Comic Books Reviews: Comics Released On December 28, 2016

Got a lot of books this week. Here they are in alphabetical order.

All Star Batman (2016) #5

Official preview: http://www.dccomics.com/comics/all-star-batman-2016/all-star-batman-5

One of the best books on the shelf. Anytime you get Snyder writing Batman, you’re in for a treat. Going along with the style Snyder established from his run on the main Batman book, Snyder explores the mythos of Batman’s history, in this case Two-Face, and puts forth an opinion and a statement about this character. I’ve loved all the insight Snyder has offered towards Batman and that adoration continues here. I don’t love Romita’s artwork, but I felt like it was fine here.

Score: 8/10

 

Captain America: Steve Rogers (2016) #8

Official preview: http://marvel.com/comics/issue/57873/captain_america_steve_rogers_2016_8

There have been lots of times in comic book history when a publisher decides to take a hero into completely new territory. Sometimes it goes terribly, sometimes it comes out great. This is one of the times where it comes out mostly great. The character of evil Captain America possesses everything that made good Captain America who he is; he is devoted, idealistic, relentless, and he believes in his ideals to an extreme degree. Watching the evil Captain’s machinations is an interesting experience in that it gives insight into what makes people evil. In another way, it shows us that there is no such thing as good or evil, just people fighting hard for different beliefs. This is a great twist and given what happened in Civil War II, I’m very interested in seeing how things play out for Cap’.

Score: 7/10

 

Civil War II (2016) #8

Official preview: http://marvel.com/comics/issue/62349/civil_war_ii_2016_8

What was the point of this book? Nothing happened. Nothing was achieved. They killed off some major characters to little fanfare. This just felt like an enormous waste of time. The main point of this book was mainly as a preview for upcoming story arcs that Marvel intends on putting out. The only salvageable thing was the art, which was great. Even so, the story is such shit that I would not recommend picking this book up.

Score: 2/10

 

Dark Knight III: The Master Race (2015) #6

Official preview: http://www.dccomics.com/comics/dark-knight-iii-the-master-race-2015/dark-knight-iii-the-master-race-6

Not a story on par with the prior Dark Knight books, but a fun story nonetheless. There are no great themes at play, no greater meaning to this story, and no big emotions to be felt. It’s just a fun continuation of the characters Miller established all those years ago.

Score: 5/10

 

Hulk (2016) #1

Official preview: http://marvel.com/comics/issue/61531/hulk_2016_1

I feel like there are many different tones for comic books and this book shows off one of them. This is not the kind of superhero book where heroes smash everything. This isn’t an action book. This also isn’t Archie. This is something in between. If you’ve read Soule’s She-Hulk miniseries, then you’ll have a taste of the kind of book this is. It’s a book that centers more on the legal profession mixed with the strangeness of super powers. It’s an interesting book which I’m probably not going to continue reading because I’m not in the mood for a story like this. I can happily recommend it to anyone else who is though.

Score: 5/10

 

Infamous Iron Man (2016) #3

Official preview: http://marvel.com/comics/issue/61549/infamous_iron_man_2016_3

Infamous Iron Man has consistently attracted my attention and is once again my book of the week. Similarly to how Captain America is now evil, Doctor Doom is now good. Even better, Doctor Doom’s transformation into a superhero from a super villain does not come from some magical cube, it is a decision he makes after realizations he has on his own. Reading this book is an exploration into the character that is Victor Von Doom and an observation watching a bad man try to be good, something completely foreign to him. Maleev’s art is also pretty great.

Score: 8.3/10

 

Spider-Man (2016) #11

Official preview: http://marvel.com/comics/issue/55705/spider-man_2016_11

The cover of this book has nothing to do with the story inside. This book is about Miles’ father and his involvement with SHIELD. It’s an okay story, but I read Spider-Man to get that mix of superhero action mixed with the antics of a middle school student. I did not get that here.

Score: 4/10

Comic Book Review: Dark Knight III: The Master Race (2015) #6

http://www.dccomics.com/comics/dark-knight-iii-the-master-race-2015/dark-knight-iii-the-master-race-6

I feel like after All-Star Batman and Robin, Frank Miller’s credibility just kind of went to shit. Even with Jim Lee’s art, there was no saving that mess of a story and dialogue.

I am happy to say that The Master Race is not as bad as All-Star Batman and Robin. It also isn’t quite as prolific as the more legendary Frank Miller stories of old. This is just a good story, a fun story that likes to reminisce and take us back to the old Dark Knight stories.

In this issue, Batman and Superman both armor up and beat the crap out of the crazy Kandorians. The side story at the end with Wonder Woman and her daughter was a nice addition as well.

I’ve got to give some credit to Azzarello  here. The dialogue is much more toned down and less corny and out of touch from Miller’s prior works. No more weird name calling or excessive mysogyny. There are hints of it. It wouldn’t be a Miller-Batman story without it, but it is toned down.

What really helps is the art of Kubrick. I’ve read a number of books involving Kubrick, namely “The Death of the Dark Knight,” and I think he’s a superstar. As far as I can tell, Kubrick’s art can do no wrong. He captures the artistic styles of yesteryear, except that his work is some much cleaner and easy to read. Miller’s art at the end was nostalgic more than anything else. It was just nice to see.

Score: 6/10 It’s a fun, action story. No big dramatic twists here or editorials on the Batman mythos or commentary on modern day society. It’s just a fun story with characters from Miller’s Dark Knight books.