April 17 Comic Week in Review

This week for our written reviews we covered a couple books that we talked about on Comicast #77 and quite a few that we didn't. Enjoy our reviews of THUNDERBOLTS #8, SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #8, Captain Marvel #12, Captain America #6, Judge Dredd #6, Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #4, Red Hood & The Outlaws #19, HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1.

DC

HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1 $2.99

Writer: Keith Giffen, Artist: Pop Mhan

The dialogue is well written and enjoyable to read. Brother and sister bicker back and forth at each other that makes it quite comical and relatable if you have siblings. It just seemed so authentic and realistic. Instantly there was conflict introduced as the father has not told his daughter about her mother which was an evil sorceress. The father, son,Adam, and daughter, Teela, seem to be nobles living in an illustrious castle. There is a flash back of the three of them when they were younger, farming out in the country. Now older they appear to be preparing for a ceremonial function, the kings speech. While the king is delivering his speech, demonic looking creatures from another dimension appear elsewhere. They speak of conquering the realm they have just appeared in. They do something rather horrifying to a random villager and his family. After the ceremony the teen/tween daughter randomly strips down to her underwear in front of her brother, father, and one of his friends. Personally I thought it was really weird but also kinda hot because she was so confident and nonchalant about it. As she was changing in her room these fiends attacked the castle. She quickly changed into her battle garb and her brother rushed outside and unleash. Some dark armor clad character climbed up and onto the castle to confront Adam. It got pretty tense especially when Teela arrived has it was interesting to see how different they are when it come to battle and taking ones life. Everybody looked as they should or the peak perfection of them. The environments were spectacular, and the art was best when it was most brutal. The masters were a little over the top but then again I think they're suppose to be. Overall it was very impressive, surprisingly, enjoyable read.
Verdict: STRONG SKIM

Red Hood & The Outlaws #19 $2.99

Writer: James Tynion IV, Artist: Julius Gopez

Art is phenomenal. Honestly it is a true phenomenon and spectacle to look at. It has a surreal, gritty, sketchy look to it. The colors are, mellow, blues, cool, and calm with reds and purples that really stand out. There are fleeting moments when it looks less than stellar but rarely. The story is a little confusing but interesting nonetheless. It starts with Jason Todd being held hostage on a Wayne Corp jet. I didn't know it was Jason at first because I rarely see him unmasked but it was actually pretty easy to figure out. By the way Todd has some cojones. This guy is threatening him and he's just like dude I will do things to you so horrible you'll want to kill yourself. Then flash forward to his allies, Roy and Kori, sifting through wreckage in the himilayas. Apparently some evil lady is trying to stop them from finding Jason by invading Roys body and mind. He fights the darkness in his sleep to overcome his personal demons. In the process they figure out how to get to their friend. Unfortunately he's not the same guy he use to be. It gets pretty crazy and weird but very interesting all the while. I'm down for another issue but I wont deny that the alien girls outfit is ridiculous as all hell in an unbelievably bad way.
Verdict: BUY

IDW

Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #4 $3.99

Writer: Steve & Dave Tipton, Artist: Gary Erskine

Doctor #4 and his companion decide to visit the planet of agricultural phenomenon. When they arrive the Jadoon, a mercenary militia of rhinoceros-like humanoids, are searching for Agarthias famed jewel as it has been stolen. This one was more of a fun romp rather than an intense thriller like some of these stories have been. As with every issue they have been ending the same SPOILER ALERT with a hooded, robed man kidnapping the Doctors companions hence Prisoners of Time. The best things about this series is not only do you not need to read any of the previous issue but you dont have to know anything at all about Doctor Who as it tells you everything you need to know and you get to know each Doctor independently. This one was more focused on fixing a wrong that was actually wrong in the first place in a less serious and definitely more fun care free way. The art is always impressively well done and accurate according to the characters, races, and creatures you've seen in the shows. Whether you're a newcomer to comics or Doctor Who this is just the perfect read for you or anyone else.
Verdict: BUY

Judge Dredd #6 $3.99

Writer: Duane Swierczynski, Artist: Nelson Daniel, Andrew Currie

The art may be a little too cartoony for my taste but I'll be damned if its not the best I've seen it. In this issue we finally have what seems like a climax of all these malfunctioning robot stories. All of the robots are attacking humans and Dredd is taking them on hand-to-hand. It's great to see Dredd kicking ass especially without his specialty gun, lawgiver. Things are at their worst and its not over yet. The second shorter story has a similar but slightly more realistic looking style. It was about one robot, Jeffro, who is still loyal to his human family. He fights his fellow robots and gets back to his family only to have them turn oh him. I preferred the style in the second story but honestly it was better in the first. I'd rather have one longer main focused story rather than two related stories, one medium length, and one short. This was one of the best Dredd issues I've read yet.
Verdict: BUY

Marvel

CoTW

Captain America #6 $3.99

Writer: Rick Remender, Artist: John Romita Jr

Instantly I was blown away by the images I was looking at which is quite surprise considering my dislike for Romita Jrs art. As the issue continued I just became more impressed, enthralled, and interested as both the story and art sucked me in. There's a few thought provoking ideals in this book that make it all the more interesting and worthwhile. The Captain makes what may be his final attack on Zola's castle to get his son, Ian, back. Rogers even passes up leaving this godforsaken dimension ruled by Arnim Zola just for the chance to save this child that's not even his. Zola's older daughter questions her ideals, loyalty, and upbringing after her bout with the merciful Captain. The second time they meet he is pushed to his limits and does not afford her the same mercy. But can he save this boy that he has raised for the last 10 years before he is brainwashed by the infamous Arnim Zola? It's more than worth finding out.
Verdict: STRONG BUY

Captain Marvel #12 $2.99

Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick & Christopher Sebela, Artist: Filipe Andrade

The art has a strong European feel to it. It's very fluid, liquid, a little chaotic but controlled. The art takes a little while to warm up to but it works well and you'll probably enjoy it by the end. In actuality not much happens. It's the dialogue and narration that makes this book great. Almost the entire issue is just Carol fighting Deathbird and two doctors talking about her brain tumor. I know that this title would read brilliantly in trade but its good by issues too.
Verdict: BUY

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #8 $3.99

Writer: Dan Slott, Artist: Humberto Ramos

This one was just effing stupid. The Avengers have noticed Spider-Man has been acting unlike himself and want to submit him to some tests. He fights them, loses, they test him, and come to the conclusion that he's not a skrull or any other any alien. It's so moronic that they don't have a telepath check him out or question his motives for fighting them. Everybody around him is just acting like a complete idiot that allows him to continue getting away with this charade. Then he decides he wants his equipment back from Cardiac. In the process he turns into a bleeding heart for this girl that he finds out he was at fault for causing brain damage. It doesn't make sense that he chooses now to have a conscience but it is a little girl so who wouldn't be sympathetic. He also decides to perform brain surgery on her to fix what he initial caused. What's messed up and makes no sense is at this time Peter tries to stop him from performing this great deed. The art is better looking than usual but when it comes down to it the writing is stupid, predictable, and crappy.
Verdict: PASS

THUNDERBOLTS #8 $2.99

Writer: Daniel Way, Artist: Phil Noto

Remember how I said that if they keep this artist on this title would be worth picking up every time it comes out? Well, I was wrong. The story is weak and the artist over steps his bounds with certain characters looks. Mind you it does make more sense that even in as Red Hulk Thunderbolt Ross would have the buzz-cut/flat top. This is a new story arc though i somehow feel unresolved about the last one. as usual it seems Ross has a plan only partial revealed to his team all while kind of pitting them against each other. whether that's part of his plan or not I'm not quite sure. There were some cool parts but over all it was pretty confusing as to what was going on. The art was enjoyable and rather impressive. The action and expressions were pretty well done. Overall the art was not enough to keep me interested in this all too illusive plot.
Verdict: SKIM

You can pick up these comics at Kaboom Test Labs or Twin Suns Comics & Games