Reviews

Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #289

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Phil

Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration #1 — Creators: Various These anniversary packages can be a drag sometimes, with too much self-importance and congratulation weighing things down, but this one gets it right: it starts with a James Robinson/Chris Samnee story about the day the FF went up in that rocket and kickstarted the Marvel Silver Age, focusing not on the event but on what a bunch of other characters were doing at the same time; it’s jammed with little bits of continuity and Easter eggs, and… well, come on, it’s Samnee art, and it’s a great opener. Then, Bruce Timm illustrates … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #288

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Phil

The Wicked and the Divine #5 — Writer: Kieron Gillen;  Art: Jamie McKelvie;  Colors: Matthew Wilson This is a sharp-looking book — you could cut yourself on McKelvie’s precise, thin lines — and the theme’s about death and art, so it can be grim and gory (particularly so in one scene in this issue), but there’s also a warmth in both the words and the pictures, and a passionate humanity at its core that makes everything work. This issue concludes the first arc, and the last scene (which I assume will also be the end of the first trade) is … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #287

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Phil

Miraculously, we have a week without dozens of new titles, or sparkly 3D covers, or other major debuts or milestones (yeah, Wolverine “dies,” but c’mon…). That’s good, because it gives us a chance to spotlight some of the better ongoing titles, the ones that sometimes get lost in the pr hype of the new stuff: Trees #6 — Writer: Warren Ellis;  Art: Jason Howard Supreme: Blue Rose #4 — Writer: Warren Ellis;  Art: Tula Lotay Case in point: Ellis is doing some of the best work of his career with these two books. Trees is creator-owned, and continues its hard-sf … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #286

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Phil

Yet another week with a large number of first issues, including a couple of highly-advertised Big Event books from Marvel and DC. Before getting to those, however, there are a couple of less-hyped, but more worthy, books to mention… Batgirl #35 — Writers: Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher;  Breakdowns: Cameron Stewart;  Art: Babs Tarr Strictly speaking, this isn’t a first issue, but it’s a “soft reboot” of the title, with a new creative team, location, look and tone for the character, so it should count. Also, it turns out to be really good: I was skeptical of a couple of … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #285

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Phil

No more DC special animated covers, but we’re back to lots of first issues — significant debuts from Marvel, DC, Image and a few other companies too — so that should be more than enough to keep us busy: Thor #1 — Writer: Jason Aaron;  Art: Russell Dauterman Marvel gets the most buzz on its new books this week, especially with this distaff version of one of their oldest characters. This isn’t quite a brand-new relaunch of the title (in the way, say, the new Batgirl completely changes the character’s setting, circumstances, creative team, etc.), since Aaron’s still the writer, … Continue reading →

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