GUEST REVIEW BY RUN THE COMICS 5K'S MATT LOWDER . . . . .
ADD 25.
WONDER WOMAN DELUXE REBIRTH EDITION, VOLUME 2 (DC, 2018 hardcover) Writer: Greg Rucka . Artists: Mirko Andolfo, Bilquis Evely,Liam Sharp. Matt’s rating: FOUR out of a possible FIVE STARS.
From the DC Comics website . . . . .
Wonder Woman discovers a dark truth when she learns her entire life had been transformed! Even as her life unravels, sinister forces threaten all she holds dear. No matter how great the trauma, she must continue to fight against the evil and lies that have destroyed her life.
With the help of her allies—and her enemy the Cheetah—Diana will put the pieces of her broken mind back together and do battle against her fearsome new foes. Will she defy the will of the gods, save her Amazon sisters and solve the mystery of her own existence once and for all? Or is the cost of the truth too steep for even Wonder Woman to bear?
Collects issues #15-25 and stories from WONDER WOMAN ANNUAL #1 and the DC HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2017.
Matt’s review . . . . .
This almost got a 3.5 rating from me overall. However, the dry joylessness through most of this was saved by a final two issues. Those served to clarify a few threads that confused me. It also established some neat ideas and character propellants which should thrust us into the next set of 6-12 comics.
Doctor Cyber is compelling. Veronica Cale and her daughter, Izzy, are interesting as portrayed here. Izzy's countenance being face wiped and her soul being trapped with Ares's prison was interesting. It's abstract, but I was able to follow.
It's sad that Wonder Woman discovered the truths she learned of here, and I'm sure long running WW readers were possibly rolling their eyes with the ret-con they tried to pull here. When this came out, I'm sure people had mixed feelings. I think it's fine for what it is. It's competent and very centered around faith, trust, truth, but not a lot of fun is to be had.
I didn't like Andolfo's art on the random issue in the middle of this collection either. As an sexual artist, she can't help herself but to draw round cartoon asses and plunging necklines. It's a talent, but doesn't work in this run if it's not the primary style and vibe.
There was also more than one scene with some heavy lesbian undertones, On it's own that’s fine, but when inserted into this 10+ issue arc, right in the middle when that is nowhere else to be seen, is just out of place. These collections bringing in tie-ins and sidebar issues by other writers or artists are pretty distracting, and DC does it often. Admittedly, a weak FOUR out of FIVE STARS.
STAR WARS: POE DAMERON, VOLUME 1: BLACK SQUADRON (MARVEL, December 2016) Writer Charles Soule. Artist: Phil Noto. Paperback, 144 pages. Matt’s Rating: TWO & ONE-HALF out of a possible FIVE STARS.
Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .
Poe Dameron, former Republic flyer turned Resistance fighter, is the best pilot in the galaxy.
Hand-picked for the resistance by General Leia Organa to lead a squadron on a top-secret and vital mission, Poe sets off to investigate sites of historical importance to the Force — revealing backstory leading directly into The Force Awakens! Follow Poe and his X-Wing squadron on covert missions against the First Order, brought to you by writer Charles Soule (STAR WARS: LANDO, DAREDEVIL) and artist Phil Noto (STAR WARS: CHEWBACCA, BLACK WIDOW)!
Collecting issues 1–6 from the ongoing series.
Matt’s 2.5 Star Review . . . . .
I didn’t expect to dislike this so much. I thought I wanted a solo Poe story, but I didn't. Or, at least, this wasn't the droid I was looking for.
The dialogue is terrible in parts for the antagonist, and not in the voice of Oscar Issac in other parts. This should have been a home run and tons of fun, but for a character that's kind of a mash-up between X-wing Luke and episode IV Solo, we really got scraps here insofar as his character building.
This is just plot, with a supporting cast we're asked to get behind in the Black Squadron and barely get to know. There was an opportunity to dive into the psychology and history of this character, Dameron, in a way I begged the recent trilogy to explore, and it's totally wasted here in a stilted fetch/mission quest that feels like an "okay enough" action movie with some odd creative choices. 2.5 out of a possible 5 Stars.
WARZONES!: THE INFINITY GAUNTLET (Marvel, December 2015) Writer: Gerry Duggan. Artist: Dustin Weaver. Trade paperback, 112 pages. Matt’s Rating: THREE & ONE-HALF out of a possible FIVE STARS.
Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .
Think your life is hard?
Anwen Bakian's family lives in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, scrounging for food and avoiding giant bugs intent on eating them. Mom left years ago to join the Nova force and never came back. So it's just Anwen, her dad, her sister and her grandpa against the huge insects. That is, until she finds a mysterious stone that may or may not hold incredible cosmic power.
Don't miss this incredible new book by Deadpool writer Gerry Duggan and Edge of Spider-Verse writer/artist Dustin Weaver that will set the cosmic table for the Marvel Universe for years to come!
Collecting: Infinity Gauntlet 1 - 5.
This was a random $3 pickup at Ollie's, which is an easy price to try something typically $19.99.
I know nothing about Warzones, or its event tie-ins, or any of that. But this was excellent for the first three issues. Really good storytelling with a fresh family that seems completely unestablished in the Marvel world.
Anwen is great female protagonist who loves art, but lives on a post-apocalyptic urban planet after Thanos happened. Her mother joined the Nova Corps and is assumed dead. Well, she comes back in this, no surprise, and give star-thingies to her family and her dog, making all of them flying soldiers.
It’s an EXCELLENT first two issues. So right away, I like something of this fresh perspective with new protagonists in a world with established MARVEL events and characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy, who make an appearance.
It was fun to enter something I mostly understood but was also told from a new angle. It's neat to see the soul stone, the time stone, and a few others being hunted by Thanos.
Without reading anything else in this line, I could mostly follow what was happening and was emotionally invested until the fourth and fifth issue when a couple characters and DC-Universe stuff popped in that I couldn't follow, and a haphazard ending left me saying "what kind of twist was that?”
Spoiler Alert: . . . . . The main character creates a "death stone" while using the reality stone and causes Thanos to kill himself when he puts it into his glove. I was like, well, wouldn't the Avengers have loved to know that in EndGame!?” Almost a Four-Star rating. 3.5 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment