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5 (199) 4 (336) 3 (152) 2 (32) 1 (5) 4.1 starsAverage score of 704 user reviews
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"Be Serious. Look at my Track Record..." 0
I first want to point out that the cover is intense and really comes as a WTF after reading the end of the issues before, but the cover makes sense with what is contained in the issue in review. With the limitation of a three issue story arc, the stories narration now takes a shift into the rest of the story being told almost like it is told over a symbolic campfire of conquest over a life and death situation and that stays to the bitter end with the final page working again like a giant joke. ...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
MurderWorld on MurderIsland 0
The second issues I felt was rushed because of the page count of a 3 issues arc. With the premise of Wolverine and Black Cat are being Hunted, the comic series could of been longer and like how the Punisher stories had over the top explosions and unrealistic violence, this issues suffers from it as well. The scene I remember most vividly is Black Cat holding a hunter, hunter electrocutes her by pushing a button, he walks away safe, while she is stunned. I am not sure if Marvel science is diff...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
Sharpening the Claws 0
The collective duo of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray have won DCU fans hearts with series like Jonah Hex and Power Girl, but those two tackle Marvel as well and although their Punisher stories I felt lackluster, this mini series I felt had the comedy of Power Girl with at times the violence of Hex, wonderfully illustrated by Joesph Linsner with my favorite former Vertigo editor Axel Alonso making sure the series runs well. Issue #1 sets up the premise. Wolverine and Black Cat are up on an ...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
:) 2
I love anthologies and I enjoy Paul Pope and one of my absolute favorite members of comic ( Roxanne Starr) I guess knew this and pushed this book in my direction. As the letter of the book, Roxanne Starr knew first hand how great it is and I agree it is great. [For Roxanne Starr: I am really grateful to her that this was my birthday present from her this year and thank you very much Rx it was a great read and you were right I loved it.]This is not the first Factoid Book I read, but this one I ...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
How much more of Alan Moore's work will Geoff Johns run with? 33
The mainstream and me are not the best of friends at times and Brightest Day (BD) was one of those books felt I could drop after issue #0 (which I admit I purchased for the ring... holds his head down in shame.. pauses... and continues). I didn't care I was not following Geoff Johns monthly taking over mainstream comics. I was reading his Blackest Night and GL stuff, but when BD started, I just took the opportunity to save money (with BD being Bi-monthly and so many cross-overs) I rather save ...
41 out of 43 found this review helpful. -
Desire the Right 0
The only flaw to reading Grant Morrison's Batman monthly is that the pieces to the puzzle come slowly, but surely. There is a great advantage to rereading Morrison's Batman in trade, which I do recommend, since he has really brought back the "Detective Comics" dealing with Batman.The arc that started in issue #3 is still panning out till now, Bruce and Gaucho don't make as much impact as they could of in this issue, since this issue was more about The oroboro that Morrison is slowly explaining...
7 out of 9 found this review helpful. -
I am having Phantom Pains 5
This issue comes out at an awkward time for a hardcore Hellblazer fan and/or Peter Milligan fan, Vertigo clearly doesn't like when he gets his groove going. What I mean by that is the miss handling of Greek Street where it was announced canceled during the Ajax arc (which was my favorite arc) and now early this week Hellblazer has been removed from the subscription list and I am hoping that was an honest mistake, if not you can read my disapproval on my most recent blog ( Here).If I am not...
8 out of 8 found this review helpful. -
Ace of Killers is full of Aces! 4 Stars. 6
Forgive me if I am misremembering this, but Garth Ennis was no longer on Hellblazer and it was Paul Jenkins on the book at the time. If I remember correctly again, Preacher was still young and "The Preacher formula" was not perfected yet. If both bits of memory serve correctly, then it makes sense that this story feels like a narrative between what Ennis did in Hellblazer (making John the King of Cons and master of messing with Demons) and what Preacher would be (over the top middle finger to ...
7 out of 7 found this review helpful. -
Symbols and Archetypes, how they never really change 2
What is the nice about the Thrillkiller universe is the look of the book. Dan Brereton really does a great job on the art of this book to capture Howard Chaykin's street level pulp crime universe set in an alternate 1961-62 time frame. This book explores the "Bat" mythos as Batgirl being the linchpin character instead of Bruce Wayne as Batman. Many of the embodied characteristics of each familiar character stay true in this universe, such as the heroes stay heroes while the villains are sti...
8 out of 8 found this review helpful. -
Back to thrill in 62 0
What I enjoyed about the Thrillkiller universe is that the mythos is changed but the archetypes stay the same. Bruce, Barbara, Dick, Alfred, James Gordon, etc, all stay true to the person they are in the main DCU; A Hero stays a hero and a villain the same.The Sequel I must admit is not as good as the original series because I think Howard Chaykin was just tweaking Batman history to fit his universe. A Female Robin like Frank Miller's Dark Knight returns, Roy Harper hooked on drugs, the Joker...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
"-- Once the genie's out of the bottle..." 2
I have to start off by saying I absolutely love this cover, every pulp crime novel cover. The Smoking gun is a very nice touch, but I want to point out how Dick Grayson almost becomes the second Robin in this cover, cold calculated face of a killer with a gun in both hands. By foreshadowing the Jason Todd look, the ending makes a lot of sense, one door closes for another to open if you will.I do think this mini series could of stretched to four issues before the sequel, but I am not complainin...
6 out of 6 found this review helpful. -
"Any more twisted and I'd have to arrest you." 0
In book two of Thrillkiller, Chaykin panders to the Dick Grayson fans. This issue fleshes out the romance of this Elseworld Batgirl and Robin, with a weird triangle that ties in Bruce Wayne. In this universe Grayson is not an orphan before becoming Robin, he falls into the role of Robin because of love, where I felt that their was almost an Oedipus desire for Barbara, which is an angle of their romance I don't know if it has been explored.What makes a good crime story strong is a few things, o...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
"-- You Don't Know Who Or What You're Dealing With!" 2
I do enjoy Elseworlds stories when written well and Howard Chaykin can write a good noir story. In his reimage of Gotham, Bruce Wayne is not rich and had to sell his mansion, but is the G.C.P.D.'s best cop. The Thrillkiller Dynamic Duo is Barbara Gordon as Batgirl and grown up Dick Grayson as Robin. To keep with the noir time, this book is set in the 60's where the Beatles never became a band, JFK is not dead and Elvis is not in the army.This comic is illustrated in paint and really give life...
9 out of 9 found this review helpful. -
The Happy Ghost 2
A nice way to celebrate the one-year mark is to almost do a new start. Issue #12 is Ellie's story and is actually takes place before issue #1. This jumping around is a problem I have with the I, Zombie series. The two House of Mystery stories place themselves awkwardly reading when released, so far the first story I assume is collected as the primer story before issue #1 in the trade, The second House of Mystery story is likely a primer for the next trade. The Ellie origin feels like left-ov...
8 out of 8 found this review helpful. -
The study of symbols 2
Think of this book along the lines of Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. "Comics" in the most purist of sense is semiotics in its best form. Semiotics is the studies of "symbols" as communications. A picture of a pipe is not a pipe, but we understand it as a pipe. The letters you are reading are just lines and curves after all, but we are taught to decipher it a certain way. I think that is what I like about this book, semiotics is about communication and comics are much more then pi...
7 out of 7 found this review helpful. -
W.A.N.T.E.D. 2
When I started reading comics, Wally West was the Flash. Some fans of my era see Geoff Johns' as changing the DCU so he can write the characters he knows and loves instead of the mantle holders that were around when he started off at DC. With a lot of new fans coming into comics, it is nice that Johns is making comics accessible again. His work on Green Lantern will sure to bring in more comic readers after the 2011 movie. The Flash under his control is the same thing, it is bringing it new ...
9 out of 9 found this review helpful. -
X-ING 0
With Gus and Jepperd not being in the last issue, this issue can be the jump in point if you wanted to save the $3 and not read the last issue. This issues sums up the basics of the last issue; the three girls left camp and now Gus and Jepperd need to find them. The first arc, Out of the Woods, is the Gus story. Gus being the main character and he messiah character of this post-apocalyptic story. The 2nd arc deals a lot with Jepperd and while Gus is physically "In Captivity", Jepperd is tie...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Four artist to start the 4th arc, makes sense to me. 0
This issues I was waiting to read from the very first Q & A about Sweet Tooth at the Vol. 1 book Launch in Toronto. I remember how it came up, I asked Jeff if there would be any "Guest" writers on Sweet Tooth? I know he is a fan of Jason Aaron, who still kind of is a Vertigo House mate and I was hoping if Aaron did do a script before the exclusive Marvel contract, it may of slipped. Jeff caught what I was doing and played with it telling me straight no to Jason Aaron and Joshua Dysart, bu...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Project 500: Crisis of Infinite Reviewers 10
With the Jam Review and the Relay Reviews both done from Project 500, the concept of talking about this whole series still remains for me to do. I am honored that so many great people helped out on Project 500 and the best part honestly was playing editor of the Project. What was great with the reviews written in Relay style was that different readers of different relationship had different appreciation for the same story we were all reading together. The list of the Relay reviews can be fo...
7 out of 7 found this review helpful. -
"When Does A Killer... ... Not Kill?" 0
What makes the Long Halloween so good is that Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale are playing games with us with the slower noir pace that is filled with red herrings. April Fools is no different. The definition of a Red Herring is to give the reader a thread and/or plot point to send them off the right track and this issue focuses on the Red Herrings. The .22 Handgun is pointed out as light enough even a woman can use it. There are hints Harvey Dent is Holiday. Even members of the crime families involv...
6 out of 6 found this review helpful. -
"No Bombastic Victory Speech?" 8
Happy Anniversary Captain America, even if I am Canadian, I respect your legend enough to invest in this issue. The real reason I purchased this issue was because I wanted new Travis Charest art. I find that kind of funny to me that the Standard cover for this landmark issue of an American Icon was drawn by a Canadian. I don't blame Marvel for enlisting Travis, he is one of the very best in the business, and thank god he hit this deadline. I really like the fact that the ".1" sets this 70th...
9 out of 9 found this review helpful. -
"Shoot Anything that moves" 0
Part of the thing I like with this revamp of Vampirella is that it is easy to digest, it is an action packed vampire slayer story. This issue was nice since it has more background being fleshed out, the old Vampirella origins get confusing with her being an alien from the planet Drakulon or not and it seems like Eric Trautmann is taking his time to explain her alien origin. This issue does mark the return to a character that was suppose to be dead and that leaves us with more mystery on wha...
6 out of 6 found this review helpful. -
Pandering to the Supply and Demand 0
This issue was the most hyped of all the Jeff Lemire issues after issue #1, in the teasers of issue one we saw some cool things like Poison Ivy, who has made her appearance already, but the preview of the Superboy/Kid Flash race got everyone excited and I think that was the flaw to his issue, the hype. The standard cover is okay looking, while the lovely Francis Manapul cover I felt is a spoiler in retrospective, it is nice that the current king of Toronto cover art got to do a cover for the cu...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Its only a dead man's left Thumb, who will miss it? 2
I don't think there is a single person on Comicvine loving Hellblazer more then me right now. John is now married. Peter Milligan and Co have found their synergy. Milligan is writing in a way even the bitter old fans who hate everything, can't deny Milligan knows John well. Hellblazer is were it is suppose to be again, before the Ellis hiccup or the Mina mishap. This issue is marked on the cover as a "new story line" and it is. Milligan writes this issue to make it accessible, he even has ...
7 out of 7 found this review helpful. -
Enter the Kane Affair 6
Enter the Kane Affair With all the delays to the ongoing Batwoman series it is good to see Kate again, even if it is Grant Morrison writing her instead of Rucka and/or J.H. Williams III. Morrison has studied the Bat mythos so well that I don't question anything anymore and the origin he is presenting us with the original Batwoman can only be presented to us by him and him alone. As much as I do miss Greg Rucka, Morrison is spearheading the whole Bat-universe and I just love the direction in ...
11 out of 14 found this review helpful. -
Feels like a leftover Aminal Man story. 1
This book is a reprint of the story arc Irresistible as well as an Hourman story. The covers are omitted and there are ads, this comic is almost a hybrid trade paperback. The main-story is the Irresistible story arc, which felt like Tom Peyer had a leftover Animal Story and managed to sell it to the editors. The Premise there is a guy name Frank Sharp, who looks like a piranha. Sharp has the ability to charm you if he shakes your hand. Sharp abuses his power and this story sums up the old s...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Maslow's hierarchy of needs 0
What makes a comic a true Vertigo Comics is the ability to resonate into our deeper selves, unlike some of the shallow Superhero cousin, Vertigo tries to add layers to think about. The Finals is a neat idea about how life is really learning and only the strong survive. When I think about how humanity has evolved I think of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I really think Will Pfeifer nails the pyramid with his Five-Main characters: Gary Skelton for example focuses on the first level. Tim Pike...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
I Zombie, U Vampire, We Comicvine 0
First off I do love Mike Allred's art, but a lot of the I, Zombie covers are lacking for me. This one is another example, what is up with the long neck? Allred is too good of an artist to be this lazy with design and actual execution. Now that I got the cover rant out of the way, I will now talk about the series. This issues is the last issue to the "U Vampire" arc, which was an overall good arc, but reading monthly was slow and awkward paced when factoring in the House of Mystery #2 short-st...
4 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Lucifer is up in the morning. 18
*Short Review* Morning Glories simply is a great new series and I would recommend this psychological thriller to anyone who likes a well layered story. The trade is $10 USD, not a whole lot considering how good the book is. *The Invisible decode* Morning Glories is great because of all the layers in this book. On a basic level is it a great drama story with more and more questions to be asked. The deeper you dig the better the series gets. Recommended reading to enhance this series would be ...
22 out of 22 found this review helpful. -
Luck of the Irish. 0
Hot off the heels of Valentines Day Bruce Wayne is covered in GREEN. Not money, not the St. Patrick Spirit, but mind-controlling plants from the seductive Poison Ivy. This issue does read better in trade and I remember originally feeling like this was a filler issue just to tie-up Valentines Day, don't get me wrong Loeb is best when he sticks to his gimmick, but this felt like part two of a micro-arch, then a real St. Pats event. I think the only things really symbolic was the token item afte...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Rock 'N' Roll with the Wonder Twins 2
I really enjoy when Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba illustrate, they have a great ability to tell a story visually. This comic reminds me of their recent indie self-published Atelier, which was a cross between a sketchbook and an introduction story. This story depends mostly on the visual. My guess was that in 2004 when this comic was written, the wonder twins from Brazil were not confident with their English, that is why the English is very limited to words from a radio. Most of this story is si...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
20 years of Dawn 2
Dawn was a character I always wanted to check out, but never really figured out where to start. That tends to happen with a comic book market so saturated with Superheroes alone. This book has been sitting in my too read pile for a year if not more and I had to push it higher up on the list because my current reading fetish is "anniversaries". Partly because of the milestones I've hit and more importantly my 1 year anniversary on the site is coming up, so I am in the mind set of how people ha...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
DHP some pretty cool pin-ups. 6
With my 1 year anniversary to the site on the horizon I have been really thinking about celebration and how other companies have celebrated a landmark. DC recently celebrated their 75th anniversary with classic cover homages and the white covers many readers didn't like. Spawn Celebrated 300 with a over-sized issue. My favorite character, John Constantine got married in issue #275 of Hellblazer. I celebrated my 500th review with Project 500. So I cracked my head a little bit more and reall...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
The Conspiracy begins 0
Thank you DC Comics! J.H. Williams III (J3) is my absolute favorite artist in comics. I cannot praise his work enough. This collection is two stories over 4 issues. The 3 issue Conspiracy is the main chunk of the reprint collection and I am grateful since those back issues are hard to find. The throw in issues is a story written by Paul Dini called The Beautiful People which was fully illustrated by J3 in the matured art style I love so much. That contrast of the two styles is that is real...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Batman I.N.C (Invisible Natural Connections) 5
Invisible Natural Connections, or synchronicity is the angle in Grant Morrison's Batman. Morrison has dug so deeply in Batman's history that it is hard to tell if he is writing Batman or is Batman writing itself from within him. I say that question because those who worship Morrison's writing can likely see the connection to The Invisibles. I cannot stress how important the relationship to Morrison's work The Invisibles are, in this case this issues starts off with a team that is fr...
11 out of 11 found this review helpful. -
The Beautiful Ones they hurt you all the time. 2
With all the writers to write Batman, Paul Dini never seems to disappoint, he really gets The Batman and writes him well on a street-level. This issue was really only a throw away idea, but it works well. We see Batman's detective work with things like obtaining a fast-food receipt and we really see gimmick crime abused in a good way. The story is called The Beautiful People and I am glad J.H. Williams III (J3) did the art, because I don't think anyone in the business makes prettier pages the...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
I believe in "Second Chances " 2
I think next to John Constantine, Christopher Chance I have written the most review dealing with. I have only read a little of the classic Christopher Chance before Milligan blew my mind with this Human Target Vertigo work. If you are unsure which format to read Human Target, I assure you, they are all good, but with the newer numbered trades it makes reading the series more accessible. The first trade collects the original mini-series that started it all and the Original Graphic Novel sequel...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Pegg and Frost. 2
I have to say it again, I was iffy on picking up CLiNT, but it looks like this magazine is serious about being the next British anthology Magazine. That is what I like about this magazine, it has that British flavor that many North American readers won't gamble on, but since it is backed by Mark Millar then may be this will expose more people to the awesome nature of the Anthology. The major problem I have with this comic is that only Rex Royd I believe is completely exclusive to this book so ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
"Nothing to say to an Old Friend?" 12
In the last review I mentioned the cliff-hanger would bring me back another month and it did. The first question I had going to the shop was which cover? Gallery The first cover didn't sell me, Vampi is sexy sure, but other covers she is hotter. Also the snakes were a turn off. The second cover is really nice, beautiful face and a hot body, but still something was missing. The third cover was the one I ended up getting because it has a J. Scott Campbell cover-girl...
13 out of 13 found this review helpful. -
"Looks like we'll be staying put, eh?" 2
Most of the times Stand alone issues don't really mean anything and in this case this comic breaks that rule. Fresh off the Wedding John Constantine and his wife Epiphany comeback from their honeymood. Point of interest, they fly on "Cheap Jet" on "CJ" airlines, CJ being reversed for JC? I loved the opening of this comic, Epiphany asks John who he really is and Peter Milligan really gets to the heart of John Constantine. Another point of interest, in the guest issues Simon Bisley drew over th...
7 out of 7 found this review helpful.
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