Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes, page 58

Book Review: Big Hero 6, V.2

Big Hero 6, Vol. 2 by Haruki Ueno

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The second half of the Big Hero 6 manga brings the story to a great conclusion, packing tall the emotional punch of the movie. The one negative is the book's pacing. It dispenses more backstory and in the middle of the action in a way that slow's the book's pacing down.

Still, it's an enjoyable expansion of the movie with a couple twists thrown in.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Captain America: Patriot

Captain America: Patriot by Karl Kesel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Captain America: Patriot collects Captain America: Patriot #1-4, The 70th Anniversary All Winners Squad #1, and What If? Volume 1 #4

What If? #4 is at the back of the book and it contains the story in which Roy Thomas tried to explain the fact that while Stan Lee retconned Cap as being frozen in ice during World War II, he continued to have comic adventures years after the war. The explanation was that there were idifferent Captain Americas who took up a shield. This book focuses on Jeff Mace, the third Captain America who operated during the War under the name the Patriot.

Captain America: The Patriot is a well-written, emotionally strong piece. The art is painted by Steve Uy and it really is gorgeous to behold. The self is solid if a bit heavy handed about the Cold War.

The All Winners 70th Anniversary story was a bit of a mess. The art is very off with some very odd poses. The story of a Zombie invasion of New York seems just to be riffing off Walking Dead. The focus on Mace is okay, but the story is below par overall.

Of course, the classic What If? comic is very good as Roy Thomas develops a really fine yarn. It's reprinted in the What If? collections but I still found it a treat to read. Overall, I found this book a very pleasant surprise. It's so nice to have a title really make this much effort to honor a little remembered hero. Overall, a very enjoyable book.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 3: The Daredevil You Know

Daredevil, Vol. 3: The Daredevil You Know by Mark Waid

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Daredevil you know continues the saga of Matt Murdoch in San Francisco in Issues 11-15 of the last Mark Waid volume of Daredevil.

Issues 11 and 12 feature a return engagement for Stuntmaster, who faced Daredevil several times in the 1970s. There's a mystery as well as an examination of Matt's relationship with one of his long-time frienimies.

Issue 13 finds Matt nervous about Kirsten McDuffie, his girlfriend who he fears will face the same sort of fate as past love interests as she appears to be being stalked by a dangerous criminal.

Then Issues 14 and 15 feature a bit of a sea change as Matt decides to radically change his look as Daredevil as his outlook as Matt Murdoch. However, his life is subject to some unexpected complications when the daughter of an archenemy turns to him for help and a turn of events sends him desperately to an unexpected source for help.

Overall, this penultimate book another solid volume in Waid's run on Daredevil. So much of the character work Waid has done since the last series is coming to fruition here. Overall, this is a superb collection.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Captain America: White

Captain America: White by Jeph Loeb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Captain America: White is a well-done and well-drawn tale of Captain America, Bucky, and Sergeant Fury and his Howling Commandos in the midst of World War II. It works very well and I think there are a lot of good moments, as well as some very emotional ones.

As good as Captain America: White is, it tries too hard to be better: to be this transcendent emotional tale of Captain America and his regret over losing Bucky at the end of the War. Part of this is that Ed Brubaker's recent retcons have somewhat undermined the long-time narrative of the Marvel universe but the biggest factor again is that I think they tried way too much. Still, it's not a bad book for what it is if you can past its unfulfilled ambition.



View all my reviews

Superman/Batman: Dawn of Justice Thoughts

***Spoilers Ahead***

Positives:

---The film takes a look at the question of theodicy (the problem of evil) and the answer has some great parallels and a powet rful reflection of the gospel message.

---I have to admit that I enjoyed the scene of Bruce Wayne reacting to the destruction of Metropolis during the War with Zod. It really did humanize him and at least show where the seed of his mad actions in this movie came from. I really thought Afleck did a good job with the material presented to him.

---The scenes with Wonder Woman were very good. She was scene stealing and refreshing and I couldn't help but wish I was watching a movie featuring her which is the problem when you have great character in a movie with characters who have been annoying out of character. It makes you long for something better and then you realize the same creative team would have influence over the project. (Ooh, I guess I should officially shift to the negatives.)

Negatives:

---Lex Luthor. Did Jesse Eisenberg really want to play the Joker in Suicide Squad and just decide to give the same performance. Here we have the cool calculating genius of Lex Luthor reduced to a hyperactive psychopathic twit. This was a painful performance to watch. Simply awful.

---Martha. Really? That changes the whole movie. Batman turns on a dime.

---Amy Adams was good in Man of Steel. In this film, I don't think she was given material worthy of her.

---That whole fight between Clark Kent and Perry White over covering Batman didn't really go anywhere.

---When you've got a hammer, everything looks like a nail. There are certain storytelling techniques that can be great if used sparingly and intelligently. In Batman/Superman, they have too many dramatic clip mixes over things that aren't really dramatic, conversations with dead relatives, dream sequences, etc. The film uses these too much, greatly lessening their impact.

---The pacing is horrible. There are some good parts but you have to sit through so much unnecessary and dull dreck to get to it. It's not until the final half hour that we see Wonder Woman or Superman the seminal battle.

Overall, this film was bad It was tedious, overwritten, and a chore to watch. I will need some very solid reviews before I'd consider watching another installment in this series.

Rating: 3.5/10

Book Review; The Tick: Color, Series 2

The Tick: Color Series 2 by Clay Griffith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The previous Tick Color volume was a disappointment as most of the issues seemed focus seemed be on the Ticks one-note and somewhat unlikable team rather than on the Tick and Arthur. The second volume is written entirely by Clay and Susan Griffith who put the focus squarely back where it belongs.

The books begins with the six issue, "Days of Drama" miniseries which immediately ships Arthur and all the Tick's team off to Blissville where life for a hero is easy. The Tick has to soldier alone against the city's villains until a mentor comes to help him achieve success. Meanwhile Arthur adjusts to life as a hero in a town where supervillain fights are pre-scheduled and everything's beautiful or is it. This is probably the most focused Storyline in Tick history, its. has a lot of humor, but does respect the Tick and Arthur as characters. The result is a very strong enjoyable comic arc that's very well written.

Next up is a three Issue "X-Mas Trilogy" that has the Tick wanting to put on a Christmas Pageant and has to join forces with such arch-rivals as Chairface Chippendale and the Terror to pull off it, though of course, ulterior are involved. The story is a fun read and manages to work its multiple characters in well. The pageant idea with its cornucopia of crazy idea kind of reminds me of the Charlie Brown Christmas special. Overall, a nice story though it's no days of Drama.

Finally is a single issue Comic Con special which finds the Tick at Comic Con along with his team who are jealous and want to dump the Tick from their team but need to enlist the help of Arthur. The story is funny, heart warming, and the end result of the team's actions is a great moment that made me very happy as a fan.

Overall, this is a thoroughly modern series of comics that capture what's fun about the Tick and is probably the most consistently good volume of Tick stories since Ben Edlund.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Batman, Volume One: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics: 1966-1967

Batman, Volume One: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics: 1966-1967 by Whitney Ellsworth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Batman comics enter the goofy zone in this collection of Batman Newspaper strips from 1966 and 1967. These are from different from the 1940s strips which were mostly serious (or as serious Batman comic strips were at the time.) Here, the full on goofiness of the TV series is reflected in this collection with many stories told with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The series featured villains such as Cat-woman, the Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, and the Riddler along with an early appearance by Batgirl before she appeared on television. The highlights of the book were in the last half of it which included not only the Batgirl story, but also a story guest starring Jack Benny as well as an epic 9 month tale (the aftermath of which we won't actually see until the next book.)

These stories are interesting. Even as someone who enjoys a little Silver Age silliness, I will confess there were a few storylines I found to be a little too over the top for my liking, but overall I found the book to be fairly fun. The strips are nicely curated with notes on each strip story as well as a great deal of background material which makes this a treat for any collector.



View all my reviews

Book Review: The Rocketeer/the Spirit: Pulp Friction

The Rocketeer / The Spirit: Pulp Friction by Paul Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This tale teams Will Eisner's Spirit with Dave Stevens' Rocketeer in a battle against a villain who has a scheme involving the naescent medium of television.

The art is good. The story itself is okay. While the characters weren't poorly characterized, it felt like writer Mark Waid was running down a checklist for superhero crossovers. He hit most of them in this four issue story, but that weakened the story itself. Okay, but ultimately forgettable



View all my reviews

Book Review: Amazing Spider-man: The Spirits of Earth

Amazing Spider-Man: Spirits of the Earth by Charles Vess

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Charles Vess sends Spider-man to Scotland in this 1990 Graphic Novel and thoe results are a joy to behold. The book was published at a time when comic book artwork really tended towards the garish. Vess gives his readers a beautifully painted book that imbues his Scottish setting with atmosphere and a sense of foreboding and makes are characters look exciting and vibrant.

The story itself is good if not particularly remarkable. It's an old spooky Highland mystery that Spider-man sets out to solve. It's a bit out of his normal line, but the story all plays out very well and the art makes it a must-read.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Essential Captain America, Volume 2

Essential Captain America, Vol. 2 by Stan Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book collects Issues 103-126 of Captain America comics from the 1960s.

Artistically, this book is a treasure trove of the best work done on Captain America. Issues #103-109 and 112 are done by Captain America Co-creator Jack Kirby, with Issues 110, 111, and 113 being in the unimitable style of one of the 1960s most distinct aritsts, Jim Steranko, Issues 116-128 are done by the legendary Gene Colan (well known for his work on Daredevil) and his Captain America work is equally good. The other issues are done by John Romita and John Buscema.

In terms of writing, their are highs, but also a few mediocre stories tossed in. There a couple different appearances by the Red Skull including an epic multi-issue story that sees the Red Skull having reacquired the Cosmic Cube and taking on the form of Captain America while Steve Rogers is consigned to the Skull's body. This book also sees the introduction of long-time Captain America ally the Falcon. Beyonde that, Cap battles Commies, AIM, Hydra, the Mandarin, and a host of ne'er do-wells.

The writing suffers mainly in the ongoing Sharon Carter/Agent 13 storyline/love story that is never quite compelling (at least to a modern reader) and is at times annoying. At the same time after the epic Red Skull story, the comic's became one part stories which often felt like they needed more space.

Still, whatever deficiencies there are in Stan Lee's writing are more than made up for by the absolutely dynamic art that graces every page. Overall, this is a great volume of Captain America art and comic book tales.



View all my reviews