Weekly Comic Book Review

Why We Review Comics

Let’s face it. Comics are expensive these days! With so many books to choose from it’s rough when you spend your hard earned cash on a book that’s not so great. Well, we do the comic reading for you and let you know what’s good, and what’s not so good.

Remember, just because one issue might be bad, doesn’t mean the entire story arc is bad!

Publishers and creators: If you would like us to review one of your books for you, contact us and send the work as a pdf or as a file from YouSendIt.com!

WCBR’S GRADING SYSTEM EXPLAINED

E – EPIC
This rating is reserved for those rare books that transcend the medium. You know, stuff like Watchmen, Maus, Kingdom Come, Sandman, and Marvels are all good examples of Epic stories. This is not a grade we often give out, if ever.

A – EXCELLENT
A near perfect comic. There may be a flaw or two in the story or art, but for the most part, this is a book that just about any comic reader should or will enjoy. At the end of the year, books with “A” status should be considered for best issues / stories of the year.

B – GOOD
A good quality comic that’s worth its modern expensive cover price. It may have a story problem or the art may not be the best, but it entertains and fulfills the reader.

C – AVERAGE
Most comics are average. We understand that sometimes we’re biased towards certain titles and give them a higher grade than we should, but that’s fine. Reviewing is subjective, but let’s make no mistake: 70% of comics being published are “C” level books. “C” means nothing special, but a run of the mill story. If it’s mildly entertaining and/or the art is serviceable OR if it’s one of those books that’s deemed “only fans will enjoy this”, we’ll give it a C+. If the book’s barely average (we’re talking mediocre territory), it gets it a C- or D+.

D – POOR
Bad art and/or big story problems, but there are a few redeeming qualities. This book isn’t a total loss, but compared to its peers, it’s pretty bad.

F – FAIL
No redeeming qualities whatsoever. It’s a waste of paper and talent (if there’s even talent involved). Avoid at all costs. See Cable #1.

About The Authors

J. Montes (Founder)

J.Montes has always wanted to work in the comics industry. He tried briefly in the early 1990s to break in as a self publisher, but failed miserably. He did have the opportunity to work with the then budding talents of Tomm Coker (Agents of Atlas), Jeremy Love (Bayou), and Calvin Irving (Chapel). Since then, he’s gone on to other things like the co-founding of IGN.com and other projects related to the video gaming industry.

Despite all these accomplishes, Jay’s #1 passion is still comic books. He still, some day, hopes to work in it at some capacity. Web of Spider-Man #1 is considered as one of the books that got him into comics (in a big way) and he has a great fondness of Spider-Man’s black outfit. Jay has been reading comics since 1985.

Raymond Hilario (Editor-In-Chief)

Raymond Hilario is a writer from the Silicon Valley whose interest in comics dates all the way back from episodes of Batman the Animated Series, and reruns of the Adam West Batman. Like most 90’s kid, the first comic book he owned was Chris Claremont’s and Jim Lee’s X-Men #1 (Magneto cover). Before coming to WCBR, his work in the comics industry include serving as a managing editor for Comictopia.

Today, most of the titles that Ray buys either comes from DC or the more independent labels, but he still reads anything that anyone’s buzzing about. Some of his favorite writers and artists are: “80’s Frank Miller,” David Lapham, Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Jacen Burrows, Jordi Bernet, Sam Keith, Ethan Van Sciver, and Frank Quitely. One of his favorite Batman oneshots is Batman #634, and to this day he still believes that some of the best Batman stories ever told came from Bruce Timm and Paul Dini.

Tony Rakittke (Senior Editor)

Twenty years ago, Tony Rakittke bought a copy of Uncanny X-Men #240 with four quarters he had stolen from his parents’ coin jar. It was hist first comic as well as his first petty theft, but he credits that moment for igniting his love of comic books. After comics took a turn for the worse in the 90′s, Tony took a break to pursue girls. However, Tony was soon pulled back in when he took a chance on the first issues of “The Authority,” and “Planetary” and realized that comics were great again. Tony lives in the suburbs of Chicago, IL with his wife and two dogs. He currently follows the works of Warren Ellis, Matt Fraction, Geoff Johns, Jason Aaron, Grant Morrison, Brian Azzarello, and J. Michael Straczynski. If you’re ever in the mood for a good discussion on comics, please drop him a line and let him know what’s on your mind. Because hey, it beats working, right?

Kyle Posluszny (Senior Editor)

Kyle Posluszny got drawn back into comics thanks to the Warren Ellis/Mike Deodato run on Thunderbolts. What was supposed to be a dip into the Marvel pool quickly became a full plunge. It was all downhill for Kyle’s wallet from there…

A member of the Weekly Comic Book Review team since April 2008, Kyle is dedicated to bringing his readers honest, timely reviews each and every week. He mostly focuses on writing about Marvel, Image, Devil’s Due, and small press, but Kyle does occasionally check out what DC’s Vertigo and Wildstorm labels have to offer. As Senior Editor, Kyle does whatever he can to help keep W.C.B.R. strong and ever-evolving.

Kyle’s Current Favorites: The Walking Dead, Hack/Slash, Witchblade, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dark Avengers, New Avengers, Exiles, Invincible Iron Man, Deadpool, and Secret Warriors

Alex Evans (Contributing Writer)

Alex Evans is a Canadian currently living in the UK. When not working on dissertations, presentations, or other things academic, he is a lover of comics, both as a reader and as an aspiring writer. His first taste of comics came at a young age, when, like many, he became addicted to the Batman, X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons of the nineties. This would lead to a childhood love of all things X-Men and Daredevil.

Then he forgot all about comics for almost ten years, before reading Watchmen in 2004 and becoming hooked once again. From that point, Alex progressed backwards in a sense, starting out among Vertigo and Image comics before being sucked into the Marvel and DC Universes. He fervently believes that Garth Ennis’ Preacher is the best series of the last twenty years and will fight anyone who says otherwise, since that’s what Jesse Custer would do. Other favourite writers include Robert Kirkman, Bill Willingham, Warren Ellis, Brian Wood, Jason Aaron, Joe Kelly, Ed Brubaker, and Brian Michael Bendis.

Rob G. (Contributing Writer)

The first comic that Rob ever read was Uncanny X-Men # 234. If he had to summarize the plot in one sentence it would be this: Evil aliens abduct and posses super powered evil mutants who then infiltrate and infect a new age Christian church before they are slaughtered by the good super powered mutants, the Uncanny X-men. Despite that particularly insane plot, his impressionable 12-year-old mind was hooked.

Since then he has been bothered with why comics, a unique fusion of art and prose, have not been accepted by a wider audience. He spends a considerable amount of time trying to convince others about what they are missing and he sees his stint at WCBR as a great opportunity to promulgate his love for this amazing medium.

His current favorite comics have more to do with creative teams than titles. The works of Robert Kirkman, Ed Brubaker, Joe Kelley, JSM, and Grant Morrison make it to the top of his pull list.  He is learning to appreciate art more and credits the works of Ryan Ottely and Jae Lee in opening his eyes to the intricacies of illustrative story telling.

DS Arsenault (Contributing Writer)

DS Arsenault was ten years old when his mother handed him Uncanny X-Men #128, Micronauts #12 and Dr. Strange #43.  He was immediately hooked. Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Jim Starlin influenced his imagination.  He collected comics until the mid-90s.  Now, after a 10-year hiatus, he’s returned to find the comics field much more sophisticated than when he left.

He is a science fiction and fantasy writer working in Ottawa, Canada and has sold short fiction to Asimov’s, Black Gate, On Spec and sub-TERRAIN.  He is currently writing science fiction and mainstream novels and marketing them to agents and publishers.

Joe Lopez (Contributing Writer)

Joe Lopez was inducted into the secret society of comic book fans when he was eleven years old.  His classmate Ahmad had a copy of the Incredible Hulk #341 which he let Joe read over his shoulder during recess.  Ahmad later beat the crap out of Joe, possibly over a protractor dispute, but Joe can’t be sure (it was a long time ago).  Joe vowed to start practicing karate thanks to a book called What Is Self-Defense?, but, due to laziness and what he’s convinced was a mild case of agoraphobia, he first convinced his mother to buy him his own comics, eventually leading to weekly trips to the Optimo Cigars shop and, later, Wow Comics in the Bronx, NY.

Joe’s obsession with comics, his eventual love of writing, and his discovery of how easy it was to use AOL Instant Messenger to pester too-kind industy pros led to his writing articles and the interview column, D.W.I.,  for DigitalWebbing.com and even hosting several panels for WizardWorld conventions.  His crowning achievement was getting to hang out in the Marvel Comics offices.  After taking a long break from comic book commentary,  Joe joined the cast of characters that make up W.C.B.R. in late 2009.  After a brief sojourn in the Bay Area, he now lives back in New York City with his lovely assistant, Katie, makes short films, writes lots of things with words, and does post-production video work.

Joe never got around  to learning how to kick anyone’s ass with karate, but he’s still reading comics today.

Brittany S. (Contributing Writer)

Brittany Summers is a relative newcomer to the comics scene; though she was a casual reader from a young age, it was not until the tender age of 25 that she began making that weekly pilgrimage to the comic shop a regular part of her life. In addition to writing reviews for WCBR, she also maintains a blog at http://soldierhawk.wordpress.com/ , which you are free to visit for more comic-related discussion, in addition to articles about gaming, movies and books. Her favorite comic book characters include Batwoman (the recent Kate Kane incarnation), Wonder Woman, Captain America, and Deadpool.

Dean Stell (Contributing Writer)

Dean was big into Marvel comics back in the early 1980′s. Uncanny X-Men, Alpha Flight, all the Spider-man titles, Secret Wars, etc…  Then after drifting away from comics for nearly 20 years, he jumped back in a few years ago reading Dark Horse Star Wars titles of all things that lead to a steadily growing pull list that is heavy on Marvel, the Batman titles and a very liberal sampling of creator driven stuff from Image, Vertigo, Avatar, Oni, etc…  Dean also has gotten bitten by the comic binding bug which has turned him into a obsessive back-issue buyer as he seeks to recreate runs of comics from the 80′s and 90′s.  He also tries to use a combination of eBay and binding to enforce a strict “one-long box only” rule.  Stay turned for how that works out! Dean also maintains a blog at allthiscrap.blogspot.com.