Marcus Doidge Comic Reviews

As anadditionaltreat there's a short story at the back of the issue, featuring a super poweredalienkid and a nod that Clark's arrival may have mutated everyday folk, Smallville the TV show style. It's an okay little tale that hints at a future event but it's nothing to get too excited about yet.

This title just keeps on being great, I just hope the other new female led X-Men title that's on the horizon pacts the same sort of punch.

Now that might just be me wanting to go back to the good old days of X-Men more than considering all of the other elements this story has to resolve but at least AvX finally has me thinking about what this event could change after the dust settles. In a way, AvX feels like it might actually end up being a little bit important after this issue.

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I've been down on AvX for a while now but man, nothing is really happening here. Sure there's a hint Magneto might do something, all the Iron Fist elements might actually amount to something else (did I mention that there's a dragon in this issue) and I can't deny my intrigue of just how crazy Emma Frost is going to go soon but every single issue of this event is the same.

I can see issue #11 being the very best issue in this entire 12 issue run and I'd imagine next issue won't bring too much in the way of shocks but more just going over everything that's happened as this mess gets cleared up for Marvel: Now. In all, Avengers vs. X-Men has been a mixed bag of fun, silly, dumb, boring and not following through but if you are as good as your latest issue, AvX is currently exactly what I'd hoped this event would be.

Marvel has been coasting for a while in my mind and Avengers vs X-Men has been a twelve issue miniseries showcasing style over substance and not even all the style has been that impressive. Nothing has highlighted just how good these character are. Marvel NOW! is just around the corner and I'm hoping it's a reshuffle that uses the Marvel strengths (it's characters) to full effect rather than just giving a fresh lick of paint to the same old issues I have with modern post movie success Marvel Comics. Time will tell but I don't think I have enough patience to last it out if it's not a instant change for the better.

As a little extra we get a mini Harley story at the back, showing us the events leading up to her working with Joker in this issue's main story. It's dark in a sort of Morrison Arkham Asylum way, with manic artwork and a full look at the Joker. Its not a story that will add a lot to the event but it captures the insanity in Jokers actions well and is a nice addition to what we've seen unfold in this first issue of Death of the Family.

There's not much more to say really. The art was pretty bland when compared to the other titles in the Before Watchmen collection, even though it's solid enough. Everything just felt a little bit too real world and none of the action moments felt all that exciting, even with an explosion or two thrown in. Story wise, it just felt like there was a lot of set up and no pay off in this issue, so hopefully we'll be back to business next month and Comedian #3 might fall closer to what worked so well in the first issue or at least make this slow paced chapter feel like it was there for a reason.

The Comedian is beginning to turn into a bit of character study for the character. We're seeing him change somehow. We're at that point where he becomes more menacing, more wild and less caring. He's butting heads with those he probably shouldn't and there's a sense that his cock sure attitude towards who he is and how he fits in is about to change as a changing Amercia comes crashing down on him. Of course none of this is unexpected to those familiar with history or indeed the original Watchmen but that doesn't make it any less great to read.

I was hoping the six issue titles in Before Watchmen would have more to say than this but both Comedian and Ozymandias are feeling like they are lagging in the middle a little bit. This issue didn't have much more to say than has already been said in previous issues and the scenes here blend into one another with little in the way of direction.

This is now definitely my least favourite Before Watchmen title and I read through the pages taking almost nothing from them. It's all blurred into a series of Blake spouting statements about how to deal with the enemy, his superiors not liking him but still putting up with him and having something or other with a smiley face on it. When I read re-read these entire runs back after the Before Watchmen series wraps up, I'm hoping to get something more out of the Comedian mini series but in this topsy turvy release schedule of titles I feel like I've lost my hold on Eddie Blake's 'Nam adventure and find myself indifferent to its content.

This mini series was never a total write off but it did fall at the bottom end of the Before Watchmen pile for me. Speaking of which, I'll skip the Before Watchmen series overview for this issue and follow up soon with a countdown of the Before Watchmen line up and the highs and lows the controversial event left us with. Stay tuned folks, there's one last Before Watchmen piece coming soon"Read more at http://whatculture.com/comics/before-watchmen-comedian-5-review-and-mini-series-wrap-up.php#L4jxJRk2rIoCzu0t.99

Dollar Bill ends up being a tale about a man who's job made him want to be a better person. A man that overcame his limitations and decided to embrace his path and be the best he could be at it. Of course we know how that ends but it's still enough to inspire and makes for a good little single issue story that adds a little bit of depth to a tiny part of the Watchmen world that managed to stick with its readership over the years.

The structure, artwork, the attention to storytelling and the expansion of the elements of Watchmen are all handled in staggering ways. Straczynski doesn't exactly make Dr Manhattan his own (and probably never will) but he reminds us why we love the character so much and totally owns the story he wants to tell with the character. Dr Manhattan #1 has floored me and now waiting for the rest of this miniseries is going to be hell. If Straczynski keeps this up for the entire run we are really in for something extremely special.

I don't only think this is the best title in Before Watchmen, I think this is probably my favourite title in comics at the moment and if not the whole year. Titles like this make up for the overwhelming mediocre or just plain bad comics I read every month in the hope they'll turn a corner and be great like they deserve to be. Straczynski has captured what I loved about Dr. Manhattan in the original Watchmen and he's just running away it.

This was probably my favourite Minutemen issue to date. It feels a lot more comfortable now, more lived in and I'm really enjoying the expansion of the characters Cooke has chosen to focus on. Hollis Mason was always a favourite from the original Watchmen and watching his path towards giving up the mask is slowly building to something as his world gets darker and his loyalties begin to change.

There's a final story, giving a background into Ursula's backstory and getting to this point, you'll realise just how densly plotted Cooke's writing is. Everything here is tying into the opening page's dialogue. Life is hard. Denial gets us through the worst of it and the golden age of the Minutemen sudden feels like a brief glint of lightness in an other wise dark history of mankind. This was by far the best issue of the Minutemen so far for me and even though it's a little more disjointed than we're used to, it really worked to see how are character's are changing and just how dark Darwyn Cooke is willing to go to show this golden age to be not as rosy as we might believe.

I am very keen on seeing how Cooke wraps all of this up. Minutemen has grown into something very enjoyable over these five issues and spending all of this time with Hollis Mason has been a good way of delving into the pages of Under the Hood in wonderful ways.

This issue builds and builds drama and adds weight for Moloch to carry on his shoulders and we find ourselves on the day of his parole as the issue comes to an end. He wants to be a better man, he's more timid like he was in the original Watchmen and his life is one of regret and shame. He's going to change his ways. He's going to lay low. He's a free man that wants to be a better one. However it's the impact of a certain purple and yellow costumed villain in the making, who is waiting for Moloch at the prison gates that makes the prospect of what's to come in the next issue a way more tantalizing prospect and the point of this squeezed in miniseries suddenly becomes a little clearer.

"Nite-Owl could be accused of just expanding on elements we know about already but Straczynski and Kubert are doing their part of Before Watchmen with plenty to love and a real respect for the Watchmen characters. There's a sense things might start interconnecting within this series a little more now as well and even Crimson Corsair seems to be going somewhere too."

Anyway, this issue bring a well placed sex scene, a great bit of Nite-Owl ass kicking with a bunch of goons and a wonderful moment where a secret identity is revealed in a very grounded and humorous way. We also get a hint at the darker side of the original Nite-Owl's history as it's revealed to Dan. Also, did I mention how twisted the cliffhanger is? That Rorschach really knows how to get himself into some messed up situations doesn't he. Next issue (the last of the series) is going to get pretty messy it seems.

Anyway beyond those two plot drivers, this issue is generally a slow burning step by step look at a drug lord take down. The big cliffhanger and not to ruin anything too much, ends with Ozymandias coming face to face with another Watchmen character for the first time and it's a good moment considering we know where their relationship ultimately ends. This certainly hints at great things for the next issue and the a closer look at the relationship between these two Watchmen is something this Before Watchmen series could really thrive on.

Ozymandias is a miniseries that always remains sturdy. They've got Veidt's attitude across within the polished art of Jae Lee and the to the point storytelling of Len Wein. The escalation in this issue is a signifier that the final three issues will be taking us along Adrian's path towards giant squids and the destruction of New York in some depth and that to me, is what could make this six part series shine. Sure, we get all we need to know from Ozymandias in the closing chapters of the original Watchmen but that doesn't stop finding out and more so seeing details about his master plan being an exciting prospect.

Once again, we are left with a sense that the next issue is where the real insight in Adrian's plans will be revealed but I've been saying that for that last few issues with Ozymandias, so who knows? This title is always a good read but this one really felt like it was repeating itself somehow. Hopefully this will be the only filler in the miniseries and the last two issues will really shine.

Maybe I'm just at the point where I know this Before Watchmen run has nothing all that new to offer, or now that I know what is the focus, I'm thinking more of what might have been or what might have been missed. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying Before Watchmen a great deal but maybe my love of some elements of original Watchmen is not what DC Comics wanted to expand upon so much.

If only the last few issues of Ozymandias had been this good. This final issue of the six issue mini series that charted Ozymandias's self read autobiography has pretty much everything you'd want from an Ozymandias comic.We begin with a shock death and an even more sinister explanation of it and then we lead right into the soon to be missing artist Max Shea.

Rorschach#1 set up the playing field, dropped a few hints about what's to come (and I have to say, seeing two familiar detective again was great) and it looked glorious while doing so. It's a solid first issue for sure and I'm certain that this title is one that is going to work better the further we travel into the tale. DC did well leaving this issue to so late, just to build up a second wave of excitement for these prequels but personally I came away a tiny bit underwhelmed. Dr. Manhattan teleports in next week and something about meeting up with the blue guy again has got me really excited.

Rorschach continues to shine as a character that's easy to love and while his miniseries feels like a glimpse at his day to day mission rather than anything that will have a larger impact in the Before Watchmen run, it's all you really need for the fan favourite especially when he puts a shard of glass in bad guys mouth and follows it up with something rather nasty. Who doesn't love this masked maniac? More of the same next month please!

Rorschach continues to be a solid, beautifully illustrated comic book. It;s not trying to do anything but celebrate the elements we all love about the Watchmen character and it does them all well. Its very much a pocket story showcasing Rorschachs day to day, rather than trying to tie into historic events and the other Watchmen characters, like many of the other Before Watchmen titles are trying to do and that makes the title a refreshing element of the Before Watchmen series. One issue to go and we might be about to see a harder turning point in Rorschachs already harsh approach to the scumbags around him. Cant wait.

It's damn pretty, it had moments of pure Rorschach delight and it depicts a seedy dark New York like no other Before Watchmen title, but for a title that had the potential to be the best in the Before Watchmen run, this sort of just ended up being a solid, if somewhat underwhelming Rorschach mini series.

This issue felt long in the best of ways. The plot was allowed to develop and pull us into the situation with Laurie and I loved that. This was a great read and now more than ever I need to get my hands on the DC statutte of Laurie shown at comic con. Hey wait, did this comic just make me want to buy something? Maybe the pages are laced with that specially formulated LSD. *GULP.

Silk Spectre's part in Before Watchmen continues to be the most standalone of the miniseries' but its beginning to tie into the grand scene of things this week with the ever growing drug problem in the Before Watchmen series. For Watchmen fans, this issue holds a moment with a certain smiley badge that was handled pretty well. After the strongest of the series so far, Dr. Manhattan a couple of weeks back, each issue following feels like were going through the motions until we get back to the blue guya little, but with that said Ive still got quite a crush on the combination of Darwyn Cooke, Amanda Conner and Laurie Jupiter.

Issue #1 of this miniseries rocked, the art amixtureof fun and gruesome and I can't wait to see how Deadpool takes out all the whingy faces that have beenannoyingme over in Avengers vs X-Men of late as well as the big gunslikeHulk. It's a guilty pleasure seeing all this happen but it's handled well so far and after a long time away from Deadpool this was a glorious return to the character for me.

Cullen Bunn just gets down to it and whether its a small frame showing a dead Marvelite or a big splash image of a Marvel hero getting butchered, Talajic's artwork fits it perfectly. The fun is felt, as well as the nastiness of a Deadpool on the loose throughout this issue and I just can't get enough of it. In fact, I almost don't want him to stop after four issues. Do Deadpool vs DC next I say. Drop him on the Justice League first.

Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe ending up doing exactly what it said it would do on the covers and and as a bit of escapist fun (as well as a guilty pleasure) this miniseries could very well end up being a Marvel highlight of the year.

So far Savage Wolverine feels much more like a miniseries set up. Theres a sense this could wrap up in about four issues and a new mini arc could begin that would be totally unrelated to what were seeing here, much like what goes on over in Avenging Spider-man. I cant say that I feel hooked in enough to count the minutes until the next issue rolls around yet but beyond a few iffy Shanna images, Frank Chos artwork is still closer to perfection most other artists in Marvel (or indeed the entire comic book industry) and for that Im in for the foreseeable future, if only to see if Cho takes Wolverine into truly savage territory because lets face it, a raw, unleashed Wolverine fighting dinosaurs with Frank Chos artwork is enough to make a comic book art fan weep.

For a non-fan of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Id say I was impressed with this comic but not in awe of it really.I'mcertainly not fully converted to the world of Star Wars comics yet, as it still suffers from not quite feeling like Star Wars and more just feels like expansions on elements that are in the films anyway but as I said I am a hard fan to please outside of the films. However,I'min for at least the next couple of issues, just to see if the story itself can keep hold of me. Ill happily hang out with Luke, Han and Leia until I lose interest in yet another between stories story but hey, maybe this time will be different, it's certainly off to a good start.

Once again the DC52s changing of history chisels away at my connection to the DC universe. Each and every change feeling like they are prying my fingers away from my ever loosening grip on what I held dear about DCs roster of characters. I thinkI'mdown to about two issues in the DC52 that I actually read with enthusiasm and this #0 month could be the final straw to break the back of my DC Comics regular buying. Dont get me wrong, most of these issues are written well enough for a newbie to DC but DC52 is feeling more and more like its not for meany more. Bring on the Joker! He can win me back right?

The Underwater Welder is OUT NOW and anyone that loves a graphic novel with real heart should seek it out.

I set myself a goal after the hugedisappointmentI had with AvX. To see how Marvel NOW! went and then decide if it was time to hang up my Marvel Comics spending. At this stage, AvX: Aftermath and Uncanny X-Men feel like more laziness from Marvel. There's no focus any more, it all just feels like moves to make money or promote a film that may or may not happen over the next ten years. I don't think I'm even gonna get to Marvel NOW! if I'm honest. I'm already bored.