War Journal Entry number 404 - Weekly Haul 10/31/07
MARVEL
Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar #4 of 4 - The identity of the “savior” is a rewarding one that makes perfect sense, and lends itself to more interesting dynamics in the upcoming Annihilation: Conquest series. Christos Gage did a commendable job writing this, the first starring adventure of Phyla-Vel, and will probably be the tone shot for by future writers of the character.
Daredevil Annual #1 (2007) - One word: wow. Six words: I want a Black Tarantula series. This was impressively done and the Black Tarantula came across very human, very complex, and in serious need of more stories told about him. I even liked Leandro Fernandez’s art, which hasn’t consistently interested me, but worked wonderfully in the gritty and grounded urban settings.
Marvel Halloween Ashcan 2007 - It was a free give-away, so of course I picked it up, and as a reprint of Marvel Adventures Iron Man #1 by Fred Van Lente and James Cordeiro it was pretty good. It had a nice update to the original origin, was well written, and well drawn, but it just isnt' going to pull me in to buying the series. Sorry, guys, it's Iron Man.
Mythos: Fantastic Four - Paul Jenkins and Paolo Rivera re-imagine the origin of the Fantastic Four. The other two Mythos specials that I got, Hulk and Ghost Rider, seemed to stay closer to their source material than this one did. The art is beautiful, and the writing fairly well done (though weaker than the other entires)and I understand the need to update some elements of the 60s origin, but this diverged so very much, and seems to realign itself to the movie version more than a little bit, that it just bugs me. (I know, run on sentence. Sorry.) I still enjoyed it, though, cuz it were perty.
New X-Men #43 - Chock full of lovely, and sometimes sad, character moments, I find it interesting that they’ve established a new New X-Men team right before Messiah Complex comes through and shakes everything up.
Ultimate Power #8 of 9 - Jeph Loeb and Greg Land deliver lots more fighting and a few really cool moments, but I’m wondering what the “March to Ultimatum” banner across the top of the cover is for.
X-Men: Messiah Complex - This one-shot by Ed Brubaker and Marc Silvestri serves as chapter one of the thirteen part crossover, but it feels more like a prologue. Sure, things happened, but they all happened before the X-Men get there which is kind of… unsatisfying.
DC
52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen #3 of 6 - Giffen and Olliffe continue to rock the scary awesome. Plus, they somehow made Snapper Carr cool. Crazy!
DDP
Storm Shadow #5 - A one-shot issue with fill-in art by David Hueso, it still shows off our favorite ninja in white to be the baddest badass of badassdom.
IDW
Transformers: Beast Wars Sourcebook #2 of 4 - With files on characters from various toy lines, TV series, and timelines, it’s getting quite confusing to know who is with whom. Oh, well, it still satisfies some nerdy needs, yes?
Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar #4 of 4 - The identity of the “savior” is a rewarding one that makes perfect sense, and lends itself to more interesting dynamics in the upcoming Annihilation: Conquest series. Christos Gage did a commendable job writing this, the first starring adventure of Phyla-Vel, and will probably be the tone shot for by future writers of the character.
Daredevil Annual #1 (2007) - One word: wow. Six words: I want a Black Tarantula series. This was impressively done and the Black Tarantula came across very human, very complex, and in serious need of more stories told about him. I even liked Leandro Fernandez’s art, which hasn’t consistently interested me, but worked wonderfully in the gritty and grounded urban settings.
Marvel Halloween Ashcan 2007 - It was a free give-away, so of course I picked it up, and as a reprint of Marvel Adventures Iron Man #1 by Fred Van Lente and James Cordeiro it was pretty good. It had a nice update to the original origin, was well written, and well drawn, but it just isnt' going to pull me in to buying the series. Sorry, guys, it's Iron Man.
Mythos: Fantastic Four - Paul Jenkins and Paolo Rivera re-imagine the origin of the Fantastic Four. The other two Mythos specials that I got, Hulk and Ghost Rider, seemed to stay closer to their source material than this one did. The art is beautiful, and the writing fairly well done (though weaker than the other entires)and I understand the need to update some elements of the 60s origin, but this diverged so very much, and seems to realign itself to the movie version more than a little bit, that it just bugs me. (I know, run on sentence. Sorry.) I still enjoyed it, though, cuz it were perty.
New X-Men #43 - Chock full of lovely, and sometimes sad, character moments, I find it interesting that they’ve established a new New X-Men team right before Messiah Complex comes through and shakes everything up.
Ultimate Power #8 of 9 - Jeph Loeb and Greg Land deliver lots more fighting and a few really cool moments, but I’m wondering what the “March to Ultimatum” banner across the top of the cover is for.
X-Men: Messiah Complex - This one-shot by Ed Brubaker and Marc Silvestri serves as chapter one of the thirteen part crossover, but it feels more like a prologue. Sure, things happened, but they all happened before the X-Men get there which is kind of… unsatisfying.
DC
52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen #3 of 6 - Giffen and Olliffe continue to rock the scary awesome. Plus, they somehow made Snapper Carr cool. Crazy!
DDP
Storm Shadow #5 - A one-shot issue with fill-in art by David Hueso, it still shows off our favorite ninja in white to be the baddest badass of badassdom.
IDW
Transformers: Beast Wars Sourcebook #2 of 4 - With files on characters from various toy lines, TV series, and timelines, it’s getting quite confusing to know who is with whom. Oh, well, it still satisfies some nerdy needs, yes?