posted
Upon completion of reading Men of War #1, my initial thought was “I can’t believe I almost didn’t try this incredible comic book!” What a damn good war comic!
In DC’s initial interviews and solicitations they made it seem like Men of War was going to be more along the lines of a group of mercenaries involved in the superhero politics of the DCU; this did not appeal to me. What I really like are true-grit war comics that are actually about war and soldiers. It was a very positive review at Bleeding Cool followed by another at CBR, and then lastly an excellent review by Lash where he says it was a great story, but in all honesty, just not his cup of tea, that pushed me to buy this issue. I’m glad I did because this is a ‘true grit war comic’.
Writer Ivan Brandon and artist Tom Derenick do an excellent job introducing Corporal Rock—the grandson of the legendary Sgt. Rock of WWII—to readers, as well as giving us insight as to what this series will be. It is a tightly written, action-packed and intelligently presented story. Rock and some of the other major characters are introduced; more importantly, Brandon gets across his point that the DCU with superheroes is a very scary and overwhelming place for the common man. A quick cameo of Superman subtly underlines this point well. And that overwhelming feeling begins to shed some light on the premise of this title.
There is a lot of military jargon and themes being tossed around and if you like that sort of thing, you’ll really enjoy this. They must have made a point to do this, since I know it was so heavily done in the 1950’s and that was a selling point for readers then. I hope it works. (To be honest, I don’t mind them but don’t really need them). But what I like is that they help further refine the distinct personality this comic already has.
It also walks the line nicely of not being overly jingoistic but also not being preachy and anti-military. It should be interesting to watch them walk this line.
All I can say is this is probably the best written new DC comic I’ve read besides Action Comics #1 so far; if you like war comics you’ll love this! If not, I still recommend you give it a try. Its firmly placed in the DCU so there is sure to be some crossover at some point.
Meanwhile, there is a Navy Seals back-up story by Jonathan Vankin and Phil Winslade that is a true war story; there are no superhero cameos here. For people not into war comics, this will be harder to get into. What I really like is two things: (A) Phil Winslade lends his gritty style that he did so well on Jonah Hex here and it really works for a war story; and (B) this is probably the best modern era war story I’ve seen so far dealing with soldiers in the Middle East. For some reason most war stories either fail to capture the Middle East theater of war or can’t resist the temptation to add in superhero or horror elements. Vankin introduces two soldiers more thoroughly than the rest, Ice & Tracker, and with the confines of 8 pages gives us enough about them to differentiate them from just “American Soldier X”.
I really love strong back-ups stories and I’m glad Men of War will have them. This is a big bonus for me as a reader.
Cobie Comparison: Did I enjoy it more than Justice League #1? Big time! Of the five titles I’ve read so far, this is the second best, and its head and shoulders above everything except Action Comics so far. I’m not only getting #2, I’m immediately adding it to my pull list hereafter.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Lash’s positive review of Static Shock, compiled with multiple similar reviews online, convinced me to pick this one up as well. I’ve been a huge Scott McDaniel fan since his first run on Nightwing (he’s also one of the best Batman artists in the last 20 years), and so having him at the helm as co-writer and penciler is a big positive. Add in inker Jonathan Glapion, who I feel is one of the superstar inkers in comics, and it had all the right ingredients.
The story starts off a bit run of the mill with Static chasing a ‘problem’ in NY, and I suddenly felt a little put-off. Yet after a few pages, I found myself more and more drawn in to the story. By mid-issue, I was really enjoying it and then I quickly found myself rushing to turn the pages! What I was feeling was pure ENERGY, as the pacing, plot and artwork just propelled me through the issue. I no longer was a reader, I was just being taken along for the ride! I really liked that feeling, and think the creative team really nailed it in terms of giving the series its kinetic pace. That was well done.
I’m a casual fan of Static but this issue gave me some insight in why people find him so likable. The setting in NYC is fantastic (a very under-utilized city in DC unlike Marvel), and McDaniel really does a great job hitting the various backgrounds of the city. His rendition of the loft where Static’s family live is spot-on in terms of how cramped it would be. I also really like the usage of Static’s family being against type and rather traditional and supportive; that being said, I hope there is some cool subplot with his sisters which was hinted at.
The addition of Hardware as a long-distance partner is a welcome one as that was always one of my favorite of the Milestone characters. It also sets up the status quo for Dakota as a city even though Static doesn’t live there.
The ending of the issue was in my mind equally as surprising as the ending to Detective Comics. It was as if the comic picked up speed throughout and then suddenly hit a brick wall in a “OH SHIT!” moment and I really thought it was effective.
Cobie Comparison: Did I enjoy it more than Justice League #1? While not the best title I read so far, it was ahead of Justice League certainly. I definitely will give the second issue a try.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I was actually surprised that Swamp Thing didn't have it's own thread here on LW! So I gladly will review it here though I'm confident it will spin into it's own thread subsequently. Getting right to the point: I enjoyed this opening issue immensely!
I've really only ever read Moore's run on Swamp Thing and them bits and pieces of others. Here, I feel like the creators do a great job tuning into the spirit of Swamp Thing, the series while at the same time not dwelling on nostalgia so they can tell their own stories. It's going to be complex and it's going to be weird--as it should be. And damn if it doesn't look like it's going to be fascinating.
I know Yanick Paquette from Batman recently and here I'm once again blown away by his artwork. This was one of the best drawn comics of the week! At times beautiful, at times scary and often a combination of them both. He's a great fit for Swamp Thing.
Writer Scott Snyder is one of my favorite writers in comics these days with his phenomenal American Vampire and fantastic run on Detectice Comics (which continues now with Batman). That high level of quality I've come to expect from him is evident throughout the issue. With the addition of this title and his new series Severed, which he co-writes, he's a busy guy these days! And each one IMO is high quality!
The issue set up some suspense over who or what is the Alec Holland we're seeing and I'm curious to how it plays out. Like many DC comics of the relaunch, the first issue felt like a genuine full issue worth of story which I liked.
So, did I enjoy it more than Justice League #1? Big time!
[ September 13, 2011, 05:41 AM: Message edited by: Cobalt Kid ]
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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I keep feeling that I starting too many threads...oh well. Lots of good stuff out there by a slew of companies.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
These reviews are making me want to read Animal Man and Swamp Thing, both of which I was putting off and was possibly going to skip! Shall rectify this tonight.
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Even though I still have 2 comics to go in my review (and maybe also Batgirl if I feel like trying to find it) I have to say that I'm clearly impressed by DC so far. I had pretty low expectations and so I've been thoroughly surprised by the quality of the week 1 round of new comics.
Granted, it's way to early to tell if the Didio / John's habits of crossovers, sales gimmicks with no heart & soul, continuity porn, gruesome murder and rape will become paramount once again after the 'newness' wears off. Hopefully the simplified M.O. of just telling good stories continues.
But so far, from a quality standpoint it's been largely successful. Should be interesting to see if weeks 2-4 match up (now we'll compare weeks against each other! Just can't help myself! )
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: Even though I still have 2 comics to go in my review (and maybe also Batgirl if I feel like trying to find it) I have to say that I'm clearly impressed by DC so far. I had pretty low expectations and so I've been thoroughly surprised by the quality of the week 1 round of new comics.
Granted, it's way to early to tell if the Didio / John's habits ...continuity porn... become paramount once again after the 'newness' wears off. Hopefully the simplified M.O. of just telling good stories continues.
Hey, nothin' wrong with some continuity porn, durnit!
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Truly, week one has been a massive, pleasant surprise!
After the weak sauce that was JUSTICE LEAGUE # 1, I was totally prepared for week 1 to be equally as full of 2-page splashes, two-page spreads with 3 panels on them and watered-down simplified storytelling. And, OH!! Was I ever prepared to rip these books a new one?!!?
Instead, I found myself STRUGGLING to find things to bitch about!
posted
I fully expect fans and critics to not even bother trying to give Hawk and Dove a chance, despite the series already being one of the first to sell out. Rob Liefield is (unfairly) an easy target, after all. But the truth is, Sterling Gates is a fantastic writer who did the best Supergirl stories since probably Jim Mooney’s days, and Liefield apparently is making a true effort to shed his ridiculed reputation and produce as many truly great, fun comic books as he can (Rob is apparently working on #5 of H&D, and #6 of Infinite—two series at the same time!).
My impression of Hawk & Dove is that it’s actually exactly what it sets out to be: a pedal to the metal action-adventure series with two fully defined lead characters. Much like Jim Lee’s JL, the art is loud, colorful and dynamic, albeit completely in Liefield’s over the top style. In #1 you get zombies on a plane, the Washington Monument in peril, problems between the partners, secrets and mysteries hinted at and the introduction of two new enemies, one with brains (and money) and the other with brawn. While the issue sometimes felt thin on dialogue, it certainly wasn’t thin on plot.
If you hate Liefield already, it’ll be impossible to sell you on it. I’m not his biggest fan but I don’t hate his artwork. In his other series, the Infinite with Robert Kirkman, I’m actively trying to soak it in and enjoy it as I sit back and enjoy Kirkman’s script. Here I’ve tried the same and sometimes I can. I don’t mind his composition at all. The biggest pet peeve I have is the lack of details in the backgrounds, which is my own personal most annoying thing that artists do. In that regard, Liefield falls short of his Image founder brethren, Jim Lee. Beyond that, the two are pretty similar in their uses of splash pages, or 3-4 panel pages, and overly large figures in the panels.
The writing from Gates is looser than his previous work but he’s clearly trying to appeal to action fans, and I suspect, a younger teen audience (the kind that once caused X-Force #1 to be the second highest selling comic in the history of comic books). I do like his inclusion of Deadman and the hinted connection between Dove and the Don Hall, the original Dove.
Cobie Comparison: Did I enjoy it as much as Justice League #1? In all honesty, it was about the same for me. Perhaps its because I had high expectations for JL #1 and low ones for H&D #1, which is unfair (but hey, like I said, who cares what fair when you’re paying for it?). I certainly can’t guaranty I’ll be collecting this title regularly, but I will say I’m at least buying #2.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Risky Barton, boy adventurer: Truly, week one has been a massive, pleasant surprise!
After the weak sauce that was JUSTICE LEAGUE # 1, I was totally prepared for week 1 to be equally as full of 2-page splashes, two-page spreads with 3 panels on them and watered-down simplified storytelling. And, OH!! Was I ever prepared to rip these books a new one?!!?
Instead, I found myself STRUGGLING to find things to bitch about!
Well played, DC... well played indeed...
I know, right?!
I have a feeling titles that I expect should be awesome, like Superman, Flash and Hawkman will dissapoint, but I'm willing to keep an open mind on everything at this point.
But if DC's intention was for Week 1 to be chock full of high quality titles, then well played indeed!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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