Phil-In – Reviews by AABC Staffer Dan – Stuff I Read and Put Back:

Hi folks! With the Professor on a lovely one-week cruise, you are stuck with me!  Some people call me “that one guy”, some call me “can I have a deal on these?”, and others call me on Tuesdays, but really, I’m just Dan, one of the lovely gang of the stellar AAB&C Crew.  I’ve barely said anything about me, which is probably enough, so let’s get to some reviews!

X-men: Manifest Destiny: Nightcrawler #1:  Writer: James Asmus Art: Jorge Molina with Ardian Syaf.
Instead of continuing with the series of one-shot origins of X-men (which weren’t that good either) we get this.  I don’t really understand that point of this one-shot.  Did you ever want to see a story about Nightcrawler that had nothing to do with anything and no relevance?  If so, then this is for you.  If not, then you will understand why this comic is on this list.

Trinity #41 (of 52):  Writer: Kurt Busiek Art: Mark Bagley.
This will be the most positive negative review I will write (think about that, grammar lords!).  I appreciate how much knowledge Busiek has.  I also appreciate the fact that Bagley can crank out all those pages, even if it’s only half the book.  The problem is that I am completely not drawn into the story, and I just,  Don’t.  Care.  About.  Weekly.  Comics.  Anymore.  A great effort, but not for me.  And I could barely read the font of the narration of the second half, so there’s that.

Immortal Iron Fist #23 Writer: Duane Swierczynski Artist: Travel Foreman
Frank Castle the Punisher #68 Writer Duane Swierczynski Artist: Michael LaCombe
I feel bad for Swierczynski.  They stuck him on Iron Fist after Brubaker, and Punisher after Ennis.  Really?  That’s just cruel.  While his stories are fine, the art is sub-par, and it just doesn’t match up to its predecessors.  Sorry man, it’s like trying to write a sequel to Grapes of Wrath; you just shouldn’t do it.  Both of these titles should have ended when their creative teams finished.

Titans #11 Writer: Sean McKeever Artist: Howard Porter
Ow.  I do not remember Porter’s art looking this flat and mangaish when he was on JLA.  Some artists grow overtime, but some artists you wish would stay the same.  Maybe I should look back at the JLA stuff and judge it again.  It doesn’t help that the script has no action, Ever, just talking.  Watch Cyborg repair, talk, Connor hooks up with a waitress, talk, Beast boy stalks Raven, talk, they actually get into costume for three whole pages, talk.  There is such thing as plot advancement, and then there’s this.  Comics are sometimes like soap operas, and I have no defense against that claim when comics like this hit the shelves.

Astonishing Tales #2 Writers/Artists: Various
I say various artists and writers because issues like these make my brain hurt.  I dunno if it’s to try out new artists or writers or anything, but these four stories collected in here (advancing 8 pages or less) literally have nothing to grab me in any way.  Anthology-style comics were out of style in the 70’s, why should that be any different now?  Wanna read about a team-up of Wolverine and the Punisher (finally!!! Cause we’ve Never seen that before…)?  How about Iron Man 2020, Modok, or the Mojoworld?  You don’t?  Well, me neither.  Pass.

Action Comics #875 Writer: Greg Rucka Artist: Eddy Barrows
There is almost no problem with this issue and with the direction Superman has taken over the entire New Krypton story.  The problem is simply this: I don’t care about Nightwing and Flamebird.  There’s probably a lot of people wetting themselves over who they are and what they’re doing, but I’m not one of them.  Ever since Geoff Johns and Gary Frank left this title, it just hasn’t been the same, and this issue is no exception in my eyes.

Green Lantern Corps #34 Writer: Peter J. Tomasi Artist: Patrick Gleason
I don’t want to put this on the put back list, but it just didn’t work for me.  The main Green Lantern series is clearly better, but even without comparing, this issue still fell flat.  Don’t get me wrong. Watching Arkillo and Mogul tear each other to pieces was sweet.  I mean, what’s not to like about being impaled, surviving, and then impaling your opponent on the same spear while it’s still in your chest?  Still it feels like they are jamming as much as possible in before Blackest Night starts.  It’s too bad because it really hurts this book overall.

Black Terror #3 (of God Knows How Many) Writer: Jim Krueger Artist: Mike Lilly
Notice how I didn’t put Alex Ross in the credits section?  That’s because he does plot and give art direction.  Can anybody explain what this means exactly?  Cause it sounds to me like he gets paid huge money to have his name on it, and maybe hint about what would be a good plot point.  This whole Project Superpowers has bored me and made my head hurt.  Not nearly as Painful as that Earth X trilogy, but seriously, if I could make a living off of just making covers, and letting Krueger use as many words as he wants, I would be set for life.  I salute Alex Ross for sucking money out of Dynamite for doing barely anything. God Bless America.

Official Movie Prequel GI JOE: Duke #1
I didn’t even make it to the first page of this.  I was too busy staring at the Channing Tatum photo cover where he tries to look tough with the scar.  Make sure to CGC this now, cause photo covers only go up in value!!! No. Pass.

And that’s all.  I just watched the Suns Jason Richardson get his 360 degree dunk blocked and I’m done!

“The” Dan Jacka

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One Response to Phil-In – Reviews by AABC Staffer Dan – Stuff I Read and Put Back:

  1. Bill Drummonds says:

    “. . . I do not remember Porter’s art looking this flat and mangaish when he was on JLA. ” And I don’t remember Porter being GOOD on JLA. Seriously, I think the guy’s a lousy artist. His faces change from panel to panel, depending on the angle. His poses are stiff and uninteresting. Morrison’s scripts made JLA special, but Porter was a lousy choice as artist.

    Nice work, here, “The.”

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