April 2, 2014 Comic Week in Review

Pablo Gunner uses the little intelligence he has to muster up some written comic book reviews of the titles that he thinks his fellow nerds would want to know about most and the books that didn’t quite make it onto the Comicast. Read these reviews of WHAT IF AGE OF ULTRON #1, SHE-HULK #3, MAGNETO #2, LOKI AGENT OF ASGARD #3, MOVEMENT #11.

MOVEMENT #11

(W) Gail Simone (A) Freddie E. Williams (CA) Raymund Bermudez

2.99

This book makes me a little uncomfortable at times. I say that because Gail Simone puts these characters in situations that should make you feel uneasy. It seems like she addresses social, political, and religious issues unlike an other comic out there without becoming preachy or overbearing. In this instance you see a “religious” man strike a woman without hesitation or any sign of guilt in fact the character seems more than happy with himself whereas I just felt rage and disgust towards this man. This book also shows different elements of the religious zealot whether it be the fanaticism, hypocrisy, corruption, and of the like without feeling like the writer is attacking religious or religious figures though I can’t deny this character reminds me of the southern baptist leader that recently passed. I’m not saying that the guy in this is like that person but thats what it made me think of. This story has deeper meanings to them and thats what I really like about this title. It tackles these issues without going too deep. In the end though its really about family and standing up for the people you care about. The artist does another astonishing job too. The lines aren’t too heavy. Its a great in-between an indie style of art and mainstream. The colors are strong. There really isn’t anything to complain about in this book. It continues to be one of the best books we pick up while it continues to be fresh and unpredictable from issue to issue.

Verdict: STRONG BUY

LOKI AGENT OF ASGARD #3 ANMN

(W) Al Ewing (A) Lee Garbett (CA) Jenny Frison

2.99

I never read the first issue of this title so I may be completely wrong when I say that this issue was totally out there. This story had absolutely nothing to do with the last issue. Whereas in issue two it seemed like a teen or possibly tween Loki was assembling his own Oceans 11 heist team of Asgardians. This story is entirely about an old man Loki playing out a master plan on the young Prince Odin Borson, to change the future of Loki. At first I was a little annoyed because it did not get back to where it left off but at a certain point I stopped caring because of how intrigued I was. Old man Loki seems like a creep at first but over time you realize his brilliance. I couldn’t care less that this issue had nothing to with the previous one because it was so interesting, fun, and intriguing to read. It messes with your mind a little bit as you’re not sure whether old man Loki is changing history or ensuring it. The art captures the look, feel, aesthetic, and tone of Asgard tremendously. I’d love to see more of this and if it ties into the previous story at all. I won’t deny that annoyed and pissed me off at first that this had nothing to do with issue two but I got over it an enjoyed it for what it is. Its a phenomenal one-shot thus far I just hope it continues as it seems to be an interesting, unique, different take on old man Loki.

Verdict BUY

MAGNETO #2 ANMN

(W) Cullen Bunn (A) Gabriel Hernandez Walta (CA) Chris Samnee

3.99

This may not be the title or story I was expecting it to be but it's not bad. I was hoping and expecting this title to be Magneto attempting a more pacifist way of reaching his goals. In other words I thought he was going to start being more like Xavier. With Xavier dead it only makes sense that Erik start taking over for him as in Age of Apocalypse and Days of Futures Past. He's even mentioned in other books that he needs to change his ways and methods ever since the professors unfortunate death. This is not that book. This is the same old Magneto with not as strong powers getting to the bottom of some conspiracy of omega sentinel human hybrids. In the last issue Magneto hunts down a man that killed mutants only to discover that it was a sentinel human hybrid unbeknownst to himself. Erik or Max, as he takes on the name of in this story, finds a camp of people that have been getting abducted. We get to see some dark and interesting flashbacks from when Max, as his friends called him back when he was in the ghetto of Nazi Germany. The flashback reflects how it has taught him the lesson of desperation and how to use that tool against a captured, helpless man. The art is dark, with lots of thin lines, retaining somewhat of a sketchy look. The color scheme maintains a dark tones with flashes and bursts of powerful colors consisting mostly of reds and oranges. On it's own it's a very solid book. The story is interesting as he's unraveling this mystery. The most unfortunate thing about this title is that we aren't really getting anything different from Magneto as a character. There’s no character development or growth. It’s just classic Erik “Magnus” Lehnsherr.

Verdict: weak BUY

SHE-HULK #3 ANMN

(W) Charles Soule (A) Javier Pulido (CA) Kevin Wada

2.99

In this issue we have the son of Victor Von Doom, Kristoph Vernard, trying to gain political asylum and Jennifer Walters seems to be the only attorney with the fortitude to get it done. Of course this comes with many complications with She-Hulk being the perfect person to take on this job. It's a rush for time as the deadline is about to expire for his extradition. Doom catches wind of this traitorous act and does his best to put a halt to this little plan. She-Hulk faces off against Doombots and flies the famous, classic Fantastic Four car aka Fantasticar. As much as I have complained about this book in the past the art is good but it still irritates me how ugly She-Hulk looks. The panel designs and structuring in this issue is phenomenal. Something about the art is very retro to me.  This book seems like a mix of Hawkeye and FF because there's random stuff going on but there is actually a thru-line not to mention it looks like a mix of the two as well. It was fun and it seems this story continues into the next issue. It's an enjoyable book but the fact that this books main character is a female and she looks hideous holds it back from being a must read title.

Verdict: weak BUY

WHAT IF AGE OF ULTRON #1 (OF 5)

(W) Joe Keatinge (A) Raffaele Ienco (CA) Chris Stevens

3.99

These “What If” event books have seemed to be a twisted version that pales in comparison to the originals. Honestly it only makes sense that a shorter limited series ripoff wouldn’t be as good but it appears more often than not that they veer off in left field after an issue or two. This one doesn’t wait at all to veer off into left field as it starts with Janet Van Dyne’s death then jumps to the “Age of Ultron.” Hank Pym appears to be the only superhero left and most of the book is him explaining how things came to be that way. In the end he decides to make his attack on Ultron only to find out that this isn’t the first time he has done this. In fact this is an endless cycle that Ultron uses to torment him. It was really weird. Before reading it I knew it was supposed to be a limited series but it confused me because at the end it specifically says, “The End.” The art looked great through and through. It was mostly dark except for the beginning with Wasp. It did a good job of emulating the depressing, desolate, robot controlled world that Ultron had taken over. Overall it wasn’t that interesting until the end. I wonder what the next issue will be about or be like considering how this one ended but I wouldn’t recommend purchasing this.

Verdict: weak SKIM

You can pick up these comics at Age Of Comics, Kaboom Test Labs, or 

Twin Suns Comics & Games