Thursday, July 7, 2011

Cosmic Review #6! Batman&Robin#25 + Fear Itself#4 Jul/6/11

Hey there fellow comic junkies,

    Hope everyone is having a good week. It has been full of some fantastic weather and I think everyone will agree (at least up in Southern Ontario) that days like this should not be wasted. For those who wish to take a short break from the fun in the sun, we have some weekly reading to do!

Let us begin by going over my Pull List for this week:

DC

Batman Beyond #7
Batman and Robin #25
Flashpoint #3
Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance #2
Flashpoint: Abin Sur the Green Lantern #2
World of Flashpoint #2
DC Universe Online: Legends #11

Marvel

Fear Itself: Book Four

    As you can see not a big haul this week, though it did have some good reads at least to my taste. This week I will be reviewing “Batman & Robin #25” and “Fear Itself: Book Four”. Alright then, here we go.

Batman & Robin #25

    This newest issue of Batman & Robin is the conclusion of the three-issue story arc involving everyone’s favourite Bat-Family black sheep, Jason Todd. Written by Judd Winick with art by Greg Tocchini and Andy Smith. Firstly let us cover the writing. Winick is one who I find has not been one to disappoint me since I began following his work, and Batman & Robin is no exception. Winick does a great job of keeping Jason’s character apart from Dick and Damian without compromising his appeal. With great humour and a dark rationale Jason Todd was enjoyable throughout this entire run and I for one look forward to his title coming later this year. Moving on to the art, I was not enjoying the work of one Greg Tocchini. It just seemed ill-placed considering Andy Smith had started on this run, and at the very end of the issue ended it as well. Not to say that Tocchini is bad by any stretch, I just preferred Smith’s art. My overall impression of the issue was it felt very rushed. Many things are left uncovered at the end of it all. Jason’s captors are very briefly touched upon and their motives are left unclear. I took this as quite a surprise considering the ending as well as it felt as if it was leading to something that just never arrived. I would say that this read is for those who enjoy Jason Todd, and it delivers in that aspect, hopefully it will continue to do so in the future.

Cosmic Rating: 3/5

Fear Itself: Book Four

    Book four of the Fear Itself event, and the impact of the previous issues are being felt throughout the Marvel Universe. With their greatest icon dead, the big players come together to figure out their next move. We see much more Asgardian influence in this issue, as Thor arrives to shed light on some questions surrounding the “Serpent” threat. With Earth being the new war zone for a clash between the Asgardian factions, we see carnage around the globe. What I liked most about this issue is I finally received some answers to the many questions I had surrounding the “Serpent”. Considering we had to wait until Book Four to get them I was starting to lose my patience. I hope that the final three books doesn’t see this sure to be epic conflict summed up into 3-4 pages. The ending is sure to be a pleaser to many as we are given a glimpse is what is sure to be a great fight. As always the art of Immonen and Grawbadger is nothing short of spectacular, with the colouring by Laura Martin taking it to the next level. Given what Fraction is setting up here I have high hopes for the rest of the series, but am worried like other events this summer that it will close quickly and leave me wanting more. Reservations aside, my overall impressions of this book is a great read. It provides many answers that I felt were left unanswered in the previous books, and alongside fantastic visuals delivers to the reader. If you have not started Fear Itself yet, I support anyone who wishes to track down the issues in the bins at your local shop, I would say it is worth the search.

Cosmic Rating: 4/5

    That is everything for this week. I hope these reviews have helped to satisfy any lingering curiosity you may have about the selection available for sale this week. I would like to ask for any of my readers to suggest titles or series that they would like to see reviewed in the future that I could add to my pull. I find myself limited to many DC titles and would like to break out of that habit and explore new territory. If you have any suggestions you can reach me via Facebook on my fanpage at Luca “Joriko” Baldassarra,  Twitter @Lucacosmic, and my email joriko13@gmail.com. Until then my fellow readers, take care and happy reading!

Luca “Joriko” Baldassarra

Follow me on Twitter @Lucacosmic for news on comics, video games, and just some old fashioned E-banter!

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