Thursday, October 8, 2015

Comic Book Wrap Up

I've read a lot of comic books over the last month or so. Instead of individual reviews, I decided to tackle them all in one fell swoop. I give you, the mini-reviews!


The Reviews:

Thor: God of Thunder, Vol. 4: The Last Days of MidgardThor: God of Thunder, Vol. 4: The Last Days of Midgard by Jason Aaron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This started off with an almost shove-down-your-throat 'save the planet!' spiel that almost put me off, but once you realize Thor's battle with Roxxon will involve a CEO nicknamed 'the Minotaur' it took a much better Marvel turn. The second half of the story is an epic battle between King Thor and Galactus over a dead Midgard, the effects of which I cannot wait to witness.

As the end of Aaron's God of Thunder run, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The best part of this last volume is that it leads right up to his new Goddess of Thunder series and actually made me intrigued to read it. I've been ducking it ever since I heard they were going to replace Thor, but finding out it's apparently a temporary thing, I'm much more eager to give it a gander.

View all my reviews


Nightwing, Vol. 1: Traps and TrapezesNightwing, Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes by Kyle Higgins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dick Grayson rejoins the circus he grew up in -at least long enough to figure out why Mr. Haley wants him to have it and the dark secret that seems to lurk in the big top.

This was a fun story, though some of the issues did feel a bit like anime filler episodes. They detracted from the overall story -what's going on with Haley's Circus?- and were just underdeveloped enough they felt jarring.

The volume does appear to play into a bigger story line in the DC arsenal, which I'm not familiar with, so DC regulars probably won't want to miss this.


 
Gotham Academy, Vol. 1: Welcome to Gotham AcademyGotham Academy, Vol. 1: Welcome to Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

LOVE THIS! This story is like candy and there isn't enough in the bowl to satisfy my craving. When can I get my hands on the next volume?!

Gotham Academy is a private school -whose alumni boasts no other than Bruce Wayne- but a group of students is beginning to realize it's embroiled in a mystery of Gotham's sordid past. And what about Olive Silverlock? She used to be a normal girl, but something happened over the summer, something changed her. Something she can't quite remember. It had something to do with her mother. And Batman.

She hates Batman.

This has everything from ghosts and dark rituals, to secret passages, to boarding school shenanigans and the ever-lingering question of what happened to Olive and why is Bruce Wayne keeping such a close eye on her?



Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor, Vol. 1: Revolutions of TerrorDoctor Who: The Tenth Doctor, Vol. 1: Revolutions of Terror by Nick Abadzis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic job keeping Ten believable and in-character. The stories feel like they've escaped from missing episode scripts and the Doctor's new companion doesn't feel like a repeat of any of his counterparts from the show. Wholly original stories, completely in-tune with the show's feel and quality.



Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor, Vol. 1: After LifeDoctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor, Vol. 1: After Life by Al Ewing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic job keeping Eleven believable and in-character. The stories feel like they've escaped from missing episode scripts and the Doctor's new companion doesn't feel like a repeat of any of his counterparts from the show. She has some of Donna's spunk, which I love.
Wholly original stories, completely in-tune with the show's feel and quality.



Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Vol. 1Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Vol. 1 by Robbie Morrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was enjoying this comic just as much as the Ten and Eleven ones, especially since they gave us a story line involving one of the Doctor's old (old, old) friends, wrapped up in Indian culture and mythology (!!!), but I was put off by the addition of several homosexual characters, which ruined the story for me.

They still did a good job keeping Twelve believable and in-character. Wholly original stories, completely in-tune with the show's feel and quality.



Ant-Man, Vol. 1: Second-Chance ManAnt-Man, Vol. 1: Second-Chance Man by Nick Spencer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you liked the movie, you'll like this.

I love Scott Lang. He's funny and clever and so sincere. The only thing he wants in the whole world is to be a good father and that's the one thing that never seems to work out. He tries so hard, again and again, and that's another thing I love about his character.

It amuses me that characters in the Marvel universe tend to mock or tease Ant-Man. He's considered a low-grade super. Appropriately, he tends to run in to other low-grade characters, like Grizzly, a (cough-reformed-cough) villain.

While this is by no means the beginning of Scott Lang's story (recently back form the dead? Teenage Cassie?) but Spencer does great feeding you enough back story info that you get the gist.

View all my reviews

Have you read any great comic books lately? Share in the comments!

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