EA's Weekly Comic Book Reviews - Week 16

[Everlost_MI]

Welcome to week fifteen of Evil Avatar’s Weekly Comic Book Reviews.

The Evil Avatar’s Comic Book Review Weekly giveaway for week sixteen is G.I. Joe Vol. 2 #0 courtesy of BCBcomics (http://www.bcbcomics.com/). The deadline for entry submissions for week sixteen is Sunday, June 26th. The selection of the random winner for the June books will occur on Sunday June 26th. Remember, you can submit one entry each week to increase your chances of winning.

The list of books that are going to be given away for the month of June are:

· Green Lantern #1
· House of M #1
· Gravity #1
· G.I. Joe Vol. 2 #0


Remember, these are NOT spoiler-free reviews.

This week's reviews are G.I. Joe Vol. 2 #0, Giant Size X-Men #3 and Wildsiderz #0.

http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/gijoe2-000.jpg http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/xmen-gs-xmen003.jpg http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/wildsiderz000.jpg

[Everlost_MI]

Week Sixteen:

G.I. Joe Vol. 2 #0

Publisher: Devil's Due Publishing
Writer: Joe Casey
Pencils: Stefano Caselli
Inks: Andrew Pepoy
Colors: Sunder Raj
Letters: Steve Seeley
Editor: Mark Powers
Price: $0.25 US/ $0.31 CAN

It’s been many years since I’ve read a G.I. Joe comic, however after picking up this issue it wasn’t hard to find old familiar faces. That’s where the similarity ends; this version of G.I. Joe is grittier and it takes more risks including ones with main characters with the apparent death of Lady Jaye from the previous volume or a story that has yet to be fully told. This isn’t to say they would kill off a fan favorite like Stormshadow, err wait they did that back in the Marvel series didn’t they? Anyways, this is a valid attempt at making a licensed property enjoyable and modern without totally losing the original and new audience.

Joe Casey, known as writer for many titles including WildC.A.T.S. and the Uncanny X-Men does a good job of getting old and new readers back on board with the plot, pacing and dialogue. The artwork by Stefano Caselli is packed full of action as the characters are fluid and are given great facial expressions giving a look that feels as if the artwork is breathing. In addition, the coloring done by Sunder Raj borders in some panels to a painted look that really makes the firefights and flashbacks stand out.

Bottom Line:
If you are itching for some revamped nostalgia with good artwork then this book is worth a trip down memory lane, especially for a quarter.

7/10

http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/gijoe2-000.jpg


Giant Size X-Men #3

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover artist: Dave Cockrum & John Cassaday
New content:
Writer: Joss Whedon
Artist: Neal Adams
Colors: Richard Isanove
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editors: Mike Marts & Jeff Youngquist

Reprint material creative teams have been omitted to save space.

Price: $4.99 US/$7 CAN

Ouch. Ok, I am stupid. Why? Because I picked up this issue without even looking through it. The first four pages is the only new thing in this issue, the rest of book are reprints of X-Men #9, Fantastic Four #28 and X-Men #35. The reprints are great but for five dollars, it’s a crime. For another seven dollars, you can pick up the Marvel Masterworks trade paperbacks that are being solicited through Barnes and Noble. Those trade paperbacks contain at least seven issues, granted they aren’t in color but at least you got your money’s worth.

Getting back to the new content, the short story was great with Joss Whedon writing it and Neal Adams drawing it. Now, I dig Whedon’s work and this story was another excellent example of his talents as it was peppered with great characterization and dialogue, including a nice ironic parting comment by Wolverine. I’ve enjoyed Adams work on Batman, hell most of my Batman collection including him as the artist, but this latest work is just horrible. It’s very unpolished and for a lack of a better word every character looks like they are a piece of grizzle.

Bottom Line:
Even with the great short story by Whedon, it’s not worth the money. So unless you are an X-Men completist, save your five dollars and buy one of the many X-Men trade paperbacks if you need a trip down memory lane.

1/10

http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/xmen-gs-xmen003.jpg


Wildsiderz #0 (An ongoing series)

Publsher: DC Comics/Wildstorm Productions
Writers: Andy Hartnell & J. Scott Campbell
Pencils: J. Scott Campbell
Inks: Avalon Studios
Colors: Edgar Delgado
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Price: $1.99 US/$2.75 CAN


Two great things are going for this title, the artwork especially the coloring is great and it was only $1.99.

This issue was an introduction to the Wildsiderz that looks like it’s another cookie cutter version of Gen-13 mixed with the Power Rangers. That wouldn’t be a bad thing if J. Scott Campell and Andy Hartnell did more than just recycle ideas and storylines. The book is laid out as if it’s an introduction to a pencil and paper role playing game with a sprinkling of a story slapped into huge splash pages that are then wedged between character and enemy bios.

The “story” isn’t a story, it’s just a premise. And between the Professor X wanna-be mentor, the Power Rangers animal powers and the standard superhero fare that Campbell used in Gen-13 there isn’t much more to say than that. On the positive side of things, the artwork and coloring looks great and really catches the reader’s eye.

Bottom Line:
This is a pin-up book that includes a premise that isn’t even worth really digging into since it’s just a rehash of what’s been overused in the past. Move along, there’s nothing to see here. Save your money.

1/10

http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/wildsiderz000.jpg


What else is worth reading this week…
· Wolverine #29 – A black sheep in wolf’s clothing is revealed. Yes, you read that right.

· Ex Machina #12 – A new mysterious hero (?) shows up while Hundred goes in for jury duty.

The Evil Avatar’s Comic Book Review Weekly giveaway for week sixteen is G. I. Joe Vol. 2 #0 courtesy of BCBcomics (http://www.bcbcomics.com/). The deadline for week sixteen entry submissions is Sunday, June 26th.

Click here (everlost_mi@evilavatar.com) to submit your entry and don’t forget to include your Evil Avatar screenname.

Remember, you can submit one entry per week to increase your chances of winning.

[Deadend]

What is the point of trying to make a new comic based on old 80's cartoons that kinda sucked? Let GI Joe stay dead please, and Transformers, as well.

[Kefkataran]

Deadend: Could end up good. Depends on who the writer is really. But writers like Grant Morrison and James Robinson have shown how much good can be done with somewhat obscure old comic book characters. Admittedly, I doubt G.I. Joe will amount to much, but oh well.

Day of Vengeance #3 this week was really good, way better than the first two issues in my opinion. Also, Prelude to Infinite Crisis was good for me as someone who just jumped onto the DC bandwagon with all this Crisis junk. It does a good job showing just how damned well this has been planned and for how long hints have been being dropped.

[TrackZero]

Nice to judge the comics in question without having actually read them (by the sounds of it).

Personally I got right into the Transformers work that Dreamwave did, at least the first series of it.

[thecrazyd]

The Whedon story in Giant Size Xmen is fucking awesome. The awesome cover is worth the money alone, and the cheezy old school Stan Lee shlock is pretty cool to.

[Chandler]

TRANSFORMERS will never die. and it never sucked. Tell that to the huge fanbase that still exists today......also say hello to a very high potential Transformers film in 2006.

[Kefkataran]

I've almost made X-Men my first-ever Marvel pull just because of how much great press the Whedon stuff has been getting. But I think I'm going to hold off and make She-Hulk my first Marvel pull when it restarts in October. Dan Slott = great.

[bobbler]

Transformers...
Robots in disguise!

I miss the Transformer and GI Joe cartoons :(

[Sion]

Can someone point out a good tpb green lantern focusing on Kyle Rayner. Iv read GL Rebirth and Hate Crime and he seems like a realy cool char.

[Liquidize105]

Pics, everlost. Where are the pics?

I don't read comics, but I enjoy looking at the covers now and then :D

[Evil Avatar]

Can someone point out a good tpb green lantern focusing on Kyle Rayner. Iv read GL Rebirth and Hate Crime and he seems like a realy cool char.

I'm not going to tell you how to run your life, but before you put money into a trade paperback, you might want to check out Ebay. I picked up every issue he was in for about $50.00 just a couple of weeks ago.

[Evil Avatar]

Hey! Where are the damn thumbnails? Who dropped the ball on that one?

[Kefkataran]

I'm not going to tell you how to run your life, but before you put money into a trade paperback, you might want to check out Ebay. I picked up every issue he was in for about $50.00 just a couple of weeks ago.

Whoa. Talk about a great deal. I've just started getting into Ebay-scouring for comics. Picked up a couple VERY old Blue Beetle comics, from back in the Carlton days (before he was owned by DC). $5.00, excited to get them.

[Everlost_MI]

Hey! Where are the damn thumbnails? Who dropped the ball on that one?

haha! Must have been me ;) No worries, though!

[Heretic Machine]

A bit off-topic I guess, but I just read the first two issues of GLA... Anyone else reading that? Now that I've read'em, I'm definetly gonna keep track of that series. I've even started using that GLA wallpaper Marvel released :p

Best quote so far - "I'm not Hawkman!"

[Kefkataran]

Perigon, I just read the first volume of She-Hulk written by Dan Slott, who is doing G.L.A. and loved it. I definitely am planning to pick up the G.L.A. trade when the mini-series is done, and the reboot of She-Hulk is undoubtedly going on my pull list.

[Evil Avatar]

haha! Must have been me ;) No worries, though!

For anyone who didn't get the joke, it is my job to upload thumbnails to the server and I have a bad habit of waiting till the last minute.