Dr.Finger
05-18-2008, 04:09 PM
Welcome to Week Twenty-One of the Official Evil Avatar Comic Book Reviews
Remember, these are NOT spoiler-free reviews.
Evil Avatar’s Weekly Comic Book Reviews – Year 4 – Week 21
Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (an ongoing series
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Penciller: Paul Pelletier
Inker: Rick Magyar
Colorist: Nathan Fairbarin
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Bill Rosemann
$2.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/GotG-1.jpg
Somebody's Got To Do It
The second most important thing an event comic must do (the most important is simply telling a good story) is to leave fertile ground in it's wake for new books to take root in. So in the wake of Annihilation: Conquest we get the cosmically based team book - Guardians of the Galaxy. Actually this is not the first Guardians of the Galaxy (henceforth referred to as GotG) book Marvel has published, as in the early 90s they put out a book of that name set a thousand years in the future. At first the two teams have no real link, but that changes on the last page. This issue is the fairly typical meet, greet and tease. The GotG assemble, for various reasons, in the wake of the Phalanx conquest. As they fight to prevent a damaged Universal Church of Truth ship from causing a galactic disaster you get a quick bit on each member of the team. Their powers, their history, their personalities and why exactly they're on the team. The team composition is pretty standard fare: strong-willed female, dangerous loner, odd looking joker, vulnerable powerhouse and guilt-ridden leader (if this sounds familiar it should, it's known in the biz as the "X-Men formula" and it's been the basis for team dynamics in comics for more than 30 years). Not the most original team, but still somewhat interesting. The battle itself isn't all that interesting, but it does set up a few threads that will be playing out in the series. The looming threat of the Matriarch, the damage to space-time that's allowing threats into our universe, the impending betrayal and death prophesied by precognitive team member Mantis. And a frozen object cast through time into the universe which carries a very, very familiar red, white & blue shield. That last panel with the shield was a nice moment. Fans that knew the previous GotG series know that their team leader, Vance Astro, carried what was once Captain America's shield in the future, so that image carries a lot of weight for them. But at the same time readers that have no knowledge of that previous series will still recognize the shield as something big and important. You include the new readers, but give a little more of a kick to the experienced reader too.
Bottom Line:
A promising start, and some damn fine sci-fi, too.
Rating: Worth the time and money (4 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg
Transhuman #2 (of 4)
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: JM Ringuet
$3.50
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Transhuman-2.jpg
Part 2 - IPO
Transhuman is a 'mocumentary' set the the near future. The subjects of the film are ChimeraCorp and Humonics, the two leading companies in the field of Human Enhancement. As we learned last issue both companies sprang from the same font and seek the same goals, but take different paths to that goal. ChimeraCorp sees the manipulation of genes and biology as the key to human enhancement. They re-write your genes to give you peak-human, and even super-human, abilities, although there are sometimes side effects. Like the guy whose fat-producing gene won't shut down, who will die from suffocation within the year. Or the grabby pervert given super-speed. Or the monkeys, given powers very similar to those of a famous mutant super-team, who attack a venture capitalist that is looking to invest in ChimeraCorp. Over at Humonics the future they see is ruled not by biology but by technology. Because really, what would you rather have, a hand or a hand that has a can opener in it? Their early experiments resemble the protagonists from We3, although we don't get much time with Humonics this issue. While both companies approach human enhancement differently, they both face the same problems: money. They exist in a cut throat field, and any delay puts the competition's product that much closer to market. Both go to great lengths to get the funding they need, and although we know they both thrive in the end, the road there is paved with mistakes and betrayals. While not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as the first issue, I really enjoyed this book. Looking at science like this through the eyes of corporate machinations is a fairly unique perspective, and Hickman manages to plumb some depths while bringing the funny. Most of the characters we see are beaten and defeated, but you don't yet see exactly that beat them down.
Bottom Line:
A bitingly funny look at super-science, venture capitalism and company building, with some pretty spot-on parodies of famous comics thrown in.
Rating: Worth the time and money (4 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg
Quick Hits
Thunderbolts #120 - Norman Osborne is a psychopathic murderer who wants to kill us all. And he's awesome!
Booster Gold #9 - Probably the weakest issue of the series to date, mostly because it borders on fanservice, but it promises a grand scale battle next issue.
Project Superpowers #3 - Ross, Kreuger and crew really need to pick up the pace here because I'm starting to lose interest.
Remember, these are NOT spoiler-free reviews.
Evil Avatar’s Weekly Comic Book Reviews – Year 4 – Week 21
Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (an ongoing series
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Penciller: Paul Pelletier
Inker: Rick Magyar
Colorist: Nathan Fairbarin
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Bill Rosemann
$2.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/GotG-1.jpg
Somebody's Got To Do It
The second most important thing an event comic must do (the most important is simply telling a good story) is to leave fertile ground in it's wake for new books to take root in. So in the wake of Annihilation: Conquest we get the cosmically based team book - Guardians of the Galaxy. Actually this is not the first Guardians of the Galaxy (henceforth referred to as GotG) book Marvel has published, as in the early 90s they put out a book of that name set a thousand years in the future. At first the two teams have no real link, but that changes on the last page. This issue is the fairly typical meet, greet and tease. The GotG assemble, for various reasons, in the wake of the Phalanx conquest. As they fight to prevent a damaged Universal Church of Truth ship from causing a galactic disaster you get a quick bit on each member of the team. Their powers, their history, their personalities and why exactly they're on the team. The team composition is pretty standard fare: strong-willed female, dangerous loner, odd looking joker, vulnerable powerhouse and guilt-ridden leader (if this sounds familiar it should, it's known in the biz as the "X-Men formula" and it's been the basis for team dynamics in comics for more than 30 years). Not the most original team, but still somewhat interesting. The battle itself isn't all that interesting, but it does set up a few threads that will be playing out in the series. The looming threat of the Matriarch, the damage to space-time that's allowing threats into our universe, the impending betrayal and death prophesied by precognitive team member Mantis. And a frozen object cast through time into the universe which carries a very, very familiar red, white & blue shield. That last panel with the shield was a nice moment. Fans that knew the previous GotG series know that their team leader, Vance Astro, carried what was once Captain America's shield in the future, so that image carries a lot of weight for them. But at the same time readers that have no knowledge of that previous series will still recognize the shield as something big and important. You include the new readers, but give a little more of a kick to the experienced reader too.
Bottom Line:
A promising start, and some damn fine sci-fi, too.
Rating: Worth the time and money (4 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg
Transhuman #2 (of 4)
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: JM Ringuet
$3.50
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Transhuman-2.jpg
Part 2 - IPO
Transhuman is a 'mocumentary' set the the near future. The subjects of the film are ChimeraCorp and Humonics, the two leading companies in the field of Human Enhancement. As we learned last issue both companies sprang from the same font and seek the same goals, but take different paths to that goal. ChimeraCorp sees the manipulation of genes and biology as the key to human enhancement. They re-write your genes to give you peak-human, and even super-human, abilities, although there are sometimes side effects. Like the guy whose fat-producing gene won't shut down, who will die from suffocation within the year. Or the grabby pervert given super-speed. Or the monkeys, given powers very similar to those of a famous mutant super-team, who attack a venture capitalist that is looking to invest in ChimeraCorp. Over at Humonics the future they see is ruled not by biology but by technology. Because really, what would you rather have, a hand or a hand that has a can opener in it? Their early experiments resemble the protagonists from We3, although we don't get much time with Humonics this issue. While both companies approach human enhancement differently, they both face the same problems: money. They exist in a cut throat field, and any delay puts the competition's product that much closer to market. Both go to great lengths to get the funding they need, and although we know they both thrive in the end, the road there is paved with mistakes and betrayals. While not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as the first issue, I really enjoyed this book. Looking at science like this through the eyes of corporate machinations is a fairly unique perspective, and Hickman manages to plumb some depths while bringing the funny. Most of the characters we see are beaten and defeated, but you don't yet see exactly that beat them down.
Bottom Line:
A bitingly funny look at super-science, venture capitalism and company building, with some pretty spot-on parodies of famous comics thrown in.
Rating: Worth the time and money (4 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg
Quick Hits
Thunderbolts #120 - Norman Osborne is a psychopathic murderer who wants to kill us all. And he's awesome!
Booster Gold #9 - Probably the weakest issue of the series to date, mostly because it borders on fanservice, but it promises a grand scale battle next issue.
Project Superpowers #3 - Ross, Kreuger and crew really need to pick up the pace here because I'm starting to lose interest.