Author Archives: Phil

Ultimate X-Men #82 — Writer: Robert Kirkman;  Pencils: Pascal Alixe;  Inks: Danny Miki with Victor Olazaba “Ultimate Morlocks” kind of says it all here — I’m sure there are fans who consider the early 200s of Uncanny X-Men the “classic” years, but to me they’re the “too many subplots and stupid characters” years; when Ultimate Dazzler is the most interesting aspect of your comic, you have a problem.  Kirkman may be using some of these plot points to try to redeem them, the way Bendis did with the Clone Saga in Ultimate Spider-Man, but I can see Ultimate Marauders and … Continue reading →

Thunderbolts #114 — Writer: Warren Ellis; Artist: Mike Deodato, Jr. Three C-list heroes versus the T-Bolts, in the middle of three parts. Ellis is good at showing everyone’s motivations and making them believable, and Deodato delivers clear, action-oriented art. My one major complaint is that the story’s supposed to be set in Phoenix, and apparently no one bothered to do, like, ten minutes of Internet searching for photo references. It looks like Generic NYC Urban Area — there are water towers on top of the building’s, for God’s sake, and a hot dog pushcart that outta be a taco stand. … Continue reading →

Hack/Slash #1 — Writer: Tim Seeley; Art: Emily Stone She’s a goth girl whose mom was a serial killer. He’s a dim but big-hearted lug who dresses like a cross between Jason and Leatherface . Together, they fight crime — specifically, slashers, of which there are apparently a lot. The villain is a guy with his face ripped off who cuts off two of her toes before the big lug slashes off both his arms in a climactic full-page splash. Oh, and there’s a page of (fully clothed) goth girl pinup photos in the back. This is a comic made … Continue reading →

Yes, Free Comic Book Day was last Saturday, but I’m just getting around to reading the offerings — and most of these are still available, so here we are. Let’s figure that everybody already got the Spider-Man book, and look at some of the free books from other publishers. Starting with those for the youngest readers, maybe 7 or 8 or younger, we have: Owly: Helping Hands — Created by Andy Runton Gumby: Free Comic Book Day Special — writer: Shannon Wheeler; Art: Wheeler, Rick Geary, Mike Hersh and Mark Bode I don’t know if they’re meant to be, but … Continue reading →

52 #52 (of 52) — Writers: Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid; Breakdowns: Giffen; Pencils: McCone, Justiniano, Barrows, Batista, Olliffe, Robertson; Inks: Lanning, Wong, Ramos, Geraci, Robertson They did it: finished, with all the stories resolved, and satisfactorily, too. The 52-world multiverse seems a little wonky (instead of “Superboy punched the universe,” the worlds are now different because “Mr. Mind tried to eat us”?) but it’s made up for by all the little grace notes — especially the Dibneys becoming a combination of The Thin Man and Topper. Maybe the best thing about this series, in fact, has been the way the … Continue reading →