Action Comics #8
(DC)
Story : Grant Morrison
Art : Rags Morales
(Reviewed by Anubhav DasGupta)
Grant Morrison has written the greatest
Superman story of all time. This, however, is not that story. It just
falls short of being amazing. It’s not Morrison at his best. It is,
however a damn good book.
We’re still in Superman’s early
years (He’s just got his suit a few issues back). The comic starts
with Superman battling against Brainiac/Collector and a
Brainiac-possessed Metallo after he was asked to choose between
Metropolis and Krypton City of Kandor (both of them miniaturized!) in
the last issue.
Rags Morales’ art is brilliant. I
love how everything seems to be in motion, how everything is so fluid
and full of life. And Morrison is at times, very good and at times
mediocre. Sometimes his writing feels as if some other writer is
trying to ape his style. Bits of it seem quite forceful, and that’s
what holds this issue back. And I am at a loss when it comes to
deciphering Krypton-speak. Maybe we aren’t supposed to understand
those bits, but still, it’s headache inducing.
The best part of the comic has to be
Luthor’s dialogue in the first few panels of the comic.
It’s
classic Luthor. Morrison may be fumbling a bit with young
Clark/Superman, but he’s really good with Luthor. And I don’t
like this new Superman that much. He seems to be a bit less
boyscout-ish and a bit less noble and definitely less-joyful than the
Pre-New52 Superman. And that ridiculous, Jim Lee’d, red
underwear-less costume doesn’t help.
And the last few pages want to be so
iconic so badly, but Rick Bryant (he does the last few pages) just
isn’t adept enough to pull it off. Frank Quitley could have done it
(it felt as if it was written for Quitley, in fact), but Bryant is no
Quitley. It could have been a great Superman moment, though.
All in all : Good comic. Enjoyable. Not
amazing.
Also, this is the final issue of this
arc. There’s interdimensional f**kery, President Superman and some
guy called Superdoom from #9 onwards. I think Morrison will have a
little more freedom with that.
SCORE : 7 / 10
Daredevil #10.1
(Marvel)
Story : Mark Waid
Art : Khoi Pham
(Reviewed by Anupam Sarkar)
Before getting on with the review, I
gotta say that the cover of Daredevil #10.1 is undoubtedly one of the
most innovative and eye-catching ones I have seen so far.
This issue begins in Queens County
Meta-holding facility, where Matt Murdock is visiting “Pyromania”
aka Mr. Nolan, a bad guy who makes fire with his mind. He was put
inside a special cell with changing weather and loud noises 24/7 so
as to not let him concentrate and make fire with his mind.
Any guesses who put him behind bars?
That’s right, our very own Daredevil.
Nolan appeals that his punishment is
cruel and unusual and asks Matt Murdock to listen to his case, where
he narrates the entire story of Daredevil kicking his butt.
The rest of the pages are consumed by
one member each from the five rival gangs of mega crime namely,
Hydra, A.I.M., Black Spectre, Agence Byzantine and the Secret Empire
who meet up to find ways to resolve this ‘Daredevil’ problem. All
of a sudden, Daredevil springs outta nowhere and informs these guys
that using his Omegadrive and help from Reed Richards, he transferred
the omegadrive data on Black Spectre to the Daily Bugle which led to
S.H.I.E.L.D. coordinating an international dragnet (and for the
normal guys like me, who didn’t get what I said just now, the above
line meant that Black Spectre is no more in the game).
As usual, Mark doesn’t disappoint
readers and brings out an issue with equal action and fun. As for the
art, the storytelling by Khoi is brilliant, but I guess, fewer
amounts of sketchy lines over the figures would’ve suited the comic
more.
SCORE : 8.5 / 10
Dejah Thoris and the White Apes
of Mars #1 (Dynamite)
Story : Lui Antonio
Art : Mark Rahner
(Reviewed by Anubhav DasGupta)
As a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs’
Martian tales, I wasn’t very happy with how Dynamite publishing was
handling the John Carter titles that much. The characters looked how
they were supposed to look, but it didn’t feel like them. I know
quite a few people who liked it, but I didn’t. So, if you’re a
fan of what Dynamite has been doing so far, you may like Dejah Thoris
and the White Apes more than I did.
This comic is set a little time before
the second book in the series (Warlord of Mars) and Dejah Thoris,
Princess of Helium decides to go on a trip where she and her company
come across the ferocious White Apes of Mars.
There’s not a lot to be said about
the writing. It just gets the job done. What I like about this comic
is that Dejah Thoris feels like the Dejah Thoris of the Barsoom
novels. She’s properly written.
I really hate the costumes and armor
worn by the people of Helium. Sure, they’re supposed to be nearly
stark-naked, but the costumes they wear are just totally uninspired.
Sometimes you can’t tell apart Dejah Thoris from a group of other
Helium Women. The art is pretty decent, otherwise. But it is somewhat
bogged down by the half-a**ed coloring job.
It’s just a mediocre comic-book that
adds nothing new to the John Carter lore.
SCORE : 5 / 10
Men of War #8
(DC)
Story : Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt
Art : Tom Derenick
(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)
Well folks, this is it. The final issue
of one of the best books to come out of DC's entire “New52”
intiative – and through no fault on the publishers part.
This final issue leaves behind the G.I
story of Sgt. Rock and his men and instead follows an adventure
starring Frank and cult-favourite G.I.Robot as they meet for the
first time, go toe-to-toe in a slug-fest, make friends and then go
whomp one HUGE ugly sea-monster – all during World War 2 by the
way, there's even a panel after Frankenstein has destroyed a whole
squadron of Nazi planes where he is thanked by Winston Churchill
himself!
Lemire clearly has an exceptional grasp
on the characters involved and we even get some nice moments with
Bride (of Frankenstein, it's complicated!) and while I was a huge fan
of Frank and team from Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers mini-series
starring the big green mean-machine, this interpretation has been
Lemire exceeding even his own great work on the characters main book
and I pray fervently, daily, to any and every deity I can think of
that it doesn't follow into cancellation as this book has done.
If you are a fan of comics, of good
writing and of fantastic storytelling, then you should have been
reading this book. Shame on everyone who didn't even give it a try.
And the real heartbreak here is that it ends on such a high! Possibly
the single best issue of the entire 8-issue run that this title has
had and this too is somewhat like a love letter to its sister
unconventional DC title Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E
which Lemire is currently writing and Kindt is going to be taking
over from in a few months.
With the creator and writer of the
series first (and only) arc, Ivan Brandon, having now departed the
series, DC is launching a new one shortly titled G.I.Combat as I
understand it. I don't know what the purpose or logic is, perhaps
they're hoping a new name will be better than a low selling title
being carried on but I just hope DC continues to produce more quality
books like this one has been and that fans start to appreciate them
more.
SCORE : 9.5 / 10
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