Adventures of Apocalypse Al #3 (Image)
Rating: 3/5 – Story Loses Momentum in #3.
by ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall.
After a great issue #1 and #2, Straczynski stumbles in #3. There is a great new character introduced, Al’s “dead” ex-partner Scott, but even that was marred by the overly long interrogation scene with the troll (8 pages!!) Rounding out the issue we got a hackneyed Disneyland parody. I’d have been much happier with some more straight action (laced with some humor, of course) progressing Al towards her confrontation with the guy trying to end the universe. Hopefully #4 will finish strong and be more similar to 1 and 2 than 3.
CREDIT: Dynamite Entertainment
Magnus Robot Fighter #2 (Dynamite)
Rating: 5/5 – Kicking it Up a Notch. We Meet the REAL Robot Fighter.
by ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall.
The first issue was great and it was just a setup for what we get in #2. Fred Van Lente’s depiction of the future world Magnus inhabits and especially his introduction of Leeja Clane made this issue my favorite Magnus story of all time (so far). The depiction of Magnus’ powers was beautifully illustrated by Cory Smith, particularly when he got down to fightin’ some robots! If you haven’t tried this series out yet, pick up issue #2, I think it stands on it’s own, you can jump in right here.
Mighty Avengers #9 (Marvel)
Rating: 4/5 – Ronin Revealed At Last!…and the return of footnotes!
by ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall.
Al Ewing does a great job on this series, and it really has it’s own unique “feel” in the Avengers family of books that Marvel puts out. There is a great mixture of action and humor along with a nice sense of Marvel history that is lacking in most Marvel books. We get a shout out to Fantastic Four #19, from 1963 in this issue! And in a footnote box, no less! Oh, how I’ve missed the footnotes that used to liberally populate Marvel Comics. In addition to that; we revisit the Blue Marvel’s history, discover that Greg Land has no concept of how to draw a new born baby, and finally have our suspicions confirmed about who Ronin really is (unless you though he was someone else, in which case, you get to be surprised)! This comic is well worth reading and I’m looking forward to next issue. I hope Ronin leaves the mask off.
Reviewed by: Bob Bretall
(bob@comicspectrum.com)
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