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COMIC REVIEWS FOR THE MONTH OF: AUGUST 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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ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #1 |
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Writer:
Jonathan Hickman |
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Artist:
Esad Ribic |
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Reviewer:
"Our Man" Andy Schuman |
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
082411 |
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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 Republic Is Burning. The next era has begun. As
our heroes struggle to find their place in the world, the The Ultimates face
game-changing threats even they can't handle. And with the heart of the team
missing in action, the country's last stand of defense may be on its last legs.
Critically acclaimed writer Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four, FF, Secret
Warriors) and superstar artist Esad Ribic?(Uncanny X-Force) drive the Ultimates
into new and deadly?territory! The series we've all been waiting for! |
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OUR MAN ANDY'S REVIEW:
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The death of the Ultimate Spider Man served as a
jumping off point for a relaunch of the Ultimate universe. Jonathan Hickman has
been assigned writing duties of this series after Mark Millar’s run. Hickman is
one of the architect’s of the Marvel Universe. The first issue reminds me of his
just completed series of Secret Warriors. The first issue has multiple plot
twists. I think that Hickman has continued the run of Mark Millar.
The art chores of the first arc of this relaunch is being handled by Esad Ribic.
Esad’s art is very similar to Bryan Hitch in style and coloring. There were
multiple action scenes within the issue. Ribic gives each fight scene a unique
look and style. This is Ribic’s biggest assignment to date with the series. I
definitely enjoyed the artwork in this issue.
Overall the first issue of this newest relaunch put this series in a much darker
place. This issue picks up right after Ultimate Fallout mini series. Within the
issue Nick Fury has a handle on everything that’s happening. The end has Fury
completely at a loss without his satellites and connections. The overall
connection of SHIELD is crumbling. Iron Man and Thor are serving missions that
turn out badly. I enjoyed this issue and can’t wait to see what surprises
Hickman and Ribic have in store for the team. |
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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #667 |
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Writer:
Dan Slott |
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Artist:
Humberto Ramos |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
081011 |
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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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Start Webbing The News! New York City's Infestation
is complete and eight million people are plagued! As someone near to Peter
Parker's life reveals their spider-abilities, the brilliantly fearsome Jackal
rises from the past and begins organizing an army of Spider-powered soldiers.
Spider-Man isn't the only hero affected as the threat goon grows bigger than any
one Fantastically Friendly Neighborhood Avenger can handle. Best-selling Spidey
creators Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos spin a Spider-epic that turns Peter
Parker's BIG TIME into a BIG MESS. Bad romance, death-defying violence and one
man facing his FINAL fearsome destiny... |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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While I wasn’t exactly on board with “Spider-Island”
despite the seemingly endless build-up over the last several months, after
reading the Prologue issue and now this, the introductory shot in what is a
six-some-odd part salvo, I’m quite impressed. The idea of EVERYONE on the island
of Manhattan being gifted with Spider-powers seemed a rather obvious plot
device, and the inclusion of Miles “The Jackal” Warren just screamed “CLONE
SAGA” all over again to me, however both of these rather small details are soon
overshadowed by the sheer insanity of the entire mini-event. It’s truly a
remarkable story, and as a reader I feel Dan Slott is just getting ramped up and
beginning to stretch his legs in Spidey’s corner of the Marvel U.
From Carlie Cooper’s page one revelation, through the Jackal’s first assault on
Manhattan by way of Spider-Powered criminals, to the Avengers showing up and
beating the crap out of everyone, even Spider-Man, I couldn’t get enough of this
book. Even as Shang-Chi, a character getting a surprising amount of play in the
Spidey books as of late, and Madame Web look on, witnessing the destruction of
Pete’s character at the hands of dozens of Spider-Imposters, I got the sense
that Slott was trying to build up to something extremely dramatic. There’s the
ominous warnings from Madame Web, which is pretty much par for the course with
that character, alluding to the fact that Pete might have to break his #1 rule,
nobody dies…IF he wishes to succeed.
I want to be the first to go on record as saying that PETE isn’t going to kill
anybody at the end of this series…sure, someone may DIE, but I don’t think that
Pete is going to be the one that deals the deadly blow. He may not arrive in
time to save the day, or he may not be able to stop whomever it is that seeks to
kill whoever it is that’s slated to bite the big one, but he’s NOT going to go
all vigilante and start merc’ing the baddies all Punisher-style…no, sir.
Humberto Ramos isn’t usually my cup of tea. I just don’t dig his big-eyed,
Anime-inspired artwork…but in this story, THIS story, it really works. I don’t
know what’s making me cross the aisle all of a sudden, maybe it’s the dynamic
body language he conveys in each panel, every would-be Spider-Man is as
interesting and unique as can be. He has a graff-writer’s eye for space and
detail, and I enjoy how much he crams into the big two-page spreads. I think
that by the end of this ‘event’ he may have just changed my mind with regard to
his style and how good of a ‘fit’ it is for this book. Anyway, check out the
first issue of “Spider-Island”, but only if you want to have a good time reading
comics…if not, go read “Tank Girl”, or something. |
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PUNISHER #1 |
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Writer:
Greg Rucka |
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Artist:
Marco Checcheto |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel
Comics
Shipped On:
080311 |
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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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For Frank Castle death comes easy...life is where
things gets complicated. Fully loaded the BIGGEST GUN of all returns with blood
on his hands and vengeance in his eyes. As New York City's body counts continue
to rise, the city's streets are teeming with more methodical criminals than ever
and a police force doing it's best to keep its head above water. The Punisher
has returned to serve his own brand of justice with everything's he's got... but
can he survive the darkness stored in his own arsenal? Plus bonus pages
exploring some of the new personalities in Frank's life...and how closely
intertwined living is with dying. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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The Punisher is one of those characters who, while
held in some pretty high regard by a great many fans, can easily be written off
as a one-note character. He’s angry, bad guys killed his family, so now he kills
bad guys. ALL bad guys, any bad guys he can find, he’ll kill. No problem. This
sort of a character can easily become a caricature of himself in the hands of a
less-capable writer, but Greg Rucka is most certainly NOT a less-than-capable
writer, in fact he’s great. I might even go so far as to say that I wouldn’t
have read this book if it had been written by anyone else.
A family celebrating the wedding of their daughter, just returned from
Afghanistan, to her fiancé, some guy, is cut short when a group of men calling
themselves The Exchange burst in and lay waste to the festivities. In the end
twenty-seven people are dead and damn near twenty more are injured. The police
move in securing the area and begin an investigation, and that’s where Rucka
shines. His ability to write police, with the Punisher as little more than a
background character is without peer. His characters are fallible, they don’t
know what the hell is going on, and they’re all too human. His Punisher is a
force of nature, a beast from the depths of hell sent to drag back those of us
who seek to do evil, to harm, to exploit. He works under cover of darkness,
moves in shadows, has eyes everywhere…it’s kinda freaky.
There’s a great sequence after the main story in which readers are offered a bit
of insight as to how the Punisher is able to operate with such efficiency,
considering the fact that he’s WAY outside the law. It’s a fantastic plot device
that introduces the supporting cast and proves, unequivocally, how important or
a role they’ll be playing. The Punisher himself is also given a little more time
to shine, and it’s all worth it, especially thanks to the glorious pencils of
Marco Checcheto. Here’s a guy whose work on “Daredevil” was sinfully unnoticed,
but thankfully someone in the Marvel Bullpen figured a way to get him on
something more people are bound to pick up.
I was uneasy at first about the relaunch of DD, Moon Knight, and Punisher, but
thankfully by sticking first rate creators on the titles, Marvel has gone out of
their way to make these MUST-READ books month in and month out. I’m not a huge
Punisher fan, but if Rucka is writing then I’ll be reading, and as far as my
doubts, well, that’s just our nature as fans of the medium, whether we like the
sound of something or not, we’re skeptics, and as such it’s more often than not
that we find ourselves foot-in-mouth, eating crow, etc. I’m just glad that
Marvel’s B-listers are being given the opportunity to shine. |
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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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