Hey there fellow comic readers!
Sorry for the massive delay between reviews. Last week the transmission in my car busted and as such needed my immediate attention, therefore I was unable to grab my pulls for last week. As such this weeks review will be a combination of the week of June 22/29. How cool is that? Very. So let us get started by going through my pulls for both weeks.
DC
Batman: Arkham City #3 (Jun29)
Batman Incorporated #7 (Jun29)
Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for the Swamp Thing #1 (Jun22)
Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries -One Shot- (Jun29)
Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #1 (Jun22)
Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #1 (Jun29)
Flashpoint: Project Superman #1 (Jun29)
Flashpoint: Reverse Flash #1 (Jun22)
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #11 (Jun29)
Marvel
Amazing Spider-Man #664 (Jun29)
FF #5 (Jun29)
Venom #4 (Jun29)
BOOM!Studios
The Traveler #8 (Jun29)
That is all for my comic pulls, overall not too bad. I must admit it is nice to combine two weeks worth of reading into a couple days, I was reading for about two hours as oppose to my usual thirty minutes. As for reviews I have decided that I shall be doing “Flashpoint: Reverse Flash #1” and “Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for the Swamp Thing #1” for the week of June 22nd, as well as “Venom #4” and “Flashpoint: Project Superman #1” for the week of June 29th. Without further delay I shall begin!
Flashpoint: Reverse Flash #1
This is the mini that will reveal the deadly plot devised by the Reverse Flash that created the world of Flashpoint. Written by Scott Kolins with art by Joel Gomez, I will begin by saying that I think that this mini is a good read. I suppose it is easy to get a spot on a most wanted list for those who seek to get into “Flashpoint” since the Evil Plot will most likely be discussed thoroughly in the mini starring the main villain, but that is not to say that you should be disappointed while reading it. Being a student of history I am very much interested in perspective when it comes to any major event, but I suppose this should be the aspiration of any who seek to truly engage themselves within a story. Scott Kolins does shed light on the “method behind the madness” so to speak giving a voice to Eobard Thawne aka The Reverse Flash and how he came to master the powers of the Speed Force. Along the way he also answers the many questions surrounding those powers and how he manipulates them to devastating effect against Barry Allen. The art of Joel Gomez is great and I would say really captures the emotion pouring between the panels as Thawne retells the origins of his twisted new world. My only negative to this book is that it mainly serves to fill in the blanks around events which occurred in the latest Flash run, so some parts are repetitive. Overall I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking the knowledge of how and why Thawne created the world of Flashpoint and I expect this book to continue to deliver until issue #3.
Cosmic Rating: 4/5
Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for the Swamp Thing #1
I did not really know what to expect from this mini-series, but I suppose not many expect much considering it will be a three-issue series. I must admit, the premise for this series seems somewhat dumb. I feel as if the story being told in this mini-series should have been put into “Brightest Day“. I personally felt very rushed during the last five issues of “Brightest Day” so it would not be unfair to claim that I have lingering disappointment from that series. This issue is written by Johnathan Vankin with art by Marco Castiello and Vincenzo Acunzo. The issue itself introduces the reader to the man who began the search for Swamp Thing, John Constantine. The duration of the issue explains John Constantine’s past experience with the monster and his new interest in it’s location. To be honest, I felt the issue was dragged out if only to build up the lead in to issue #2. I did however enjoy the art as it did establish the mood well, creating a good atmosphere for the story itself. As I said earlier, I really did not know what to expect from this mini, that being said I have decided to continue collecting it since I hope that the second issue will pick up the pace to something more enjoyable for myself. Overall I would say this book is for those who wish to follow the mystery surrounding the return of Swamp Thing, and for those who feel otherwise it would be best to avoid.
Cosmic Rating: 2/5
Venom #4
This series has been excellent for me from issue #1. Initially I did not know what to expect from the new Venom run, but I am glad to see that it has not disappointed thus far. With writing by Rick Remender and art by Tony Moore, John Rauch, and Crimelab! Syndicate Issue #4 was better than I had expected. One should know walking into this one that it starts with a good old fashioned Venom vs. Spider-Man brawl. From there we see the new Venom racing against time to complete his mission and save the day. With the odds stacked against him from more than one angle it all leads to a somewhat unexpected but satisfying conclusion. I think I speak for many when I say that I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the new Venom within the Marvel Universe, hopefully he is given some crossover story lines in the near future. Doing my best not to give away too much, I shall conclude this review by saying that I highly recommend anyone interested collect issues #1-4 now and jump in on this great run.
Cosmic Rating: 5/5
Flashpoint: Project Superman #1
This mini has to be one the more interesting titles to come out of Flashpoint so far. Written by Scott Snyder and Lowell Francis with art by Gene Ha, there is very little I did not like about this comic. This is a story of what it means to be a hero, and how one handles that burden. I believe it is this kind of story that serves to draw in a reader so well, those that see the line between the good and the bad being blurred, and making the reader pick a side not sure that their decision puts them in the “right” camp. Snyder and Francis create a great experience in this mini, and I am thoroughly excited to see where this story leads. The art of Gene Ha only serves to make the great story even greater giving that nostalgic feeling to a story based years in the past. I want to try and give some criticism to this issue but I just enjoyed in it’s entirety, I suppose one could say I am “sucker” for this kind of story but be that as it may I would wager that even the harshest of critic would not be able to denounce this mini as a bad read. Do yourself a favor and give this one a try, you will not be disappointed!
Cosmic Rating: 5/5
That is it for today and what a read this review is. I apologize again for the delay and I will do my best to ensure that it does not occur again, at least in the near future. To those of you north of the border have yourself a fantastic Canada Day, and to everyone a enjoyable and relaxing weekend. See you all next week! Take care and happy reading!
Luca “Joriko” Baldassarra
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