Week In Review : All New X-Men #2 + Thor God of Thunder #2 + Witch Doctor Mal Practice #1

Hey folks, welcome to another new week of reviews! We've got three very exciting and anticipated titles for you today. Some surprising results and some great finds for you to check out as well as a surprise after the reviews, so let's get to it!

- Always Assistive Akshay

All New X-Men #1 (Marvel)

Story : Brian Michael Bendis

Art : Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

Well, it's finally here, the much anticipated (re)debut of Brian M. Bendis as the scribe for an X-Men book after he turned the mutant world upside down waaaay back in House of M in 2005. Now that catastrophe has been reversed thanks to the recent finale of the much-hyped but really mindlessly boring Avengers Vs. X-Men - which could have been so much better – and the world is replete with mutants again.

When last we saw Cyclops (a.k.a Scott Summers) in the genuinely awesome AvX: Consequences mini-series, he was torn on what path to take – to be a martyr or to keep fighting or to face justice for what he has done. It was really well handled and the closing moments of that series lay the base for this one with Scott having escaped thanks to Magneto and his new allies. This series picks up that thread and shows us a determined and motivated “Team Cyclops” who are now renegade, kicking arse and taking names. I quite liked that and had been waiting for it.

Week In Review : Edgar Allen Poe's The Conqueror Worm #1 + Judge Dredd #1 + Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow #19

Edgar Allen Poe's The Conqueror Worm #1 (Dark Horse)

Story & Art : Richard Corben

(Reviewed by Anirudh Singh)

Ah, what an intriguing concept. Turn one of Poe's acclaimed poems into a one shot comic book. Edgar Allan Poe lies in that rare literary hallowed ground where a writer/poet always yearns to tread but fears immensely to do so. For to do so would be to walk in the shadows of giants. Not everyone is ok with that. It invites comparison and critique from the highest circles and rounds of amateur barbs as piercing as they are uninvited. However you have to realize that most of this criticism is with good cause. You don't just touch a Poe poem and be done with it. You best be prepared to bleed a part of your soul into that work and make it shine real good. Cause if you don't. Then one of these nights you might just meet the master himself. And then you will bleed.

Week In Review : B.P.R.D 1948 #2 + Captain America #1 + Deadpool #2

Hey folks!! Welcome back to another week - we're running a little late, but here's some of our picks from the week past. 

New reviews of this weeks books will be here this weekend so stick around!

B.P.R.D 1948 #2 (Dark Horse)

Story : Mike Mignola and John Arcudi

Art : Max Fiumara

(Reviewed by Anirudh Singh)

Well awesome another BPRD book. I cannot get me enough of these books. They never disappoint and each book leaves me with the growing realization that the end of the world will be brought about when Hellboy breaks out of Hell and runs loose - on Mignola's schedule, not the Mayans'. But that is a personal view. Anyhow, 1948 serves as a throwback, taking us into a simpler time when The Professor was still a little green around the edges and Hellboy was a little monster learning the ropes from his army family. Which means it is a time when some major reveals can really happen. But alas, my hopes are undone.

So far.

Week In Review : Deadpool #1 + Earth 2 #6

...and more madness for this week as we play catch-up! Other reviews for the week are HERE and these two wrap up our picks of the new comics this week. 

Stick around and we'll have more coming hot and fresh to your plate asap!

Deadpool #1 (Marvel)

Story : Gerry Duggan & Brian Posehn

Art : Tony Moore

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

(Insert Morgan Freeman voice here) “A new era dawns upon us. Marvel has begun its reboot. Although Deadpool believes it is not a reboot.”

Deadpool finally gets his Marvel NOW issue #1, and I couldn’t be happier! Now you’re probably wondering, “What? How is Anant happy with a reboot?”

It’s simple:

1. Deadpool is here. Giving him this series means he isn’t getting phased out. (like all his other titles, I miss Deadpool Corps and Deadpool Team-Up.)

2. Deadpool is fighting ZOMBIES!!!! And not just any zombies, Presidential Zombies.

3. His healing factor is back!!

Week In Review : 47 Ronin #1 + Before Watchmen Moloch #1 + Colder #1

Pardon the belated posts this week folks, the festivites of Diwali (amongst other things) had us terribly short on time and we were not able to post these up sooner! 

47 Ronin #1 (Dark Horse)

Story : Mike Richardson

Art : Stan Sakai

(Reviewed by Anubhav Dasgupta)

There is a saying that the tale of the Forty Seven Ronin is the definitive Japanese story. From what I’ve gathered, it’s a tale that more or less commands a huge chunk of their culture, much like our myths of Ram and the Mahabharata.

“To know the tale of 47 Ronin is to know Japan.”

And that’s not far off from the truth. 47 Ronin feels like a very Japanese tale. There are some stories that just feel classy, that feel noble, like Seven Samurai, Citizen Kane, Kumonoso Jo and this comic feels like one of those stories. It doesn’t cheat you with gimmicks and cheap shocks, but simply tells a story, and a good one at that.

Week In Review : Avenging Spiderman Annual #1 + Happy #2 + Masters of the Universe: The Origin of Skeletor OS

Avenging Spiderman Annual #1 (Marvel)

Story : Rob Williams

Art : Brad Walker (pencils), John Livesay (inks), Chris Sotomayor (colour)

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

The Thing and Spidey have been teaming up quite a bit lately. That and Spidey has a good relationship with the FF so this team up makes sense.

The good part about this issue had to be the art. Its fluid and the characters are really well drawn. Spiderman looks fluid and flexible and seems to jump from panel to panel with ease.

Having a team up with the Thing and throwing in the “Richards Kids”, Franklin and Val, makes it fun. Those kids are fun to read. The dialogues given to them made me laugh.

Review : Tulsidas' Sundarkaand – Triumph of Hanuman

Campire comics takes on Tulsidas’s Ramayan and does a fairly good job.

They give a nice long introduction to Tulsidas and follow that by telling us the story so far, explaining it all crisply and completely.

Week of October 24th Reviews : Bravest Warriors #1 + Deadpool #63 + Talon #1

IT'S TIME! ONCE AGAIN! FOR EVERYBODY!! TO COME ABOARD THE ZEROOOOOOO-DAY TRAIN!!!!
...so enjoy folks. Cheers.
- A-bit-embaressed-by-that Akshay

Bravest Warriors #1 (Boom Studios)

Story : Joey Comeau

Art : Mike Holmes

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

Well it's safe to say I've never read a comic quite like this one. (And I picked this out of the 4 inaugural covers because I'm a huge Star Wars – original trilogy! – nerd...)

I should start by saying, “FANS OF ADVENTURE TIME, REJOICE!” For you see, this series is also created by Pendleton Ward, the brains behind that cult favourite series. And a pretty entertainingly bizarre creation it is indeed! We follow a teen-age interstellar/galactic super-group that is as kooky and quirky as any I've ever seen.

I've never really dabbled in Adventure Time, so this was a bit of an experiment for me and an exercise in trying out something out of my regular sphere – a good habit for anyone to have.

Week In Review : Cyber Force #1 + DC Universe Presents #13 + G.I.Joe:Snake Eyes #18

Another new week and more new comics! Welcome back and here's our picks of the weeks from amongst the flood, enjoy!- Editor

Cyber Force #1 (Image/Top Cow)

Story : Marc Silvestri & Matt Hawkins

Art : Khoi Pham

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

It's interesting to see the relaunch of Cyber Force in the wake of all the other Top Cow Universe titles being given the revamp after all the madness over in Darkness, Witchblade and Artifacts.

I've been a big fan of most of the Top Cow books for a long time, but somehow Cyber Force never quite caught on as much – I keep meaning to sit down and reread the lot properly or some such, but never gotten around to it and now I'm glad!

This new volume of creator (and Top Cow founder) Silvestri's flagship team-book actually is off to a very promising start.

THE GOOD in all this is that we've got an intriguing new storyline that I think would be fun regardless of whether or not you've ever read the series before – creating a dystopic new future for us all that carries echoes of concerns we all have about the future of our world and society and throwing in a healthy amount of intrigue, mystery, twists, action and concepts. By the end I was very much wanting

Week In Review : Deadpool #61 + Happy #1 + Invincible #95

CAPTAIN! ICE-BERG AHEAD!!! ...no not really, it's actually just some awesome new comics, including the much-awaited return of super-scribe Grant Morrison to creator owned writing – so keep reading and enjoy!
- Akshay the amused

Deadpool #61 (Marvel)

Story : Daniel Way

Art : Ale Garza (pencils) + Sean Parsons (inks)

(Reviewed by )

YEAH BAY-BEE!! Hit Monkey’s back.

So this first issue after the Blacklisted saga, we see Wade explaining himself to what seems like somebody 'off-camera'.

So this issue is all about a ex-FBI agent who has a vendetta against good ol’ Wade.

What’s awesome is how eloquent Wade seems to sound when he’s trying to stop HIT MONKEY from KILLING him.. Yes I’m excited. Hit Monkey is awesome. If only I did all my reviews with this intensity.

Hit Monkey holds a special place in my heart, and in the hearts of many a Deadpool fan. Although what pissed me off was the lack of him in the issue and why he’s going ballistic.

So anyway back to the former agent. Yeah, so she was caught in Wade’s line of fire back when she was undercover, now she’s disabled. And, of course, wants DP dead.

Week In Review : Deadpool #60 + Fairest #07 + Green Lantern v5 #0

More new comics!! No blather, just enjoy!- Eager Editor

Deadpool #60 (Marvel)

Story : Daniel Way

Art : Salva Espin

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

Quick recap for those of you not up to date..

Deadpool, the merc with a mouth (and a healing factor as awesome as the legendary Wolverine), has lost his healing factor. He can’t super heal anymore.

Now the knowledge has reached the Deadpool hating baddie, Black Box, who's sent a bunch of villains who have “problems” with Wade after him - namely Black Swan (former awesome merc) and arch nemesis (of sorts) Black Tom Cassidy.

And now, onward!

When Wade was in school he liked to put a lit matchstick near his backside. Cut to the present fight, he puts a fuel pipe between his legs and a lighter near his a$$ and screams “I’m the Human Flamethrower.” Thus with the power of a flaming derriere, Wade defeats Black Tom and Black Box, and burns himself in the process.

Week In Review : All-Star Western #12 + America's Got Powers #3 + Web of Spider-Man #129.1

Hey folks! Another new week, another bunch of new comics for you! This week we got a trio that covers some excellent titles from the Big-3! Enjoy!- Waiting-for-the-weekend Akshay

All-Star Western #12 (DC)

Story : Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray

Art : Moritat

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

Ah, Jonah Hex! What new madness have you brought before us.

All-Star western takes place primarily in Gotham City back in the days of the wild wild west. Not the Will Smith movie. With our heroes (of sorts) Hex and Dr. Arkham captured and chained, we wonder what in God’s name is going on. Their “guest-star” this time, a crazy young lady by the name of Tallulah Black, has managed to escape the chains our friends are caught in and ends up saving their backsides all by herself. And boy is she violent! Chops of heads with an axe, throws knives, shoots bad guy brains out - damn this girl is nuts. She’s also tappin' Jonah!! Not much about Jonah Hex in this issue, seems to be very backstory driven about his meeting with Wayne (yes, Batman’s ancestor). But apart from the little bit of action with the crazy chick, this issue kind of bored me.

Art’s ok, story is ok. Re-readability was just not there for me.

SCORE : 5 / 10

Week In Review : Archer and Armstrong #1 + Deadpool #59 + Idolized #1 + Pathfinder #1

Another week gone by and a lovely new load of comics coming your way!We've been busy getting the new avatar of Comic Addicts ready for you so only a few new reviews this week, but we've picked some awesome ones - 3 shiny new #1's for starters! So enjoy and stick around, loads more comic goodness to be had with Comic Addicts.- Already-craving-the-weekend Akshay

Archer and Armstrong #1 (Valiant)

Story : Fred Van Lente

Art : Clayton Henry

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

The world is wiped clean, a new one arise - secret sects, immortals, a spiritual quest, mythos, clever religiosity, fighting. Yeah, this issue has a lot going for it.

Tells the story of a deadly young warrior named Obidiah Archer, trained in multiple martial arts – but looks to be barely out of his teens – who is a religious zealot, trained since childhood by his parents (who are heads of a quasi-religious/christian-y cult/sect) to be a warrior with a mission. And then he is sent out into the REAL world – for the first time in his life. His first “friend” is a familiar looking fellow named Armstrong who drinks and bounces at a bar where Archer... creates some ruckus. And then things start to get crazier and a wee bit scarier – for Archer anyway.

Nicely written out with a sufficient amount of character development and a good mix of plot building, action and a hint of humour, the issue was a joy to read and I was sad to see it finish.

Week In Review : Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #1 + Harvest #1 + Think Tank #1

Welcome to another new week of comics and to start things off we have a trio of fantastic new #1's that we think you will really enjoy!

So what are you waiting for? Read on!

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #1 (Marvel)

Story : Cullen Bunn

Art : Dalibor Talajic (art) and Lee Loughridge (colours)

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

Yes true believers, you read that correctly. Deadpool kills the marvel universe.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Deadpool finally lost it and went all out against everyone? What would happen to Wade? Would he kill or be killed? A DP vs FF face-off - who would survive?

All such questions are now answered.

The issue begins with the Watcher telling us of the death of the Fantastic Four. Deadpool kills them all. Gets his head blown off by Sue Richards, grows it back (Yes, this is a “what if” and he has his healing factor here!) and kills her too.

Now as we continue, we find out that DP was actually brainwashed, or that a minute super villain by the name of Psycho Man tried to brainwash him. But the results were somewhat different than what was expected. Psycho Man’s plan was to brainwash Earths super villains to make an army for himself.

Week In Review : Deadpool #58 + Wolverine and the X-Men #14 + X-Treme X-Men #1

Greetings and salutations folks young and old!

Step right on in and enjoy as we bring you a bunch of new releases, today in a special Marvel Monday set of reviews!

(Psst! And of course, drop back in tomorrow for more reviews!)

Deadpool #58 (Marvel)

Story : Daniel Way

Art : Salvador Espin

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

So epic-ness continues in this issue as Deadpool faces off against Black Swan. No not Natalie Portman from the movie, I’m talking about an assassin from back in Deadpool’s past.

He was apparently the best. That is until Deadpool killed him......or so he thought.

Over the course of the issue we find out that Taskmaster had told Black Box that Wade doesn’t have a healing factor anymore. So now BB wants Wade dead. He finds Black Swan to tell him that he can kill him now.

Swan catches Wade on the toilet while he’s taking a... um... #2. Insists that he flushes before he dies. Wade dodges and jumps into the bathtub which has an ANTI BALLISTIC SHOWER CURTAIN!! I was like WHAT???

So anyhow, Swan dies. Again!

But that doesn’t deter Black Box. Turns out now that BB has the info that Wade can die, he’s going to be making a lot of calls to a lot of people. Because we all know how many people want him dead, and next in Black box’s list is BLACK TOM CASSIDY.

What is it with this guy and BLACK? Black Box, Swan, and now Tom.

Comic Review : Vrica #3 (Chariot Comics)

Click to Enlarge!

Story : Aniruddho Chakraborty

Art : Tarun Kumar Sahu

[Editors Note : If you want earlier issue info first, check out Anant's review of #1)

VRICA is a series set in the burbs of New Delhi, born out of the minds of our friends over at Chariot Comics. The story revolves around a tactical response team that has in its midst a super-soldier, his origins shrouded in mystery and some confusing facts which I'm still figuring out.

WEEK IN REVIEW : American Vampire-Lord of Nightmares #1 + Avengers #27 + AvX Versus #3 + Deadpool #56 + Knight Errant - Escape #1

Welcome back to more new-release reviews! Today is dominated by Marvel titles because this week there were a bunch of new AvX related tie-ins that we knew folks would want to read.

But despair not if you have little interest in the Marvel Summer Event, there are a couple of less fighty-spandex titles on the list as well, starting with this Vertigo wonder that kicks the list off!

American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares #1 (Vertigo)

Story : Scott Snyder

Art : Dustin Nguyen

(Reviewed by Anirudh Singh)

Another Felicia Book story, and this one steeped heavily in Vassals of Morning Star lore. Needless to say you should not be picking this book up unless you are an American Vampire fan. And in case you are an American Vampire fan, then congratulations... you just found another American Vampire comic book. An awesome continuation of an awesome series. With only slightly less awesome characters.

What? I'm a Skinner Sweet fan okay. And Felicia just never did it for me.

But that doesn't mean she didn't do it for anyone. And even though I begrudge her slow yet inevitable takeover of the limelight in the American Vampire saga, I do respect her prowess and recognize her necessity. She is the perfect heroine for this saga. And it seems that the vassals of the Morning Star have let loose the perfect villain for the saga as well.

Week In Review : Earth 2 #2 + Extermination #1 + Sweet Tooth #34 + Trio #2

Here you go folks, the wrap up on our picks from this weeks new releases!

Today we have a wickedly amazing mixed bag of comics - every single one unquestionably awesome and entertaining. This is maybe the highest scoring total for new releases in one post I'd wager! 

Enjoy!

Earth 2 #2 (DC)

Story : James Robinson

Art : Nicola Scott (pencils), Trevor Scott (inks) & Alex Sinclair/Pete Pantazis (colours)

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

Ladies, gentlemen and other species. Welcome back to Earth 2. And boy what a welcome it is!

It’s time for a match between Holt and Sloan. “TERRIFIC?” I thought, as I saw them. So basically Earth-1’s Mr. Terrific (this is the point where you go “oh that’s what terrific meant” ) has landed up on Earth-2 by accident, and right there waiting for him is Terry Sloan. The first Mr. Terrific from Earth-1, plain ol’ smartest man here. There's fighting, Sloan wins, cut to next scene! No that’s not a spoiler.

Picking up from last issue, Jay Garrick meets Mercury. Not Max Mercury – MERCURY like the roman god. And it’s time to power up. This issue is all about the birth of the Flash.

I like and don’t like the costume at the same time. Is that possible?

Also if you didn’t already know, ALAN SCOTT IS GAY! (No it’s not a problem for me, I just felt like writing in caps since it seems to be such big news these days) We catch a glimpse of him with his boyfriend.

Week In Review : Before Watchman Minutemen #1 + Mighty Thor Annual #1 + Pantha #1 + Voltron Year One # 3

AT LAST IT BEGINS!!
This week's reviews include the highly anticipated and hotly debated kick-off to Before Watchmen by DC comics and we bring it to you along with much more!
Enjoy!

Before Watchman : Minutemen #1 (DC)

Story & Art : Darwyn Cooke

(Reviewed by Anirudh Singh)

Alright, alright, the argument of intellectual property matters for naught to me in comic books. Hence, we shall not have it here. Instead we shall talk about Minutemen, one of my favourite parts about the Watchmen storyline that got all too brief a time in the limelight. 

This first installment from Before Watchmen starts with the story of the Minutemen, narrated through the eyes of Hollis Mason (a.k.a Night Owl). The writing is a little word heavy and Cooke is definitely no Alan Moore, but the art more than makes up for it. And eventually the initial awkwardness of the writing tumbles into a smoother narrative that gels very well with the artwork.

Darwyn Cooke does a marvelous job of bringing back the magic of the Silver Age. With glorious colours and art we get a sneak peek into the comings and goings of the famous mystery men of the day: Captain Metropolis, Nite Owl, Sally Jupiter and Hooded Justice, a vigilante adept at inspiring terror in the criminal element... and even the Comedian gets a brief flourish. Before Watchmen : Minutemen #1 sets the perfect platform for the series and the titles to follow. 

Week In Review : Batman Inc. #1 + Dancer #1 + Deadpool #55 + Hardcore #1 + Youngblood #71

MORE COMICS!!! 

We've got a bunch of new titles for you this week and we start today with a couple of big ones and whole lot of new Image #1's!! Be sure to come back tomorrow for more of this week's releases!

Batman Inc. #1 (DC)

Story : Grant Morrison

Art : Chris Burnham

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

So much blood!!

The issue gets going from a couple of pages in with a whole bunch of action and blood and beating-the-living-hell out of a bunch of guys in weird masks. Yes, weirder than Batman’s. They look like goat heads. Goat heads trump bat ears in weirdness. This issue also marks the introduction of Bat-Cow, and Damian stating he is now vegetarian.

Damian has a price on his head. Apparently set by his mom to get Batman’s attention. At the same time a bunch of villains known as Leviathan are taking over the Gotham underworld. Meanwhile we see various Bat based superheroes (part of Batman Inc.) who are hiding out in Batcave West. And you wonder ‘What in god’s name is going on?!’ I’m not going further for fear of spoilers.

Ok so the story is interesting. Gripping and full of action, violence and blood.