REVIEW: Uncanny Avengers, Volume One: The Red Shadow

PLOT: The Marvel Universe's greatest era starts NOW!, as the all-new, all-different Avengers assemble! Captain America creates a sanctioned Avengers unit comprised of Avengers and X-Men, humans and mutants working together...so why is Professor Xavier's dream more at risk than ever? The Red Skull has returned - straight out of the 1940s and full of hatred - and his rebirth will alter the Marvel Universe forever! What are the Skull's new powers? Can Havok and Thor defeat the spreading influence of Honest John, The Living Propaganda? As Rogue and Scarlet Witch find themselves trapped on the Isle of the Red Skull's S-Men, Wolverine and Captain America investigate the worldwide mutant assassination epidemic! Uncanny Avengers Assemble! Plus: from the ashes of AvX, the funeral of one of Marvel's greatest heroes! 

REVIEW: I have yet to read the Avengers vs. X-Men event in Marvel comics because I own it and can take my time, but apparently this volume deals heavily with those events. I was able to get into the story for the most part though. I'm starting to sort of get sick of these Marvel NOW! titles claiming to be something new and bold in the Marvel universe, but most of it strikes me as the same old stuff. This volume of Uncanny Avengers focuses on the return of Red Skull in modern times, and he has taken control of Charles Xavier's brain after his death. He is using it to control the population and even minds of the mutants to do his bidding, but also is blackmailing hero teams to do the very same. I like the Red Skull as a villain, and I think he is very terrifying but at the same time. However, this book does little to nothing to differentiate itself from the multiple Avengers and X-Men books that are out right now. What Marvel NOW! has failed to do with their titles is create a clear and concise story for each character or character group, and suck the reader in to the new Marvel NOW! titles. Uncanny Avengers definitely wasn't the worst that I've read from the reboot series, but it definitely did little to impress me. It does leave off with a good scene that will hopefully carry into the next volume and propel it to higher levels. Unfortunately though, I find myself hoping for this with a lot of the current Marvel NOW! titles. I got a great kick out of the Deadpool variant at the end of the book.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 7 / 10 )

STORY : ( 6 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 5 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 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 )

REVIEW: The Wolverine

PLOT: Summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance, Wolverine becomes embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront his own demons.

REVIEW: Another Wolverine movie is now in the books, and I think the numbers are going to show it as a success. It may not be as big of a moneymaker as one of the Marvel Studios films, but it surely has some firepower with Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine for the sixth time. It's amazing to think that one actor has played Wolverine over the last 13 years, something that is rarely done when it comes to super hero film. Think about the many different incarnations of Batman, Hulk, or even The Punisher. But with Wolverine we've had the privilege of seeing this characters transform over the years but not at all with the way he looks, it's all in the character. Jackman outside of his Wolverine roles is not the kind of guy you'd think would play a gruff, tough son of a gun, as he's really well known for his looks and ability to sing and dance. Ever since 2000's X-Men however, this guy has been knocking the character out of the park, and for comic book fans like myself this is one of the few things we can be proud of with our movies. No one has played a character from the comics quite as well as he has, and even in The Wolverine he still amazes as the adamantium hero.

The film starts by explaining one of Wolverine's many journeys throughout time, where he was imprisoned in Japan at the time of the bombing in Nagasaki during World War II. He saves the life of a man who was sure to die, and thus kicks off the tale of The Wolverine. I really liked the basic story of the film, and it's supposedly based off of the book Wolverine by Chris Claremont and legendary comic writer Frank Miller. Miller, took Wolverine to Japan in setting up his own run of comics and is now regarded as one of the best, if not the best, Wolverine comics created. I have yet to read the book, though I severely want to, so I'm not entirely sure how close the movie follows the book but I could imagine that a good amount of it is present. The film then continues on into the present, where Logan is now a nomad running from his past and the loves of his life. A character who has struggled with losing loved ones since the beginning, he has hit an all-time low and has the grizzly beard, and even a grizzly bear to match. In interviews Jackman has said how the character of Wolverine is so tormented at this point by his past that continues to haunt him. Things like having to kill Jean Grey back in X-Men: The Last Stand among many others have turned Logan into a sobbing and vengeful hero. I love the places that Jackman has taken this character to, and it's a testament to his acting ability that he's been able to create such a dimensional character that most of us only knew as the claw-slashing, bub-saying bad ass.

If there's one thing that Wolverine is susceptible to though, as Jackman has also stated in current interviews, it is women. Yet again in The Wolverine, Logan is confronted with not just one woman but a multitude of women ranging from innocent to insane. The first woman he meets is Yukio played by Rila Fukushima, who I have to say has quite a strangely shaped face but at the same time almost looks like she walked straight out of the comics as far as face shapes go. I have to say, Yukio was quite bad ass as well, and I loved that she regarded herself as an equal to Logan but at the same time knew her place below the animal. I really had hoped that it was Logan and Yukio that got close because they seemed to fit well at first, but it ended up that Logan was entirely more interested in Mariko and her troubles. Obviously, he chooses the girl with the most problems, as again Wolverine's weakness seems to be women, and often times troubled with their own issues that Logan makes his own. Mariko was played by Tao Okamoto and did a pretty good job as well at playing the role of an innocent, much like Fukushima, other than Mariko wasn't entirely bad ass but she had her moments.

The other woman in the film however was the character of Viper, played by Svetlana Khodchenkova who at first didn't cause too much of a distraction. Her role was minor at first, and very small but important to the film. So I was able to deal with the fact that I couldn't stand her mouth/cheek/lip piercing that she had that looked like a Cindy Crawford mole. It was really bothersome to me because I hate the piercings like that in real life, but also that it added absolutely nothing to the character. To me, if your name is Viper, wouldn't you want some hardcore snakebite piercings to match your personality and name. So that kind of put me on watch for her in the rest of the movie, and then once her final transformation was made and her role in the film was revealed, it all fell to pieces. I can't say that she single-handedly tears the movie apart, as the end is just a mess of villains and story lines all crashing together, but she has a pretty big hand in it. All I'll say is that if your acting, or character, at any point reminds me of Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy from the infamous Batman & Robin, we have a problem. That is exactly what Khodchenkova did, and I don't know if it was poor acting or just poor choice of words or bad writing or what, but I never want to be reminded of that movie, especially if I'm thoroughly enjoying the film up to that point.

All the way up until the final scenes where the story comes to a head, I was amazed at how much better The Wolverine was than its predecessor X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I was even thinking to myself about an hour and a half into the film that this was coming close to rivaling X2 in its greatness. The story was so great, and seeing Hugh Jackman flesh out his role even further as the most famous X-Man that ever lived was just awesome. Everything about this movie was so cool, and it had the feel of a kung fu film but at the same time never abandoned its comic book roots. But like I said, then the end happened. The fact that even after the nerd community's ranting and arguing over the end of the first film, they were able to recreate that same misery again in The Wolverine. It was so disappointing for me after having such high thoughts to myself after having been wowed what I'd seen so far, that something could deflate that so quickly. There was just a mess of villains and the fact that they had to make everything so grand and epicly scaled in the end like a popcorn blockbuster just saddened me. It was the same case with the film before, they made Deadpool into a psychotic and ultimately powered villain because Wolverine would obviously triumph over anything less than godly, right? Such is the case again, where the awesome charcater of Silver Samurai is reduced to a giant robot made of adamantium that heats his sword up like a Transformer's laser blaster to do extra damage.  It's just pointless when the whole movie lived and breathed on subtlety and character study, then to take the final act to straight corn was just disappointing.

I was most looking forward to seeing Silver Samurai in this film ever since I heard that The Wolverine was going to take place during his time in Japan. I loved the character as a kid and thought he was so cool, and the fact that again like Deadpool, they ruin such a beloved character to me just sucked. In retrospect, I've had a few days to think about it, and it works for the film I suppose, but I still really wish we could have seen the Silver Samurai as he was presented in the comics. Viper was extremely corny at the end too, once she becomes full-fledged Viper. It'd be so much different too if only one of these things that comes to a conclusion at the end was ruined, but again like the first film it was everything just reduced to crap by the end of the film. I'm sure there's many who would disagree with me on the ending, and I'm sure upon a secondary viewing I won't be nearly as upset with it, but to me it just completely took away from the amazing film that was presented before it. Overall I was happy with The Wolverine though, and I still liked X-Men Origins: Wolverine a lot too outside of the obviously complaints that everyone else had. I still had a great time at the theater, and it's always so great to see Hugh Jackman as Wolverine because he's 100% perfect for the role. I just really wish in return for the sabotage of the Silver Samurai, Gambit could have returned or maybe even Deadpool with an open mouth and costume, sans laser eyes. Also, don't forget to stay after the credits, because the bonus scene was a pretty big redemption after the woeful ending to the film and now I'm terribly excited to see Jackman as Wolverine again and having the rest of the X-Men back in town in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

ACTING : ( 7 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

EXECUTION : ( 6 / 10 )

POSTER : ( 10 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 8 / 10 )

REVIEW: Gambit, Volume One: Once A Thief...

PLOT: When Marvel's premiere thief sets his sights on his biggest score yet, he may just end up over his head. Desperately searching for a means to destroy the pilfered artifact that's cursed him, Gambit journeys deep into the Guatemalan jungles in search of a lost temple - but finds an ancient god-monster accidentally loosed on Earth! It's going to take more than just playing cards and southern charm to get out of this one! Then, coerced by a criminal mastermind, Gambit is sent to the United Kingdom to heist the greatest weapon in the history of man: Excalibur! How will Marvel's premiere thief manage to dupe his extortionist while also escaping with a clear name? Be here as the X-Men's ragin' cajun kicks off his all-new solo career!

REVIEW: As I'm sure you can imagine, I wasn't much looking forward to reading another volume of a Marvel NOW! comic. So far my adventures in the NOW! aren't very stimulating or exciting, and I was about to vow off of them completely, until now. Leave it to one of the coolest Marvel characters in the universe to restore my faith in Marvel's mock New 52 run. Gambit is obviously part of the X-Men, but I love that this book focuses on him as a solitary character and not part of a group, though the X-Men are mentioned quite a few times in his thoughts. That was one of the strengths of this comic, is the ability to convey Remy's thoughts without it taking away from the action on the page. There's a lot of thought bubble going on with Mr. LeBeau in here, and where that usually gets annoying and becomes too much, it was a brief respite from the action every once in awhile but didn't completely suck you out of it. The story is great, as Gambit goes back to his thieving ways away from the X-Men and ends up getting himself into problems that he's not sure how to get out of. The ensuing journey to discover what exactly he has done to himself is great and really a lot bigger than you'd expect a story in Gambit's realm to go. He has of course, some hottie help from another hero, and the art and humor of the comic are just fantastic. I was thoroughly pleased with Once A Thief... and Marvel should pray that more of their NOW! titles are more like this one and not the multitude of other stinkers I've read thus far.

 

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 7 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 9 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )

REVIEW: Avengers, Volume One: Avengers World

PLOT: The greatest heroes in comics together on one unbeatable team! The Avengers "go large," expanding their roster and their sphere of influence to a global and even interplanetary level. When Captain America puts out his call - who will answer? Big threats, big ideas, big idealism - these are the Avengers NOW!

REVIEW: Well it's about time I stumbled across a Marvel NOW! title that didn't completely suck. In the Avengers, a clear and complex enough storyline presents itself on the first pages. Ex Nihilo, creator of change and good in the universe has captured the Avengers and plans to recreate everything in his vision. It's a plot of grand scope, and it completely incapacitates the Avengers which to do at the beginning of a story is pretty bold. It ends up resulting in a much greater resolve of conflict though at the end of the book, and seeing the whole team of Avengers together and rescuing each other is awesome. I really like in this volume that before each issue there is an Avengers crest like thing on the page, along with all of the names of those in the group, and then the ones that are in bold and not faded out are the characters that will be in the issue. It's something small but I thought it was neat to see and keep track of who you'd be looking for in the action in each issue. Other than that, it's a fairly normal comic. The artwork doesn't stand out in any way, but the story does because it's surrounded by a lot of garbage in the rest of the Marvel NOW! catalog currently. Let's hope that Avengers isn't the only title that is of a little quality in Marvel's Phase NOW!

WRITING : ( 6 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 6 / 10 )

STORY : ( 7 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 6 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )