November 14 Comic Week in Review

Gambit #5 $2.99
Writer: James Asmus, Art: Diogenes Neves, Rachelle Rosenburg
This is the beginning of a new story arc but still very much related the last story act at least the beginning of it. Gambit was caught with his hand in the cookie jar but now that the cookie is destroyed he's forced into paying his debts off with another heist. I like that the art fits the fast paced heist living style of Remy. What I don't like is that there's either too much or too little of Gambits voice in this title. He's either saying stuff in French that I don't understand at all or he's just talking like a normal guy. They get Mr. Lebeau down pretty well personality and looks wise but not his bayou flavored talk. The art is quite impressive especially when it comes to spreads in fact my Spread of the Week is in this. This issue seems to jump right into the action and ends up being set up for the story arc not that it was a bad thing. With a impressive art and a writer that's struggling to find Remys voice this title turns out to just be ok. If you have the extra cash or you're a hardcore Gambit fan then get it otherwise don't bother.
Verdict: SKIM

The New Avengers #33 End Times $3.99
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
As the end of an era continues with the avengers titles you can tell they're just shoveling in whatever artist they can to finish it up as they have the best artists on Marvel NOW! I say this because the art is an awful fit for this book. This artist could do wonders in a Doctor Strange, Cap&Bucky, or even DD title with its classic period piece style but not here in the modern age of comic book teams. Maybe because this issue is a Doc Strange-centric title it works at times but only in his presence. The story just continues getting better but it almost seems like Bendis has no intentions of stopping. Only Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' story seem to be coming to an end but we'll see as there is at least one issue left. The story arc itself appears to be coming to a close as Doc Strange takes care of business and makes a death challenge to the villain. I didn't care for the art but the story was good still I'm ready to move on and be done with this era despite the good story telling that Bendis has provided through out the years.
Verdict: SKIM

Marvel NOW! Wolverine & The X-Men #20 $3.99
Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: Steve Sanders
I don't know what's up with this triple A title but the art was all over the place. Some of it looked good, most of it was mediocre, and at times downright bad. I've never seen a more awful looking drawn Beast that wasn't an amateur artist. If it wasn't for that this could have been a Back n' Bag contender because the story was that good. They instantly introduced a new character that Angel was tring to recruit when a couple evil doers tried to get the jump on him and get her to join them. Right away this sharkgirl was an interesting and compelling character. Not only was the final page spread drawn well but it was a great reveal too. Despite inconsistent art from a fill-in artist this is still the best X-book to date.
Verdict: BUY

Marvel NOW! Fantastic Four #1 $2.99
Writer: Matt Fraction, Art: Mark Bagley, Paul Mounts
I haven't picked this title up in a long time but I'm glad I gave this one a chance. Within the first three pages it had three instant and different hooks. Being that this is a #1 it did exactly what it was suppose to, get me hooked, establish the character, their personalities, and an interesting story arc that will keep me buying this series. Not only did it do that but it also gives me a reason to read and pick up FF #1 which I had zero interest in getting until I read this. Bagleys art is the epitome of comic book art done right and it gels so well with Marvels first family. This issue for me tense, excited, worried, and interested. It was a nice, short, and sweet treat.
Verdict: BUY

Marvel NOW! All New X-Men #1 $3.99
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Art: Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger
Dr. Hank McCoy is mutating, AGAIN. Mutants are popping up all over the world, Cyclops and his X-Men think its their mission in life to "save" them. As a result this is causing a lot of problems for the real X-Men and their new school for mutants. As they say desperate times call for desperate measures as one of the core X-Men takes things into his own hands. All I can say is it involves time travel and it's awesome. The art seems so cool, smooth, and well done. Bendis writes great dialogue as usual, fantastic set up, incredible establishment of status quo, and creates something that feels fresh and new.
Verdict: BUY

Marvel NOW! Thor God Of Thunder #1 $3.99
Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: Esad Ribic
More like God of Awesome cuz that's what this #1 issue is. The cover itself should do it for you and does a great job of showing you what this book entails, a young boastful Thor, and an old God King Thor. Thor is depicted as what I like to think of as Conan the barbarian of time and space. What I mean by that is he likes his brew, his women, and he's one bad mofo as a young man and as the future king of Asgard. The tale of Thor begins with him celebrating victory. He soon finds that someone is killing gods. We also get to see the mercy and compassion of a young Thor. The art is absolutely stunning and fits all too well with this mythical beast of a book. I have never enjoyed a Thor title so thoroughly before. If there's one book to pick up of Marvel NOW! it's this one.
Verdict: BUY

Batman & Robin #14 $2.99
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi, Art: Pat Gleason, Tomas Giorello
The "zombie" horde continues on from last issue. We find out what happened to Robin at the end of last issue and it's kind of anticlimactic. There are two different artist for this title and it starts to get annoying with them constantly switching back and forth every few pages. It's not a huge transition I just wish they would stick with one or the other already as this is the second issue in a row in which they have done this. There is some good character growth and development though slow and gradual. I like this title but it's showing such little growth its almost not worth it picking up in issues.
Verdict: BUY

Batman #14 $3.99 Death Of The Family
Writer: Scott Snyder, Art: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion
First off it starts with the conclusion of Batmans encounter with Harley Quinn so if you haven't read Suicide Squad you will be confused as to what's going on. That right away put a bad taste in my mouth because when a cross over event is happening you should never feel left out or punished because you didn't pick up a tie-in. A tie-in should only enrich the story. Anyways Bruce gets some unfortunate news, Gordon rehashes the past, Dick is a dick, and Joker plays them all like a dirty dealer. The result is brutal and theatrical and it's only the beginning. The art is sleek, sharp, detailed, and precise. Joker looks absolutely demented with his own face withered and barely clinging on. There's also an extra side story that seems to be a prelude to Death of The Family about Penguin and Joker. It was pretty interesting visually and story wise.
Verdict: BUY

Batgirl #14 $2.99 Death Of The Family
Writer: Gail Simone, Art: Ed Benes, Daniel Sampere
If you're not reading this title I feel sorry for you cuz its hot cakes. Seriously if this title isn't on your subscription list you probably won't be able to find it cuz its flying off the shelves. In fact I had to borrow this one from Jbemms since I haven't added it to my list yet and didn't get to Kaboom early enough to secure an issue. Number 14  is part of the Death of The Family cross-over tie-in event. It's starts exactly where the last one left off. The Joker is all kind of effed up and especially to Barbara. Gail does an awesome job of writing such a strong and like able female character in Babs. Despite the horrid situation she almost seems to come out on top. In this issue her brother turns out to be her ace in the hole, sort of. I love to see Batgirl whoop on big ol dudes, it's so satisfying. Joker is just completely menacing and insane the way he's drawn and written. Just when you think you know him they prove you wrong. All I know is that he's one sick mothereffer and I don't want to know where he comes up with the sick crap he does. What he does makes me full of rage, hate, and nausea.
Verdict: BUY

The Walking Dead #104 $2.99
Writer/Creator: Robert Kirkman, Art: Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn
Walking Dead continues to boldly go where you would never imagine them to go. First off people are getting really pissed off at Rick for buckling under the pressure of Negan. Some of Negans men are on to Jesus and Ricks plan. Things go from bad to worse in an instant then it all goes to hell in a hand-basket. What happens blew my mind and then it gunned me down leaving me stunned not know what's going to happen or what could even happen. If you're reading this title I don't care if you're down to your last five bucks, you BUY this damn issue.
Verdict: BUY

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Skyfall "Spoiler-free" Review

If you haven't heard yet Skyfall is one of the greatest Bond movies of all time. It's all about taking it back to the basics in so many ways. It's not a deep, intricate, confusing, or convoluted plot in fact it's quite the opposite. The story is simple and pretty easy to figure out especially considering how much publicity and advertising there has been of this movie. As the saying goes its not about the destination it's about the journey or trip it took to get there. Now I know what you may be thinking, what does this have to do with anything nerdy? Well growing up as a nerd myself I have always loved Bond as he is a ladies man, drives sexy cars and shoots hot guns not to mention he always gets the bad guy no matter what. This film was full of exotic, tantalizing locations that make you feel like you're really there and who wouldn't want to be. Skyfall had everything that every 007 movie should. It had a few lovely ladies, Moneypenny, M, wit, gun fights, a villainous adversary, fast cars, Q, and lots of action. The villain played by Javier Bardem was done in such a menacing and theatrical way and you almost felt bad for him if he wasn't so easy to hate. I especially liked this one because Bond seems so relatable, human, and vulnerable. At one point they literally take it back to the basics when Bond is down to one of his classic cars, a couple of shotguns, pistols, and a knife. Somehow this formula was perfect. I can't stop thinking about how great it was in so many different ways and how much I really want to see it again. So quit wasting your time reading this and go see it already.

Verdict: BUY

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Trade of The Month

Hey friends we’re going to try doing a trade book of the month for every month starting with October. For October our Trade of The Month is Saga.

Pablo Gunner
Since issue one ifanboy, IGN, Blair Butler of G4TV, and my most reputable source, Bryan Alvarado of Kaboom Test Labs, has been raving about Saga. He was the one that convinced me to buy it once I found out it was in trade paperback. He also informed me that IMAGE, the publisher of Saga, always makes the volume 1 of a series only $10. As far as trades go that's a steal. But I’m not here to talk to you about economics I'm here to tell you about the epic tale of Saga. Two panels into this book I knew that I was going to love it. Instantly the characters were more likable and relatable than most of the books, shows, or movies that I watch. Someone told me this story was like a galactic alien Romeo and Juliet. To say that doesn’t do it justice. It’s a pitiful explanation as it’s much more than that in so many different ways. Essentially it is about two characters whose races are at war and have been for centuries. They literally just had a baby and are on the run to escape the waring planet they are on. There are a lot people or rather beings that are after them. One of them being a robot prince, another a mercenary spider-lady, not to mention the armies of the goat and winged people. The art and look is a style of its own so unique to the look of this new universe and world. The environments and people are so colorful and vibrant teeming with life and energy. The story and characters are so deep that they still resonate with me as I have an intense care and liking of them. Each character has their own tone, voice, and personality. Brian K. Vaughn has always been great at character piece driven stories but with complete creative control over the writing he absolutely makes you fall in love with these new characters and universe he has created. Saga is utterly genius in so many ways it blows my mind. I'm tempted to switch to issues but I enjoyed the trade so damn much I just might get both. This was without a doubt a BUY. Even if it is only the beginning it definitely got me hooked.
Verdict: BUY

I bought this trade at Twin Suns but you could purchase it at Age of Comics as well.

You can pick up these comics at Age Of Comics or

 Twin Suns Comics & Games

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