Hex's Profile

i did not really have any connections to Rick Veitch's run because I haven't read it. So when I read this, this was very confusing. I think I am going to hold off on reading this series until I read Rick Veitch's run on Swamp Thing

This isn't BAD. It's just weird. Definitely not on any mandatory Batman reading lists. This could take place at any time, it has no bearing on Batman's history whatsoever. To again iterate how abstract this story is, all of a sudden Batman turns into a holy knight and fights a boiler monster from the sewers of Gotham that bleeds when you shoot it. It ends rather abruptly, no real payoff. No idea w hat the point was. It's interesting both from a storytelling and art perspective but it is still rather rough to get through.more

This is an odd one. It doesn't do anything for the Batman mythos, this is not some new origin for an old established character. I have no real idea where it's going. It's very abstract in both the art and storytelling. I kind of like both aspects but it's also kind of too much.

Prime rules.

Underrated. The thinking man's Batman. No wonder all the dullards hate it so.

Damn near everything I have read of Jamie Delano's writing has been gold. This is no exception. You could read this any time you wanted to just read a cool Batman story. The fact that Batman is a bit character in it is even more engaging. The issue is placed inside of the crumbling, abandoned, delipidated Terminus Hotel and the perspective character narrating the actions of those residing in its walls is the hotel itself. It tells the story of it's tenants' pasts, how they got there, why they stay. It roots for Batman to catch the man he is after, it knows the man's sins. At the conclusion, it invites Batman back in. Any time he wishes.more

Such a huge fan of this series. Busiek really taps into each character he focuses on really well. Fleshes out the world of early Peter Parker better than any I have read.

Waid/Jimenez: 10/10 I wish it was longer. Flowed so well in both story telling and art.

King/Lee: 7/10 Still don't think that King writes women well. It is nice that King thinks, like most of us do that Peter and Mary Jane should just be together even in a one off story of nebulous canonicity. Wasn't a huge fan of Lee's depictions of any of the characters save for Gambit. And he really only had a splash page but credit where it's due. It was cute but the banter between Lois and MJ felt so unnatural.

Priest/Sampere: 6/10 The art is great, the meta narrative is cool but I HATE how Priest writes Superboy Prime. "Bruh, bro, simp". It doesn't work at all for him. Never been a fan of Priest since he ruined the Hobgoblin reveal by being a petulant child, don't like him now in not understanding how to write a younger person realistically with natural dialogue. Half of it is completely nonsensical. I might just be missing some context. The High Evolutionary comes out of nowhere, it ends abruptly I have no clue. All of the points are for the art.

Sean Murphy: 8/10 Great art. I would love if Murphy got a full run on 2099 or Batman Beyond. This was just incredibly short. Nothing really to sink your teeth into.

Fraction/Leiber: 10/10 Fraction is who Stan Lee would be if Stan could actually write. It's funny, wordy but fluid, packs the page with a really 60s-70s style goofiness. No notes.

Lemire/Sandoval: 9/10 Short, sweet. I wish there was a little more weight to it, give it a more lengthy emotional punch between Johnathan and Ben saving people but it was only 5 pages. Sandoval is a fantastic artist.

Rucka/Scott: 9/10 A very measured take on Jonah's perception of Spider-Man and his reasoning for portraying him in such a negative light in the Bugle. I really enjoyed Lois and Jonah's back and forth. Lois IS right about how the news needs to be better about separating the perspective of objectivity and neutrality. They aren't the same. Facts need to be the truth. Not the truth becoming what we make of it. The art is good but not my taste.

Simone/Ortega: 9.5/10 Karen gives Frank a punk umbrella with hearts on it to keep him out of the storm? Check. Karen makes constant fun of Paul? Check. Karen and Punisher dole out some less lethal punishment to some bad guys? Check. Frank commenting on the boob window? Double check. Thank you Gail. And give Belen Ortega a regular book! Their art is amazing!more

Yeah I wasn't a fan. It's not bad but feels rushed. All in all, it felt like Kelly wasn't as interested in this as others.

His script is fine, how Peter beats Carnage is great, but otherwise, whole event feels lackluster.

I was hoping for drama, conversations and tension and all I got was... not a lot.

And why do they insist on hinting FlashXMJ...

I surprisingly enjoyed living brain story but wtf was this second one ?
Living brain story: 7/10
Peter acting like dick and fights fantastic four: 2/10
Score should be 4.5 but I boost it to 5 because second story was at least short

The Living Brain story is hard to get through because it is such a dated misunderstanding of computers, robotics and Stan can't stop expositing every single line. He has Peter mention how the Living Brain is faster than he expected then two pages later says the exact same thing. Very repetitive throughout, boring story. None of the kids in the school even question how out of nowhere Spider-Man is just casually in the building even though it's not like the Living Brain was this major emergency. This would eventually be handled a lot better in Ultimate Spider-Man but really shows here. The one aspect of the story I liked was the Peter/Flash boxing match. I would have liked more to go into it other than two blows but Stan had to have a short attention span because he abandons/truncates his own plot points very fast to get to the next thing.

The Spider-Man vs Human Torch story makes no sense. Peter just crashes a party for no reason other than to initially try to make Johnny's girlfriend think that she chose the wrong superhero and then proceeds to just be a dick and a nuisance for Johnny and his friends. I get that he and Johnny have a teenage rivalry going but it really just seems like Peter is more than antagonist. Johnny just think's he's a showboat but here, he's just proving Johnny right. He even completely unprovoked attacks Reed because he assumes they are going to make fun of him. There isn't even a nice resolution. They stay bitter at the end. How did the FF ever give Spider-Man the time of day ever again after the few interactions he has had with them? Stan keeps putting them at odds where Peter is just acting like a petulant and problematic prepubescent. Sue out of nowhere giving him very generous compliments is also really weird. Stan wasn't great with his depictions of women.

Not the best art from Kirby (inked by Ditko) for the Torch half but the Living Brain half was good Ditko art. It's weird, when there is a good story, Ditko usually doesn't have the best pencils but when the art is good, the story is lacking.more

This is a step up from the first issue. Only issue is that it’s too short. I immediately wanted more.

Rock solid. Big fan of Olliffe's art. Taking heavily from McFarlane with his posing and panels but in a way that doesn't feel cheap. Good story, doubles down and even references Peter overcoming fear even though he is hurt similar to the issue with the Vulture. It honestly breaks my heart seeing Peter be such a terrible date because he is wallowing in self-pity and Betty still goes out of her way to be encouraging to Peter. He takes it to heart and gives her a rain-check. The balls on this young man. This does a fantastic job at connecting the early Spider-Man issues and just adding more to that era. Most "retcon" series feel so out of place that it's incredibly hard for them to mesh well but this series has done a great job so far.more

Wonderful. Lemire continues to nail this run.

The beginning of a Lemire classic? All signs look good. His adoration for what is essentially a C list character is abundant. Can Lemire do his own Mister Miracle?

Wow, what a shocking issue. This is my first Rucka comic. I dig it.