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2006 |
FORWARD INTO THE PAST
(aka "Old Reviews")
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2006 |
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NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #1 |
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"Brian Bendis and
Brian Reed show the team in action in a stunning sequence of pages drawn by Jim
Cheung." (Bo) |
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NEWUNIVERSAL #1 |
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"...Warren Ellis and Salvador Larroca have been given carte blanche to take the
busted toy and turn it into something that kids will want to play with again"
(Bo) |
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SPIRIT #1 |
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"Cooke has the characters down perfectly and his take on Ebony is completely not
offensive at all." (Bo) |
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122006 HEADS UP:
Illuminati #1
and Marvel & Image Roundups.
121306 HEADS UP: Spirit #1
and Marvel &
Image Roundups.
120606 HEADS UP: Newuniversal
#1, Crossing Midnight #1 and Marvel &
Image Roundups, |
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SEE THE
BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR MORE COMIC REVIEW BYTES FROM
THIS MONTH! |
APOCALYPTO (***½):
"...Gibson
has invested it with such visceral energy that despite being a
story about death (of individuals, communities and whole
societies), it pulses with cinematic life"
(JR)
PAN'S LABYRINTH (****):
"...a fancifully aesthetic, densely rich fairy tale for adults,
represents the full blossoming of Mexican Guillermo del Toro as
a filmmaker of the first rank" (JR)
ROCKY BALBOA (***):
"Ultimately, Rocky Balboa is so wonderfully
self-aware that you can't help but respect Stallone for putting
it out there." (JR) |
DCU INFINITE
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: "...perhaps
this is for a different audience, one that didn't grow up with
human sacrifices or thugs who get batarangs in their skulls." (JR)
MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL-2006: "...this comic sized offering is made up of all new material, unfortunately,
it’s a real mixed bag." (JR)
WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ:
"While it may not be a substitute for reading
the novel, Images adaptation is a classic in its own right and could very well
lead a child to seek out the source material." (JR) |
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7 SOLDIERS OF VICTORY-THE SERIES |
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"Most projects this ambitious end very badly
but aside from some missteps Morrison did
fine." (Bo) |
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52 AT WEEK 26 |
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"All
in all I have liked most of what I have seen so far
but if you pushed me to give the series a rating then
the best I could do is give the book a B-minus" (Bo) |
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BABEL (****) |
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"The beauty of this film is in its lapidary details, which
sparkle with feeling and surprise." (JR) |
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IMMORTAL IRON FIST #1 |
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"I always
thought Iron Fist was cool back in the day but this issue makes him beyond
awesome" (Bo) |
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CRIMINAL #1 |
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"We are introduced to all the players in this
dark game as the issue flows until a grim
conclusion that suggests things are going to
get worse for Leo." (Bo) |
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NEW X-MEN
#31 |
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"We see here the
potential that the newcomers have (especially
Julian) and that suggests the second year for
the team will be a great one." (Bo) |
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WILDSTORM'S WORLDSTORM |
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"The DCU had
it's Infinite Crisis and while no one was
looking the Wildstorm Universe had itself an
an Armageddon" (Bo) |
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BLADE #1 |
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"...in order for a regular Blade book to work
it has to connect with more than just horror
fans and this first issue suggests that that
may make this version last awhile." (Bo) |
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JSA CLASSIFIED #17 |
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"The take on
the characters makes this highly effective."
(Bo) |
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JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #25 |
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"...a message that the kids will need during
the growing up process..." (JR) |
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MYSTERY IN SPACE #1 |
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"I could see this limited series becoming a
recurring event at DC (and not just one to
keep the copyright going) but not a regular
series because cosmic books tend to burn out
pretty fast." (Bo) |
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ELEPHANTMEN #1 |
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" Moritat is
just as good as Ladronn would have been here
as well as probably faster." (Bo) |
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GHOST RIDER #1 |
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"... this may
have a chance since Way is hot at the moment
and there is buzz around the movie." (Bo) |
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O.C.T. #1 |
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"The photo-realistic art really moves the story
along and we enter a world where strange
things happen." (Bo) |
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UNCANNY X-MEN #475 |
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"The art by Tan is amazingly detailed and
powerful but you get the sense of that from
the wraparound cover he gives the issue." (Bo) |
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072906 HEADS UP:
Marvel/DC/Image Roundups.
071906 HEADS UP:
Elephantmen #1, Uncle Sam
and the Freedom Fighters #1
and Roundups
071206 HEADS UP:
Ghost Rider #1, Man Called
Kev #1, X-Men #188 and Roundups
070606 HEADS UP:
O.C.T. #1, Uncanny X-MEN #472 and
Roundups |
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SEE THE
BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR MORE COMIC REVIEW BYTES FROM
THIS MONTH! |
JOHN FORD/JOHN WAYNE DVD COLLECTION (****): "For eighty bucks, you’re getting a
hell of a deal
with this baby." (JR)
MIAMI VICE
(***):
"The two best
words to describe the 2006 motion picture Miami Vice are
"stylish" and "intense." (JR)
MONSTER
HOUSE (***):
"Visually,
it cannot be argued that the film offers anything
new to conventional theater viewers. What impressed
me about Monster House's animation is not so much
how the characters look (they're a little
doll-like), but how naturally their motions are
rendered." (JR)
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (**):
" This second
installment in the "Pirates" trilogy is more than
the usual bad or even numbingly horrible movie. It's
an amalgam of many of the modern cinema's worst
tendencies and modern filmmaking's most unfortunate
misconceptions." (JR) |
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CASANOVA #1 |
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"Writer Fraction keeps things moving in an
accelerated pace, and Ba packs each page with distinctive art"
(Bo)
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EMISSARY #1 |
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"...what would really happen if
someone from off this world just sort of
showed up and stopped planes with their bare hands."(Bo) |
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SIDEKICK #1 of 5 |
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"There are some great laugh out loud moments
here..." (Bo) |
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THUNDERBOLTS #103 |
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"...Nicieza leads us to an ending
that we don't see coming at all." (Bo) |
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062806 HEADS UP:
Nextwave #6, Sidekick #1 and Roundups
062106 HEADS UP:
Casanova #1 & Roundups
061406 HEADS UP:
Thunderbolts #103 & Roundups
060106 HEADS UP:
Emissary #1, Spectre #1 of
3 and
Roundups
BO'S HALF-LIFE AWARDS:
Bo looks at the
BEST and the WORST in comics for the
first half of 2006. |
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SEE THE
BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR MORE COMIC REVIEW BYTES FROM
THIS MONTH! |
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
(***½):
"...the film is oddly exhilarating, even though the
news is mostly bad."
(JR)
CARS (***):
"Overall, if the film is not as funny as its
Pixar
predecessors, that's probably part and parcel of why
it doesn't seem as enchanting." (JR)
PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
(***½):
"The film is a rich,
funny and warm examination of mortality told in
sublimely subtle ways. " (JR)
PROPOSITION
(***½):
"Gritty to the point of
being disturbing, The Proposition examines the
revenge thriller not as the culmination of righteous
indignation, but as a pyrrhic victory devoid of
catharsis. " (JR)
SUPERMAN RETURNS REVIEW-A-PALOOZA:
"Bryan Singer has
pretty much gotten it right. Superman Returns is a
credit to the first two Superman movies. Its
combination of romance and fantasy adventure is very
strong in comparison to other superhero comic
book-to-movie sagas." (JR)
"The film is heavily inspired by the original Donner film and
fans of that should love this since both share tone and style.
This is a film that you should go out of your way to see." (Bo)
JR'S MID-YEAR MOVIE RECAP:
The year's half
over and JR looks back at the best of
2006...so far. |
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FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD
SPIDERMAN #8 |
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"Now this story can be considered a cheat since
we all know that Ben is dead (but so was Bucky
we thought) but David keeps us on our toes
anyway." (Bo) |
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NEGATIVE BURN #1 |
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"This isn't unique anymore but it shows that
something like this can work as opposed to
what DC was doing with Solo where the choices
of creators there seemed too arbitrary and
pointless in half the cases." (Bo) |
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X-FACTOR #7 |
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"Each page is a treasure and the art here is by
Ariel Olivetti but you wouldn't know it from
looking at it." (Bo) |
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052406 HEADS UP:
Loveless #7, Negative Burn #1, X-Factor #7
and Roundups
051706 HEADS UP:
Moon
Knight #2, X-Men Fairy Tales #1 of 4 and Roundups
050306 HEADS UP: Friendly Neighborhood Spidey #8
and Roundups
FREE COMICBOOK DAY REVIEW-A-PALOOZA:
Bo & JR team up to review most of the25
titles that shipped for this years event! |
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SEE THE
BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR MORE COMIC REVIEW BYTES FROM
THIS MONTH! |
DA VINCI CODE
(**½):
"...a relatively mindless affair that offers
adequate entertainment value while displaying
obvious flaws. The controversy has made seeing The
Da Vinci Code a more desirable night out than it
might otherwise have been." (JR)
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
3 (**½):
"... if you're
yearning for a flashy, leave-your-brain-at-the-door
summer movie that never does anything interesting or
challenging, Mission: Impossible III has what you're
looking for." (JR)
POSEIDON (**):
" There's enough
uncertainty about who's going to live and who's
going to die to maintain a bit of suspense until the
end, although it's more a question of mild curiosity
than having a vested interest. " (JR)
X-MEN 3 THE LAST STAND
(**½):
" this is
probably as straightforward as it gets: if you liked
the first two, you're likely to appreciate the
third. X-Men: The Last Stand isn't as taut or
satisfying as X-Men 2, but it's better constructed
and better paced than the original X-Men." (JR) |
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ANNIHILATION RONAN #1 |
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"Having read stories involving Ronan since his
invention I can say that for the first time he
does seem to have a personality and that is a
credit to Simon Furman." (Bo)
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ION #1 |
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"Tocchini's style isn't smooth at all and has
some rough edges but you do get the feeling
that he will develop with each issue." (Bo) |
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SKYE RUNNER #1 |
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"The story is a bit overwritten by since the
art by Garza is so attractive we can let that
pass." (Bo) |
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ANNIHILATION PROLOGUE |
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"I have no idea what the death count is at when
the issue ends but you can tell that Giffen
has learned well from Starlin," (Bo)
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BATMAN SECRETS #1 |
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"Kieth's Batman has a small head but massive
body and unless you are a fan of his work you
aren't buying this anyway." (Bo) |
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RED SONJA/CLAW #1 |
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"Smith has been doing 'muscle and
sweat' comics for a while and you can see he is trying to channel
Neal Adams." (Bo) |
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032906 HEADS UP:
New Avengers Illuminati
Special, Fantastic Four #536 & Roundups
032206 HEADS UP: Catwoman #53, Supergirl and the Legion #16 & Roundups
031506 HEADS UP:
Annihilation Prologue,
Birds of Prey #92, Red Sonja/Claw #1 & Bo's Oscar Scorecard
030106 HEADS UP:
Ms.Marvel #1, Batman
Secrets #1, Portent #1 & Starbrand: Untold Tales of the New Universe |
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SEE THE
BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR MORE COMIC REVIEW BYTES FROM
THIS MONTH! |
16 BLOCKS (**):
"I could
remark about 16 Blocks' assault on the viewer's
credulity, but it has bigger problems." (JR)
ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN
(**½):
"
...delivers the kind of cinematic package they
expect: cute animals, funny moments, and cartoonish
action sequences." (JR)
INSIDE MAN
(***):
"Their
interaction is like a high stakes game of poker,
with neither knowing the other's hand and each
uncertain where the bluffing begins. Within this
context, things work. As a whole, the movie is
entertaining but unremarkable." (JR)
OSCAR 2006 PREDICTONS:
JR & Bo handicap this years Oscars
V FOR VENDETTA
(***½):
" a visually sumptuous
concoction that combines political allegory, bloody
action, and a few stunning cinematic moments into a
solid piece of entertainment." (JR) |
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STORM #1 of 6 |
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"Writer Dickey doesn't tell this story as if it
was a comic book but as if it was one of his
best selling novels." (Bo) |
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WARLORD #1 |
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"Bruce Jones does open things up a lot more
than Grell did when he introduced the
character during the 70's but never really
makes a case for why we need another
incarnation of the character." (Bo) |
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022206 HEADS UP:
Storm #1, Captain America
#15, Catwoman #52, Warlord #1
020806 HEADS UP:
Bo brings us up to speed
on Daredevil, Infinite Crisis, Planet Hulk, Exterminators and Spiderman The
Other |
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SEE THE
BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR MORE COMIC REVIEW BYTES FROM
THIS MONTH! |
CURIOUS GEORGE
(**½):"A perfectly
middle of the road kids flick. Nothing here
for parents to be worried about. Nothing here
for parents to be entertained by either. Take
the little ones but bring a book for yourself."
(JR)
FIREWALL (**):
"The time has
come for Harrison Ford to start thinking about
ways to reinvent himself or be relegated to TV
hell. A very typical police action thriller
that only has its performances going for it,
definitely B-list material with A-list stars.
Watching a man in his near mid-sixties diving
over cars and fist fighting is starting to
look a little silly. Junior...sit down." (JR)
NEW WORLD
(**):
"Visual
auteur Terance Mallick's slow, turgid, sleep
inducing, self- indulgent take on the
Pochantas legend. The ever present breathy
voice over gives the film a perfume commercial
feel that had this reviewer glancing at his
watch many times. Still, the film looks great.
Too bad it is hollow at its center." (JR)
PINK PANTHER
(*½):
"Miscast from
top to bottom. Steve Martin cashing another
check in yet one more pointless remake. That
sound you hear is Peter Sellers spinning in
his grave." (JR)
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KNIGHTS 4 #26 |
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"Plot and dialogue are Aguirre-Sacaca’s strong
point so the issue is well laid out with little drops of humor laced in with his
tight story." (Bo) |
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SGT.ROCK THE PROPHECY #1 |
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"The issue moves swiftly and is told with
great professionalism." (Bo) |
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X-STATIC PRESENTS: DEADGIRL #1 |
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"It’s witty and pokes fun at
Marvel conventions as well as life itself." (Bo) |
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011406 HEADS UP:
Knights 4 #26, X-Static
Presents Deadgirl #1 and Bo's Book of the Week: Sgt Rock the Prophecy #1 |
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SEE THE
BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR MORE COMIC REVIEW BYTES FROM
THIS MONTH! |
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
(***½):
"This film
deserves all the praise that it has been
receiving. However, the moniker of "the gay
cowboy film" does not do it justice. An
insightful film that at it's heart is about
how seldom in our lives that we ever feel true
happiness and contentment. And how we will
simply settle for what we have in life instead
of going after something better. One of the
years very best." (JR)
KING KONG-1933, SPECIAL EDITION DVD (Very
Highly Recommended):
Far and away the best I have ever seen
this classic film look, the supplements were
obviously a true labor of love by the makers of the
set. Very highly recommended." (JR)
MATADOR (***½):
"Shepard mixes thrills with comedy but the
true star here is Brosnan who takes what he could have played as
a stock character and shows no fear in looking silly when the
part demands it." (JR)
MATCH POINT
(***½):
"... this is the best "serious"
work the director has ever attempted..." (JR)
MUNICH (****):
"A haunting and absorbing thriller that will spark serious
debate." (JR) |
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MORE COMIC REVIEW BYTES
FROM 2006 |
"BOCEPHEUS" |
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"These reviews (listed alphabetically)
are based on the Sneak Peek titles sent out by Marvel & Image each week
(DC's up to September of this year). Since they only send out a
sampling of their offerings for each week
reviews are not the best of what shipped that
week but on the best of what we got!
For the full review, click on the link. |
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ANNIHILATION NOVA #1
"Former Legion writers Abnett and Lanning add
layers to the character and instill a sense of
tragedy that could make the character a lot
more interesting as well as a lot less
flippant (which gave fans a Spider-Man feel
but didn't fit a cosmic hero)." (Bo)
ANNIHILATION SUPER
SKRULL #1
"In the past the general idea with SS was that
he would show up, brag a lot then get the crap
beat out of him to the point where we would
wonder what the point behind him was in the
first place but here he's almost like one of
those Russian generals that got put out of
work after the fall of the Soviet Union; all
he knows is how to kill and now he has no one
to really kill then to add insult to injury no
one wants anything to do with him anyway." (Bo)
BIRDS OF PREY #92
"It's a pretty nice story and Siqueira shows
promise as the latest artist to join Simone on
a book she has lots of fun with." (Bo)
BITE CLUB #1 of
4
"The writers dance us from one tightly written
scene to another while leaving us trying to
catch up to the stories behind the stories but
follow the basic rule of police
procedurals-keep the story moving and give the
audience what they need while holding on
tightly to what they want." (Bo)
CAPTAIN AMERICA #15
"The cover has a heading that tells us that the
title was named Wizard's best series of 2005
and you will have a hard time convincing
people that it isn't." (Bo)
CATWOMAN #52
"Pete Woods does his usual high quality job on
art and even though I enjoyed the story the
fact that the events contained within can have
no real impact on the title since we are going
to jump ahead one year in a month." (Bo)
CATWOMAN #53
"It isn't a huge leap that Holly is the new
model but her inexperience is very apparent
and Pfeiffer does a careful job showing that
she is going to have some major problems not
getting herself killed while on the job." (Bo)
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #1: "The issue is well written as we should expect
and I can see steady if not spectacular sales for the book." (Bo)
INVINCIBLE #31
"This title is written like the early Marvel
books were with regular human stuff going on
surrounded by mystery, action and small
interludes that eventually lead up to
something huge." (Bo)
IRON MAN #7
"This is a wonderful story and reminds me a lot
of the David Michelinie days but with the
added push of modern day spy fiction." (Bo)
LOVELESS #7:
"The compelling Marcelo Frusin cover sums up
the story quite well." (Bo)
MAN CALLED KEV #1
"The story is casual in its sense of layout
but Garth is trying to reel us in by dropping a bread crumb here and there
before connecting things on the path." (Bo)
MS.MARVEL #1
"The story is engaging and suggests that the
tone will be more serious than in She-Hulk but
not Daredevil serious." (Bo)
NEW AVENGERS
ILLUMINATI SPECIAL
"This book makes you think and some will
complain that there isn't enough action but
since this is a primer and not the battle
itself read it and understand where it is
going." (Bo)
NEXTWAVE #6:
"This book exists just to be silly and read
without any pretension of it having deep
value." (Bo)
the PORTENT #1
"Bergting's art isn't that shiny, flashy stuff
that made Image the perpetually late shipping
wonders that they are but you can easily
follow his story." (Bo)
SPECTRE #1
of 3: "Pfeiffer and Chiang do a great job here by
making the story understated and not flashy or
overtly dramatic." (Bo)
STARBRAND: UNTOLD
TALES OF THE NEW UNIVERSE
"Writer Parker tells the story in a light
manner that makes fun of the styles of the NU
era (such as Ken's haircut) and comic
conventions in general (such as sidekicks)."
(Bo)
SUPERGIRL AND THE
LEGION #16
"As the cover and the title shows Supergirl has
made it to the 30th Century during OYL and
when it is all said and done the last thing we
read is a huge surprise that Waid should have
lots of fun with." (Bo)
UNCLE SAM AND THE
FREEDOM FIGHTERS #1
"This is another book that was suggested by
Grant Morrison and it doesn’t have a weirdness factor so he must be taking his
meds." (Bo)
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #1
"Dillon is best with this type of character and
unsuited for team books." (Bo)
X-MEN #188
"There is a lot more action here than we would
have expected from a Carey written book but as usual his dialogue is on the
mark." (Bo)
X-MEN FAIRY TALES #1
of 4: "The art is lightly colored and highly
addictive." (Bo) |
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Images © Copyright 2024 by their respective owners No rights given or
implied by Alternate Reality, Incorporated
Review © 2024 Alternate Reality, Inc.
All Graphics © 2024 by their respective rights holders. No rights/ownership inferred or
claimed by Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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RASSLIN' REVIEW |
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Pay Per
Views and House Shows, we layeth the Smaketh- Down on
both! |
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AT THE MOVIES |
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Every week we
give you our opinion on what's playing at the cinema. |
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KIDS
REVIEWS |
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Dozen's of kid
friendly titles arrive every week and we review the one that
stands out. |
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YOUR HEADS UP |
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100's of new
comics ship every week, we give you a HEADS UP on them! |
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