Marvel Comic Book Reviews for comics released on 9/9/15 Secret Wars edition

Welcome back to my corner of the universe.  Here you will find reviews of my favorite comic book company’s weekly releases.  Sometimes the reviews are favorable.  Sometimes they are not.  They are always honest.

1. The first comic I read by Marvel this week was the final installment of Planet Hulk, or issue 5.  If you haven’t been reading then the basic plot has been that Doom sent Bucky into Green Land to destroy The Red Hulk who is the king of that realm.  He never returned.  So Doom sent Captain America with Devil Dinosaur to find out what happened.  Along the way he got some help from another hulk.

There is some great artwork in this issue but dinosaurs are always cool in comics( unless it’s Barny)

  

For the most part I have loved this series.  I wasn’t sure the plot twists in the final issues were all great but they sure were unexpected.  Grade: B.  I’m not sure I loved the ending.  It felt too rushed.

2.   Big time Spoliers in this  Secret Wars 2099 #005 took a pretty dark turn.  Where the book was about a disagreement between the Avengers and the Defenders, this book is about what happens when a very bad guy who summons a very bad monster.

Where the book took a dark turn is in the violence created by one hero to his father.  There is fratricide in this book.  And it’s glibly written off.

I guess I didn’t like that part.  I have read Peter David’s work for years and this is some of his darker work.  The end of this issue is an open ended final issue without any closure.  The differences between the Defenders and Avengers are answered but the head of the Avengers in this reality is pretending to be moral but is not.

Moral ambiguity in heroes seems pretty common in comic books lately.  While I appreciate a moral dilemma, when no credence is paid to the struggle of an individual facing the actions they committed it becomes more shocking.

I didn’t love this issue.  I though the art was inconsistent and the writing, while good, seemed shocking for no real reason than to be alarming.  It’s not a terrible issue, but it’s not award winning either.  Grade: low B

3.  The penultimate chapter of the series, Secret Wars Civil War #4, is probably the best of the installments.  What makes that great is that each issue is better than the last.

We are ready for a war between The Iron and The Blue and boy it’s going to be huge. Not all of the heroes want an extended war but in this issue we learn who is wanting it

Tony Stark has gone AWOL to rescue his lover, She Hulk.  He has put his second in command in charge.

Peter has figured out how to get his weapon activated which would deactivate all super powers.

This book brings us just over the brink of war.  We see heroes fighting heroes.  Charles Soule does a great job with the issue and leaving us with a very large cliffhanger.

I’m looking forward to the end of this series.  Grade: A

4.  Secret Wars The Amazing Spider-Man renew your vows #005 was a fun comic but may have crossed over into cheesy territory more than a couple of times.  Spider-man has been captured and his family goes after Regent.

I thought that this book was s little more cliche than I would have liked.  Love will make you stronger.  You don’t need powers if you have a family that loves you etc.

The scenes with Annie Parker were great.  I’d love to see more of her.  This wasn’t a great book but it wasn’t tragically bad either.  Grade: B

Image Comics Faster than Light #1 review

I think I may have read one of the most flawless first issues of any Science Fiction comic books that I have ever read.

Brian Haberlin has written a thoroughly engaging opening issue of a series I’m looking forward to reading from here on out.

The premise:  Saul Fredericks, a brilliant scientist, has developed a way for space travel to happen faster than the speed of Light.  This revolutionary invention allows mankind to travel to Mars in a very small amount of time.  

His invention is about to be tested on its first mission.  Through an additional amount of science, the astronauts have a new destination and the book begins.

Although there is not a lot of action in this book, the dialogue is very conversational and as a result the characters have depth that is believable.

Haberlin also does the art and it’s really good.  This is a great book.  Grade: A.

  

Marvel comic book reviews for comic books released on 9/2/15

Last week I didn’t put out a blog.  I had a lot going on.  This week I almost spaced it.  So let’s get started.

1.  Future Imperfect #005 is undoubtedly the best of the mini series and may actually be one of the better books of the whole Secret Wars event.  I think if I were to pick one gripe with the story is that The Thing( Thunderbolt Ross) has not played a roll at all in this issue.  

If you have read this series you know that ultimately it has come down to Maestro taking on Doom.  That is this issue.  It is fun, violent and what you have come to expect from a great comic book.

Peter David does it again and delivers a pretty amazing script filled with action and betrayal and fun.  In the last issue we met an older man.  In this issue we determine who it is.  The final outcome of this book is tragic for one character and will have huge repercussions for the rest of the Secret Wars.

Greg Land’s art is nothing short of astounding once again.  He draws everything with such care and detail that it’s no cooncidence that his variants and other artwork are highly sought after. Since  this is my first book to read, I can’t really go on record as saying he won the Marvel universe yet but I’d say he’s close.  I’ll let you be the judge.

  
Grade: A

2.  Battleworld Thors( Secret Wars) #003 is the second book I read this week and has one of the more unusual covers I’ve seen.

  
Not to mention reading a story that reads more like a Law and Order episode than a comic book.

Because of the quirky nature of the story, it’s also one of the best comic mini series I’ve read in recent months.

This whole story is about a serial killer murdering all the Jane foster’s in all the different Domains of Battleworld.  No one knows why and only in this issue do we learn who.

Most of this issue is in a CSI interrogation room with back and forth between one of the Thors and Loki.  There is not a lot of action here but it is still expertly written.  This is a grade: A.

3.  Age of Apocolypse #3 is a turning point in the series.  There is a virus that will wipe out all mutants and Apocolypse wants it.  From what I understand there is also a weapon designed to destroy Apocolypse.  These two plot lines are in direct conflict with each other. The end of this issue is a game changer for the rest of the mini series.

With most of the books in the Secret Wars series being good, this is just another title that has beat my expectations.  Almost every book gets better and the art has also been beautiful.  The colorist in this book should get more of the credit..  The shading and coloring enhance the book a lot.

This is a grade A. book

  
4.  I can’t imagine that creating a new hero that will be loved for ages is an easy thing to do.  Silk has been one of the best comic books in recent years.  This book has so much heart that I almost don’t want to see this book end

But this is the end of the series.  Silk #007 continues to put an amazing spin on the humanity of being a hero.  Cindy moon is one of the best well rounded characters.  The search for her parents adds a depth to the character that is not seen in many comics.  This was a great comic and I eagerly await the relaunch.  Grade: A+