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GeneXt # 1 Review

Authors: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Patrick Scherberger
Inker: Norman Lee
Colors: Chris Sotomayor

I’m sure I sound like a broken record when I reminisce of my childhood and reading comics. I couldn’t go a month without buying Uncanny X-men, New Mutants, and X-factor. By far Uncanny was the best of the three and I can’t think of Uncanny X-men without thinking of Chris Claremont. See, broken record. Things haven’t been the same since Claremont left in 1991 and made his return to the X-world in 2000. He’s had some good stories and some…err not so good ideas, but there is one thing that you can still say about the man and that is he knows his X-men history like no other, hell he wrote 90% of those classic stories.

Here comes GeneXt, the new kids on the block, Marvel’s answer to what today’s X-men generation would be like if the Marvel Universe aged in real time. Most of these kids seem to be children of original X-men such as Gambit and Rogue’s son Oliver Raven and Storm’s daughter Becka Munroe. Of course some are a third generation like the grandson of Colossus, Pavel Rasputin. Then there is No Name and Rico whose parents haven’t been revealed to the reader yet. They are trained by X-23 and seem to be under the tutelage of Beast and Cecilia Reyes. We still don’t know the whereabouts of the remaining X-men or what has happened to Professor Xavier.

It’s these kind of stories that really makes Mr. Claremont shine. He is not attached to old stories, even though I am sure he will get the urge to continue past plot lines left open. He is free to create his own rules and play with his new history. Damn, the man can still write some dialogue and each kid sounds different than the other. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but in today’s comics it gets harder and harder to find a writer that can give each character their own voice. If anything this kind of reminds me of a mixture of New Mutants mixed with the good elements of X-men The End. But it’s not all without flaw, because nothing really happens in the first issue. The kids train under a very angry and annoying X-23 and go out and have a dispute with “norms” at a club. It was a rather boring plot and if it wasn’t for the connection to the X-men I really don’t see this book working at all.

The art is something else I had a problem with. Scherberger can really draw the hell out of kids, but that’s the problem, much like Chris Bachalo and Humberto Ramos (who I’m sure are his inspirations) everyone looks like a young adult. His backgrounds leave much to be desired and his facial expressions seem to be limited. I also have no idea why the hell this book is $3.99. Is it because of the 8 page X-men First Class preview and sketches? Because gas is way too fucking high for me to fork over a gallon on a comic that was halfway decent. It’s not a bad start and the kid’s personalities and ties to the X-men is really the only thing keeping me interested. C+

Guardians of the Galaxy # 1 Review

Authors: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Penciler: Paul Pelletier
Inker: Rick Magyar
Colors: Nathan Fairbairn

I have mix feelings on how much Marvel has changed in the last few years. Five years ago a book like this wouldn’t even have had a shot of seeing the light of day. But then again five years ago Spider-man would have never made a deal with the devil. Thanks for Annihilation, Nova, and Annihilation Conquest Marvel’s cosmic characters are back and even though these aren’t the Guardians of the Galaxy I remember, these guys can still kick ass in the cosmic realm.

The lineup on this new team of Guardians includes: Quasar, Drax, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Warlock, all being led by Starlord. In the first issue the new team is put together by Starlord and Quasar. They are not there to keep peace in the galaxy, but to kick some ass before the shit hits the fan. Drax and Gamora don’t seem to have a purpose so they join with a little persuasion. Warlock is a new man who may or may not be from this timeline and thinks that this new form team is the cause of his resurrection and RR wants to help Starlord feel better about the Phalanx invasion. They go on their first mission and Mantis has a premonition about a betrayal and the death of the team. And damn, I sure hope that is Major Victory (Vance Astro) we see encased in ice at the end

While I thought Annihilation Conquest was a little disappointing it did have its great moments such as the sacrifice of Moondragon and the return of Adam Warlock. I do have faith in Abnett and Lanning to pull off this monthly series and I’m so glad I don’t have to wait till the next cosmic crossover to catch up with Starlord and RR. After all it’s those characters that really make this book work. Everyone has a different personality and once they start clashing it’s hard to put the book down. There is a great moment with Drax mourning Moondragon and Quasar might find herself a new friend in Drax since they did share a love for Moondragon.

Pelletier’s art really carries those flash-forward talking headshots to tell the story. The spaceships and the architecture are flawless. However, his humanoid figures need a little more life in them. I said humanoid creatures because his Rocket Raccoon, Cosmo, and aliens are perfect. Did I mention that we finally see a meeting between Cosmo and RR. This is an excellent way to start off a new series and I anxiously await to see the return of Major Victory, Yondu, or Starhawk show up in these pages. A-

Manga Spotlight: xxxHolic

This Review was Submitted by Thomas Pfeiffer

Story & Art: CLAMP
Publisher: Del Rey

Watanuki’s a normal teenaged high school kid, well except for the fact that he’s suffering from the Ichigo epidemic of seeing ghosts and ghoulies, who accidentally stumbles into a mystic shop run by an arrogant, crazy lush named Yuko, the space-time witch. Yuko’s specialty just so happens to be in fixing people’s “problems” in exchange for something equally important. For Watanuki that happens to be his “ghost-seeing” problem in exchange for Watanuki becoming the indentured servant for the witch. Watanuki’s day to day adventures include cooking, cleaning, shopping, acquiring the latest alcoholic beverage Yuko has the taste for at the time, and catching glimpses of other patrons of the shop and their tragic downfalls. Of course this is an occult shop so it’s not as hum-drum as it sounds, ordinary chores can quickly brush elbows with the supernatural.

Going into this manga I had no idea what to expect. I knew that it crossed over into “Tsubasa Chronicles” another CLAMP work being published at the same time, so I was intrigued, I heard great things about Tsubasa and its “crossovers” and of course been a CLAMP fan ever since those three girls went off to magical RPG land and started killing off princesses. Mostly I was excited about possibly seeing some crossovers from CLAMP series in XXXholic, but alas none (unless of course you count Tsubasa, and there is a drunk black Mokona). The premise for the manga that you get from reading the first couple of volumes sounds great. Problematic people coming into a mystical shop for help with their problems or addictions and the space-time witch which tries to help them, often ending in a sorrowful, or horror-filled climax for the individuals when they won’t listen to Yuko’s advice. It seems that’s where the ol’ CLAMP gals got the title (“XXXholic” as in “(insert addiction here)-holic”) Brilliant premise! But soon the manga turns into random stories about Watanuki, his exorcist rival, and the girl next door he’s in love with and the shenanigans they get into with japanese folk tales and mythology. It sort of turns into a poor man’s Urusei Yatsura, random stories involving the supernatural, but unlike Urusei Yatsura, no zany, over-the-top humor. The stories seem to try too hard to include fables and mythology without actually having a reason to giving you that “what was the point?” feeling. It feels like the majority of the stories are “filler” stories in an anime series that you end up hoping the next chapter will actually continue on with the plot. Just so you know after Volume 3 they really don’t, at least not often enough. In fact the only reason I continued reading this manga was to find out if it would ever go back to that intriguing premise that it led you into thinking this manga was about.

Of course the artwork is phenomenal. I honestly have to say that this is my favorite CLAMP artwork, and I’m a huge CLAMP fan. It’s drastically different than any of their other stuff. It still keeps with CLAMP’s way of doing malnourished, anorexic men, bubbly cute females and detailed hair, jewelry, etc. but it seems to have a much more clean line feel with much more simplified character designs (most of the male characters wear a school suit which transfers into CLAMP’s artwork as a pitch black body suit with angles). It might appear to be a very lazy style but the lines are so precise and technical every page is a work of art. Also the lack of details in the characters makes the read much more enjoyable and easy for to see character movements and depth.

All in all XXXHolic is a manga having an identity crisis. Tons of different ideas and premises leaving the reader confused on what kind of story the manga’s actually attempting to be telling. Pick up the first three volumes, if you liked the stories of Watanuki & Co. and their zany adventures with the supernatural, keep reading, that’s the plot point that CLAMP for the majority of the time runs with. If not stop there and just think of this manga as a really good idea wasted. B-

Captain Britain and MI 13 # 1 Review

Author: Paul Cornell
Penciler: Leonard Kirk
Inker: Jesse Delperdang
Colors: Brian Reber

Does anyone know if this book is an ongoing or a miniseries? Because it seems like it’s another incarnation with a deserving Excalibur somewhere on that title. I really enjoyed Cornell’s Wisdom miniseries. I really though besides Warren Ellis, Paul Cornell is the only writer that has been able to write that character properly. I really thought this books was doomed when I read Secret Invasion on the cover. After those so called “tie-ins” that Bendis is putting us through in the Avengers titles, I really thought we were going to get a story about a boy Skrull and his dog Skrull with the revelation that they have been disguising themselves as Superpro and Nomad (RIP). Instead we get a really solid story with some promising future.

We revisit John the Skrull from the Wisdom mini and it is revealed that a high ranking British official is a Skrull. It seems that the Skrulls have it out for the Brits and want to take out the Siege Perilous. The hell you say? When was the last fucking time someone other than Claremont brought up the Siege Perilous? Who is going to stop these freaking aliens from crushing dear old England? Well, that’s where Captain Britain, Pete Wisdom, John the Skrull, Black Knight, and Spitfire come in and each get a little spotlight. We even get the return of Alistaire Stuart….the man from W.H.O. It seems that Captain Britain has to divert a missile and save the magic and eventually the world and it seems like he is doing it no matter the cost.

Now this is how you do a fucking tie-in and how you get the ball rolling on a new book! Damn, it was so fun reading this book, writing a review on it won’t do it justice. This is the Captain Britain I want to see. A guy that can literally take a Skrull’s head off by punching it. This is a team I can take seriously, each member providing their own unique way of taking down Skrulls. By far my favorite would have to be Spitfire ripping throats out with her teeth…now that is a chick after my own heart. Cornell does an outstanding job introducing new readers to the heroes of England….alright fair is fair, Dane Whitman (Black Knight) is from Massachusetts, but he is still residing in England.

Kirk’s artwork has gotten better since his days on Agents of Atlas. He can capture the fluidity of motion during battle sequences and still show a sentimental side to Wisdom’s facial expressions when saying goodbye to Captain Britain. Sure there are Skrulls here, but the tie-in is used to get new readers to experience a new kind of dark humor and fun comic. This book was a big surprise to me, much better than I anticipated with a great script, great characterization, and great fun. A

Huntress: Year One # 1 Review

Author: Ivory Madison
Penciler: Cliff Richards
Inker: Art Thibert
Colors: Jason Wright
Cover: Mathew Clark

Damn, it seems everyone in DC is getting a Year One, so when is Booster Gold Year One going to get here? Before I start the review I can’t begin to tell you how upset I was when I opened the comic and found out Mathew Clark was not drawing the inside of the book. Nothing against Richards, but Clark’s artwork has something unique about it that I can’t get enough of. So, yes I loved the cover.

The story starts off with a 20 year old Helena Bertinelli living in Sicily. She is in hiding because she is the last survivor of her family, who were hunted by rival mobs in Gotham. Much like Bruce Wayne, she witnessed the death of her parents and the death of her older brother while eating dinner. While living with the Asaro family she learned to fight under Salvatore and eventually became a huntress. Now, it seems that Helena wants to repay those lessons by breaking him out of jail.

I really didn’t think there was a point to this book, let alone six issues worth of the Huntress’ first year. Don’t get me wrong I have been a fan of The Huntress since I first encountered her in the 3rd Robin miniseries, but you can get all the back stories you want by buying Huntress: Cry for Blood. However, if you don’t want to hunt down that trade, then this is a pretty decent read. Sure it had tons over the top voice over captions and the flashbacks were confusing at times (not sure if that’s the artist’s or writer’s fault), but it still kept my interested and I wanted to keep reading more by the end.

The art gets the job done, but it really doesn’t stand out from the rest. The transitions between scenes felt a little cluttered and to be honest I couldn’t tell how old Helena was supposed to be during the boar flashback. Maybe Sal likes em’ a lil young. I do have to say that his facial expressions and panel laying are done really well. . I’m glad they got Thibert to clean up the art; he is by far one of the best inkers working today. I would also like to point out that Wright’s colors are simply amazing; he really made those flashback scenes have a Batman: Year One feel to them. Even though the dialogue seems really clichéd, if you don’t know much about Huntress’ origin this book will keep you entertain. B-

Shameless Self Promotion!!!!! YAYYYYY!!!!!!

Ok, so as far as I know, this is the first time I've never really abused the great power that these bastions of comic knowledge and wisdom here at Aboutheroes have bestowed upon me, but it's for something I'm sure you can all understand the importance of. Thus, I am shirking the 'Great Responsibility' and coming to you with one simple request. I need you to give me a 5 star rating on this youtube video:

Here's the story. As some of you may know, Zack Snyder (Director of Dawn of the Dead Remake, 300, and now The Watchmen) is holding a contest for fans of The Watchmen to submit commercials for Veidt Industries Products that may actually find their way into the film. This is something that would make me go nuts. Not only would my work be in the film based on one of the (if not THE) best comics ever written, but as an budding Editor in Hollywood, it would look AMAZING on my resume. That being said, It would tickle me if you could click on the link below and give me a 5 star rating just to boost my stats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyfyjgVODCE

Thanks so much for your time and your overlooking of my Un-SpideyheedingUncleBen'slastwords-ness.

For just a touch of Legitimacy, here's video diaries they've released so far, they're actually really cool.

Tanks a Wot, GEEKS UNITE!!!!

X-factor: The Quick and the Dead Review

Author: Peter David
Artist: Pablo Raimondi
Colors: Jeremy Cox

Damn, every time I see a picture of Quicksilver I am reminded of how much he’s been royally fucked in recent years. Every since House of M the character has been dragged, shit on, and turned into a psychotic/pseudo villain. If there is one man that can make me care for Quicksilver again it’s Peter David. After all if it wasn’t for his X-factor # 87 I really wouldn’t be giving a rat’s ass about Pietro.

Life has not been good for Pietro. After being humiliated and defeated by Layla Miller Quicksilver has fallen even further. He is powerless, lost, hanging on the brink of sanity, and is a John Doe currently being held in a jail cell. But in his mind he is confronted and haunted by hallucinations and voices of his past. Everyone important to him shows up: Scarlett Witch, Magneto, Crystal, Luna, and even Layla Miller who informs him that deep down inside he didn’t want to kill her. She also tells him to follow the butterfly out the cell window. He can see across the rooftops of New York City from his jail cell, and upon one of them, he sees a couple having a domestic dispute. This leads to the man dragging the woman to the edge of the building. Pietro pulls the bars off and runs at top speeds to save the woman. He then takes a small trip around the globe coming to different conclusions about his life.

There are really some gorgeous series of dialogue between Pietro and his hallucinations. Magneto mentioning why everything has to go back to Hitler and the emotional reunion between brother and sister. I really feel bad for Pietro and the way his life has turned to utter shit. It was a really powerful tale of Pietro finding faith again and moving on from his recent lifestyle. While the book is not for everyone, the book really catches new readers up to speed…no pun intended.

The artwork by Raimondi is fantastic for the most part. He really makes Pietro look like a bum and a desperate man. He really captures the spirit and power of the moment of Quicksilver's revelation. Pietro’s facial expression when he realizes his powers returned are priceless. It was really nice to have David and Raimondi team up again. Other times it seems that his faces are a little off. It’s a great turning point in the life of Quicksilver and if you’ve enjoyed his recent devolution or just care about the character I highly recommend reading this book. A-

Action Comics Annual # 11 Review

Authors: Geoff Johns & Richard Donner
Artist: Adam Kubert
Colors: Edgar Delgado

Alright, so we all know how late this book has been. So I’m not even going to bitch about that and move on to the review. Although, I really feel for the people that were anxiously waiting for this conclusion. That’s right, it’s the finale to the Last Son storyline and it’s extra-sized. Much like the Heinberg Wonder Woman story, the main book kept moving forward and they left the conclusion to be told in an annual. I thought that was a great move by DC.

Along with Superman comes the Superman Revenge Squad: Lex Luthor, Parasite, Metallo, and Bizarro to take on General Zod, Ursa, and Non. So what we get is a battle with Superman against Zod….which for some reason I found really badass when Superman was dual wielding the Red Sun gun and the Green Kryptonite gun. The rest of the Revenge Squad takes on the remainder of Zod’s Kryptonian criminals. Luthor manages to reverse the rocket’s warp drive and pull the rocket back home and re-open the phantom zone along with everyone who has ever had contact with it. Chris realizes that the ship must be shut off in order to deactivate it. Chris goes in, and stops it, but doesn't come back out. In a desperate search for Chris, Superman contacts Mon-El and is informed he is not with the other Kryptonians, but the search will continue.

It was really a good finale to a mediocre storyline that kept getting stronger and stronger with each issue. The delays really killed the momentum and I’m sure this will read so much better in trade. The character interaction and dialogue was superb…of course what else is to be expected from Johns? What I really loved was the fact that Lex saved the day, but he still got locked up with no credit for it. Of course the story is not flawless. What I’m really confused about is the timeline of this story. Chris mentions he’s already met Robin…which means that everything up to Buziek’s last issue (Superman 675...I think) could have happened before Action Comics 845. If that is so, that’s a little hard to believe. Unless of course Chris came back with no explanation. There also wasn’t enough Revenge Squad in the book for me; they each got about three pages of fighting. Damn, and just when I thought I was going to see a huge JLA vs. Zod’s army....nothing happens.

I am really shocked at the unbalance that I find in Adam Kubert’s artwork. While some pictures are right down stunning like the reflection of the destroyed Metropolis, others feel rushed. His backgrounds are lavishing as ever, but for some reason some of his fight scenes just felt like they needed to be polished up. Perhaps he should have let someone else ink his pencils….hell they should have teamed him up with Art Thibert. There is a nice little bonus at the end with Geoff Johns introducing the readers to Superman’s supporting characters. The art by Stephane Roux was solid and I wish he would get a monthly Superman book. Overall it was an entertaining read and I’m not taking the delays into consideration when I rate the book so keep that in mind. I think a B- is a fair grade considering the lackluster scenes that Kubert provides at times, but seriously that is no reason for anyone to miss out and enjoy the conclusion to this story.

Avengers Invaders # 1 Review

Authors: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Artist: Steve Sadowski
Colors: inLight Studios

When I saw that Jim Krueger and Alex Ross were going to be working on a project for Marvel, I really got excited. I thought their Earth X books were some of the best written alternate-future Marvel stories I have ever read. I then found out the Invaders were going to be involved and I was reminded how wonderful Buziek’s Marvels was. Something happened to my excitement when I found out that someone other than Ross would be drawing the book and that the New Avengers would be involved….ohh yeah it went away.

The first part of the story is told through James “Bucky” Barnes’ journal and it re-introduces us to the Invaders (I still get confused with Toro and the Human Torch). As the Invaders take on some more Nazis during WWII they come across a green mist and walk through it, well everyone but Spitfire and a dying Union Jack. Meanwhile Spider-man is having a fight with the Thunderbolts about registering for the government (I can’t believe they are still ramming us this down our throats). Out of nowhere the Invaders appear and it’s Thunderbolts vs. Invaders with Spider-man caught in the middle. That’s pretty much about it, with the exception that Iron Man knows that Steve is somehow back.

It’s good to see a side by side comparison of classic heroes and the new anti-heroes that exist in the Marvel U. Everything that is good about a superhero and the shady heroes clashing together was a great analogy of today’s comics. I really like the young Bucky and Toro interaction; they really stole the spotlight….even from Spider-man, who was just trying too hard to get a joke in every panel. It really bothers me that not all the Invaders made it across the time rift. I really appreciate how much Ross loves the golden age characters, both here and in the DCU, but I wish he was just a little more involved than doing covers and co-plotting. The time travel mist wasn’t explained and to be honest I really don’t know if it will since that doesn’t seem to be the focus of the story.
Sadowski is a very talented artist and I love the colors just going over his pencils. He was able to do two different styles for two different time periods in the book and that takes some talent. He seems to put so much detail in each character and I think sometimes that backfires on him. Some of the lines he adds to the characters are completely unnecessary. Now, the one thing that I am definitely confused about is Cap’s shield. I thought at the time he was donning the classic 40’s shield . I could be wrong, but if anyone knows for sure, please correct me. It’s not a bad start, but the story really needs to get moving if the story is going to last only 12 issues. B-

The Invincible Iron Man # 1 Review

Author: Matt Fraction
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Colors: Stephane Peru & Frank D’Armata

It’s been a long time since we’ve reviewed an Iron Man book here at Aboutheroes. Even though the Knauf brother’s storylines have been really good, for some reason we just talked about the book on the podcast. I really didn’t think there was a need for another Iron Man title, considering the ongoing doesn’t fly off the shelves. But, with a number 1 movie in the world, I figured it would happen sooner or later. This book happens to be Stephane Peru’s last interior colors before he shockingly passed away of a heart attack at the age of 26.

It seems that Tony’s has five nightmares and some are coming to life: 1) Drinking alcohol again after six years of sobriety. 2) The Iron Man armor becoming replicable. 3) Someone other than him or Rhodey will operate the Iron Man. 4) The Iron Man becoming disposable. 5) Someone else other than him making Iron Man 2.0. The issue also focuses on Obadiah Stane’s son Ezekiel, who seems to be a new kind of threat to Stark Enterprises.

Since taken over SHIELD and leading the Mighty Avengers it seems that Iron Man has become more of an authoritarian figure in the Marvel universe, but in this book we get to see more of the lighter side of Tony’s qualities. I love how anyone can just pick up this book and enjoy it. Fraction does an amazing job of touching all the important aspects of Tony’s life from SHIELD to booze and women. Instead of following the main title storyline, the book really does its own thing. This is the Tony Stark that I used to like in my childhood. Not the poorly written piece of evil dictator that Mark Millar wrote him to be. I love the use of Pepper Potts, just the way she was intended to be used in the shortly lived, but great series The Order.

I have been a fan of Larroca’s artworks for years. To me his best work is still in X-treme X-men when he didn’t have an inker and the colors were done right on top of his pencils. He is a very fast and talented artist and has a complete understanding on the way the human body/muscles work. Which brings me to the next point….is it just me or does he seem like he is pulling a Greg Land on some of these pictures and using a light-box? Some of his panels have that photographic style that Land is notorious for over-using and it doesn’t seem like the usual Larroca stuff. I put a page on the left hand side as an example of his possible use of light-boxing. However, the Iron Man armor and action sequences are completely Larroca. The colors are completely amazing and D’Armata does a perfect job finishing Peru’s pages.

Overall, a great first issue for long time readers and a good jumping on point for new readers that are interested in the character. Even though I don’t see the need for another Iron Man series, it’s one that I will be reading monthly. A