I posted a review at the ComicBookBin. 
Monday, July 8, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Albert Avilla Reviews: X-Men #1 (2013)
Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Albert Avilla
Writer: Brian Wood
Pencils: Olivier Coipel
Inks: Mark Morales and Olivier Coipel
Cover: Olivier Coipel and Laura Martin
Primer (Spoilers!)
They had me at the cover. They hit on all the important B’s: brawn, brains, beauty, boobs, and booty. Who else can put together a better all-female team? Even the villain in this piece is female. Girls just want to wreck it. Don’t let the good looks fool you; this is a band of thieves, ninjas, and former mutant-hunters who will kick some ass. If they did a survey of the top ten favorite female comic characters, where would most of these women place?
Mr. Wood doesn’t waste our time with origins; he hits the ground running. He gives a quick background of what the X-Men will be facing. Then, we have Jubilee with a baby running from a mysterious foe. She calls the X-Men, and they go running to save her. John Sublime goes to the Jean Grey School to ask for help against his sister who has an affinity for technology. Back on the train, the X-Men reunite with Jubilee. The baby is causing havoc with the electronics on the train. The X-Men jump into action to save the passengers. They take Jubilee and the baby back to the Grey School, where Sublime’s sister proceeds to take control of Karima Shapandar’s body. Yeah, that’s right; a being that has a biological imperative to dominant the earth has the powers of the Omega Sentinel. That’s the way you kick off a series.
Wood hits us with a fast-paced story and leaves us anticipating the story to come. With a team of characters with dynamic personalities and rich histories, Mr. Wood has a source of inspiration that should lead to a multitude of great stories.
The art is great. All of the different aspects of the art accentuate each other, which make for visual pleasure. Coipel has a great hand with faces and expressions. The costume design is also good.
I rate X-Men #1 Buy Your Own Copy. #2 (of 5) on the Al-O-Meter.
Albert Avilla Reviews: Captain America #7
Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Albert Avilla
Writer: Rick Remender
Pencils: John Romita Jr.
Inks: Klaus Janson, Scott Hanna
Colors: Dean White
Spoilers!
This is the best kept secret in comics, and it should not be. Get your !@#&%#$ out there and buy this book.
This is the seventh issue since the re-launch, and Remender has not given us a chance to catch our breath. The action has been kinetic. Cap has been stretched to his super soldier limits, and he has never hesitated in his assault on evil. Cap is being attacked on every level possible.
Zola’s mutates, and Jet has tested Cap’s fighting skills with brute force and superior physical abilities. Zola is taking over Cap’s body from within. Cap’s emotions have been wrecked by the kidnapping of his son, Ian. All of this is occurring in a hostile environment that requires super-human effort to survive. The only person that Cap has to depend on through these trying times is himself. Cap doesn’t sit back and moan about his situation; he is concerned about the faith of others. He pushes himself beyond his limits to make a difference.
Remender is telling an epic for the ages, and this issue continues what began in the previous issues. Cap keeps battling against all obstacles. He defeats Captain Zola. He fights Jet again, but leaves the fight to save a Phrox from becoming a Zola mutate. This inspires Jet to help Cap. She tells Cap that Zola City is actually a battle station, and that Zola is planning to attack Earth with a mutate army that will infect the Earth with the consciousness of Zola. This could have been the end of the story, leaving us filled with anticipation, but, no, the story continues. Cap pulls his demolished body off the ground to save his son. Then glazat! Cap is shot by his son. Double-thriller ending! Remender is giving us an epic for the ages. This is a great family story wrapped in kick-ass action.
Romita’s art is visual ecstasy. My copy is in horrendous condition from me repeatedly looking at the art.
I rate Captain America 007 Recommend It To A Friend. #1 (of 5) on the Al-O-Meter
Bakuman: Decision and Joy
I read Bakuman., Vol. 19
I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).
I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Review: ZITS: Chillax
ZITS: CHILLAX
HARPERTEEN/HARPERCOLLINS CHILDREN – @HarperCollins and @HarperChildrens
AUTHORS/ILLUSTRATORS: Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
ISBN: 978-0-06-222851-2; paperback (May 21, 2013)
256pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S.
Ages 13 and up
Debuting in July 1997, Zits is a comic strip written by cartoonist Jerry Scott and drawn by artist Jim Borgman. The strip is set in a suburban central Ohio area and stars Jeremy Duncan, a 16-year-old high school sophomore. Zits: Chillax is a 2013 teen novel from Scott and Borgman and is set in the world of Zits. Zits: Chillax is also an illustrated novel, featuring more than 300 illustrations.
Just about every page of Zits: Chillax features art. There are spot illustrations throughout the text. Some pages are half-art and half text, and some pages are entirely illustrated, while there are many full and half double-page spreads. If that were not enough to put the “illustrated” in illustrated novel, the authors have also included art that imitates comic strips and comic books.
Zits: Chillax stars Jeremy Duncan, described as a teen slacker. He has a girlfriend (Sara Toomey), a best friend (Hector Garcia), and is the lead guitarist of a four-member garage band called Chickenfist. Now, Jeremy is about to go to his first real rock concert, and it will be a chance for him to see his favorite musical act, the guitar mayhem band, Gingivitis.
However, the only reason Jeremy and Hector got two tickets to the Gingivitis show is because the tickets’ original owner, Tim, their friend and fellow band mate, will be busy donating bone marrow for his cancer-stricken mother. Jeremy’s parents, Connie and Walter (“Walt”) Duncan, and his friends and their parents are doing things to support Tim and his family. However, Jeremy and Hector are going to be at the concert the very night Tim will be in a hospital donating the bone marrow. Jeremy and Hector decide to have a rockin’ good time in support of their pal, and hopefully also score him a supremely cool souvenir. The pursuit of fun and swag leads to a night the two friends will never forget.
The press release that I received with my review copy of Zits: Chillax (from HarperCollins) says that the book “speaks ‘teen’ fluently…” Other than what I hear on television, I don’t know what teenaged vernacular is this year, but Chillax has slang and language that I recognize from pop culture. Actually, I don’t care about what Chillax “speaks,” but I assume that it is important to the publishers.
What I do care about is the quality of Zits: Chillax. It is actually a good read, and I say “actually” because I was mostly bored with this book for the first three chapters. At the end of the third chapter, Tim announces his mother’s cancer. Suddenly, the book changes, and, for me, it really starts to grapple with what it means to be a teenager when “real life,” meaning adult troubles, intrude on the fun time.
I remember, as a child, avoiding anything to do with discussing cancer. Once, my mother took us to visit one of her relatives who had late stage cancer. My mother told me that the relative “looked really bad.” So when we got to the relative’s home, I stayed in the car, because I was so afraid of what she might look like. I remember staring at the house, imagining the sick person behind the front door. I think Stephen King could have transformed my thoughts and feelings at that moment into a story to scare everyone. In reality, there was nothing or no one truly frightening behind that door.
However, Zits: Chillax is not downbeat. It is a gentle, yet lively teen adventure about teenagers being allowed to find their own way to express friendship and solidarity when faced with tough issues like grave and serious illness. Zits: Chillax is funny and has heart, and I am happy that there will be another Zits illustrated teen novel, Zits: Shredded!, which is previewed at the back of this book.
Aimed at teenagers, I think Zits: Chillax is appropriate for and will appeal to late pre-teen readers. Plus, fans of the Zits comic strip – of all ages – should try this book.
A-
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux
Friday, July 5, 2013
Review: B.P.R.D.: Vampire #4
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics
STORY: Mike Mignola, Gabriel Bá, Fábio Moon
ART: Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Fábio Moon
EDITOR: Scott Allie
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S. (June 2013)
We have now reached the penultimate issue of B.P.R.D.: Vampire from Mike Mignola and Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon. The B.P.R.D., of course, is the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, which protects America and the rest of the world from the occult, the paranormal, and the supernatural. The new comic book miniseries, B.P.R.D.: Vampire, is a direct sequel to B.P.R.D.: 1948 and is separate from the main B.P.R.D. comic book series.
The five-issue miniseries is written Mike Mignola and Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon and drawn by Bá and Moon. It is set in 1948 and follows Agent Simon Anders and his quest for revenge against a clan of vampires and its Gorgon-eyed queen, Hecate. After consulting “witch maps,” Anders travels to Cesky Krumlov, Czechoslovakia. There, he and his guide, Hana Novarov, find Krumlov Castle, where Anders meets the conniving vampire sisters, Katharina and Annaliese.
B.P.R.D.: Vampire #4 opens after Agent Anders’ battle with Lord Wilhelm. His time in Krumlov Castle has changed him, however. Now, he faces a small army of witches, and they want to kill him. Meanwhile, Hana calls B.P.R.D. Headquarters.
Now, that B.P.R.D.: Vampire has reached its penultimate issue, it becomes obvious why press material for the series refers to Agent Simon Anders as “doomed.” The confrontation between Anders and his “guests” and a gathering of witches is worth the price of admission.
Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon have not run out of ideas; their art for this series is as visually arresting as ever. The striking colors by Dave Stewart remind that B.P.R.D.: Vampire is a graphical narrative. The pictures tell a story that is as impressionistic and psychological as it is literal. You have to read the art and graphics to get the full impact of this story. I’m ready for the finale.
A
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux
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