Ron RoweComics Commentary for March 5th, 2008
March 7th 2008 08:03
Two 0/10s this week, but some really high scores as well…
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #552 (Marvel) - 6/10
Was actually okay. Peter Parker came across as somewhat endearing, and the story relatively interesting. And then, a junkie stole drugs from Curt Connors’ lab - as if, given the “Feral” arc in Sensational Spider-Man last year, seriously. Worse, though, was a slightly misleading description of The Bar With No Name… and the fact that Speed Demon was in the bar! My pal Jim Sanders doesn’t REALLY run in those circles anymore (I know, his status is a bit wonky, and yes, the pun was intended - but his character is certainly questionable enough that he would not be trusted by most other super-villains). *sigh* I really do not like Brand New Day.
CABLE #1 (Marvel) - 0/10
What the heck was that? Oh, I see - it is some guy’s parody, showing how utterly crap a Cable book can be. What? It’s the REAL DEAL? Ewwwwwwwww. Here, Cable is portrayed as a simple man (which is odd, since for the last two decades his main characteristic has been that he is SO complicated we can’t even hope to understand him), an old man (despite his white hair, Cable isn’t old) and clumsy. The storyline makes the Nomad series read like an absolute masterpiece (Nomad was good, but not great)… but the art… I couldn’t tell what was going on for several pages. Was there a bridge? I just don’t know. (Oh, story, what was that whole “I want to go to New York?” “Yeah, me too.” crap about? It’s flooded… but does that mean he isn’t going there? Meh.)
CLANDESTINE #2 (Marvel) - 10/10 - pick of the week
Perfect. The perfect comic. I can’t elaborate without spoiling the amazingly unique storyline of the series, but this book simply could not be any better. It is such a pity that it is only a five-issue limited series!
LOGAN #1 (Marvel) - 4/10
REALLY don’t like the art. Dirty, scratchy and unclear. The storyline is typical meh-able Wolverine garbaggio. Simply not interested, and don’t see the need for a second book exploring Wolvie’s memories, when Origins is doing such a crap job of it.
MOON KNIGHT #16 (Marvel) - 0/10
Oh, how laughable. Look at how MK runs on page 14. He’s sooooooo gay.
Meh. The book remains grim and gritty for the sake of being grim and gritty. There is nothing to further the character at all, and Mark Texeira’s usually stunning artwork is horrendous this issue. Go away, Moon Knight. Just get cancelled and leave me alone already.
NIGHTWING #142 (DC) - 9/10
There is always so much symbolism in Nightwing; it is clear Tomasi puts a lot of thought into both plot and script. The artwork can sometimes be a little blurry and inconsistent (for example, Dick looks bulkier in civvies than he does in-costume), but is largely clear and effective. I am really enjoying the idea of Nightwing, after the… interesting… character development he has had over the years, taking on more and more of a mentoring role with
Robin. As a matter of fact, I’d love it if he stole Tim away from Batman, to show how far he truly has come since being ol’ Wingpits’ sidekick.
UNCANNY X-MEN #496 (Marvel) - 8/10
Yay! Mike Choi’s artwork is simply beautiful and while I can’t quite put my finger on exactly why, I feel it is precisely how X-book art should look. The actual plot is becoming increasingly involving; one problem I have had with the X-books over the years is that while they go through brief periods of change, they never last more than a year without going back to “Poor mutants! Woe is us! There are Sentinels somewhere that might maybe possibly want to attack us, and our friends keep dying and coming back from the dead, but we’re still so dense that we don’t realise they will inevitably come back, so we moan all the time.” The only drawback so far is that no explanation has been given about what has become of Rhodes and Co. since Messiah Complex.
X-FORCE #2 (Marvel) - 5/10
This sucks. There are things I love about the book (the art, wow!) and things I hate. The creators seem to be going for a whole “Look, we so bad, we dun’ be killin’ them bad guys!” vibe, and that is a massive drawback. Replacing the team with something more closely resembling the setup of the original X-Force, while maintaining an otherwise-identical storyline, would make this book perfect.
Overall score for the week: 5/10
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #552 (Marvel) - 6/10
Was actually okay. Peter Parker came across as somewhat endearing, and the story relatively interesting. And then, a junkie stole drugs from Curt Connors’ lab - as if, given the “Feral” arc in Sensational Spider-Man last year, seriously. Worse, though, was a slightly misleading description of The Bar With No Name… and the fact that Speed Demon was in the bar! My pal Jim Sanders doesn’t REALLY run in those circles anymore (I know, his status is a bit wonky, and yes, the pun was intended - but his character is certainly questionable enough that he would not be trusted by most other super-villains). *sigh* I really do not like Brand New Day.
CABLE #1 (Marvel) - 0/10
What the heck was that? Oh, I see - it is some guy’s parody, showing how utterly crap a Cable book can be. What? It’s the REAL DEAL? Ewwwwwwwww. Here, Cable is portrayed as a simple man (which is odd, since for the last two decades his main characteristic has been that he is SO complicated we can’t even hope to understand him), an old man (despite his white hair, Cable isn’t old) and clumsy. The storyline makes the Nomad series read like an absolute masterpiece (Nomad was good, but not great)… but the art… I couldn’t tell what was going on for several pages. Was there a bridge? I just don’t know. (Oh, story, what was that whole “I want to go to New York?” “Yeah, me too.” crap about? It’s flooded… but does that mean he isn’t going there? Meh.)
CLANDESTINE #2 (Marvel) - 10/10 - pick of the week
Perfect. The perfect comic. I can’t elaborate without spoiling the amazingly unique storyline of the series, but this book simply could not be any better. It is such a pity that it is only a five-issue limited series!
LOGAN #1 (Marvel) - 4/10
REALLY don’t like the art. Dirty, scratchy and unclear. The storyline is typical meh-able Wolverine garbaggio. Simply not interested, and don’t see the need for a second book exploring Wolvie’s memories, when Origins is doing such a crap job of it.
MOON KNIGHT #16 (Marvel) - 0/10
Oh, how laughable. Look at how MK runs on page 14. He’s sooooooo gay.
Meh. The book remains grim and gritty for the sake of being grim and gritty. There is nothing to further the character at all, and Mark Texeira’s usually stunning artwork is horrendous this issue. Go away, Moon Knight. Just get cancelled and leave me alone already.NIGHTWING #142 (DC) - 9/10
There is always so much symbolism in Nightwing; it is clear Tomasi puts a lot of thought into both plot and script. The artwork can sometimes be a little blurry and inconsistent (for example, Dick looks bulkier in civvies than he does in-costume), but is largely clear and effective. I am really enjoying the idea of Nightwing, after the… interesting… character development he has had over the years, taking on more and more of a mentoring role with
Robin. As a matter of fact, I’d love it if he stole Tim away from Batman, to show how far he truly has come since being ol’ Wingpits’ sidekick.
UNCANNY X-MEN #496 (Marvel) - 8/10
Yay! Mike Choi’s artwork is simply beautiful and while I can’t quite put my finger on exactly why, I feel it is precisely how X-book art should look. The actual plot is becoming increasingly involving; one problem I have had with the X-books over the years is that while they go through brief periods of change, they never last more than a year without going back to “Poor mutants! Woe is us! There are Sentinels somewhere that might maybe possibly want to attack us, and our friends keep dying and coming back from the dead, but we’re still so dense that we don’t realise they will inevitably come back, so we moan all the time.” The only drawback so far is that no explanation has been given about what has become of Rhodes and Co. since Messiah Complex.
X-FORCE #2 (Marvel) - 5/10
This sucks. There are things I love about the book (the art, wow!) and things I hate. The creators seem to be going for a whole “Look, we so bad, we dun’ be killin’ them bad guys!” vibe, and that is a massive drawback. Replacing the team with something more closely resembling the setup of the original X-Force, while maintaining an otherwise-identical storyline, would make this book perfect.
Overall score for the week: 5/10
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