Dr.Finger
06-08-2008, 10:50 AM
Welcome to Week Twenty-Four 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 24
Trinity #1
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: DC Comics
Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Pencillers: Mark Bagley & Scott McDaniel
Inkers: Art Thibert & Andy Owens
Colorists: Pete Pantazis & Allan Passalaqua
Letterer: Pat Brousseau
Editor: Mike Carlin
$2.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Trinity-1.jpg
Boys and Their Games.../In the Morrows to Come
SO DC is launching another monthly book. What could go wrong? After the disaster that was Countdown I can't blame fans for being wary of another weekly book.
The book begins in outer space, where a disembodied cosmic entity cries out for freedom. Back on Earth we meet the stars of our story: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. They're meeting, in their civilian identities, at the Coffee Pier in Keystone City. Each of the three had experienced an extraordinary dream the night before, but each interprets it differently. Superman, the alien hero, saw it as a cosmic intelligence breaking through space-time. Wonder Woman, the mystic hero, saw it as a chained god striving to break free. Batman, the technological hero, saw it simply as a jailed criminal looking to escape. They've consulted with most of their JLA colleagues, but none of them had the dream. They're meeting in Keystone to try and touch base with the one Leaguer they couldn't reach: the Flash. Flash is busy at the moment, since he and his super-powered kids are trying to stop Clayface from making off with some MacGuffin. They make quick work of them, and Flash joins the Trinity for breakfast in his civilian guise. He also hasn't had any odd dreams, so Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are left wondering why only they got this missive, as a shadowed figure watches from across the pier. Back in their hometowns, and in costume, the heroes are still pondering the dreams when they again hear the voice from the dreams and are attacked. The cockpit of Batman's plane fills with gas. Wonder Woman is attacked from above by energy beams, and Superman has a meteor (or something) streaking through the sky towards him. In the back-up story we meet what appear to be the antagonists of the tale. Morgan Le Fay, from Arthurian legend and foe of Etrigan the Demon, is visited in her hidden castle by a mysterious man from the future named Enigma. They've also had the same dream as the Trinity, but see it more as a path to some unnamed power. They combine their skills - science and magic - to learn that some imbalance surrounds the Trinity, and that they're some sort of Keystones in all of this. They look into the future and see a few interesting things - Green Arrow and Ragman as defenders of Gotham, the Trinity carved into giant statues in space and a tarot reader in LA - that are connected to everything. They also realize that they need a third as well, an alien to balance their mystic and scientific prowess. The third part of their anti-Trinity is one of my all-time favorites: Despero. As they leave Morgane's castle, we're treated to one more image of the future: an energy being (that may resemble Krona from the JLA/Avengers crossover and a JLA story from 2004, both written by Mr. Busiek) crushing the Earth.
Lets start off with the good here. Right from the start you get a sense of the scale and scope of the upcoming story. There are still a lot of mysteries, but between the Dream, the anti-Trinity and the future vision you have a bit to chew on right off the bat. Busiek does a good job laying out the differences between the three stars in simple and straightforward ways, from how they order breakfast to how they interpret the Dream. Bagley isn't the flashiest artist out there, but he does a lot with facial expression and body language and draws some very appealing characters. Nicieza injects a nice bit of humor into the back-up, and the Anti-Trinity seems like they could be good for some laughs down the road in an odd couple sort of way. Now for the bad. The whole scene with the Flash and his kids was kind of pointless. It felt like a cameo for sake of itself. My big worry is that this book is going to fall into the 'cameo of the week' trap, rather than thinking up real story-driven reasons to bring other heroes in. I also would have liked to see a better reason for the two heroes most protective of their secret ID's to be meeting together in public in civvies. There's also the question of tone. I'm a big fan of Busiek and Bagley, but their style is decidedly old-school, and it may not resonate with some fans. I've defended Scott McDaniel's art in the past, but his work here is just not up to snuff. I appreciate unusual or rough styles, but his work in the back-up can only be described as muddy and rushed. Overall it's enough to get me to buy at least the next five weeks, but not enough for me to declare myself completely sold on the book.
Bottom Line:
A solid but unspectacular start.
Rating: Decent, but flip through before buying. (3 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e3.jpg
Ultimate Origins #1 (of 5 )
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Butch Guice
Colorist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Bill Rosemann
$2.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Ult-Origins-1.jpg
Ever since the start of the Ultimate Universe there have been hints. Teases thrown into the books written by the architects of the Ultimate U: Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar that imply that everything is connected. This series is supposed to blow the lid off of that secret, but
The story begins, oddly enough, near the end. After Spider-Man's first confrontation with the Hulk, he's told by Bruce Banner that "it's all connected" before SHIELD takes him into custody. Back in the past we see the ugly beginnings of the American Super-Soldier program. Namely they dressed a normal soldier up in a costume, handed him a flag and sent him to Guadalcanal, where he's promptly killed in action. FDR isn't too happy about this, and tells his people that he wants a real super-soldier. In the European theater, specifically the Allied invasion of Sicily, three soldiers - named Fury, Howlett (aka Logan) and Fisk - are less interested in the war than they are about breaking into a safe. They're stopped by a commanding officer who captures Fury and Howlett but Fisk manages to get away. Fury is taken back to the states and placed into a Tuskegee-like series of experiments, and given super-powers. He escapes from the facility, freeing the other prisoners in the process. Meanwhile, in the great white north, James Howlett is in a familiar looking lab. He escapes from a tube, and is gunned down while escaping the lab. The soldiers think he's dead, but his healing factor kicks in and he survives. Seven years later the head of the facility explains to a superior his amazing discovery - an entirely new mutated genome. In Howlett it expresses itself as a healing factor and enhanced senses, but in other humans it would have different effects. While trying to copy the Captain America project, they've inadvertently discovered a whole new path to the super-soldier - mutants.
For all the build up this book has had, and considering that it's only a five issue series, it certainly doesn't seem like it's in any great hurry to get somewhere. The revelation that Fury, Wolverine and the Kingpin (at least I assume that's the Kingpin and not his father) served together in Europe during WWII is moderately interesting, and showing that Fury had powers at one point has potential, but the whole just falls flat. I guess making Wolverine the first mutant makes some sense, but it's just not that interesting. Nothing was terribly interesting, and none of the revelations were the least bit shocking. The whole book feels like more padding than story, and it does nothing to entice me to buy any further issues of the series.
Bottom Line:
Another slow, meandering start.
Rating: Only if you're a fan of the creators (2 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e2.jpg
Quick Hits
Secret Invasion #3 - The war begins in earnest, some cannon fodder bites the dust, and Skrull Spider-Woman tries some Psi-Ops on Iron Man
Young X-Men #3 - Is there any doubt any more that the Cyclops we see here in this book is a Skrull?
Remember, these are NOT spoiler-free reviews.
Evil Avatar’s Weekly Comic Book Reviews – Year 4 – Week 24
Trinity #1
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: DC Comics
Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Pencillers: Mark Bagley & Scott McDaniel
Inkers: Art Thibert & Andy Owens
Colorists: Pete Pantazis & Allan Passalaqua
Letterer: Pat Brousseau
Editor: Mike Carlin
$2.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Trinity-1.jpg
Boys and Their Games.../In the Morrows to Come
SO DC is launching another monthly book. What could go wrong? After the disaster that was Countdown I can't blame fans for being wary of another weekly book.
The book begins in outer space, where a disembodied cosmic entity cries out for freedom. Back on Earth we meet the stars of our story: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. They're meeting, in their civilian identities, at the Coffee Pier in Keystone City. Each of the three had experienced an extraordinary dream the night before, but each interprets it differently. Superman, the alien hero, saw it as a cosmic intelligence breaking through space-time. Wonder Woman, the mystic hero, saw it as a chained god striving to break free. Batman, the technological hero, saw it simply as a jailed criminal looking to escape. They've consulted with most of their JLA colleagues, but none of them had the dream. They're meeting in Keystone to try and touch base with the one Leaguer they couldn't reach: the Flash. Flash is busy at the moment, since he and his super-powered kids are trying to stop Clayface from making off with some MacGuffin. They make quick work of them, and Flash joins the Trinity for breakfast in his civilian guise. He also hasn't had any odd dreams, so Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are left wondering why only they got this missive, as a shadowed figure watches from across the pier. Back in their hometowns, and in costume, the heroes are still pondering the dreams when they again hear the voice from the dreams and are attacked. The cockpit of Batman's plane fills with gas. Wonder Woman is attacked from above by energy beams, and Superman has a meteor (or something) streaking through the sky towards him. In the back-up story we meet what appear to be the antagonists of the tale. Morgan Le Fay, from Arthurian legend and foe of Etrigan the Demon, is visited in her hidden castle by a mysterious man from the future named Enigma. They've also had the same dream as the Trinity, but see it more as a path to some unnamed power. They combine their skills - science and magic - to learn that some imbalance surrounds the Trinity, and that they're some sort of Keystones in all of this. They look into the future and see a few interesting things - Green Arrow and Ragman as defenders of Gotham, the Trinity carved into giant statues in space and a tarot reader in LA - that are connected to everything. They also realize that they need a third as well, an alien to balance their mystic and scientific prowess. The third part of their anti-Trinity is one of my all-time favorites: Despero. As they leave Morgane's castle, we're treated to one more image of the future: an energy being (that may resemble Krona from the JLA/Avengers crossover and a JLA story from 2004, both written by Mr. Busiek) crushing the Earth.
Lets start off with the good here. Right from the start you get a sense of the scale and scope of the upcoming story. There are still a lot of mysteries, but between the Dream, the anti-Trinity and the future vision you have a bit to chew on right off the bat. Busiek does a good job laying out the differences between the three stars in simple and straightforward ways, from how they order breakfast to how they interpret the Dream. Bagley isn't the flashiest artist out there, but he does a lot with facial expression and body language and draws some very appealing characters. Nicieza injects a nice bit of humor into the back-up, and the Anti-Trinity seems like they could be good for some laughs down the road in an odd couple sort of way. Now for the bad. The whole scene with the Flash and his kids was kind of pointless. It felt like a cameo for sake of itself. My big worry is that this book is going to fall into the 'cameo of the week' trap, rather than thinking up real story-driven reasons to bring other heroes in. I also would have liked to see a better reason for the two heroes most protective of their secret ID's to be meeting together in public in civvies. There's also the question of tone. I'm a big fan of Busiek and Bagley, but their style is decidedly old-school, and it may not resonate with some fans. I've defended Scott McDaniel's art in the past, but his work here is just not up to snuff. I appreciate unusual or rough styles, but his work in the back-up can only be described as muddy and rushed. Overall it's enough to get me to buy at least the next five weeks, but not enough for me to declare myself completely sold on the book.
Bottom Line:
A solid but unspectacular start.
Rating: Decent, but flip through before buying. (3 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e3.jpg
Ultimate Origins #1 (of 5 )
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Butch Guice
Colorist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Bill Rosemann
$2.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Ult-Origins-1.jpg
Ever since the start of the Ultimate Universe there have been hints. Teases thrown into the books written by the architects of the Ultimate U: Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar that imply that everything is connected. This series is supposed to blow the lid off of that secret, but
The story begins, oddly enough, near the end. After Spider-Man's first confrontation with the Hulk, he's told by Bruce Banner that "it's all connected" before SHIELD takes him into custody. Back in the past we see the ugly beginnings of the American Super-Soldier program. Namely they dressed a normal soldier up in a costume, handed him a flag and sent him to Guadalcanal, where he's promptly killed in action. FDR isn't too happy about this, and tells his people that he wants a real super-soldier. In the European theater, specifically the Allied invasion of Sicily, three soldiers - named Fury, Howlett (aka Logan) and Fisk - are less interested in the war than they are about breaking into a safe. They're stopped by a commanding officer who captures Fury and Howlett but Fisk manages to get away. Fury is taken back to the states and placed into a Tuskegee-like series of experiments, and given super-powers. He escapes from the facility, freeing the other prisoners in the process. Meanwhile, in the great white north, James Howlett is in a familiar looking lab. He escapes from a tube, and is gunned down while escaping the lab. The soldiers think he's dead, but his healing factor kicks in and he survives. Seven years later the head of the facility explains to a superior his amazing discovery - an entirely new mutated genome. In Howlett it expresses itself as a healing factor and enhanced senses, but in other humans it would have different effects. While trying to copy the Captain America project, they've inadvertently discovered a whole new path to the super-soldier - mutants.
For all the build up this book has had, and considering that it's only a five issue series, it certainly doesn't seem like it's in any great hurry to get somewhere. The revelation that Fury, Wolverine and the Kingpin (at least I assume that's the Kingpin and not his father) served together in Europe during WWII is moderately interesting, and showing that Fury had powers at one point has potential, but the whole just falls flat. I guess making Wolverine the first mutant makes some sense, but it's just not that interesting. Nothing was terribly interesting, and none of the revelations were the least bit shocking. The whole book feels like more padding than story, and it does nothing to entice me to buy any further issues of the series.
Bottom Line:
Another slow, meandering start.
Rating: Only if you're a fan of the creators (2 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e2.jpg
Quick Hits
Secret Invasion #3 - The war begins in earnest, some cannon fodder bites the dust, and Skrull Spider-Woman tries some Psi-Ops on Iron Man
Young X-Men #3 - Is there any doubt any more that the Cyclops we see here in this book is a Skrull?