Comics

Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1

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before-watchmen-minutemen-coverWhen DC announced its plans for Before Watchmen, a new mini-series set in the world Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created more than 25 years ago, but without their input, I was, like many, not too keen on the idea. Of all the titles suggested the only one that piqued a little interest was Minutemen.

Written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke (and that’s really enough for me to give it a shot), the first issue of Before Watchmen: Minutemen is little more than a reintroduction to the characters we learned about in Watchmen. Told through the eyes Hollis Mason, the first Nite Owl, as he is putting the final touches his memoirs “Under the Hood,” we meet each of the Minutemen (Sally Jupiter, Hooded Justice, Silhouette, Dollar Bill, Mothman, The Comedian) through Mason’s narrated flashbacks.

Although it doesn’t really give any new information about the characters the setting and characters are a perfect fit for Cooke’s writing and art. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Avengers vs. X-Men #5

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Avengers vs. X-Men #5If you were wondering how Marvel Comics was going to draw out Hope Summers becoming the Phoenix over a twelve-issue maxi-series, issue #5 answers that question with an unexpected bait-and-switch.

On the moon where the Avengers and X-Men battle and the Phoenix Force arrives, Iron Man and Giant Man create an ill-explained kamikaze robot created to disperse the the Phoenix Force before it can completely merge with hope. However, their plan doesn’t quite give them the expected outcome.

Although Hope Summers is denied the Phoenix Force, it instead it finds itself dispersed among five of the X-Men – Cyclops, Colossus, Magik, Emma Frost, and Namor who take Hope “home” to save here, heal her, and prepare her for what is to come.

Honestly, as twists got this one is pretty damn dumb, but having the power dispersed among five different X-Men may create some unusual battles over the next few issues before Marvel finally relents and gives us the only thing we’re reading this comic for – the new Phoenix. Hit-and-Miss.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Kung Fu Panda #5

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kung-fu-panda-5-coverAfter four months where the mini-series had apparently run its course, Ape Entertainment’s Kung Fu Panda returns with the first of two new issues before beginning a new series Tales of the Dragon Warrior.

In the main story, “Discipline & Disorder,” Tigress and Po are sent to a nearby village under attack by the warlord Mei, a fox with an army and an invisible striking attack. When the pair find themselves outsmarted and stuck together in a Chinese finger trap they have to learn to work together to survive.

In the short back-up story, “Grrls Night Out,” Tigress and Viper attend the village of Lin Ju’s harvest celebration only to get in a bar fight at a local tavern started by two trying to hit on them.

Although neither adventure is terrific, each is fun and has a nice moral for kids. At $4 the price will always be high for this title, but fans of the characters should enjoy this one. For fans.

[Ape Entertainment, $3.99]

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Justice League International #10

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jli-new-52-10The team returns to New York follwing their trip in Paris (which took place, in an apparently completely unnecessary crossover, in Firestorm). No closer to understanding the reason for the bombing that left three members injured and one dead, the team licks their wounds before heading to Washington D.C. to face the Burners.

I’ve really wanted this title to succeed but the team, personalities, and conflicts struggle so much against the new gritty universe of the New 52 that it’s difficult, especially when, ten issues in, the comic isn’t sure who all of these characters are or how exactly they fit together.

Their battle with the Burners, which takes up a good chunk of the issue, works okay. And if how Intersek uses the team’s powers against them to take down isn’t exactly but it gets the job done (even if events feel a bit rushed).

…

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #10

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tmnt-10-coverWhile the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles worry and search for their missing master, Splinter finds himself kindapped by the Foot Clan and forced to prove his valor in a fight to the death. Although he is able to defeat his opponent, Splinter’s refusal to kill the ninja brings him face-to-face with an old enemy, Oroku Saki, in his new form as the leader of the Foot Clan – The Shredder!

As Leo and Donnie argue over mysticism and reincarnated Foot Clan, April gives the turtles a new base of operations when she decides to share an abandoned storefront with apartments above where they can rest and plan on how to save Splinter.

I’m a little surprised how quickly the Turtles have abandoned the sewers, but I’m happy to see that Splinter has finally confronted his old adversary (even if it does seem a little drawn out). Now he just has to make it out alive to give us the confrontation we really want to see – the first battle between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Shredder. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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