
Review: Supergirl: Being Super #2
By Jonathan Edwards
I went into Supergirl Being Super eager to become more familiar with the title character. With the first issue, I wasn't completely satisfied with the pace and characterization, and I wasn't hooked by the end. When I was looking at this week's releases to review, I was initially planning on skipping this one. I don't think I even intended to check it own for my own personal reading. I don't really have a good reason for why I ultimately had a change of heart, but I'm glad that I did. The main thing I was worried about last time was the potential for it to continue at a plodding pace, but this issue has removed that reservation. And while that doesn't necessarily make the first issue better, it does increase my enthusiasm for the series as a whole.

Review: The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari #1
By Jonathan Edwards
I've spent some time wracking my brain in attempt to figure out who exactly this book is for. If you're unfamiliar, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a German silent horror film from 1920. It's frequently identified as a paramount of the German Expressionist movement in film that had arisen in Germany just before the beginning of World War I. These films (another example being F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu) went on to be highly influential throughout cinema history, including being one of the key aspects in the development of Film Noir. It's a very important film. However, it's also only important as a film. There's no good reason to adapt it into a comic book nearly a hundred years after the film's release. It'd be like giving Citizen Kane the same treatment. Yeah, you could do it, but it'd be an ultimately worthless gesture.

Review: The Odyssey of the Amazons #2
By Jonathan Edwards
I was skeptical when I first heard about this series. Doing a prequel that focuses on some aspect of a story world before the introduction of their main character (in this case Wonder Woman) isn't an inherently bad idea. Although, I find the premises tend to be somewhat shaky. There's a threat of continuity, character motivations and developments, and even in-world logic being screwed up is all too real.

Review: Justice League/Power Rangers #2
By Jonathan Edwards
Y'know, after the utter suckage of Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern #1, this crossover doesn't seem so bad. I mean, it's still not good, but at least it's not insultingly pandering. And to be fair, I did enjoy Justice League/Power Rangers #2 more than the first issue, if only marginally. There's a bit more going on, and we actually see the entirety of the Justice League this time around. Also, for better or worse, we no longer primarily focus on Zack's perspective, instead jumping around to different members of each super team. And while it's nice to get a broader perspective of these events, it also draws more attention to the story flaws persisting from the first issue.

Review: Justice League of America: Rebirth #1
By Jonathan Edwards
Well, here we are. After all the buildup of several weeks, four one-shots, and the entirety of the Justice League vs. Suicide Squad limited series, we get to see it all come together. This is a book I've been somewhat eager to read for a little while now, and it's only in part because I liked overall what writer Steve Orlando was doing with those aforementioned one-shots. My interest has been piqued ever since I first saw the team line-up. Batman, Black Canary, The Atom, Vixen, The Ray, Killer Frost, and Lobo of all people? It's a strange enough mash-up of characters that I couldn't help but be intrigued as to how the character and team dynamics might play out. And, it was out of that interest that I opted to first call Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1 for review. One of my big curiosities going in to this issue was how it might integrate and/or build off of what was established in its immediate predecessors. Unfortunately, Orlando didn't end up doing too much of that.

Review: A&A: The Adventures of Archer and Armstrong #12
By Jonathan Edwards
A couple of years back, the digital comic book distributor Comixology had a special promotion, where a bundle of about 26 first issues was completely free for the day. I was lucky enough to notice the email from them before it was too late and got the books. Included was Archer & Armstrong #1 from the 2012 ongoing series. I'd never her of the original series, so that was my first experience with the eponymous characters. As far as I recall, it was a pretty enjoyable read, and I intended to pick up a trade at some point. And then, I never actually went and did that. So when I found out that Valiant was doing A&A: The Adventures of Archer and Armstrong, I opted to pick up the first issue as soon as it came out. About a year later, here's the last issue.

Review: Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern #1
By Jonathan Edwards
Seeing this... thing listed among the week's releases gave me an immediate flashback to last month and all the mediocrity that was Justice League/Power Rangers #1. Except, there's a key distinction between these books that I noticed pretty quickly. While both are crossovers bearing both companies' names, DC is technically the publisher for JL/PR, while it's Boom! for PotA/GL (this is reflected in the construction of their titles, with the publisher's properties being listed first respectively). My first thought was something along the lines of "oh god, there's another one." This was followed quickly by me wondering who got the shorter end of the stick. Had the deal(s) somehow screwed DC while simultaneously landing Boom! a good book? After all, Green Lantern and Planet of the Apes is a far stranger crossover than Power Rangers and the Justice League. However, perhaps that meant there was a much better reason for it to be happening. With that thought in mind, I went ahead and signed up to review Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern #1. And guess what? It's garbage.

Justice League of America: Killer Frost Rebirth #1
By Jonathan Edwards
Last week, I took a more big picture and thematic look at these JLA one-shots with Justice League of America: The Ray Rebirth #1. I talked a lot about how the very design of each one seemed to reflect the respective character that they were reintroducing. And then, after all of that, this one had to go and be written differently. Damn it, Jody Houser and Steve Orlando. Joking aside, Justice League of America: Killer Frost Rebirth #1 really does change things up. The origin story we get for her is little more than the Cliff notes version, probably because this is the same version of the character that was introduced during the New 52 a couple years back. Additionally, I stated that the previous one-shots felt more like they were a part of a miniseries rather than multiple standalone titles. I feel similarly about this one, but I'd be inclined to think of it as part of Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad more than any other limited series.

Review: She Wolf #5
By Jonathan Edwards
I picked up the first issue of She Wolf after seeing Rich Tommaso's art in a preview for the series. The style was a unique, somewhat surreal one, and the promise of a similarly-themed story to match, I was intrigued. The book followed Gabby, a teenager who believed she was turning into a werewolf in the wake of her boyfriend's death, which some people also blamed her for. And over the first four issues, Tommaso proved he wasn't kidding about it being surreal, with multiple a tendency for the story and its characters to jump around in time in space, a Man-Bat-esque vampire that appears to be capable of reattaching severed limbs, and the summoning of a demon that displayed some prominent genitalia (read: he had a dick). While reading, I personally had some difficulty determining what all the disparate elements had to do with one another and what it all meant. On the one hand, I think this was a good thing, keeping me reading issue to issue and waiting for the revelation that would tie it all together. However, it was also a bad thing, in that not every did actually get tied together. There's nothing inherently wrong with leaving some stuff up in the air, but in the case of She Wolf, I feel like Tommaso's execution ended up making the story a difficult one to follow, as it wasn't clear which elements actually pertained to the direction the story was moving in. To be honest, I had no intentions of continuing She Wolf after finishing issue #4. And then, I became a reviewer for Comic Bastards.

Review: The Few #1
By Jonathan Edwards
When I first read Image's description for this book, I wasn't all that interested. "Post-apocalyptic," much like with zombies, is a subgenre I don't tend to inherently like, and it didn't seem like there'd be much else that I'd be excited for. However, the writer is Sean Lewis, who I am somewhat familiar with from his last series, Saints. It followed Blaise, Lucy, Sebastian, and later Stephen, all of which are the reincarnations of Christian saints and granted superpowers based on the attributes of those saints. It was a premise I was super into, and the covers were great, styled after Eastern Orthodox icons. Even if it did go a bit downhill after the first few issues, Lewis still brought some interesting ideas to the table. So, I was curious to see what he might do this with this one.

Review: Justice League of America: The Ray Rebirth #1
By Jonathan Edwards
Something happened after I read this book. I was comparing it to the previous two JLA Rebirth one-shots, and something occurred to me. The thing I liked most about Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1 was the structure, as it served as a microcosm of Ryan Choi's experiences with Ray Palmer and The Atom. For Justice League of America: Vixen Rebirth #1, it was the color and how it was used to distinguish, but also link, her past and present. And then, there's this one: Justice League of America: The Ray Rebirth #1. As far as I know, this marks Ray Terrill's first appearance in the main DC continuity since 2011. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti did write a four-issue limited series titled The Ray a few months after The New 52. However, that introduced a new character, Lucien Gates, taking up the mantle. Although, it doesn't look like anything was really done with The Ray after that. Lucien apparently showed up as a supporting character a few times, but that's about it. That is, until now. The reemergence of Ray as The Ray seems to coincide with the announced Freedom Fighters: The Ray animated series, set to appear on CW Seed later this year. Because, like the version of the character starring in that series, Ray Terrill is now gay.

Review: Justice League of America: Vixen Rebirth #1
By Jonathan Edwards
At the end of my review for Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1 last week, I said that I fully intended to check out Justice League of America: Vixen #1, so here I am. Now, I may have known little about The Atom, but I knew even less about Vixen. I was pretty sure she could mimic the abilities of animal (likely due to being connected to the "Red" such as Animal Man and, I think, Beast Boy are), and that's about it. That does indeed turn out to be the case, and I'm super okay with it because animal mimicry is rad.

Review: Justice League/Power Rangers #1
By Jonathan Edwards
Why does this book exist? I mean, sure, the Justice League and Power Rangers are both superhero teams starring in their own books, and doing a crossover is always likely to guarantee to sell at least a few copies to fans from both side of the isle. But, I can't really say it's a team-up I've ever heard anyone clamoring for. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. If Batman can team up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, why not the Justice League and Power Rangers? And to be fair, their marketing did kind of work on me. Because, when I saw this listed on the spreadsheet, I was compelled to find out just how in the hell they tried to make this whole thing work.

Review: Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1
By Jonathan Edwards
DC's Rebirth, like all of its reboots, has meant very different things for each of its characters and books. For Flash, it meant the return of Wally West as well as the introduction of his cousin, also named Wally West. For Superman, it meant the New 52 Superman died (although, I'm not wholly convinced he won't pop back up at some point), and the original Superman replaced him. For Batman, it kind of just meant things continued business as usual. And for this book, it meant Ryan Choi is The Atom once again. And, knowing that he was The Atom at some point before marks one of the handful of things I know about The Atom (alongside knowing that Ray Palmer has played human MacGuffin in more than one book). As such, I decided to do some light reading on Ryan to get a little bit better of an idea where this book is coming from and where it might go. But, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.

Review: Supergirl: Being Super #1
By Jonathan Edwards
I'll be forthright; I don't know much about Supergirl. Of course, I know that she was originally the Kryptonian cousin of Superman with more or less all the same powers, and she died during Crisis on Infinite Earths. But beyond that (and knowing she was replaced by a shapeshifting alien or something for a while), I'm a blank slate. And really, that's why I wanted to check out this book. I mean, what better way to learn about a character than with an origin story? Even if it takes the character in a substantially different direction than previous iterations, a good origin story can still generate enough interest in a character to inspire further and continued reading. That's what happened with me and Supergirl's cousin a couple years ago. I don't think I'd been all that interested in Superman since I was a kid. But after reading Superman: Secret Origins, I was intrigued enough to check out Superman: Birthright and then Kurt Busiek's Superman: Secret Identity. Okay, admittedly that last one isn't exactly an origin story, but I only sought it out after reading the other two. So the question becomes, will this book encourage something similar from me for the "Girl of Steel"?

Review: Klaus and the Witch of Winter #1 (One Shot)
By Jonathan Edwards
In November of last year (2015), Boom! Studios released the first issue of Grant Morrison's Klaus. With Dan Mora on art duties, the limited series was billed as "Santa Claus: Year One." To be honest, I don't know if I would've been as immediately sold on the idea if it weren't Morrison at the helm, using his unique creative flair to elevate it above mere high concept. Over the seven issues, we met the eponymous Klaus, a reclusive hunter chosen by winter spirits to return joy and hope to a city under tyrannical rule, culminating with a fight against an ancient evil. Stylistically, Klaus is comparable to Darren Aronofsky's film Noah, both maintaining a relatively grounded feel, with the more fantastical elements feeling more mythic and/or folkloric than outright religious. Overall, it was a strong, if not wholly exceptional, entry in Morrison's long and vaunted writing career.

Review: Dept. H #9
By Jonathan Edwards
I picked up the first issue of Dept. H completely on a whim. I originally saw it online, listed among the weekly new releases. The name was cute, and, after reading the series description, it seemed like it could be interesting. However, nothing really made me feel like I really needed to go out and get it. However, when I saw it on the shelf of my local comic shop, I made a snap judgment: eh, screw it. Why not? And with that, I bought it.
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