Bit of a mixed bag, this week. Also rather delayed – sorry about that, but I was moving and packing up all my stuff in NYC, so things got a little delayed and pushed back. This week’s there’s a massive (though predictable) disappointment, but also a couple of interesting and well-done comics. Also, one of my favourite series comes to an end.
Reviewed: Action Comics #10, Batman: Detective Comics #10, Cobra #14, Incorruptible #30, Star Wars: Knight Errant – Escape #1, Valen the Outcast #7
A few catch-ups and one really early review of a new series by one of my favourite comics’ writers. This was another pretty busy week, so while I tried to get as many of the comics reviewed as I could, some nevertheless had to be culled from the list. Some of these I was sent for review, so they will be read and reviewed at a later date. I just wanted to get the reviews of these issues up ASAP.
This is also one of the last weeks I’ll be reviewing individual DC issues for a while (I may do a couple more next week), as I’m heading back to the UK mid-June. I’m still working on coming back to the US if possible – Alyssa’s here for another four years, so my desperate quest for employment in or around New York continues! I’m almost at the point of begging, but that would be rather unseemly and undignified.
[*cough* … Please help … *cough*]
Anyway, on with the reviews!
Reviewed: Avengers vs. X-Men #4, AvX VS #2, Batman: The Dark Knight #9, Batwoman #9, BPRD: Hell on Earth – Transformation of J.H. O’Donnell, Call of Wonderland #1, The Defenders #6, Massive #1, Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow #13, Star Wars: Blood Ties – Boba Fett is Dead #1-2, Superman #9, Wolverine & the X-Men #10
Here’s a quick, extra comics round-up for four issues I managed to catch up on recently. As you can gather from the title, it focuses on two on-going story “events”, one from DC and one from Marvel. I have very different feelings for the two of them.
Reviewed: Avengers vs. X-Men #3, Batgirl #9, Batman #9, Batman & Robin #9
This week I bring you some weird supernatural goings-on, a triumvirate of super-heroes try to save New York City, a vampire slayer goes into space, some anthropomorphised dinosaurs kick butt, the history of the Jedi is expanded on, and an undead king fights an army of pissed off warrior-women.
So, a bit of a mix, then…
Reviewed: BPRD Hell On Earth: Devil’s Engine #1, Daredevil #11, FCBD Buffy/Guild, FCBD Star Wars/Serenity, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi #4, Valen the Outcast #6
’tis the week of new debuts!
Some of these have been highly anticipated for a while, ever since DC announced the second wave of New 52 titles, and ever since Dynamite announced the return of The Spider. Some issues I thought were meant to be out this week actually weren’t, so I think I’ll probably get them next week – Mind the Gap and Fury Max are the two titles in mind. I decided against buying G.I.Combat, the other second-wave New 52 title released this week. I just didn’t think it looked very good. Perhaps I’ll try it at a later date (same goes for Action Comics #9). But probably not.
Reviewed: Batman: Dark Knight #8, Batman: Detective Comics #9, Dial H #1, Earth Two #1, Epic Kill #1, Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends #16, New Avengers #24, The Spider #1, Superman #8, World’s Finest #1
[Titles in Bold are my Picks of the Week.]
This turned out to be a longer post than anticipated, just because I was so slow about reviewing things on time – for a pleasant change, other commitments got in the way of my comics-reading this week. Better late than never, though, so read on for a bumper comics round-up! There were some great issues this week, too.
Reviewed: Alice #5, All-Star Western #8, AvX: VS #1, Catwoman #8, I Vampire #8, Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends #15, Justice League #8, Justice League Dark #8, New Deadwardians #2, The Portent #4, Road Rage #3, Snake Eyes #12, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi #3
Some big things happening in this collection of comics – we have the next salvo in the battle between the Avengers and the X-Men over the fate of Hope and the Phoenix Force; two introductions to the Night of the Owls Batman event; some voodoo shenanigans in New Orleans; the beginning of an adaptation of a mega-selling crime thriller; a continuing epic space opera; UFOs and American politics; and a broken mutant. All-in-all, an excellent week.
Sadly, with my new strict budget, I wasn’t able to get the other exciting issues released this week – specifically, Justice League #8, Catwoman #8, Red Hood & The Outlaws #8, Defenders #5, Dawn of the Jedi #3, No Place Like Home #3, Secret #1 and Manhattan Projects #2. Maybe in the future, during a quieter week.
Reviewed Herein: Avengers vs. X-Men #2, Batman #8, Nightwing #8, Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #2, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo #1, Saga #2, Saucer Country #2, Wolverine & the X-Men #8
A pretty solid collection of varied comics: twisted fairy tales, fantasy, super-heroes, and horror. I wasn’t organised enough to get them all reviewed for a Tuesday post, so I was able to add a few more titles. There were actually going to be more from last week, but both of my go-to comic stores in New York had completely sold out of Saga #2 and Resurrection Man #8. I decided to cut back on a few of the others, too. For example, I decided that I’ll wait for Suicide Squad, Grifter and Demon Knights to be available as collections.
Reviewed: Alice #4, Batgirl #8, Batman & Robin #8, Batwoman #8, Dungeons & Dragons 2012 Annual, Irredeemable #36, Jungle Book #2, Secret Service #1, Star Wars: Agent of the Empire #5, The Theater #5
A rather quick round-up – these were all interesting issues but, with the exception of Cobra, they all felt as if they were missing something important to make them gripping and necessary. Perhaps it was a lack of forward movement of the story; or a slight hitch in the plot due to lack of explanation; or, as in the case of one of them, just a big difference in sense of humour. Whatever it was, only Cobra really hooked me and lived up to previous issues.
Reviewed Herein: Cobra #12, Iron Muslim, Smoke & Mirrors #2, Supurbia #2
This was going to be a short-and-sweet second round-up, but it turned out I had a fair bit to write about a couple of these issues. It’s a pleasantly varied selection in this post: the world’s greatest super-hero accepts his destiny; things finally kick off between the Avengers and the X-Men; young super-hero sidekicks find themselves as Earth’s last line of defence; fear runs through Gotham; and the zany super-science-heroes finally come to the end of their story!
Reviewed: Action Comics #8, Avengers vs. X-Men #1, Danger Club #1, Detective Comics #8, Fairest #2, Hell Yeah #2, X-Club #5
A very good, diverse week of comics: spies, twisted fairy tales, undead kings, real American heroes, superheroes, and also zombies. Covers most of the bases.
Reviewed Herein: Danger Girl: Revolver #3, Fanboys vs. Zombies #1, G.I.Joe #12, Grimm Fairy Tales #71, Grimm Fairy Tales: April Fool’s Special 2012, Grimm Fairy Tales: The Library #5, Incorruptible #28, Infestation 2: 30 Days of Night, Supurbia #2, Valen the Outcast #5, The Waking: Dreams End #1, Wolverine & the X-Men #7
[Supurbia #2 review delayed until later in the week]
A great collection this week, as more of the DC New 52 move into their seventh month – Batman throws down with Bane, more 19th Century Gotham adventures, the rise of the Vampires, and Superman squares off against a new villain and troubles in his ‘day job’. A handful of Zenescope titles continue in fine form. Zombies in London. And Marvel’s series-spanning mega-event finally kicks off.
I’m going to be adding more images from the previews available for many of these issues, in order to give people a better idea of what the artwork is like – I’m starting to wonder if the limited vocabulary I have to accurately and appropriately describe some of the artists’ styles isn’t broad enough. So, a bit more of a work-in-progress, but I’m still trying to figure out the best way to do these round-ups.
Reviewed Herein: All-Star Western #7, Avengers vs. X-Men #0, Batman: Dark Knight #7, Grimm Fairy Tales #70, Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends #14, I Vampire #7, Jurassic Strike Force 5 #3, Justice League Dark #7, New Deadwardians #1, Superman #7
A smaller selection of comics all ’round this week (in this and the upcoming second round-up), with just four that caught my attention. They are, however, from three series I am particularly fond of, so that’s a good thing. I’ve also started writing shorter reviews, now that the series are becoming more established and I don’t want to offer up too many spoilers.
Reviewed Herein: G.I.Joe: Cobra #11, Magic: The Gathering #3, The Portent #2-3
Another mixed bag, though this time rather Marvel- and IDW-heavy. (The week’s second round-up will be a lot more diverse.) I enjoyed most of these comics, but for some reason a couple didn’t really ignite my usual level of interest. I’m not sure if this is a result of lingering Man Flu symptoms, or if a couple of these issues just didn’t stack up to past experience. Regardless, let us get on with the reviews in this first (slightly late) Comics Round-Up…
Reviewed Herein: Avengers Assemble #1, Defenders #4, Infestation: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2, Memorial #4, Monocyte #3, Road Rage #2, Smoke & Mirrors #1, Snake Eyes #11, Amazing Spider-Man #680-1
Now that I’ve caught up with DC’s New 52, a few of them will start popping up in these post-release round-ups again. I should, therefore, be able to start offering more diverse and less DC-heavy round-ups and reviews in the future. That being said, they still release a lot of great titles and some of my favourites. And this week’s releases – DC and otherwise – were pretty awesome on the whole. A very happy reader, here.
Reviewed Herein: Batgirl #7, Batman & Robin #7, Batwoman #7, Demon Knights #7, Grifter #7, The Ray #4, Resurrection Man #7, Saga #1, Saucer Country #1, Star Wars: Agent of the Empire #4, Suicide Squad #7, Thief of Thieves #2
[Demon Knights & The Ray were last-minute additions to the round-up.]
A later-than-intended round-up of some new and recent Zenescope releases. Alice’s weird-and-wonderful adventures in Wonderland continue; Sela’s troubles unfold in Grimm Fairy Tales as a nefarious plot comes closer to fruition; a brand new, intriguing adaptation and re-imagining of the Jungle Book; and an extension of an alternative Hook story.
Reviewed Herein: Alice #3, Grimm Fairy Tales #67-69, Jungle Book #1, Neverland: Hook #4
Today I bring you an eclectic bunch of comics. A lot of great ones, too: military action and adventure, a beastly retelling of a fairy tale, more superheroes-gone-bad, real housewives of superheroes, ninja turtles, and fantasy. This was a very enjoyable selection to read.
I’ll be doing another comics round-up later in the week, after I’m able to get hold of some new Marvel, DC, Vertigo, and Image comics (list at the end).
Reviewed herein: G.I.Joe #11, Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends #13, Irredeemable #35, Supurbia #1, Infestation 2: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, Valen the Outcast #4
Before I get to the reviews, I wanted to write a quick comment about The Road Ahead in terms of comic reviews on Civilian Reader: The weekly round-ups are probably going to become shorter. There are fewer on-going series I want to read in short chunks, so I’m going to start focusing on just a handful of my favourites, but also some single first issues, maybe mini-series, and a few Three Issue Tests – this means I’m going to be a lot more discerning and brutal when it comes to deciding on whether or not to keep buying monthly issues.
[Titles I receive for review from the publishers will, of course, still feature, but will still be addressed and reviewed as if I’d bought them myself – same standards, same potential vis-a-vis Three Issue Tests, and so forth.]
This week, I bring you an unhinged, super-powered loser, a team of super-powered protectors, the hunt for a rogue paramilitary terrorist outfit, some transdimensional magic, and some KGB agents belatedly activated after the war is over.
Reviewed Herein: The Cape #4, The Defenders #2-3, G.I.Joe: Real American Hero Annual, Magic: The Gathering #2, Pigs Vol.01
Another varied, bumper comics round-up this week. Early on, it seemed to be leaning a bit Wolverine-heavy, but as Wednesday rolled around, I realised there was plenty of other stuff available that was of interest. This round-up manages to tick off most of the comic genres: sci-fi, superheroes, fantasy, action heroes and villains, humorous espionage, and even a geek-fantasy. So, without further ado, let us move right on to the reviews…
Reviewed Herein: Brilliant #1-2, Danger Girl: Revolver #2, GIJoe: Cobra #10, Incorruptible #27, Infestation: Dungeons & Dragons #2, The Ray #2-3, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – War #1-2, Witchblade/Red Sonja #1, Wolverine #20 & #300, Wolverine & The X-Men #5, X-Club #2-3, X-Sanction #3
While I was away, Dark Horse comics started a new Star Wars series – Agent of the Empire – which received a lot of good reviews. Being the semi-rabid fan of Star Wars–related books that I am, I decided I had to check it out, along with the other new series that started this week, Dawn of the Jedi. And both of these new series are pretty great. So good, in fact, that I am strongly considering trying out some others (especially the other new series, War).
Reviewed herein: Agent of the Empire #1-3, Dawn of the Jedi #1
