Comic Reviews
It has been a while since I posted reviews and I was letting the issues pile up. To get myself caught up, I've decided to just review the comics I got this last week, which since I hadn't been to the comic shop in over a month, was quite a few. Today, I review:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #5
Gargoyles #3-5
Green Lantern Corps #14
Green Lantern #22
Superman #665
Superman/Batman #38
Action Comics #852 & 853
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #5 (Dark Horse Comics)- I'm a fan of linear storytelling. I hate it when stories jump all over the place in the timeline. This story does that. It does have some real cool moments hinting at what life is like for Slayers not named Buffy, but was generally not as good as the earlier issues. (3.5/5 stars)
Gargoyles #3-5 (Slave Labor Graphics)- The creator of the series presents the first new canon Gargoyles stories since the show ended this issue. The comic continuity ignores season three (The Goliath Chronicles) of the show and the first two issues retold the first episode of the Season Three, the only episode of that season that will stay in canon. The writing, of course, perfectly captures the show and I can still here the voice actors in my head as I read. The comic is also bringing a lot of characters from the show back in a very cool way as well as adding new characters to the cast. I wished the art was better, but it is not horrible. I highly recommend this comic to any fan of the show. (4/5 stars)
Green Lantern Corps #14, Green Lantern #22 (DC)- The Sinestro Corps War is turning out to be a much cooler storyline than I expected. Between all of the splashy fight scenes, there are some amazingly well placed character moments as all of our main heroes deal with their own personal issues. GL #22 does seem to go a little overboard smacking the readers in the face with "It's not Hal's fault he went mad, it was the giant yellow space parasite!" as Hal and the Green Lanterns he left for dead when he was possessed by Parallax face a Parallax-controlled Kyle. I didn't mind this too much as it seems the perfect way for Johns to finally end the subplot of all the other GLs not trusting Hal and move on. Sure, I'd rather have more subtle storytelling, but Geoff Johns doesn't do subtle. (4/5 stars)
Superman #665 (DC)- Superman's lack of continuity once again insults long-time readers as Jimmy Olsen's newest "origin" is shown. Despite every other Superman origin having Jimmy working at the Planet when Clark comes to work there, Busiek writes the story of the first time Clark and the team mean Jimmy, when Clark is already working there. The story is OK, which is suprising since it is connected to Countdown, but not worth changing the history of the character once again for. (3/5)
Superman/Batman #38 (DC)- I don't know. It appears I missed an issue, which shouldn't be such a problem, but I still had a problem following this story. It seemed to jump all over the place. Darkseid appears and is used well, I think. Other than that... I don't know. (1.5/5)
Action Comics #852 & 853 (DC)- I read reviews elsewhere of these issues complaining about the use of though balloons, saying that comics had evolved past them. I like thought bubbles, so I had no problem with that. What I had a problem with this is that this storyline is making quickly go from being a fan of Jimmy Olsen to agreeing with the folks who say "Jimmy Olsen Must Die!" This storyline makes him extremely annoying. Please make it end! (1/5)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #5
Gargoyles #3-5
Green Lantern Corps #14
Green Lantern #22
Superman #665
Superman/Batman #38
Action Comics #852 & 853
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #5 (Dark Horse Comics)- I'm a fan of linear storytelling. I hate it when stories jump all over the place in the timeline. This story does that. It does have some real cool moments hinting at what life is like for Slayers not named Buffy, but was generally not as good as the earlier issues. (3.5/5 stars)
Gargoyles #3-5 (Slave Labor Graphics)- The creator of the series presents the first new canon Gargoyles stories since the show ended this issue. The comic continuity ignores season three (The Goliath Chronicles) of the show and the first two issues retold the first episode of the Season Three, the only episode of that season that will stay in canon. The writing, of course, perfectly captures the show and I can still here the voice actors in my head as I read. The comic is also bringing a lot of characters from the show back in a very cool way as well as adding new characters to the cast. I wished the art was better, but it is not horrible. I highly recommend this comic to any fan of the show. (4/5 stars)
Green Lantern Corps #14, Green Lantern #22 (DC)- The Sinestro Corps War is turning out to be a much cooler storyline than I expected. Between all of the splashy fight scenes, there are some amazingly well placed character moments as all of our main heroes deal with their own personal issues. GL #22 does seem to go a little overboard smacking the readers in the face with "It's not Hal's fault he went mad, it was the giant yellow space parasite!" as Hal and the Green Lanterns he left for dead when he was possessed by Parallax face a Parallax-controlled Kyle. I didn't mind this too much as it seems the perfect way for Johns to finally end the subplot of all the other GLs not trusting Hal and move on. Sure, I'd rather have more subtle storytelling, but Geoff Johns doesn't do subtle. (4/5 stars)
Superman #665 (DC)- Superman's lack of continuity once again insults long-time readers as Jimmy Olsen's newest "origin" is shown. Despite every other Superman origin having Jimmy working at the Planet when Clark comes to work there, Busiek writes the story of the first time Clark and the team mean Jimmy, when Clark is already working there. The story is OK, which is suprising since it is connected to Countdown, but not worth changing the history of the character once again for. (3/5)
Superman/Batman #38 (DC)- I don't know. It appears I missed an issue, which shouldn't be such a problem, but I still had a problem following this story. It seemed to jump all over the place. Darkseid appears and is used well, I think. Other than that... I don't know. (1.5/5)
Action Comics #852 & 853 (DC)- I read reviews elsewhere of these issues complaining about the use of though balloons, saying that comics had evolved past them. I like thought bubbles, so I had no problem with that. What I had a problem with this is that this storyline is making quickly go from being a fan of Jimmy Olsen to agreeing with the folks who say "Jimmy Olsen Must Die!" This storyline makes him extremely annoying. Please make it end! (1/5)