For those looking for our weekly review podcast for the week of 8-22-2007, unfortunately Davids and my day jobs have been taking up much of our time lately. With the need to focus time on our jobs, which keep us in comics, we will return for a podcast review of the books for 8-29-07 Until then, there is a post on the forums for anyone wanting to discuss the previous weeks books. (Anyone as mad as I am about "Back in Black"?)
Written by Sean McKeever, Geoff Johns, Marv Wolfman, Todd Dezago
Pencilled by Randy Green, Mike McKone, George Perez, Todd Hauck
Inks by Andy Lanning & Sandra Hope, Marlo Alquiza, George Perez, Lary Stucker
Letters by Rob Leigh
This week provided a strong showing that I didn't expect. Avengers-The Initiative was great and Countdown finally picked up with an action packed issue. My choice for this week's honor of book of the week though went to the nostalgia fest that was Teen Titans #50.
Let me start by saying that this issue wasn't entirely built on nostalgia. However, it surprised me to see that writers and artists from the past (even young justice!) returned to deliver flashback moments that pushed character development of characters that have been dead or gone for years. Hell, we even got a great Wally West/Kid Flash story. It was great to revisit the various teams and watch how these teenagers have grown up together. Most importantly, they act like teenagers, they fight and bicker, their hormones are out of control, they sneak out and do stupid things, and most importantly they trust and confide in eachother. which anyone who went through their teen years with a strong group of friends will understand. I was excited for every turn of the page. Between the flashbacks though, we were offered sneaks at what is in store for the new team of titans, Blue Beetle joining the team, Ms. Martian's crush on Robin, Cassie and Tim exploring a new romance, and last but not least...well, I won't spoil it here for you...catch the podcast for that.
The art also stood out as amazing. Randy Green is hopefully on this book for the rest of it's span. He brings just the right look to the team that makes them look and feel like teenagers and not just little adults. Hopefully this title can keep the momentum from this issue going for a long time. The Titans are back!
I guess marvel is following DC's Countdown picture promos and released a page of art from newcomer Marko Djurdjevic. I don't know who he is, but I'm excited to see what else he can do because the page looks awesome. Apparently this preview (which starts this december) has something to do with Civil War. We see Wolverine, Cable and some sentinels so I think it may connect to the upcoming messiah complex storyline and that is a younger Captain America so here's hoping it's Bucky. I have no idea who the guy in the upper right corner is but I'm intrigued......and just a little worried.
Eric was tired of all the big events and chose Robin #165 as the book of the week because of its great stand alone story. We also discuss what we thought of JLA #12, Ultimate Spider-man #112, Booster Gold #1 and more. This week we also give you our top 5 under-rated characters.
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Written by Joss Whedon
Art by John Cassaday
Coloring by Laura Martin
Lettering by Chris Eliopoulos
Oh Astonishing X-men,why must you change? Joss, John, please oh please stay.
I'm sure that has to be the opinion of many X-men fans out there because this is simply THE X-men book out there right now and I still don't know how Whedon is pulling all of this off. I can't even go into detail about what's going on in this story because it's so deep and organized and I have a good feeling that I don't even know what's truly going on. Whedon has these characters down flat which is simply amazing for only writing X-men for 22 issues and I am simply giddy about how this story is going to end.
John Cassaday cannot be denied his glory on this book though, as his art is simply breathtaking. Cassaday is one of the few artists that probably doesn't need a writer to tell a story because his art is so strong and has it's own sense of emotion. His detailed characters leave me staring at pages for minutes and he has the best facial expressions that I have ever seen. Some of them are simply priceless.
This has been a powerhouse team on an amazing run, one that I am sure will go down in comic history and rightfully so. I am excited to see where this run is going to take the x-men and how Whedon and Cassaday will leave marvel's mightiest mutants. I won't spoil the end of this issue in this review but you better be sure that I'm excited to talk about it on this week's podcast!
Joss, John...Make Mine Marvel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Written by Adam Beechen
Pencils by Freddie Williams II
Colors by Guy Major
Letters by John J. Hill
I've been mentioning lately how good this book is and this week fate has dropped it into my lap for a review. With a week of several strong contenders, this was still the book that I had the most fun with. Nothing spectacular happened in this book, which isn't a bad thing. It' s just a continuation of the great level of work that I've come to expect from this team. Ever since "one year later", this book has been on a continuing level of greatness much to my joy.
I've always been a fan of Tim Drake. It's been interesting to watch him grow from the plucky twelve year old from when we first met him, and follow him along the tragic path his life has taken, bringing him to the competent, moody, seventeen year old he is now. Within the last several issues, Beechen has crafted a rogues gallery hellbent on Tim's destruction. This issue starts us out with Tim abiding by the villains rules and facing them alone in a hospital full of hostages. The lone hero facing the madhouse of villains is a common concept in Batman books. This isn't a new storytelling device but it is one that I really love. Tim's confidence as he starts to take them down is equally brilliant (Remember the scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with the swordsman and Indy? That's pretty much the beginning of this issue). As the stakes gradually rise, we watch our hero gradually start to wear down. Needless to say, the fight scenes were excellent.
I cannot say enough good things about Freddie Williams II. His animated style suits this book perfectly. The energy is intense, fast paced, at sometimes shocking, and Tim Drake has never looked so badass! I strongly recommend this book to anyone thinking of trying it. Thanks to a few flashback scenes, this issue can be picked up without the reader having to collect previous issues. On the verge of big event burnout, this book is the perfect antidote.
