Wow, time flies quick...sorry once again for my pure laziness in not updating this blog.
I have read quite a bit since the last blog post, and amazed that still have a heckuva lot to go. Seems I bought tons of books this year already, and I plan on buying more eventually.
Anyways, in lieu of Spring Break next week, I have quite a bit of free time on my hands, and have prepared a LOT of reviews to be posted onto this blog.
Instead of posting them all at once, I have spread them out to doing four reviews a day, all through Friday.
So expect four more tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday, and maybe even a look at the current books coming out now.
Also, if you haven't yet, check out the new Iron Man 2 trailer, as it is awesome!
JLA(Late 90's series) Vol 1 - New World Order
Ah, now this is what helped my resurgence in comic books! Not necessarily this volume, but this series jumpstarted my desire to read comics again. This stuff was Grant Morrison at his finest, and about a month or so ago, I was lucky enough to stumble upon the entire GM run of this series. This was the JLA run that began in '96-'97 and finally brought back the 'big three' to JLA; Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. The first arc, which represents this volume, is only four issues long, and is one of the shortest trades I own. Regardless, the read was slow-paced and, above all, entertaining.. The reformation of the JLA as the threat of alien invasion, by the white martians, begins! Grant has wild ideas and sneaky subplots that churn throughout his entire run, and they all begin here. The only downside to this arc is that its really tame in comparison to his other issues during his stay with the JLA. Also, the artwork isn't as amazing as it should be. Howard Porter seems like he couldn't find his bearings during these first four issues, but it is still readable and the action is coherent so it works out!
JLA Vol 2 - American Dreams
Another small book, which involves angels and demons, with a short arc in the end dealing with a super-smart villain named The Key. Whereas volume one was too tame, volume two is too out there. The stuff dealing with the angels just comes out of the left field, and there isn't any true cohesion to the whole ordeal. On the other hand, the last two issues that deal with the JLA dealing with the Key are much better. It is truly amazing how Grant condensed four-to-six issues of stuff into just two issues, and its still completely coherent! Howard Porter also should be recognized as this book is loads better than volume one, he finally hits his stride during this one and it is awesome! A drastic switch from volume one, this one shows what happens when Grant can't reign in his ideas into coherent stuff(a la Final Crisis).
JLA Vol 3 - Rock of Ages
How amazing that this JLA arc seems to be where Grant garners his inspiration for Final Crisis. Much you see in this story arc was used in that series as well. This actually angers me a bit, he reused some of these ideas almost to the point of complete 'copying.' Even stranger that both come from the same writer. Lesee...
Turning humans into slaves via helmets? Check.
Anti-life equation rules all? Check.
'Absolute' end of the world until a final deus ex machina comes into play at the very end? Check.
Batman dying? Check.
Obscure heroes win the battle? Check.
Whats sad is that where Final Crisis failed to present a coherent and entertaining story, Rock of Ages(which was done in 97-98) did it even better!! The art by Howard Porter is great, and makes the book really pop. What is hilarious, is that the Darkseid part of the storyline, with all the end of the world stuff, only takes part in two issues of this six-issue story arc!
Annihilation Books 1 - 3
Ahh....the resurgence of Marvel's cosmic line begins here! It all starts with a seemingly unrelated storyline titled Drax the Destroyer, which involves an alien who crashes to Earth, and must redefine himself to survive in the current climate. It all really starts with a huge 'wave' of aliens destroying the cosmos, including the 'space cops,' the Nova Corp. All to reveal that the ruler of the Negative Zone, Annihilus, has pushed in and wants to take over everything in our universe. The stories are encapsulating, and weave in and out of each other with ease. Books One and Two cover the four, four-issue miniseries that act as a prologue to Annihilation; Nova, Silver Surfer, Ronan, and Super-Skrull. Its the Nova miniseries that shows why this collection also includes Drax the Destroyer, as he is called in to help Nova master his new powers and prepare to lead in the war against Annihilus. In Silver Surfer, Norinn Radd must once again attempt to understand why all of these powerful beings do such terrible things, and leads to a decision that is both shocking, and makes sense in regards to the evolution of his character. In Ronan, the accuser himself stands accused, and he must search within to find himself before the Annihilation wave reaches his homeworld and destroys his people. Finally, in Super-Skrull, you get the all-out action book, with plenty of violence, as the Super Skrull invades enemy lines to destroy a powerful weapon before its used against the cosmos.
This all leads into Book Three, which covers the main Annihilation event. Which is a six issue series delving into the all-encompassing war, and how it affects the heroes involved. This stuff really ignited the readers into embracing Marvel's cosmic-opera stories once again, stories that haven't really been delved into since the 80's-90's. The artwork is varied throughout each book, but the number one artist is Andrea de Vito, who is the artist for the main series. It was a spectacle to look at all the alien images conceived during the six-issue run and that makes the artwork pure eye-candy! Of course, Keith Giffen, the main writer, seemingly knows these characters top to bottom, and crafts an intriguing story utilizing almost every Marvel cosmic character known, including the Space Knights!(Alas, no ROM though.) This stuff slowly evolves into a major story that is continued in Annihilation: Conquest, which will be reviewed at a later time.
Alrighty, so thats six books reviewed. Whew. Expect more tomorrow through Friday, as each day I vow to review at least four books!
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