Comic Reviews: Civil War II and All-Star Batman!

COMIC REVIEWS!

Civil War II #8 (of 8) (Marvel Comics)

SPOILERS

After a long and very delayed road, Civil War II has come to an end. I wish I could tell you that the Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez event bucks the trend of lame final issues for Marvel events, but unfortunately that is not the case. In fact, Civil War II’s final issue ranks as not only one of the worst final issues of a Marvel event, but also one of the worst comics of the year.

The WORST of 2016

I think a lot of us can agree that by and large, 2016 was a pretty bad year all around. Nearly every major blockbuster movie disappointed, the country showed us how terrible it can be, and we lost a ton of great performers and celebrities to the man upstairs. That’s what makes this installment of my annual ‘Worst of” lists so much more difficult. In a year as crappy as this one, how can you choose the absolute crap of the crap? Well my friends, I’ve thought long and hard about this one, and after much deliberation, I give you my absolute WORST of 2016.

Comic Reviews: Justice League vs. Suicide Squad and Locke and Key: Small World!

COMIC REVIEWS!!!

Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1 (of 6) (DC Comics)

There’s a lot of hype surrounding Justice League vs. Suicide Squad. As the first major event of the DC Rebirth era, DC is putting out all the stops for this one. Up and coming writer Joshua Williamson is handling the script duties, and the series will host a who’s who of top DC art talent, with this first issue featuring the one and only Jason Fabok. While putting this much marketing and hype behind something is usually a recipe for failure, it’s a relief to see that that’s not the case with this opening issue.

Movie Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendehlson, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed

Directed By: Gareth Edwards

MILD SPOILERS

More so than The Force Awakens, Rogue One needs to succeed. As the first of the anthology Star Wars films, there’s a lot at stake for the future of the franchise riding on the shoulders of director Gareth Edwards’ film. If it fails, we’d still get Star Wars movies, but ones that would strictly be within the “saga”, which would be a waste for a franchise so rich with potential. As much as I love Star Wars, I don’t want to be watching adventures of Finn and Rey in “Episode 19”. With Rogue One, the possibilities exist for the franchise to continue on outside of the Skywalker family and those around them, and Rogue One is a pretty damn good start for this area of the franchise.

Comic Reviews: Inhumans vs X-Men and The Flash!

COMIC REVIEWS!!

Inhumans vs. X-Men #1 (of 6) (Marvel Comics)

The throw down Marvel fans have been waiting for is here: Inhumans vs. X-Men (or IvX if you want to be picky). The past few years have been quite a ride for both franchises, as Marvel has made a pretty obvious ploy to play up the Inhumans while distancing themselves from the X-Men. It hasn’t worked, but IvX is the latest attempt by Marvel to try and get people to care as much about the Inhumans as they do about the X-Men. With Charles Soule and Jeff Lemire writing, and Leinil Yu drawing, it’s clear that Marvel really wants this one to work (especially because it’ll lead into their RessurXion event), but does it all add up to a readable event?

Spidey Comes Home!

At long last, the first trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming is here, and it is glorious! It’s got seemingly everything I’ve been waiting for in a Spider-Man movie: quips, solid Peter Parker moments, a badass Vulture (played by Michael Keaton no less), and numerous references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It almost feels too good to be true.

Comic Reviews: Star Wars: Dr. Aphra and Superman!

COMIC REVIEWS!!!

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1 (Marvel Comics)

Of the vast characters in the Star Wars universe, it’s a little odd that Doctor Aphra would be the next one to get an ongoing series. After appearing in the Darth Vader series, Aphra certainly became pretty popular, but even with that, it’s a little surprising to see her name with a new #1 behind it. Luckily Vader writer Kieron Gillen is on hand to write this series along with artist Kev Walker. Since Aphra’s the first original Marvel Star Wars character to get her own series, this is pretty cool. But is this a book that’s worthy of a monthly series? After reading this first issue that’s tough to say.

Gold and Blue Team Assemble!

Like most Marvel press releases, we now know the fallout of their next big event before it even began. Yes, the events of Inhumans vs. X-Men will lead to “RessurXion”, which will feature the return of the Gold and Blue teams of X-Men that were made popular in the 90’s. Until now we didn’t know who was going to be a part of these teams or the creative teams involved, but now we finally have an idea (and it probably hasn’t spoiled Inhumans vs. X-Men at all-not).

Comic Reviews: Ghost Rider and Suicide Squad!

Ghost Rider #1 (Marvel Comics)

I’ll be honest; I wasn’t the biggest fan of All-New Ghost Rider. While I admired the art by Tradd Moore, the series that introduced Robbie Reyes to the world just didn’t do much for me. Maybe it was because Johnny Blaze will always be my favorite Ghost Rider, or maybe it was the fact that this time the Rider drove a muscle car instead of motorcycle, but something just didn’t click with me. Despite this, the Robbie Reyes version of the character has a pretty devoted following, and he’s returned with a brand new series written by Reyes create Felipe Smith, with art from Danillo Beyruth. Unfortunately this new series doesn’t do much to convince me to keep following this Rider’s adventures.