Author: Gary

Sunday Reviews

ANIMOSITY: EVOLUTION #10

With the death of Wintermute in the previous issue, responsibility falls to Adam North to do what he can to ensure the animals and humans live together in some way, bringing together others to help him.

As enjoyable as this series has been, the ending here is a little ambiguous – I’ve not heard that this is the final issue but there are no more solicited and the last page has “The End” written but there’s so much more that could happen. I guess we wait and see.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ANNUAL #1

Holy crap! I’ve mentioned before about how crammed with ideas the main JUSTICE LEAGUE series is and how so much stuff is going on; here it all comes to a head in a straightforward way that genuinely left me feeling like big things are coming. The Source Wall is gone, Perpetua – the “mother of the Monitor [and] Anti-Monitor” has been released, the Justice League lost, and the Multiverse itself is on the move.

Massive ideas are being thrown around here and it’ll be interesting to see where this goes.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #5

Darkseid’s plan to recreate Apokolips using the lost worlds is revealed, the followers of the League are rejected and pledge to destroy them in turn.

Despite the grandiose proclamations about the League members being revered as gods on some of the lost worlds, this was fairly by the numbers. The bad guy betrayed the good guys, the good guys fought amongst themselves and then made up, the worshippers – after being rejected – became the new bad guys. It’s not terrible, but it’s not setting my world on fire, either.

THE QUANTUM AGE #6

Jeff Lemire’s BLACK HAMMER take on the Legion of Super-Heroes comes to a close with a battle against the bad guy that’s resolved in a neat twist rather than a straightforward fists flying, powers smashing ending. It’s nicely done and I can’t help but wonder if we’ll get to visit Quantum World at some point in the future.

THE TERRIFICS #12

Doc Dread has assembled a team of bad guys from various different Earths in order to defeat the Terrifics who are currently split up trying to sort out their own problems. There’s a lovely scene between Plastic Man and his son which ends with him stealing the Batmobile and taking his kid for a spin; Phantom Girl gets back to Earth and sends out a signal to alert the rest of the team that Mr Terrific’s in trouble; and Metamorpho returns to his grumpy, composite self again.

Still one of my favourite comics, still enjoyable!

Mash-Up #47

Twice a week I randomly generate two dates and then compare the titles I own from both of them, trying to find some covers that, with a little basic photoshopping, I can mash together, and then I force the results on you lovely people.

By the way, I admit to being HUGELY influenced by the wonderful Super-Team Family blog which has been doing this for years (and a lot better) on an almost daily basis.

Have to admit – this is one of my favourites so far.

Loved Daniel Acuna’s art on the 2006 UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS series and was sad to see him disappear from DC soon after; think he had a short run on GREEN LANTERN and then headed to Marvel for some stuff.

Mash-Up #46

Twice a week I randomly generate two dates and then compare the titles I own from both of them, trying to find some covers that, with a little basic photoshopping, I can mash together, and then I force the results on you lovely people.

By the way, I admit to being HUGELY influenced by the wonderful Super-Team Family blog which has been doing this for years (and a lot better) on an almost daily basis.

Another Monday, another Crisis! This time Power Girl’s trying to prevent the death of Superman.

Power Girl and the Jurgens League of America – works for me!

Sunday Reviews

It’s a DC heavy week this week.

AQUAMAN #44

Apart from a three page glimpse of Mera being set up to marry someone from a “worthy group of suitors” in Atlantis, we’re back with the amnesiac Arthur on an island that turns out to be populated by lesser gods of the seas from various mythologies. By issue’s end, it looks like Arthur either has his memories back or at least is on the way to it.

I know a new writer traditionally throws away most of the supporting cast created by the previous team but this is such a radical shift that it’s a little disconcerting for me right now.

FREEDOM FIGHTERS #2

On Earth-X, the new Freedom Fighters have their first big success against the Nazis; they clearly work well together as a team and it’s refreshing to see heroes being heroic. We get a glimpse of Adolf Hitler II as well, and I wonder if he’ll be revealed to be a super-villain as opposed to just the son of the original dictator? Maybe this world’s Kryptonian?

This is shaping up to be a good maxi-series.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #16

Secrets are revealed as Martian Manhunter is linked to some experimental splicing of human and Martian DNA; Thanagar’s wealth and opulence are revealed as being a lie perpetuated by the imprisoned Martian Keep using the Absorbascon; and Starman shows up at the end and takes something from Hawkwoman and gives it to Hawkgirl, completing her missing memories  and tells her it’s time to fix the Source Wall.

As entertaining as this is, there’s just so much crammed into every issue that I’m often left wondering what they’re referring to. Maybe the pacing could do with being slowed a little?

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: TEMPEST #4

Where to start? There’s an assassination attempt against M which doesn’t work out; the heroes from the far future are still running around; Mina Murray’s in the Blazing World and realises that Prospero is actually the bad guy who wants to destroy England and return the faerie creatures to the “real” world.

Can’t help thinking this is Alan Moore enjoying himself even more than normal, to the point where the story becomes secondary to the style of storytelling.

SHAZAM! #2

Billy and the other kids head to the first of the magical lands they’ve discovered and while everything looks like fun on the face of it, you can pretty much guarantee things are going to go wrong quickly. Part of that will likely be the reveal of King Kid who describes himself as “the missing seventh champion of the family!” But “Shazam” only has six letters, I hear you say. In a nice twist, it’s shown during the history of Mr Mind (who also gets a first name, by the way) that it “took the combined might of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, Mercury and ! to stop and contain” him.

Yep, the exclamation mark in SHAZAM! counts as one of the family, and King Kid is going to want in.

Two issues in, and I’m enjoying this.