Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Cosmic Comic Review #29! Venom 13.4 "The Circle of Four" & How do you Indy?

Hey there comic readers,

    Definitely a late night for me this week. Could be the leap year, or maybe it has something to do with my schedule lately. It definitely seems harder and harder for me to find time to sit down and write. I think the amount of issues I needed to read this week was definitely a blessing in disguise for me. Let’s take a look at what I mean, here’s this week’s comic pull list:

Comic Pull List: Feb/29/12

DC

Batman Beyond #1
Justice League #6

Marvel

The Amazing Spider-Man #680
Venom #13.4

As you can see, not a lot going on with my pull list this week. The good thing that can be said is that all four of these titles were pretty awesome in my opinion. Justice League had some pretty great artwork and action. Definitely a good pick up for anyone interested this week. As for Batman Beyond #1, this is pretty much picking up where it left out pre-New 52. Anyone who is interested on jumping in on this completely in the loop should look into picking up the trade paperback that is available in soft cover at most comic shops now. With Amazing Spider-Man making its way towards the “Ends of the Earth” story event, that just leaves Venom 13.4, this week’s review title. As the fifth part in the Circle of Four story, this issue definitely has me ready for issue #14. Let’s check out why with this week’s Cosmic Comic Review!

Venom "Goes to Hell" #13.4
Written by Rick Remender
Other writers include Jeff Parker & Rob Williams
Pencils by Lan Medina
Inks by Nelson DeCastro & Terry Pallot
Colors by Marte Gracia & Antonio Fabela


   
    This issue is the fifth part in the “Circle of Four” story that started in issue 13. Now when I originally learned of “Circle of Four” I was a bit sceptical on how this was going to be. I have really been enjoying Remender’s run on Venom, and everything he has done with the character so far. I decided to give this “Circle of Four” a chance. To break it down, “Circle of Four” is a team book involving Venom, Red Hulk, X-23, and the new Ghost Rider, Alejandra. The team is working to stop the emergence of Hell on Earth. Other characters involved include former Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze, Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange, and Damion Hellstrom, the rogue son of Satan. With such a wide and varied cast of characters both good and evil, this story definitely will hit the right notes for those craving a story full of action and something different. Remender at the helm, along with support by Williams and Parker, have offered a great cast of writing for the team’s characters from 13 to 13.4 have done a great job of bringing this to the page over the last month. With a story involving Hell, you get some soul-searching from each character as they battle their own demons while working to stop Hell on Earth. The art from Lan Medina is not something I am crazy for to be honest. The fight scenes are done well and frequent in this issue as it is the fifth part in the mini-series. For me it just isn’t something I was crazy about, though to say I hated his art would not be right either. I will say this though, the last page was definitely something cool that I did enjoy. Overall, I am really pumped for the conclusion of the “Circle of Four”. Over the past month it has given me an interesting and entertaining read consistently. It is cool to see more spotlight on Alejandra, the new Ghost Rider and X-23, even more so since the news about their title cancellations. If you are into heaven/hell themed story and art, or just looking for an interesting read away from the ordinary, check out Circle of Four.
 
Cosmic Rating: 4/5

Good
- Consistently good story thus far from this. Moving into it’s conclusion in issue 14 this is definitely a story to check out.
- This is a team book with an unlikely cast of heroes. The story thus far has offered some interesting developments and setup a lot to consider for the conclusion. I am interested to see where it all goes.
- This is a Heaven/Hell story, so pretty much anything goes. With the writers on board, who doesn’t like that idea?


Bad
- The art is nothing I was crazy for. I can’t really say it was terrible or took from the story a lot it just wasn’t something I was too fond of. Very dark and heavy inks.

    That will conclude the Cosmic Comic Review for this week. Another late night for me here to be certain. I actually have a favor to ask those who may be more knowledgeable than I at this particular topic. Currently I am trying to invest more of my reading time into Indy Comics. If you have any indy series you could recommend leave a comment for me on my Facebook page, or tweet me. I definitely want to start getting more diversity into my comic selection and really explore different writers that may be hidden outside the mainstream spotlight. Any suggestions you could make would be much appreciated. Until next week, take care and happy reading!

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