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This Week in Comics 10-24-12

A little late this week, been a super busy week. Comics were pretty slow this week, only one that I read (getting ready to up the amount of comics I review, but more on that later.) Onto the review for this week!

Talon Issue 1

Written by: Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV

Art & Cover by: Guillem March

Colored by: Tomeu Morey

In this issue we uncover a little more about Calvin Rose, the only Talon to every escape the grip of the Court of Owls. We start to see some relationships developing. One with a man, Sebastian Clark that is going to help Rose take down the Court. The other just a mention really, about a woman, Casey Washington, and how Rose left the Court in order to protect her. A little hook here so we see motivation. But does not give away much.

The problem for me with this story is that it has been done a billion times. Man escapes something, man returns to bring them down. I hope that we start to see something deeper from Tynion pretty quick. 

That being said I realize that this comic is only two issues old and needs to establish the story. What it does have going for it is the Court. The Court of Owls was a great story in the main Batman over the past few months and getting more of that story is a good thing. 

Another thing it has going for it is that it is set in Gotham and I fully expect to see character pop ins very soon, look at the other writer besides Tynion if you do not believe me. So the combination of the Court story and the anticipation of characters from Gotham playing a part is keeping me looking forward.

Final Thoughts: I still want to know more about Calvin Rose, which is a good thing. A comic should leave you wanting more. But I really want to know what made him come back to Gotham, he saw that the Court was weak, but was that his only driving factor. To have the opportunity to take the Court out. Guess we will wait and see. Overall pretty solid start for Talon after two issues.

Score: 7.5

This Week in Comics 10-17-12

Disclaimer:
You may be catching on to a pattern here at the ole blog. That pattern being that I have only been doing comic book posts. The reason being is that I am currently infatuated with comics. If this trend continues the blog may be getting an over haul into a weekly comic review blog. Which I am totally ok with, hopefully you as the reader are too. If not, let me know!

 Nightwing Issue 13

Writer: Tony DeFalco

Cover: Eddy Barrows

Pencils: Andres Guinaldo

Inks: Raul Fernandez & Mark Irwin

Colors: Rod Reis

This issue starts the story arc of Nightwing doing battle against Lady Shiva. Shiva is supposedly one of the most deadly assassins in the world. Dick and her have dealt with one another previously, in last month's Zero issue. This issue deals with Nightwing trying to find Lady Shiva before she starts causing chaos all across Gotham. 

This issue was very forgettable for me. DC has this massive story line with the return of Joker in "Death of the Family" and Nightwing isn't even really what I would consider a tie-in to that. All we get about Joker being back in Gotham is a couple useless references that did not really effect or drive the story in any way.

Then we get the very annoying Batgirl pop in. Where she literally swings in to complain that Joker is back, she is not ready for that, but will do what it takes to stop him. She then goes on to give Dick a lecture on how he is always moving forward and never helping the real situation. Then *poof* she's gone! Why was that in there!? It did no good, for anything. 

The main difference of this issue from the rest, which I had truly been enjoying, is the guest writer this month Tom DeFalco. I think the strongest thing Nightwing has going for it in the New 52 has been its writing under Kyle Higgins. DeFalco just did not write a good story for me. The dialogue was forgettable at best and most did not drive the story. The one shinning moment came in the dialogue between Nightwing and Penguin, other than that nothing really going on here. 

Final Thoughts: Hope DeFalco either gets better, or isn't the guest writer for much longer. Really liked Higgins' style and hope he returns soon. 

Score: 6.0

Wonder Woman Issue 13

Writer: Brian Azzarello

Cover: Cliff Chiang

Pencils: Tony Akins

Inks: Dan Green

Confession!!

Upon first read I did not care for this issue!

Now what I had to do was go back to issue 12 and remember what was going on. (This was my problem with throwing a Zero issue into the middle of a story, broke the flow of everything). But once I did that I remembered that a LOT had happened in issue 12.

• Apollo now king of Olympus
• Hera exiled and now mortal
• Hermes took Zola's baby

So a lot went down in the "previous" issue of the story line. That was my problem with this issue, is that nothing really happened. But considering the previous issue, that is ok.

Aside from the top of dude's head getting bit off there really wasn't much going on here. Basically a lot of gods and goddesses standing around. Mostly planning what to do next. 

This is ok though because if we look at the whole picture this issue is here to really set the stage for things to come. There is about to be a lot of things happening here so take an issue and catch our breathe. 

Final Thought: Wait and see issue. In Azzarello I trust though. P.S. the artwork continues to really shine in this comic, great work all around. 

Score: 7.5 Hopefully something big is brewing on the horizon. 

This Week in Comics 10/10/12

This was a pretty slow week for me as far as my comics coming out. Usually once a month there is a week where I only have one comic come out. Luckily this week it was a comic that was able to fascinate me enough to where I did not really care that there was only one this week.

Batman Issue 13 Death of the Family (Snyder and Capullo)

The Joker has returned! And he is scary as shit!

First of all, I want to state the obvious. Snyder is an amazing writer! Maybe the best comic book writer out there right now. Hard to argue. 

He comes through with another incredible issue, his best so far in my opinion. 

I think everyone that has read Batman since Snyder started has been waiting to see his take on Mister J. Readers were not disappointed.

He managed to write the scariest Joker I have ever read. Roaming around in the dark police station breaking necks while having a dialog with Gordon, telling Gordon that he hides under Gordon's bed while he sleeps are both prime examples. But we are just getting started.

There are also some things that scream Joker. The T.V. scene has been done before, even in The Dark Knight. But that being said it was still good to see that Snyder can write a terrifying Joker and still keep to the roots. Also Batman being hit with the giant hammer when coming after "Red Hood" was a classic Joker move. 

Snyder has managed to take Joker to the next level. He clearly seems to have a few more screws loose after having his face cut off and running away for the last year.

Joker has returned better than ever. His dialog with Harley Quinn toward the end of the issue sums it all up. Harley can see the change in Mister J and she is legitimately scared of him.

The other thing that really completes Snyder's work on Batman is Capullo's  artwork. Now I will be the first to tell you that I know nothing about art, but to me the rough look really seems to work well. Snyder really likes to write dialog so I would imagine being an artist with him could be difficult. However, Capullo still manages to paint a great picture of what is going on.

The art is really a story all on it's own. Capullo purposefully hides Joker's face from us. In doing so, building up the suspense and adding to the psychotic dialog of Joker. Capullo then ends the issue with a bang finally reaching a climax and revealing Joker's mangled face.

Final Thoughts: I know that to some Joker is an "old" character that seemingly every new writer sees the need to tackle but Snyder and Capullo knocked it out of the park. My favorite Joker.

This Week in Comics

Green Lantern Issue 13 

This issue picks up where the 0 issue left off. We are following the newly anointed Green Lantern Simon Baz. In the 0 issue he has been taken to Guantanamo Bay for stealing a van full of explosives then driving into the abandoned building where he used to work.

Issue 13 starts with the President of the United States in the Oval Office discussing with an adviser the threats that Baz and the Green Lantern ring pose. Then we get a look at Baz on the run, starting in Florida where there is an interesting scene when Baz tries to take the ring off. He cannot get it off and there is a message that starts playing. The message is from Sinestro and Hal Jordan warning Baz not to go to Oa as they are trying to kill off the Green Lantern Corp. Eventually we end in Dearborn Michigan where Baz is from.

Here we see more background into Baz's character. We see how is family has been affected by his actions and how the community is treating his family because of his actions. We also get to see an interaction between Baz and his sister, she tells him to meet her in a secret spot on top of a roof later that night. The issue ends with Baz on top of the roof, but meets some unexpected guests, prominent members of the JLA who had been searching for him under orders of the President.

My thoughts:
-This was a very generic issue and Baz seems like he is a generic bad turned good superhero. However I do have faith in Geoff Johns and believe that he will turn Baz's story into something incredible.

-It was strange to be reading Green Lantern and  not have Hal Jordan in it at all. Jordan is my favorite Lantern so not seeing him, for me, was disturbing.

-I hope this origin story does not get drug out, lets keep the whole story moving forward.

Animal Man Issue 13

In this issue Buddy Baker makes his return from Rotworld. He quickly finds out that while him and Swamp Thing were only in the Rotworld for a short time, a year has past in the real world.

He returns to a world over run by the Rot. Even the superheroes!? That is quickly answered as Baker is attacked by Hawkman, who is now a minion of the Rot. Baker defeats this "Rot" version of Hawkman with the assistance of three superheroes who seem to have survived.

Steel, Beast Boy and Black Orchid have survived. Beast Boy and Black Orchid have connections to the Red and have been fighting off the Rot. While we find out that Steel, John Henry Irons, has taken his likeness and put into this artificial intelligence suite that functions has he would have.

This Red group then go to the Red Kingdom, the only place safe for members of the Red left on Earth. The Red Totem's basically sacrificed themselves to make this place.

All the while there are flashbacks throughout the issue showing the fate of Baker's family. His son was turned into a minion of the Rot and he turns is mother into on. However there is not showing of Baker's all important daughter being turned into one, or killed, which I found interesting.

My Thoughts:
-Some reviews of this Event have been pretty poor, but I am on the complete other side of the fence. I love this event. Baker gets back and the world as he knew it is gone, now how are they going to fix it. Oh yeah, and there is the Red and Green connection between Animal Man and Swamp Thing!

-I cannot wait to see how this even plays out with the two main characters.

Swamp Thing Issue 13

Very similar type of issue to that of Animal Man #13, which is expected really because the two stories are one in the same. Alec Holland returns from Rotworld, realizes it is one year later, only one place left ABOVE the Earth that is safe for the Green.

 Holland is allied with Deadman, because he's dead obviously the Rot cannot get to him, and Poison Ivy. I think seeing Poison Ivy in this situation is great. Seeing her fighting to preserve the Green and with it the rest of the world could be fascinating.

Holland meets with the Swamp Parliament and they tell Holland that he has returned to save them from the Rot, obviously right?

Flashback: We see that Abigail Arcane, Holland's love interest and family member of the Rot, was killed trying to return to her home and face off against the Rot.

The issue ends with the minions of the Rot coming to get rid of Holland. We discover that those minions are actually the Teen Titans!

My Thoughts:
-Very similar to Animal Man, but it had to be IMO.

-Love the addition of Poison Ivy as a potential protagonist, can't wait to see how that plays out.

There are my thoughts on the comics I read this week! Did you read the same ones!? Did you read others that you thought were awesome!? Tell me what you thought!!!

Thanks for reading!

Comics: The Pull List

A Pull list. If you have ever had a comic book subscription at a store you know exactly what that is. Basically the comics that you buy every single month. The person at the comic book shop will "pull" these for you so they are ready every Wednesday when you come in.

Now living in the middle of nowhere I do not have a pull list any longer. Thank goodness for digital same day as pint copies are available on Comixology. I would not be able to read comics without such a service. So here they are, my comic "pull" list:

(In no discerning order)

Batman (Writer: Scott Snyder Pencils: Greg Capullo)

The icon, the Dark Knight! The New 52 has basically started the DC Universe over numbering wise. This was a good idea for people like me who have been out of comics for a while. Since the New 52 started, Batman has been amazing. This was the first thing by Scott Snyder I have ever read. Now I am going out of my way to find things he has written.

Batman starts the New 52 fighting a new evil, the Talon. The Talon are a secret society that employ assassins to do their bidding. This story arc, known as the Night of the Owls was simply amazing. Very well written and drawn.

The next challenge for Snyder and Capullo will be to re-introduce Batman's most famous villain, the Joker. I honestly cannot wait to see how Snyder writes the Joker. Joker is scheduled to make his first appearance in Snyder's Batman this month (October). More to come on that front.

 Nightwing (Write: Kyle Higgins Pencils Eddy Barrows)

Nightwing is a spin off of the Batman universe following the adventures of Dick Grayson. You know him as Batman's first Robin. Well now he is all grown up and fighting crime, still with Batman at times, but also on his own.

So far Grayson has been dealing with a lot. The New 52 Nightwing starts off with Grayson being framed for murder. So not only does he have to solve that mystery he also has his past coming to a forefront. The Haley's Circus, where he used to perform and lost his parents, has returned to Gotham. It has brought with it memories, former friends, and someone trying to kill Grayson.

Without giving away too much, I will stop there. My final thoughts on Nightwing so far are that I am very pleased with it. It is one of those comics I tried one day when I was bored and surfing things on my Ipad. In the long run I am very glad I started reading it and it just keeps getting better.

Talon (Writer: Scott Snyder Art: Gulliem March) 

This is a spin off of the Court of Owls story arc. It follows Calvin Rose, a FORMER Talon. He has escaped from the Court's initial grasps but will constantly be on the run from them. This story just got it's start during the zero issues month of the New 52, but the first issue showed a lot of promising things to me. I hope it takes off. Note the writer, I have a lot of faith in Scott Snyder to take this in the right direction.

Wonder Woman (Writer: Brian Azzarello Art: Cliff Chiang)

Wonder Woman starts by her protecting a normal woman who is said to be carrying the child of Zeus. This has caught the attention of all the gods and goddesses of Olympus. Wonder Woman is charged with protecting this woman from her family.

While all of this is going on Zeus is no where to be seen. He has left his thrown open basically for the taking. So not only is Wonder Woman supposed to be protecting the woman, she is also fighting off the Olympians, awaiting Zeus' return.

Confession: I am not a huge Wonder Woman fan. What I mean by that is that this is my first ever reading of Wonder Woman. Never really seemed to interest me.

So why start? Two words, Brian Azzarello. If you do not know who he is go find the graphic novel Joker, or start reading 100 Bullets, both are fantastic. So I gave Wonder Woman a shot and I have been surprised by it. The Greek mythology really peaks my interest as a history teacher.

Green Lantern (Writer: Geoff Johns Pencil: Doug Mahnke)

Another confession: Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, has always been my favorite DC character. So naturally I am going to read Green Lantern. Geoff Johns is another reason I thoroughly enjoy this series. He has been writing Green Lantern for a while and does a great job.

In the New 52 Hal Jordan has been given a new Green ring by Sinestro, who is Green again???  The fight the Sinestro Corps in the beginning but then start to uncover the plan of the Guardians of Oa, the blue dudes, to destroy the Green Lantern Corps.

In the zero of issue a new Green Lantern is introduced. He seems very generic, so hopefully Johns does good with that. Its hard for me to say but I think Green Lantern could go either way. But I will be there, reading along the way.

Swamp Thing (Writer: Scott Snyder Art: Yanick Paquette) and Animal Man (Writer: Jeff Lemire Art: Varies)

If you have read these then you know why I am discussing these two together. Because their story goes together. In the world there is the Green (Swamp Thing) the Red (Animal Man) and the Rot. They live in a balance throughout the world. Every so often one of them get out of line and try to take over the world. In this amazingly intertwined story line the Rot has over stepped its boundaries.

It is up to the Swamp Thing and Animal Man and his daughter (The true avatar of the Red) to fight off the Red. Now you may have read that and thought meh, But I don't think I can put into words how amazing this story has been to read. It has been a true delight. I will go as far to say that it has been my favorite comic book arc I have ever read. I do not want the Rotworld story arc to end. Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire work wonderfully together to capture every aspect of this story line.

There it is! My pull list! Now I want to know what your pull list is! Follow my blog and leave your pull list in the comments below!

The State of Wever's Teams: New England Patriots (NFL)

This season has been a mixed bag for a Patriot fan. They have looked very solid on defense, then at times not very good. Their offense has looked like the same old Patriots offense, then has struggled to get things going. I believe we are heading in the right direction but are not quiet there.

Defensively the Patriots have looked good and bad. Against the Titans the defense looked like it was already miles ahead of where they were even during the playoffs last season. But loses to Arizona and Baltimore make me think they still have a lot of work to do. There are definitely bright spots. Dont'a Hightower seems to be developing nicely. Chandler Jones looks like he is going to be a difference maker on this defense for years to come. Up front defensively I think the Pats are very solid, they are currently ranks 8th in the NFL against the run.

I am still very concerned with the Pats defensive back field. It seems like they can't cover anybody. Against the Ravens they could not seem to come up with the big play when they needed it the most. They allowed Ryan Fitzpatrick to throw four touchdowns in yesterday's game. They did however manage to intercept his passes four times. I just feel like if the defense gives up a big third down conversion or a passing touchdown it is because the defensive back field blew an assignment. The Pats are currently ranked 25th in the NFL against the pass.

Offensively the Patriots have looked good and bad (see a pattern?). Against the Titans they looked pretty good, with the normal first game of the season hiccups. However, when Aaron Hernandez was lost to an injury the passing game became very flat. They still had targets such as Welker and Gronk, but Hernandez gave them that extra dimension. The two dynamic tight ends seem impossible to deal with, but take one of them away and Gronk has been easier to deal with. With Hernandez in the lineup, I believe the Ravens game would have had a much different outcome.

One bright spot through most of the regular season thus far has been the Patriots run game. Stevan Ridley has matured nicely in his second season and looks to be a very reliable resource out of the back field. Then the addition of Brandon Bolden yesterday against the Bills saw a running back tandem that seemed very hard to deal with. This seems like the best back field the Patriots have had in some time.

Final Thoughts: I believe with the return of Hernandez the Patriots offense will be very hard to match up against. If the running game continues to prove they are a reliable option then that just makes Brady and the passing game that much more dangerous. The Patriots season depends on, like it has for the last few years, on the defense. It looks like we are starting to figure things out up front. However the defensive back field still gives me a great deal of worries.