After the introductory issue 1 last month bringing us the backstory of this world, here begins the look into the main heroes which will undoubtedly make up the Justice Society of Earth Two.
The issue begins where the recently cancelled Mr Terrific series ended, with Michael Holt falling out of his wormhole into the streets of this new Earth, where he immediately runs into another old DC character Terry Sloan. The book then focuses primarily on the birth of the Earth 2 Flash, as Jay Garrick receives, and subsequently gets to grips with, his powers.
I liked issue 1 and, despite it's problems, thought it might be worth a second look and how my reasoning has paid off. Earth 2 #2 is so much fun to read. James Robinson has written an enjoyable and engrossing tale which, as described by the prior issue, certainly does have an incredibly epic feel. This feeling of epicness is further compounded by the art. I've never seen Nicola Scott's work before but I now wished I had. With it's vibrant look, I feel it's the perfect style for this title. Even her take on the Flash's outfit works and makes me feel like while the outfit is new, it follows the traditional outfit.
With the end of the issue leaving a cliffhanger which will undoubtedly reveal the new origin of the original Green Lantern, this book has made it to the top of my buy pile and I just can't wait for the beginning of next month and #3.
Monday, 11 June 2012
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Review: Dark Avengers #175 - A New name for a new team (but the same book)
And so it's all change for the Thunderbolts crew. After the last issue seemingly ending the T-bolts adventure through time, the powers that be (well, the Marvel editors) have changed the cast and the title to go with it, giving us.... The DARK AVENGERS!!!
The story begins with something of a cold open of a monster attacking a group of soldiers, which doesn't (yet) seem to have any relevance to the story, before then returning to the main cast, where Luke Cage is still tracking the old thunderbolts before being presented with the "new" Dark Avengers as the replacements.
The main problem with this book is simply the fact that I still don't get why the title was changed from Thunderbolts to Dark Avengers? Despite the different title and different characters, this book still has the same feel. However, this is not a major issue as this book, like the Thunderbolts before it, is still an incredibly fun book to read. Jeff Parker has got these characters down in no time and knows how to maintain a good pace of the story. Also, Parker is an expert when writing Luke Cage because Cage is the king of cool during this issue, able to out-fight and even out-think the Dark Avengers and their bosses. As well as Parker, this book also has Declan Shalvey. Shalvey's work continues to be top-notch, showing a style which, while very different from anyone else, continues to fight this title (or rather, the one before it) perfectly.
Upon hearing this book was being renamed, I considered dropping it, feeling the story threads would be all tied up. How wrong I have been proven as Parker has taken exisitng threads and continues to roll with them while putting more into the mix. With two issues due this month, I am ashamed to have considered letting this book go and instead look forward to the next issue.
The story begins with something of a cold open of a monster attacking a group of soldiers, which doesn't (yet) seem to have any relevance to the story, before then returning to the main cast, where Luke Cage is still tracking the old thunderbolts before being presented with the "new" Dark Avengers as the replacements.
The main problem with this book is simply the fact that I still don't get why the title was changed from Thunderbolts to Dark Avengers? Despite the different title and different characters, this book still has the same feel. However, this is not a major issue as this book, like the Thunderbolts before it, is still an incredibly fun book to read. Jeff Parker has got these characters down in no time and knows how to maintain a good pace of the story. Also, Parker is an expert when writing Luke Cage because Cage is the king of cool during this issue, able to out-fight and even out-think the Dark Avengers and their bosses. As well as Parker, this book also has Declan Shalvey. Shalvey's work continues to be top-notch, showing a style which, while very different from anyone else, continues to fight this title (or rather, the one before it) perfectly.
Upon hearing this book was being renamed, I considered dropping it, feeling the story threads would be all tied up. How wrong I have been proven as Parker has taken exisitng threads and continues to roll with them while putting more into the mix. With two issues due this month, I am ashamed to have considered letting this book go and instead look forward to the next issue.
Review: Action Comics #10 - The end of Clark Kent??
When it came time to writing this I found that I had encountered something which was completely unexpected, that after nine issues I couldn't get on board with, Action Comics #10 was actually pretty good.
Returning to the the "true" Superman (if there is such a thing after a massive reboot) from last issues' foray to Earth 23, we see Clark Kent continue his mission to fight for the little man, although showing signs of suffering from something we are not aware of. Meanwhile, he is being hunted by one Maxim Zarov, also known as Nimrod the Hunter.
I don't get why this issue is any better then preceding issues, mainly due to the fact that it runs along the same lines. However, I really found this issue much more engrossing then previous stories. This may be due to Morrison's decision to present the story more from Nimrod's point of view while tracking the man of Steel certainly may have been part of it, along with showing Clark handling of some sort of inner turmoil (which, in my opinion, makes the character more relatable) and an incredibly poignant back up story detailing a wake of after losing a Daily Planet reported. However, what made this book better, were the questions left unanswered, such why isn't Clark wearing the suit he acquired in the previous arc and who exactly is that little guy in glasses who keeps cropping up?
Furthermore, the big draw of this book from an artistic standpoint was Rags Morales' Justice League. Now, Morales' art in this book is always top-notch and we've seen the league drawn by him in the past (I'm talking Identity Crisis), but Morales portrays them in such a elegant way that it makes you wish he was on the JL book full time.
As I was picking up my buy pile this week I pondered to the shop owner why I buy this book, and he answered "because it's Action comics. Doesn't matter if it's bad you have to have it". This issue changes my perception on this and makes me more confident that I'll be picking up this book next month for a reason other than "because it's action comics.
Returning to the the "true" Superman (if there is such a thing after a massive reboot) from last issues' foray to Earth 23, we see Clark Kent continue his mission to fight for the little man, although showing signs of suffering from something we are not aware of. Meanwhile, he is being hunted by one Maxim Zarov, also known as Nimrod the Hunter.
I don't get why this issue is any better then preceding issues, mainly due to the fact that it runs along the same lines. However, I really found this issue much more engrossing then previous stories. This may be due to Morrison's decision to present the story more from Nimrod's point of view while tracking the man of Steel certainly may have been part of it, along with showing Clark handling of some sort of inner turmoil (which, in my opinion, makes the character more relatable) and an incredibly poignant back up story detailing a wake of after losing a Daily Planet reported. However, what made this book better, were the questions left unanswered, such why isn't Clark wearing the suit he acquired in the previous arc and who exactly is that little guy in glasses who keeps cropping up?
Furthermore, the big draw of this book from an artistic standpoint was Rags Morales' Justice League. Now, Morales' art in this book is always top-notch and we've seen the league drawn by him in the past (I'm talking Identity Crisis), but Morales portrays them in such a elegant way that it makes you wish he was on the JL book full time.
As I was picking up my buy pile this week I pondered to the shop owner why I buy this book, and he answered "because it's Action comics. Doesn't matter if it's bad you have to have it". This issue changes my perception on this and makes me more confident that I'll be picking up this book next month for a reason other than "because it's action comics.
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