markkawika's Profile

I had high hopes for this but the art killed it for me. Pretty standard zombie story, but the faces of the characters are just too flat and unrealistic for my tastes.

Pretty hard to follow, but beautiful. I think that in the end, the more "tragic" and "wild" versions are the ones that survived? Kinda hard to say. I liked it, but I was confused by it.

Pretty good Dark Nights: Metal tie-in. Good horror, and for someone like me who really doesn't know anything about the Teen Titans, this does a good job briefly introducing the characters, their names, and personalities. Recommended if you're enjoying the event.

Wow. I loved the psychological arc of this book. Tomasi and Gleason really nailed it. I especially enjoyed issue #8: the dénouement was a perfect way to end the arc. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to, given how much I dislike Damian's personality. They do a good job with an extremely disagreeable character of making him tolerable without making him nice. That's a tough thing to do but I think they've nailed it here. The art was particularly nice. I stopped and carefully examined several of the pages, both the fantastic double-page spreads as well as the normal single pages. All of it is immersive, clear, and impressive. This is a book I will put right back on my "to-be-read" pile with excitement!

Best issue in the series so far, by a long shot. Nice to see some type of closure with his parents, even if it might not have been exactly what he wanted, nor probably where the story will end with Bobby & his folks. I loved the art, and the juxtaposition of Bobby's hand-written letter with the fight against Juggernaut was a nice narrative device. I definitely got some feels from this. Bobby's father's acceptance of him was both a surprise, and also felt very real. I think his letter helped a lot, even though that wasn't explicit. It hit me harder than I expected, this issue. Coming to grips with a hard truth that you've been denying a long time can be very, very hard. Even though my issue is quite different than Bobby's, I really felt the weight of the changes in this issue. I was really moved. Great comic.

I started reading these collected comics volumes because I used to really be into comics. When I was young I had a local comics store and I knew when their deliveries arrived, I had a pull list, and I collected intentionally and seriously. I haven't read any comics in years. I also haven't cared about Star Wars in years. The prequel trilogy successfully killed my interest in Star Wars. But since Episode VII came out, I've been interested again in Star Wars lore. Episode VII triggered my re-interest in LEGO, but the story sort of disappointed me. It was too derivative of the whole Episode IV arc, and I thought Disney was just going to milk it for new kids' money. But then Rogue One came out, and it was such a fresh take on the Star Wars universe, a universe I'd loved since I was nine years old, that my interest in all things Star Wars lore exploded again. Thank the maker! Because I've been able to discover the fantastic storytelling in the Star Wars comic series. This was Volume 2 collecting Issues #7-12. I found it even more enjoyable than the first volume, which already was cool because of the story it told of Vader's first face-to-face meeting with an important character. But this one starts out with a cool story about Luke's childhood and how Obi-Wan watched over him. Then logically led to a story about Nat Shaddaa, the "Smuggler's Moon". I found the different art style of Simone Bianchi in #7 contrasted nicely with the team of penciler Stuart Immonen and inker Wade Von Grawbadger in #8-12. I preferred the team, so I'm glad their issues were 83% of the volume. So far, I'm really impressed. It's a bit juvenile, but this is Marvel. The corporate voice is loud and clear, but I don't mind so much. It's not an offensive voice, and it really does appeal to all ages. That doesn't diminish the quality of the story or the art in any way. I'm glad this has gotten me back into comics. I'm looking forward to what else I'll discover in the indie

Wow, this had me hooked from the get-go. Wonderful start! And the surprise at the end was brilliant, and made me question my biases, which was kind of the whole point of the comic to begin with. This is the kind of debut issue that has the feeling of being another Saga in the making. The world feels vast, there is a huge amount of backstory to be discovered, and it feels totally believable. This is speculative fiction done extremely well. The feeling I got from reading this was like the feeling I used to get when I would read a particularly good first chapter in a good SF trilogy. That little hum you get in your brain where you say "Oh, man. This has all of the right ingredients, it feels like a fully fleshed-out world, and has the potential to be one of the best trilogies I've read this year." Swap out SF trilogy for SF comic series, and it's the same feeling. This zooms right to the top of my to-be-read pile.

Overall, I liked it. It does make me interested in reading some more series. This is actually the very first time I've ever attempted to read any Batman comics in any sequential order. I've read single issues before, but never was able to follow it. I started with the New 52 Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls. This book is a mixed bag. The stories are arranged well, which means they mostly tell the story of the Night of the Owls in a chronological fashion. But that means the first book is All-Star Western #9, which is a shame. That book has a brief appearance by a Talon, but the plot just motors right on past that. I found myself having to Google a few characters, but it never felt obnoxious, and that really was just for my own completeness; the plot would have been perfectly understandable without the Internet. There is some excellent plot development happening in both Batman #8 & #9, and I really enjoyed the origin of Mr. Freeze in Batman Annual #1. The art is mismatched, because this is an anthology of one or two issues each from books across the whole Bat Family line. But overall most of it was good. I have no complaints. I was surprised by the physical heft of the book. It's got a lot of pages, and it's a bear to hold & read. The binding was pretty nice. The book is actually easier to fold open to see the art in the spine than most comic trade paperbacks. Not sure if that was due to the size of this or a better quality binding. Probably the former. Overall, a very nice way to read the entire crossover event for not much money.

Holy shit, Batman! I wasn't quite sure what to expect from #2 but the collection of Dark Batmans was freaking awesome and the deaths at the end were, uh, shocking. I suppose they aren't true deaths, because ya know, comics... but, DAMN. I loved this. It really makes me want to go back and explore the entire New 52 run of Batman. There is stuff in here referencing different stories throughout the past six years. I haven't read any of it, but it doesn't matter for comprehension of this book. Knowing it'll be waiting for me to go read is enough, and when I get to it I'll know what it's leading to. Awesome. Snyder and Capullo truly are making this story Metal AF. This is pretty hard core but if you like dark world-threatening stories and universe-wide conspiracies you will love Dark Nights: Metal.

Wow! Best comic I've read in a long time. It's full of adult themes, adult writing, and complex emotions. I love the art. The sharp outlines of the people contrasted with the amazing, gorgeous backgrounds. I love this!

This finally gave me a good idea of the chemistry that should exist in a good Fantastic Four title. I've read some of the early stuff, I've seen the cartoons and pieces of the movie, and I really never understood the team at all. Why is Ben so angry all the time? What's the deal with Sue and Reed? I know this story is set in Earth-1610, so it has its own continuity. But if this is any indication of how the team should interact with each other, I'm really impressed. This is an excellent story, and the team interaction is really charming. This is one of the best Earth-1610 (Ultimate Marvel) stories I've read yet.