A Fistful of Reviews

A Pre-Review (this book comes out in March)


Atomic Robo #6 (Red 5 Comics)

Great ending to a great miniseries. I am so happy that Robo is becoming an ongoing book, it certainly deserves it!

The dialog between Robo and Helsingard was very well done, and the art was wonderful, as usual. As much as the previous issue was somewhat confusing at times, this issue brought everything home and was a strong finish for this story arc.

I have to say that despite Robo's status as main character you really get to know the supporting cast. I love the Action scientists. Especially Jenkins who is so hardcore as to be unbelievable, yet it still works for him. The supporting cast is done extremely well, and the very comic book ending to this issue made me smile.

Of course that's why I love this series, it makes me smile,laugh and just out and and have a good time. Thanks Red 5, for making this book ongoing!


Stuff I read this week:



The Flash #237 (DC)

This issue of the Flash really bothered me. It's not that it was awful, it was just... boring. And not terribly well done. The art doesn't work for me at all. It's too exaggerated and Linda looks like she has Angelina Jolie's lips - which is scary. I'm also tied of seeing male superheroes drawn so bulky that it looks like they shouldn't be able to move. It's one thing to draw Superman that way (despite the fact that it looks dumb) but the Flash isn't supposed to be a body builder. Maybe I missed something along the way, like Wally getting into steroids, but I don't think so.

The story was obviously a filler, which is understandable occasionally, but it wasn't even remotely interesting. Jai's little 'stealing is wrong' moral crisis was forced and fell rather flat. Also, someone needs to decide how Lois Lane actually looks these days and stick to it no matter what current continuity book she shows up in. Iris looked more like Lois from the Superman main books than Lois did.



Robin #171 (DC)

I really enjoy reading this comic. Robin, since OYL, has been consistently good.

The art is decent, and the story is solid. I am interested to find out more about this Violet character and Tim's staying awake during the day issues are entertaining and add more realism to the character.

Of course I am confused as to whether or not there are two different Robins in the DC universe. In his own book Tim still has some hangups about Spoiler and is trying to date Zoe. In Titans he had a whole thing going on with Cassie. Either he's learned too much of the playboy thing from Bruce or the two comics are pretty much pretending the other one doesn't exist.

I'm okay with his own book's seeming distance from Teen Titans though, as I like this version of Tim much better. I like his relationship with Bruce and I really enjoyed his conversation with Alfred. I hope I'll continue to enjoy this book every month, Tim has become a truly likable character and a hero in his own right.



JLA #18 (DC)

This book hasn't been terribly impressive since day one of its' relaunch (the Lightning Saga being the only exception) and this issue almost put me to sleep. Mostly because of the theme. I feel like I've read a thousand stories about mistreatment of criminals. Also, it seems to me that someone read Civil War and read about the awful villain prison and took it over to the JLA to put a different spin on it. Ugh. Somebody please find a writer to click with this team.



Shadowpact #22 (DC)

Good issue, however, I'm going to miss Nightmaster. Despite the fact that he has a silly costume and was a character I originally cared nothing about, I grew to really like him. Being a part of Shadowpact really allowed him to grow as a character and as a leader. He had a really good story and I suppose it was a kind of happy ending for him. Ending being a relative term in the comic book world of course.

I'm curious where this book is heading now that the roster has been shaken up.


I, of course, read other things this week, but mostly it's been King Lear and A Thousand Acres. I want to see a comic that manges to use the story of King Lear, that would be intriguing.