Atomichound's Profile

Joined: May 18, 2015

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6.9
Overall Rating

Bam! Valiant hits a moon shot of a home run on this issue. Lot of fun and highly recommended.

Instant classic

Totally bonkers in a way comic book fans will love! Let’s get Waid and Mora on Justice League STAT!

I read it this morning and thought “that’s really good”. I read it the second time after dinner and concluded it’s freaking brilliant. If you find yourself working to get through comics, this is the type of book that makes it all worthwhile. I’d give it 20 out of 10.

Easily the best book DC produces month in and month out! Let’s bring on Shazam!

10
Batman: Three Jokers (2020) #1 Aug 30, 2020

BAM! A complete home run by Johns, et al. For a comics veteran of 50 years, few moments catch me off guard...but the closing scene of this book is epic! Congrats to all involved. Maybe not the greatest entry point for the uninitiated, but I believe it will spur interest in the back story and boy, is there a lot of it.

Great proof there’s no need to write for the trade! I enjoyed all of the stories. When looking at some of the writer/artist combos, I was initially a little quizzical. For instance, how do you not have O’neil And Adams together? But, when I saw it was Priest and Adams, I was totally into it. Great, great retrospective issue. Some stories are better than others, of course, but I have no reservations about recommending this issue to friends and family, regardless if they have read comics or not. Well done, DC!!

Great, great debut issue. Glad to see it get some widespread discussion. Valiant strikes again!

Let’s face it folks, this is not just a great story, it’s a potential industry game changer. If anyone doubts that comics are an art form - not just entertainment - this is an exhibit alongside stories like Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. The fact this is happening under the Marvel banner is, in my opinion, something we haven’t seen since Jim Shooter was EIC or maybe even the 1960’s when the whole Marvel brand burst onto the scene. If I’m DC, and I am lifelong DC fan, I am very nervous about this whole thing. If the X-franchise is restored (Rebirthed??), and there’s nothing in the wings to counterpunch, Marvel’s sales and artistic dominance may become untouchable. Extrapolate that out to other media platforms, including the 8,000,000,000 pound gorilla that is the MCU and Marvel (ok, Disney) becomes the windshield in an industry of bugs.

A great comic book! This is the sort of book you use to jump start a relaunch. A tight story that has me checking out back issues and story lines. Artwork that is clean and consistent throughout the book. Nicely done!

What a great, great book. Thrilling throughout the story and a fight that is the the stuff of legend. A great finale to an overall fine series, regardless of whether "it counts".

Like many other reviewers, I find the accessibility and character driven story to be outstanding. I occasionally go through my extensive library and find some books that i will recommend to non-comic readers. The list consists of titles that are familiar to many who spend time and money on comics. Sandman, The Dark Knight, All Star Superman, Demon in a Bottle, Kingdom Come, etc. The Valiant is a worthy addition and can advance our hobby.

If this story needed to be told, I’m glad Mark Waid was the one who told it. Should kneecap any hack who decides they need to screw with Kingdom Come for the next few generations.

A definite recommendation on this one. I enjoyed this more than the others in this series.

Don't get the lukewarm reception by some. A thoroughly enjoyable tale with some career best artwork from Doug Braithwaite. In this age of decompressed stories, Valiant delivers a thorough, and accessible, one and done tale.

Way above what I expected. Well done!

8.5
4001 A.D.: X-O Manowar #1 Jun 12, 2016

Good debut! Story was tense, tight and straightforward. Good art, solid pacing. Plenty here to make me a happy (and returning) customer.

8.5
Blue Beetle (2023) #6 Feb 18, 2024
8.5
Flash (2016) Annual: 2022 Sep 6, 2022

Just another solid issue by Williamson, Izaakes and company. While i would prefer less decompressed stories, the creative team nonetheless provides positive momentum each issue. This issue, like most in this run, brings a smile at some point. Looking forward to the “showdown” next issue!

A very pleasant surprise! Well written, in particular the dialogue is snappy and the characters each have chance to shine. Not sure about Damian’s sudden change out of No Justice but I’m sticking around to see where this goes. Recommended!!

8.0
Catwoman (2018) #39 Feb 13, 2022

Interesting re-introduction to some old characters. My personal rankings were close to the order of the book itself; 1. Firestorm, 2. Metamorpho, 3. Metal Men, and 4. Sugar and Spike. All are entertaining and well done with some imaginative twists along the way. Without any discussion of content, I found them all engaging and character driven. While unsure when I purchased it, I am pulling for this book and hope it can generate sales to continue. If it is a precursor to the "Rebirth" branding that is going to occur this summer, there will be a number of quite happy DC customers, including me.

Good art and great characters! The story is a little slow developing, but has held my interest. I re-read each issue and find they are better on a second read.

Art is 12 out of 10. story better than expected to be honest, but felt a bit more convoluted as it progressed. Story is 3/10. I will be back for the next installment and I’m sure most people who read this one will be along for the ride, too.

To make a book like this work, it has to have subtle character touches like dialogue patterns, even tropes, to add nuance and a sense the book is distinctive. For lessons on how this works, go read early issues of X-Men by Claremont or heck, even Batman and the Outsiders by Mike W. Barr. I would like to see this succeed but without the craftsmanship above, it’s going to be tough. Another idea, add a couple of who’s who pages at the end of an issue to give context and background.

My post Crisis prediction: the JL return in the Linear-verse from Generations and Future State is preserved as an alternate-Earth, probably Earth-5 since they will be the 5th Generation, hence the moniker 5G thrown around the internet for a few years, which will have its own mini-line of comics that will fold very quickly, much like the Next Age of Heroes. You read it here first.

This was a decent tie-in issue. While there are some differences in the way Telos interfaces with Shining Knight compared to other series, it seemed to be explained. There was genuine pathos with Sir Justin and Victory's story. The story and art are in keeping with the tone of the 70s which I believe was intentional. Thanks to Mr. Levitz and Mr. Fern for a trip down memory lane!

Some surprising story compression confused this issue. Most books, I really like on a second read. This one was just ok after a second pass. Great art by Stephen Segoiva bumps this out of a mediocre rating.

This review is for the total storyline, not just this issue. Overstuffed, drawn out and a labor to read at times - but with some neat things thrown in, as well. I found the end of the chapters to be compelling, more so than the events that led up to them. This could have been scaled back to about 6 issues, simplified and been an all time epic. In short, this should have been DC's Kree-Skrull War. Instead, it's like watching the Nathan's hot dog eating contest, wondering how in the world the contestants are supposed to process all that input without a "reversal". Art is outstanding and bumps up the overall score.

6.0
Convergence #5 May 18, 2015

I just read read that Scott Snyder is going to step away from the core DC Universe in 2021. Please take this goofy story and BWL with you. Like most things in 2020, I look forward to seeing better things next year. Capullo’s art is good and some of the angles are imaginative. At least Diana has a noble sensibility about her - without that, this would be a total waste of time (and money).

6.0
Superman: The Coming of the Supermen #5 Jun 7, 2016

Ok; let’s go! Hold my Bat beer chum while I make the most absurd self rescue in the history of adventure. B. Wayne 2022 If you think Silver Age Batman was goofy, grab some ayahuasca or other suitable hallucinogen and settle in for a trippy, er, well, trip to the farthest reaches of your imagination. I’m torn between the challenging traps that are laid and the ridiculous means of escape. Is Zdarsky brilliant or a Marvel mole? Stay tuned to same Bat Time, same Bat Channel to decide.

Not sure who the intended audience is, but there are huge inconsistencies here. Why would Superman crawl through a duct when he can use X-ray vision to just see what was making the noise? Why not just move the wall? The lighter and more bonding type moments are fine, but we literally had nothing happen here. Missed opportunity. Gorgeous B cover by Tomeu Morey is the highlight here.

Not a good issue. Bad dialogue; forced, stilted and just not entertaining. Artwork very inconsistent. Rebirth can't come soon enough.

A total slog; how can a big event book be this meh? And a machine is at the heart of a magical darkness? Sorry, this feels very uninspired and convoluted all at the same time.

Points for art only!

Do you like drama? Do you like stories of betrayal? Do you like family drama? Do you like meteors? How about all together in one shit sandwich?

Messy. Noisy. Overrated.

A huge swing and a miss! Why wouldn’t we see a flashback story that explains why Diana does not want Clark to interfere or just do a reprint that supports why Diana is refusing help (except King probably doesn’t have the receipts needed to support it).

This was a very weak issue; plot points that just don't add up - art that crossed the line from being simple to simplistic, especially for Gen13. Add in a dose of "does any of this really matter?" and you get an episode you'd really like to have back. I have actually enjoyed the Convergence tie-ins more than other reviewers, but this is an exception.

Art is about a 9; Story is -1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Six bucks - I should have had a couple of cigarettes and a box of Twinkies- that’s about the same level of mental nutrition you can get from this. To say this was a bad comic is akin to saying the sun is a hot mess - it doesn’t come close to describing the sheer scope of suck.

Crazy, loony stuff abounds. Weird Science review nails it. Wow. Just, wow.

2.0
Wonder Woman (2016) #798 Apr 21, 2023

Horrible comic

This is supposed to be a series about the title character’s innermost hopes. I’ve got to think for Diana that has to be that Tini Howard is never allowed to write one of her stories ever again. Truly loathsome stuff here, folks.

The fact this has one, now two, reader reviews tell you how far this title has sank in terms of interest. Very bland, very boring. A reboot can’t happen soon enough.

Pretentious beyond anything reasonable. King swings for the fences and generates a big whiff of hot air.

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