This is a collection of Robin stories, featuring all the Robins, from how they took on the mantle to how they left it.
Robin's an old character. I think Dick Grayson hits 60 this year so there has been a lot of ups and downs and with 4 Robins in this collection that's a long time chronologically. Many of them I read as they were published, at least Jason Todd's fall and Tim Drake's ascent, but when they're all collected in one place Batman comes across as a bit of a jerk. The reason for Dick leaving is petty, as is the decision to let Stephanie Brown take Tim Drake's position. And reading of Jason's dramatic death, followed closely with Tim Drake pushing his way in was a little odd. I wish there had been a bit more focus on what was done as Robin, rather than their origins but I guess that's what the Showcase specials are for.
Showing posts with label various. Show all posts
Showing posts with label various. Show all posts
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Brightest Day Volume One
I enjoyed Darkest Night so I thought I'd pick up the obvious sequel.
Poor Deadman. It's tough to find your way when your whole thing was that you were dead and now you're alive. It sort of defeats his purpose.
I didn't realise this was just the set up though. The series is longer than I thought it was going to be. I'll pick up the next one because I want to see how it all ends up. I suspect there might be another volume coming called No Evil Shall Escape My Sight though.
Poor Deadman. It's tough to find your way when your whole thing was that you were dead and now you're alive. It sort of defeats his purpose.
I didn't realise this was just the set up though. The series is longer than I thought it was going to be. I'll pick up the next one because I want to see how it all ends up. I suspect there might be another volume coming called No Evil Shall Escape My Sight though.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Batman War Games Act Three: End Game
It's nice to see Batman lose once in a while. Not because I want him to but because I like seeing what he comes up with on the fly.
All in all, I enjoyed the whole War Games story. It was well scripted and flowed through the different titles. There was a beginning, a middle and an end that were internally consistent (which doesn't always happen). The only question I have coming out of this is how the heck did Stephanie not die?
All in all, I enjoyed the whole War Games story. It was well scripted and flowed through the different titles. There was a beginning, a middle and an end that were internally consistent (which doesn't always happen). The only question I have coming out of this is how the heck did Stephanie not die?
Batman War Games Act Two: Tides
One of the things I really enjoy about the Bat titles is that they all work independently of each other. Not so much so that the character couldn't be doing everything at the same time (the feeling I get is that they take place within weeks of one another) but they're also close enough that when DC decides to do the big crossover event the story can spin out naturally.
I sort of knew that Tim Drake had stopped being Robin for a while because of his father and this Act deals with him putting the costume back on. I felt that it read really well, both why Tim made the decision and how it was received by his dad. That really impressed me. That they would take time from the superhero story to tell a human story.
I sort of knew that Tim Drake had stopped being Robin for a while because of his father and this Act deals with him putting the costume back on. I felt that it read really well, both why Tim made the decision and how it was received by his dad. That really impressed me. That they would take time from the superhero story to tell a human story.
Batman War Games Act One: Outbreak
Batman works best when he's one man against the mob (or the Mafia really) so I wasn't sure I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this one. I've been trying to catch up one some Batman reading since I've started collecting again and knew this one was in an interesting spot for one of my favourite characters.
I was impressed by this one. The story grows and explodes into something Batman thinks he can handle on his own to something that he has to call his whole team in on. I couldn't wait to see where it was headed.
I was impressed by this one. The story grows and explodes into something Batman thinks he can handle on his own to something that he has to call his whole team in on. I couldn't wait to see where it was headed.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up
Trying to stick to the Ultimate Spider-Man theme going on here I found a place to force in the Ultimate Marvel Team-Up. It was tough, as although all the stories in the team-up were written by Brian Michael Bendis, they don't exactly fit into the continuity.
Some of the stories are great: like the Spider-Man/X-Men story or the Spider-Man/Shang-Chi stories. Some of them are terrible: like the Spider-Man/Iron Man story. The Spider-Man/ Daredevil/Punisher story was interesting but seemed more like an excuse to write a Daredevil/Punisher story.
The quality of writing and the quality of art is all over the place with this one and I can't really recommend it as much as the series itself. There are some neat things in it and it does put Peter squarely in the Marvel universe but it could have been a lot better. I guess it gets a 2.
Some of the stories are great: like the Spider-Man/X-Men story or the Spider-Man/Shang-Chi stories. Some of them are terrible: like the Spider-Man/Iron Man story. The Spider-Man/ Daredevil/Punisher story was interesting but seemed more like an excuse to write a Daredevil/Punisher story.
The quality of writing and the quality of art is all over the place with this one and I can't really recommend it as much as the series itself. There are some neat things in it and it does put Peter squarely in the Marvel universe but it could have been a lot better. I guess it gets a 2.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Volume 3
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus 3 is completely entrenched in Season 3 of the television series. That makes it interesting in some ways because it's obvious that the season was moving faster than they could print the comics. Angel's gone for a big chunck then suddenly appears with none of the reactions from the other characters, specifically Xander, than the reader would expect if he or she had seen the show. Faith doesn't appear at all. I'm guessing she makes more of an impression in the collection.
The art is wonderful in this collection. It's easy to tell who everyone is, there's good pacing for the action (something that's very difficult to do in the comics medium), and it's fun to look at. Some of the stories fall flat unfortunately. The pacing is sometimes a little off and sometimes the continuity just doesn't work within the comic, nevermind within the broader aspect of Season 3.
"Wu -Tang Fang". Pretty good story, pretty good art. The depiction of Xander was not great. First, it didn't really look like him and second, Xander? Karate? I don't think so.
"Halloween". Meh. Another Halloween story where something goes wrong when it shouldn't. I was hoping for something a little more inspired but I think this one existed solely to set up something later in the volume.
"Cold Turkey" by Andi Watson with art by Joe Bennett and a Rick Ketchum. A throw away story. Buffy at Thanksgiving where the vampire she defeated at Halloween wants to eat her! Not that great.
"Dance with Me" by Christopher Golden with art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea. I really liked this one. It felt most like a Buffy episode. It better captured the soul of the characters and the way the show is put together. The art could have been better.
"White Christmas". Another good one.
"Happy New Year". This one's a miss.
"New Kid on the Block" by Andi Watson with art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea. This one is not good. It just doesn't work on so many levels. I don't think there's any reasonable explaination for the disappearance of a pool. Even in Sunnydale.
"Food Chain Part 1" by Christopher Golden with art by Christian Zanier and Sandu Florea. This one succeeds in all the places that "New Kid on the Block" fails.
"Play with Fire" by Christopher Golden with art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea. An attempt at a ghost story that just doesn't quite work.
"Food Chain Part 2" by Christopher Golden with art by Christian Zanier and Sandu Florea. Not as good as the first part but still and entertaining read.
"The Final Cut" by Andi Watson with art by Cliff Richards and Joe Pimentel. It's an interesting idea but doesn't really fit the Buffy gang. It's something that Cordelia would have fallen for but I don't think the others would have gotten involved.
"The Latest Craze" by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski with art by Cliff Richards and Joe Pimentel. At least the art's good. The story, again, just doesn't have the right feel. The characters act with different motivations than one might expect.
I keep getting these because I'm interested in what was done with the comics series in relation to the television series. I can appreciate the difficulty in trying to write something concurrent with something that has an actual story line. It's interesting to see them collected in chronological order. This collection is not the best work. It's a 2 out of 5.
The art is wonderful in this collection. It's easy to tell who everyone is, there's good pacing for the action (something that's very difficult to do in the comics medium), and it's fun to look at. Some of the stories fall flat unfortunately. The pacing is sometimes a little off and sometimes the continuity just doesn't work within the comic, nevermind within the broader aspect of Season 3.
"Wu -Tang Fang". Pretty good story, pretty good art. The depiction of Xander was not great. First, it didn't really look like him and second, Xander? Karate? I don't think so.
"Halloween". Meh. Another Halloween story where something goes wrong when it shouldn't. I was hoping for something a little more inspired but I think this one existed solely to set up something later in the volume.
"Cold Turkey" by Andi Watson with art by Joe Bennett and a Rick Ketchum. A throw away story. Buffy at Thanksgiving where the vampire she defeated at Halloween wants to eat her! Not that great.
"Dance with Me" by Christopher Golden with art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea. I really liked this one. It felt most like a Buffy episode. It better captured the soul of the characters and the way the show is put together. The art could have been better.
"White Christmas". Another good one.
"Happy New Year". This one's a miss.
"New Kid on the Block" by Andi Watson with art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea. This one is not good. It just doesn't work on so many levels. I don't think there's any reasonable explaination for the disappearance of a pool. Even in Sunnydale.
"Food Chain Part 1" by Christopher Golden with art by Christian Zanier and Sandu Florea. This one succeeds in all the places that "New Kid on the Block" fails.
"Play with Fire" by Christopher Golden with art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea. An attempt at a ghost story that just doesn't quite work.
"Food Chain Part 2" by Christopher Golden with art by Christian Zanier and Sandu Florea. Not as good as the first part but still and entertaining read.
"The Final Cut" by Andi Watson with art by Cliff Richards and Joe Pimentel. It's an interesting idea but doesn't really fit the Buffy gang. It's something that Cordelia would have fallen for but I don't think the others would have gotten involved.
"The Latest Craze" by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski with art by Cliff Richards and Joe Pimentel. At least the art's good. The story, again, just doesn't have the right feel. The characters act with different motivations than one might expect.
I keep getting these because I'm interested in what was done with the comics series in relation to the television series. I can appreciate the difficulty in trying to write something concurrent with something that has an actual story line. It's interesting to see them collected in chronological order. This collection is not the best work. It's a 2 out of 5.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 2
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 2 wasn't as good as the first one but was still a good read. It's still pre-Season 1 at the beginning and ends somewhere in Season 3. There are two stand out stories in this collection but none of them are terrible. Some of the art is much better in some than in others but for the most part you can still tell who's who.
"Angels We Have Seen on High" by Scott Lobdell, Fabisn Nicieza and Jeff Matsuda (art). If you've ever wanted to see Buffy with a manga-like flair this would be it. The story is too cute for words, short and even though it's a Dawn meets Angel before they get to Sunnydale, it's still a worthy story.
"A Stake to the Heart" by Fabian Nicieza, Cliff Richards (pencils) and Will Conrad (inks) with painted pages by Brian Horton. This was an awesome story. The art was beautiful and the story was moving and real and very Buffy. It's the breakup of the Summers' marriage and everything that goes along with a family falling apart. Magnified in Buffy fashion with the addition of demons. This was probably my favourite story in the bunch.
"MacGuffins" by Jen Van Meter, Luke Ross (pencils) and Rick Ketcham (inks). Meh. It was a little cartoony but did sort of capture the feeling of Season 1. Of course Season 1 was still sort of searching for the right feel to the show.
"Queen of Hearts" by Christopher Golden and Ryan Sook (art). Another Spike and Dru story. Better than the last one but not by much. It's hard to image these two doing anything that wasn't for their own advantage and the concept just didn't quite work for me.
"Ring of Fire" by Doug Petrie and Ryan Sook (art). This is the other stand out story in the collection. It's pure Buffy. And it should be with Doug Petrie supplying the script. It's in Season 2 with Angel being Angelus and just after the death of Jenny Calender. It really captures some of the emotions that were going on between the gang during that time. With a plot that works really well in the Buffy universe and for where it fits in the continuity.
"Paint the Town Red" by James Marsters, Christopher Golden and Ryan Sook (art). Yet another Spike and Dru story. This is the best so far though with the motivations being a little more true to character and the dialogue a little less stilted. Still, I think they could have just left the Spike and Dru stuff out of the Omnibus and focused on Buffy and crew.
"The Dust Waltz" by Dan Brereton, Hector Gomez (pencils) and Sandu Florea (inks). I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I kind of enjoyed it but didn't like the introduction of Giles' niece. The art was nice but the characters didn't have much expression. It felt a bit rushed at the end but there wasn't quite enough material to cover two issues. It's not the weakest story in the collection, I'd say middle of the pack.
Overall the second Omnibus is an interesting read. It's interesting to see what other authors want to slip into the spaces between episodes and between seasons of the show. I'm going to give it a 3 out of 5.
"Angels We Have Seen on High" by Scott Lobdell, Fabisn Nicieza and Jeff Matsuda (art). If you've ever wanted to see Buffy with a manga-like flair this would be it. The story is too cute for words, short and even though it's a Dawn meets Angel before they get to Sunnydale, it's still a worthy story.
"A Stake to the Heart" by Fabian Nicieza, Cliff Richards (pencils) and Will Conrad (inks) with painted pages by Brian Horton. This was an awesome story. The art was beautiful and the story was moving and real and very Buffy. It's the breakup of the Summers' marriage and everything that goes along with a family falling apart. Magnified in Buffy fashion with the addition of demons. This was probably my favourite story in the bunch.
"MacGuffins" by Jen Van Meter, Luke Ross (pencils) and Rick Ketcham (inks). Meh. It was a little cartoony but did sort of capture the feeling of Season 1. Of course Season 1 was still sort of searching for the right feel to the show.
"Queen of Hearts" by Christopher Golden and Ryan Sook (art). Another Spike and Dru story. Better than the last one but not by much. It's hard to image these two doing anything that wasn't for their own advantage and the concept just didn't quite work for me.
"Ring of Fire" by Doug Petrie and Ryan Sook (art). This is the other stand out story in the collection. It's pure Buffy. And it should be with Doug Petrie supplying the script. It's in Season 2 with Angel being Angelus and just after the death of Jenny Calender. It really captures some of the emotions that were going on between the gang during that time. With a plot that works really well in the Buffy universe and for where it fits in the continuity.
"Paint the Town Red" by James Marsters, Christopher Golden and Ryan Sook (art). Yet another Spike and Dru story. This is the best so far though with the motivations being a little more true to character and the dialogue a little less stilted. Still, I think they could have just left the Spike and Dru stuff out of the Omnibus and focused on Buffy and crew.
"The Dust Waltz" by Dan Brereton, Hector Gomez (pencils) and Sandu Florea (inks). I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I kind of enjoyed it but didn't like the introduction of Giles' niece. The art was nice but the characters didn't have much expression. It felt a bit rushed at the end but there wasn't quite enough material to cover two issues. It's not the weakest story in the collection, I'd say middle of the pack.
Overall the second Omnibus is an interesting read. It's interesting to see what other authors want to slip into the spaces between episodes and between seasons of the show. I'm going to give it a 3 out of 5.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 1
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 1 is a collection of Dark Horse comics' Buffy series. The interesting thing is that the collection is in chronological order rather than publication order. It's like it's Season 0 of the television series. The book opens with a Spike and Drusilla story and moves into the original screenplay for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. The book ends with Buffy ready to take on the mantle of the Slayer after leaving a mental institution.
I'm just going to do a quick run down of the stories in the book:
"All's Fair" by Christopher Golden, Eric Powell (pencils), Drew Geraci and Keith Barnett (inks). This is the Spike and Dru story, and probably the weakest of the bunch. This is where the chronological nature of the book does a little harm because it's not the best story to draw people in. Even the big Spike fans. It takes place at the World's Fair in 1933 so it gets first place.
"Buffy: The Origin" by Dan Brereton, Christopher Golden, Joe Bennet (pencils) and Rick Ketcham (inks). Based on the original screenplay by Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer the movie this does more than take the lead character and draw her like Sara Michelle Geller. It removes so much of the campiness and makes it such a better story. Buffy becomes more like the character that I remember from the series.
"Viva Las Buffy!" by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Cliff Richards (pencils) and Will Conrad (inks). Buffy! In Vegas! This was kind of an amusing story. What does a brand new Slayer do without a Watcher? Run from her responsibilities it seems. This one has an appearance of Angel watching over her as she becomes used to the being the Slayer and answers the question of Pike.
"Dawn and Hoopy the Bear" by Paul Lee. OK, I admit it. I liked this story better than I thought I would. It was cute, it was funny, it was Buffy. It's tough because it's all about Dawn, who really didn't exist, only remembered as if she had, so I'm not sure how she'd have a whole incident to herself but the story is enough to give it a pass.
"Slayer, Interrupted" by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Cliff Richards (pencils) and Will Conrad (inks). My favourite in the collection. Taken from one of my favourite episodes in the whole series. Buffy goes to the mental institution. In the show it was mentioned that she'd been in one before getting to Sunnydale and this is the story of what happened to her while she was there. It tells how the girl that was dropped into the role of the Slayer really took it on and became what she was meant to be. A subplot of how Giles became her Watcher is also included and presents some interesting ideas on what it really meant to him.
The whole book I'm giving a 4 out of 5. I really liked this one with just a couple of exceptions.
I'm just going to do a quick run down of the stories in the book:
"All's Fair" by Christopher Golden, Eric Powell (pencils), Drew Geraci and Keith Barnett (inks). This is the Spike and Dru story, and probably the weakest of the bunch. This is where the chronological nature of the book does a little harm because it's not the best story to draw people in. Even the big Spike fans. It takes place at the World's Fair in 1933 so it gets first place.
"Buffy: The Origin" by Dan Brereton, Christopher Golden, Joe Bennet (pencils) and Rick Ketcham (inks). Based on the original screenplay by Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer the movie this does more than take the lead character and draw her like Sara Michelle Geller. It removes so much of the campiness and makes it such a better story. Buffy becomes more like the character that I remember from the series.
"Viva Las Buffy!" by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Cliff Richards (pencils) and Will Conrad (inks). Buffy! In Vegas! This was kind of an amusing story. What does a brand new Slayer do without a Watcher? Run from her responsibilities it seems. This one has an appearance of Angel watching over her as she becomes used to the being the Slayer and answers the question of Pike.
"Dawn and Hoopy the Bear" by Paul Lee. OK, I admit it. I liked this story better than I thought I would. It was cute, it was funny, it was Buffy. It's tough because it's all about Dawn, who really didn't exist, only remembered as if she had, so I'm not sure how she'd have a whole incident to herself but the story is enough to give it a pass.
"Slayer, Interrupted" by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Cliff Richards (pencils) and Will Conrad (inks). My favourite in the collection. Taken from one of my favourite episodes in the whole series. Buffy goes to the mental institution. In the show it was mentioned that she'd been in one before getting to Sunnydale and this is the story of what happened to her while she was there. It tells how the girl that was dropped into the role of the Slayer really took it on and became what she was meant to be. A subplot of how Giles became her Watcher is also included and presents some interesting ideas on what it really meant to him.
The whole book I'm giving a 4 out of 5. I really liked this one with just a couple of exceptions.
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