Rushed first issue, the writer seems to want to get rid of Chips status quo as quickly as possible and the story suffers heavily because of it.

Kuder is a good artist but his art doesn't fit for Daredevil. After the last tremendous run this needs to be special and it simply isn't.

"Somehow." That's the one word "explanation" on the splash page for how MM returned from the dead, and with total amnesia.
"Somehow" Matt, with no memory, no training, no ID, becomes a priest, working in a place that calls for close contact with children, no less. That's some screening process!
"Somehow" MM doesn't question who he was before six months ago, isn't plagued by his total lack of memory, isn't curious as to whether he has friends, family, et.
"Somehow" this made it through all the editors and onto the newsstands.
Art was very pedestrian. more

Not nearly as good as Jason Aaron's Conan, but still a fun set of issues.

Check out my video review for a complete recap/breakdown.

https://youtu.be/UX74c3JNOAI

Tom killed this issue. Normally this is a mid-tier book for me, but this issue was my Pick Of The Week, so great. Here is my video review for it. https://youtu.be/8l8czOKI3ow

In the afterward of Excellence #1, writer Brandon Thomas admits that this is a very personal story for him. Some of the events in this book are real to his life. Writing from personal experiences gives an author the ability to draw from a deep emotional well and ground fictional stories with real feelings. Sometimes however, that emotional well is too deep, too dark, and too difficult to climb out of.

Set in a futuristic New York City where magic is real and ten powerful families control its use through an iconoclastic structure of ritual and trial. We witness Spencer Raymond Dales struggle with the pressure of being born into a powerful magical legacy.

From birth Spencer is measured and tested for magical aptitude. The sluggish manifestation of Spencer’s powers causes tension between his mother and father, and results in anger and resentment in the boy.

By age 15, all Spencer wants is to prove himself to his father, no matter the cost. Heavy use of foreshadowing suggests Spencer’s relationship with his father will turn tragic.

Khary Randolph does an excellent job with art duties. His character designs are particularly good, conveying attitude, emotion, and energy. Combining urban cool, sci-fi tech, and traditional fantasy elements, Randolph has created a slick and dynamic world that engages you without overwhelming the senses. He is able to create explosive moments of action as well as scenes of emotional resonance.

There are many different concepts presented about the world of Excellence. It is a complex setting filled with many characters, fantastic powers, and long histories. Introducing so many elements in a concise way is a difficult job, one that was overwhelming at times for the authors.

I was detached from the characters and confused by the story. It felt as if Thomas had such a close connection to the characters and the world they live in, that he understood it so completely in his own head, he failed to realize the audience doesn’t have as clear an understanding.

Overall this was an ambitious start to a story that has great potential. Hopefully future issues will do a better job of expanding upon the interesting world that Excellence takes place in and conveys the emotional connection that Thomas has with the story. Otherwise we will be left with little more than a cool idea and some good art.

See more reviews at www.brionsalazar.com more

The art wasn't great. Maybe in trade all at once this would be a good read, but as a single issue, we were introduced to random characters I can't remember now, and that's about it, I didn't really feel there were any hooks in this book to make me want to come back for an issue 2.

Strong showings from Warren Ellis, Scott Snyder, Paul Dini, and James Tynion. Worst of the bunch is either Kevin Smith's or Geoff Johns's stories.

What exactly happened in this issue? Don’t buy it! It’s literally a waste of an issue that doesn’t tell you anything and highly doubt it will come up later especially how this is just a nightmare.

I'm not sure if read Dark Nights: Metal and not liking it just made me more suspicious and critical of Snyder's writing here, or this issue is genuinely worse than the previous two. I'll probably have to come back to it later to be sure. But I feel like the tightness of the original, more metaphorical conflict is being stretched out by a more and more complicated plot.

Darkseid gets #metoo'd

Al Ewing is awesome, but this didn't stick the landing. I really dug the first two-thirds, but I didn't love the ending. Art was decent though, and it was a decent effort overall.

Here is a link to my video review for a full story breakdown: https://youtu.be/TI-nku3gfnY

This was surprisingly my pick of the week. This book was so much fun, the art was fantastic, loved it.

Check out my video review for a breakdown of the full story: https://youtu.be/KVngLE0-EgA

VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/v5peGVu8Q1M

This is my Pick Of The Week. The main character is ridiculous, but really fun. This book overall is really fun. Great debut issue from Mark Millar. 9/10.

VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/Jlsr8UnkcRc

Thought this was a fun revisit to the Shazam Family. Good debut issue. Excited to see the rest of this run. 8.5/10

VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/IhXl-Y4nw0I

Very fun debut issue, great premise of kids getting stuck in a D&D world for 2 years, can't talk about it, and then 25 years later return to that world.

CHECK OUT MY VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/g4VWdu1F-i8

Martian Manhunter is a great character. Alien sex scene was fun in a weird way.

Did not dig the art. I usually don't like Steve Orlando's writing, this book was no exception. Stupid alien names were distracting. Really disappointed overall.

WHO KNEW THERE WOULD BE SO MUCH DYING IN DIE!DIE!DIE!

PROS
• Intense Action
• Intriguing mysterious story line
• Great gory violent art

CONS
• Maybe too violent??


See my review video of August 22, 2018 comic books, for my full review on this book, as well as others from the week.

Link here ==> https://youtu.be/CvFFOdDXfuo
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