Comics! Flash #3

Flash #3

Story by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato

Art by Francis Manapul

This issue is pretty dark. Not storytelling dark, just heavy use of dark colors. I know that there is supposed to be a black out in the city as a major story telling device, but the art really looks like it skewed towards one side of the color palette.

You can tell that Manapul is great artist, but his story telling abilities with words could use a lot of improvement. I get it that DC is trying to do this push with artists writing the stories, but even when they pair the artist with a co-writer or co-plotter as Batwoman has or when they carry the reigns without one as Tony Daniel has, it leaves a lot to be desired. Are they thinking that artists aren't being able to draw what they like? That they don't have that much input into the story?

The big cliffhanger at the end of the book doesn't feel like on at all. Barry gets shot in the side of the head and the bad guys declare that he is dead? Yeah, that will stick. Don't they remember that he jumped in the water from the first issue and supposedly drowned? Wouldn't that stick out to them since he is alive?

And the Dark Knight reference with the characters on horse back while the city is in a black out? It is a nice shout out, but I rather there be more Flash references in a Flash book instead of a Batman reference. Its the older reader in me that noticed it, I doubt any new readers for the book would realize what is going on. Newer readers may notice that Batman #3 has the same style of cover as this book does, with a background missing and white space filling it all up. I guess I just expect something there besides darkness on a cover.

The book is still at a pretty fast pace with the storytelling. Honestly, it is throwing me off a bit, and I hope when I read all three issues at once I am able to get some more from the story. As it stands now, I am getting some things, but a lot of it is just going over my head. More things need to be developed in the storytelling to make it work. I'm not just saying that because I am not getting it, I'm saying it because a lot of people probably aren't getting it.

How did Iris become stuck in Cold's cell when the last issue she was trapped in what looks like a guard's room during the blackout? Ugh. I need to read all three at once. I have hope that there is clarity.

Words: 4/10

Pictures: 6/10

Recommend: Not really.

Buy Next Issue: I'm a Flash fan. I gotta buy it, but I probably won't like it much.

Comics! Teen Titans #3

Teen Titans #3

Story by Scott Lobdell

Pencils by Brett Booth

Inks by Norm Rapmund

This is the way that a team book should work. This is how the heroes should meet each other, not by fighting at the bit the moment they meet up, but by teaming up. Sure Red Robin and bunker are about to fight, but the second Red Robin shows himself to be Red Robin, Bunker stops and hugs him. Nice.

This issue is meant to introduce an openly gay character to the comic. I thought that as a character, we get to know him and he comes across as a genuine character. He is not fearful of being a hero, he wants to be one. Granted, he does have some learning to do.

We get a nice double page spread that shows Kid Flash in action. Still no answer on how he is related to Barry Allen, but I'm still going to give that time. We end on a nice cliffhanger with Kid Flash that I am looking forward to seeing how it is revealed. We are also told that next issue they are to do battle with the Superboy! Seeing as to how the whole team hasn't really met up yet, this will be interesting to see how the next issue takes this statement and makes it happen.

Now this book is obviously taking a couple of issues for the team to form up, much in the same way that Justice League has taken a few issues to get to its point. So why does it seem like this book is handling its characters better than in Justice League and telling a better story? Because it is making each page count. We don't have the art being all showy. We don't have the heroes fighting each other just because. We have the characters listening to each other and talking. The characters in both books are acting like teenagers, and guess in which book that is supposed to happen in?

The art is still great. Consistency helps here greatly. I think the two page spread at the beginning of the issue showing Kid Flash running through the building is one of the better two page spreads that I have seen in the new 52 outside of an issue of Batwoman.

Words: 9/10

Pictures: 9/10

Recommend: Yes. We are still learning about the characters, and this book is great if you have been reading from issue one, but it still serves it characters quite well in this single issue as well.

Buy Next Issue: Sold!

Comics! Three Issue Trial: Batman

Batman #1-3

Review of Batman #1 & #2

Review of Batman #3

I'm just at a loss here. I just don't know how else to describe how good it feels to be reading this comic. Just when you think you know all the characters in the Bat-books and Batman himself, this book has to go and show you that the city itself was one character that needs to play a prominent role.

Snyder has crafted a villain in the Court of Owls that demands to be taken seriously. There is a whole myth and legend that he is building for them that will definitely cement them in the canon for future Bat-books to come.

The art has been gorgeous. Aside from a couple characters looking the same, the art has really shined. This book has had a nice balance for being able to show off the art when it needs to, and to be able to take in a lot of exposition and still have the art tell its side of the story as well.

For new readers, you definitely can pick this book up from issue one, page one and feel like you are getting to know everything. Even if you never read a Batman comic before. Everything that you need to know about the characters is told, and it leaves enough mystery to make the surprises pop out and genuinely surprise you.

Average for issues #1-3:

Words: 10/10

Pictures: 9/10

Overall grade for issues #1-3: This book is definitely in the top five for best of the relaunch. Consistently good, and consistently surprising. 10/10 overall.

Comics! Three Issue Trial: Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman #1-3

Review of Wonder Woman #1

Review of Wonder Woman #2

Review of Wonder Woman #3

Now that is one way to make a comic.

We have a strong woman lead in a Wonder Woman comic. Nice. We have a mythology being forged. Nice. We have wonderful art. Again, nice.

If you told me that I would be reading a Wonder Woman comic and loving it, I would have told you the chances of that happening would be close to zero. But DC decided to have Brian Azzarello write this tale. That did it for me. And as soon as I saw the preview art, I knew it would be great.

Azzarello did a good job with Batman during the whole Flashpoint event that happened right before the reboot of the DC universe. Azzarello has a good idea how to take the essential parts of the character and restart the legend. And this Wonder Woman feels like Azzarello is rewriting the history of the character to fit the story he has in mind, and you can specifically see this when you look at how Wonder Woman is portrayed in the Justice League book, which is miles different from this character.

I think this is the only book that I have given each issue a perfect 10/10. And it deserves it. This would be a book that I would buy the trade for just to give to someone who is new to comics. Just like I would with Transmetropolitan, Y: The Last Man, or even Azzarello's own book, 100 Bullets. It would be money well spent.

Averages for issues #1-3:

Words: 10/10

Pictures: 10/10

Overall grade for issues #1-3: Someone cue Mr. Perfect's theme music. It needs to be played.

Comics! Aquaman #3

Aquaman #3

Geoff Johns: writer

Ivan Reis: penciller

Joe Prado: inker

Every time I pick it up, I just want to through it back down in disgust.

I know, that's not the way to start a proper review of the comic. It really, really isn't. But it is just the way I feel.

It is not like I am a crazed Aquaman fan and just want the character to finally be done right. I just don't know anything about the character and I want to be able to read a comic of his where I can see where the love for him came from. Admittedly, I have never really read a comic that he has been in. I know about the lore of the character, about his pop culture references. It doesn't make me the Aquaman fan that knows the right Aquaman from the wrong one, and I'm not saying that is who I am trying to be. I'm coming in as a guy who wants to like Aquaman, who has one of his favorite writers writing the character, and who is the target audience that this relaunch is supposed to be targeted to.

And I just. Don't. Care.

What is sad is that the writer for this book is the same one on the Justice League. Why is that sad? Because in Justice League #3, you get one of the most badass moments of the book where Aquaman has a couple of lines for an introduction, and it says so much more about his character and who he is than what is said in three issues of his own series.

Read that last paragraph a couple of times. Think about that. Then you start to feel my frustrations.

I looked over my review of the first issue. I realized that the first three paragraphs of that review can be used to summarize this issue.

I felt like I got more information about who The Ray is in the preview pages for The Ray #1 that appeared at the end of this book than I learned about Aquaman in his own book.

GRRRRR........

Words: 1/10

Pictures: 7/10 - the only thing consistent with this book that is worth looking forward to.

Recommend: Hell. No.

Buy Next Issue: No. No no. I will save my money and buy some indie title the week this comes out. And when I review it, I will be sure to note that I am reviewing that title instead of Aquaman #4.

Comics! Three Issue Trial: Justice League

Justice League #1-3

Review for Justice League #1

Review for Justice League #2

Review for Justice League #3

What I've learned about the new 52 from the Justice League:

-Superheroes still fight superheroes as a way to "tell" a story.

-Wonder Woman and Aquaman have completely different characters than in their own titles.

-This issue took three issues to tell two issues worth of story.

-Cyborg has daddy issues.

-It apparently takes a lot for heroes to stop fighting to be able to talk about the common enemy that has appeared in all three issues and has confronted all of them.

And yea. Other than that, I don't really have a lot more to say. This book took three issues to finally get off the ground for me when it should have taken just one. This is the flagship book with the flagship creators and they don't hit their stride until the third issue?

If this was a stand alone series that was just made to let the creators flex their muscles and go crazy with the characters then this would be just fine. Not like this.

Maybe now it will be more for me from here on out. I was going to drop this book if it remained as stale as it did the first issue. Now I'm going to go to an issue by issue basis, mostly because the third issue really started to move the story forward.

Overall averages for issues #1-3:

Words: 7/10

Pictures: 7.3/10

Overall grade for issues #1-3: It should have been better than this. This is a 7/10 for any creative team. For this creative team and the expectations, 5/10.

Comics! Green Lantern: New Guardians #3

Green Lantern: New Guardians #3

Tony Bedard: writer

Tyler Kirkham and Harvey Tolibao: pencillers

Batt: inker

Well I guess there is a colored Lantern that contains all the colors, and its kinda gray instead of white or black. Interesting.

I enjoyed this issue. Besides some weirdness with the art that went through the issue, I really felt like there was something that was at stake in this issue. We get an explanation for why the Orange Ring wasn't all well represented in the last issue to the degree that I took issue with. And I personally think that Glomulus deserves the new character of the year award.

This issue also makes the Guardians seem even more evil by making them as power hungry as crack addicts. They just need more and more and more. The art does a good job of making them look like creeps. Serious creeps.

And just when things look totally down, we get Larfleeze back into the picture. If there was anything that would guarantee that I buy the next issue, then this is the way to do it. I loved the Agent Orange character so much before and have been waiting to see him make his appearance again in the new 52 universe. It won't be Geoff Johns writing the character, but I think that Larfleeze is such a good character to write that there will be little that a new writer could do to screw him up.

My one complaint about this issue is the fact that you could tell when the art took a turn for the worse. I hope that things get worked out by the next issue. It can be strange to already look at alien creatures and get the idea of who is who, but when the art changes and you see what looks like the same character later in the issue but has definitely been drawn differently and you couldn't tell at first if it was really the same character...well then you know you have some problems.

Words: 8/10

Pictures: 6/10 -one artist per book please, unless there is a dream sequence or some other fundamental difference in the story that having a different artist makes sense.

Recommend: You would need some info from the previous issue, but there isn't much out of the ordinary that you wouldn't already know. The story does an excellent job of getting newbies up to speed.

Buy Next Issue: With a cliffhanger like that? You bet!