Take It Or Leave It – June 4, 2014

Welcome to Take It Or Leave It, where each week we pick out some of that week’s newest comics and give you our opinion on whether it was worth the price and you should take it, or if it was better left sitting on the shelf.

Take It Or Leave It, two weeks in a row? Man this hasn’t happened in ages! We’ve got a busier week of comics here, and I only really focused on the ones I liked, so this week is basically all Take It’s. The not so good books just weren’t worth writing about. For now though, let’s just get on with what’s good!

Alphabetical by Publisher

Boom! Studios | DC Comics | IDW Publishing | Image Comics | Marvel Comics

The Woods #2 The Woods is this wonderful Sci-Fi/Mystery/Drama mixture that just works. It reminds me a little of the Image series Morning Glories, but faster paced. The first issue did a fine job of setting us up to what happened, without letting us know what actually happened. This second issue gets things moving and it’s immediately obvious that the monster aren’t the only thing the kids have to fear. The split groups adds nicely to the plot as well, I feel like if the whole thing took place out in the titular woods or just on the school campus things could get stale quickly. I don’t want to give anything away since the story is still developing, but The Woods is definitely shaping up to be a book worth following, so give it a shot before you get too far behind. Verdict: Take It Score: 8/10 Reviewed By: Chris

Batman Eternal #9 It would be easy for these weekly issues of Batman Eternal to get stale pretty fast, luckily 9 weeks in and things are still going pretty strong. Personally I’d like a little more diversity in the narrative. I was hoping things would focus more on characters like Red Robin, Gordon, Harper, etc, rather than everything being primarily Batman centered. I suppose when the book is called Batman Eternal that’s to be expected though. On the bright side, you really have to try to go wrong with Batman. Issue 9 see’s the Dark Knight traveling to China to unravel what’s going on with Falcone and what brought him back to Gotham so fiercely. There’s plenty of action, and a few big moments throughout the issue that actually make it pretty worth reading. The biggest problem you’re going to get with Batman Eternal is that it’s a weekly series for the next year so we’re not getting any real closure for quite some time! Verdict: Take It Score: 7/10 Reviewed By: Chris

Green Arrow #32 I remember a time when, like Aquaman, Green Arrow was kind of a joke. He had a similar back story to Batman, but wasn’t nearly as tragic or exciting. Sure he had some great stories, but a few hits doesn’t make an icon. Ever since Jeff Lemire took over writing I feel like Oliver Queen has a new lease on life. With the Outsiders War ending last issue, and Ollie returning to Seattle after the events of Forever Evil, it’s back to business as normal. Except well the crime in Seattle is off the charts and his allies pretty much lead the bad guys right to there base of operations. This was also the start of what I hope to be a bigger role for Diggle as we start to learn how his history intertwines more with Green Arrow. There was a lot of story here, and some interest action, but the big game changer comes in the final pages as we see things are definitely changing for Oliver and his friends. Verdict: Take It Score: 8/10 Reviewed By: Chris

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #34 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just seems to get better and better each month. And this month we get METALHEAD! This book really takes the best parts of the classic comics and cartoons and wraps them into a new modern setting and origin. With the Turtles back in NYC with their allies it’s only a matter of time now before the Foot attacks and Krang finally unleashes the Technodrome on Earth. Everything about this book is elevating to a point where it’s going to be non-stop excitement any issue now. For the most part this issue feels like a bit of a breather, much like the last it’s reestablishing the Turtles in New York and showing us some of their ‘allies’, and maybe some new ways they’ll be battling the foot soon? Regardless it’s a superb read, the art is a little off this month but it’s nothing to not read the issue over. Verdict: Take It Score: 7/10 Reviewed By: Chris

Rise of the Maji #1 I missed Free Comic Book Day this year, so I didn’t get a copy of Rise of the Maji 0. I know it was available for free online, but I still managed to miss it. I decided to just jump right into issue 1 though, and luckily they give a nice little recap of what’s happening. It was pretty exciting to see Marc Silvestri was doing a new comic, and magic/fantasy stuff is usually a good time. Rise of the Maji is no exception, it’s an interest concept, with a twist to it. Issue one had a lot of action and suspense as you were left wondering where things were going. And seriously those horsemen with the rino horns were badass. Personally I’m looking forward to see what kind of crazy stuff starts happening now that the story is fully in motion. Verdict: Take It Score: 7/10 Reviewed By: Chris

Witchblade #175 For some reason, this is just not what I expected this issue to be. After battle the Angelus and all that fun stuff for the fate of who controls the Witchblade I thought Sara would be back to her old habits, or something. Instead we get this crazy internal issue where Sara and the Witchblade have some choice words for each other. Obviously the Witchblade isn’t all that thrilled with Sara for abandoning it. Sara on the other hand just isn’t happy with the Witchblade, it kind of ruined her life, but she’s dealt with it the best she could. And now they’re back together. It’s going to be interesting to see if we get more of this perspective of the Witchblade and more confrontations with it and Sara in the future. Overall not a super eventful issue, but one that still gets a lot of information across. Verdict: Take It Score: 6/10 Reviewed By: Chris

Cyclops #2 I never thought I’d intentionally read an issue of a Cyclops comics, let alone two of them. Young Scott Summers off in space with his father Corsair just seemed like an interesting take on a character that I generally don’t care for. And when I say I don’t care for him, I mean I really just don’t like Cyclops. This younger version of the character isn’t the same stick in the mud that we’re use to though. He’s only just become an X-Man, and by being thrown into a future he wasn’t ready for, his whole character is changing. The relationship with Corsair is actually pretty good too, as Scott has no idea what to think of his father, or the situation he’s put himself in. Corsair occasional “I keep forgetting this is new to you, older you has dealt with this” lines are actually a nice touch. I think I may actually stick with this series for a little while, and see where it goes from here. This father and son intergalactic road trip can only last for so long, but it seems like it should be fun while it does. Verdict: Take It Score: 7/10 Reviewed By: Chris

Original Sin #3 It’s really hard to judge this event comics, they are almost always a disappointment in the end. Some start out great and slowly spiral out of control. Others start out bad and just keep a nice level of consistency. So far though, I’m enjoying Original Sin, it’s a very different feel than most other even comics we’ve had in recent years. Hell it’s different than most main stream comics, being that at it’s core it’s a murder mystery. There’s really nothing to show what’s really happening, and now that so many characters have seen their deepest secrets it actually make me as a reader want to pick up those tie-in books. That hardly ever happens, most events the tie-ins feel forced and unrelated. Original Sin actually gave them all a purpose, that while not needed for the story, could make it more interesting. There’s so many secrets and mystery going on in the series, I have a feeling by the time we get to the reveals it’s going to be intense. Oh and holy crap, those last pages were insane. I really want to know what the hell that was about! Verdict: Take It Score: 8/10 Reviewed By: Chris

Chris talks a bunch on PodQuest each week. He's also been known to write about stuff from time to time. You can Email Chris or follow Chris on Twitter @Just_Cobb or Facebook

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