Dream Thief #1 Review

Review by Alexander Moser

What would you do if you woke up in a strange room and didn’t know where you were, or what you’d done the night before to get there?

That’s the question Dream Thief repeatedly asks the reader. John Lincoln, a pot-smoking, unemployed average joe doesn’t seem to have much going for him, except for his friendship with a former college football star. One night, the two go out at a museum and steal an Aborigine mask. The next morning, John realizes he is wearing the mask and has just killed his girlfriend. Somehow, he also gained memories of his girlfriend along with a man she killed. John doesn’t seem to question the nature of his memories, but instead questions the marijuana he smoked that night. After nearly killing a pair of drug dealers over some potentially laced weed, he falls asleep…waking up once again in front of a pile of dead bodies.

Jai Nitz works his way through a solid start to a new story, introducing the main characters, addressing their wants, needs and faults. Lincoln is clearly not the world’s greatest hero. Lincoln’s voice is clearly defined in Dream Thief. Nitz brings the concept in halfway into the story—showing us the magical mask and it’s tremendous powers. While we don’t get a perfect sense of what’s going on, the dialogue keeps the story moving, coupled by some terrific artwork.

Greg Smallwood is really the star of the book. He packs detail into each panel, meticulously constructed to carry a different vantage point and include details that will push the story ahead. He uses thick white gutters in order to push the panels out, making each stand out against the page background. Towards the end, Smallwood gets creative with his layouts, drawing ferociously large page-spreads that feel as supernatural as the story itself. He uses coloring effects near the end when John punches drug dealers to mirror his actions with the memories he learned, showing a nifty trick with artwork and coloring.

But the true moment of the book is where the image and word collide—pages 1, 11 and 19 all have similar layouts. Coupled with the first line, ”What would you do…” we see a sense of repetition that is emblematic of the story and the form of a graphic novel.

An amazing blend of word and image, Dream Thief is the next big book to pick up. The artwork alone will sell the book, regardless of what word balloons lay within.

THE GOOD

-Stellar, experimental artwork

-Story does a good job of telling us about protagonist

THE BAD

-Plot doesn’t move along until late into the book

9/10

19 May Permalink

FF #7 Review

Review by Alexander Moser

FF ties down plot threads and cements our characters together, establishing the franchise as a full-blown team through excellent characterization, going beyond what other writers would normally provide.

The comic book concludes the minor storyline between Bentley-23, Medusa and Blastaar, the latter character has been recurring through both FF and F4. The nefarious Wizard (father of Bentley-23) tries to defeat the new Fantastic Four, so he establishes a new “Frightful Four,” a family built off of hatred and mind-control. They send the Baxter Building into the negative zone, where they hoped to get a jump on the team. The drama comes internal, Scott fearing to lose yet another child. With a little help from his new family, we see our heroes prevail in massive, fun fight scene. The comic concludes by addressing one other plot point: the forthcoming plan to end Doom.

Matt Fraction completely nails his characterization on not just Lang or Darla Deen, but all of the characters. We’ve seen the team build slowly, characters being introduced to us, so now with all the cogs moving, it essentially functions as a well-oiled machine. Juxtaposed against this we see the Frightful Four, essentially the opposite of the FF. Fraction gets us close to Scott Lang, Ant-Man as the protective father figure of the family. Fraction also makes good out of Darla, the uber-pop star who answers a rhetorical “Who are you” question with a very well written response. Small moments like these allow the book to succeed, thanks to good writing.

Allred’s art fits the story perfectly, blending serious elements with a light comical style. The art takes a fight scene to maximum proportions, showing us the cartoon style of superhero battles, but also making it work on a still panel. Ant-Man vs. The Wizard is particularly fun, as we see Scott shrink down and grow all in one panel. Allred and Fraction have also worked closely with the book’s theme, using metaphorical non-sequester panels of a tree to show the family. On one level, we can visually see the family come together, gathering beneath the tree. But the symbolism of the oak tree is not just a place where people gather; the oak tree has always been a representation of fatherhood. Fraction/Allred uses these metaphors to very good use in FF.

This issue of FF isn’t the best place to start, but even if one were to pick it up (the cover is quite attractive!), we see all the elements of what makes the book good. Whether it’s the quirky set of characters or the innovative art style, FF is one of the best books to come out of Marvel NOW!

THE GOOD
-Great art
-Characters are well-written

THE BAD
-Other than a fight scene, there’s not much of a story

8/10

18 May 3 Permalink

Private Eye #2 Review

Review by Alexander Moser

Private Eye is not exactly a typical comic book. Much like how Firefly utilizes the Western genre in a new setting, Private Eye uses pulp-noir fiction in a dystopian futuristic society.

We learn a little more about Patrick Immelman and his operations in this issue. We see his driver, a headstrong young woman who’s more confident, yet less experienced than Patrick. When they discover that Taj was murdered, Patrick gives up on the operation while his assistant wants to contact the police. Meanwhile, Taj’s murderer continues to use her identity in order to round up a mysterious group of clients. We don’t know what his plan is yet, but it doesn’t look good. Patrick comes back into the story by the end when he meets up with Taj’s sister, who tries and convinces him to investigate the murder. Suddenly, two are jumped by mask-wearing men with guns.

Vaughan continues the plot slowly, but he gets the point across very nicely. Like the last issue, he overlays the story with a clever and easy to follow noir plot. The character tropes are well-defined here: the villain, the hero, and the victim’s sister are very simple to identify. Out of the characters in this issue, Patrick and his driver have the most interesting relationship. The two have very different personalities, which works well for the relationship to the setting. Patrick has become an interesting character, being hesitant, calm and anxious all in the same scene. Vaughan works hard to make his characters appealing and his story fresh.

Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente continue to show off a courageous style, laying out the page in a very different pattern, keeping the design innovative and the story moving with dramatic panels. The art doesn’t have anything quite as amazing as the chase sequence from the last issue, but the story is still really well-done and drawn excellently. Among the most enjoyable pages are the ones where Martin draws big panels, stretching across both pages. We see so much in these futuristic visages that one could stare at it for a good while and find something new.

Private Eye is one of the best books to be read this year. Not only is the story interesting, but the artwork is better than many other comics could produce. Even though issue 2 isn’t quite as good as #1, it’s still a more worthwhile purchase than many other books on the shelves this week.

THE GOOD

-Chemistry between characters is really good

-Art has wonderful character/setting designs

THE BAD

-Plot is a little slow

-Issue lacks a good action scene

8.5/10

9 May 2 Permalink

Hawkeye #10 Review

Review by Alexander Moser

Hawkeye 10 is a departure from other issues due to the inclusion of a new artist—Franco Francavilla. Though the style is different, Hawkeye is still relatively entertaining, though not quite as much as an Aja issue.

In issue 9, we see a white-faced killer take out Clint’s friend Grills. This issue explores the life of this killer. Kazi, who hails from Eastern Europe, meets Kate Bishop in a bar. They chat a lot, which reveals much of mysterious past. He claims he comes “from Hell,” as a killer. We see his flashbacks in zany crafted panels by Francavilla. Kazi tells his story to Kate, but she doesn’t see what we see—Kazi becoming a mercenary for villains and mobsters. Eventually, Kate leaves the bar, and Kazi secretly follows. Kate and Clint get into a fight, while Kazi goes onto the roof. Yet again we see him shoot Grills down.

Would one consider this issue to be filler? While I wouldn’t consider this issue to be essential to the main plot, I would add that it is very well-written. I happened to like Fraction’s take on the two main characters of this issue—Kate and Kazi. The two are depicted to be polar opposites: one is a seemingly innocent girl and the other is a brutal killer. Yet from what we know, Kate is almost as bad as Kazi, except that she fights for the “good” side.

Francavilla takes Fraction’s script and turns it into a royal nightmare. I mean this in the best sense. His panel layouts are unlike that of any artist, making Kazi’s flashbacks appear like bright spirals that madden in odd directions. His work is definitely stylistic, which doesn’t appeal to everyone. But regular readers of Hawkeye should appreciate Francavilla’s work. His art in the book is thinner, more ghostly than usual and plastered with deep colors. One scene stands out where Kate and Kazi sit in a bar with light shaded across their faces. Francavilla utilizes two colors on a palate—blue for Kazi and purple for Kate, highlighting who they really are. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Francavilla’s art here, but the colors really came home for me here.

If you love Hawkeye, you’ll appreciate the effort the creators make here in fleshing out a villain, but overall issue 10 is largely filler. Even the fill-in artist doesn’t do enough to make the single issue stand on its own. But when read, it’s still a beautifully constructed comic that no other art team can reciprocate.

THE GOOD

-Unique look and style

-Colors and art are very good

THE BAD

-Filler issue

7/10

6 May 5 Permalink

Animal Man #20 Review

Review by Alexander Moser

 A change from the regular art, Animal Man 20 departs from its plot to continue the story of Chaz Grant, a film superhero played by Buddy Baker. We last saw him in issue 6, where Buddy’s son Cliff watched the movie.

 The movie begins. Chaz, a superhero who lost his wife, rises to stardom by becoming a superhero celebrity. While his personal life falls apart, we see he gets more and more celebrity opportunities, such as film roles and a judge spot on “American Talent Search.” Chaz’s son, who idolizes his heroic father, becomes more and more distant as his father becomes more isolated. The plot thickens when Chaz witnesses an act of sexual assault and tries to stop it. But the assaulter is in fact a Hollywood executive, who sues Chaz for everything. Now, Chaz has lost everything. His family, his fame, even the name he wears on his suit—Red Lightning—all gone in a flash. But we see, even though he can no longer bear the name, Chaz continues to be a hero, while his proud son watches.

 The issue ends with contrasting a two-page conclusion to the movie, depicting Buddy’s sad reaction after watching the film.

 Jeff Lemire tries to spin a unique allegory to the world of superheroes and celebrities while also tying into Buddy’s life. Unfortunately, the analogous story feels flat and boring. Not only have we already gotten the allegory in past issues, it takes up the majority of the page count here. I feel as though we could have gotten a more effective story in fewer pages, or at least through dramatic crosscutting between the real world and the movie, so we can better see Buddy’s reactions. Instead, the story feels like filler in order to move the story along as slowly as possible.

  am a big fan of John Paul Leon since Earth X, but his work is really hit or miss for me. I particularly love the montage pages where we see Chaz in interviews on TV, given a bright lively look, but I think some of the other scenes fall flat in terms of emotional content. Timothy Green II draws the final two pages, which isn’t too effective either. I can’t blame him too much since the script for the final two pages isn’t a lot to work with. The book’s two artists share a colorist, Lovern Kindzierski, who actually does a good job of separating the film world from our world, using significantly brighter shades to portray the fantasy we see on screen. The aesthetic departs our senses, allowing us to connect with each scene a little differently. A very effective use of style.

 It’s not the best issue of Animal Man, and I wouldn’t recommend this issue to new readers, especially since there’s really no Animal Man. While the ending may prove interesting, I don’t feel quite hopeful for where the story is taking us.

 THE GOOD

-Colorist shines through

-Parallels between Chaz and Buddy are well-established

THE BAD

-Story feels more like filler than allegory

-Ending is a little weak

6/10

6 May 1 Permalink

Iron Man 3 Movie Review

by Alexander Moser

Marvel’s anticipated sequel to the Iron Man franchise and the follow-up to Avengers hits theaters this weekend. While I watched it, I wasn’t sure whether to hate it or love it. While Robert Downey Jr.’s characterization of the superhero is very adept, there isn’t much that’s worth watching besides an epic action sequence due to the confused and meandering plot.

 ***SPOILERS BELOW***

Read More

3 May 3 Permalink

Superior Spider-Man #9 Review

Review by Alexander Moser

Fans are split on whether Superior Spider-Man is a work of genius, or a travesty. Either way, the graphic depiction of a battle within Peter Parker’s mind is a well-written and subversive experience that makes you feel more for these fictional characters than you ever have before.

As we saw in the last issue, Doc Ock uses a brainwave machine on himself in order to purge the remains of Peter Parker’s thoughts from his mind. The two duke it out in a metaphysical battle to the death. Peter fights Ock the best he can, using the memories of his family and friends, symbolizing love. But Ock eliminates them from the fight, using all of Peter’s anxieties on his side, namely, supervillains, who destroy Peter’s friends one by one. With the death of Captain Stacy or Uncle Ben their memory is destroyed as well. So Peter decides to take the fight to a one on one with his enemy. When it looks like Peter is about to win, Doc Ock strips himself of being Doc Ock, becoming the Superior Spider-Man. He proves to Peter that he is truly superior and everything Peter’s done hasn’t been good enough. Peter becomes defeated. The Superior Spider-Man has won.

Dan Slott, what have you done? Is the death of Peter Parker worth it just to make a story?

Superior Spider-Man is wonderfully written, depicting a very “mental” battle between the two Spider-men. The personification of Peter’s hopes and his anxieties are well-executed, using his memories as physical figures in order to associate what he cares about or what he fears. The transcendence into Spidey vs. Spidey is really nice, raising the stakes by a lot. When Otto proves to Peter that as Spider-Man, he is truly “superior,” Slott tends to have us agree with him. Slott kills our favorite hero, doing it in a way that’s actually very exciting.

Ryan Stegman has been drawing for Marvel for years, but Superior 9 is his greatest work yet. He fills the page with dramatic pacing, adapting style from Humberto Ramos, but still resembling something unique. The best panels are the fight scenes, where Stegman literally twists the fight in different directions, putting the battle on the side of a building. He also makes the imaginary seem real, with both Spider-men peeling off their skin to fight in their superhuman identities. The coloring also highlights the imaginary, with pale green skies amidst a strange-colored world. While Stegman and Ramos have been trading story arcs, the colorists have not, rendering a similar style between the two artists.

It’s unsettling to see Doc Ock win, despite that he is “superior.” Spider-Man is about making mistakes, not being perfect and learning from your mistakes. I think this is the larger scope in Slott’s story, teaching the reader about Spider-Man by using Doc Ock as an anti-exemplar. Dan Slott indeed has killed off Peter Parker, but has done so in a way that is very entertaining. It may not be the ending fans want, but one cannot deny the fact that the story is a well-constructed piece of wonder.

THE GOOD

-Story makes you side with Doc Ock by the end

-Artwork is Stegman’s best yet

THE BAD

-Ending may be frustrating for some readers

-Science of a “mind-wipe” is questionable

9/10

2 May 4 Permalink

Jupiter’s Legacy #1 Review

Review by Alexander Moser

The latest comic by Mark Millar is much of what you’d expect from a Mark Millar and Frank Quitely comic, which is a very good thing. The comic presents a semi-dystopian superhero world that holds a lot of promise, even if the plot hasn’t moved too much.

I say the plot hasn’t moved much because much of the premier issue of Jupiter’s Legacy sets up the backstory. We begin in the early 1930s, shortly after the stock market crash. A man who’s very accustomed to successes in his life takes the failure hard, so he travels the world with a group of friends in search of an island he saw in his dreams. The island is magical, giving everyone on his trip superpowers. The group then goes about the world as superheroes for many years.

Nearly 100 years later (today), the children of these adventurers deal with the “legacy” of their parents. They too have superhuman abilities, whether it’s psychic genius or Superman-like strength. While we see some of these heroes fight powerful villains, others seem to live their lives like celebrity heirs, basking in the fame without ever doing much. When one of the younger heroes decides to try a certain new drug, she convulses on the floor, seemingly dead. We end there.

Mark Millar produces what may be some of his best work in years. It’s very different from Kick Ass, in which we shout explicative on each page. Jupiter’s Legacy has some more graphic moments, such as when one of the characters tells a woman to “wait in the men’s room.” Yet the amount of world building is still kept interesting through a very exciting concept of the children of superheroes. It’s fresh and entertaining, getting the reader into the world of story without overwhelming them with information and backstory. Following that, the fight scenes are excellent, bringing together good dialogue with excellent art.

Much of the praise can be attributed to Frank Quitely, who draws with an amazing style, providing depth not only in his character’s faces, but also in their posture and environment. The panels flow into each other perfectly, in a way that is cinematic while also allowing the eye to fill in what goes on between each image. He also gets quite experimental, especially when constructing the telepathic scene. In constructing an imaginary world, Quitely presents the construction of a panel. First we see pencils on the edge of the image, then a lightly colored scene, finally ending with the fully constructed scene. The layered process is as if there were three panels in one. It also invites us to imagine the process in drawing comic book art.

While not much happens in the overarching story, Jupiter’s Legacy is a must-read, due to the stunning artwork and the addicting writing by Mark Millar. Pick this one up now before it definitely sells out.

THE GOOD

-Beautiful art

-Good world-building story

THE BAD

-Large amount of characters on a confusing scale

-More backstory in book than actual plot

8.5/10

26 April 4 Permalink

Age of Ultron #6 Review

Review by Alexander Moser

Now that we’ve reached the halfway point, Age of Ultron begins to develop some sort forward story and character motion. Finally, something happens in this issue.

Please note: SPOILERS WITHIN THIS REVIEW

Our heroes diverge into two timelines: Cap, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Storm, Red Hulk and Quake go into the future to stop Ultron while Wolverine and Sue Storm go into the past in order to prevent the robotic fiend from ever being created. For the most part, the issue focuses on the trip back into the past, where Wolverine and Storm steal Nick Fury’s flying car to go to Manhattan. Meanwhile, the “future” team continues their trek in order to stop Ultron, but find themselves hopelessly outmatched by swarms of robots. In the past, Wolverine plans to kill Hank Pym in order to stop him from ever creating Ultron. However, Sue Storm won’t let Wolverine kill Pym until she makes the devastating moral acceptance that killing her friend is a worthy sacrifice in order to save the lives of millions later on. Therefore, Wolverine slashes Pym’s throat, letting him bleed out and die. The two go back to the future, hoping their mission was not a mistake.

While I’m glad Bendis has written a morally acceptable tale, it is not without it’s flaws. First of all, why did it take so long to get to this point? I feel as though the team could have gone back in time many issues ago. While the interactions between Pym, Wolverine and Sue Storm are excellent, full of moral consequence and excitement, the rest of the issue feels obscure. It’s clear that Wolverine and Storm changed the future, so why even have the future plot with Iron Man and others? There’s good writing in this book, but it is not consistent.

Goodbye Hitch, hello Pacheco and Peterson. Marvel divided up the art duty into two jobs, with one team handling the past and the other handles the present. While these artists are very different from Hitch’s work, I found them to be more personal, as we got to experience the story a little more dramatically due to close ups and smaller panels. There are no wordless double page spreads of Manhattan covered in robotic technology, which is good, considering that has taken so much away from the story thus far.

Half the book may still feel like filler, but the rest is better than average. Plus, I’m excited to see where this time travel plot will go.

THE GOOD

-Emotional story for Susan Storm and Wolverine

THE BAD

-Present storyline feels tacked on or unimportant

-Dual artists can be hit or miss

6/10

19 April Permalink

Nova #3 Review

Review by Alexander Moser

Nova brings out action, conflict and an intense training montage through an exciting comic book that just seems to “pop” right out at the reader.

The origin of Sam Alexander continues! We last left off with his encounter with the mysterious Watcher. Unfortunately, their meeting is short-lived, so Sam goes back home. We see him interact with his mother, who isn’t exactly happy from Sam’s hospital disappearance. But Sam doesn’t exactly need or want his mom’s approval anyway. He is met once again by Rocket Raccoon and Gamora, who explain to him the alien armada that’s on its way to attack the Earth. So, Sam decides to train how to use his Nova powers better. Through a training montage we see Sam getting better and better, but we also see how he can be foolish with his abilities. Thinking he’s ready, Gamora and Rocket Raccoon send him to Jupiter in order to counter the villainous Chituari. Let’s just say the battle doesn’t last very long.

Jeph Loeb is somewhat successful in making his character appealing, though not wholly original. While a wise-cracking young space hero named Nova with father issues may seem like an interesting concept, Sam Alexander comes off too much like young Spider-Man. The dialogue at times is just too much. I don’t need Sam to be griping about his cell phone reception every other page. There’s also a healthy dose of exposition halfway into the book, which slows down the read. Other than that, it’s not a bad story, though I don’t know why RR and Gamora would send a kid to fight an entire armada, when they clearly know (and tell us) he’s not ready.

Ed McGuinness is simply spectacular. The artwork pops off the page and just looks spectacular. One particular moment is on the third page where we see the depth beneath the Watcher’s eyes. McGuinness gets space to really seem vast, while the colors by Dexter Vines provide depth and shading to otherwise blackness. Speaking of coloring, the colors give that futuristic scheme to our cosmic characters. If there was one reason to get the book, it’d be art alone.

It’s not too late to jump onto Nova. Sam is a new character who is getting established as we speak, so catch him now before he gets too involved midstory. Issue 3 isn’t a bad issue, but there are clear moments that you think could have been written better, preventing a good book from being a great book.

THE GOOD

-Gorgeous, gorgeous artwork

THE BAD

-Story has a few “cringe-worthy” moments

7.5/10

19 April Permalink