June 2010

Coming Soon

  • Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
  • IMDB: link

Seems Warner Bros. is raising the stakes with the final Harry Potter book, broken into two films, or at least that’s what their marketing department would have you believe. Trumpeting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I as “The Motion Picture Event of a Generation” may be just a wee bit much, but I’ll let you watch for yourselves. Harry’s final journey begins on November 19th with Part I’s release. Part II is set to follow next summer.

Coming Soon Read More »

Power Girl #13

  • Title: Power Girl #13
  • Comic Vine: link
  • Writer:Judd Winick
  • Artist:Sam Basri

power-girl-13-coverPower Girl is a character that takes a bit of love to do right. She’s far from the most interesting DC character, often being pigeonholed as the “other” Supergirl, the lost girl, or the spunky sexpot, but there is a character in there worth exploring. I’ve stayed away from this series since the first issue which I found largely forgettable. But this new direction has me intrigued.

Issue #13 brings in the new team of Judd Winick and artist Sam Basri. Both are good choices. First, Basri’s art shows off the character without making you feel like a perv. And Winick immediately ties in the series to the current Maxwell Lord storyline from Justice League: Generation Lost to add to the daily confusion and craziness that Power Girl must handle.

Wait, am I talking about the plot of a Power Girl comic? Holey Moley! Aside from the Lord arc we also get some genuinely funny moments of Power Girl out of costume like the one above (there are so many good panels in this issue it was hard for me to choose which one to use).

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Green Arrow #1

green-arrow-1-coverI don’t know whether to giggle or groan. Green Arrow has always been a thinly-veiled modern day Robin Hood, but I guess the veil is gone completely now.

Oliver Queen is living in the forest (but still wearing his costume and mask), forever exiled from Star City, taking down any baddies who come his way, robbing the rich to feed the poor (I’m not making this up). Then you have this panel promising some Merry Men to help him out.

Had the entire issue been more lighthearted and campy this new path for our hero may have been easier to swallow. Instead the series seems to be stubbornly stuck on the path laid down for the character in the best-forgotten (and never, ever, mentioned again) Cry for Justice mini-series. I can’t help wonder if writer J.T. Krul is having a good laugh at all of our expense.

[DC $3.99]

Green Arrow #1 Read More »

Detective Comics #866

detective-comics-866-coverHave I mentioned how happy I am to have Batman back in Detective Comics? Although the story itself is only so-so I like how Dennis O’Neil gives us a case that’s been bothering Dick Grayson since he first put on his Robin booties, and one he can now finally close as Batman.

Plus I love the flashback art from Dustin Nguyen. I’m even willing to forgive the mistake of Batman’s costume not fitting the period (Batman hadn’t yet added the oval when Robin first hit the streets).

Throw in Robin’s first encounter with the Joker and I’m pretty happy. Definitely worth a look.

[DC $3.99]

Detective Comics #866 Read More »

Hulk #23

hulk-23-coverAfter skipping the last three issues of this title (seriously, I just couldn’t take any more) I decided to pick-up this one given the promise of answers considering the origins of the Red Hulk. Does this issue provide those answers? Yes. Do they make sense? Well…

The entire comic is from the perspective of Gen. Thunderbolt Ross, and one thing I did enjoy was the stylistic choice of recreating different panels in the comic style of the age in which they originally took place. In order to achieve this the comic called on the talent of several artists including Sal Buscema, Ian Churchill, Mike Deodato, Ed McGuinness, Tim Sale, and John Romita Jr.

I just wish the story was as well thought out as the art. After the explanations are over there’s still plenty of head-scratching to be done over the questionable logic involved in Ross becoming the Red Hulk, Betty becoming the Red She Hulk, and all the rest of the nonsense we’ve had to put up with for months. Even with its “revelations” it’s certainly nowhere near good enough to justify the $5 price-tag. Hit-and-Miss.

[Marvel $4.99]

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