Comic Reviews 03.25.2019

               Hey y’all! I read a decent number of comics this week. And they were mostly pretty good! The Comics of the Week goes to Young Justice #3! It’s a good comic, fun comic and that’s all I want it to be.

               On a side note, Jonathon Hickman is coming to save the X-Men! I loved Hickman’s work on Avengers and Fantastic Four so I’m psyched. Coming in June, two miniseries. Anyway, let’s get to the comics. As always, Spoilers for everything.

Comics Reviewed: Young Justice #3, Age of X-Man: Apocalypse and the X-tracts #1, Age of X-Man: Prisoner X #1, Age of X-Man: X-Tremists #1, X-Force #1, Uncanny X-Men #14, The Flash #58

Young Justice #3

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Patrick Gleason and Viktor Bogdanovic

Colors: Chris Sotomayor (pg. 6-16) and Hi-Fi

Inks: Jonathon Glapion (pg. 12,14-15,18) and Alejandro Sanchez (pg. 1-5)

Letters: Carlos M. Mangual and Josh Reed

Cover: Gleason and Sanchez

               This is a good, fun comic, y’all. My only problem is that the story is moving at a snail’s pace. Which is not surprising for a Bendis comic, but for whatever reason, it feels extreme here. The writing is snappy and I like that each issue is a focus issue, although I am not sure Bendis quite has Connor’s voice nailed down. It is super interesting that Connor has decided to  settle down and start a family in Gemworld. I wonder how that will effect this arc. And does his kid make Superman a grandfather? If so, is Lex one too?

 

I'm gonna cry

               In terms of the art, I hope Gleason is alright. It’s not great that there is another artists so early in this series, but it also might not be Gleason’s fault. Either way, his art remains impeccable. Bogdanovic’s is… less so. The isn’t anything in particular that is wrong with it, but the art on his pages is just not as dynamic. But it is plenty good enough for a fill in issue. I just hope Gleason returns for the full issue next time.

Verdict: Buy

Age of X-Man: Apocalypse & the X-Tracts #1

Writer: Tim Seeley

Artist: Salva Espin

Colors: Israel Silva

Letters: VC’s Travis Lanham

Cover: Gerardo Sandoval and Silva

               I don’t know what to say about this comic. Nothing really happened in it. Apocalypse is leading an insurgency against the X-Men. You get it? It’s just the opposite of Age of Apocalypse. There aren’t really any interesting characters here. Even Kitty Pryde is boring. How did Seeley manage that? And I know he’s a good writer, but this comic felt phoned in.

              

               Salva Espin’s art was fine. Everything looks sharp and is clear. Some of the faces look the same and it just isn’t very exciting art.

Verdict: Pass

Age of X-Man: Prisoner X #1

Writer: Vita Ayala

Artist: German Peralta

Colors: Mike Spicer

Letters: VC’s Joe Sabino

Cover: Patch ZIrcher and Brian Reber

               I really enjoyed this comic. That was several days ago at the time of writing and I barely remember what happened. Does that mean it was bad? No. Does that mean I want to come back for more? Probably not. Vita Ayala had some decent lines of dialogue, but beyond that, I found it to be just fine. Also, I know this an alternate universe (Or something like that?), but Beast seems completely out of character and I don’t believe in it at all. Same with vindictive Gabby. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.

               German Peralta’s art mirrors that feeling. Everything looks good and is easy to follow, but the environments are bland, and the characters don’t look particularly special. Except Beast and Polaris. Because he is a big blue furball (And in an outdated design, but alternate timeline, I guess?) and she has green hair.

Verdict: Borrow

Age of X-Man: X-Tremists

Writer: Leah Williams

Artist: Georges Jeanty

Inks: Roberto Poggi

Colors: Jim Charalampidis

Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles

Cover: Razzah

This was a fun little comic. I don’t know Leah Williams, but I think she had some fun, snappy dialogue here. And the story seems rife to explore the morals of these characters. What a weird group of characters too. How did Monet and Northstar end up on this team? He doesn’t even seem to serve any purpose. Of course, that probably means he’s the key to whatever we end up seeing in this series.

Strange lineup

Georges Jeanty is a very good artist that has both an innocuous and striking style here. It is so hard for me to talk about because it is very much something I enjoy, but also something that doesn’t stand out. Normally I’d label that as “fine” art, but something here make sit better than that. Maybe it’s the expressive faces? This is why I tend to focus more on stories and writing in these reviews. I am FAR from an artistic expert.

Verdict: Buy

X-Force #1

Writer: Ed Brisson

Artist: Dylan Burnett and Juanan Ramirez

Colors: Jesus Aburtov and Brian Reber

Letters: JVC’s Cory Petit

Cover: Pepe Larraz and David Curiel

               Ed Brisson is my guy on the X-books, but this comic is boring. The backup story is much closer to what I was expecting from the main story: focused, charming, and character driven. The main story is instead driven by characters from the country Mt. Wundagore is in and none of the characters have discernable personalities. Its pretty disappointing from that angle. Except for my girl Boom Boom! Her backup story feels so much more energetic and interesting, like Brisson wanted to make it the entire issue. Also, the person that fits Kid Cable’s description that gets mentioned a couple times in this issue is definitely Kid Stryfe, right?

              

               And the art… I don’t think I like Dylan Burnett’s art. It is not inherently unappealing. I can tell what is happening in every panel and the backgrounds look fine. But every character is off model in most shots. Look at Kid Cable’s arm in the above panel. It looks like that every few panels. What is going on?

               On the opposite end, Juanan Ramirez’s art is much more my speed and even improved from his story in Uncanny X-Men #11. It is much more energetic and has far more personality that Burnett’s. It also seems to be all on model. Pretty good.

Verdict: Pass

Uncanny X-Men #14

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg

Artist: Salvador Larroca

Colors: Guru-eFX

Letters: VC’s Joe Carmagna

Cover: Larroca and Rachelle Rosenberg

               Y’all! A good issue of this arc has arrived! The dialogue here is kinda stilted, but the story was interesting. Have the Morlocks, led by Chamber, was  fun. They’re now based in Chernaya which is interesting. There are problems here, though. I know that Cyke and Logan are the focal characters of this story, but why was Havok there during the meeting with Val Cooper. They worked together in X-Force! They worked with Madrox too, but he was too busy being wildly out of character and beating a powerless mutant with multiple baseball bats. I think Matthew Rosenberg hates this character. Everyone is mostly in character. I still don’t think Rosenberg really understands Cyke, but oh well.

              

The art is, once again, very good. It seems a little stiff, but otherwise I still enjoy it. Magik has a Colossus arm in this issue. Was it like that in past issues? I have no idea why, but the mutant they captured and beat looked like Colossus. What’s up with that?

Verdict: Buy

The Flash #58

Script: Josh Williamson

Artist: Rafa Sandoval

Inks: Jordi Arragona

Colors: Tomeu Morey

Letters: Steve Wands

Cover: Sandoval, Arragona, and Morey

               Josh Williamson’s run on this comic has been a mixed, but mostly good, bag. And this issue continues that trend. The general idea of Barry going on a “Force Quest” is interesting, but what does that mean? Its implied that this is some walkabout thing, but is that it? And what does Barry expect to get out of this? A better understanding of the Speed Force. But what does that mean? It just isn’t clear. And will that better understanding help explain what the other forces are? Are they related to the forces over in Justice League? I’m a bit behind on that book as well, but its been implied they are linked, but no real link has been shown.

              

               That was all pretty negative, but I did enjoy this issue. I think the characters were fun and Barry and Iris’ banter was entertaining. Gemini seems like they might be an interesting foe even if they’re being left behind for the time being. There wasn’t much plot progression here, but it was a fun little one off.

 

This is Iris...

               As for the art… It is very good. Unless you look at Barry’s or Iris’ faces. In that case, its awful. But the rest of the art is energetic, expressive, and detailed. Sandoval is an artist I always enjoy and that doesn’t change here.

Verdict: Buy