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Uncanny X-Men #1 – Review

Posted on February 15, 2013 by paladinking

UNCANNY X-MEN #1

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils & colors), Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza & Al Vey (inks), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  An inside man approaches Maria Hill with an offer to help take down Scott Summers.

The Review:  One of the concerns I had about this book going in was the way it would differentiate itself from All-New X-Men.  Yes, I realize it wouldn’t feature the time traveling teens, but Cyclops and his gang have appeared quite a bit in that book such that having them star in this one seemed to be some serious overlap.  Thankfully, Bendis quickly dispels this concern.  It’s not so much that Cyclops team are front and center, which they are, but rather that the tone of the book has been subtly altered.  While part of it may be due to Bachalo’s artwork, with its muddy colors and its lack of distinct, clean lines (as opposed to Immonen and Marquez on All-New), the big reason for this is the subtle change in tone.  The book feels more shadowy, more “underground,” and a touch more edgy.  The humour isn’t there and the soap opera of All-New is shifted into something that’s a little closer to twisty, spy-thriller dramatics.  All-New is the above-ground, flagship story.  Uncanny is what happens beneath and on the revolutionary fringes that Cyclops and his team currently occupy.
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A+X #2 Review

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Matt Sargeson

A+X #2

By: Chris Bachalo, Peter David (Writer), Chris Bachalo, Mike Del Mundo (Artist), Tim Townsend (Inker), Chris Bachalo (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

The Review: It may come as a surprise that this series – which could so easily have been treated as a last ditch cash grab trading off any residual Avengers vs. X-Men hype – is actually proving pretty indispensable. It’s not so much that the stories contained within will have any lasting ramifications for the heroes they feature, but more that they offer some high-grade levity amidst a stack of comics otherwise geared towards the long game. Don’t get me wrong, I fell in love with FF #1 this week and was once again left utterly impressed by Thor: God of Thunder, but it’s also nice to have something stand-alone to read that asks for nothing more than the opportunity to brighten up my afternoon. I might have gone in not expecting much, but instead I’ve come up against creative teams that have other ideas. They want to ‘wow’ me for 10 minutes; to get in, drop some popping candy in my brain, and get out. And I’m always open to that.
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Wolverine & the X-​Men #88 – Review

Posted on April 11, 2012 by jmiddle3

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Chris Bachalo (artist/colorist), Tim Townsend (inker)

The Story: While Prof. Logan tries to recover from his injuries, Prof. Creed picks up four new pupils.

The Review: We all know how annoying it can be to see a series we’re following be interrupted by big events. The story arcs we’ve been invested in get put on hold, often the tie-in issue are tepid at best, and if the publication schedule doesn’t line up just right, there are often odd little stalling issues in between the conclusion of a big arc and the beginning of the tie-in proper. Under weaker creative teams, this can mean a meandering, pointless issue; here, however, it becomes an opportunity to delve into some darker themes and give more time to supporting characters.

This issue shines the spotlight on Professor Henry McCoy, who becomes the target of the new Hellfire Club. The Club, now apparently taking lessons from Sabretooth, has decided to go after the “heart” of the school, who Professor Creed assures them is Beast. A trap is set, and when McCoy makes a visit to S.W.O.R.D. to gather supplies and grab some sugar from his sweatheart. Abigail Brand, he finds the young lady and her team in Sabretooth’s clutches. What follows is a crazy brawl in space between the two professors, which provides some very interesting insight both into McCoy and into Creed’s perception of him. It’s darker subject matter than we’re used to seeing in this book, but it still manages to be exuberant and fun.

The B-story is just as straight forward. After failing to heal Logan’s deformed legs, Angel decides to return to Planet Sin and retake the maguffin his headmaster needs to undo the damage. His classmates decide to play hooky and go with, meaning that the action in this part of the story feels a bit more familiar. The kids exhibit all the charm we’ve come to expect, but there’s a darker undertone here as well.  Angel and Genesis begin to bond during the mission over their identity crises, which seems sweet until you think about it for a minute. “Maybe we can find out [who we are] together,” Angel says to Evan. Eeesh. These two are in for some rough epiphanies.
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Filed under: Marvel Comics | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Fear Itself: Avengers HC – Review

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Roman Colombo

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Pencils: Chris Bachalo, John Romita Jr., and Mike Deodato, Ikners: Tim Townsend, Jaimie Mendoza, Al Vey, Wayne Faucher, Victor Olazaba, Mark Irwin, Klaus Janson. Colorists: Chris Bachalo (double duty), Dean White, Paul Mounts, and Rain Beredo.

Collecting Avengers #13-17 and New Avengers #14-16

The Story: The Avengers fight against FEAR ITS—I can’t do it. It was just such a horrendous event. Still, other writers tried their best in the tie-ins and some of them were MUCH better than the main event (like Avengers Academy).  So the first section of this review should really be…

Dealing with the Crap that was FEAR ITSELF: Bendis had two series to tie into Fear Itself, and did so in very similar ways. He must have known that Avengers and New Avengers would be collected together, as he used the same narrative technique in both series. The idea is that the Oral Histories of the Avengers are caught up, so the heroes are being interviewed about their most recent crisis: Crisis of Infinite Hemorrhoids—I mean Hammers. So we have a video interview-like thing going on with the heroes playing Monday morning quarterback, and then we get images from the event. Without Fear Itself, you’d almost think that something was happening in the world. There is some brutal fights in these tie-ins. The fight between Red Hulk and the Thing was ten times more exciting than the “brawl” in Fear Itself #5. Even Squirrel Girl’s story in New Avengers was more exciting and more dire than anything that happened in the main event. So in terms of making Fear Itself seem like an actual major crisis the heroes struggle to deal with, it’s successful. Crazy shit happens here. Daredevil takes on a brigade of Nazi Robots. Spider-Woman fights the Hulk while protecting a school filled of children. Protector hacks into Stark’s Iron Men suits (including Iron Patriot) and sets them on Sin. Every moment in the Avengers/New Avengers tie-ins would make you believe that this is one of the most important events in Marvel history. If only that were true.
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Wolverine & The X-Men #4 – Review

Posted on January 14, 2012 by jmiddle3

By: Jason Aaron (writer) Nick Bradshaw (artist) Justin Posner (colors)

The Story: It always sucks to be the new kid.

What’s Good: While I was sad to see Chris Bachalo leave this series, rest assured that the art is in good hands with Nick Bradshaw. His round, friendly lines make the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning just as wonderful as Bachalo did, and his attention to detail is incredible. From the picture of Cyclops on a dart board, to Quire’s copy of the Art of War, to Glob’s papers sticking to him, every panel feels rich and resplendent. The change in art style also reflects a change in tone. The faculty are no longer fighting off external forces that threaten to destroy the school, but are still burdened by the day-to-day difficulties of managing and teaching twenty super-powered adolescents. As such, the atmosphere has lightened, and things no longer look ready to come apart at the seams. There are some truly beautiful shots of Angel against the sun, and everyone’s body language is as expressive as their dialogue.

One of my favorite parts of this new series has been just how well  Jason Aaron has been able to capture the dynamic between the students and the teachers, while keeping everyone in character. Wolverine and company are truly teachers, not team leaders or mentors as they’ve been in other books featuring young mutants, and this relationship informs nearly of their interactions.

The story in this issue centers around the introduction of Angel and the Kid-Apocalypse Evan, who calls himself Genesis. The two  face very different challenges; Evan will have to decide his fate, whether to be savior or destroyer. Worse, he will have go through puberty, bullies, high school drama as figure it out. This has me concerned for his treatment by writers: it will be only too tempting to repeatedly pen stories about him “going evil” only to “redeem himself” in endless and unsatisfying cycles. I’m really hoping that Jason Aaron has a very specific character arc in mind for him, and that he can convince editors and future writers to try to adhere to as tight a story as possible. For Angel, on the other hand, I think the struggle will not so much be about finding himself as it will be about convincing others that he is a very different person than the one they remember. This, I like. At the very end of the Dark Angel Saga, I was concerned that all that the only reprecusion was that he had developed amnesia, and that after maybe a few months, we’d get a story line about him regaining his memories. If the changes in him are as far-reaching as they are implied to be here, the writers have been braver than I would have dared to hope. There’s a lot of potential for some very interesting stories here, not only for this new character, but also for all of Warren’s friends as they adjust to his “condition.”
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Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Wolverine & the X-Men #3 – Review

Posted on December 21, 2011 by jmiddle3

By: Jason Aaron (writer); Chris Bachalo, Duncan Rouleau and Matteo Scalera (pencils); Tim Townsend, Jaime Medoza, Al Vey, Mark Irwin, Victor Olazaba, Duncan Rouleau and Matteo Scalera (inkers); Chris Bachalo and Jason Keith (colors)

The Story: The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning gets a new mascot.

The Review: And so ends Wolverine’s first day as a headmaster. Jason Aaron really threw the kitchen sink at him: rowdy students, disgruntled employees, the NYS Board of Regents, interdimensional gremlins, the new Hellfire club, and his very first enemy (publication-wise), Krakoa. It’s fitting that he face both new problems and old foes, as this book is simultaneously going back to the franchise’s roots and breaking new ground. It’s also incredibly fun.

Aaron has been turning out solid work, fitting in a tremendous number of characters and details without anything feeling lost, and this issue is no exception. The dialogue continues to bubble with enthusiasm, the ensemble has great chemistry, and the characters continue to develop and surprise. The pace of the storytelling has smoothed out after a somewhat slow first issue and an entirely frantic sophomore showing. The resolution to the main conflict between the mutants and Krakoa feels a tad bit rushed, but it matches the insanity at the heart of the book. The hasty resolution also allows for a truly fantastic double spread revealing Krakoa’s fate, and I doubt there’s a single reader who won’t smile while reading it.

As you may have noted above, the art team got pretty big for this issue. I expected it would be a mess when I saw the names of eight different artists on the credits page. But while this issue intentionally portrays a huge mess, and maintains a kinetic and anxious aesthetic, the style still looks pretty tight and uniform. The zany, hyper-exaggerated style is completely in sync with the tone of the book, and allows for some really fantastic character moments. And did I mention that awesome double spread? I did? Well, whatever, it deserves to be mentioned twice. It’s awesome.
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Wolverine and the X-Men #2 – Review

Posted on November 27, 2011 by dfstell

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils & colors), Tim Townsend & Jaime Mendoza (inkers), Rob Steen (letters), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: How long did you think it would be before the new mutant academy got trashed?

Five things: 

1. Go Iceman! - One neat thing about getting a new writer on an X-Men title is that most of them pick a pet character.  It gives you a little insight into the pitch they must have made to get the writing assignment in the first place.  They’ve all got interesting ideas about some of these characters and schemes that no one has tried before.  So, it’s really cool that Iceman is stepping up in this series because he’s always been the lame hero who wasn’t quite sold on even being a hero.  Mostly he was just the guy who wanted to be an accountant who slid around on ice slides and fired snowballs at Magneto.  Haha!  Jason Aaron obviously thinks that Iceman can be a major difference maker and this new manifestation of his abilities where he creates multiple snowmen and then controls them all is super-cool.  Oh yeah….and he impulsively plants a kiss on the lips of Ms. Pryde.  I LOVE that!  Even though the Kitty-Colossus thing is kinda a staple, I get sick of seeing them just pining for each other and continually ripped apart by fate.  Maybe it’d be cool to see Kitty (who has always been practical) decide it just isn’t in the cards for her and Peter and go in a more practical direction?

2. Love /Hate the new Hellfire Club. - On one hand, these kids are really funny because they’re a perfect canvas for Aaron’s black sense of humor: hearing such nasty things coming out of such young mouths.  One the other hand….I just cannot buy kids as a threat to the X-Men.  I really don’t care if they’re super smart.  It just flies in the face of my experiences with kids in real life.  Sure, adults will humor them and laugh at their jokes and sometimes act like we believe their white lies, but even average adults are usually 10 steps ahead of smart kids and the X-Men aren’t average adults.

3. LOTS of newness in the character line-up! - Other than Wolverine and Kitty, almost all of the characters in here are either new, updated versions of older characters or characters who have been underused.  A quick list:  As mentioned above, we have a new Iceman.  Rachel Grey has been off the board for a long time.  Idie is a new creation in the last year.  Broo the Brood is new from Astonishing X-Men.  Quentin Quire hasn’t been used in forever.  And this Kid Gladiator and his bodyguard Warbird I think are 100% new.  Coming off an era in X-Men titles where it felt like every story featured the same ten characters, this is SOOOOO fresh.
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Wolverine and the X-Men #1 – Review

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Roman Colombo

by: Jason Aaron (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils and colors), Tim Townsend, Jamie Mendoza, and Al Vey (inks)

The Story: Wolverine had the money to build a school with floating towers? So that’s why he is on every superhero team in the Marvel Universe!

Good stuff:

1. Jason Aaron… fun? Everything I have read from Jason Aaron has been dark and serious. I mean come on–his Wolverine #1 started with his character going to Hell. The Hell. I fully expected Wolverine and the X-Men to start with something along the lines of “Every kitten on Earth is killed by Mr. Sinister, who by the way just violated Pixie.” But no…Wolverine and the X-Men makes the reader smile. Not just smile, but feel this warm spark of wonder. From Jason Aaron. It honestly doesn’t feel like his work–instead, it’s like Chris Claremont and Mike Carey co-wrote this. But the fact that the tone is so different than anything Aaron’s shown before is a testament to his talent. He just proved something to everyone: he doesn’t have to write dark to write well.

2. Characterization done right. One of the things I despised about the “last” issue of Uncanny was the completely uncharacteristic immaturity of Beast. Oddly, this was right after Gillen wrote him wonderfully in “Regenesis.” Jason Aaron’s Beast is one I can’t wait to read more of–it’s exactly who Hank McCoy is, and how he would be on the first day of the most technologically advanced school ever made.  But then there’s Professor X’s passing of the torch, a great way to begin the series, Headmistress Kitty Pryde trying to keep things from spiraling out of control. And Toad, the janitor… He’s actually kind of a treat in this. One character that Aaron seems to love to write is Idie, and her brief scene is wonderful. It’s sad and cute all at the same time. Just one thing confused me…I’m behind on some books, but what’s up with the army of tiny Nightcrawlers?

3. Schism is Over! Thank god. And the characters don’t sit around dwelling on how much they hate Cyclops (remember when we all used to hate Cyclops? Oh the 90s). It’s hardly even mentioned…well, not in this way, at least. In fact, Wolverine says a joke about it at one point.

4. Chris Bachalo. Seriously, that’s all that needs to be said. He is perfect for this book.

5. Everything else. After the story is some great extras, including a list of who went to Westchester (faculty and students alike) and a nice course offering (Gambit teaches Sex Ed, for all those who were wondering).
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Filed under: Marvel Comics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Avengers #15 – Review

Posted on July 20, 2011 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils & colors), Tim Townsend, Wayne Faucher, Jaime Mendoza, Victor Olazaba, and Mark Irwin (inks), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Steve Rogers sends a strike-team to Brazil to tackle the Worthy-fied Hulk, including a Spider-Woman still searching for her big moment of redemption.

What’s Good:  While I know that he has his detractors, I personally quite like Chris Bachalo’s art.  It’s cartoony flavour has a kind of good-natured sincerity to it that feels genuine and positive.  His action scenes are also lightning fast and overall, he handles the hectic stuff about as well as anyone could hope.  Mostly though, his strength is in the fact that his unique style does well in making characters naturally likable, which is crucial in an issue like this.

Both Bendis and Bachalo also did really strong work in coordinating the running battle this month.  And really, that’s the best way to describe it: coordinated.  The action had a nice, organic flow to it and really gave off the sense that the Avengers involved were working in tandem and employing strategy.  Better still, we got to see guys like Hawkeye, the Protector, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Woman at the forefront of the fight, using a whole range of their abilities.  It’s a nice change, given that these characters usually take a backseat to the bigger-names when it comes to sharing page-space in fight sequences.

What’s Not So Good:  ]It seems that Bendis has been using Fear Itself as a kind of narrative vehicle through which characters can define themselves by.  We saw it last month with Red Hulk, and we saw it in this month’s New Avengers issue with Mockingbird.  The thing is, there were reasons to focus on those two and there were fresh motivations and changes to both characters that left them wanting to define themselves.  Rulk’s a former bad guy and had just joined the Avengers, while Mockingbird had just had a near death experience and had just gained superpowers.  Both characters were in new places in their lives.
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Avengers #13 – Review

Posted on May 18, 2011 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (script), Chris Bachalo (art & colors), Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, Al Vey, & Wayne Faucher (inks), and Clayton Cowles (letters)

The Story:  The Avengers recount the early days of Fear Itself.

The Review:  This is a very difficult issue to review.  Quite frankly, if you don’t like Brian Bendis, particularly Bendis on an Avengers title, stay the hell away.  I don’t care how much you love the franchise, this sort of issue is one that sure to make people get out the torches and pitchforks.

Honestly, it’s not because Bendis noodles with continuity or flubs characters’ voices or whatever.  Rather, it’s because this is a very Bendis-y issue that’s almost entirely composed of talking heads.  This is the more indie-minded Bendis, as evidenced by the fact that this issue uses interlocking monologues on pages with a large number of small panels, a technique that’ll be very familiar to anyone who has ever read Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming’s Powers.  Essentially, this doesn’t feel at all like your standard Marvel superhero fair, it’s just a whole lot of dialogue, there’s next to no plot development or real set narrative, and there’s absolutely zero action.

Yet, because I am a confirmed fan of Mr. Bendis, I, for one, enjoyed it, as I expect many of his fans will, even those more keen on his creator owned work than his superhero stuff.  It’s dialogue heavy and feels genuinely more human and it’s unique as far as Marvel comics go.  The dialogue feels quippy, but in a natural way that feels fluid and quick as opposed to forced.  It puts a relatable, human face on the trauma of Fear Itself and the nature and burden of being an Avenger in the face of such calamity.  Without action, and really without much else to look at but the characters’ faces, you’re really forced to take in the events and the characters on an intimate and personal level.  The result is a cast that has a charming kind of vulnerability, a big group of Avengers that feel like people above all else.
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X-Men #10 – Review

Posted on April 29, 2011 by dfstell

By: Victor Gischler (writer), Chris Bachalo & Paco Medina (pencils), Tim Townsend, Wayne Faucher, Jaime Mendoza, Al Vey & Juan Vlasco (inks), Antonio Fabela & Jim Charalampidis (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: The X-Men / Spider-Man spectacular sewer team-up comes to a close.

What’s Good: It makes me so happy when the X-Men can have a story where Wolverine doesn’t save the day.  I like the hairy little Canadian as much as the next guy, but I do get a little sick of him always being the solution to whatever problem the X-Men are facing.  In issue #9, Dark Beast was revealed as the villain and he’d used the new-and-improved Lizard’s powers to turn Wolverine, Gambit & Storm into lizardmen/women.  So, that leaves fixing the whole mess in the lap of Emma and Spider-Man and they have a fun little team-up in the sewer.  Earlier in this arc, I was a little hard on Emma’s portrayal as being a little too whiney, but Gischler really makes this interaction work nicely.  Emma is at her best as a character when she has someone who is casual, earnest and prone to sophomoric humor to play off of and you won’t find many characters that fit those criteria better than Spidey.

This story arc was also a real success.  It told a tight and self-contained X-story by focusing on a core group of characters and allowing them to interact in a purely heroic way with a Marvel mainstay.  And….it wasn’t one of those overly long 6-issue stories either.

Chris Bachalo is one of my absolute favorite artists and one side benefit to his great art is that you’re unlikely to ever see him on a 6-8 issue story arc because I don’t think he can quite do a monthly book and have it look like Chris Bachalo; I’ve never seen the guy do crummy looking work just because he got a little behind.  So, what we get here is classic Bachalo: frenzied and highly detailed character that overflow with vitality, cute/soft/attractive women and some of the most imaginative page layouts anywhere.  Very nice!
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X-Men #9 – Review

Posted on March 24, 2011 by dfstell

By: Victor Gischler (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Tim Townsend, Wayne Faucher, Jamie Mendoza & Al Vey (inks), Bachalo (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: The X-Men battle lizards and a mystery villain in the sewers of NYC while looking for missing children.

What’s Good: The X-Men work best when you reduce the cast of characters.  This issue (and storyline) features Storm, Emma, Gambit & Wolverine.   Toss in Spider-Man (amazing who you meet in the sewer!), and you’ve got a good cast.  Gischler keeps the story bouncing along by keeping the cast small and also not foreshadowing any future storylines.  Usually, I like to see little teases of what is coming up next, but Gischler somehow makes it work really well.  He is also really getting a handle on these characters quickly.  For example, I thought that in the first issue of this arc, he was writing Emma Frost as too whiny (complaining about the muck in the sewer), but he’s got her nailed by this issue where she’s being more sarcastic about the working conditions.  [Note: Although these are fictional characters that don't have a set personality, there are ways I prefer the characters to be depicted.]

The story itself is pretty cool and does flow from the really strong Shed storyline in Amazing Spider-Man ~#630, but if you didn’t read that you’ll be fine because the true villain in this story isn’t the Lizard, it’s someone a lot worse.  The sequence where Gischler reveals the identity of the mystery villain is really well executed from a mechanics standpoint.  He spends a page or two with the villain speaking through word balloon pointing off the page.  The entire time, the panels are composed with really tight shots so you can’t really tell where they balloons are coming from.  Then, the villain is revealed after a page turn.  Wonderful!  Gischler is pretty new to comics, but this is the type of thing where you think, “This guy gets it.”  Way too many comics spoil these types of revelations by having the villain standing there in a full-page splash on the right hand page so you look over there and see the baddie before you’ve read any of the lead in.  [Note: This issue starts oddly from an ad placement standpoint.  After the customary X-title page with the credits and recap, the first left-hand page is an ad, making the first page of the actual comic on the right-hand side.  This is very unusual and I wonder if it was done to accommodate this villain-reveal.  If so, BRAVO guys because that reveal was kinda the key to the issue.]
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X-Men #8 – Review

Posted on February 23, 2011 by dfstell

By: Victor Gischler (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils & colors), Tim Townsend, Wayne Faucher, Jaime Mendoza & Al Vey (inks), Joe Caramanga (letters) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: A team of X-Men run into Lizards in the NYC sewers.

What’s Good: Really good story that picks up directly from the Shed storyline in Amazing Spider-Man from around issue #630 or so.  You needn’t have read Shed and this issue includes a handy recap of the things you need to know, but if you did read Shed this adds more meat to a very good story arc.  I love it when the various corners of the Marvel Universe interact because it makes the whole thing feel cohesive.

Gischler spins a story of awkward youths getting mixed up in the Lizard problem that is pretty entertaining.  All of the X-Men and Spidey can relate to being misunderstood, so this strikes close to home for all of them.  Gischler keeps the mood light and really has a good handle on all of the X-Men in this issue.  Heck, I even like the way he writes Gambit.  It also helps that we’ve gotten the X-Men out of Utopia, so the team of X-Men is kinda all we have.  There are none of those annoying scenes in this issue where a random mutant wanders through the action and no one checks in with Cyclops.  When was the last time Cyclops didn’t appear in an in-continuity X-title????

It is hard for me to be objective about the art because Chris Bachalo may be my favorite artist, but it’s with good reason.  The guy is really, really good.  This cartoony style is so much more effective at capturing emotion and body language because it doesn’t have to be married to human anatomy.  His Wolverine looks short and mean.  Emma looks elegant and aloof.  Bachalo draws a GREAT Emma Frost.  And we all know that he can draw a great Spider-Man.  There is also all kinds of detail crammed into these panels: fences, leaves on trees, coiled up computer cables, crown molding on the ceiling, etc.  Although there are 4 inkers on this issue, it isn’t a problem.  You can kinda tell the pages where different inkers are providing finishes, but the story has enough different acts that each inker seems to have one “act” and the overall effect isn’t too jarring.  Something that is often overlooked about Bachalo is his coloring.  I’m pretty sure this is a newer talent for him, but he has some real gifts both with skin tones and with making the superhero tones of red and yellow look dramatic.
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Filed under: Marvel Comics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments »

X-Men #7 – Review

Posted on January 27, 2011 by dfstell

By: Victor Gischler (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Tim Townsend (inks), Bachalo (colors), Joe Caramanga (letters) & Axel Alonso (editor)

The Story: The X-Men are trying to boost their public image and then get called off to investigate some weird reptiles in NYC.

What’s Good: The second story arc is usually pretty telling for a new title and this seems headed in a good direction.  There is a pretty big spoiler for this issue staring at us on the cover.  Hmmmm….who is that hanging upside down and what could HE have to do with this story?  Two things that I love about Spidey’s involvement.  For one thing, I like it when the X-Men get out there an interact with other heroes in the Marvel U.  My biggest general complaint with Marvel recently has been that too often their characters exist on these little islands unto themselves until they come together during a crossover.  If the X-Men are embracing their role as true heroes, it makes sense that they’d check out some rumors of big reptiles in the sewers of NYC and it makes sense that they would run into Spidey while they’re in town.

The other thing that I love is that this is picking up some story threads from the Zeb Wells/Chris Bachalo “Shed” storyline that was around ASM 630 or so.  That was a great story and it seems like it’ll find new life here.  I know we all groan as fans when we have a crossover forced down our throat, but this isn’t that at all.  The Shed story is over and it was 20 issues ago (in dog years that ASM counts by), you can go read it if you like, but I strongly doubt it’ll be required.  It seems this move hearkens back to the old days when something could happen in Avengers and then be picked up a year later in Defenders.  We’ve really kinda lost that feeling of cohesiveness to the Marvel U now that creators are scattered around the globe AND there is an editorial mandate to make the collected editions approachable for newbies.  There are even a lot of nice little references to the previous story arc with vampires that stick out only because references to past issues are so rare nowadays because they would be confusing to the trade paperback reader.  Yet another way that trade waiters are ruining comics.  :)

Gischler is also going back to the bright and sunny attitude that pervaded the X-books at the beginning of Fraction’s run on Uncanny when the X-Men were new to San Francisco.  They loved SF and the city loved them right back.  I LIKE seeing the X-Men as heroes and it makes sense that SF would embrace them.  Heck…they cheered for Barry Bonds!

So…. the story hits a lot of happy spots for me.

And, of course, it is drawn by Chris Bachalo who is one of my absolute favorite artists.  I read a ton of comics and get exposed to a lot of artistic styles, but I still think that Bachalo’s cartoony style is the best for most superhero illustration because it allows for an easy sense of humor (which comics need) and it doesn’t have to be married to fundamental human anatomy.  To see what I mean by that, just look at the cover.  I love Terry Dodson and think he draws an awesome pretty woman, but look at Emma Frost.  Her shoulders look like they’re kinda in the wrong place compared to her hips and it jumps out at you as odd anatomy because he is generally drawing in a realistic style.  If Bachalo wants to do that exact same scene with his style, it just accentuates that she is thrusting her chest out and you ignore the fact that the dimensions are off a little bit.  This style allows Bachalo to play it straight when he needs to, but also just go nuts in a few panels of every issue.  And, of course, his level of commitment to unusual layouts, frenzied panel designs, detailed backgrounds, etc. makes your other comics just look bad in comparison.  Love it.
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X-Men: Messiah Complex – Review

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Roman Colombo

Writers: Ed Brubaker, Peter David, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, and Mike Carey

Pencilers: Mark Silvestri, Billy Tan, Scot Eaton, Humberto Ramos, and Chris Bachalo

There probably will be spoilers in this about the entire Messiah Trilogy. Thou hath been warned!

Last week I wrote about Endangered Species and how it set the tone for Messiah Trilogy and everything that follows. Now it’s time to get into the real meat of the Messiah Trilogy with the crossover event Messiah Complex.  Rereading this for probably the 100th time, I can say this right off the bat—it still gets better with every read. Complex is simply one of the best stories to have come out in comics in years. Out of all the major events in the past ten years, I honestly hold Messiah Complex as the best. Does it have its faults? Of course. Every story no matter how well told will always have a few glitches, no matter how minor. But just looking at the entire Messiah saga, Complex has the strongest writing and the strongest art (Well, Messiah War has fantastic art, but it’s not exactly the same. Next week…next week). So before we get into the story and how it works in this trilogy as a whole—and the implications of some of the scenes/motifs—let’s look at this awesome creative team.

First off, did you see that list of writers? If that’s not a perfect group of writers, then I don’t know what is. Just going by these names, anyone who picks up this graphic novel should know that they’re in for a great read. Each writer is great—and more importantly, they’re consistent. Of course it’s important for a writer to stand out on their own, but in a crossover—especially one as big as Messiah Complex and the later Second Coming, consistency in style and tone is extremely important. It may be five writers, but the story should read one. The reader should not notice a change in writers, and the fact that Brubaker and company were able to do this not only proves how talented they are, but also show their ability to work with other great writers—knowing when to pick up traits or possibly give suggestions—and create a great story as one. In one of the two sequels to Messiah Complex, we’ll definitely see instances of one writer not wanting to play with the others because the abrupt shifts in characterization and tone scream at the reader (I’ll keep you guessing for now, but I’m sure most of you know which story I’m talking about).  I am all for individuality, and if you read all these writers’ respective books, you can get that. But seeing so many talented people working together is one of the biggest treats of the book.
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X-Men Curse of the Mutants: Storm & Gambit #1 – Review

Posted on August 28, 2010 by dfstell

By: Chuck Kim (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, Wayne Faucher, Al Vey, Victor Olazaba, Mark Irwin & Bachalo (inks), Antonio Fabela & Bachalo (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: Storm and Gambit try to break into Vampire Island to steal the body of Dracula.

What’s Good: If you’ve followed the X-Men for any length of time, you’ve been burned by these one-shot/miniseries that tie into whatever event or status quo is going on in the main X-books.  Sometimes these one-shots are just complete crap, but I tend to buy them because I hope I’ll get what this issue had.

Considering this issue stars two of my least favorite X-Men (Storm and Gambit), it is (surprisingly) a lot of fun as they make their way through Vampire Island to steal Dracula’s body.  Both are a little out of sorts because they end up relying on their thief-skills rather than their mutant powers and that was a nice change-up because we’ve all seen plenty of Storm zapping things from on high or Gambit slinging glowing purple objects around.

It also had some good guest starring roles for Emma, Dazzler & Northstar.  I love the way some writers just seem to really enjoy writing Emma and her snarky attitude.

Of course, backing this all up is art by Chris Bachalo (who is one of my favorite artists).  There are a few issues with it that I’ll discuss below, but also a few panels/pages that just sing and demand that you linger before turning the page.
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Amazing Spider-Man #633 – Review

Posted on June 17, 2010 by dfstell

By: Zeb Wells (writer), Chris Bachalo & Emma Rios (art), Tim Townsend, Victor Olazaba, Mark Irwin & Bachalo (inks – over Bachalo’s art only), Antonio Fabela (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: The wrap up of The Lizard story line: The Lizard personality has completely driven Curt Connors from his mind and gained the ability to telepathically cause humans to release their inner lizard.

What’s Good: I’ll miss Chris Bachalo after this issue.  So much so, that I went and dug out a bunch of older issues of Uncanny X-Men that he drew for back-issue reading.  I’ve said it on the last few issues, but I love his art.  It is so nice to see someone just drawing without using all sorts of the bad elements of photo-reference (i.e. tracing).  I don’t need a comic book to look like a photograph and this art just screams “comic books!” at you.  Plus, his artistic design work through this issue is top notch from the panel layouts to the way that Spidey’s mask gets all wrinkly when he pulls it up to drink.  Nice work!

It has been true for every Spidey-rogue who we’ve seen in the Gauntlet, but I like how the Lizard comes out of this arc.  By the end of the story, it seems like the personalities of Lizard and Connors have basically merged and the reptile brain starts to feel some compassion and shame for having killed Billy (Connors’ son).  It will be interesting to see how this creative choice plays out in the future because one of the defining characteristics of Lizard has always been the split personality, but I’ll give the creators credit for doing something bold.  You can only do so much with the Lizard as he was before: Connors loses control, Lizard rampages, Spidey does something to help Connors regain control, The End.  Now I have no idea what will happen the next time Lizard shows up.
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Amazing Spider-Man #632 – Review

Posted on May 28, 2010 by dfstell

By: Zeb Wells (writer), Chris Bachalo & Emma Rios (pencils), Tim Townsend, Jamie Mendoza, Victor Olazaba & Bachalo (inks), Antonio Fabela (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: The Lizard continues his rampage through NYC.

What’s Good: Wow!  This was the kind of issue that restores one’s faith in superhero comics.  I read a LOT of superhero comics and most are just “okay”: The story chugs along, they fight bad guys, the art is okay and all the furniture is returned to its original position in the end.  Rinse & repeat.

The entire Gauntlet story line that has been running through ASM since ~#612 has had great updates of all of Spidey’s classic rogues.  And there have been some really good stories featuring Electro, Sandman & Rhino, but this redo of the Lizard just takes the cake.  From the really surprising and tragic event that occurs in the opening pages to learning about the Lizard’s new, scary and unexpected powers, this issue just never lets up.  Lizard has been one of my favorite Spidey rogues for ~30 years and he is better than ever with this update.  I’ll also add that this cool update happens without trampling all over prior continuity either.  Kudos!
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Amazing Spider-Man #631 – Review

Posted on May 13, 2010 by dfstell

By: Zeb Wells (writer), Emma Rios (art pp 1-8), Chris Bachalo (pencils pp 9-22), Tim Townsend, Jamie Mendoza & Bachalo (inks pp 9-22), Antonio Fabela (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: Lizard’s murderous rampage continues and we’re see more teases of the impending “hunt.”

What’s Good: As I’d mentioned in my review of ASM #630 last week, the Lizard has always been one my my favorite Spidey rogues.  The contrast between Dr. Curt Connors (who Peter Parker admires) and the Lizard (who is just flat out trying to kill Peter) is always fun and interesting.  I guess it should be kind of one-note, but I’ve always enjoyed it.

I think that Zeb Wells has really nailed the characterization of the Lizard with Connors voice peeking through from inside, especially in one particular scene where Spidey descends on the Lizard (you can only see Spidey’s hands) and we hear Connors say “Oh, thank you.”  This leads into a really well done fight scene between Spidey and the Lizard.  What makes it so cool is not so much the art or the moves anyone is pulling, but the 3 inner monologues that Wells has written and the contrast between the reptilian brain and Spidey (with his mammal brain).

If you enjoyed Chris Bachalo’s art in the last issue, you get more here… But only about half of the issue.  His take on the Lizard is just great!  I’d imagine he is a really time consuming character to draw with all those scales.

Finally we are ready with the sneak peak of the new Kravinoff “Hunt”.  As I said in my last review, they have been teasing this for a LONG time, but it finally is starting to feel ripe and I always enjoy it when comics have a flow to them rather than just dropping one story and beginning another.
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Amazing Spider-Man #630 – Review

Posted on May 5, 2010 by dfstell

By: Zeb Wells (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Tim Townsend & Jaime Mendoza (inks), Antonio Fabela (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: The Lizard is back, and Peter Parker has girl troubles.

What’s Good: This is why I love the almost weekly schedule that ASM is on.  Last week’s issue wasn’t so hot, but it’s Wednesday again, and time to turn the page to a good Spider-Man story so I don’t have to think about that unfulfilling Juggernaut/Captain Universe arc any more.  This is really a pretty simple issue: The Lizard re-emerges at the end of the issue and that promises a fun, dark and good story.  I like the Lizard as an enemy because he is truly dangerous, but Spider-Man is very conflicted about really going after him because of the fondness he has for Dr. Connors.  The entire lead-up to the Lizard re-emerging is really well written by Zeb Wells.  I love the little Lizard inner-monologue mixed with Connors’ explanation of the nasty instincts of reptiles.

Meanwhile, we get some good, Peter Parker love-life stuff.  I know it’s old and cliché for this series, but I really never get sick of the issues where it looks like Peter is hitting it off with a new girl and Wells writes his budding relationship with Carlie really well. Even us old married guys remember how wonderful it felt to hit it off with a new girl!
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Amazing Spider-Man #629 – Review

Posted on April 29, 2010 by dfstell

By: Roger Stern (writer), Lee Weeks (art), Dean White (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)  Back-up story: Zeb Wells (writer), Chris Bachalo (art) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: The three-way brawl between Spider-Man, Juggernaut, and Captain Universe comes to its dramatic conclusion!

What’s good: Lee Weeks does a very nice job on the art in this issue.  It isn’t “art-of-the-week” quality, but Spidey can be a tricky character to draw well (esp. the legs for some reason).  It is a bit of a different style than some of the other recent Spider-Man artists (Azaceta, Pulido, etc.) but it works really well and I like how the style shifts back and forth with the flashback scenes.

From a story standpoint, there isn’t a lot to cheer (as you’ll see below).  I was honestly yawning my way through this issue when…..[SPOILER]……..the Enigma Force took over Juggernaut.  That was probably the coolest thing; seeing Juggernaut come out looking all shiny and silver and wondering what he was going to do next.

What’s Not So good: For a story that started out with so much potential (mixing Juggernaut, a cosmic entity, and Spider-man), Stern sure didn’t do much with the ingredients here at the end.  For one thing, Spider-Man doesn’t get to do much of anything.  He mostly stands around yelling at Captain Universe and Juggernaut to stop fighting because we should all be using our powers to better the conditions of those less fortunate.  “We have responsibility dammit!”  And, the big “scary” thing in this issue was an earthquake.  Yep, an earthquake in Manhattan… That’s it! And that’s why I’m disappointed. 
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Dark Avengers Annual #1 – Review

Posted on December 4, 2009 by pozzyfreak

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Chris Bachalo (Pencils & Colors), Tim Townsend w/ Jaime Mendoza & Al Vey (Inks), and Antonio Fabela (Colors)

The Story: Ever wonder what happened to Noh-Varr since leaving the Dark Avengers? Now you get to find out. In the Dark Avengers Annual, Noh-Varr, a bit lost in the world since his break from the Dark Avengers, tries to contact his people and figure out humanity while avoiding Osborn’s crew.

What’s Good: The first thing I thought of when I flipped through the Dark Avengers Annual was the Wolverine installment of the Dark Reign: The List one-shot series that just wrapped up. While that’s an easy thing to do considering that both focus more on Noh-Varr than the title characters/character, the Annual is actually quite a bit different from Wolverine’s The List one-shot. The arrogant Noh-Varr written by Jason Aaron is a very different character than the one experiencing something of an existential crisis written by Brian Michael Bendis. And while Bendis’ take on the character is a bit jarring coming so soon after Aaron decided to toss Noh-Varr into a story that sort of played out like an action-comedy, the Dark Avengers Annual works far better than you might expect simply because of the way Bendis writes Noh-Varr. I don’t want to spoil anything, but by the time the Annual is over it is very clear that Noh-Varr is going to be moving up the Marvel ladder, and soon.

The best thing about Bendis’ script is that he manages to avoid making Noh-Varr seem like some brooding, angsty existentialist despite the thoughts and concepts the Kree hero is wrestling with. There’s a hopelessness that Noh-Varr feels, yet Bendis gives the script balance by highlighting both curiosity and confusion in a way that, thankfully keeps the former Dark Avenger a charming and sympathetic character throughout the Annual. n particular, Noh-Varr’s exchanges with a girl he meets, while a bit cliché and heavy handed, do a nice job of highlighting the direction the character is heading. In addition, Bendis wisely keeps the focus on the character development as The Sentry and Noh-Varr square off. It would have been easy to toss in generic fight scene banter, but Bendis’ decision to let Noh-Varr and The Sentry play off each other does a lot of good for both characters.

The artwork in the Dark Avengers Annual is easily the highlight of the book. While the character work and dialogue by Bendis is strong, the art team makes even the most mundane moments look lively and interesting. Now I’ll be the first to admit that Chris Bachalo is a strange artist for the type of character developing story that Bendis tells, but Bachalo’s work is so much fun to look at that it’s hard to care (keep an eye out for a funny Sinister Spider-Man Easter egg!). The panels manage to be both cinematic and quirky, the action is kinetic and dynamic, and the visual storytelling is smooth and fluid. Special mention must also be made of Antonio Fabela’s intentionally bland, understated color choices, highlighted here and there by the use of a vibrant reds. Fabela’s work compliments both Bachalo’s pencils and the tone of Bendis’ story extremely well.

What’s Not So Good: I really don’t have any major complaints about the Dark Avengers Annual. I suppose I could mention that a few panels seem a bit cluttered and that Bendis’ story doesn’t really break any new ground (you’ve seen the story arc play out in numerous times in numerous forms), but then I would just be nitpicking. Sure the two things mentioned are noticeable, but they hardly have an impact on what is a very strong book.

Conclusion: Do yourself a favor and pick up the Dark Avengers Annual. The artwork is great, the story does good things for an interesting character, and it ends in a way that will leave you looking forward to Noh-Varr’s next appearance.

Grade: A-

-Kyle Posluszny

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Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-Man #4 – Review

Posted on October 3, 2009 by pozzyfreak

By Brian Reed (Writer), Chris Bachalo w/ Rob Disalvo (Pencils), Townsend, Disalvo, Sibal, Irwin, Wang, & Mendoza (Inks), and Bachalo w/Fabela & Mossa (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The storyline is a bit basic and the way the artwork is divided up tends to be annoying, but those issues haven’t stopped me from enjoying the hell out of the Sinister Spider-Man mini-series.

The Story: Mayor Jameson’s Big Apple Festival is in big trouble. The Redeemer’s there, the two rivals gangs are there, and, worst of all, Bullseye and Wolverine’s kid are there as well. Does that mean Spider-Man is in trouble as well? You better believe it.

What’s Good: Now that’s more like it! Sinister Spider-Man #4 manages to recapture everything that made the first issue of the mini-series so great. It’s funny as hell, the manic artwork kicks ass, and the story finishes in a way that’s so crazy it actually winds up being quite satisfying.

Brian Reed’s hilarious script elevates a fairly generic bad guy acting like a good guy story into something more. What makes it work so well is that Reed writes Mac Gargan (A.K.A. Sinister Spider-Man) as an asshole through and through. A funny, likeable asshole, but an asshole nonetheless. By doing so, Reed’s able to make you root for Gargan while loving every bit of chaos that erupts as a result of what he’s done throughout the mini-series. It must be said, however, that Reed’s script wouldn’t work nearly as well if the artist handling the craziest parts of it didn’t completely embrace the writers vision. Thankfully, Chris Bachalo does.

Right from the opening “What the **** is this **** all about?” splash page (that features, among other things, flying panties, gangsters, a poodle, and corn dogs), Bachalo establishes that the Sinister Spider-Man series is going to finish on one heck of a high note. Now I’m well aware that Bachalo’s kinetic style isn’t for everyone, but it’s hard to argue how fitting it is for the story being told and the action that takes place. I never thought I’d see both corn dogs and a “yap dog” being used as projectile weapons, yet there they are. The few pages Rob Disalvo contributes are solid as expected, though I can’t help but wonder why Marvel didn’t just give Bachalo another week or two to finish the book. It’s not like the whole Dark Reign thing is ending next week.

What’s Not So Good: The only real big negative about Sinister Spider-Man #4 is that occasionally Chris Bachalo’s artwork is too hectic. There’s a lot of stuff going on and sometimes it doesn’t come together all that well on the page. And that’s either due to small panel size or the amount of action being crammed into a scene.

Conclusion: Sinister Spider-Man #4 rocks pretty hard. Be sure to pick up the inevitable trade if you haven’t been following the Dark Reign mini-series.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

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Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-Man #3 – Review

Posted on August 30, 2009 by pozzyfreak

By Brian Reed (Writer), Chris Bachalo (Pencils & Colors), Rob Disalvo (Pencils & Inks), Tim Townsend w/ Mendoza & Sibal (Inks), and Andres Mossa w/ Fabela (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Note to Marvel: I demand a Brian Reed/Chris Bachalo Sinister Spider-Man ongoing series. It’d compliment the twisted Daniel Way/Paco Medina Deadpool series quite nicely.

The Story: The Sinister Spider-Man continues to stir sh*t up for J. Jonah Jameson as he prepares for the first annual Big Apple festival. Meanwhile, The Redeemer and his crew call in a nuclear bomb threat in order to get Spidey’s attention…

What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: Simply put, writer Brian Reed gives Sinister Spider-Man just the right tone to make it work incredibly well. It’s mean, violent, silly, and damned funny all at the same time. The one-liners alone are almost worth the price of the book. Reed’s approach to the series goes a long way towards making up for a story that, while a lot of fun, isn’t exactly mind-blowing.

The artwork in Sinister Spider-Man #3 is divided (rather unevenly) between Rob Disalvo and Chris Bachalo. That could easily be a bad thing; but thankfully, it’s not, here.

Bachalo handles the one big action scene and, as expected, it’s stylish and wildly chaotic. And while it definitely has a “wow” factor to it (as Bachalo’s work usually does), it’s hard to ignore how hard the action is to follow at times because Bachalo’s style simply doesn’t work all that well in small panels (and there’s quite a few). It adds to the insanity of the fight, that’s for sure. But that’s not necessarily a good thing in this case.

In Sinister Spider-Man #2, Rob Disalvo’s few pages were a bit jarring. In the third Sinister Spider-Man, Disalvo pretty much takes center stage and, therefore, doesn’t disturb the book in any way (if anyone does, it’s Bachalo). While his work doesn’t pack nearly the punch that Bachalo’s does, it’s clean, expressive, and solid as can be. In addition, most importantly, it tells the story effectively. Also, I’ve got to mention the full credit page shot of Gargan vomiting up a rabid squirrel (yep, it’s that kind of book). It’s easily the highlight of what Disalvo does.

Conclusion: The Sinister Spider-Man mini-series continues to rock pretty hard. It brings the funny and features some slick artwork.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

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Dark Reign: The Sinister Spider-Man #2 (Dark Reign) – Review

Posted on July 31, 2009 by pozzyfreak

By Brian Reed (Writer), Chris Bachalo w/ Rob Disalvo (Pencils), Tim Townsend, Mendoza, Sibal, and Disalvo (Inks), and Bachalo w/ Mossa and Fabela (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I liked the first issue of Sinister Spider-Man a whole hell of a lot. Mean, hilarious, and absolutely awesome to look at, Sinister Spider-Man #1 might actually be one of my favorite single issues of the year. I wonder if Sinister Spider-Man #2 can live up to the high standard set by the first chapter of the Dark Reign mini?

The Story: Mac Gargan (Spider-Man) starts off a huge gang war in order to keep Mayor J. Jonah Jameson’s life as difficult as possible. Meanwhile, The Redeemer holds a group therapy session for villains that have been wronged by Spider-Man.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: The second Sinister Spider-Man issue is a lot like the first. The visuals by Chris Bachalo look fantastic (each page feels loaded with energy, even when nothing significant is happening), the dark humor by Brian Reed is spot on (who knew squirrels taste like “squirmy popcorn?!”), and the storyline is a perfect fit for a mini-series like Sinister Spider-Man. Sounds like another “A” right? Well, not quite… Two things keep Sinister Spider-Man #2 from reaching the heights of the previous Sinister Spidey issue: the visuals by Rob Disalvo and the nagging feeling that absolutely nothing of consequence is going to have happened when all is said and done.

Simply put, the change from Chris Bachalo to Rob Disalvo is downright jarring. It’s not because their styles are different, but because they are so similar. There’s one big problem though: Disalvo’s work looks incredibly weak compared to Chris Bachalo’s. While I’m sure a full book by Disalvo would look pretty cool, his few pages do not stand up well in comparison to the rest of Sinister Spider-Man #2.

The problem I have with Brian Reed’s storyline pops up at the very end of Sinister Spider-Man #2. It looks as though a major character may be as good as dead far sooner than later, but it’s EXTREMELY unlikely that the character would die in what is, ultimately, just another Marvel tie-in mini-series. The fact that the character is unlikely to die in a mini-series like Sinister Spidey definitely takes away from the overall effect the storyline being developed has.

Conclusion: While it’s got a few flaws, Sinister Spider-Man #2 is still one hell of a fun comic book. Most of the visuals are incredibly stylish and edgy, the dark humor works extremely well, and the overall personality the book has makes it easy to overlook some of the problems I mention in the review.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

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