It Came From the Reading Pile - Reviews #3
This is a regular post where I grab a bunch of comics from my reading stack and rave and rant about them. This is also a labor of love for my daughter and I - to not only share a common interest but to also encourage her to read and write.
Using a carrot scale of 1-5 to measure the overall book.
1. History of the Marvel Universe #1
Publisher: Marvel
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Javier Rodriguez
This was an awesome and meaty book that does exactly what the title states - it chronicles the history of the marvel universe.
We start at the end of time and it appears that Reed Richards is about to move on (move on to what, where, so many ?s). Before he moves on he just so happens to be chatting with his pal
Galactus and asks him to tell him everything as he wants to ensure that history mattered and will be remembered. We then launch into the beginning of the universe as told by Galactus.
After the main part of the book we get 13 pages of annotations that provide even more insight into events. This will not be your normal 10-12 minute comic book read.
For those that want to keep your books in pristine shape, I recommend you buy two copies as you certainly will want to have a reader version.
This was certainly a great read. One reason I liked it so much was that it reminded me of The Official Handbook of Marvel Universe series that I read as a kid. Those issues were packed with content and facts just like this and you would pour over them with friends and discuss events and characters. This had that same feeling - let me know what you think.
🥕🥕🥕🥕out of 5
2. Lois Lane #1
Publisher: DC
Story: Greg Rucka
Art: Mike Perkins
Here we have Lois Lane stepping out of the shadows and driving her own series. There is a line in the book that states "Espionage and Investigative Journalism have a lot in common" - I felt that sense of tension & mystery in the book which was great. This would be an awesome TV series for sure - imagine getting the elements of The Wire with a touch of super heroes.
The book starts building on an international level - a reporter with secrets dies mysteriously in Russia - Lois sends away The Question to investigate. There are shady government payoffs that Lois is chasing which results in her White House Credentials being revoked. Lastly, there is a secret that she is keeping from Clark.
There is a lot of initial first issue building which keeps you guessing and interested. There were also some call outs of past or recent events - I don't read Superman or Action Comics so I may not be in the know on these. Regardless, the art and story were both on point and worth picking up. I decided to pick up the Jenny Frison cover which is just awesome!
🥕🥕🥕out of 5
3. Second Coming #1
Publisher: Ahoy
Story: Mark Russell
Art: Richard Pace
I read in the back of the book that this was delayed and had to change publishers due to the subject matter - Jesus coming back to earth and living in a two story apartment with a super hero.
The book has crisp and funny dialog as it walks us through parts of the old and new testament.
As we enter the modern age we are introduced to a super hero in the likeness of Superman, Sunstar. One night God pops in on Sunstar and begs him to take Jesus under his wings and promises that he will make it up to him. The thought process is that God was upset Jesus only lasted 33 years on earth and wants him to learn 'survival skills'.
The art was nice and clean and if you don't mind the subject matter, then you will find that this was a very fun read. Moving forward it seems like this will be an 'odd couple' type of story. It certainly kept me interested and may check out additional issues. My only concern is that it may fall into the good cop bad cop cliche - we shall see.
🥕🥕🥕🥕 out of 5
4. Vampire, PA: Bite Out Of Crime #1
Publisher: American Mythology
Story: J.C. Vaughn
Art: Brendon & Brian Fraim
What a wacky book this was - and adds to the fact that you can't judge a book by its cover.
This is a one-shot issue that was part of a Kickstarter initiative which is always a cool thing. Additionally, this is a continuation of Vampire, PA from Moonstone published in 2010. I had to give that background because I was completely lost while reading.
The book gives a tiny amount of context but assumes that you recall and read the first series. The book focuses on a Vampire turf war taking place in suburban Pittsburgh between queen Jocelyn (vampire queen) and Al Capone - yes Al Capone was brought back to life.
Our heroes stand in the middle and make an arrangement with Jocelyn so that they can cure their friend Dean from the Vampire sickness in exchange for getting rid of Al.
Overall the book is very silly - we have Al Capone, Scuba Dave, and questions about Jocelyn's skimpy outfits. The art was clean but maybe not the right tone for a violent type of story. I am not the demographic for this book and did not participate in the Kickstarter so that totally makes sense for why I was so lost.
🥕🥕 out of 5
5. Invisible Woman #1
Publisher: Marvel
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Mattia De Iulis
Can't go wrong with another Mark Waid book this week. Even better is the fact that we are treated to a great story about Susan Storm playing a spy and a sweet Adam Hughes cover.
This was a cool book and glad to see the focus solely on Susan. We see how crafty she can be as a spy with her force field and invisibility powers. The book did a great job of highlighting the different jobs Susan juggles on a daily basis; mother, wife, sister, friend and adventurer - always part of something and rarely just being Susan. This is where the story then unfolds.
Susan is brought into the mix when one of her past S.H.I.E.L.D. partners runs into trouble and sends a message intended solely for her. She is meant to act as a consultant, but that would be boring, instead Susan jumps into the fold and heads to save the day. Along the way she runs into a new partner that will make things interesting - Black Widow.
Great concept and execution, this appears to be a fun limited series and I recommend it if you are a Fantastic Four, Mark Waid, or spy fan.
🥕🥕🥕🥕 out of 5
Syd's Pick
Stay tuned for Invincible Compendium 1 review
Caveat: It must be nice to be young and have summer vacation - that allows you to read a whole Compendium in 2 days.
Check out more content at: https://mycomicstack.blogspot.com/
Using a carrot scale of 1-5 to measure the overall book.
1. History of the Marvel Universe #1 Publisher: Marvel
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Javier Rodriguez
This was an awesome and meaty book that does exactly what the title states - it chronicles the history of the marvel universe.
We start at the end of time and it appears that Reed Richards is about to move on (move on to what, where, so many ?s). Before he moves on he just so happens to be chatting with his pal
Galactus and asks him to tell him everything as he wants to ensure that history mattered and will be remembered. We then launch into the beginning of the universe as told by Galactus.
After the main part of the book we get 13 pages of annotations that provide even more insight into events. This will not be your normal 10-12 minute comic book read.
For those that want to keep your books in pristine shape, I recommend you buy two copies as you certainly will want to have a reader version.
This was certainly a great read. One reason I liked it so much was that it reminded me of The Official Handbook of Marvel Universe series that I read as a kid. Those issues were packed with content and facts just like this and you would pour over them with friends and discuss events and characters. This had that same feeling - let me know what you think.
🥕🥕🥕🥕out of 5
2. Lois Lane #1
Publisher: DC
Story: Greg Rucka
Art: Mike Perkins
Here we have Lois Lane stepping out of the shadows and driving her own series. There is a line in the book that states "Espionage and Investigative Journalism have a lot in common" - I felt that sense of tension & mystery in the book which was great. This would be an awesome TV series for sure - imagine getting the elements of The Wire with a touch of super heroes.
The book starts building on an international level - a reporter with secrets dies mysteriously in Russia - Lois sends away The Question to investigate. There are shady government payoffs that Lois is chasing which results in her White House Credentials being revoked. Lastly, there is a secret that she is keeping from Clark.
There is a lot of initial first issue building which keeps you guessing and interested. There were also some call outs of past or recent events - I don't read Superman or Action Comics so I may not be in the know on these. Regardless, the art and story were both on point and worth picking up. I decided to pick up the Jenny Frison cover which is just awesome!
🥕🥕🥕out of 5
3. Second Coming #1 Publisher: Ahoy
Story: Mark Russell
Art: Richard Pace
I read in the back of the book that this was delayed and had to change publishers due to the subject matter - Jesus coming back to earth and living in a two story apartment with a super hero.
The book has crisp and funny dialog as it walks us through parts of the old and new testament.
As we enter the modern age we are introduced to a super hero in the likeness of Superman, Sunstar. One night God pops in on Sunstar and begs him to take Jesus under his wings and promises that he will make it up to him. The thought process is that God was upset Jesus only lasted 33 years on earth and wants him to learn 'survival skills'.
The art was nice and clean and if you don't mind the subject matter, then you will find that this was a very fun read. Moving forward it seems like this will be an 'odd couple' type of story. It certainly kept me interested and may check out additional issues. My only concern is that it may fall into the good cop bad cop cliche - we shall see.
🥕🥕🥕🥕 out of 5
4. Vampire, PA: Bite Out Of Crime #1Publisher: American Mythology
Story: J.C. Vaughn
Art: Brendon & Brian Fraim
What a wacky book this was - and adds to the fact that you can't judge a book by its cover.
This is a one-shot issue that was part of a Kickstarter initiative which is always a cool thing. Additionally, this is a continuation of Vampire, PA from Moonstone published in 2010. I had to give that background because I was completely lost while reading.
The book gives a tiny amount of context but assumes that you recall and read the first series. The book focuses on a Vampire turf war taking place in suburban Pittsburgh between queen Jocelyn (vampire queen) and Al Capone - yes Al Capone was brought back to life.
Our heroes stand in the middle and make an arrangement with Jocelyn so that they can cure their friend Dean from the Vampire sickness in exchange for getting rid of Al.
Overall the book is very silly - we have Al Capone, Scuba Dave, and questions about Jocelyn's skimpy outfits. The art was clean but maybe not the right tone for a violent type of story. I am not the demographic for this book and did not participate in the Kickstarter so that totally makes sense for why I was so lost.
🥕🥕 out of 5
5. Invisible Woman #1 Publisher: Marvel
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Mattia De Iulis
Can't go wrong with another Mark Waid book this week. Even better is the fact that we are treated to a great story about Susan Storm playing a spy and a sweet Adam Hughes cover.
This was a cool book and glad to see the focus solely on Susan. We see how crafty she can be as a spy with her force field and invisibility powers. The book did a great job of highlighting the different jobs Susan juggles on a daily basis; mother, wife, sister, friend and adventurer - always part of something and rarely just being Susan. This is where the story then unfolds.
Susan is brought into the mix when one of her past S.H.I.E.L.D. partners runs into trouble and sends a message intended solely for her. She is meant to act as a consultant, but that would be boring, instead Susan jumps into the fold and heads to save the day. Along the way she runs into a new partner that will make things interesting - Black Widow.
Great concept and execution, this appears to be a fun limited series and I recommend it if you are a Fantastic Four, Mark Waid, or spy fan.
🥕🥕🥕🥕 out of 5
Syd's Pick
Stay tuned for Invincible Compendium 1 review Caveat: It must be nice to be young and have summer vacation - that allows you to read a whole Compendium in 2 days.
Check out more content at: https://mycomicstack.blogspot.com/
I have heard nothing but great things about History of the Marvel Universe AND I still haven't picked it up. I got to the LCS and go blank...mostly because I'm running my mouth. LOL Thanks for yet another reminder that I need to pick this up.
ReplyDeleteSame as above, I haven't picked up the History of the Marvel Universe. Mostly due to the high ticket price for that ride. I did pick up that Lois Lane variant. Gorgeous cover.
ReplyDelete-Spector