Latest Comic Book Reviews (05.04.2011): Avengers 12.1, Morning Glories #1, The Walking Dead #84

Pretty slow day yesterday so I got to read three comic books to say the least. I have one from Marvel featuring their marquee super-team, and two horror flicks from Image Comics that includes zombies and some school girls in them. I thoroughly enjoyed each titles and I just wanted to kill some of my time so here I am writing some kind of review for each. 

Ok, before you click ok the jumpie link down there, let me note that the titles are rated by the number of stars I give them, with 5 stars being the highest. That means if a title gets a rare 5 stars, then that should be really m'effin good! 

Now that we got that out of the way, you can now click on the jump for all of my reviews. 

AVENGERS 12.1

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Brian Hitch

If you checked this site yesterday, you would have definitely noticed the disappointment I had regarding the preview covers of this "newbie friendly" Avengers title. I said I would give it a shot despite the bad art covers, and after reading the whole thing, I was kind of wrong with the first impression I had, because this was a good first step by Bendis and Hitch after all. 

Bendis goes on to make this an easy read as possible as promised in order for new readers to get easily hooked with Marvel, and with his simple storytelling that clearly sets up the next events to this arc by the end of the issue, he accomplishes just that. 

Gathering the Avengers on a mission to track down a missing Spider-Woman was a good idea, though it made every thing a little bit cluttered on some of the pages, with everybody trying to talk and insert their own punchlines. Bendis manages to put in some nice humor though in Beast, Spidey and Captain America's mission briefing dialogue, while putting some of the spotlight on the green-haired Abegail Brand of SWORD. Nice to see her again after reading Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run. Wolverine's angst and machismo showboating doesn't help the story though. 

There's a lot of naked Jessica Drew (aka Spider-Woman) spreads in this issue as well, that is reminiscent of the 90's comic books that had a lot of "bondage" and sexual innuendos under it. She's all tied up, sweaty and bloody all over the place, boobies exposed which the boys would like.  Its a nice eye-candy though, I have to say. 

Then the bad stuff kicks in. Pulling off a team of evil and big-intelligent heads doesn't cut it for me. They don't look like a formidable threat to the superteam and rightfully so, they asses got handed over - but not without unleashing a familar opponent that could pose a REAL threat for the Avengers. Truth be told, that's the only good thing they did in this issue, asides from seeing Jessica Drew naked. 

When it comes to the art, Thor hammering Modok was a cool panel in particular that shows Hitch's wide-screen cinematic art style. He actually manages to do that with every explosive action scene which is always good to see. But then again, the art was not that impressive, mainly because of the inks. Hitch should get a better inker that would complement his style because his already lazy illustrations just got ruined even more. Clearly, a lot of patching up that needs to be done in this department. 

Rating:  

MORNING GLORIES # 1

Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Joe Eisma

Image Comics has one promising series right here. And honestly, I thought that this was about high-school romance, and a coming of age story about 6 different teenagers. But damn I was wrong. What I actually got was a creepy, mysterious and bloody story featuring six troubled teenagers in a prestigious school known as the Morning Glories Academy. This first issue was a blast - literally - in every sense of the word. 

And speaking of blasts, the beginning of the issue is something that is really misleading due to the action-packed, thriller-kind of escape-plan scene that quickly turns in to something more... supernatural... with a lot of brutality. That kind of messed me up, and just wanted to turn my head on the pages and see what the fuck was all about. 

And when things get revealed one by one, such as the fact that all of the students in the academy (our 6 protagonists included) all share the same birthday; until the final panel that reeks of horror and "OMG" statements, I was wanting for more just to get to the bottom of this mystery. Indeed, it was a nice storytelling technique that was truly engaging and gave me an idea on the possible routes this series might take in the future. We  get a bunch of questions popping out too, but whatever the answer to those questions are - one thing is for certain: there's going to be a lot of spooky things running around. 

Nick Spencer does a great job on establishing the character's individual personalities which is pretty much as standard for first issues. We got Hunter-  the everyman and geeky good guy; Zoe- the flirtacious chick who reminds me of Lindsay Lohan for some reason; Jun - the guy from Tokyo and the silent type who would only talk if you talk to him; Ike - the rich, perv guy who acts like a cool jack-ass; Jade - the definite emo babe who looks like she's gonna go on a emotional tear almost everytime unusual or bad happens; and finally Casey - the brainy Physics chick who looks like to get the most number of spotlights on this series. See how I am able to differentiate all of them? That's because Spencer didn't complicate things too much in introducing these characters and the gave them equal treatment in this issue, thus you get each character's unique individualities. That includes the damn mysterious teachers and professors at the school that I'm sure would get freakier as the story continues.

Rod Esquejo's cover is amazing, great art mixed with manga and anime sensibilities, just like Joe Eisma's interior art. Eisma's art was not that too impressive for me, but I thought that he was still able to handle this book pretty well, except for a couple of panels where he just "re-used" certain backgrounds and facial expressions that doesn't really help to the book's narrative structure.  That is something that needs to be worked on. The colors blend nicely to Eisma's lines, as well as the inks, so other than the "lazy" sequences that can be improved, there's nothing much to complain about in this solid first issue. Very well done. Looking forward for a more wicked treat as the story unfolds. 

Rating: 

THE WALKING DEAD #84
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard

I mentioned many times before that this one of my favorite ongoing monthly series, and Kirkman delivers on the conclusion of the "NO WAY OUT" story line after the shocking cliffhanger ending back in issue #83.

Carl is now hanging for dear life after he was bitten and insult to injury, the zombie horde is now invading the whole complex. Kirkman wastes no time in doing some good 'ol hack and slash scene with Rick just running all by himself and his trusty ax towards the abominations. I thought he was slowly going to be killed because there we're just so many of them, but then we see something entirely that we have seen rarely in this series - teamwork. Real cohesive teamwork from all the guys, and a sense of camaraderie and sacrifice for each other that we haven't seen. So they club and kill all the zombies they can until they thin out - which is basically the whole issue in a nutshell.  In a way that works, but hack and slash scenes can only do so much in this title. This is something that should be toned down next time.

We don't see much casualties in this issue  and understandably so, because that would leave Kirkman with a crippled cast and he doesn't want that. No real sense of character development too as every body was just on  a zombie-killing spree. The real disappointment was that scene with Rick talking to his son Carl who's lying on his bed. I thought that there was too much dialog and corny cliches in it, and that kind of killed the Rick I loved right from the start. He suddenly becomes this revitalized, hopeful and assertive leader once again after doubting and blaming himself a couple of times? I don't understand why that change suddenly happens overnight. That made Kirkman's script inconsistent this time around. But I do get the positive message Kirkman is trying to imply. Maybe he's trying to give off a little bit more light-hearted tone that he feels is needed. 

Adlard's sequential panels during the zombie riot was great in my opinion, he had nice facial expressions each panel changing and adapting to the situations that story demanded, and made great use of the space he had to pack-in all the action necessary. But I noticed that he was also relaxed on some of their anatomy and thus the  character structures we're lousily done as a result of that. Very minimal though and based on Adlard's track record he can certainly jump back next issue and redeem those little mistakes. 

Not so much thrill and build-up by the end of all Rick's verbiage, but at the same time, I smell some good things happening for Rick and the rest of the gang. Just hope that Kirkman would not opt for too much zombie-hacking.

Rating:   

Comic Book Review: The Walking Dead # 81

The Walking Dead #81

Written by Robert Kirkman

Art by Charlie Adlard

Published by Image Comics

**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

Alright, so I'm back with the latest issue of one of the best serials out there and one of my favorites too, The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Tony Moore. And we got a very interesting build-up following issue #80.

By the end of the last issue, we see Jessie kissing Rick and I was thinking what was gonna happen. Is he going to nail her (yeah, I automatically think about sex haha)? And to the best of my expectations, yes folks, Rick nailed the widow (and just to refresh your memory, Jessie is the wife of the guy Rick killed last issue. ). Some might think that what happened between them is wrong... and maybe they're right, but on the other side, this is human nature we are talking about here.

Two lonely people who just lost their loved ones in the most horrifying situation you could ever imagine, and I think that its natural to do anything that would make them sleep at night or at least feel that "inner peace" even if its just for a very short time. Doesn't matter who's taking advantage of who, the point is, whatever it takes to make you feel comfortable and get your head off all the shit that's happening so you won't lose your sanity - then you do it. And true to Rick's telephone situation - sleeping with Jessie kind of got him straight a little bit. He's beginning to realize that her wife is already dead and is no longer coming back and that the conversations he made with her on the phone is just him drifting out of touch. 

We also see the other couples in their own peaceful moments, trying to cope up with the whole situation just like Rick. Kirkman's trying to build up most of the characters mainly to keep the realism intact  because that telephone thing with our boy Rick has to go already -- and fast. I'm glad he realized that. 

I also liked Glenn taking in charge of a situation where they have to get across to the other side of the fence with all the zombies so they could deliver goods to Andrea. Good suspense right there with the rope snapping scene too. Thought they one guy was gonna die.

And just when I thought that nobody's going to get killed and that everybody has everything figured out with that one piece of the fence that's waiting to come down, Kirkman then releases the beasts. As you already know, the fence gives way and we're in for another "OH SHIT" zombies-on-the-loose moment and one guy gets his intestines torn to shreds. Nasty. Rick and the black guy can't seem to fend the zombies off and are fighting for their very lives once again and now I wonder what would happen next after that last panel. They're pretty fucked up. I'm sure Kirkman has something to surprise us next issue.

This is a good issue after all the teasing from issue #80 though it doesn't have anything major except for that stupid fence and Rick's newfound sex partner... err... rather relationship. Still, Kirkman and Adlard knows what their fans want and what made this series click so they are sticking with what works. If it ain't broke, then don't fix right? Hopefully that come issue #82 or #83, we will be able to get in to the thick of things and see some shocking revelations or scenes that would blow our brains out. Kirkman isn't afraid of killing one of his major characters anyway, proven before when he killed Lori and Tyreese way back. We need more of that thing.

Just one question: why is it that Tony Moore is the one who's getting most of the credit for the successful TWD TV show?  I don't get it. 

Comic Book Review: The Walking Dead # 80

 

The Walking Dead Issue # 80

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artist: Charlie Adlard

Published by Image Comics

"Whatever keeps you OUT... Keeps you IN."

It's been a long time since issue #79 ended and I have been waiting for so long on what's gonna happen next on this incredible zombie-saga by two of the best teams in the business today - Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. Now with the season 1 of the  hit AMC TV series of the same name already finished, it was about time for the creators to get back to their desks and continue what they started.

The new chapter picks up where the previous issue left off, with the gang living inside a seemingly peaceful township in Washington, DC, where our main guy Rick Grimes serves as the Constable. He tries to keep  peace and order in town, but he eventually kills a man who is physically abusing his wife (Jessie) and child. After that, the group fights off a surprise attack from bandits, but a big horde of zombies we're attracted in the process and are now attempting to breach the walls of their new found "home". They are able to close the gates and keep the walkers from ultimately invading them, but not without a casualty and a lot of fear coming back to haunt the community.

Douglas comes into his own here, making a very tough decision after one of his friends gets bitten. You can see that his character is slowly becoming strong, a leader in his own right. It would be interesting on how Kirkman would mix this development with the groups current leader, Rick. And of course, the whole comic will not be complete without its trademark: multiple character plot lines develop within the context of the story, and we see a lot of new "complicated" relationships forming. Everybody is kind of alone anyway, and plus zombies are at the gates, so somebody would definitely need someone to rely on in order to get by.

Again, Kirkman shows us why he is a  master at creating great character dynamics and he doesn't forget that what makes his comic book a hit:  diverse characterization with a whole lot of dialogue in every panel which I really applaud. Adlard's black and white art is still unmistakable and are still emotionally-filled while keeping that level of detail that fans loved from the beginning. They are sticking to their old gameplan while trying to mix new things up to get readers excited again, and they didn't fail. This is a solid new chapter after a pretty long wait with Kirkman and Adlard both bringing their A-game.

Now you just can't miss the next issues. And again, if you haven't read a single issue yet from this graphic novel, don't waste your time because this is one of the best on-going series that you would ever read today.