Well hello folks! Welcome to our premier edition of "Week-in-Review" which we teased you with just a few days ago.
Today I have for you some great and some surprising picks from the books released this past Wedesday. We will try and bring you a list like this every week on Monday's to give you a flavour of what's new and what's hot and whatever looks good in between - and once in a while when something is really to be avoided, we'll bring warnings! Now enough of me gabbing, on to the reviews!
The Immortal: Demon in the Blood #1
Avengers – Solo #1 of 5
Today I have for you some great and some surprising picks from the books released this past Wedesday. We will try and bring you a list like this every week on Monday's to give you a flavour of what's new and what's hot and whatever looks good in between - and once in a while when something is really to be avoided, we'll bring warnings! Now enough of me gabbing, on to the reviews!
The Activity #1
Story: Nathan Edmonson
Art: Mitch Gerads
I was definitely looking forward to
this book from when I heard about it – not just because Image has
been having a banner year and putting out some of the most awesome
books, but because this is Nathan Edmonson's follow up to the
magnificent Who Is Jake Ellis and his ongoing Grifter for DC. Like
Jake Ellis, this is a secret agent and espionage kind of story, but
where that was about someone on the outside bucking the system, this
story is about a team that is the best of the best and the go-to guys
for the elite, and so on and so forth – you get the idea. A sweet
little opening chapter that has a new recruit joining the team (not
the newest idea, I know) it acts as a 'testing the waters' kind of
mission both for the characters and their new team-mate as well as
for the reader and I personally found this to be a brilliantly
thought out and engaging read with great characters. Plus, Mitch
Gerads brings a nice style to the comic, though his art may not be
everyones favourite, his layouts and choice of focus and detail are
amongst the most awesome I've seen!
Most definitely on my pull list from
here till it finishes, gets cancelled or Edmonson leaves at the very
least.
SCORE: 4.7/5
Catwoman #4
Story: Judd Winick
Art: Guillem March
It's no secret that this book has been
rife with controversy and severely mixed reactions since the very
first issue – and my being on the “not good” side of fan-dom is
no secret either, though I admit I will compare every Catwoman comic
to Brubaker's run on the character which makes me a bit biased! This
issue though has given me some little bit of hope, though not all
that much. We drop in on Selina in a moment when bad things have hit
the proverbial fan and things are looking bad and sad as she loses a
friend and things are just looking worse with every passing event.
The book reads better then the first few issues, but the really
enjoyable part for me was the end of the book where we meet a new
character (with entertaining powers) and see a great fight scene with
an awesome finale. Not fantastic, but shows some potential to not be
a waste of paper and money.
SCORE: 2.5/5
Story: Ian Edginton
Art: Vicenc Villagrasa
Adapted from a Japanese novel called
Ura-Enma, this great new one-shot from Dark Horse comics has brought
a most welcome addition to a genre very dear to me – samurai
stories! Scripted by the amazing Ian Edginton (Batman:No Mans Land
v2, 2000AD's Leviathan), it is a smooth and easy introduction to the
world the story is set in and leaves you gripped. Following a young
samurai who is hunted by his clansmen for spying for an enemy, we see
his leaving that behind and find a shocking new life when he becomes
host to a piece of the spirit world and becomes a tattooists
apprentice. While familiar elements can be seen, it builds a nice
variation for itself that makes this a good read and the art while
not brilliant, does not generate any negative feeling – his
“spirits” and such though are very well rendered!
SCORE: 4/5
Avengers – Solo #1 of 5
Story: Jen Van Meter/Jim McCann
Art: Roger Robinson/Clayton Henry
This book really shocked the hell out
of me. I've always found Van Meter to be a mediocre writer – not
bad, but not great – however in this story she seems to have found
something that might just work! This book should have had Hawkeye's
name in the title since it is a story about him, but I guess the
Avengers tag is a great draw. That said, this is in its own way an
Avengers story, just centring on Clint Barton's search for answers as
he tries to figure out who left a murdered body on the doorstep of
Avenger's HQ. Drawn in suitably gritty style by Robinson, this feels
like a great story for showing us an insufficiently explored part of
Hawkeye's heroing work – though it is not as good as the recent
stories with him and Mockingbird, it does alright by itself.
There is also a backup story here
starring the cast of the fantastic Avengers Academy book, decently
drawn and told. Mostly its a short burst and while it is well told,
it feels like an odd choice for a companion to the main story.
SCORE: 3.3/5
I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed that and will be trying some of these out - I loved reading them (and would have anyway) but sharing with you makes me feel better about doing it at work! Dont tell my boss!!
Till next week, here's Week-in-Review signing off.
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