Powered By Blogger

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Ultimate Spider-Man #118 Review

Cover: Stuart Immonen
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Stuart Immonen
Inks: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Lettered: VC-Cory Petit


Synopsis: Ultimate Spider-man is the best spider title out there. I love to rant about this title. The stories are fun, the dialog is great, there is a lot to love. Bendis is an amazing writer, he has a way with the characters and the stories are fun, they are what Spider-man should be (I don't know why Bendis doesn't write Amazing Spider-man, seems like a no brainer). We begin with Peter trying to read about Einstein when he flashes back to Harry's death (see previous issue). We cut to this guy (forgot his name) he is doing push-ups and thinking about how much easier if Peter adimitted that he was Spider-man and how he would date Kitty Pryde. MJ is working at the mall when Liz shows up looking very sick. Liz ducks out and complains about how she feels bad. Johnny Strom meanwhile is on a date with a supermodel and are getting swarmed by the media. He is kind of angry so he decides to ditch. Kitty freaks out at school and phases through the cafeteria, Johnny shows up at school, Peter tells him to be cool, Kitty shows up, Peter tells everyone to be cool (insert tension here), Ice man shows up (insert teenage drama) and Peter is trying to play it cool. Johnny goes asks Liz out, they all go to the beach, later around a bond fire, Liz suddenly flames up and becomes Firestar.

Comments: Bendis rocks. That sums it up. Great dialog, funny scenes, awkward teenage adventures, this is the best Spider-man series out there. The last scene was a nice throwback to win Johnny Strom accidentally light up the last bonfire. It is clear now that Liz was a mutant which explains her prejudice and her mood. She prolly has the ability to absorb others powers. Another great thing is Peter during the scene where everyone was coming in. Just him trying to avoid attention and the little stuff like the Doc Oc comments. This should be a fun little arc and so far anything Bendis does involving Ultimate X-men (see Ultimate Spider-Man 66-67) has been humorous and entertaining. This should be a quality arc.

Verdict:
GET IT

Green Lantern #27 Review

Alpha Lanterns (Part 2)
Writer: Geoff Johns
Art: Mike McKone

Summary:
We begin this issue with a wake-up call from OA to John and Hal. A yellow ring is looking for a new bearer. Our heroes chase this ring all the way to Jonathan Crane. They stop it before Crane gets a hold of it. The Lanterns discover that Laira murdered Amon Sur. We get to a heated debate among the Lanterns if it was justice or murder. The Lost Lanterns turn their backs on Laira and say that it was murder. Naturally, she freaks out. The guardians come out and tell her that she is suspended. They also say that they need a police force that will police the lanterns. Behold the Alpha Lanterns. These guys don't need to sleep or recharge their batteries. It is the greatest honor among the Green Lantern Corps. Many of them accept, but John Stewart doesn't because he doesn't know what he is getting into. We have a scene with a guardian recruiting someone to go find the Anti-Monitor's body. What is weird here is that the guardian has the symbol of the Black Lanterns in his eyes. The chosen Alpha's go to the surgery center, and they are being transformed. They are about to lock up Laira, when she tries to escape. The Alpha Lanterns (they look like robot-aliens) come out. Guardians end the issue by saying it is time to enact the 2nd law.

Comments:
Solid issue. This issue just sets up stuff going forward. We are treated to a new corps within the corps. This will lead to some confrontations with the GLs in the future. The Laira trial was ok, but if they put in the law, why can't she just kill him. Whatever, i don't care too much about her. Art is solid, but i want Reis and Van Sciver back. Johns does a good job introducing the Alpha Lanterns. I don't know why they made them that powerful though. Why make the people who govern the Lanterns stronger than the Lanterns, who actually have to go out there into some dangerous shit. It seems like a waste to have people that powerful just sit on the sidelines and just "police the Lanterns". But i have faith in Johns to make the useful in the broader battles. I still think this is just a filler arc for the eventual run against the Red Lanterns. It is intriguing, but the arc hasn't really done too much for me (in terms of what Johns usually delivers). Very solid though.

Verdict:
GET IT

Countdown #13 Review

Written by Paul Dini
Story consultant Keith Giffen
Scripts by Tony Bedard
Art by Pete Woods and Tom Derenick
Covers by Woods


Synopsis: We start with Earth-51. People are fighting, various superheroes fighting the Monitors. Superman-Prime and the Monarch are going out at it. They banter a little and Superman-Prime it just taking it to him. He decides to rip off the Monarch's armor and unleashes a nuclear holocaust. Basically everyone is killed and Superman-Prime just jumps out and gets ready for round 2. We see the challengers and Earth-51 Batman (recognize) chilling. Donna sees a message that tells her to go to Apokolips. Solomon has just downed Forerunner when Darkside shows up and tells him that life is like a game of checkers, and invites him to play. The monitor hears something and takes off into space and then we see Donna and Jason (word, Red Robin now) arguing over the fiery letters. Some supervillains roll up and Earth-51 Batman (recognize) jumps the Joker. Jason jumps into the fight when some alternate version of Superman caves in Earth-51 Batman (recognize). Green Lantern knocks him away and they all take off except for Jason. The Joker cracks a joke about Batman. The monitor meets up with the Challengers, tells them how the source has contacted them and they should listen. Round 2 of Superman Monarch concludes as Superman rips off more armor from the Monarch and wipes out everything except for one tree (take that hippies).

Comments:
This was a solid issue. The negatives is Superman-Prime (should be boy but thank you legal lawsuits). He sounds like such a little bitch, someone should fix his retarded dialog. I'm liking how Darkside is coming back, he has been jobbing for a while now but now he is getting the push he deserves. Red Robin is also pretty bad ass. He crushed the Jokers' head in with a rock which is top 10 bad ass moments, I'm glad hes getting up there. I hate the Monarch and am glad Superboy-Prime took him out. The dude is a terrible villain, I mean why, seriously, why? Superboy can stick around because he is written well by certain writers and I believe in Grant Morrison. The art varies and sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't, its mixed. Countdown is getting better and hopefully if they fix the dialog, get a villain, and start pushing Jason, it should all be good.

Verdict:

A very weak GET IT

Batman #673 Review

Joe Chill in Hell
Writer: Grant Morrison
Art: Tony Daniel

Summary:
We start with Morrison explaining a meditation that simulates death and rebirth. Batman ends his little hallucination in the 13th day. Batman is back in the Bat-Cave, where he comments on how he records everything he does. I am not sure if its real or not, but Batman is talking about his parents death, and instead of a guy shooting his parents, we see a batman with the gun. We go to the house of this crime boss. He is telling his goons about how hard it is to run a crime organization, and how a batman is haunting him and making his life a living hell. He says that he should have shot the boy when he had the chance. After the goons say that they'll take care of the bat, the batman shows up and kills the goons. We go to a with the batman, who says Gotham has never seen someone like him before. We go back to the mediation. 23rd day now, and now he is thinking of when he was a kid looking down the well. He says that that was the time he realized that his parents are going to die, that we are all going to die. Now he is at his parent's funeral, and the little disfigured batman is telling him to make friends with the dark. This one guy at the funeral says that you keep too many of your emotions in you, that you are keeping Tim at arm's length so he won't end up dead like Jason. We go to a scene with Batman volunteering to be in an isolation chamber. Bruce says that he wanted to know how the Joker thought. Robin said it's dangerous to do that and that he needs to stop thinking about the Joker so much. We go back to the scene with the guy that killed his parents. Joe finally figures out who he is and says "OH MY GOD..... I MADE BATMAN". We see Bruce being brought back. The meditation ends at 49 days. He says that Thogal (the meditation) ended a year ago, and the isolation chamber ended 3 years ago. He finally remembers that he had a heart attack on the top of the GCPD building. He wonders who brought him back. It was the evil Batman.

Comments:
Wow. I don't even know what to say about that book. Morrison absolutely did a number on me. I was confused and mesmerized throughout the book. I didn't know who was who, if it was real, or when he was in meditation. I just knew that it was great. We get a real different look at the history of Batman. We get a little bit of his childhood, his days of vengeance, his emergence as Batman, and his grievience of Jason. Grant Morrison's dialog and narration was very good. Grant Morrison shows how complex Batman can be, and why this is why we love him so much. He is not some fluff, but he is some real deep gravy. If you analyze Batman, you can write a book on it. Batman is by far the most complex character in comics, if not in modern literature (seriously). Grant Morrison attempted to get inside that mind, and he did a solid job of it. Of course, Morrison continues this seemingly incredible story with the revelation that the evil Batman saved Bruce Wayne on the top of the building. As you know, the Bat-Cave loves us some Batman stories, and this one has the chance to be up top with the best. We are very excited for this story arc.

Verdict:
OWN IT

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Captain America #34 Review

Written By: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Epting,
Guice
D'Armata

Synopsis: A new era begins as the mantle is passed from all star to rookie. We begin with Bucky watching over the city. He comments on how fragile life in the US is and how it can fall apart if we let it. We see news reports saying how the Dow Jones is tanking and the new Kronas CEO has raised oil prices sky high (very politically charged Brubaker). The Kronas company is also foreclosing on mortgages through loopholes in the contract the average person did not read (very politically correct). People across the US are rioting about getting shafted and you see the police riot squad laying the beat down on hippie candy asses (not really, but I don't like hippies). Black Widow asks Bucky if hes ready to roll and Bucky says hes down. They banter in the chopper and essentially explain Bucky's role as the new Captain America and his chain of command (nothing). Widow asks why he won't wear the traditional uniform and Bucky comments that he won't pretend to be Steve and that is why he designed a new suit. Bucky suits up and its off to the ass kicking. Some Red Skulls minion are attacking the Wall Street gold reserves when Bucky shows up and layeths the smackethdown on their candy asses. He breaks out the gun and starts popping knee caps (had to mention it). We cut to Stark explaining what the hell is going on to the prototypical politician about how the Red Skull is doing all this and this is part of the grand master plan to take down America (USA, USA). The Skull is talking to some minion who is like a TV about the plan. We see people in front of the white house and Fatus unleashes a post hypnotic suggestion that makes them fire into the crowd.

Comments: USA, USA, USA, USA.... ok enough of that. This was a fine issue. It was meant to establish the role Bucky plays as Captain America. The whole fight scene was meant to establish what type of Captain America Bucky would be as well as the direction of the serious. It is clear that Bucky isn't going to live up to Steve and doesn't have Steve's same sense of justice which is what this issue meant to establish. This issue was very well done, it laid the plot out there, and the characters involved. This issue is a character study of Bucky and sets up this the direction of the comic book, it essentially sets the foundation for Captain America for years to come. Brubaker does incredible character work, the issue sports solid artwork. Brubaker is at the top of his game and hopefully he keeps this up. This is the best Marvel series out there, pick it up.

Verdict:
OWN IT unless your a commie

Daredevil #104 Review

Without Fear (Part 5)
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Michael Lark


Summary:
We start with Lily getting in a Taxi while mumbling about how she is sorry. We go to a flashback with Lily and Mr. Fear. He has his gas floating around, and says that if Lily does what he says, he will cure her. Among these requests is releasing Milla from custody. He tells her that if she does what he wants, she can have what she has always wanted: Matt Murdoch. We go to Daredevil torturing Ox about the location. He does this cool thing where Ox thinks that he is being burned (Matt knocked his vision out so he can't see), but Matt is really just poking his nerves. He eventually cracks and tells him the location. Daredevil says he should be disgusted, but he enjoyed it. Exit Daredevil, Enter Hood. Hood says that he will help Ox. Matt breaks into the Cranston Suite, knocks out the body guards, and proceeds to Cranston's bedroom. He only finds a hooker and a note that says "You are too late.... You will always be too late". Matt goes back home to check on Milla, and finds that she beat up the nurse. Matt gets all protective and tells her its not her fault. The police come and take away Milla, while Matt goes back to thinking. He finds out that there was a smell in the house that he knows all too well. Of course, Matt goes to Lily's house to scare the shit out of her. Lily basically tells all, and that she was to meet him at Hell's Kitchen at midnight for her reward. Matt = pissed. We get to a scene at the Kitchen where Fear is going in with 2 guards to meet Hood. Hood just shoots the guards, and ends the issue by telling Fear that they need to come to an understanding.

Comments:
That was a really good issue. Brubaker is an incredible writer. His character work is incredible. He has turned Daredevil into a serious badass. Daredevil doesn't have any remorse now, as shown by the scene where he tortures Ox (and admits he likes it). This arc has been off and on, but i think this was one of the better issues. All the scenes with Matt were really good, and incorporating Lily into a heel-tweener was a nice step. I liked how Lily has been at the side of the Murdocks the whole time, but Fear was able to get her to go against that, just to get what she wants, which is Matt. The reader wasn't sure if she would do it, but we get the answer later in the issue when the nurse got knocked out. We end the issue with Fear and Hood. This scene was just used to get Hood over and to set up the final part of this Without Fear arc. The art isn't special, but it works with this title. This issue looked a little worse because Lark really made Matt's face look like a bunch of pencil marks.

Verdict:
GET IT

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Captain America #33 Review

Written By: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Epting,
Guice
D'Armata

Synopsis: We begin with the Red Skull talking to Fatus about their plan and the role Sharon Carter (Caps baby's mama) in their plan. They decide to fake their death because it will give them an advantage of being invisible and allow them to pull the strings more covertly. We cut to the Shield base where Bucky is in an interrogation room smiling. Scientist attempt to disarm his disembodied arm (the metal one) but then it takes them out and goes into the vents. SHIELD then starts to mobilized to get ready to take down Bucky. Iron Man suits up when Bucky jumps him. They throwdown before a bit (well a lot longer than that) when Iron Man basically tells him about the letter Cap sent him. They have a sit down, read the letter, Bucky agrees to be Cap and then the issue ends.

Comments: This was a good issue. A setup issue but still good. Brubaker is a beast of a writer and it shows in Cap. I'm looking forward to the Bucky as Cap. Bucky has got a serious drive to take down villains and avenge Cap which means lots of action and collateral damage and thats fine by me. I'm glad they ended his beef with Iron Man because I didn't see the logic of blaming Tony, people need to lay off the guy, pretty soon Marvel will make global warming his fault (if it's real). With issue 34 comes the new era featuring a new Cap and hopefully Marvel intends on keeping Steve dead or else in retrospect this will be one giant waste of time (this goes into my hatred of death in comic books since it absolutely means nothing). This was a solid issue even though not too much happened. It isn't to crucial and you could survive if you didn't read it but it was good nonetheless.

Verdict:
It earns a solid GET IT

Saturday, January 26, 2008

The Legion of Super Heroes 38 Review

Evil Adventures (Part 2)
Writer: Jim Shooter
Art: Francis Manapul

Summary:
We start the issue with a huge brawl on Triton. Timber Wolf, Saturn Girl, and Star Boy are on there fighting 3 monsters. They save this one girl named Giselle. They are cleaning them up pretty good, until Timber Wolf says get ready for them to change. We go back to the Legions HQ, where Lightning Lad is fretting over the battle on that planet. The budget department has stripped them of their communications, so he has no idea what is going on. On that note, some weird guy comes in with new "Legionnaires" that are to be added to the team. Back on Triton, the Legionaries are still fighting the monsters, and all the Legion are having a very tough time. In the HQ, the dude from the U.P tells them to try out the new people. Lightning Lad is very annoyed, but goes along with the process. We get the likes of Fruit Boy (turns fruit ripe), Sludge (makes surfaces sludgy), Virus (makes people sick), Spy (acute senses), Voice (tells the weak what to do), all get rejected by the Lad. The Legion gets help from local police to finally beat the monsters. Saturn Girl asks Giselle to try out for the legion, but she tells Saturn that the Legion are a bunch of tools. Back on Earth, we learn that there were no casualties on Triton, but Lad really fucked up messing the U.P. The issue ends with Lad crying.

Comments:
Good issue. We saw some funny dialogue and some fun moments. The battle of Triton was well done. All of the members of the Legion contributed in helping to beat the monsters. The stuff at HQ was great. Lad was great in this issue. Shooter shows Lad struggle to deal with the pressure to be the leader of the Legion. The new recruits was really funny. We got to see Fruit Boy try out to be in the Legion. That was hilarious. The issue didn't really do anything to get me excited about the next issue, but for what it was worth, it was a fun read. We got action and humor. Art was decent, but not anything special.

Verdict:
GET IT

Friday, January 25, 2008

Mighty Avengers #7 Review

Written by: Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Mark Bagley

Synopsis:
Michael Bendis is one of the best writers at Marvel (top two, I'll let you guess who the other top dog is). He has a way with dialog like no other writers. It is absolutely fantastic and it shines in the Mighty Avengers. This issue starts off with Stark waking up in the hospital room with Jessica Drew holding the skrull body of Elektra. She basically tells him what is going on with the Skrulls. The next day they have a team meeting where they joke on Stark on him being a woman (The Ultron incident, pick up that trade, its fantastic). Stark then introduces Jessica with comical and dramatic results (the Sentry's wife also has tells Stark to kill the Sentry). Meanwhile in space several astronauts are cleaning up the wreckage from the Ultron incident and accidentally unleash the venom/carnage bomb into NYC. The Avengers assemble and then go to take action.

Comments:
Bendis is a brilliant writer. He owns at dialog. That being said, delays have essentially killed this tittle and this storyline. New Avengers has already addressed the result of this. If they could have gotten the two titles in sink this would probably being an amazing event. Bendis is also laying the ground work for secret invasion in this. The addition of Jessica Drew should help make the Mighty Avengers even better. This is a fun read and all but delays have been killing this title. This title is a good read and all but in the end the delays just kept hurting it and not even Bendis's dialog can make up for it. The art is good but not as good as the previous artist, my main gripe with it is that Tony's expressions look like Peter's from Ultimate Spider-man with different hair.

Verdict:
SKIM IT

Batman #672 Review

Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony Daniel and Jonathan Glapion
Cover by Daniel


Synopsis: So with the new Batman coming up we here at the cave decided to catch up all our loyal followers (all possibly two of you). Essentially Grant Morrison has been building this story since the Batman and son arc and we are getting closer to the endgame. So we begin with the devil Batman storming the police station looking for Commissioner Vane. It is revealed that Batman has a history with this fellow with him being the third man. So he ends up holding the police station hostage and Gordon mans up and allows himself to be taken hostage. Bruce Wayne is on his date with the supermodel, ditches, fights the man. The devil batman shots Gordon and causes (maybe not sure) Batman cardiac arrest. So as Batman is having his attack he summons Batmite who tells him he fucked up now.

Comments: The thing about this issue is that you cannot look it as a stand alone. When you review this issue you are reviewing Grants whole body of work since all roads led to this issue. That being said, this is a fantastic body of work. Grant has been working with a theme through his entire run of replacement batmen and is clearly building towards the how to avoid or how the Batman 666 storyline will occur. This was a solid issue but a bit confusing due to the batmite. Grant employs a lot of history about the character which makes for solid depth. His stories are well thought out and very complex. This in itself is a good issue but the ending for me was a little too complicated for me between Batman summoning batmite and the little video game character face.

Verdict:
GET IT

Teen Titans 55 Review

The Great Divide
Writer: Sean McKeever
Art: Jamal Igle

Summary:
We start off the issue recapping Wonder Girl kicking out Super-Girl from the Titans. Rose gives Blue Beetle a tour around the headquarters, while the Devil dude looks sad. He gets really jealous of Jaime. M'Gann has some weird martian in her head who is driving her crazy. We then go to Tim and Wonder-Girl talking over dinner. Wonder-Girl reveals that the reason she kicked out Kara was because she reminded her of Conner. Speaking of Conner, Wonder-Girl gets really emotional about him, as Tim looks on. She is about to hell him something, when there is an emergency and the Titans do their thing. We see Rose has raided Robin's locker and got some swords or something. Rose and Jaime are getting cool with each other (texting and shit), and the Devil still looks sad as hell. Then, Tim is giving this speech about how they should look after each other because the battle with their future-selves really shook their resolve. Rose brings up putting Jaime on the Titans, but Tim is like no way dude, much to the Devil's glee. We then go to Robin's apartment, where Cassie comes in and wants to finish what she had to say. Robin is hoping that she is going to say she loves him, but Cassie says the Conner thing has been too hard, and they need to break up. We then see Dreadbolt and some other guy looking to attack the Titans.

Comments:
This was a transition issue to the next arc in Teen Titans, so not too much happened. We got some solid character work, especially with Tim and Cassie. It was important, but i don't really care that much about their relationship. What was important from that whole thing is that the Titans are really fragile now. After the dust-up with their future selves, and with Kara being kicked out, shit is going down. That Devil guy (don't know his name) is pretty weak, but he could come up big later. I don't like Rose, Blue Beetle, or M'Gann. They did nothing for me in this issue. Tim Drake was solid as always. It will be interesting to see if the 2 adversaries the Titans will run into in the next issue will really beat them down. All are really fragile, and Cassie and Kara are both not there. You don't really need to get this issue, as nothing really happened. But it is a nice solid DC comic, so you may want to check it out. Art is solid.

Verdict:
SKIM IT

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Countdown To Final Crisis #14 Review

Choke On It!
Writer: Paul Dini
Art: Pete Woods/Tom Derenick/Wayne Faucher

Summary:
We have Superman Prime threatening the Monitors after the bad one said that the perfect earth is being destroyed. He clearly lied here. Donna dresses up as the Wonder-Woman and attack Belethra, and in the process gains control of her Minion army. We catch up with Jason Todd, who dresses up as the Red Robin to fight in the war with Batman. They get into a sticky situation, only to get bailed out by Donna and her new Minion Army. We end the issue with the Monarch seeing his plans being foiled. He is about to go down to the battlefield, when Superman Prime comes out and confronts him.

Comments:
That was one of the better issues of DC's weekly series. The dialogue is still lacking. I understand Superman Prime is supposed to be immature, but this is kind of ridiculous. All he does is yell. The story in countdown always moves along slowly, but a lot of stuff happened in this issue, which is a plus. We are treated to some cool action and moments. I could care less about Donna, but Jason was just dope in this issue. Red Robin. That was cool. I really don't like the over-paranoid Batman of this Earth, but Jason came through for me today. If Grant Morrison is really going to use Monarch in Final Crisis, Dini needs to build him up properly. He cannot job to Superman Prime next week. That would be terrible. I am not impressed by Monarch, but I trust Grant to really maximize character potential of all of the Countdowners (if he chooses to use them). Art is fine for me.

Verdict:
SKIM IT

X-Men 207 Review

Written by: Mike Carey
Penciled by: Chris Bachalo

Summary:
The cataclysmic event known as Messiah Complex comes to an end here. Last time we left the mutant bunch they were fighting the Sinister's crew when Predator-X, Cable, and the New X-men all ddecided to crash. We have our all battle that results into quite a few casualties including Professor Xavier (allegedly), Bishop (implied), Sinister (technically died last issue but he could have came back and died again), and Predator-X (I'm pretty sure he will stay dead). Bishop pops Xavier, Cyclops blasts Bishop, Cable escapes with the baby, and Wolverine does clean up. That sums up the issue in a nutshell.

Comments:
This was a great issue. The only complaint is the art, the covers are misleading because what is inside does not look like that. From a story standpoint, this was an amazing acheivement in X-men mythos. They have set the stage for a brilliant post Messiah world and have left the door opens for so many new plot lines. One that comes to mind is the role of Magneto in the future and another would be the status of the X-men with Xavier gone. From the solicits, it appears a lot will happen especially with Bishop now chasing Cable. The identity of the baby comes to mind seeing as it is a red haired, female baby with extraordinary power (draw your own conclusions). If they follow through this story arc will be brilliant, if they don't build upon it then this crossover is useless. For now though, the ride was good, just one plot hole comes to mind and that would be the second future with the one clone guy. I just wonder what that is like, my guess is that the real villain that is pulling all the strings is probably involved in that timeline.

Verdict:
OWN IT

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Opening Day

We are here to start THE comic book blog. We hope to be your go-to site to see which comics are good and which should be burned. This is The Sports God, and with The One and Only, we will take over the internet comic world. We are really going to fire up the site next week, but this week we are going to let you guys get to know us. TOAO has already put up some of his favorite stories. And if he likes it, then its good. No buts about it. What we say goes. Got it? Ok here we go.



Batman: Long Halloween
Jeph Loeb
Tim Sale

Synopsis:
This is a classic Batman story by our boy Jeph Loeb. There is this villian called Holiday that murders people on holidays (Christmas, April Fool's, Mother's Day). Batman tries to find the identity of the man. While he goes on this adventure, he has encounters with Falcone, Joker, Riddler, and Catwoman among others.

Why We Like It:
Classic Batman. The detective in him really shows in this story, but we aren't without some kicking ass. Classic character development in Batman, Harvey Dent, and even Jim Gordon. Tim Sale offers up some solid art that really fits the story.
If you like Batman, this is the story to get.




Green Lantern: Rebirth
Geoff Johns
Ethan Van Sciver

Synopsis:
Geoff Johns starts off his fantastic run in Green Lantern here. This story is about the return of the Green Lanterns after Hal Jordan wiped them out. Jordan, Guy, John, and Kyle play roles in this story. We get some really awesome stuff from Guy and Sinestro, which turns out to be a classic rivalry.

Why We Like It:
Simply put- this put Green Lantern back on the map. People were upset with how they treated Hal Jordan in the old days with him as Parallax, but Johns just totally catapults Hal into our good graces again. Each character has their own voice, and the narration is fantastic. The art is absolutely gorgeous. At the end of this story, you will be mesmerized by it's brilliance. This story starts Johns' run on Green Lantern, and his reign on top of the comic book world.


Opening Day

So for opening day, we figured we would share with you some of our favorite Marvel and (mostly) DC (mostly Batman) stories. Hopefully our blog is the next great internet hit so to officially welcome you to the cave here is the first (technically 2nd, the Iron Man incident) review!!!!

Batman: Hush
Jeph Loeb
Jim Lee

Synopsis:
This story finds the Dark Knight dealing with what could possibly be his most dangerous adversary. It begins on a typical day in Gotham, Batman is foiling a kidnapping but then things take a turn for the worst as Batman suffers a monster fall. He then runs the gauntlet of all his rouges gallery as he tries to piece together they mystery of who is Hush.


Why We Like It:

This is Batman at his finest. Unlike most other superheroes, Batman villains are straight forward start robbing and causing colleteral damage like there is no tomorrow. They are very intricate within their methods and almost stump the Dark Knight. Another aspect we like is how they really show the detective aspect of Batman that most writers seem to forget. Batman is the worlds' greatest detectives and showcases his talent here.



The Sinestro Corp War
Geoff Johns
Ivan Reis
Synopsis:
Villains always have their one defining moment and this is Sincestro's. The story deals with him realizing that there is power in numbers so he makes his own corps to take on the Green Lanterns. This ultimately comes down to Hal Jordon (the one on the right) having to fight Sincestro (the one on the left). The story also serves as a prelude to the next highly anticipated Green Lantern arc which is supposed to blow all our minds.

Why We Like It:
Someone should call Christian Cage and tell him that he cannot legally use the name "The Instant Classic" anymore. What Johns did is stunning. When you read this, you are witnessing comic history as Johns redefines what it means to be a Lantern as well as set the stage for future writers. We are watching Green Lantern history be rewritten and so far, it has been a real pleasure to read.