Various comics to demolish.
I've got Mister Terrific #8, Uncanny X-Men #10, Aquaman #7, Avengers Versus X-Men #1, and America's Got Powers #1. The second comic and last are good, the rest...let's discuss.
Mister Terrific #8
I liked this series at some points, but in this last issues it jams in characters from another comic I haven't ever read about (Blackhawks, which got cancelled too, natch). Then this rushes to its close and is otherwise like starting on a good drug trip and then coming down hard. This, "last issue," isn't even really a last issue because its sets up our main character in a new DC series starting up in a bit. I have no interest in reading the new series because it takes place on, "Earth 2," and I get enough mileage out of the main DC earth where apparently your comic can be cancelled and then start sucking after a good first 5 issues, before then randomly tying in to something else. God bless America.
1.5 out of 5 stars.
Uncanny X-Men #10
This is pretty much just a big fight scene and some talking, but the person who does the talking is a creepy robot from the short-lived S.W.O.R.D. series once done by the man who is also writing this series. Yes, Gillen brought over the eerie, "Unit," whom he was never able to utilize because Marvel strangled that old series in the crib. This means we get to see people fighting, enjoy some catchy dialogue, and have a subplot develop--even if it is a plot that starts to set up the ever-so-unneeded Avengers Versus X-Men.
This is the kind of comic I like, but yet the people of the world come together and instead plan for comics where they fuck-over creators like Alan Moore by taking a cool story he did a long time ago and trying to get as much cash as they can out of it. Seriously, Before Watchmen is something I continue to lose more and more interest in of the minimal amount I had. That doesn't relate to this review other than to point out that for all the times I'm pissed at Marvel they still can put out some quality material like this when they aren't too busy letting Bendis write all his character's dialogue the same in the countless Avengers books--and at least they aren't grubbing money as openly as DC at this moment. I heard a rumor Bendis could be doing X-Men titles like this. I really hope not considering the man just can't do team books (Digression 1 complete).
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Aquaman #7
This is the issue where we introduce a Muslim character and proceed to brutally murder her. Diversity, everyone! Also Aquaman was apparently on some other team and his old arch-nemesis Black Manta is around in this new DC trying to gather artifacts from Atlantis. Do you hear that? It's the sound of me being more disappointed that Geoff Johns made an empty gesture at multiculturalism with his female Muslim character and then killed her off than being interested in much of anything else here.
2 out of 5 stars.
Avengers Versus X-Men/AVX #1
This has a bunch of writers because they are all working together, but it is clearly being mainly done this issue by Bendis because of how the dialogue sounds. He just writes everyone the same in that supposedly, "punchy," style of talking. John Romita Jr. provides some decent art and...look, everyone on the internet has pointed out regardless of reviews people are going to buy this, and that's good because this isn't very enjoyable. It's a bunch of characters talking about the Phoenix energy and then getting ready to fight right as the issue ends. Wow, how exciting, let me put on an adult diaper because I have nearly messed myself with exuberance! Really though, if it weren't for the art this would just have been wretched. I'm not buying any tie-ins for this besides comics I already read that happen to tie-in.
Seriously, what is with all the tie-ins to events? Either we have the main comics do it which means regular series get interrupted, or random mini-series are produced of low quality. Who really reads most tie-ins (Digression 2 Complete).
2 out of 5 stars (barely, thanks to the nice enough art).
America's Got Powers
Jonathan Ross here is writing what is kind of a Mark Millar comic is Millar went a little lighter on the cynicism and put in a bit more wonder. Oh, and if Millar no longer sucked since Ultimates 2. I don't mention Ultimates 2 casually, as this has the same artist as that in the form of Bryan Hitch, doing a decent-if-still-clearly-photo-referencing-his-art job. This has some interesting ideas about the government and what it would do to control a small super-powered population, and there are some cute jabs at reality T.V. but thank God that isn't the real focus. No, the focus is more a coming-of-age tale of a young man who doesn't have powers but should due to his exposure to an energy we learn about at the start of the comic. Try as the comic might to be dark and bitter as if it were by Millar, it puts in just enough sweetness and hope that it actually is enjoyable and good.
Really, what happened to Mark Millar? the man was making some quality comics and now everything seems to just be movie pitches loaded with annoying racism and pointless over-the-top bits where he's trying to shock us but really can't. Millar is like that kid who wants to shock everyone with the gross stuff he eats or the dangerous stunts he pulls, but really we're all just embarrassed. It used to be cool, but now its just kind of sad (Digression 3 Complete).
I actually really, really liked this comic more than I even thought I would and don't have much in the way of snark to throw at it--even though it could be pointed out it is pretty predictable there is more to our un-powered-person than meets the eye, but so goes the standard story formula. Also, as the said the art is decent but Hitch clearly based his Senator character's design on Sarah Palin's face and it is really distracting. Those are nit-picks in a pretty great comic however. Plus, it's double-sized for just $2.99. Now that's a bonus.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Woop, there it was.
We laughed, we cried, we read some comics and I had a good amount of rambling-on about stuff. Go about your day now.
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