Friday, December 26, 2014

Off-Topic: Comic Book Reviews For 12-24-2014

Please note that this is only about half of the comic books I received this week. On Sunday, I'll be doing an extended review of Red Lantern #37, Sinestro #8, Infinity Man & The Forever People #6, and Green Lantern Annual #3, which cover the last four parts of the GODHEAD crossover. These comics are so intimately connected, and bring up such powerful theological fodder, that they should be given special treatment, and will be, on Sunday.

The other non-godhead comics I got this week are as follows:

Marvel's SPIDER-WOMAN #1 (2nd Printing)
I didn't get this book the first time around, and I regretted it, so I made sure to pick up this second printing. This is a SPIDER-VERSE crossover, and Spider-Woman is protecting another spider being (also female) who has become a kind of inter-dimensional magnet for those who are hunting the Spider-Beings throughout the Marvel Multiverse. It really turns into a clash of experience vs exuberance as the younger spider-female becomes a bit too much for our heroine to handle. Spider-Woman comes off as someone who is truly wise, and battle hardened. Spider-Man Noir is injured in this one and I don't like the idea of us losing that character. He's one of my favorite from this crossover. The book felt a little stagnant, and the pacing felt off, but the storyline was okay, and we had some good character development. A good, but not great, book.
Storyline: 3 Stars
Dialogue: 3.5 Stars
Pacing: 3 Stars
Art: 3.5 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars

DC's JUSTICE LEAGUE: DARK #37
This book had plusses and minuses. On the plus side, we got to see a lot of Deadman and had his relationships with his teammates develop some. The art and visuals in this book were similarly amazing. But like the SPIDER-WOMAN, this book felt a little constipated. The story doesn't move right. And Deadman turns out to be ineffectual, which happens way too much in this book. There was some interesting exploration of the ideas of transience, eternity, and meaning, that I've often reflected upon on this blog. If this had been a slightly better book, it would've warranted an extended review.
Storyline: 3.5 Stars
Dialogue: 3.5 Stars
Pacing: 3 Stars
Art: 4 Stars
Overall: 3.5 Stars

DC's BATMAN '66 #18
This issue was a major improvement over the last one, and really highlighted why this book is so awesome. You have all the elements that made the original series enjoyable, and can take those elements to new places because you are dealing with the characters within a comic book. We have two stories this week, one with the Archer, an ersatz Robin Hood, fighting our main dynamic duo. The second story involved Book Worm meeting up with Batgirl. Both stories worked across the board. The pacing was good, the art was solid, and the dialogue was both funny and thoughtful. All in all, this was a solid issue.
Storyline: 4 Stars
Dialogue: 4 Stars
Pacing: 3.5 Stars
Art: 3.5 Stars
Overall: 3.5 Stars

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