The TALKING COMICS Review Round-Up
Every week, the Talking Comics collective posts a mega-list of the comics they’re most excited to pull off the shelves that week. Check back here to see if the comics on the Pull List met the team’s expectations with reviews and quippy quotables!!! Click the links to go to full reviews and reflections!!!
Also, check out our weekly Favorite Comic Book Covers of the Week column for more coverage of last week’s new books!
Also also, our very own Bobby Shortle is keeping an updated weekly ranking of every new DC Rebirth book!!! Check it out!!!
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DC COMICS
New Super-Man #1 – By Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic & Richard Friend
- Wait & See. I’m totally willing to give Gene Luen Yang and this ambitious, intriguing new character a shot, but I’m also totally aware of my bias toward the creator and the concept. With that in mind, I do think there is a lot of promise here in the “questionable hero status” of Kenan Kong, I just wish Yang and Company were willing to decompress the story a little and give us some more time getting to know him. Introducing brand-new, original characters is tough, but I’m interested to see where this goes!
Wonder Woman #2 – By Greg Rucka & Nicola Scott
- BUY! Shocking absolutely no one, a Wonder Woman comic written by Greg Rucka and drawn by Nicola Scott is good. Real good. This one starts the “Year One” storyline that will be taking place concurrently to the mainline “Truth” story, and shows some interesting parallels in the lives of Diana and Steve Trevor leading up to their fateful meeting. Scott’s art is to die for and Rucka’s writing is on point as expected. If I were to lob one tiny, incy complaint it’s that the Diana/Trevor meeting has been done to death, so while the approach from Rucka here is at least different, the end result is still the same. But it’s Rucka and Scott so most of that can be forgiven. –John D.
- BUY–of course! I could fill a page with things that made me smile, laugh, tear up…and the idea of the “Sisterhood” was certainly one of them! Between the two complementary story-arcs, it looks as if a total restoration is underway, not only to pre-New 52, but I’ve a sense that we’ll see more than a nod to Dr. Marston’s Amazons and their ideals and mores.–Bob
The Flash #2 – By Joshua Williamson & Carmine Di Giandomenico
- Wait and See. If you haven’t been buying Joshua Williamson’s Flash because you’ve been waiting to see how the book shapes out, it’s probably best to continue that wait. While Williamson is getting the voice of The Flash mostly right, there’s still a lot of stilted internal dialogue and the plot involving Flash getting a new “partner” of sorts is very run-of-the-mill. Oh, new partner is told not to interfere with a fight until he’s better trained? You can bet he’s going to do it anyway! Not to mention that I’m not entirely digging the Carmine Di Giandomenico art at times. His characters in motion look great but when they’re standing still (and they are a lot in this one), it’s a bit too rough for my tastes. That being said, the cliffhanger at the end does have me curious for the next one, but the one after that? Who knows if I’ll still be on board. –John D.
Detective Comics #936 – By James Tynion IV & Alvaro Martinez
- Buy? For the last few issues, this has been the Batman book to buy. It still is, don’t worry, but there’s a reveal in this issue that I’m…unsure about. We finally meet the mastermind behind our new group of baddies called The Colony and it’s unexpected to say the least. I’m going to give Tynion the benefit of the doubt here and give him time to explain this twist, but my off the cuff reaction is that I don’t like it. What I do like, however, is Alvaro Martinez’s art. While his panel layouts aren’t as dynamic as Eddy Barrows, his pencils are clean and his character work is spot-on. –John D.
IDW PUBLISHING
Star Trek: New Visions “The Cage”–By John Byrne
- I’d like to say “Buy!”, but….Here’s the thing: as a piece of technical aptitude and artistic creativity, John Byrne has done a great job collating images from Star Trek’s original pilot and assembling them into a lovely and respectful “on-the-page” version of that show. That said, as opposed to the other issues in this series which have a feeling of “Wow!”to them being wholly-new stories, this one, although beautifully executed, falls a little flat.–Bob
MARVEL COMICS
Civil War II #3 – By Brian Michael Bendis & David Marquez
- BUY. Look, the price tag is gross–I have nothing to say in response to that. Nevertheless, Civil War II #3 is one of the most intriguing, expectation-defying event comics to come out of Marvel in years. The shocking death aside, Civil War II #3 is a perfect combination of Bendis’ trademark characterization and dialogue and Marquez’ absolutely astounding naturalism. A stupendous comic. Get on if you can.
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And that’s our Pull List for this week!!! If you happen to pick up any of these books, please join the conversation here or on twitter and let us know what you think! As we update the site with reviews and verdicts on these comics, we’d love to include your input!
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