REVIEW: Red Lanterns, Volume One: Blood and Rage

PLOT: Atrocitus and his Red Lantern Corps return in their own series, battling against injustice in the most bloody ways imaginable.

REVIEW: I'm not really the biggest fan of Green Lantern because I didn't grow up enjoying his stories, but I have grown at least a slight bit interested as an adult. Green Lantern is one of the more fun characters, and light hearted, and I think that's why I am not as into him as I am other characters. However, with Red Lanterns, we get the darker side of the Lantern universe and I was really awestruck that this even existed. Atrocitus is the leader of the Red Lanterns, and it's his rage that is his power. The bad things that have happened to him in the past, drive who he is today as the Red Lantern leader. Though he is the leader of the Red Lanterns, he finds that even he is not enough to conquer the rage on his own. He slowly brings other Red Lanterns into the picture by throwing them into a Blood Ocean to confront their reasons for rage. As they come out, Atrocitus finds that rage comes in more than one form, and it's that discovery that leads him into a situation he never had seen coming. This book is awesome, and I was really so happy to be reading a book that was based off of a main DC character, but spun off to be a darker side. There is plenty of red on every page, as the rage is basically characterized as red blood and spews from the Lanterns and congeals as if it were in space. There was plenty of gruesome illustrations which I really enjoyed, as usual, because I'm a fan of horror. The writing was pretty good, and I liked the story of Atrocitus and I enjoyed how one of the book's minor villains came about. Peter Milligan impresses with the first volume of Red Lanterns, and I'm excited to see where it's taken. There is really a bright future for this title, even though it may be bright red.

WRITING : ( 9 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 10 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )

REVIEW: Before Watchmen: Comedian/Rorschach

PLOT: Eisner Award-winning writer Brian Azzarello brings his gritty, nuanced storytelling to these two recognizable characters. In RORSCHACH, Azzarello again teams with superstar artist Lee Bermejo to illustrate how one of most dangerous vigilantes the comic world has ever seen became even darker. COMEDIAN, featuring art by J.G. Jones, plants the famed war hero within the context of American history, as we find out how the Vietnam War and the Kennedy assassination revolve around him.

REVIEW: So far, the Before Watchmen series has been hit or miss for me. The volume that stuck out the most to me, was the one that was the most poorly reviewed of all four. I liked this volume too however, and I'm not sure how it stacks up against the Ozymandias volume but it's pretty close. The Comedian and Rorschach are probably the two most likable characters from the Watchmen world, but that doesn't make them the most easily likable. The Comedian is pretty much a character you're supposed to hate, and even in this book they do a pretty good job of doing that. They tie him in to a lot of actual American history and while it provides for a somewhat entertaining read, it wasn't really anything I couldn't have figured out for myself about the character. The ongoing problem with these books is that they're telling back stories to characters that didn't really need back stories, but merely just other stories with them in it. It doesn't really give you anything extra that you absolutely needed in the first place, but does just enough to entertain you to keep reading it. Rorschach's half of the volume was a little more entertaining but comes to no clear end and pits him against a strangely faced enemy. I agree with some other readers that Rorschach is guilty of some lines in this volume that just don't fit his character, but other than that his is pretty entertaining. The art in this book is phenomenal, much like the other volumes in the series and that's probably all that really kept these comics going as shortly as they did. They're beautiful to look at, and it's a trade off in terms of the pretty lackluster and unnecessary stories that the art is told with.

WRITING : ( 6 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 10 / 10 )

STORY : ( 4 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 7 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 7 / 10 )

REVIEW: Avengers Arena, Volume One: Kill or Die

PLOT: Trapped on an isolated island, 16 superhuman teens (including cult favorites like members of the Runaways, the Avengers Academy and Darkhawk) are given a chilling ultimatum by their demented captor: Fight or die...only one will walk out alive! Thus begins a primal battle that will test the skills, stamina and morals of each combatant. Welcome to Murder World, where secrets are plenty, alliances are fleeting, and the key to victory might be rewriting the rules of the game. Who will survive? As Cammi and Hazmat battle the mysterious Deathlocket, X-23 and Juston Seyfert's Sentinel join the fray...but who is the killer stalking the heroes in their sleep? Who are the students of the Braddock Aacdemy? And why does Darkhawk equal death?

REVIEW: This book is incredibly sad in the worst way possible. For months, I've been anxious to read this Marvel NOW! title more than pretty much any of the others. So now I've found out for months, that I'd been duped by Marvel. Not only is this series one of the worst to come out of the Marvel NOW!, but it's quite possibly the most tangible reason that Marvel has fallen by the wayside and DC Comics' New 52 is considerably more successful. I've never seen such cowardice by a comic team, that in order to re-brand Marvel and create great new stories, they stole ideas from elsewhere. I get that concepts are borrowed in literature, and that nothing is 100% original or unique, but Avengers Arena is about the worst example of this I've ever seen. I also understand that this is somewhat an attempt at being clever and twisting a popular skeleton of a story around Marvel characters, but it just doesn't work at all as its own thing and basically comes off as a joke. From the beginning, sixteen super-teens are chosen and placed on an island to wage war against one another until there is only one left standing. Does that sound familiar to you? With the recent popularity of all things The Hunger Games, it leaves a lot of the not so popular books grasping for straws at how to make their stories as relatable as Suzanne Collins did for Katniss and Peeta.

The sad part is, that Marvel should be the pioneers of comic book hero stories, considering they're one of the top two comic producers out there. Instead, they're not even borrowing, but straight ripping off a concept from a popular teen fiction series and trying to make it their own. They could have easily taken a bit of this concept and put a unique twist on it to make it their own, as many others already have in this dystopian trend that I'm sick of, and with some success. There's nothing about this comic at all that is cool, original, or awesome. I was so disappointed that I had to read six issues of this comic and not get a single great thing out of it. A lot of the reviews I'd seen had claimed that this was intense, superb, and leaning towards adult. This is a teenage Marvel fan's dream comic I suppose, but I wasn't really expecting what I read at all in Avengers Arena. This series should be titled, Marvel's The Hunger Games, because that's about all it is. If you like The Hunger Games, you may like this. If you like Marvel NOW!, you may like this (and I really haven't so far). If you're an adult and want to read something worth your while, pass on this. Even one of the covers was a straight rip of the mockingjay pin on fire poster for the movie, but with an Avengers A! Marvel, this is pathetic.

WRITING : ( 5 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 7 / 10 )

STORY : ( 3 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 6 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 2 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 4 / 10 )

REVIEW: Superman: For Tomorrow

PLOT: A cataclysmic event has struck the Earth. Millions of people have vanished without a trace. No one is left unaffected; not even Superman! But after a year, Superman is left with many questions. For a hero who tries to have all the answers, it's torture. And, just as the action heats up and the stakes are raised, one huge question emerges: Just how far is Superman willing to go "For Tomorrow"?

REVIEW: I joke a lot about how much I hate Superman. I'm not a Superman fan, because of my undying love for everything Batman. It just so happens that typically Batman is the one the Justice League is counting on when Superman fails them, and always gets Supes out of trouble. However, I do read some Superman because I know that there are good stories in all kinds of packages and if it's a comic book then I guess I'll read it. I mainly wanted to read Superman: For Tomorrow because it's written by Brian Azzarello. Azzarello is currently working the New 52 Wonder Woman and even did some Batman in the form of Joker, which is great if you haven't read it. I was not only pleased with this graphic novel but also surprised at really how great it was. It also was a pretty serious story for Superman, and was kind of depressing. Superman finds himself at a loss for an idea of a future after a device has triggered random mass vanishings in the world. He befriends a priest at the beginning and throughout his questioning and narrative to him, Superman finds the reason he does what he does for the people of Metropolis. This is not an action packed Superman comic, but it really goes in depth in thinking about the character and that is one of the few ways I enjoy reading Superman. I like it when the character of Superman is analyzed, because even though he's all powerful, he struggles the most with being a human, or the perfect human in his mind. It's a dilemma that most all of us can relate to, so it provides for a great Superman reading experience. Also, expect the beautiful artwork, as usual from Jim Lee.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 7 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 8 / 10 )

REVIEW: Captain Marvel, Volume One: In Pursuit of Flight

PLOT: Ace pilot. Legendary Avenger. One hundred percent pure bad-@$$. Carol Danvers has a new name, a new mission - and all the power she needs to make her own life a living hell. As the new Captain Marvel, Carol is forging from a challenge from her past! It's a firefight in the sky as the Banshee Squadron debut - but who are the Prowlers, and where has Carol seen them before? And how does secret NASA training program Mercury 13 fit in? Witness Captain Marvel in blazing battlefield action that just may change the course of history! Avengers Time Travel Protocols: engage!

REVIEW: Because this was a Marvel NOW! title I wasn't really expecting too much, plus with it being a character I'm not entirely familiar with I didn't figure I'd enjoy this much at all. I was really surprised at how much I like this title, and while it's not the greatest of characters it was enjoyable. I find it surprising that it's the second tier characters in Marvel that are getting the best treatment with this re-branding of all their characters in Marvel NOW!. Carol Danvers has a wit about her that makes her really fun to read, and I think it helps to have a female writer on board to give her that authentic female feel. All of the dialogue between her and all the gal pals she meets throughout her journey really feels right and not forced. It's rare that a character you really don't read, piques your interest and gives you a fun read that you can buy into immediately. I will be interested to see where this series goes, and if it continues to get any better as her character develops. This one of those volumes that definitely serves as an introduction to the character, so that may be why it's relatively easy to connect from the beginning. Go figure that Captain Marvel is one of the very few titles to impress me from Marvel NOW!, which still furthers my opinion that New 52 stories are above and beyond Marvel's new structure.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 7 / 10 )

STORY : ( 7 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 6 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 5 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )

REVIEW: Before Watchmen: Minutemen/Silk Spectre

PLOT: As the predecessor to the Watchmen, the Minutemen were assembled to fight against a world that have more and more rapidly begun to spin out of control. Can these heroes from completely different backgrounds and with completely different attitudes on crime come together? Or will they fall apart before they begin? SILK SPECTRE takes an introspective look at the WATCHMEN feature player's struggles with her overbearing superhero mother and her scattered path toward taking the mantle of the Silk Spectre.

REVIEW: Before Watchmen has either gotten more dull as I've read through the collected volumes, or I read them in the perfect order of quality that I'm now getting to the crappy volumes. I wasn't so much a fan of this volume that chronicles the story of the Minutemen told mostly through the eyes of Nite Owl. I liked the side plot, that seemed like it should have been the main plot, of Hooded Justice and the missing children but it didn't really progress as quickly and as predominately as it should have. Everyone practically knows the small story of the Minutemen as present in the original Watchmen graphic novel and even the movie. The Silk Spectre half was also decent, but again it was just a lot of background to something that already been explained well enough for me the first go around. I'm finding that a lot of these Before Watchmen arcs center on characters that were already pretty well fleshed out and didn't need much more explaining, as I've gotten to more familiar characters and they've gotten less entertaining. Plus what is with writing so much on each and every page, I find a lot of the thought bubbles and informational boxes are pretty unnecessary and I wish there was a lot less to read because it's all pretty boring. This volume and the last one I read suffer from what I like to call, over-writing, because there's too much written on the page that the reader doesn't need to know at all because most of us reading these, read the original Watchmen graphic novel. I know these comics could have been a lot better if they wouldn't have tried to be so entirely faithful to being exact and precise prequels to Watchmen. Here's hoping that the one I have left will be better than the rest of them, because Comedian and Rorschach were the two best characters and that's the volume I haven't read. Plus if Azzarello is involved, odds are that I'm going to enjoy myself right?

WRITING : ( 6 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 6 / 10 )
STORY : ( 4 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 7 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 3 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 5 / 10 )

REVIEW: Batman: The Dark Knight, Volume Two: Cycle of Violence

PLOT: The Scarecrow has returned to Gotham City, but he's no longer the meek punching bag Batman is used to. The villainous genius has always preyed on the worst fears of his victims, but has refined his legendary fear toxin to even greater effectiveness and deadlier consequences. As the Scarecrow's origin is unfurled, Batman must find out not only how to conquer this dangerous psychopath, but how to beat his own worst fear.

REVIEW: Yet another brilliant New 52 Batman entry. Batman: The Dark Knight, Volume Two: Cycle of Violence does amazingly dark things for the character of Scarecrow and it really frightens on the page. The way that Scarecrow is drawn is just haunting, with his lips sewn together but still having the capability of talking. Hell, half his jaw is hanging off of his face for some of the book and he doesn't even seem to notice. Everything about this volume is dark and gritty, and it's unforgiving. Scarecrow is probably the scariest I've seen him in a Batman comic, and Batman is nearly at his most helpless against him. Struggling to remember why what he does is right by him, Scarecrow makes Bruce's journey through his mind that much more difficult when he loads him full of a new, and more powerful fear toxin. There aren't really any other villains in this book besides the Penguin who makes a small appearance when the Scarecrow is prepping his newest plot. This isn't the strongest of the New 52 Batman titles, but it surely makes a point to be one of the darker entries. If you like your Batman in the shadows with a side of spooky, this volume of Batman: The Dark Knight is definitely for you.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 9 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )

REVIEW: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Volume One

PLOT: Prince Adam sets out to reclaim the mantle of HE-MAN, a legendary power that he can wield for the powers of good. But around every turn the evil villain Skeletor seeks to destroy the young hero and keep him from finding his fellow Masters.

REVIEW: I don't know why I read this book because I'm not really familiar with He-Man, nor do I consider myself a fan of much anything like it. But it was a graphic novel and why not give it a read right? I do like the way the story unfolds from the beginning, with Prince Adam not knowing truly who he was until the sword gives him the power of He-Man. Skeletor has taken his memory away from him so he does not remember, but the lingering power that still dwells within him leads him to a new revelation about himself that pits him once again against Skeletor, the legendary villain of this universe. The art was pretty good, but it's truly not my kind of thing, this sword and shield type world. It was a pretty decent book, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it. It's a fun read, and probably a really entertaining graphic novel for fans of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Also, the web comic printed at the beginning of the book by Geoff Johns I actually really enjoyed.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 5 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )

REVIEW: Before Watchmen: Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan

PLOT: Discover what happened before WATCHMEN as writer J. Michael Straczynski is joined by Andy Kubert and the legendary Joe Kubert to take flight with the gadget-savvy vigilante known as Nite Owl! And then in BEFORE WATCHMEN: DR. MANHATTAN, JMS teams with fan-favorite artist Adam Hughes on the all-powerful super-man Dr. Manhattan. For Dr. Manhattan, past, present, and future are one and the same. But as he observes the events of his life, do they remain the same? Or are they changed? The very fact of his existence may have altered the nature of what will or will not be...

REVIEW: Now that I've read two volumes of the Before Watchmen series, I've been able to get a pretty good glimpse of what they were trying to do. When I read Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair first, I thought that it seemed kind of fruitless to rehash the beginnings of a character that didn't get too much more depth that he didn't get from the original Watchmen or the movie adaptation. Now I see that they are pretty much taking the time leading up to the events of Watchmen to plot all of our favorite characters, and tying it all together between the volumes. After finishing Before Watchmen: Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan, I'd really like to see a giant Watchmen sized compendium that puts all the volumes together as one big story to read together. I think it would benefit from being in a compilation like that.

Now this volume was a lot better than the first I'd read, mainly because Dr. Manhattan intrigues me a lot and his story crossing into the path of Ozymandias still puzzles me to this day. There's so much that can be discussed with the quantum intelligence of Dr. Manhattan, and it serves to show the complexities of the Watchmen storyline. The Nite Owl part was pretty good too, and as I saw him as one of the more underused characters in the book and movie, he gets fleshed out here to a more recognizable but extremely weak character when it comes to women, and shows where that came from. It really helps to explain him as a character in the events following Before Watchmen. The story of Moloch was also really great and I enjoyed the two issue line in with Ozymandias and it's tie in to the original. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Watchmen and readers of more intricately plotted stories. I can't imagine you'd have to have read Watchmen prior to this to enjoy it, but it probably adds that extra layer of plot that makes it so intriguing to me. Also I have to add that the alternate cover for Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #4 is absolutely amazing and I want a large poster print of it, like right now. Early Christmas present anyone?

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 7 / 10 )

STORY : ( 7 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 10 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 8 / 10 )

REVIEW: Aquaman, Volume Two: The Others

PLOT: Long before the King of the Seven Seas joined the Justice League, Aquaman was a part of another super-team: The Others. These young costumed adventurers traveled the globe, each trying to find their own individual road to redemption. Six years later after a grisly murder, The Others are reunited. They know only one man could be responsible: Black Manta. Aquaman must lead the charge to stop his arch-nemesis, but will the years have fractured The Others just enough to keep them from bringing this villain to justice?

REVIEW: After the stellar debut of Aquaman under the New 52 title, it was a big question as to whether or not one of the famed comic authors Geoff Johns could keep going full steam ahead with a character that seemed dead in the water. Aquaman has always had the stigma of being fruity, or lame, or just plain dumb as a super hero that comes from the depths of the ocean. I for one, was never a huge fan of the character, but Johns has brought such life to the character in these new volumes that it's definitely amongst some of my favorite titles now. In the first volume, The Trench, I was extremely impressed by not only the introductory story to the character but also the detailed and beautiful art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado. This wasn't a title I expected to like at all, but after this second volume, it's been proved enough to me that the first was no fluke. The art again was completely breathtaking from regularly paneled pages, to the amazing covers and even the double page panels. The characters are all perfectly illustrated and just the attention to detail with all of the aquatic elements is just amazing. One thing that I really loved about this volume that the first volume didn't have was the story with The Others, and one in particular named Prisoner. I've never heard of him before but his storyline ending at the end was kind of touching, and really great and added to the story of Aquaman himself and who he's become. I'd highly recommend Aquaman to any of the New 52 fans out there looking for the better titles, and anyone looking for an overlooked series because this could easily be one of them for most. Geoff Johns, you are one of the masters. Not anyone could do what he's done with the character, and that's make the silly Aquaman character into a complete and total badass.

WRITING : ( 10 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 10 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 10 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 10 / 10 )

REVIEW: Batman and Robin, Volume Two: Pearl

PLOT: Damian Wayne, a.k.a. Robin, must prove to Batman, as well as the previous Boy Wonders that he's every bit the hero that his father is in the wake of the cataclysmic events of the best-selling BATMAN & ROBIN VOLUME 1: BORN TO KILL.

REVIEW: These New 52 comics are something else let me tell you, but any of the Batman series are just off the charts awesome. Batman & Robin is by far one of the better of the group, probably right behind the actual Batman comic itself in quality. Batman & Robin is so good though because it runs off of Grant Morrison's storyline of Robin being Damian Wayne, who is Batman and Talia Al Ghul's son. This volume focuses particularly on Damian and his status as Robin, and though there's not a huge villain present throughout it's a very great collection. If there was a villain it would be the thing named Terminus, that at times is severely dark and creepy. In one of the last few issues though he turns Gotham into a crazy land where Batman is feared on an entirely different level than the man in the cowl ever intended. Though the actual battle itself is short, the concept of the villain trying to ruin Batman by not attacking the Bat himself, but attacking the city he has sworn to defend, in the name of Batman. It's all really haunting, and all the while we have the story with Damian swirling in the background. Perhaps, leading to the next volume which I believe the Death in the Family storyline is going to be redone which I'm super excited for. I don't want to go too much else into this, but it's a great volume of Batman comic and I highly recommend you read this New 52 series if you haven't started already. Batman & Robin is extremely dark, thought-provoking, and takes our heroes to ends they've never seen. This is a definite pickup as well if you're a fan of Robin too, and it really takes a good look at the current character and analyzes him in his surroundings with all of the previous Robins and his father Bruce Wayne, Batman. This book features some seriously grim covers too, but beautiful all the same.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 10 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 10 / 10 )

REVIEW: Batman Incorporated, Volume One: Demon Star

PLOT: Eisner Award-winning fan-favorite writer Grant Morrison concludes the Batman epic he began nearly a decade ago in BATMAN & SON, pitting the entirity of Batman Incorporated against the Leviathan organization headed by the Dark Knight's former romantic interest Talia al Ghul. As Leviathan enacts a plan that threatens the world, Batman and his allies must fight against the rising storm--but not everyone will make it out of the encounter alive.

REVIEW: It was only two weeks ago when I reviewed Joe the Barbarian by Grant Morrison and really loved it. I remember saying how I had a love/hate relationship with the author because his work in comics is typically outstanding, however there are some characters he just doesn't get as good of a grip on. Batman is not one of those characters, as Morrison was seemingly meant to write Batman stories for DC. Though the writing at times is a bit confusing, and the story can lose you (especially in some of the other Batman arcs) there's just something so special about his way with the Bat. Some of his Batman arcs have been among the most liked by the fans, and I often see his name in my list of Top 10 Batman graphic novels. He has an outstanding vision for the character, and brings a darker edge to the comic than has ever been previously explored except by a Frank Miller, whom I have the same relationship with.

This is technically the second volume of Batman Incorporated, as the first volume came out pre-New 52 but it definitely leads into this story. Another outstanding entry into Morrison's Bat-folio, and it's amazing that his story is continuing to unfold across several Gotham titles including this one. The end of Demon Star is most definitely a cliffhanger if I've ever read one, and now I absolutely cannot wait for the second New 52 volume of Batman Incorporated! Also, Chris Burnham deserves a round of applause for the outstanding art in this book. It has several looks throughout, but he does a great job at bringing Morrison's vision to life much like the artists before him have been capable. It's almost as if Grant brings the best work out of people in his books, and maybe they in turn do the same for him. All I know is that this should have been called Demon Stars, because it's worth way more than just one. Yeah, I'm clever so what.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 ) 

ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )