Astonishing X-Men Volume 1 Hardcover for $25.64

I’m a fan of Joss Whedon and some of his TV shows, but never did I think to myself, you know what would make a good X-Men series? Joss Whedon writing it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out he wrote a perfectly solid X-Men story.

Whedon certainly doesn’t shy away from some ambitious writing in this twelve issue run. He brings back a popular mainstay of X-Men comics, Kitty Pryde, to have a starring role in a school now led by Emma Frost and Scott Summers. He also creates two major villains, one which changes a considerable amount of X-Men history, brings back a major character long thought dead, and quite a bit more. A nice touch was while a Whedon fan would be able to notice his influence in the writing, he manages to stay away from spicing up the dialog as if it were a Buffy episode.

A significant thrust of the story is the hope of a mutant cure, which isn’t necessarily a unique idea for the X-Men, but I’d have to say it’s implementation was better in this than most of the times it’s been brought up. This isn’t the hamfisted X-Men 3 take on a mutant cure, this has real characters with authentic motivations interested in it, with real consequences. As more details emerge about the mutant cure, things certainly aren’t as simple as they seemed.

The main villain, while slightly doofy in certain parts of the story, is written well enough and has solid motivations for his actions. That already puts him a step above most villains. The secondary villain is the longer lasting of the two, having appeared in a number of X-Men storylines after this series.

One thing that may be an issue is that without understanding X-Men history to some basic degree, this story won’t be nearly as enjoyable. It draws upon people having an understanding of the characters and at least some of their previous actions. It’s a good story regardless, it’d simply be confusing without that knowledge.

The art for the most part is solid and some of the covers are spectacular. I’d go so far as to say this has some of the most memorable covers in X-Men history.

4.5/5. One of the better X-Men reads available.

Superman Red Son Hardcover for $16.49

What if Superman were to land in Russia, instead of Kansas? Mark Millar takes a crack at showing you what happens.

Superman rises through the Russian ranks, keeping America on it’s toes. America might have nuclear weapons, but Russia has the greatest living weapon. This changes the entire history of the planet. Luthor is still obsessed with destroying Superman, but it’s under the guise of protecting American interests. Superman still wants to help people, but his Russian upbringing and the reality of the world change his actions from the Superman we’re used to seeing.

What I liked best about this graphic novel is that it’s well thought out. Mark Millar did an excellent job developing the world, it’s history, and the characters themselves. Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Braniac, Bizarro, Lois Lane, they all exist in this world and they’ve all been changed.

The art compliments the story well. Plenty to like about the illustrations themselves, the new designs are fantastic, and I’m a huge fan of Batman’s warm hat, despite the mockery it received. Probably because I have one of my own, warm hats rule.

Once Luthor becomes President of the US, the last bastion for capitalism, the story builds up to a satisfying final battle. The only time I found the story to be a letdown was after the final battle. It goes into a wacky time travel situation that I felt didn’t added to the story.

4.5/5. One of the better “What If” style stories I’ve read, it’s very well realized.

Planetary – Absolute Edition Volume 1 for $47.25

A Warren Ellis story about the mysteries of the world? Don’t mind if I do!

This finished up a few months ago, it’s being released again soon in Absolute Edition format, what better time to read it again? The series was written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by John Cassaday.

This comic is all about the hidden mysteries of the world. What everyone sees has little to do with the truth of what’s going on and the Planetary organization is investigating each and every mystery. The Planetary group consists of three primary members, with each member having super powers. Though the powers aren’t terribly unique, the powers aren’t the central part of the story.

The best thing about this series is it constantly finds a way to show how imaginative it is. While there are many references to archtypes of comic characters and even individual recognizable characters, the series is far more clever than just that. It works because of the great mystery. You start to realize that every major character ties into the questions of the world. These villains you might have considered Fantastic Four ripoff characters are actually rather interesting, this guy that has powers like Iceman actually has depth, and so on. Think of it less about superheroes and more X-Files with powers, if the grand conspiracy in X-Files hadn’t been a disappointment.

The art, while slightly rough earlier on, consistently delivers after a few issues in. I’m not the biggest fan of Cassaday, but I felt he was a good choice here. No doubt his art will look gorgeous on the larger format Absolute edition.

4.5/5. A great read all around, especially since it weighs in at just 27 issues and has a satisfying conclusion. It’s completely worth it to get both volumes of the Absolute edition. It’s also worth noting that the last time they released this, it sold out fairly quickly and was going for double to triple retail price.

Planetary – Absolute Edition Volume 2 for $47.25

Y – The Last Man Vol. 2 Hardcover for $19.79

After a strong opening, can the series keep up the quality? Let’s find out.

If you aren’t enjoying being the last man on Earth and you hear that more men might exist, you’re going to want to make sure they arrive back safely. Yorick hears the news some men might be alive on the international space station. They’re coming back to Earth since it’s a little difficult to maintain supplies in space without NASA, and well, you’ll have to see for yourself how it turns out. Yorick also manages to get himself into a spot of trouble, an Israeli military woman became aware of his existence in the first volume and she wants him for Israel. In this volume, she gets a lot closer to that goal. When the two situations come together, it’s not going to be good for anyone.

The second arc is a little different. Yorick and his crew go through the country staging a play about the last man. It’s a great way to disguise him. While it has funny elements and it makes sense in the context of the story, it wasn’t as appealing to me as the rest of the journey to date.

It ends on a third story arc, one that is far more dark and serious than what we’ve seen from the series. It’s a gripping part of the comic and shows better than anything else that it’s a dangerous world that Yorick can’t afford to take it for granted. I was surprised at the variety of arcs that they put you through in a fairly thrifty amount of comic pages. It draws you in and keeps you running through this world that’s been created.

Two things I should mention. I forgot to talk about the art in the previous review, so I’ll mention it here. I quite enjoyed the illustrations, the colours were well done, it’s a good looking comic and off the top of my head, I cannot think of anything visually offensive. The second thing is that this is written by a male and the vast majority of the characters are women. While for the most part it’s fine, there are times where it’s a little obvious. It wasn’t an issue for me, but for some, I can see where it would detract from the experience.

4/5. If you enjoyed the first, you’ll like this one. The story stays true to itself and it’s characters and expands the world nicely.

Y – The Last Man Vol. 1 Hardcover for $19.79

What happens when all the men of the planet die off, except one? That’s the concept of Y: The Last Man, and it’s a great one. A great concept doesn’t make a story worth reading though, so here’s my thoughts on the meat of the story.

The main character starts the story off and has absolutely no clue what’s going on. Him and his monkey appear to be the only two males around and females now rule the Earth. Of course, everything isn’t peachy with all women ruling, there are power vacuums and losing half the population obviously causes massive problems in the world.

Soon enough, the main character runs into a secret agent and a genetic scientist and begins a journey across the country. He wants to discover why he’s alive, what happened to his girlfriend, the usual stuff you’d expect from the last man on Earth.

The best part after the first hardcover is that great sense of exploration that you get. The characters start developing nicely while they’re exploring what’s essentially a brand new world. They travel through cities, small towns, even meet more scientists and some astronauts along the way. The writing is clever and funny, it compels you to keep reading to see where our man Yorick will end up next. One interesting thing about the writing is that Yorick is a fun character, but at times, an annoying one. He can be a bit of a dumbass and sometimes he’ll act hypocritical, but not in a manner that drives you away from the comic. The way I read it, and the way I believe it was intended, he’s simply a character that hasn’t grown up yet, which makes a grand adventure all the more rewarding.

4/5. A really unique comic with some solid writing, recommended for sure.

The Walking Dead Vol. 4 Hardcover for $21.59

This volume does so much right, but a fair bit wrong, making it difficult to judge. Is it still a compelling read? Checking my review is one way to find out.

This volume starts off a bit more relaxed than you’re used to. After the events of the last graphic novel, the reader and the characters deserve a light break. It’s nice to see the characters in situations where they aren’t concerned about death every few minutes. As you advance through the story, the tension starts building again. A pregnancy is coming to term, a dangerous lunatic wants to find the prison, it’s a dangerous time for the characters.

Before you know it, you’re up to what might be the most pivotal moment in the series. The lunatic mayor brings his forces to bear against the prison. What they had considered their home is now under assault, characters die, things won’t be the same again. On one hand, it’s gripping stuff. You’ve grown to like some of these characters and you know this isn’t like a zombie assault, some of them simply won’t make it. On the other hand, the mayor is ridiculous and bordering the line of supervillainy, which feels awkward in this series.

It’s a recurring theme in most zombie literature that man is often more deadly than zombie in the post apocalyptic world and that’s what the latter half of this graphic novel is all about. It’s a good theme, but the actions of the mayor in the last volume and in this one felt like a bit of a shift in the series. I’ll say straight up that while I like the concept of the sadistic mayor, the actual execution was lacking. Whenever he’s in it, I don’t enjoy the series as much as normal.

3.5/5. While I have read considerably more of the series, I’ll be stopping the Walking Dead reviews at this graphic novel for now. There’s so many comics to review that a month of the Walking Dead is more than enough!

The Walking Dead Vol. 2 Hardcover for $19.79

After the first mediocre hardcover, you might be tempted to skip the series and this review, but no so fast there, because there’s hope on the horizon.

This hardcover collects issues 13-24 of the series, and it starts on a similar note to the last hardcover. The characters are still bland and the stories still seem lifted from other media. However, you start to notice a few minor sparks of inspiration here and there. The zombies aren’t created exclusively from being bitten, but from anyone with a functioning brain that dies. The characters start having to make decisions they’re uncomfortable with. The story improves considerably once it gives the characters something no other zombie film or story has done quite as well, it gives them a home. They find a prison, an ideal location for an anti-zombie stronghold, and they set to work on making it their own. This brings plenty of conflict and difficulty, it’s a unique and interesting story element that gave the characters room to develop.

One thing that came off as somewhat unrealistic was the heavy reinforcement of gender roles early on. Most women have a man to protect them, they take care of the chores despite few zombies being around. Let me tell you, if I were living in a zombie apocalypse, I’d learn how to do all of the chores asap in case I end up on my own. I’d teach the women and children to use weapons immediately. Another pair of hands means another knife or gun to keep people safe.

What the series does best is that it maintains a great sense of suspense. You legitimately never know whether a character you like will end up dead and you don’t know if it’s going to be a zombie or a screwed up human that does it. It gives a feeling of dread just thinking about living in this world. Even once they find some relief in the prison, it doesn’t last long.

4/5 If you don’t like the series after this, you probably won’t enjoy it at all. The prison parts of the comic were the best in the series and they make you feel for the characters.

The Walking Dead Vol. 1 Hardcover for $21.59

I decided to marathon through this series one day, and I’m glad I did. The story starts the same way 28 Days Later did. Our main character wakes up from a coma and the world as he knew it has ended. While the concept isn’t unique by any means, this story is intended as a look into how people would live through a zombie outbreak. Keep in mind this isn’t a review of the whole series since it’s still active.

I quite enjoyed the art. While I had some critiques with characters sometimes looking a tad deformed, it’s a minor issue that doesn’t often pop up. The art is fairly simple, a pleasant style, and black and white. There’s some wonderful uses of shading for bold illustrations, when the time calls for it. The art changes halfway through the Volume 1 hardcover, while it wasn’t as well done as the earlier art, I didn’t find it distracting.

The first story arc came off as weak and generic to me. It took a lot from zombie movies, to the point where it seems like a copy at first. The main character wakes up in a hospital and has no clue what’s going on. He shortly finds out that his family is still alive with a very small group of survivors, but as with every other zombie entertainment, there’s conflict within the group. The characters come off as very generic at this point. If I were to only have access to the first hardcover, I would’ve stopped reading the series. It wasn’t that interesting, the conflicts were ones any horror fan has already seen, there was nothing to drive me forward except the prompting from my friends that it improves considerably.

Fortunately, they were right! More on that in future reviews.

3/5.

The Sentry for $18.24 currently at Amazon

The Sentry :

This is going to cover the 2000 series (5 issues), the 2005 series (8 issues), the extra parts of the 2000 series (& Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, X-Men), and The Sentry VS The Void.

I find the Sentry an interesting character. I’d never read any of his comics, all I knew was somehow he’d been written into Marvel’s past but everyone forgot him, and somehow he had the POWER OF A THOUSAND EXPLODING SUNS. Basically an overpowered weird dude with mental problems.

Reading all of the above comics over, it made me wonder. You’ve got a character that’s pretty neat, and yeah, ridiculously overpowered in a complete nonsense way, but he isn’t just a hero. He’s caused tons and tons of death and damage. All of those above comics, they make it seem like they’re leading up to a major event that revolves around the Sentry, kind of like what they did with World War Hulk. There’s so many loose strings involving the character that it seems like it’d be ridiculous to NOT have him in a major event. But then again, he doesn’t seem very popular at all. I dunno.

The Sentry Reborn available from third party sellers at Amazon

Anyways, on to all those comics. Out of all of them, I thought the 2000 series was written the best, and the art was very reflective of the character. Kind of rough, lots of contrast, it feel appropriate. I didn’t much like the issues starring the others he’s interacted with though. The 2005 series, even though it covers similar themes but it takes place well after the 2000 series…didn’t feel as well done. It wasn’t written as well, nor did I find the art fitting. For a long time, I disliked Romita Jr’s art style. I’ve come to appreciate it more of late, but it doesn’t seem appropriate for this particular series.

The best thing to say about all those issues is that they kept me interested. You’ve got a character with potential, and even when some of the art doesn’t work for it, or some of the writing isn’t the best, it’s still interesting enough to make me want to see this character develop and destroy/save/whatever Manhattan/the world. That said, he’s mostly relegated to coming along and punching things in the face right now, the Superman role, so we’ll see if they flesh him out in a decent way.

4/5. Consider it a 4.5/5 for the first series, a 3.5/5 for the second, and just an overall 4 for the character.

Infinity Gauntlet for $16.49 currently at Amazon

One of the true classic events in the Marvel universe, and also one of my favourites.

This is the event that Thanos is known best for. It starts off with him having acquired all of the Infinity Gems and realizing what power he has over, well, everything. Despite this, his one true love, Death, does not love him. If anything, she seems to have contempt for him. He realizes that this must be due to not having accomplished his previous promise, the death of half of the life in the universe. A mere snap of the fingers later and this is accomplished.

Of course, the remaining heroes aren’t about to let this slide. They team up and they bring in all the cosmic forces of the universe to have a grand battle with Thanos.

It’s a fantastic series. Thanos has some amazing character development, you get to see all the heavy hitters of the Marvel universe slugging it out, including all of the cosmic level powers. Despite it being a 90s comic, it’s a complete homerun of an event. This series has the most iconic images of Thanos and the character development is fantastic, especially the unexpected ending.

5/5. For such a short read, it manages to be a great cosmic event.