Comic Books aren't cheap anymore. The increase in production value, demand and wages for writers and artists has gone up. At 3 bucks a pop, it is hard for anyone besides hardcore Comic fans to determine what to buy. So right here at KP Productions we are providing spoiler-free reviews of Comics every week.
Adopting from IGN.com (Credit where credit is due), Here's our system:
Bag and Board: Get this book ASAP and protect it. You should keep it for the collection, it's a great issue
Buy: It's worth the read, pick it up... you might read it again
Read: You should buy it if you are a regular to the series, but if not just read it in the store
Browse: It's not the best book in the world, but the story/writing is decent enough to flip through, but don't splurge
Quarantine: Kind of self-explanatory, avoid this book like the plague!
Week of December 20th, 2006
52 Week 33
Just when things were really starting to pick up in 52 we get this boring sleep fest of an issue. There are some nice moments in this issue, but nothing to absolutely go nuts over. If you are REALLY into comics in an abnormal way and you like looking at well-drawn women, then you might have gotten a little turned on when Kate Kane and Renee Montoya make-out. There�s also a brief moment where Renee expresses her love for the Question. It�s actually a sad sequence but it is powerful and the only really great moment of the story. The biggest cop out so far of 52 came in this issue. OBVIOUSLY Lex Luthor has a hidden agenda when it comes to the Everyman project. Luthor always has ulterior motives and this issue does not make them any more unique than anything else he was really done in the past. We do however, learn more about Batwoman (if you didn�t read the Infinite Holiday Special), she�s one hell of a minority� a gay, Jewish woman. She will most likely have her own series by mi-2007.
KP says:Browse
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Checkmate #9
This has been a great series thus far and just reading stories about the undercover goings-on in the DCU is really fun and sheds a different light on the world where Superman was once the unbeatable force. Continuing the story of Pawn 502, Sarge Steel and Sasha get into a heated argument over how Pawn 502 is going to be handled. What we end up seeing is exactly how far Checkmate�s influence goes. Checkmate agents are able to waltz into the Oblivion Bar, the pocket fifth dimensional plane that only those associate with magic can enter. With this move, Greg Rucka shows readers exactly who runs the DCU. While Checkmate is starting to reflect SHIELD more and more, it seems clear to me at least that Sasha and Mr. Terrific would have Nick Fury eating from their palms. There�s some great action in this issue and a great scheme to make it look like Pawn 502 has escaped the clutches of Checkmate so that he can re-infiltrate Kobra.
KP Says:Buy
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Ion #9
At the beginning of this series I held out hope for Kyle Rayner. I thought to myself that if DC hadn�t killed him off yet then maybe they had something great in store for him. However, I was wrong. Rather than have a great Ion story reflecting the Winick Green Lantern run, we have this jumbled mess. This series started out decently in the beginning of its life but it has since become so confusing and out of sync that it�s hard to keep track of what happens from issue to issue. I was really trying to pull through for Kyle Rayner but it looks like it just won�t happen. If you pick up this issue and read it, please explain to me what is going on with the tangent universe stuff. The scene with his mother was great, powerful, emotional, showed the Guardians in classic form, but the rest of the issue just didn�t work well. At all.
KP Says: Quarantine
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Teen Titans #42
This story is a lesson in comic book writing. Seriously, Geoff Johns is truly the master of taking characters that are one of the following: dead, C-list, or just downright lame. Kid Devil is one of these characters. Kid Devil, who has been struggling to be accepted by the Teen Titans, waits for Blue Devil to show up so the two can talk. During this time, the history of Kid Devil is pretty much completely recanted and it is one hell of an entertaining read. Everything is covered from Kid Devil�s initial interest in Blue Devil to his deal with Neron which put him into his current form. Everything you want to know about Kid Devil is contained in this issue and it is very well paced and told expertly. We also learn just how troubled Kid Devil really is.
KP Says: Buy
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X-Men: First Class #4
One of the greatest elements of Comic Books is the ability to bend time, to always set stories in the modern world and X-Men: First Class has taken the original team and put them in the modern world but very tactfully keeps them entwined into their long and storied continuity. Jeff Parker recounts events during the teens� lives where they encounter certain characters in the Marvel U for the first time, such as the Lizard or as this issue deals with, Dr. Strange.
Each issue features a self-contained plot that is fast-paced, entertaining and captures the right elements of personality to each respective member. It also does a wonderful job showing the relationship between Cyclops and Jean and how it really came to be. Professor X is also portrayed as less cynical and more of a friend, and for this title that has worked very well. The mini-series already has a sequel planned and I still hope that it will become a monthly regular because it is easily one of the best X-books since Astonishing.
As mentioned, this issue features the X-Men�s first encounter and appropriately their first team-up with Doctor Strange. During a battle with reconstructed Sentinels, Cyclops begins seeing a demon through his visor. While the others battle the Sentinels and Beast and Angel locate the source controlling the Sentinels, Cyclops begins wildly using his optic blast at what appears to be thin air. The best part about the whole sequence is that artist Roger Cruz shows readers �the real world� but also shows the world seen through Cyclops� eyes, which in turn shows us the demon. Very cool, rarely do we get to see the �red world� of Slim Summers. After interrogating the man responsible for the Sentinel attack, Professor X concludes that they must visit Doctor Strange and figure out why Scott is seeing demons.
READ THE FULL REVIEW AT: SILVER BULLET COMIC BOOKS!
KP Says: Bag and Board
G.I. Joe Special Missions: Antarctica
On to G.I. Joe Special Missions: Antarctica. I was skeptical at first, after all a $5 price tag is pretty high and I haven�t often strayed far from the main Joe books. However, after reading Scarlett: Declassified and G.I. Joe Declassified, I need more Joe. Set up as a special one-shot issue that would essentially play out like an episode of the old cartoon, I figured if anything Antarctica would be a good read by Mike O�Sullivan and Andrew Dabb. Boy was I wrong. Antarctica is a PHENOMENAL issue featuring G.I. Joe and accomplishing two separate key elements in its storytelling. For those of you looking for a quick fix on something new, or for those of you that are regular Joe readers, this book effectively serves as both a new-reader-friendly one-shot and an important plot point in the overall G.I. Joe universe.
Antarctica also features a story that is very pertinent to the world today. The Australian Royal Navy apprehends a ship that is stock full of smuggled oil. General Colton and the G.I. Joes are forwarded this information when the mark of Extensive Enterprises, Tomax and Xamot�s front company, is found on the barrels
READ THE FULL REVIEW AT: SILVER BULLET COMIC BOOKS!
KP Says: Bag and Board
Special Review Exclusive to KP Productions
Reynard City #2
Reynard City is an online comic. Reynard City is a fantastic venture by a group of creators to provide an inexpensive alternative to our weekly stash. While no comic book is ever perfect, the crew at polycomical have managed to once again grab my attention. With my recent pick ups of G.I. Joe and dropping of my once beloved Ultimate titles, I have been looking for things new and revolutionary. Reynard City is exactly that. Sure we have Mega Fox, the classic cliche villian laying out his maniacal plans for world domination, but he's a fox, in a metal outfit. Cool. One thing Will Turner and the crew do very well is pace. The pace of this issue, as well as the first, is fast, suspenseful and most importantly for any 22 page comic book, keeps you involved. There are many great moments in this issue alone, from Vibe's dream sequences which really make you feel like you are tripped out on shrooms to my personal favorite the last page featuring the oncoming metal fox army.
Another great thing about this issue was stronger artwork. I was throughly impressed by the artwork and the coloring especially. The coloring was done digitally and it fits the book very well because this is a digital book. Exciting to say the least, don't be cheap, set up a paypal account and check out Reynard City, you won't be disappointed.
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