It’s happening again folks! With Phil taking a much needed rest to finish off his semester, Dan is back with a Phil-in. Let’s see what sucks shall we?
Titans: Villains for Hire one-shot Writer: Eric Wallace Artists: Fabrizio Fiorentino, Mike Mayhew, Sergio Arino, Walden Wong
Oh. Oh God. Oh God this is awful. This one-shot is meant to set up the Titans for their next big thing, whatever that is. Slade organizes a team of mediocre and unrecognizable characters to randomly murder the All-New Atom. It switches between torture and back story, but none of it makes any sense. Worst of all is the treatment of the Atom because he doesn’t have any ties at all to the Teen Titans. What’s the point you ask? I have absolutely no idea. And the cover price is how much???
Siege #4 of 4 Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Oliver Coipel
Dark Avengers # 16 Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.
New Avengers Finale Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Brian Hitch
Avengers the Initiative #35 Writer: Christos Gage Artist: Jorge Molina
Siege: Embedded #4 of 4 Writer: Brian Reed Artist: Chris Samnee
The Sentry: Fallen Sun Writer: Paul Jenkins Artist: Tom Raney
Sorry for the huge list folks, but all of these issues tie in to each other and are bad for almost the same reasons. Siege is the blandest of them all, setting everything in place for the “Heroic Age”. As always, Bendis doesn’t quite deliver a solid conclusion, but I still wanna know what comes next. Dark Avengers, the New Avengers Finale and Avengers the Initiative all wrap up their respective storyline in time for the big reset. These all ring about the same with their “Ta-Da! The End!” fell, but none of them are special. Siege Embedded is just kinda there. The Sentry is the worst of them all. A useless one shot about a funeral that doesn’t happen. A lot of talking about the past exploits of the Sentry, weird bits from the Thing and Rogue (oh God, why Rogue, why?!) and just a ton of mediocrity. I’m still interested to see where some of this goes, but a very lackluster finish to Bendis’s grand 7-year-plan.
Justice League: Generation Lost #1 Writers: Keith Giffen, Judd Winick Artist: Aaron Lopresti
Interesting. I’m not sure that this is a bad issue. I just really don’t care about any of these characters. If you like the JLI era, then this is the place for you. It’s really only missing a blue beetle to give you everything you want. However, if you’re like me and didn’t grow up with it, then this doesn’t really do anything for you.
Hulk #22 Writer: Jeph Loeb Artist: Ed McGuiness
Incredible Hulk #609 Writer: Greg Pak Artist: Paul Pelletier
I would say that Loeb’s Hulk has gone off the rails, but that would imply it was ever on the rails to begin with. The big red Hulk reveal comes with such an “oh, ok” feel to it, that it’s impossible to actually care at all. Ignoring the fact that it makes absolutely no sense, it has been so long that I’m not sure if anyone really cares. The real shame is how badly it drags down the Incredible Hulk issues. These used to be really really good, and now Pak’s Hulk is tanking behind the Loeb train. Can we just stick to punching the Watcher in another world, and stop ruining good things?
Astonishing X-men Xenogenesis #1 (of 5) Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Kaare Andrews
Where to begin on this one… Did the Phil Jiminez arc ever actually come to an end? Cause this is the newest version of a lost series. After Joss Whedon bailed this series is nowhere near the powerhouse is once was. Mediocre art, inconsistent characters, and an overall who cares attitude makes this another case of mediocrity on paper.
New Mutants #13 Writer: Zeb Wells Artist: Ibraim Roberson and Lan Medina
This whole arc has been interesting, but it also feels like the same old X-men crossover. Important things will happen in the main titles, but then there will be issues like this. Things happen here, but I’m not sure if any of it really matters or isn’t going to be re-hashed in the main books. Overall, it’s disappointing to see the same old crossover that will result in the same old same old. I just don’t get how mutants can save you so many times and still be persecuted for sixty plus years…
Doc Savage #2 Writer: Paul Malmont Artist: Howard Porter
I just don’t like this. It doesn’t really make any sense, it’s not drawn well at all, and I don’t see why it doesn’t really tie into the main First Wave series. It’s a blatant cash grab that results in seriously poor quality comics. The back up is interesting for the Scott Hampton art, but that’s definitely not worth your hard-earned 4 dollars.
Wolverine #900 Writers/Artists: Various
I don’t understand the point of this at all. It’s just a series of Wolverine stories. And they’re all not very good. And there’s not a Frank Tieri short story, so nothing of any relevance to really go after here.
“The” Dan Jacka
