Dead @ 17

There's been so much talk about this series, as well as its sequels, that I figured it was about time that I gave it a look. Oddly enough, I have a hard time finding what all of the rave reviews are about. This isn't a bad series at all, but it somehow feels like the story isn't as polished as it could be. The art, on the other hand, is a unique and intersting style that I haven't really seen on display. I like it, and I also think that the art is this four issue mini-series' greatest strength.

This is an odd little story about zombies, a heroine come back from the dead, a demonic power trying to enslave the human race, a cult, a group of friends, and a covert government team. There's a lot crammed into the 80 or so pages of this story and I think that because there is so much, it loses a lot of focus that I feel would have helped out this story.

While reading through, I kept trying to figure out if this was going to be a zombie story, or maybe it was a character study of our returned from the dead heroine, or maybe it was a teen drama with the undead thrown in the mix, or maybe it was about stopping a malevolent power from overtaking the human race, or maybe it was an exploration of the occult. So many of these styles got mixed and matched together that I found it hard to really invest myself in the story. There were also a lot of moments where I had to really suspend my disbelief to identify with what was going on because some interactions just didn't seem natural or felt forced.

Even though the story was a little lackluster, the art was something unique and is easily Josh Howard's biggest strength. The best way to describe his style would be to call it very angular and cartoonish with a manga inspired feel to it. Usually I'd really dislike this style, but it's oddly appealing. There's not a ton of detail to his style either, but for some reason I still like it. Maybe it's because it is something different than what I'm usually exposed to on an everyday basis in what I read, but somehow Howard's art feels a cut above the rest.

So I really don't know how to properly judge the overall package of this mini. On one hand, the story really feels lacking and amatuerish, yet it is competently done. On the other hand, the art is something new and interesting and worth seeing. In the end, I guess these two things offset each other to create a decent overall mini.

Ratings
Art: 4
Story: 2.5
Overall: 3

Sigil 36 - 42

So the first CrossGen title I sat down to read comes to a close with these issues. Sadly, it ends just as it was at its best. These last seven issues are easily the best of the entire run. The differing characters were all embroiled in interesting subplots. The main plot, involving the coming of the Negation forces, was building up a strong head of steam. JeMerick is finally starting to have his true nature revealed and his purpose is coming to light. Then, just as I can't wait to read each subsequesent issue, it ends... leaving me with a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth.

The concept of the multi-title spanning Negation war was one that really intrigued me and these issues were working as a prime setup for that war. Sam was kidnapped by one of the Negation Lawbringers and later, after he escaped, is tricked into getting another Sigil-bearer pregnant as JeMerick knows that by doing that, they will have an advantage against the Negation. He doesn't reveal what this advantage would be or why they would need that child, but I certainly couldn't wait to find out.

The Negation forces were working their way into the outer rim of the human worlds, starting with Delassia. Sam, not wanting to see them killed, forces even the most stubborn from the planet. The political ramifications of having so many refugees residing on the already cramped asteroids that made up what was left of the planet Gaia would be interesting and were hinted at in the last couple of issues.

Loser, the Saurian leader, also becomes caught up in the conflict against the Negation. He, along with a human tracker, take on a group of Negation and are transported into another realm where the Saurians are being used as slaves. It looks as if they are going to do something about it... but we'll never know.

There was so much that was building in this series that I feel cheated for not getting to know how it ends. If you are going to read this series, I would suggest stopping at issue 35, the last issue before the arc involving the Negation begins. Having so much dangled in front of you and then never finished is too much of a tease for me. Damn you, CrossGen. Damn you and your terrible accounting problems!

Ratings
Art: 3
Story: 3.5
Overall: 3

Sigil 22 - 35

This is a big chunk of issues to review, but when I think about it, over the course of these 14 issues, there really wasn't any large thematic changes or writing changes or and other series shattering changes. These 14 issues are simply the continuing space opera of Sam, his allies, and his Saurian foes. Chuck Dixon writes the entire arc so there is a consitency in the characters and writing style and the art is done, for the most part, by Scot Eaton with a few fill in issues by other artists with much the same style as Eaton.

I thought I'd have a lot to write since this is such a large span of issues, but I really don't. As much as there is that happens throughout the course of this long arc, there also isn't a lot that happens. That sounds paradoxical, I know, but let me explain.

So through this run, the human homeworld of Gaia is destroyed, the physical Roiya returns from the dead so there are now two versions of her, the Saurian leader is killed, the Saurian race tumbles into a civil war, the Bitterluck and her crew mysteriously land on an alien world only for Sam to save the day, and there's also an entire issue devoted to a flashback of Sam and Roiya's days in the military.

Yeah, so that sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Well there's also a lot of other things that go on, but those were simply the major items. Oddly enough, as much as there is going on, it often feels somewhat rushed. I would have liked more exploration of some of these subplots, but it seemed like as soon as a subplot was getting deep, Dixon would wrap it up with a couple of huge splash pages detailing a grand scene and then the reader would be moved along to the next big thing.

I really liked this style of grandiose writing, but at times it got to be too much and I just wanted things to settle down for a bit so we could focus on the characters again instead of these big plot devices. With worlds exploding and matriarchs dying and ships getting lost in wormholes, there's not a lot of time left to devote to character development. True, there was a lot of development done in the first 20 or so issues of the series, but that doesn't mean you can't develop the characters further. There were a few issues that were so filled with splash pages that I could read through them in 5 minutes or so. Now don't get me wrong, the art by Eaton was pretty darn good and Dixon's plots gave him more of a chance to draw big, awesome stuff as opposed to when Kessel and Waid were writing it, but it just felt like the depth of the story was severely missing in spots.

I shouldn't complain too much, however, as it's hard to find any good space opera styled comics today. Sigil has been a very refreshing read for me and is a nice break from the majority of the superhero stuff I've been trying to wean myself off of. With CrossGen's demise, it's pretty easy to get their titles on the cheap now, so I'd heartily suggest if you haven't given this series a shot, go grab what issues you can and dig it. It's fun, light, sci-fi comics that'll easily keep you interested for a while.

Ratings
Art: 3.75
Story: 3.25
Overall: 3.5

Daisy Kutter

I'd read all the praise for this series on the various comic review websites scattered around the vastness of the internet, but I'd never been able to get a hold of this series (or any of the Dead @ 17 stuff for that matter) since I don't have a comic shop in my local area. I get all of my new comics through online preorder so if I miss a series that ends up getting a lot of critical acclaim, I'm usually out of luck and have to either wait until the trade hits or hope that down the line I'll remember to order it if I put in a back issue order somewhere. Thanks to Greg, however, I wasn't left sitting on the outside looking in as he so graciously sent me copies of each of the issues of this 4 issue mini.

The premise of this mini is an interesting one. In a world where the wild west has crossed paths with robots, Daisy has been tapped to perform one last heist. This heist will consist of her outwitting a rich entrepenuer's newest security robots, which are supposedly unable to be defeated. Daisy doesn't initially want to take the job, but after losing everything in a poker game in the first issue, her hand is forced and she has to in order to keep afloat.

The entire first issue revolves around a poker game, which I thought was really neat. When I read in another review that this was the premise of the issue, I wondered how it would actually work in a comic book setting, but it was pulled off perfectly.

After the intial setup, the next two issues focus on the train heist while the last issue is the final showdown between Daisy and a huge ass robot killing machine. Whereas the first issue was all about focusing on the characters, the last three issues were focused on action and some damn good action at that. Much like Diggle and Jock on the Losers, Kazu Kabuishi creates some wonderful action scenes.

What really makes these scenes work is the great gray scale art. Outside of The Walking Dead, this is some of the best gray scale art I've seen. Kabuishi has a very traditional style which, oddly enough, worked perfectly for this fictional world of robots and cowboys.

All in all, my first experience with Viper Comics has been a great one. Grab this series if you can (or the tpb that's out now) as it's a highly enjoyable, highly energetic, really fun title.

Ratings
Art: 4
Story: 4
Overall: 4

JLA Classified 1 - 3

Grant Morrison doing some more work with the JLA. How can that ever be a bad thing? That's exactly what I thought until reading this arc. I think I might have appreciated this story more if I knew anything about the Ultra-Marines, but I didn't. I also didn't really know anything about the mini universe that the JLA are trapped in for the first issue. Combine this with only a casual knowledge of the JLA and you get a story arc that, while well written, wasn't all that enjoyable for me.

Morrison is a writer who I have the utmost respect for and after just finishing We3, I was looking forward to reading this. I wanted to read a story about the JLA written by Morrison, not a story about the Ultra-Marines with the JLA playing only a partial role in the overall plot. The entire first issue is primarily devoted to watching the Ultra-Marines take on Gorilla Grodd and Batman working with one of the Ultr-Marines on a way to contact the rest of the JLA in the mini universe they were trapped in.

The middle issue sees the plot advancing and being used simply to set up the big throwdown battle between the brainwashed Ultra-Marines and the JLA. I don't have anything against big superhero battles and the many different match-ups were written well, but since I didn't know anything about the Ultra-Marines other than they were being mind controlled, I didn't feel invested into the outcome of the battles. I just didn't care. In the end, Grodd is stopped and everything is wrapped up nicely, and I'm left feeling a little empty.

The art by Ed McGuinness, although very cartoony, works nicely. I really didn't like his style when he was on Superman/Batman, but it seemed much better suited to this title. At times, though, I wished his style was more consistent. When drawing Grodd and his gorilla compatriots, Ed would use a more detailed, less cartoony style than when he was drawing the JLA and Ultra-Marines. Personally I wish he would have used this style the entire series through, but as it is, his work functioned just fine for the story on hand.

Ratings
Art: 3
Story: 2.5
Overall: 2.5

New X-Men: Academy X 7 - 9

I know this title is aimed at a younger audience, and at times this can detract from the story, but for the most part I find that I've been enjoying this series even with its many faults. The New X-Men series might be a hard one to jump into as there are a lot of dangling plot lines, tons and tons of characters, and a population of characters that were unknown in the X-Universe before the second iteration of the New Mutants title came out.

The focus of this three issue arc is a supposed ghost story, but even by the end of the first issue, you have a very good inkling that the ghost really isn't a ghost. By the end of the second issue, it's pretty apparent who the ghost is and why it exists. The third issue simply spells it all out for the reader. With such a simplistic and easily transparent plot, then why do I happen to like it? Character interaction. There's a fair amount of it between the varied students and you can easily pick up on each character's personality and how they feel about the other characters in the school.

It's best to think of this series as a high school drama with superpowers thrown in as an afterthought. Yes, there are plenty of superhero moments and the main focus of this plot is otherworldly in nature, but underneath it all it's really a teen drama. I enjoy reading about the student love triangles and the way each student feels about the other and how they handle their feelings--it makes me remember high school, and not in a negative light like I usually do.

The art is passable, but I would really appreciate it if the artists made it look like Cyclops, Emma, and the rest of the staff looked older than 18. The cartoony nature of the art also isn't really my style, but it suits the story. I don't think a gritty style or a hyper-realistic style would suit the stories that are told in New X-Men, but that doesn't mean I like the cartoony hoo-hah that's in this series.

For a younger ages title, I find this series suprisingly enjoying and this arc, even though it's one of the weaker in the series, manages to satisfy.

Ratings
Art: 3
Story: 3.25
Overall: 3

We3

Grant Morrison, frankly, I believe is one of the best writers in the modern comics world. Everything he touches is usually unique, interesting, and boundary defying. Sometimes it gets to be a little much, though (see the first volume of the Invisibles), but the majority of the time he's money. We3 is no exception. I was enthralled throughout the short run of this three issue miniseries and any discerning comics reader will be as well.

So you have three animals who were implanted with technology and possibly genetically engineered to be killing machines. You see their uncanny abilities for voilence in the first issue as they take down a squad of terrorists. Even though they are quite effective, the project is decomissioned because of the fact that the government representative doesn't like the fact that these killing animals have developed primitive intelligence, including very basic communication skills.

Needless to say, they get set free by their creator so that they aren't killed. The rest of the story is a study of these three animals and their search for a home, their dealing with the military trying to destroy them, and their learning to be on their own. Morrison has created a family of three animals, and the reason this story is much deeper than simply "robot animals vs. military" is the development of the primitive personalities of these animals. Reading the simple dialogue interaction between the animals, as well as seeing the expertly illustrated quirks of each animal, creates a story that works on a deeper, more personal level.

No one really knows what an animal is thinking, but if you could ever be granted a glimpse of what it might be to be an animal who has been granted superhuman skills, this is what it would be like. I can't really talk up the depth of this series any more than I already have. It's amazingly deep in it's animalistic simplicity, as odd as that may sound. Quietly complements Morrison's story perfectly in his extremely realistic and visceral art. Not only is this story an intellectual treat, but it's also a gift for your eyes. We3, quite simply put, was one of the best mini's of 2004, hands down.

Ratings
Art: 4.25
Story: 4.5
Overall: 4.5

Outsiders 17 - 19

Almost the entire run of The Outsiders so far has been great in my book... up until the three issue run with the guest appearance by America's Most Wanted's John Walsh. What was the point of including him in this arc? There really wasn't a need for him in my opinion and it lead to some forced moments. On top of that the art took a definite step in the wrong direction.

Carlos D’Anda put together three issues of ugly, ugly art. It seems like every scene he was trying to make the heroes look as blocky and unattractive as possible. I flew through these issues partly because I didn't want to look at his art any more. To top off his terrible linework, there was excessive inking and the colors just seemed... off. There really wasn't anything to like about the interior art of this arc, but the covers of 18 and 19 were both very appealing.

The story didn't work at all. So there's a rash of missing kids and the Outsiders are going to do something about it. In order to help their search they enlist the help of John Walsh. Why? Because they think he has more connections than the Outsiders themselves. Come on! The Outsiders could easily call upon the help of the JLA or any number of other superheroes that would be able to hunt down and sniff out a child kidnapper better than some guy with a hit TV show.

As the search progresses, we get to see Grace be all overly emotional because she was one of the kids that this child kidnapper kidnapped back when she was young. I can understand why she'd have a vested interest in finding him, but her general hostility towards everyone seemed a little too much. When I think about it, it wasn't just her that felt "off," but the majority of the team felt that way.

I really enjoy this series and I would heartily recommend it to anyone looking for gritty, semi-realistic superhero action, but I'd recommend that you either go back and start at the beginning or wait until issue 20 hits to start reading because this arc will only leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Ratings
Art: 1.5
Story: 2
Overall: 2

The Awakening

This 100 page black & white graphic novel is my first experience with Oni Press, and while I liked the overall presentation of this book, the story was definitely lacking. The art, however, was very good in some spots, but somewhat dodgy in other areas. It almost felt like this book was rushed or wasn't given a whole lot of thought before it was published and frankly, it definitely isn't worth the $9.95 cover price.

The back cover would lead you to believe that this story is about a schoolgirl who is granted the power to see the future, but this only comes to use in a couple of scenes and neither really does anything for the plot. What this story is really about is a series of murders at an all girls high school. What I found most amazing about this story was the complete lack of fear or suspicion from any of the students. As their classmates are being brutally slain, the remaining students simply go about their day as if nothing happens. Oh, actually they do make some changes to their routine--they feel sorry for the loss of their classmates for a bit before they go about their day.

Really, if there was a rash of murders in my area, especially if the target each time is someone from the same group I am a part of, I would be freaked out and would fear for my life. I wouldn't walk home alone (the girls here do). I wouldn't be upset at having police watching me and my house (one of the girls here doesn't like this concept). I wouldn't go out into my yard alone to investigate odd sounds (one of the girls here does so as if nothing was wrong). It's just ludicrous how utterly stupid everyone in this book is. It's like they're completely oblivious to the heinous murders around them.

As for the mystery of the murderer, that's another big sack of stupid and illogic. You have a detective and a monk type person investigating. The monk talks all secretive like and lurks around the murder scenes, which is just stupid, while the detective does his detective thing. I don't want to ruin the end, but let's just say who you'd guess the murderer is, it definitely is. As for how the detective solves the murder, well, he keeps getting packages from a nameless source that gives the identity of the murderer away. You don't know where these packages come from--they just appear. Thank God, though, because without them all the girls would end up dead instead of just most of them.

The art is just as hodge-podge. Some scenes are detailed and well illustrated, while others lack defined shading and seem like they were rough drafts. You don't know how frustrating it is to have an expertly drawn scene followed by a rough sketch, followed by a mediocre few frames, and then the cycle starts again.

Hopefully this experience with Oni Press won't scare me away permanently, but I will say that I am horribly unimpressed by this graphic novel and I'll be tossing it up on ebay as fast as I can, so if you really want to experience its sheer stupidity, go search ebay for "suckiest graphic novel ever"... err, I mean "The Awakening graphic novel".

Ratings
Art: 2
Story: 1.5
Overall: 1.75

Hulk / Thing: Hard Knocks

I don't read Hulk comics and I don't read Fantastic Four comics. Neither has ever been all that appealing to me. Sure, I enjoyed the Hulk movie and I'll go see the Fantastic Four movie, but as comics, neither has ever really managed to get my attention enough to read them. So why did I buy this mini series? Especially since it cost me $3.50 an issue? For a guy that usually buys tons of stuff from the $0.25 bins, this is a lot of money to spend on four comics. The answer--Jae Lee. He is one of my favorite artists, so I try to pick up whatever issues of his that I can. If he wasn't involved in this story, I wouldn't have even looked at it.

Even though I thoroughly enjoy Lee's art, it is somewhat subpar in this mini, as opposed to much of his other work. Many scenes weren't as detailed as I was used to. Combine that with Lee's tendency to overink everything throughout this mini, and you have an unhappy reader. There were some great splash page moments, but for the most part I felt underwhelmed by Lee's work here.

As for the story, it was moderately interesting. I haven't read much of Bruce Jones work, so I didn't really know what to expect. What I got was a very talky story. For a mini dedicated to the Hulk and the Thing, and called Hard Knocks of all things, you'd expect it to be more action oriented. Instead, a solid chunk of the story is the Thing talking about one of the FF's encounters with Doom and the Thing's initial encounter with the Hulk.

The verbal interplay between Hulk and Thing was very well done, though, so even though this was a talky mini, I didn't mind too much. The ending of the story, however, seemed forced. In the final issue, a military force takes center stage over the interaction between the two main characters, which feels out of place. Then you have the end, which really left a lot to be desired. It made the mini seem very pointless in how it just left the Hulk and Thing sitting there, starting another conversation. It made me feel somewhat cheated, but I'm not exactly sure why.

I'm sure Hulk or Thing fans will get more out of this than I might because I'm assuming the flashbacks fall into continuity somehow, but it really didn't do much for me. Jae Lee did a passable job with his art, and it's still much better than many other current Marvel titles, but it wasn't one of his better offerings. I wouldn't recommend buying this if you have to pay cover price, but if you can pick up the tpb or issues on the cheap, you might as well go for it.

Ratings
Art: 3.5
Story: 3
Overall: 3

Sigil 8 - 14

After the mildly disappointing first arc, I found this 7 issue run much more enjoyable. We learn a little more about all of the characters, which was something that was lacking in the first arc. All we knew then was that Sam had a sigil and was in the army. Roi was a living hologram. JeMerick was slightly superpowered but you didn't know exactly to what extent or why. Zanni was a runaway wife of a sultan. Loser was the enemy lizard foe. That was it. The story took center stage over any real character development. Each character, throughout this arc, however is given a little more depth.

Besides there being a further emphasis on characters, the plot also moves along nicely, setting the stage for a showdown between Sam & the human military and the Saurian forces. After returning to Delassia, Zanni's home planet, the sultan and the Saurians find out that the humans know of the sultan's dealings. Along with this, Sam with the help of Roi, crafts a new starship drive from the spaceship that Sam managed to secure from one of The First. These combined facts lead to a major skirmish above Delassia where Sam, using his sigil granted powers, staves off most of the attack. While taking the new drive back to Gaia, Sam is appointed as leader of the human earth forces as they prepare to assault the Saurians.

Now in the character development department, Kessel and later Waid, bring about a lot of growth. It turns out that Zanni wasn't just a wife of the sultan--she was planted there in order to spy on the sultan's underhanded dealings with the Saurians. She is also falling for Sam, who in turn has fallen for her. It's nice to see some romance in the middle of a galactic war, isn't it? Roi's body is destroyed so she is forced to be a living hologram for good... or so it seems. JeMerick's powers are explored a little further and it is hinted at that he might possibly be a sigil bearer himself. Sam's military history is explored and it is shown why he has such disdain for some members of the military and vice versa. Loser, in being disgraced by his defeat at Sam's hands, is removed from the royal family line. His mentor, at the same time, is give superpowers (possibly a sigil) that make him crazy. Loser, seeing his mentor kill his family line in front of his eyes, turns to Sam for help.

As you can see, a lot happens in this arc, and it all unfolds rather well and keep me engaged throughout. The trasition from Kessel writing to Waid writing was very transparent to the reader and I wouldn't have known there was a writing change if I hadn't read the credits. The art hasn't changed at all from the first arc. It's still a very manga inspired style with very bright colors that is appealing, but at the same time can be a little too much. All in all, this arc makes up for some of the disappointment of the first and I will hope that the upward trend of gaining quality continues into the next set of issues.

Ratings
Art: 3.25
Story: 3.75
Overall: 3.5

Losers 16-19

Let's get this out of the way now, Andy Diggle writes action like you'd see in an intelligent Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Not that there is such a thing as an intelligent Bruckheimer movie, but I think it makes my point. Throughout his run writing The Losers, Diggle has given us action scene after action scene and managed to tie them all nicely together with a plot that wasn't too dumb to make any cogent sense or too complicated to turn away readers. Up until this arc, however, the motivation behind the Losers actions were only slightly touched upon. We know that they were presumed killed in action and that there is some type of shadow organization within the US government that they want to take down, but beyond that there isn't a whole lot we know about the Losers motivations.

This arc finally reveals the motivation driving the Losers. All four issues are a flashback of the mission where the Losers were "killed" as it is being told to Aisha. It's interesting to see Roque back in the mix as a good guy instead of the betrayer he turned out to be in the Goliath arc. What you don't get, however, is any Aisha time since she was not a member of the Losers back then. Since she's one of the more interesting characters, I was a little disappointed by that fact, but it doesn't really hurt the story at all.

The Losers were sent on a top secret mission to laser designate a target in the Middle East where a terrorist was supposedly in hiding. In the process of completing this mission, the Losers recieve intell from Max (for those of you who have been reading this series from the beginning, this is an important fact) on where their target will be. After they find their target, and as they prepare to call in an air strike on the location, a group of child slaves are seen to be in the compound's vacinity. Showing that they possess a conscience, the Losers take it upon themselves to save the children before they have the compound destroyed.

While they are doing that, you are treated to Diggle's pre-requisite action scenes which are drawn decently enough by Jock. His style, however, doesn't excactly fit very well with the coloring scheme of these issues. Other than the odd coloring, Jock turns in another good run of low detail, yet expressive and angular work.

Not wanting to give anything away, let's just say the crap hits the fan after the Losers manage to rescue the slave children and you see how it is possible that they would be thought to have died on that mission. After the story is finished, there is also a big reveal from Aisha that involves the flashback mission, which could lead to some interesting interplay with the rest of the team in the future.

As a jumping on point, this arc works perfectly as it clearly defines the Losers' origin. For readers that have been with it from the beginning, these issues are a well deserved payoff. You simply can't find a better straight up action title out there right now, so do yourself a favor and drop one of the X-titles you're getting each month and start picking up The Losers.

Ratings
Art: 3
Story: 4.25
Overall: 4

Sigil 1 - 7

In Crossgen's heyday, you'd hear so much online talk and even talk in some of the comic shops about how awesome this new publisher was. They were tapping new genres. Each title was beautiful to look at. Their little interconnected universe was something to behold. Even after hearing all the positive talk, I never could bring myself to dive in, mainly because I didn't want to pick up a series right in the middle of a run (yeah, I'm one of THOSE people). After a while I finally gave in, though, and picked up a few issues here and there, but I never read them. I was waiting to finish their runs before I started. Then Crossgen collapsed and I found I could pick up the tpb's on Amazon for dirt cheap (like $2 a pop) and the actual comics at conventions for $1 a pop or less. Well, Sigil was the first series that I completed and I'm now making my first venture into the world of Crossgen.

I was actually pretty stoked to read Sigil since I'm a huge sci-fi nut and I really think that sci-fi is an overlooked genre in comics at the moment. After I got about halfway through this first arc (which I have in tpb form), I was wondering when I was going to start being impressed. Kessel was writing a decent story, but I wasn't drawn in and I had a hard time feeling a connection to the characters. One of the things that might have led to this feeling is the art.

As pretty as the art by the Lai brothers is, it's really hard to differentiate characters. Their style made both of the male leads look almost completely the same so I had a hard time figuring out which one was doing which and whatnot. It got a little easier to differentiate the two once Sam received his Sigil, but they were both still drawn somewhat similar. The renderings of the starships were also nothing special. They felt like very generic styles and I felt no attraction to them. Beyond these things, I found the art easy on the eyes and very manga influenced (so if you are not a fan of the manga look... well, you might want to pass over this arc).

Like I said before, the story was nothing too special. You're introduced to the characters, get a little glimpse into their personalities, and then watch a rescue mission unfold over the course of four issues. There's some great action scenes and plenty of sci-fi trappings to keep sci-fi nuts happy, but I was underwhelmed, especially after so much praise for the CG universe and this title itself. It's not terrible, no. It kept my interest and I'm still anxious to continue reading the series, but I don't think it lived up to its potential, or at least it hasn't yet.

Ratings
Art: 3
Story: 3
Overall: 3

Scratch

Sam Kieth, 99% of the time, can do no wrong by me. His truly unique artistic style and unusually odd storytelling can hardly be matched by any other artist/writer in the medium. Any time a new Kieth project is announced or comes out, I'm intrigued. When Scratch was first solicited, I couldn't wait for it to come out. Kieth writing and drawing a tale about a boy werewolf in a small village--cool. Appearance by Batman--not as cool, but still might be ok. Listed in the Batman section of Previews--really not cool. No matter, though, as it was a Kieth 5 issue mini, and I would be onboard even if they solicited it in the Johnny DC section. Side note, attaching Sam Kieth to a Johnny DC title would be pretty sweet. I can't even begin to imagine his take on the Powerpuff Girls!

So I wait until I have all five issues on hand before I dive in. It opens with a narrative from Batman, which is completely unneccesary, but a few pages later the reals story shows up. A boy develops the powers of a werewolf and fearing it will ruin his relationship with his family, he runs away. He is eventually found by a trio of other freaks and moves in with them.

As time passes, a plot about a missing girl takes center stage while subplots concerning Scratch's relationship with Sage and the discovery of an underground cave full of deformed children also develop. Eventually, the story reaches its climax in the closing of the fourth issue where it appears Scratch will have to fight a group of villagers intent upon killing him and the other freaks... that is until issue five opens and Batman suddenly reappears and tries to talk some sense into the villagers. When that doesn't work, Batman & Scratch are forced to fight the villagers while the other freaks run away. Scratch also runs away in the end and you're left with Batman pontificating over whether Scratch and the freaks will be heard from again.

The ending felt horrible contorted and the addition of Batman took away all of the steam the story had gathered in the first four issues. The resolution also felt forced and rushed. There were also some other things throughout the series that made the story seem like it was a rush job, or like there was very little oversight. In one scene the freaks find a pair of shoes that belong to a missing child. Zack comments something like, "Look--it's one of the girl's shoes, I wonder where the other one is?" There are obviously two shoes there, but the story needed to have one of the villagers hiding one of the two shoes later on, so this scene was laughable in how the art was completely different than what the dialogue said it was.

Anyhow, the story was very lackluster, felt very rushed, and didn't seem very well thought out. The art, on the other hand, is classic distorted Kieth and I loved every panel of every page. The art, even when it didn't match what the story called for, was a treat for my eyes and helped me to justify spending my hard earned money on this. Kieth fans, pick this up. Anyone else, just let it fade away into the realm of unneeded and unneccesary miniseries.

Ratings
Art: 4.75
Story: 2
Overall: 3.5

Tellos: Maiden Voyage

The more I read from Dezago's Tellos universe, the more I like it. The characters are all likeable, the tales are fun little fantasy romps, there's enough interconnectedness between stories to make fans happy yet it's not continuity laden, it's all ages and still fun (which is very hard to pull off), and you get to read about talking animals. How could anyone not love all that is Tellos? Well, I suppose a satanic, drug-dealing, reality tv watching, Marvel zombie might not enjoy it, but I don't think that there are too many of those types out there... or are there?

Anyways, this one-shot tells three different stories--2 of them in the traditional comics medium and the third is a short prose story with a couple of small illustrations. The first story deals with how Serra first came to be a pirate. Originally she was to be wed to a prince of a neighboring nation, but as the ship she was being transported on ran upon rough times, Serra won the hearts of the men and they wouldn't let her be wed away when she didn't wish to be. This tale is pretty much a retelling of the section of the Odyssey where Odysseus and his men encounter the Sirens, except in this here Tellos universe Serra saves the day by turning the Sirens against each other by asking to be executed by the prettiest one.

The second story is a cute, little one about Koj and Jarek's encounter with some forest fairies. Since they don't pay the toll for passing through the woods, the fairies steal Koj and Jarek's clothes. To get them back, Koj (the tiger-man) uses his tail to fool the fairies into thinking a snake was going to attack them. It was a fun, short tale that was drawn by a quadrapalegic who goes by the name "thor". He drew the entire thing with a paintbrush in his mouth. I was amazed! The art was on par with many current indie comics and way better than I could ever do with my hands!

The prose tale recounts Serra and Rik spending a day together after Serra's boyfriend (who was also Rik's thieving partner) had died. Eventually their day of mourning turns into a bar fight, which leads to a bonding between Serra and Rik--a first since before that time they had never much liked each other.

All in all, for the $6 this one-shot cost, it's worth the money. You'll enjoy it if you're a kid, if you're a teenager, if you're an adult, or even if you're retirement age. Somehow Dezago has the talent to create stories that can be appreciated and enjoyed by all age groups.

Ratings
Art: 3.75
Story: 4
Overall: 4

Watchmen

What can I possibly say about this title that hasn't already been said by someone else, or a hundred someone elses for that matter. If you're a comic book fan and you haven't heard of Watchmen by Gibbons and Moore, then you might want to go out and buy the trade paperback and read it asap before someone finds out you haven't. I know I went long enough without reading it. In the 15 or so years I've been reading and collecting comics I had neglected this classic, but over the past two weeks I rectified that oversight and thank God I did.

Arguably, this is one of the most influential and well known comics ever created. It is also arguably Moore's crowning achievement in the comics medium. I would have to agree with both of these statements. Before the creation of this 12 issue maxi-series from DC, superheroes were never written very seriously. For the most part, any comic containing a superhero would consist of characters in spandex beating up villains in spandex and then going about their merry way. Watchmen introduced the comic reading populace to gritty, realistic superheroes and a world on the brink of obliteration.

The lines between villain and hero were blurred. The great responsibility that supposedly comes with great power had it's limits tested. How far would you go with your superpowers to save the human race? Would you willingly sacrifice and kill so many people to save an even greater number? How much power is too much power? What happens to superheroes after they can no longer participate in their crime fighting. Is a hero necessarily a hero? Each human life is a small miracle of cosmic proportions, yet we rarely realize it.

There are so many other topics touched upon and explored throughout this very dense story that I can't possibly expound upon them all successfully. Besides touching upon so many deep topics, I was amazed at the depth of coverage they were given. This is truly a very dense story--not dense in that it is hard to get in to or relate to, but dense in that there is an unbelievable wealth of information and story contained within the twelve issues of this series (or the trade paperback). This is something you don't see in modern comics. If you open up an average issue of X-Men or Superman off of the racks today, you can finish it in 10 minutes tops. With Watchmen I found myself taking a half an hour to an hour with each issue so that I could properly digest all that was contained within it. So if you've been wondering why I haven't reviewed much lately, no you know--I've been dedicating myself to giving Watchmen the time it needs for a thorough understanding.

I don't really know what more to say other than go buy the trade as soon as you can if you haven't read it and even if you have read it in the past, give it another look. You might find something you missed the last time you read it.

Ratings
Art: 3.5
Story: 5
Overall: 5

X-Men 161 - 165

So why is it again that I waste my money on Austen written X-titles? Oh yeah, because I'm an X-whore. I wish I could somehow break myself of the attachment I have to the X-Men because it would save me a ton of money every month, but alas I just can't bring myself to quit buying them. I always figure that when a title starts it'll get better with time. I kept thinking that throughout the entire Austen tenure and it never got better... ever.

In this series of issues, the Brotherhood of Mutants returns to attempt to destroy the X-Men. Why? Well... Austen doesn't really give them any motivation. I guess we're supposed to assume that the Brotherhood just doesn't like the X-Men and always want to kill them for no other reason than that's their purpose. So the Brotherhood is back together with a couple new members. The first new member is Nocturne, on of the members of the Exiles who is now stuck in the normal Marvel U. Another new member is Mammomax, an elephant man. An elephant man? How unbelievably lame. There's also Exodus, one of Magneto's disciples and a revamped Black Tom Cassidy. Apparently, Black Tom doesn't just control wood anymore, he is wood, a tree in fact.

In the process of the Brotherhood's lame-ass assault on the mansion, Sammy the fish boy, is killed. Does anyone care? He was one of the dumbest characters that Austen created on his X-Men tenure. We are also supposed to believe that Juggernaut is giving back into his evil nature, but Austen telegraphs Juggie's fake allegience to the Brotherhood so it never creates any tension or ambiguity in Juggernaut's nature.

Issues 163 & 164 are almost completely gratuitous fighting while 165 is a special holiday issue written by Chris Claremont. The holiday issue would be completely unfulfilling for anyone not already reading all the other X-titles. He includes members from all of the X-titles including New X-Men: Academy X, which I don't think a lot of X-readers are getting right now. Claremont doesn't tell the reader who most of the unfamiliar faces are and just assumes everyone should know who they are.

In spite of the tremendously aweful stories written by Austen and Claremont, Larroca continues to draw some very appealing X-Men. I like Larroca's style for the most part--it's sleek, easy on the eyes, and isn't covered up too much by excessive inking. If not for the art, these issues would have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Thank God that this arc makes up the end of Austen's run.

Ratings
Art: 3.5
Story: 1
Overall: 1.25

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Spectacular Spider-Man 21 & 22

For almost the entirety of this series run, I've been disappointed by the majority of the storytelling. The intial arcs where Spidey took on Venom and Doc Ock were readable, but really came down to being throwaway tales. Then there was the arc that was supposed to be tied into Avengers: Disassembled, but really didn't have much to do with it at all. In this arc Spidey turns into an actual spider and a bunch of completely illogical events happened. Frankly, it was one of the worst Spider-Man stories I had ever read. Coming off of that horrendous arc, I was happy to find two standalone stories, both much better than the arcs that preceded them.

Issue 21 consists of Spider-Man getting together with the Fantastic Four, Black Cat, and Doctor Strange for a game of poker. It was nice to see the heroes just hanging out and shooting the breeze. Unfortunately, it gets a little hokey towards the middle and end as the Kingpin shows up and wants to play. The likelihood of that actually happening is close to nil, but it was interesting to see him in the game. Of course it comes down to Spidey against Kingpin in the final hand and who wins? Spider-Man. You really think Jenkins would have written it so Spidey loses? Nah.

The tale told in issue 22 was one of the best issues of this series I had read since early on in the series run where Jenkins wrote a quick, self contained story about a handicapped child who got to meet Spider-Man. In this tale, Spider-Man runs into one of the low tier villains that he had put away a few times in the past. His power is to create illusions and moods in the people around him. After being arrested so many times, he finally threw in the towel and is living on the street begging for money to finance his next bottle of booze. His sour mood brings everyone in the vacinity down with him.

Peter contemplates if he should help him out or not. He wonders if it's fair to help him over other people that might need his help. He wonders if it's all his fault that he turned out the way he did. These are all very basic philosophical questions, and Peter's contemplation is the weakest link in this issue, but after he finally makes up his mind and decides to go lend a helping hand, he finds he's too late. Kids had mugged the super-powered homeless man and in one final release of anguish, Mindworm dies. Seeing what happens to a supervillain down the road after he's been foiled by the good guy is something you don't often see, so I was more than happy to see it explored here.

With Jenkin's run on this series, and the series itself coming to a close, it's good to see a couple of decent tales in what has so far been a completely unremarkable run. Grab these two issues for the heck of it. You'll enjoy 'em!

Ratings
Art: 3
Story: 3.5
Overall: 3.5

Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor--probably one of the most well know DC villains, if not the most well known (it's probably a toss up between Lex and The Joker). He's given Superman more grief than could be imagined. He's a diabolical mastermind that's bent on bringing the man of steel to his doom. He wasn't this evil when he was young, though, was he? Maybe something in his childhood turned him into the person he is today. It's this theory that this prestige format one shot from DC attempts to tackle.

Now I realize that this one shot came out long before the tv show Smallville, but I can't help making some comparisons. Smallville portrays the character of Lex so perfectly that I don't really want to imagine his younger years being any different. Here we are presented with a Lex who was born into a seemingly normal family only to have them murdered so he could collect the insurance money. He also paid thugs to beat up a kid who was causing him trouble at school. There were some other various things that he did in youth as well that are explored, but none of them really make a whole lot of difference.

The problem that this story has is that what Lex did as a child isn't really all that terrible. Yes, I realize having your parents killed is not exactly nice, but when I think about how diabolical and maniacal that the grown up Lex is, I thought for sure that he'd have some ever darker secrets in his past. If he does, they aren't explored here.

It also doesn't help that the end of the story doesn't feel like an ending and it brings the story to a close pretty abruptly. The actual story is of an author who was researching Lex. He dies and Clark Kent is blamed for the murder. Throughtout the interrogation, the story of the autobiography of Lex that the author was writing is conveyed. Since I didn't care about the story of Lex's youth very much, I was hoping that there would be some clever way that Clark would prove his innocence, but instead Lex simply pays to get him released with the condition that he won't explore any further. This wasn't a satisfying ending at all. Oh well, at least I can always go watch another episode of Smallville!

Ratings
Art: 3
Story: 2.5
Overall: 2.5