Here we go folks, more comic goodness for you to read about - including one very in-the-news Marvel comic and some excellent non-superhero and spandex offerings. Enjoy and do feel free to let us know what you thought!
Astonishing X-Men #50
(Marvel)
Story : Marjorie Liu
Art : Mike Perkins (art), Andy Troy
(colours)
(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)
There has been a lot of hype prior to
this issues release – all of it centred (as you can well imagine)
on the marriage of Northstar (a.k.a Jean-Paul Beaubier) and his
boyfriend Kyle. Let me put you at ease, no spoilers beyond saying
that there is no marriage in this issue – thats next time around.
This is just the build.
Overall a good issue and it continues
the fairly stable and good run of stories this title has had since
waaaay back when geek-dom's current messiah Joss Whedon launched it's
first arcs and shot Shadowcat into space on a giant bullet.
In this issue we find the story
continuing from last issue, with our heroes trying to track down the
source of their troubles. Iceman, Gambit, Wolverine, War-bird (of the
Shi'ar) and Northstar (the first 3 being reason enough for me to read
this series!!) are on the trail of whomever sent the Marauders after
them all recently and end up with more than they bargained for and
still more questions with little in the way of answers. We even get a
Black Widow cameo and more mysteries but it all does lead somewhere
by the end – where that is we're going to have to, what else, wait
a month to find out. We also have the relationship between Northstar
and Kyle under further strain and with all manner of emotional drama
– which in fairness is actually handled pretty well and all things
considered, it felt pretty realistic. A difficult challenge for the
best of writers when dealing with 'normal' folks and their issues.
The art is good. Not great, but good.
The quality and definition of the artwork is great and has a very
nice and fine quality to it, but somehow I have to admit it left no
lasting impressions on me – it's almost like its indistinct and has
little style or flavour of its own. I have to admit though that this
is not helped by the somewhat boring colouring job by Troy, again not
bad, just boring.
Overall a good issue and definitely
good enough to have read, felt satisfied and want to read the next
one with no heartache – that's more than most comics will give you!
SCORE : 7 / 10
COBRA #13
(IDW)
Story : Mike Costa
Art : Antonio Fuso (art), Arianna
Florean (colour)
(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)
I had listed this book not long ago as
one of the best independent/non-mainstream titles of 2011 (you should
all be reading the stuff on that list by the way!!) and with this
latest issue it continues to confirm my choice and faith in the
series and in Mike Costa who has written a fantastic set of stories.
Part of IDW's relaunch of the G.I.Joe franchise with Costa working
alongside Chuck Dixon and legendary Joe scribe Larry Hama, Cobra
stuck out as the brightest of the titles immediately. I've been
loving them all but this one is truly awesome!
With the Cobra Civil War now over, a
new Commander appointed, the Joe team cut down to a fraction of its
original size and budget and a whole new level of intrigue and action
on the horizon – I hold this book as my touchstone for what's
happening in the world of G.I.Joe at IDW. Hawk has been replaced
officially and Duke is now top-Joe and Flint is assigned to lead a
very interesting team of under-the-radar operatives – out of a
casino, no less – with one of the contenders for the Cobra
Commander title now working with him to take down his former
employers after his many failures. Mystery, action, great character
development and very skillfully juggled plots – this is a book you
should definitely be reading if you like good stories (this is what I
wish they'd had a chance to turn DC's Blackhawks into...) and if you
like war/military based stories. Of course if you're a Joe fan, check
it out.
The art also largely seems to really
work well with the series. Dark and full of shadows, yet laden with
enough bright colours and lighting to keep the contrast constant but
never painful. Fuso has a really nice art style that I'm enjoying
here, but its Arianna's colours that really bring every single thing
to life – from the sharp and bright to more neutral shades, she has
a great balance in her style.
SCORE : 8.5 / 10
Story : Selwyn Seyfu Hinds
Art : Denys Cowan (pencils), John
Floyd (inks) and Clem Robins (colours)
(Reviewed by Anirudh Singh)
I liked this issue much better than the
last. The artwork is definitely flowing better and we get some
interesting action scenes that have been drawn well. I'm
still not completely sold on it though, the mix of cartoonish and realistic
is not always smooth and some panels don't fit in too well - looking
odd and out of place.
The writing is quite surprising. In a good way.
Full of quips and smooth storytelling. Good lines that often contrast
quite well with the action. I'm not saying it works all the
time, but when it does, it's good fun.
In the issue Dominique is getting up to
speed with her knowledge of past events. She is coming into her
inheritance. There are two heirs to be the voodoo queen of New
Orleans - and of course, there can be only one Queen. She has found mysterious
allies but her enemies are moving. And there might be more to her
enemies than meets the eye. There also remain hidden players in this game, yet to be
revealed.
Now my gripes. A story based on voodoo,
black magic, werewolves, vampires and New Orleans can be something so
much more. There is so much wasted potential in this comic, it's
almost sad. The story is fine and it's written well, but the lagging
artwork just brings the comic down. From what could have been
something quite epic like American Vampire it turns into just another
series in a large library of vampire/werewolf/voodoo pulp.
I would say check it out if you have
time to kill. But it lacks presence.
SCORE : 6 / 10
Godzilla #1
(IDW)
Story : Duane Swierczynski
Art : Simon Gane
(Reviewed by Anupam Sarkar)
Like the hundreds of Japanese and Kaiju
movies, Godzilla #1 takes place in a similar scenario, where the old
and forgotten giant monsters rise once again to destroy the peace
between Earthlings.
The story starts in present day Mexico
where Kumonga (a giant goddamn spider) disrupts Irving 'Urv' Jassim
and Eduardo's gay wedding.
After that, we get glimpses of
different places like Brazil where Rodan (a mutated pterosaur )
attacks an F1 race, a South Korea Military Base where a Battra (a giant
moth like monster) attacks. And finally we get a look at the
fan-favorite monster of all a.k.a. Godzilla approaching Washington D.C.
This is where Chapter I (a.k.a “Forty
Stories of Sheer Terror”) starts.
An ex-British Special Forces Soldier and
Jason Statham look-alike has been employed to protect the daughter of
a Japanese billionaire who is in town to negotiate funding the
restoration of Washington DC.
Not getting thigh-deep in spoilers,
this issue ends with Boxer calling his old buddy Urv for backup.
Writer Duane Swierczynski spins a good, fun tale. I especially loved the title of the chapter.
As for the Simon Gane's art, it was not
to my liking. Though Gane brings a good amount detail to every page,
but still it fails to cover his rude and very rough artwork.
In case you love the Godzilla movies
and dig punch-lines and awesome Pulpy titles, then this issue's
tailor made for you.
SCORE : 7.5 / 10
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