Week In Review : Astonishing X-Men #50 + COBRA #13 + Dominique Laveau Voodoo Child #3 + Godzilla #1

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.

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.

Special Review : Avengers vs X-Men #4

Marvel’s latest summer crossover event has gotten into high gear this week, with the launch of fan favourite writer Jonathan Hickman and industry legend John Romita Jr.’s Avengers vs X-Men #4, an issue that attempts to put all the cards on the table and setting up the conflict for the next issue, which is set to serve as the conclusion of "Act I" of the event.

Review : Odayan #1-4 (Level 10 Comics)

Story/script : Suhas Sundar
Main Art & Colour : Deepak Sharma
Greyscale : Santosh Pillewar
Letters : Raghavendra Kamath

Odayan at first glance seems to be Level 10’s answer to Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta. It is actually a well-written, classic tale of revenge and the restoration of power, incorporating very delicately the elements of surprise, deceit, suspense and valor. It is perfectly illustrated to compliment the excellent writing, introducing certain nuances which distinctively define the theme, showing the inspiration and the influences.

[Editors Note: Some minor spoilers, you have been duly warned!]
 

The series starts off with a bang, very smartly using elements of mythology, history and here-say to create a backdrop for a complex saga. It introduces us to the main protagonist – Odayan – who with his mysterious origins, killer instinct, rebellious ideals and a little narcissism, becomes an instant hit with the reader. We see his impeccable skills while he duels with and beheads a father whose son would play a major role developing an ideology, similar in certain ways to the one that is instilled in Odayan himself.

Batman Vs Bane

Writer: Chuck Dixon

Artist: Graham Nolan

Collects: Batman: Vengeance of Bane 1, Batman: Bane of The Demon 1-4, origin pages from 52 issue 46, Countdown to Final Crisis 4 and 7

This trade is actually a misnomer. The title says Batman Vs Bane, and Batman faces Bane just for a few panels, and nothing of substance actually happens in those panels. It's got a few good things (other than good creators and stories) running for it though. Vengeance of Bane is actually the first appearance of Bane, and has never before been collected (it should have been included in the first volume of Knightfall). Neither has Bane of The Demon. The other good thing is the price.

Last Week-In-Review : Dan the Unharmable #1 + Deadpool #54 + Hell Yeah #3 + Mystery In Space #1 One-shot

Welcome back to another new week of comics folks! Don't let us get in your way, let's jump right on into it:

Dan the Unharmable #1 (Avatar Press)

Story : David Lapham

Art : Rafael Otiz
(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

Review : I Am Kalki - The Red Book

Vimanika comics newest offering I am Kalki: The Red Book maintains the quality standards Vimanika has set itself in the Indian comic book industry.

Every religion has a worldview on how the world will end.  For Indian Mythology this concept is rooted in Kalki . As per the Indian folklores, During the end of the world another avatar of Vishnu will arrive to fight demons and cleanse the world from evil . That avatar would be called KALKI.

Vimanika comics takes this concept of Kalki and puts their own unique spin on it, which is how mythology comics should be done. We have all seen mythology comics being done before in India, I mean  Amar Chitra Katha is prime example of mythology tales done right.

But now Indian audience wants more out of their mythology tales and our comic companies seem ready to quench the reader thirst for such comics.