REVIEW: Nova, Volume One: Origin

PLOT: Sam Alexander is a kid bound by the gravity of a small town and a father whose ridiculous, drunken fairy tales about a "Nova Corps" were just another heavy burden. But luckily for Sam Alexander...soon gravity won't even matter. And those troubles are a billion miles away. It's a boy, a helmet, and an intergalactic legacy! Then: it's Sam Alexander's training day. And with the Guardians of the Galaxy's Gamora and Rocket Raccoon in charge, Nova soon learns that practice makes painful! Plus, the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of Sam's dad deepen...and the helmet leads Nova into intergalactic conflict that will affect the entire Marvel Universe!

REVIEW: Before this book, I had never read anything about or involving the character Nova. This book gives a great introduction into the original Nova and then follows with the story of the new Nova for Marvel NOW! I really like how accessible this character is even after the first issue contained in this volume. This was also an introduction to the Guardians of the Galaxy for me, which was nice to see previous to the Guardians of the Galaxy film coming out soon from Marvel. Rocket Raccoon was actually a really funny character, and also pretty tough, which was just cool to see in a comic book of this quality. I think Jeph Loeb having written this title is probably a pretty big reason as to why it is so good, because he's a pretty well-proven writer for comics at this point. The art is also great, and overall this volume of Nova is really impressive for a Marvel NOW! title. Easily one of the best of the NOW! initiative, Nova sets out to the stars and beyond for fans of Marvel. I'm not even that big on Marvel comics ever taking place in space, but this one had it all going right.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )
STORY : ( 9 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 5 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 8 / 10 )

REVIEW: Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe

PLOT: What if everything you thought was funny about Deadpool was actually just disturbing? What if he decided to kill everyone and everything that makes up the Marvel Universe? What if he actually pulled it off? Would that be FUN for you? The Merc with a Mouth takes a turn for the twisted in a horror comic like no other!

REVIEW: I have already read Deadpool Killustrated which was a spin off from this book, and Deadpool has taken it upon himself to destroy everything around him. Deadpool has been convinced that everything in the Marvel universe deserves to die, so it is now the beginning of the end for Deadpool. Realizing that he's just a character, he wants to take it out on all the rest of them and become to lone survivor. What is really fun about these Deadpool books is that they are very self aware in the sense that he knows he's in a comic book. It makes it really fun to read a character that is pretty much there just to entertain you, whether it's in the book or outside of it. It's only once in a lifetime that you get to see Deadpool just kill every single one of the characters you grew up with and read in Marvel, including one particularly fantastic frame of him blowing Spider-Man's brains out with a pistol. It's things like this that you know that are one of a kind, that are really great. I especially like when Marvel tackles more adult themes or stories, because they usually end up being a lot better than usual. This is a must read for Deadpool fans and anybody looking for an entertaining, but violent comic book read.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 7 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 9 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )

REVIEW: Deadpool Killustrated

PLOT: Deadpool has already killed every hero in the Marvel Universe, but he isn't through. This time...Deadpool's gonna take down the most famous characters in classic literature! Why read a book when you can watch a book die?! Tom Sawyer gets slashed in TWAIN! The Little Women's throats MAY get ALL-CUT! Scrooge gets a visit from THREE BULLETS! Gulliver gets a SWIFT DEATH! The Three Musketeers are all for DONE! Sherlock Holmes gets to the bottom of HIS OWN GRAVE! And more book-related puns! Can Deadpool rid the universe of the scourge of classical literature?

REVIEW: Considering that I'm fairly new to the character of Deadpool in writing, all of this material just seems absolutely great to me. Anything Deadpool I read at the moment I would love, because I don't have a lot of experience with the character. Now, I do think this is supposed to be one of the more fun comics with Deadpool, and there are obvious reasons why. After his killing spree through the Marvel universe, which I have yet to read, Deadpool sets his sights on the characters that inspired the creation of all the heroes and villains in the Marvel universe. Thus, Deadpool takes his dead fleshy self to the "Ideaverse" as he likes to call it, where all things fictional come to creation. What is awesome about this book is that Deadpool literally goes all through classic literature and starts knocking off popular characters and worlds one by one. The covers actually do a pretty good job of showing how this book is meant to be taken, and it's really just another example of why Deadpool is so much fun. He's very self aware as well as aware of the reader reading the book, and his whole personality revolves around that. This book is the strongest of the two I've read in showing how Deadpool is a conscious character, aware that he's in a fictional world, and because of that it's really funny. This book is definitely for adults too, so if you're a fan of Marvel and want a good character to read, Deadpool is your guy.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 10 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )

REVIEW: Wolverine

PLOT: The master of mutants joins the master of ninjas in Wolverine's first solo series - replete with romance, intrigue and mayhem. Our beleaguered berserker's in Japan on a mission of the heart, if he can survive the Hand first. Plus, the introduction of everyone's favorite riotous ronin, Yukio.

REVIEW: I wanted to read this book after seeing The Wolverine because I had heard that it was loosely based on this classic run on Wolverine by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont. At first it started out very much like the film did, but the further along it progressed, the more it became obviously different than The Wolverine. I wasn't as impressed with this graphic novel as I thought I would have been. It's a neat story and a much different but clearly suitable setting for Wolverine, but I just have never been much of a fan of older comics. It definitely has the older comic feel and look to it, and the inward writing of Wolverine's thought is scribbled on every page. I love seeing Wolverine in Japan and the concepts of honor, duty, and others within the code of samurai and warriors alike, apply to the character. The story was kind of confusing though, which isn't new for Frank Miller. Sometimes his stories can lose a reader with the depth of character writing that is presented. I did like however that Silver Samurai was who he was supposed to be, as opposed to who he was in The Wolverine. Also, Viper is presented in small doses and much more villainous than she was in the movie. Yukio didn't play as major of a role in the book either as she did in the movie, which I was disappointed by because she was one of the larger parts of why I liked the movie. A lot of the Yashida background was changed for the film, and I'm glad they made the changes they did. Had the film been a straight adaptation of this story, I don't think it would have been nearly as good. I like the liberties that were taken with The Wolverine, and I'm glad I have now read this classic Wolverine run. However, this is yet another classic X-Men tale that failed to impress me greatly, and further the opinion I have of DC being insurmountably better with adult storytelling than Marvel, though some stories such as this one exist in the Marvel Universe. In all honesty as well, who can beat the Wolverine as a badass character, as he is easily one of the most defined characters in the Marvel Universe, and comics in general.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 6 / 10 )

STORY : ( 6 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 7 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )