[Comics] - Evil Avatar's Weekly Comic Book Reviews - Week 40

[Everlost_MI]

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

For the month of December, two signed copies of Athena Voltaire: Flight of the Falcon #1 (http://www.bcbcomics.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=12588) that is being published by Speakeasy Comics (http://www.speakeasycomics.com/index.asp) will be given away by BCBcomics (http://www.bcbcomics.com/) every week. For those unfamiliar with Athena Voltaire check out the following press release (http://www.speakeasycomics.com/news/news_72805b.html) and the official Athena Voltaire website. (http://www.athenavoltaire.com/) The deadline for entry submissions for week forty is Midnight EST on Sunday, December 4th. The random winners will be drawn on Monday, December 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 each week to increase your chances of winning.
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/avfof1.jpg (http://www.bcbcomics.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=12588)

Evil Avatar’s Comic Book Review Weekly giveaway provider BCBcomics (http://www.bcbcomics.com/) offers 35% off of comic trade paperbacks (TPBs) and 20-25% off of comics. In addition, they offer comic book subscriptions (http://www.bcbcomics.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=7
) with many fringe benefits including no hidden costs, 20% off of cover price, all issues are bagged and boarded PLUS free* shipping for orders over $14.99 and cheap* shipping for orders under $14.99 (*see BCBcomics’ website (http://www.bcbcomics.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=7
) for the details).

Remember, these are NOT spoiler-free reviews.

[Everlost_MI]

Week Forty:
Evil Avatar's Weekly Comic Book Reviews - Week 40
By Everlost_MI (Brian K. Nichols), Editor in Chief

Fell #3 (An ongoing series)
Publisher: Image Comics
Written by: Warren Ellis
Illustrated by: Ben Templesmith
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Price: $1.99 US/$2.40 CAN

http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/fell3.jpg

Detective Fell’s quest for some new clothes due to various knife attacks ends up with a surprise waiting for him in a changing room. Fell’s journey through Snowtown shows more of the ugly underbelly as well the reoccurring smoking and now gun toting nun.

Warren Ellis shows in this issue that for every action there is a reaction, even a good action or in this case intention can literally backfire on someone. Ellis has created another poignant chapter in the life of Fell as he tries to survive in the desolate Snowtown. The story, dialogue and characterizations are excellent and the issue fits like a pair of old sneakers, comfortable and easy to get into. However, like a pair of old sneakers the appearance is ugly and scarred as Ben Templesmith creates another stark and moody glimpse into Snowtown.


Bottom Line:
Ellis and detective genre story fans will enjoy this issue and series. This issue as the Ellis has stated when the series started, can be read as a stand-alone issue. However, acquring the other two issues are worth the time and effort.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 EvilEyes
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4_5.jpg


Generation M #1 of 5
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Pencils: Ramon Bachs
Inks: John Lucas
Colors: Art Lyon
Lettering: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Nick Lowe
Price: $2.99 US/$4.25 CAN

http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/genm1.jpg

The Decimation event deals with the aftermath, called M-Day, of The Scarlet Witch’s command of “No More Mutants” from the House of M series where various mutants find themselves stripped of their powers. This particular series is from the point of view of Sally Floyd, a columnist for the newspaper called The Alternative. She used to write a column titled, The Mutant Diaries, where she interviewed and presented the mutant side of life to the world. After witnessing the loss of the various mutants’ lives from the M-Day event, Floyd takes a deeper interest and attempts to revive her column by calling it the Ex-Mutant Diaries. Perhaps the deeper interest is done to help compensate for the loss of her child only six months previous, which is all that is explained in this issue. In any case, the column enthralls the public and it doesn’t take long for the column to gain momentum. The issue ends with a mutant hater taping a package to Floyd’s door with the sentence, “Not enough died” written on the outside of it. The package is full of pictures showing that he/she/they are finishing what the M-Day didn’t do.

Paul Jenkins created an interesting story from the fallout of the House of M, however it takes a backseat to the character and dialogue of Sally Floyd. Jenkins has creates a character that is easily identifiable and likeable especially with her flaws. The pacing of the issue is right on target, it didn’t appear to be rushed or padded. Ramon Bachs’ artwork is detailed to the point that everyone has lines in their faces and wrinkles in every piece of clothing. It could be compared to Gary Erskine’s work in Jack Cross with a touch less of realism. The artwork doesn’t really detract from the story but it doesn’t add to it either.

I do wish to comment that it’s interesting to see what Marvel and Jenkins did with Chamber from Generation X. I am curious if the House of M is going to affect the characters from the Runaway series? I ask because Chamber was in that series a few issues ago and one of the Runaway gang is a mutant.

Bottom Line:
If you have been following the House of M or the various Decimation series, this is one you should definitely check out. However, it’s not filled with action, it’s more along the lines of the Pulse in content and storytelling.

Rating: 4 out of 5 EvilEyes
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg

Ultimate Fantastic Four #25 (An ongoing series)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencils: Greg Land
Inks: Matt Ryan
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralpha Macchio
Price: $2.50 US/$3.50 CAN

http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/ult-ff25.jpg

The issue starts with Namor and The Human Torch having a short brawl over the raging Atlantic, only to end with Reed and The Thing finally subduing Namor after he trounced the Torch. Namor, in any universe is arrogant and views everyone except Susan as dog and not worthy of his time. He volunteers to share the Atlantean secrets with Susan if she spent time with him. Susan agrees and Dr. Storm sends the H.E.R.B.I.E.s., no not the lame robot that was introduced in the Fantastic Four television cartoon but larger robots that are similar in design to the Ultimate Iron Man, out to chaperone the two as they stroll through New York City. A bit more of Reed’s ever expanding intellect and projects are revealed such as the Minimates, a nod to the main Marvel Universe’s X-Babies, while Dr. Mary Storm and he decrypt some of the Atlantean writing found where Namor was discovered. The two discover that Namor was actually imprisoned as a criminal while Susan rejects Namor’s advances only to find herself in a dangerous situation after Namor easily destroys the guardian H.E.R.B.I.E.s. Also, the third part of the Ultimate Vision backup story is in this issue, and so far the story hasn’t added anything that wasn’t already explain or could be deduced about the story of Gah-Lak-Tus from the Ultimate Nightmare and Ultimate Secret mini-series.

Mark Millar created a nice twist with the Ultimate version of Namor and the H.E.R.B.I.E.s. The dialogue, characterization and pacing were spot on in this issue while it leaves the reader begging for more. Greg Land’s artwork is pretty but he may have been too rushed in this issue, as it doesn’t have the same look it normally does. Land’s interpretation of the H.E.R.B.I.E.s. and the Minimates was excellent.

Bottom Line:
If you’re a mainstream Fantastic Four or Ultimate Universe fan, this issue is worth the time and money. I personally want to see more of the Minimates.

Rating: 4 out of 5 EvilEyes
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg

What else is worth reading this week…
· I Can’t Believe It’s Not The Justice League TPB – A great comedic super-hero yarn.


The Evil Avatar’s Comic Book Review Weekly giveaway for week forty are two signed copies of Athena Voltaire: Flight of the Falcon #1 (http://www.bcbcomics.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=12588). The deadline for entry submissions for week forty is Sunday, December 11th with the random winners being drawn on Monday, December 26th.

Evil Avatar’s Comic Book Review Weekly giveaway provider BCBcomics (http://www.bcbcomics.com/) offers 35% off of comic trade paperbacks (TPBs) and 20-25% off of comics.

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.

[mister_slim]

I hear Warren Ellis and I'm sold. I keep forgetting he has books coming out though.

Anway, a little Christmas story (http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=1587) from Mr. Ellis.

[lpmiller]

That wasn't the real chamber in Runaways.

[Everlost_MI]

That wasn't the real chamber in Runaways.

No, but Generation M reminded me of the "appearance" of Chamber and the mutant (I can't remember her name) in the Runaways group.

[Cupelix]

That wasn't the real chamber in Runaways. I was going to chime in the same thing as well. The end of that plot arc revealed that it was some other person in disguise as Chamber. I'm not sure when the real Chamber was last seen. It's too bad he was chosen as one of the mutants to de-power, because he was at least somewhat unique (and pretty cool looking).

[Everlost_MI]

I hear Warren Ellis and I'm sold. I keep forgetting he has books coming out though.

Anway, a little Christmas story (http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=1587) from Mr. Ellis.

That was great! Thanks for sharing that.

[Kefkataran]

Man, Fell has been fucking fantastic. It's no secret that I'm a huge Ellis fan, but seriously, Fell is by far the best writing he's done since Transmetropolitan. (Desolation Jones is amazing too, but Fell barely edges it out.)

[normyk]

Ellis + Templesmith = Instant Buy
Fell is excellent on so many levels

[Superunknown[GP]]

No, but Generation M reminded me of the "appearance" of Chamber and the mutant (I can't remember her name) in the Runaways group.

Molly, aka Bruiser or Princess Powerful.

[Cupelix]

Also on tap this week: heeeeyyyy how about that anti-climax for the reveal of Ronin in New Avengers?

[agentgray]

I hear Warren Ellis and I'm sold. I keep forgetting he has books coming out though.

Anway, a little Christmas story (http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=1587) from Mr. Ellis.
That was...uh...sick. If this is any indication of his writing, I'll pass. That has no class.

Does everyone have to make everything political? It still would have been just as nasty if it was on the other side of the political spectrum, and it still will have been just as horrible if politics wasn't involved.

[Kefkataran]

Also on tap this week: heeeeyyyy how about that anti-climax for the reveal of Ronin in New Avengers?

Heard about that. Sounds pretty lame. Admittedly, I'm not reading New Avengers right now, but I was still following a little. Sounds like the writer/artist didn't give many solid clues as to who Ronin was.

That was...uh...sick. If this is any indication of his writing, I'll pass. That has no class.


Not all of his writing is quite that crass, but it's definitely something he's somewhat known for. I wouldn't say he has class, but if you read something like Transmetropolitan, Desolation Jones, or even Fell, you'll see he certainly has heart, and that's more important to me at least. (The quote in my sig is actually from Transmetropolitan, if you wanna see what I mean.)

Does everyone have to make everything political? It still would have been just as nasty if it was on the other side of the political spectrum, and it still will have been just as horrible if politics wasn't involved.

No, not everyone has to make everything political. But Ellis is a very political guy, so a lot of his stuff will have political undertones at least. Desolation Jones and Fell are currently (mostly) not so political, although there's still the occassional joke thrown in once in a while.

[Cupelix]

Heard about that. Sounds pretty lame. Admittedly, I'm not reading New Avengers right now, but I was still following a little. Sounds like the writer/artist didn't give many solid clues as to who Ronin was.
If you didn't read the DD plot arc where the character appeared, then it didn't matter how many clues Bendis dropped. I have a friend who had read the arc though, and after some thought, he guessed accurately who it was. Who knows, maybe the character will stick, maybe not.

[Kefkataran]

If you didn't read the DD plot arc where the character appeared, then it didn't matter how many clues Bendis dropped. I have a friend who had read the arc though, and after some thought, he guessed accurately who it was. Who knows, maybe the character will stick, maybe not.

It's interesting how Bendis has been mixing very fringe heroes along with the biggest of big shots in New Avengers. I really oughtta get to checking out the trades.

Also, I hear that DD arc was pretty small and a while ago, which was the main complaint.

[agentgray]

Heard about that. Sounds pretty lame. Admittedly, I'm not reading New Avengers right now, but I was still following a little. Sounds like the writer/artist didn't give many solid clues as to who Ronin was.



Not all of his writing is quite that crass, but it's definitely something he's somewhat known for. I wouldn't say he has class, but if you read something like Transmetropolitan, Desolation Jones, or even Fell, you'll see he certainly has heart, and that's more important to me at least. (The quote in my sig is actually from Transmetropolitan, if you wanna see what I mean.)



No, not everyone has to make everything political. But Ellis is a very political guy, so a lot of his stuff will have political undertones at least. Desolation Jones and Fell are currently (mostly) not so political, although there's still the occassional joke thrown in once in a while.

That's what I was looking for. Thanks for the info.

[Cupelix]

Also, I hear that DD arc was pretty small and a while ago, which was the main complaint. It is, and it was. It was definitely a "filler" arc, which really wasn't about DD at all.

*Spoiler Warning* about New Avengers for those who care.



The one amusing thing about adding Echo to the group will be overcoming the difficulty of Iron Man communicating with her. They didn't really make an issue of her having to look at people to converse until the last few pages of the last issue when Captain America started relaying Iron Man's questions to her. For that matter, she can't communicate with Spider Man, either. These silly super heros covering their mouths...so inconsiderate to the hearing impaired.

[Kefkataran]

That's what I was looking for. Thanks for the info.

Glad I could be of help. Lemme know if you end up checking out any Ellis stuff and what you think.

The one amusing thing about adding Echo to the group will be overcoming the difficulty of Iron Man communicating with her. They didn't really make an issue of her having to look at people to converse until the last few pages of the last issue when Captain America started relaying Iron Man's questions to her. For that matter, she can't communicate with Spider Man, either. These silly super heros covering their mouths...so inconsiderate to the hearing impaired.

Yeah, I'm pretty curious as to how they'll work around that without being annoying and having everyone have to repeat stuff to her. And, hell, doesn't she even cover her own mouth? I'm almost shocked they haven't messed this up already.