The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

by **LOLtron** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:19 pm

Let's see. Picked seven books at random. Wrote some words down about them. Put them in order of which I liked the most and then graded them like a Professor with a dirty shameful secret.

1. Heroes for Hire #12
A done in one issue that closes the chapter on this incarnation of Heroes for Hire with class and dignity. Granted there is a new team and new book just around the corner but with only one year of issues under its belt, it's sad that Abnett and Lanning weren't given a couple more years with this team. Misty Knight hasn't been this bad-ass in ages and for once Paladin is being written as a well-rounded character. The revolving door of Marvel's finest street heroes has been an added bonus. I'm looking forward to the volume, but will always regret that this series went away far too soon. My Score: A

2. Blue Beetle #1
I said it about Batwoman and I'll say it about Jamie; for a character with a brief history, Jamie Reyes has been missed. Excellent first issue with a lot of hints to future plots. It's just as great to see all of Jamie's supporting cast returning as well. What are even better than Tony Bedard's intriguing script is the gorgeous pencils of IG Guara; making this a keeper in the all new, all different but pretty much the same thing DC Universe. My Score: B+

3. Uncanny X-Men #543
As much as I have not been a big fan of Fear Itself or any of the cross-overs, I will say that the Juggernaut story in this book has been the best of the lot. Colossus' sacrifice is believable and sad. Kitty's rather sudden attitude seemed a bit fast, but the logic behind it works very well. Looking back on all of Peter's sacrifices it does seem that he has a death wish. Very well written story and once again I'm excited to be a fan of the X-Verse. My Score: B+

4. Avengers: The Children's Crusade #7
This book confuses me. On one hand I'm glad that we are finally seeing the story of Wanda, but boy do I miss the main characters of this book. Everything about the story makes this one of the best Avengers/X-Men cross-overs, ever! But this is supposed to be about the Young Avengers who don't seem to be doing much other than watch everyone else bicker with each other. Of course Wiccan and Hulkling probably enjoy men in tights standing around comparing penis sizes, and really there's nothing wrong with that. There is something wrong with this mini-series though... sadly. My Score B-

5. Catwoman #1
As Han Solo is quoted as saying: "I've got a bad feeling about this." Here's a character that has had a lot of good years recently, both with her series and in the Batman books. Selina is one of those secondary characters that have come into her own, so this first issue makes me cringe a bit. She's back to being the wild sexpot who once again may or may not know who Batman really is. Even the ending felt like it was put there for no other reason than shock value. If this doesn't get better real quick I'm going to drop it and pick up my old Brubaker trades instead. My Score: C-

6. Birds of Prey #1
There is potential here, but from the start the issue feels rather rushed; spending very little time on how the old and new Birds came about. Now Dinah is wanted by the law for a murder she did not commit. Her scene with Barbara could have been done a lot better; neither woman rang true for me. Now the art is a totally different story. I loved every panel of this book. It's perfect art for a comic book. I'm going to stay tuned for another couple of months but I'm on the fence with this one like I am Catwoman. My Score: C-

7. Generation Hope #11
This is a perfect example why a summer event doesn't need to run through every other title. While last month's issue was riveting as well as heart-breaking, this issue is obviously mostly a place holder for upcoming finale of Schisms. Everyone here are doing their creative best, but when you're forced to hang in limbo until the event is over, it makes the pacing of the series suffer horribly. My Score: D+

http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/reviews/comics-reviews/starlord-top-to-bottom/16280-starlord-top-to-bottom-92111.html/

by **Punchy** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:02 pm

X-Men: Schism has only had 2 tie-in issues, how is GH #11 an example of excessive crossovering?

by **Starlord** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:33 pm

Punchy wrote:X-Men: Schism has only had 2 tie-in issues, how is GH #11 an example of excessive crossovering?

I was lumping in all events (both Schism and Fear Itself) with that statement. You are correct, but if the book hadn't been tied down to Schism it could have probably been moving forward with its own story.

by **Punchy** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:34 pm

Starlord wrote:
I was lumping in all events (both Schism and Fear Itself) with that statement. You are correct, but if the book hadn't been tied down to Schism it could have probably been moving forward with its own story.

But it's own story is heavily tied-up with Schism.

by **Starlord** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:51 pm

Punchy wrote:
But it's own story is heavily tied-up with Schism.

But if it wasn't perhaps it would be a much more interesting book, at least for me.

by **e_galston** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:52 pm

i agree with Punchy, there really is no way Generation Hope could move forward while Schism is happening, since the schism is pretty much about them.

by **Punchy** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:54 pm

Starlord wrote:
But if it wasn't perhaps it would be a much more interesting book, at least for me.

What, don't you like Schism? Because if so... that would make you crazy.

by **Starlord** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:57 pm

e_galston wrote:i agree with Punchy, there really is no way Generation Hope could move forward while Schism is happening, since the schism is pretty much about them.

Exactly! And that's what I'm saying about this issue. Since it is so heavy in Schism this issue did nothing but tread water, which is unfortunate because it made for a very boring read.

by **Starlord** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:59 pm

Punchy wrote:
What, don't you like Schism? Because if so... that would make you crazy.

Schism is alright. There's good and bad in it. But since we get this X-Men divided concept about every ten years or so, it's not really the most original plot ever created.

Still, I've enjoyed it a HELLUVA lot more than Fear Itself which has been nothing but boring.

by **Flynn the Pirate** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:40 pm

As much as I like reading your reviews Starlord, I gotta disagree with you on Birds of Prey. I thought it was a much better book than you did. Heck, it was probably my second favorite book of the week, behind X-Men: Schism #4. I think Swierczynski is a much better writer than he gets credit for and that this could be a book to watch.

Other than that (and having a slightly higher opinion of Generation Hope than you did), I think you are largely on point.

Great job.

by **Starlord** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:36 pm

Thanks Flynn, and congrats for being in my top 25 avatars of the month too!

I'm glad you enjoyed Birds and I'm not going to stop buying it for sure, but for me it just felt weak. What I love though, is responses like yours, Punchy and Eric who share their thoughts and opinions on the reviews and the books in question.

I've always said this is a very subjective business and no one is going to like the same thing, so I'm always interested to hear what others have to say. I've had my mind changed more than once with others thoughts.

by **GLX** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:09 pm

Starlord wrote:

Schism is alright.

by **Starlord** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 11:33 pm

GLX wrote:

Alright, Schisms is actually the best "X-Men divided" story that has come down in the pike in years. It's not a new concept but so far it's been well executed.