Sunday, December 10, 2006

Quick Take Reviews for December 10


Welcome To Tranquitlity 1
Originally uploaded by
Heidi Meeley.
Manhunter #26- Thank God it’s back! Unleashed Part One finds Kate having an appointment with Wonder Woman, who wants her representation in the Maxwell Lord murder trial. Kate gets more then she bargained for and then some as the creative team wastes no time getting to the good stuff. I really enjoyed Marc Andreyko’s scripting, and the colors here were absolutely gorgeous. Jason Wright gets kudos for his coloring over Javier Pina and Robin Riggs' exemplary art. In even better news, the supporting characters get their due as there is page time spent following up on their story lines. Grade: A.

Justice Society of America #1- Other then Manhunter, this is a highly anticipated book for me. New characters Maxine Hunkel and Starman are especially compelling. I appreciate the reinvigoration of the greatest team to exist, and feel that the historical value is well in hand with Geoff Johns at the helm. We must never forget where we came from, you know? I was a bit disgruntled at the attitude Wildcat displayed and felt it was out of character, but am willing to see where his story takes him. The art by Dale Eaglesham and Art Thibert was beautiful. I couldn’t find much to complain about, so why bother to nitpick to find it? Grade: A.

Welcome To Tranquility #1- This is the last of the Wildstorm reboots to make an appearance, and the one I have had my eye on. With Gail Simone on scripting duties, and an interesting concept, there was a great deal to look forward to. A town where super villains and super heroes can live in peace in their twilight years is an amazing concept to be sure. I will confess to being a tad bit let down, but I wonder how much that has to do with my expectations. The scripting was good, and the art by Neil Googe was interesting. His ability to change from old school to new school style is a gift. The bottom line is that I felt this book is good, and I plan to continue getting it, but I felt like a little something was missing. My hope is that certain thing materializes down the road. Grade: B.

Witchblade #102- My first problem is that the book is two month late. This means that I can’t remember the details of what has occurred before with as much clarity as I would like. The other problem I have is that when a book is late, there should be a special reason why that makes up for it. The good news is that Ron Marz’ script is great. The bad news is there wasn’t anything extra that made me think the wait was worth it. As Sara gets ready to hand off the Witchblade to a new bearer, this is a crucial time for the book. To see it get so far behind schedule is disheartening and doesn’t bode well for the future of my continued readership. Grade: C.

Marvel Holiday Special: This waste of my #3.99 irritates me. I couldn’t even read the damn thing because it didn’t flow worth a nickel. I shouldn’t be so mean, but I am really upset. Grade: F.

Nightwing #127- Yay! Marv Wolfman has saved this title from become extinct at my house. With a great story line and some nail biting moments, Wolfman has made the character recognizable again. Bruce Jones’ take had me so bitter that I didn’t think my expectations could be met. Thank Goodness I was wrong. Disgruntled ex-readers, take my word for it- you can pick up the title again. All is forgiven. Grade: B.

Outsiders #43- FINALLY this story arc ends. It is about flipping time, because I was going to drop the book. Next issue promises to explain the changes wrought by One Year Later so I will stay around to figure out the “whys” and the “wherefores”. If that doesn’t meet my satisfaction, this book is done. Grade: D+

Uncanny X-Men #481: Rise and Fall of the Shiar Empire starts to really heat up. Ed Brubaker is doing a killer job of redefining the team, with clever use of longtime characters and a more familiar approach to the Shiar. The guy has done his research, and it shows. For nail biting action and great dialogue, this is the place to be. Can Brubaker do no wrong? It seems so. Grade: B+.

New Excalibur #14- This issue was so out of character that I could scarcely believe it. While I enjoyed the art by Jim Califiore, I was really put off by the basic character portrayal therein. I wish I could say I liked it, but it was just okay, bordering on poor. Sorry! Grade: D.

Strangers in Paradise #86- The issue I have been dreading. That is the bad thing about ending a series- plots must be woven together and must end. There must be resolution. Do I like how things are going? Not at all. Am I going to buy the last four issues? Definitely. I might as well close my eyes and try not to look too close, kind of like riding a roller coaster and not enjoying going upside down. Grade: B-.

4 comments:

Elayne said...

Woo-hoo, she mentioned the art! :)

Point of info, though - the apostrophe goes after the "s" in our surname. If the surname ends in "s" the apostrophe is always after the "s" and the plural is an additional "es." I hate when mail order places do this sort of thing. It's why I never order doormats or anything, they'd always say "The Riggs" rather than the proper "The Riggses." But then maybe I'm just trying to keep up with the Joneses!

Anonymous said...

I agree on the new JSA - great book. I wish that the new JLA would have started out this strong. Tranquility was fun too, and I hope that it gets even better.

Yes, the Marvel Holiday Special was a let-down this year. Last year's was MUCH better. But, the Justice League Unlimited issue that came out last week was a holiday one and it was fun. Check it out if you can.

Heidi Meeley said...

Elayne, thank you so much for the correction. I appreciate it, and will remember the correct way for future reference.

I did love the art- it was absolutely gorgeous. Tell your husband I am in awe!

Thank you again for the correction!

Heidi Meeley said...

Lisa- I agree that out the gate JSA far surpassed JLA in the sense of storytelling. I fear that Meltzer is taking the long way around on this first story arc.

I am still very letdown by the Marvel Holiday Special. It is hard for me to be mean, but it really made me mad to have spent my hard earned money on what I thought would be a proven commodity based on the creators involved. Unfortunately it felt rushed and didn't flow well at all for me.

Thank you for the heads up on the JLU issue. I will try and grab a copy at the shop this week. It sounds like a lot of fun!

Take care