Review: Promethea, Book Three

Promethea, Book Three by Alan Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The loop cracked

This books big problem is that the writer didn’t want to write about the fun stuff. The last part of this book is the writer doing what he did in volume 2 and that’s show-off his views on the occult. The actual story in this book is a forced ending to move the writer onto something they are more interested in. There isn’t a real resolution just get through the people stuff and end it on the magic stuff. The problem is not everyone wants to read more of the magic stuff. The writer didn’t care he just wanted to have his work show his views on magic. That made for a mostly boring book.

View all my reviews

Review: Promethea, #2

Promethea, #2 by Alan Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Magic school school, sort of

This is just the writer showing off what he’s read about magic. It’s more of him trying to teach you about what he believes and less about any story. Most of it interesting but the rest of it starts to drag. By the end it has you saying, okay, I get it, you’re into wizardry. It’s fine to see but the rest of the story plays as annoying background that doesn’t seem to matter in the end.

View all my reviews

Review: Batman: Year One

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the good Frank Miller Batman story. A man on a mission is the premise of the story. This is the Batman story that you can let your friends read and they can understand why Batman is cool. This story has the drama and action that you expect from Batman. It also shows that his is not the only life affected by living in Gotham City. The art carries parts of the story that don't need words. I think of Frank Millers Daredevil work and realize that his stories with Mazzuccheli are as gripping as Year One. This is the Frank Miller that is a great writer. This is him at best when writing superhero-noir comics. I recommend this book over the Dark Knight Returns so you should give this a try for yourself.

View all my reviews

Review: Promethea, #1

Promethea, #1 by Alan Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s a start to something familiar.

If you’re looking for Alan Morres best work this is not it. If you’re looking for him to write about two subjects that he doesn’t usually overload on, magic and sex, this is it. The story starts off about a girl discovering some magical goddess power but that gets brushed aside to the writer can spend the rest of the book talking about magic. Before that we get a wizard bribing the girl for sex in exchange for an intro to magic. The rest is two snake’s talk no about Tarot cards.

This ends up being the writer acting like he’s a modern Prof. Dumbledore teaching you how magic works. The problem is not everyone signed up for a magical history lesson. While it is interesting to a point it does get so esoteric that readers can easily lose interest in the characters. No one really sticks out as their only role is to get to the next lesson in the writers views on magic. There’s better stuff that you can read from him without all of the showing off.

View all my reviews

Review: Top 10

Top 10 by Alan Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Comic supercops

It's one part Law & Order and the other a nostalgia trip through comic book history. By the standard that Alan Moore is held to this is just above average. It's not great but it's better then what most writers can do. The ending is flat and you have to read the other related books to really get a better grasp on what he wanted to do. This is a fine intro into the universe of ABC (Americas Best Comics) but it wasn't the best thing that he created in this line.

View all my reviews

Review: The New Teen Titans, Vol. 1

The New Teen Titans, Vol. 1 by Marv Wolfman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is just the start of what ends up being one of the cornerstone runs of DC Comics. It gets better later but this volume is just a soft intro to some incredible work. If all you have seen are the animated series then this is where you get the characters and stories that you've seen on those shows. There are very few series that have the same impact as this run in any comic series.

View all my reviews

Review: DC Comics: The Art of Jim Lee Vol. 1

DC Comics: The Art of Jim Lee Vol. 1 by Jim Lee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wrong format

If you really want to get the best out of reading this book the digital format is not the way to go. If you are able to read the large physical print format do that instead. That is a better way to experience the art of this art book. There's no story here, it's a sketch book with some retrospective information within it. If you really want to deep dive into Jim Lees work and life this isn't the best way to do it. Keep in mind there's none of his Marvel work in here so enjoy his DC work and then look to spend money on his Marvel works. It's still a nice view but not a great read.

View all my reviews

Review: Space Ghost

Space Ghost by Joe Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

More than coast to coast

This is the hardcore origin story of Space Ghost. Take out any comedy or kiddie views on why a man would choose to be a ghost. The chase for justice starts with a need for vengeance for him. From there we see the start of what could have been really fun. This is a one off so you can get in and be done with just this book. I think more of this could have been great but this is still a solid story for a ghost.

View all my reviews

Review: Teen Titans: The Silver Age Vol. 2

Teen Titans: The Silver Age Vol. 2 by Bob Haney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Decent closeout

While not as fun as volume 1 it's still a nice read. You can move onto the other Titan books knowing the original run ended like this.

View all my reviews

Review: Teen Titans: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1

Teen Titans: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 by Bob Haney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Go, Go, Go Titans

If you're use to Teen Titans Go! this is a 1960s version of that type of story telling. I'm a Teen Titans fan so reading this was good to me. It's not for everyone but if you don't mind some dialogue that is outdated there's still a good group of stories in this book.

View all my reviews

Review: Camelot 3000

Camelot 3000 by Mike W. Barr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A comic that actually blends high fantasy and space opera well. This is the book that got it right. So there's sword and laser guns and it all makes sense. If you don't think King Arthur in space can work this comic proves you wrong. It's a book that was actually ahead of its time when it was released. The themes in it are very adult for a comic book about King Arthur. I think this comic fits in today which is something that very few comics can do.

View all my reviews

Review: Death: The High Cost of Living

Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There's book that have a certain reputation about them. This is certainly one of those books but to me this book was okay. It highlights the usual problem with Gaimans work. The beginning is interesting the middle slows done and the end is bland. While it's a part of a bigger set of stories this book barely highlights that. It's a very skippable book if your not a Gaiman fan. Other then that it was just a book that didn't live up to the hype that I've heard about for years.

View all my reviews

Review: Green Arrow (1988-1998) Vol. 2: Here There Be Dragons

Green Arrow (1988-1998) Vol. 2: Here There Be Dragons by Mike Grell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Good follow

This is a good follow-up to Longbow Hunters. It’s slow at the start but catches up quickly and gets better.

View all my reviews

Review: Green Lantern: Sector 2814, Vol. 1

Green Lantern: Sector 2814, Vol. 1 by Len Wein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's fine. Mostly forgettable in my opinion. It has a nice ending which ends up being negated later. It tries to have some form of long-term story telling but it doesn't work. In the the end it's just an okay story.

View all my reviews

Review: Green Arrow (1988-1998) Vol. 1: Hunters Moon

Green Arrow (1988-1998) Vol. 1: Hunters Moon by Mike Grell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Classic Arrow

This is part of one of the best runs by a writer with this character. What Mike Grell did with Green Arrow was on par with what Dennis O’Neill did with the character. Not just Batman with arrows but someone who fights for justice in a more classic style. It’s almost archaic in a way but it’s still effective. Through in some social issues and you have a very unique character.

View all my reviews

Review: V for Vendetta - The 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

V for Vendetta - The 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition by Alan Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An anarchist delight, if you miss the point of the story. I think this is a comic book version of 1984 more than some people would want to believe. You can understand why this was adapted into a feature film. The ideas in this comic have been taken by many others for a reason. It's become one of the more influential comics because it really is a great comic.

View all my reviews

Review: JSA by Geoff Johns Book Three

JSA by Geoff Johns Book Three by Geoff Johns
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gets rolling

This is where Johns found his groove and it’s smooth sailing from here. At this point the characters and stories all rise up to be a fun comic worth reading. The only fault is that this collection is out of order when you go back to book two. The Virtue and Vice crossover should have ended this volume not volume two.

View all my reviews

Review: JSA by Geoff Johns Book Two

JSA by Geoff Johns Book Two by Geoff Johns
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finds it’s groove

This is where Johns starts to establish himself as a great writer. You can see how well he understands the DC Universe in this book. There are different things that you can take from this book but you’re sure to appreciate something in this book.

View all my reviews

Review: JSA by Geoff Johns Book One

JSA by Geoff Johns Book One by Geoff Johns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Half truth

It’s not only Geoff John’s that wrote this book. It starts with Robinson and Goyer before it transitions to only Johns. The tone is different at the start but that eventually changes. This is the weakest part of Geoff’s run on JSA so don’t judge this book poorly.

View all my reviews

Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Vol. 1: The Classic Manga Available in English in Its Entirety for the First Time!

Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Vol. 1: The Classic Manga Available in English in Its Entirety for the First Time! by Jiro Kuwata
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was very Japanese from the '60s

If you've ever watched Speed Racer or some anime from the '60s or '70s this comic will be familiar to you. The stories are fine for what they are. The typical villains are not in this book so don't expect to see them. The book reads quickly and the plots are repetitive but its not bad if you can get past the first story.

View all my reviews