Big Guy 4U's Profile

I've been sleep-walking through the last few issues of this book. The pacing is glacial, and Spencer is taking too long to work through an idea that's quickly losing momentum. I don't expect non-stop action, but the story refuses to progress in any meaningful ways.

The biggest problem with the Lies storyline is the fact that it's completly overshadowed by the incredible Year One arc by Rucka and Scott. Not to say that Lies is a bad arc, but it's one that cold easily be better. Rucka decompressed the hell out of this arc, and it's been moving at a glacial pace. While he's worked with Liam Sharpe and Laura Sharpe to really establish an off-kilter mood, the sto ry hasn't moved along too well. The dialogue is fine, and the premise is pretty solid, but the instance on stretching out certain scenes is unnecessary. Liam Sharpe's art is inconsistent. Certain pages work really well and pull of a strange horror-fantasy vibe nicely, but the pencils suffer from inconsistent details. Laura Martin's colouring has been stellar, and I've grown to appreciate just how much she's gone to establish the mood of this arc. more

Venditti is the most bi-polar artist writer working for the Big Two. His work on the Valiant line, and his work on the smaller DC titles was great. Unfortunately, his work with Van Jensen on Green Lantern and the Flash were aggressively mediocre. However, with Van Jensen gone, his newest work on GL has been quite good so far. Maybe Jensen was the problem all along? Venditti's Rebirth work has been far more optimistic and has featured the best take on Hal Jordan since Geoff Johns left. With a relatively simple premise and a clean slate, Venditti has turned this title into one of Rebirth's biggest surprises. Originally, I kept this book of my pull list when it was announced. But it looks like that was a big mistake. Rafa Sandoval has done an awesome job with the art. Three issues in, and he hasn't slowed down. more

Williamson continues to get better as the issue provides some breathing room after the events of the last book. The other characters get a chance to get the spotlight for a little bit, and the scenes between Meena and Wally are the highlight of the book. There's a silver-age vibe to the book with it's brand of fun science-fiction that hasn't been felt since Geoff Johns left. The art by Felipe Want anabe is great since it matches Neil Googe's style so well, but Ivan Plascencia colours are the real show-stealer. He presents a different style for every-artist, and it works. His colours are bright and light-hearted, but not obnoxious. more

The action continues to build up as Tynion moves towards the final chapter of what has been one of the biggest comic surprises of the year. The action set-pieces and the story continue to work well, but Tynion's real strength is his ability to make small character moments standout. Whether it's Clayface's confusion about everything, or his love for Tim Drake (the best Robin), Tynion has shown that he has grown as a writer. Eddy Barrows returns on art and delivers a great-looking issue. more

Christopher Priest has been out of comic books for a while, so I'd understand if he's a bit rusty with his writing. That being said, his work on Deathstroke has had a good start. Less confusing than the Rebirth one-shot, this issue is a solid blueprint of what Priest is looking to do with this run. The action is fine, and Slade is written like the morally-grey character he should be. The stories s eem to be pretty standard, but Priest injects his brand of political commentary into it. Despite a lack of subtlety, having undertones of commentary about political and social issues isn't a bad fit for the Deathstroke franchise. Pagulayan's art is okay, if not ordinary.more

Was this meant to be the officially first issue of the run instead of the Rebirth one-shot? I have no idea how this Ted Kord got here, and how he got so much older than his last appearance in Forever Evil. There's a lot of history that we're missing, and it does help move the story along. The dynamic between Jamie and Ted is fun, and the teen hero-mentor premise could en up being quite good. Despi te Cully Hammer's absence, Scott Kollin's art is serviceable. more

The title is still working pretty well, since it seems to have struck a good balance between the grittier Gail Simone issues and the very-hipster Burnside era books from the New 52. Apart from Kai being an obvious rebound love-interest, the book still manages to work well with a premise which isn't too flashy. Larson writes her characters well, and uses the right amount of action to keep the book interesting. The tattoo plot-line is awkwardly inserted, but it's a minor issues. Albuquerque's artwork is wonderful and it gives the a book a fun and energetic feel to it. more

A regression from the last two fantastic issues, this installment of the run is still an exceptional outing. The action is still balls to walls crazy, and Tomasi continues to move the plot forward at a fast pace. The pacing pattern is clearer with every issue and it should offer some interesting results. Seeing Bibbo once again was a treat for older fans, and it goes to show just how much influenc e Tomasi and Gleason are taking from the 90s. However Gleason ends up being the real star of the show. The imagery he's produced in this book has been just as epic as his work on Batman and Green Lantern. It's powerful and larger-than-life, just like the title character. more

While it's far from a bad issue, Rob Williams doesn't start off his run on Suicide Squad in the best way possible. While I understand that it is a setup issue, Williams demonstrates problems which are likely to persist for much longer. The dialogue is unrealistic, and a lot of William's jokes don't land properly. The pacing is a bit off, with the book throwing a load of action into the reader's f ace all at once. That being said, he does manage to write an above average action sequence, and his setup for the run is far from terrible. And while Jim Lee's art is much worse than usual, it's still quite good. more

Seeley's choice to continue the action-hero focus on Nightwing from Grayson is an interesting, but smart choice. He clearly knows how write action well, and his voice for the title character is spot on. The action continues in this book, and it doesn't look it'll stop anytime soon. Seeley is an action writer, as shown by his work on Grayson/Suicide Squad/G.I Joe, and his approach to this book has been to turn Nightwing into a larger than life super-hero. The banter between Nightwing and Raptor is interesting, even if it is a little questionable as to why Nightwing decides to really follow him. Apart from a questionable decision at the end, an overly dark take on Batman, and some odd pacing in a page or two, this was still a great issue. Fernandez's art won't blow anyone away, but his fluid and dynamic pencils belong with the action packed world of Dick Grayson. more

Marginally better than the last, this issue continues the story of the Justice League's fight against some random alien invasion. I'm sorry if I can't properly remember the details of the issue, but it's hard to recollect such a boring story. Hitch has some good ideas here and there. The premise isn't too terrible, and a writer like Mark Waid/Geoff Johns/Jeff Parker/Kurt Busiek could do something fun with it and give it an interesting spin. But, Hitch lacks the skill and the creativity to do so. Also, the interactions between certain characters are alright, and there aren't any glaring problems in regards to how these characters talk. But that doesn't mean there's anything interesting about. And why haven't the JL asked Superman for help yet? And even more questionably, why hasn't Superman helped in a bigger capacity? It's poor plotting. But, if you just want to read a comic book with big set pieces and cool art (lets be honest, who doesn't?), this is a pretty good choice. Tony Daniel continues to be the best part of this book. His artwork is dynamic and larger than life. It's a shame he wasn't paired with a better writer, since he's the perfect choice for this book. Who knows, maybe Daniel would have been a better choice to write it too. Regardless, this book is still a big, flashy, epic, and hollow spectacle.more

If only Humphries could fix up his dialogue and narration. He clearly knows how to plot a story and develop his characters, but the text itself is still clunky and unrealistic. The story continues to move along at a good pace. The Simon-Jessica dynamic is great, and their interactions are the heart and soul of the book. Humphries flashes displays of great writing here and there, but he needs to po lish his writing. more

This title is still the strongest out of the Rebirth lineup. The action continues to build and Emi's role continues to grow. There's less Crank-level action and more focus on moving the plot forward. The re-appearance of Diggle was a bit awkward, but it's good to see him back. The setup for the next few issues is pretty intriguing, and the conclusion at Inferno is ramping up to be pretty explosiv e. Also, more Henry Fyif is good thing. Juan Ferrerya is a great artist, and DC should snatch him up as an exclusive. more

Probably the best issue of the run yet. Abnett is really ramping up the diplomacy angle and it's working well. Also NEMO's motivations for controlling the ocean's resources is something unique and I look forward to seeing how Manta plays into the scheme. Mera should share the title with Aquaman, since she's practically the other main protagonist. This run has the potential to be unique and great. Let's hope Abnett delivers. Also, Briones' art is an improvement over the last few issues. more

This book could easily be a lot better if Williamson could work on his exposition/narration/dialogue. The story beats are done well, and certain moments such as the Flash helping a girl learn to control her powers were great. But, Williamson's narration is clunky and unnatural. Everything else in the issue is still great. The characters are fun and the new-partner-every issue format can lead to so me great story-telling. Giandomenico and Plasencia continue to improve on art. A great issue, but Williamson could easily improve by editing his narration more carefully. more

Still going strong, Tynion continues to build one of the better Batman stories in the last few years. It's no Court Of Owls or Batman and Son, but it's still a great opening arc. Despite a lack of any signifcant progress on the story, Tynion uses this issue to put a spotlight on the Bat-family. While the villains come off as a ripoff of Batman Inc, the idea of military intervention in Gotham still has potential to lead to some great stories. The art by Martinez is fantastic, and Raul Fernandez does a stellar job with the colours. This art team has been excellent so far, and this is one of Rebirths best-looking books. more

The ongoing Doomsday fight has been going on for too long. Despite the fact that it looked like this thread would end, it resumes after a few pages. There's very little to truly critique, since there's little progress from the last two issues. Despite some issues with faces, Kirkham's art is still good enough.

Despite a slow first half, this issue finishes really well. A departure from the Batgirl of Burnside theme, this run will focus on a trip around Asia. It's an interesting premise that Larson does a good job at setting up. The art by Rafael Albuquerque is some of the best he's ever done. It's a good start to what looks like a fun run.