a pretty good issue though and I like this new 'cool comic book stuff happens every issue' mode Bendis is in. He should keep it up.
And there you go. If you want to know about my other two books (Franken-Castle or Secret Warriors), my new minimates (Stilt-Man rocks my face!), or just want to see how I'm doing (fine, thank you for asking), drop me a comment. Otherwise, I'll see you (figuratively) next time.
Best of the Week:
Thunderbolts #145Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Kev Walker
When I was through with this book, I couldn't believe that it was only 22 pages. It's been forever since a book truly felt packed with action, and Jeff Parker really pulled out all the stops with this one. Parker has done in two issues what some writers **couBENDISgh** would stretch into six to ten.
In this issue, The Thunderbolts: fight Baron Zemo, learn it was all a test, meet the new warden (a laid up, and newly armless John Walker), get a mission briefing, and fight some Asgardian trolls. It felt epic when compared to most of the other books on the stands.
It also doesn't hurt that Parker handles all the characters amazingly well. Everyone sounds more in-character than they have for years, from Moonstone's eagerness to please to Songbird's desire to be seen as a hero. Even with all of the crazy action happening, Parker was still able to cram in the tiny character moments that make reading the book so worth it.
This is, hands down, the best Thunderbolts has been in a while. From the gorgeous art from Kev Walker, to Jeff Parker's deft storytelling, it's quickly becoming my favorite book of the month.
Not-Quite-The-Best of the Week:
Avengers #2Writer: Brian Bendis
Artist: John Romita Jr.
First things first: This is a really solid read; a lot happens, there's a couple of fights, some cool cameos (Spider-Girl!), and a great reveal on the last page. If I had to compare this to say, Dark Avengers #2, it's night and day. Avengers #2 is totally old-school Avengers adventures through the pen of Bendis. And that's kinda the problem.
I know I give Bendis a lot of shit, and I don't REALLY mean to. He has really solid ideas, really solid characterization, and normally great character moments. This issue it all became a bit much. Somewhere along the way all the fun quips became just snarky and mean.
The main offender in this was Tony Stark. Tony's a tough character to get right, he needs to be equal parts suave, smart, and arrogant without seeming like too much of a dick. In this issue, he just seemed like a dick. From his dismissive attitude when he meets Noh-Varr (The Protector), to insisting Noh-Varr work for him, Tony seemed like more of a jerk than he should have. It just kinda rubbed me the wrong way.
In addition to this, everyone stopped to talk about how time was broken for five pages. So, spoilers, the future Hulk gets angry and breaks time somehow, which no one quite understands. FOR FIVE PAGES. I get that it's a hard concept to grasp, but it just came across as... repetitive. I kinda got annoyed, if you couldn't tell.
Aside from all of that, it was a pretty good issue though and I like this new 'cool comic book stuff happens every issue' mode Bendis is in. He should keep it up.
And there you go. If you want to know about my other two books (Franken-Castle or Secret Warriors), my new minimates (Stilt-Man rocks my face!), or just want to see how I'm doing (fine, thank you for asking), drop me a comment. Otherwise, I'll see you (figuratively) next time.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Things I Like: Thunderbolts!
You know what's crazy? The fact that the Thunderbolts is still around. Not just around, but a core component of the Marvel Universe. Not bad for a gimmick team launched in the 90s.
I don't mean that to come off as harsh as it sounds. I'm honestly just shocked that it's still around. Of all the lasting concepts floating around the Marvel offices, if you had told me that one of the neo-classics would be Thunderbolts back in 1996 I would have laughed you out of the state.
Well, maybe not. I was pretty young and impressionable. And there was no accounting for my taste, if my huge X-Force collection is any indication.
Back to the point, I'm shocked that this happened.
Did you know that in seven issues, Thunderbolts will become the second longest non-X team book in the Marvel line? Right now that title is held by The Defenders, and it's looking like it'll secede it's title within the year.
Crazy!
I'm actually pretty excited for The Thunderbolts. For a book that had everything stacked against it (a gimmick, the 1990s, no X in the title), it did really well surviving the times and becoming the integral part of the universe it is today. And now with the inclusion of one of my favorite characters, a new direction, and a great creative team the future seems to be super shiny for this almost 15(!!) year-old team.
Now start reading it so they don't go canceling it on me.
I don't mean that to come off as harsh as it sounds. I'm honestly just shocked that it's still around. Of all the lasting concepts floating around the Marvel offices, if you had told me that one of the neo-classics would be Thunderbolts back in 1996 I would have laughed you out of the state.
Well, maybe not. I was pretty young and impressionable. And there was no accounting for my taste, if my huge X-Force collection is any indication.
Back to the point, I'm shocked that this happened.
Did you know that in seven issues, Thunderbolts will become the second longest non-X team book in the Marvel line? Right now that title is held by The Defenders, and it's looking like it'll secede it's title within the year.
Crazy!
I'm actually pretty excited for The Thunderbolts. For a book that had everything stacked against it (a gimmick, the 1990s, no X in the title), it did really well surviving the times and becoming the integral part of the universe it is today. And now with the inclusion of one of my favorite characters, a new direction, and a great creative team the future seems to be super shiny for this almost 15(!!) year-old team.
Now start reading it so they don't go canceling it on me.
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