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COMIC REVIEWS FOR THE MONTH OF: JULY 2011
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"The opinions expressed in the reviews below are not necessarily those of Alternate Reality, Inc. Hey, I don't agree with all of them either!"
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DAREDEVIL #1 |
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Writer:
Mark Waid |
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Artist:
Stefano Caselli |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072011 |
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL'S SYNOPSIS:
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THIS SUMMER, THE DEVIL IS REBORN. RENEWED.
RESSURECTED. With new enemies, new friends...and that same old "grinnin' in the
face of hell" attitude, The Man Without Fear is back in a double-sized first
issue and leading with his face! Mark Waid (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Irredeemable,
RUSE) joins neo-legendary artists Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin for a new spin
on Daredevil that will leave you gasping for air. Having turned his world upside
over the past several years, Matt Murdock realizes that justice may not be blind
to his past and villains may not be the only ones looking for answers. Bring it
on. If Matt Murdock could see what he was doing...he'd be terrified. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Okay, so I found myself firmly planted in the group
who though “Daredevil” wouldn’t benefit from an emotional intervention…I liked
the grim and gritty, brooding and badass DD that I’ve come to love for years and
years and years. I saw the bright colored preview pages and read some of what
Mark Waid had in store for the crimson crime fighter, and I thought to myself:
“I’ll pass.” But, of course I didn’t, it IS still Daredevil after all, and he IS
one of my all time favorite characters in ALL of comic history. I couldn’t just
abandon the guy, and thankfully I didn’t, because just as he did with
Spider-Man, or the Fantastic Four before that, Mark Waid is more than ready to
bring his A-game and shake things up for the visually-challenged hero, all while
doing it with a smile on his face.
So I’m man enough to admit that I think DD fell off the tracks somewhere in the
middle of “Shadowland”; I was over that series by ish-two. I understand the
opportunity to restart the series with a new number-one, hopefully garnering
some new readership, and in that case the shift in tone makes a great deal of
sense. No one wants to walk in on the middle of a conflict, whether external or
internal, and so this provided for the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the
cavalier, swashbuckling, blind lawyer from Hell’s Kitchen to the world that may
have left him behind to cry in his cereal month after month. There’s still a
great deal of emotional depth to the character, and his supporting cast, but
it’s not so in-your-face, and it’s beautifully camouflaged amongst the pages of
sense-staggering artwork by the first of two rotating artistic teams.
The story is simple enough, and maybe that’s why it’s so much fun. DD is on the
trail of a potential hit-man that may or may not strike at a wedding between to
‘connected’ families. Sure enough, someone does show up looking to ruin the
nuptials, The Spot, who is capable of opening holes in space and traveling
through them to attack his enemies. This makes for an extremely interesting
battle between Matt and The Spot, one that is played out with striking visuals
by way of DD’s enhanced senses. Once DD has saved the day he’s able to get back
to his day-to-day grind of being a trial attorney, only he’s having a ‘spot’ of
trouble with that as well.
Ever since being exposed as the defender of Hell’s Kitchen, Matt Murdock’s
ability to practice law has been in jeopardy. Now that things are just starting
to get back to normal, or what passes for normal in the Marvel Universe, Matt
has a personal mission to get back on track with his work. His partner Foggy is,
as usual, a great, big, ball of stress over his friend’s supposed lack of
responsibility, especially for the stuff that happened in “Shadowland”. It’s
great to see that this isn’t a reboot, but more of a directional shift in what
to expect from DD in the future. At one point I was a detractor, and it took all
of 22-pages to change my mind. Give “Daredevil” a shot, as I’m sure Mark Waid’s
story and Paolo Rivera’s pencils are certain to win you over too. |
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AMAZING SPIDERMAN #666 |
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Writer:
Dan Slott |
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Artist:
Stefano Caselli |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072711 |
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MSRP:
$3.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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MARVEL'S SYNOPSIS:
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THE SPIDER-MAN STORY OF THE DECADE BEGINS WITH THS
'SPIDER-ISLAND: PRELUDE' Super-star writer Dan Slott and fan-favorite Spidey
artist Stefano Caselli are back! New York has been INFESTED and the web grows as
it gets ready to explode into SPIDER-ISLAND! Normal people are getting
Spider-Powers! But not all of them?realize that with great power must also come
….you know the rest. Okay, sure we often say Peter Parker's life will never be
the same. But listen, pal, we've never been more serious. Heroes and villains
are crawling all over Manahttan and no one knows why. This will change
everything for Pete, for Spidey…and possibly for YOU! Look at it this way…If
EVERYONE'S a Spider-Man…? then no one is. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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If you’ve been as devoted a follower of Marvel’s
Spider-Man as I have over the last few years, then the past four-some-odd months
have seen an ungodly-like amount of build-up to the new “Spider Island” and
you’re probably grateful to finally get the whole thing underway. The
ever-ominous issue #666 is but a prelude, however artful and magnificent, and
the true ‘mini-event’ doesn’t actually get underway until next issue, so okay,
I’m jumping the gun, but the truth is I just have some many more nice things to
say about Stefano Caselli’s artwork than I do Ramos…it’s a shame.
Slott has shown how masterful his pen is with his time on “Amazing”, both during
the much lamented “Brand New Day” and more recently with his solo-writing chores
which began during “Big Time”. I can honestly admit that, while I was at first a
little intimidated by the idea of one writer and three artists tackling the book
on a bi-weekly basis, Slott has done nothing but delivered time and time again.
He’s a guy who really sinks his teeth into a character and its core concepts,
then turns everything on its ear in a way that is both challenging and
celebratory of everything that’s preceded it. He takes chances, and maybe not
everything turns out perfectly, but it’s got heart, just like Peter Parker.
There’s a couple of words that Spider-fans have become more than wary of over
the last decade or two: “Clone” and “Jackal”, oh, and “The Other” are at the top
of that list. It’s interesting to see both a Spider-Clone and The Jackal
featured so prominently in the prelude to the ‘big’ mini-event, and done so with
such a brazenly cavalier attitude. There’s a confidence in the story at-hand
that really shines through in both the dialogue and plot, and also Caselli’s
pencils. The idea of EVERYONE on the island of Manhattan developing
spider-powers just like Spider-Man’s is mind-blowingly simple, yet so simple
that it’s been overlooked forever, and Slott just walks in, slams the idea down
on the table and as a reader I’m just like, ‘YES! I’ll be GLAD to read that!’
Caselli is an unsung hero of “Amazing”, his artwork is obviously light-years
ahead of what he’s being given to draw. I liked what he did on “The Initiative”,
I didn’t follow him over to “Secret Warriors” and I’ve lived to regret it, but
his SPIDER-MAN? It’s impeccable. It’s just right. So much so that if this book
ever went back to a monthly schedule, and let’s face it, it will, I sincerely
hope they keep this guy over anyone else (now that Marcos Martin is over on
Daredevil…sorry). I think this guy has the right feel to his linework that many
other artists don’t bring with them, it’s unmatched when it comes to Spidey.
I’m excited to walk into the comic shop and pick up the next issue of “The
Amazing Spider-Man”. No matter what comes out I’m almost certain that Slott has
made it to the top of my to-read list, as soon as the next chapter arrives. This
is probably the MOST excited I’ve been for a Spider-related event since “Maximum
Carnage” (I was like 10, eff you), and admittedly there haven’t been as many as
you’d think considering how many issues have come out in the last three years.
Even if Humberto Ramos is illustrating it, I’ll be there with bells on, soaking
up Slott’s story with admiration and pure unadulterated joy. It’s a good time to
be a fan of Spider-Man. |
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THE MISSION #6 |
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Writers:
Jon and Erich Hoeber |
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Artist:
Werther Dell’edera |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
072711 |
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MSRP:
$2.99 each
(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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IMAGE/COLLIDER'S SYNOPSIS:
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In a dramatic culmination, Paul hunts down his
nemesis, Luke, forcing a violent confrontation in a last ditch effort to save
his family. But a terrible revelation awaits… |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Featuring one of the most cold-blooded covers this
side of a “Punisher MAX” book or something like it, “The Mission” #6 wraps up
the first arc of the series, and turns everything readers thought they knew
about the book on its ear. I really enjoy this title, so much so that I’d be
willing to bet dollars to donuts against anyone who’s never had the pleasure of
reading it that if they’d try it, they’d enjoy it. It’s a gritty, street-level
story about a guy caught up in a battle between two opposing forces that might
just be Heaven and Hell. It’s that or he’s seriously f*cked in the head.
Ever since Paul found himself dragged into the age-old conflict between, well,
whoever it is that’s warring with one another, his life has become one big
$#!t-stain in the underpants we call ‘life’. He doesn’t know who to trust,
people want to kill the $#!t out of him, his wife is losing her ability to trust
the man she loves, and Paul, he may be losing the ability to trust himself.
Gabriel, the older man who approached Paul in the first issue and gave him his
‘mission’ is looking for a relic rumored to be full of all sorts of special
power. He sends Paul to retrieve it, and this is where Paul runs into Luke, who
would appear to be working for the ‘other side’, whoever that is.
There’s a great amount of this book that is just vague and mysterious, but it
works. It keeps me wanting to turn pages, pick up the next issue, all in hopes
that I’ll be told just what the hell is going on. I desperately want to know
what the deal is. I need to know if Paul is a good guy, or just a sick, sad man
with a gun. Is Gabriel an angel or something more devilish? These, and more, are
the lingering questions I have after reading this issue, but unfortunately it’s
going to be another month before I get any closer to the answers! |
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All Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2011 by their respective
owners. No rights given or implied by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2011 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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OTHER REVIEWS...
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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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KIDS REVIEWS
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Dozen's of kid friendly titles arrive every week and we review the ones that
stand out.
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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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RETURN TO TOP
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