Take It Or Leave It – March 27, 2013

Batman Incorporated #9

Creators: Morrison | Burnham | Masters
Batman Inc #9 directly follows last months tragic Batman Inc 8. Well parts of it do anyway, it’s one of only a handful of books with the ‘Requiem’ subtitle that did it well. Which makes sense since this is the book that caused it. It was nice to get to see the direct fallout of the death of Damian and not all this stuff taking places days or weeks after. If you’ve been following Batman Inc then you’ll definitely want to pick this up. Unfortunately for any new comers you’ll definitely be out in the dark alone and confused. And with the Grand Morrison’s run on Batman almost up it’s probably not the best time to jump on anyway.

Verdict: New Readers – Leave It

Score:7/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Superman #18

Creators: Lobdell | Kuder | Kirkham | Rocha
Superman is a pretty iconic character, and I really want to find him interesting. Every so often I grab a Superman comic and give it a shot. Maybe that time the story will be something that grabs my attention. Welp, Superman 18 certainly wasn’t that book. I was pretty disappointed with Action Comics, which I read issues 1-7 of, but even that was better than this issue. Nothing happens, well some stuff happens, but nothing interesting happens. Superman saves some people from jumping off a roof and destroys some DJ equipment. The big lead up for this was the whole hearing about his Fortress of Solitude, but that was only a few pages at the very beginning and frankly he was kind of a dick. There’s not much of a reason to read this story, so you probably shouldn’t.

Verdict: Leave It

Score: 3/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Talon #6

Creators: Snyder | Tynion IV | March
Wow, the last few issues of Talon were feeling a little slow, not a lot was changing, each issue was basically following the “Talon of the week” format like a Scooby Doo cartoon or something. Boy did issue 6 fix that! Calvin is trapped with some nasty folks, and that’s not even the most intense part of this book. I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you’re a fan of Talon you’ll be shocked by the end of this book, and things definitely aren’t ever going to be the same!

Verdict: Take It

Score: 8/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Teen Titans #18

Creators: Lobdell | Barrows | Ferreira
I picked up Teen Titans, both this month and last month because I like Eddy Barrows’ art. My first impression is I’m pretty confused. Sure they’re teens and they’re fighting the good fight. But what the hell is up with Tim Drake? Is this something that I’d have to read the entire series to understand or is it just poor characterization? If you’re new to Teen Titans, this is definitely not a good time to pick it up. Frankly at this point I’m not sure if there is a good time to pick it up. The random fight with the Suicide Squad, and the lying to his team, it makes for a decent mystery but that’s certainly not enough to save this book.

Verdict: Leave It

Score: 5/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Doctor Who #7

Creators: Fialkov | Domingues | Ponce
This is a great way to satiate your Doctor Who appetite while waiting for new episodes to come back on Saturday. The characterization is great and I feel like I’m watching an episode with Matt Smiths, Doctor. The issue revolves around the Doctor trying to help out a Russian spaceship in the 1960’s that’s orbiting earth. Unfortunately for those Russians, if the Doctor is there it’s certainly not a normal problem. I’ve only read 2 issue of this Doctor Who series so far, and both have been a lot of fun. And like the last issue they’re calling back to some elements from the David Tennant era, and I’m just not sure how I feel about it. For now though, I’m having fun on the ride, lets see how I feel next month after the series is back on TV!

Verdict: Take It

Score: 7/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Five Weapons #2

Creators: Robinson
Issue 1 of Five Weapons ended on quite a surprising reveal, and issue 2 continues to expand and intrigue with this school for assassin’s children. Tyler is probably the smartest person in the school next to the nurse, who is a biggest mystery of all. This issue has Tyler interacting, with all of the clubs, whether we see it or not we at least find out the outcomes. And like the last issue it ends with a challenge, only Tyler doesn’t seem quite as confidant for this one. This is looking to be a great series so far, and with 3 issue left to go I can’t wait to see how things turn out.

Verdict: Take It

Score: 8/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Morning Glories #25

Creators: Spencer | Eisma | Esquejo
I think we just got some answers, maybe. . . Well kinda not at all I think. Oh god I’m even more confused now than before! You know what though, it doesn’t matter I still want to see more. Ike and Abrham have a real ‘heart to heart’ while Ike holds people at gun point. It’s quite a nice father son moment that opens up all kinds of questions, as if we didn’t already have enough of those. The whole time Hunter has a totally different experience going on and that doesn’t help us readers at all. Season 2 of the series is coming to an end soon, so here’s hoping something goes resolved before than.

Verdict: Take It

Score: 8/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Savage Skullkickers #1

Creators: Zub | Huang | Coats
Savage Skullkickers number one is actually Uncanny Skullkickers #2, which in turn is actually Skullkickers #20, and with that out of the way and you readers thoroughly confused I feel that I’ve done my job. Aside from that, the issue picks up where the last left off, with our heroes being attacked by crazy jungle apes. Only we didn’t have the wonderful Dwarf adventures at the bottom of the page, no our Dwarf buddy was busy with his own not quite death problems. I really can’t say enough just how much fun Skullkickers is, and I’m pretty disappointed with myself for waiting so long to get started with it. Even the covers are great, making fun of some of other popular series. This time it’s obviously Savage Wolverine, but don’t worry this one is way better than that book was.

Verdict: Take It

Score: 8/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Age of Ultron #3

Creators: Bendis | Hitch | Neary | Mounts
Three issue into Age of Ultron and we still don’t really have any answers. Most of the time a Marvel event kicks off slow and almost immediately jams everything you need to know down your throat. Age of Ultron is going the absolute opposite way, little things are being revealed, with lots of talking, but no real information on how this all went down. The big selling point of this issue has to be the final page, if you’ve been waiting for some answers you’re going to get mad, but oh boy is it worth it! And no matter how frustrating this series may be, it’s leaps and bounds better than previous events. The frustration isn’t because there’s to many books getting derailed or poor storytelling, it’s frustrating because it’s being done so damn well.

Verdict: Take It

Score: 7/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Fantastic Four #5AU

Creators: Fraction | Araujo | Villarrubia
I really hope the other AU tie-in’s don’t play out like this one. I’ve enjoyed Fraction run on Fantastic Four so far, but this issue just felt forced. And there are just too many openings that don’t make sense. Sue for instance is incredibly powerful, why couldn’t she have just blown up all the Ultron drones from the inside with a force field. Or you know her son, Franklin the most powerful freaking person in the universe. Sure he’s still a kid and doesn’t know his full potential, but I think he’s got a good enough grasp on his powers to stop a robot. Obviously that would ruin the big plans Bendis has in the main Age of Ultron series, but it’s just stuff like this that makes you wish they didn’t do the tie in books. Speaking of tie-in’s who else thinks that the whole AU thing doesn’t just stand for Age of Ultron, but maybe you know Alternate Universe. Perhaps this whole thing will end with the reveal that it’s a new earth in another universe like Age of Apocalypse, hell even the names are similar.

Verdict: Leave It

Score: 5/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Guardians of the Galaxy #1

Creators: Bendis | Mcniven | Dell | Ponsor
Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1 was a great way to start a new series. It gave new and old readers a history lesson on our here Peter Quill aka Star Lord. Unfortunately the official first issue of Guardians of the Galaxy fell a little short. It was a pretty standard “Hey look here’s the cast of the book”. Sure it had to be done, but I feel like it would have felt more natural if there wasn’t a big battle going on around them with Tony Stark looking around and naming all the other heroes around him. I feel like that’s just not how it would go down in a real battle. It’s still shaping up to be a great series, and a lot of fun with Iron Man joining the team even if I didn’t enjoy the intros.

Verdict: Take It

Score: 6/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Superior Spider-Man #6AU

Creators: Gage | Soy
First lets point out that this book should be read BEFORE Age of Ultron 3. There aren’t any super spoilers or anything, but that’s chronologically how it falls, which I didn’t know when I read them. . . Now as for the issue, a big question was finally answered, this is in fact the Superior Spider-Man. Doctor Otto Octavius in Peter Parker’s body. Yes this really conflicts with how Bendis has been writing Spidey over in the main Age of Ultron books. That’s probably due to the fact that this stuff was written ages ago so Brian Hitch would have plenty of time to deliver on the awesome arts. Gage gives us a great view on how our current 616 Spidey is handling the situation, and as you’d expect he’s handling it like a big jerkface. While I didn’t much enjoy the Fantastic Four AU, Superior Spider-Man actually added something to the event and feels more more realistic, well as far as Superhero comics go anyway.

Verdict: Take It

Score: 8/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Wonderland #9

Creators: Gregory | Morges | Goh | Grostieta
Wonderland 9 has a lot of blood shed, like damn. Cali showed up just in time last issue, and this one it’s not her saving the day but Violet. It just goes to show the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Meanwhile in Wonderland shit really hits the fan as the Red Queen makes her stand, and we see that the power of love is just as important in the Grimm Universe as it is in a lot of other ‘fairy tale’ inspired stories. If you’ve been missing Wonderland, you should really stop doing that to yourself. Issue 9 isn’t the best jumping on place, but it ending definitely sets next issue up as a great start for anyone new to the series. And don’t worry everyone gets a little confused with what’s going on, that’s why it’s so much fun.

Verdict: Take It

Score: 8/10

Reviewed By: Chris

Gambit #10

This was one of the best issues of Gambit yet, which isn’t necessarily saying a lot about it. I finally feel like I’m reading a Gambit book and not just some random adventure book. I may regret this later on, but for now Gambit #10 is a . . .

– Take It

6/10

Morbius The Living Vampire #3

My god, 3 issues and I’m still into Morbius The Living Vampire. Who would have thought that possible. I honestly think I like Michael Morbius as the ‘hero’, a term I use very lightly, than I like Otto-Spidey.

– Take It

7/10

Scarlet Spider #15

I wasn’t thrilled with last issue, while I’m still not thrilled with it I’ll admit seeing Kaine fully embrace the monster in him was kinda cool, and maybe he’ll have all his spider powers back! I loved where Yost was taking this character since the .1 issue a few months ago, making him a hero rather than a guy just hiding out. Lets all hope we’re not losing that.

– Take It

8/10

Ultimate Comics Wolverine #2

This book is moving a little to slow for my taste. Two issues into a four issue series and we’ve got no clue what’s happening, and frankly nothing actually happened this issue until the last 2 pages. Sure it was an interesting reveal, but that wasn’t enough to save this book. Plus the art irked me, Wolverine and Jimmy both have terrible looking claws in this, they just don’t look right and are constantly at different angles and coming out of different parts of their hands.

– Leave It

3/10

Uncanny Avengers #5

That first arc for Uncanny Avengers was a rocky one, issue 5 is looking up though. For the most part it was a much more internal book dealing with the relationships, or lack of, between the Avengers and X-Men on the Unity Team. And it’s great to see Simon and Jan back on an Avengers team!

– Take It

8/10

Wolverine and the X-Men #27

I don’t know about this whole Savage Land trip, I like the idea that Wolverine talked to each of the students in turn. Giving them advice, trying to help them become better people, mutants, and X-Men. I don’t like Dog, or his whole Time Travel antics. This is a real toss up but for now lets call it a. . .

– Leave It

5/10

Young Avengers #3

I had higher hopes for this after the way last issue ended. It didn’t quite meet them, but at least we’re getting some more info, and the setup for a bigger confrontation next issue. And the Game of Thrones reference really sealed the deal for this one.

– Take It

6/10

Grimm Fairy Tales #83

I’m not super into the normal ongoing Grimm Fairy Tales, it’s just so many issue in I feel like I’m missing something by not having read them all. Even with those reservations, this was a good issue. I enjoyed the more normal every day feel it had, and even though it’s obvious something is supernaturally wrong we don’t know what until the very end.

– Take It

7/10

Reviewed By: Chris