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Posted on Sep 30, 2004 - 06:54 PM by Admin |
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It's the return of Katrina French's The X Chromosome! And after weeks of battling incoming hurricanes, Trina has brought in help for her return - help in the form of the Y Chromosome, her boyfriend Ryan Rewasiewicz! Together, Trina and Ryan take a look at the long awaited Superman/Batman #12, the debut of Harry Johnson, an edgy, Powerless glance at the Marvel Universe, a disappointing issue of Superman and the latest issue of Wonder Woman!
Powerless #4 (Marvel) -
This comic gets edgier and edgier with each issue. It’s quite an interesting take on the Marvel superheroes we’re familiar with and makes for a good read each month. This particular issue had me on the edge of my seat as a "new" (to this title anyway) character was introduced, another character lays beaten in bed, Peter Parker gets gutsy, and our main character decides to take some matters into his own hands.
It was a little hard for me to not skip some of the dialogue just because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. But I really like where the plot is going and how Matt Cherniss and Peter Johnson have thrown these heroes into a world where they aren’t heroes, but merely humans. The writers have managed to keep a lot of the things that make these heroes so special in the book and it’s just like seeing your favorite superhumans in a whole new light.
Speaking of light (though in a completely different context), the artwork on this book just adds to the realistic mood that the story sets. The shading especially makes Powerless really stand out as far as the artwork is concerned, but Michael Gaydos has really mastered a "comic realism" (if there is such a thing). I mean to say that it looks illustrated, but Gaydos brings the characters to life so ingeniously you can’t help but feel they are actually real.
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Wonder Woman #208 (DC) -
"Stoned" Part Three
Medousa makes such a wonderful villain in both comics and mythology. My worst fear is of snakes and I always thought Medousa was so creepy and couldn’t imagine how she must feel with all those writhing serpents on her head, licking at her face and neck. It gives me the shivers just thinking about it! With that being said, I picked up my very first Wonder Woman comic book today just for the villainess that is so powerful her look turns people to stone.
With my love of mythology, you’d think I’d be quite the Wonder Woman fan, but the Amazon just never appealed to me much and I wasn’t interested in her at all. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how rich with mythology this title was and I think I’ll be trying to dig up some back issues of this recent Wonder Woman story.
Drew Johnson's art was very nice. All the goddesses looked like goddesses while still being realistic and able to communicate with lesser immortal beings. And Johnson's beautiful rendition of the delightfully eerie Medousa throwing back her hood on page eight was shiver inducing again to me.
Though I was a little confused with the story just because I haven’t been picking up Wonder Woman...well...ever, I was able to catch on quite quickly to all that was going on. I loved the scene with Medousa and her Gorgon sisters the best. It was both humorous and scary as they plotted their evilness. And I really liked writer Greg Rucka’s dialogue throughout the book. He mixed all of the Greek names well with more coherent words to make them more understandable and it was not difficult to distinguish which characters were which, even if I hadn’t read a Wonder Woman book before. And who doesn’t love the line "....In the gaze of Medousa, meet your end!!"? It’s classic.
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Harry Johnson #1 (Fulp Fiction) -
"Harry Johnson and the Case of the Crabbes" Part One
This book came out last week, but I really wanted to review it and decided to do so in this week’s reviews. I found the first issue of this disappointedly only two issue series to be hilarious, enjoyable and just great fun. It’s a crazy parody of Indiana Jones with humor abound.
I couldn’t have been happier, as I’ve been looking forward to this book for quite some time. I loved all the plays on words and the how Harry is not the stereotypical tough guy with all the answers. I haven’t read a good "funny book" in awhile, and this one probably takes the cake as the funniest! Charles Fulp writes comedy for a comic so well and Craig Rousseau’s just as hysterical artwork has this incredibly animated feel to it. In fact, they really should turn this comic into an animated series, albeit a PG-13 one. It’s guaranteed to make you laugh!
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And, now...for the Y Chromosome...here's Ryan Rewasiewicz:
Superman #209 (DC) -
"For Tomorrow" Part Six
A few months ago I was really looking forward to Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee’s run on Superman. I like Superman as a character and felt like these guys would jump start the Superman titles, allowing Superman to be more respected and not just thought of as an overgrown boy scout. I thought Azzerello would bring an interesting edge to the character which anyone who reads 100 bullets knows he’s certainly capable of doing. Throw in Jim Lee’s artwork and you have a sure fire home run. Or so I, DC, and I’m sure countless other fans thought.
What we’ve been getting for these last six months is a story that at first felt like it was building up to something great and you just kind of kept thinking "Ok, well...in the next issue this story has got to be going somewhere," but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be. Each issue has been more of the same drab story with a little action thrown in for good measure. (In this issue we even have Superman fighting...Mt. Rushmore *cough*...yeah.)
I didn’t expect this story line to half consist of Superman whining to a priest. How many times is Azzerello going to write some captions making it seem like Superman is narrating, only to show the priest a few pages later is really the narrator. We get it. It’s not that interesting of a narrative device. It doesn’t need to be used in every issue.
I think Azzarello is a fantastic writer and is one of the best out there right now, but just reading this storyline and the Batman storyline with Eduardo Risso before this one, it just doesn’t feel like his heart is in it. Azzarello seems to want to take the "super" out of superhero and by doing so, loses the essence of what makes superheroes interesting.
Anyway, to wrap this review up, I don’t feel that this issue or the rest of the storyline is adding up to much. I could be completely wrong six months from now and I will continue to get this book because I have a love for the character and the creators, but each issue just seems to leave me more and more underwhelmed.
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Superman/Batman #12 (DC) -
"The Supergirl From Krypton" Part Five: Traitor
Man, this issue sure seemed to take awhile to come out. It was a fun read, though. That’s all this series aspires to be. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, which allows for explosive fireworks in every issue. The stories aren’t the greatest, but they’re a lot of fun.
This comic reminds me of summer blockbuster movies. You can turn your brain off and just have fun. Issue #12 was no exception. We get to find out what happens to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the now Supergirl gone wild.
The story picks up where the last issue left off on Darkseid’s Apokolips. Superman and Supergirl square off in what is a very entertaining battle. There is a gorgeous splash page of the fight and the look of horror on Superman’s face as he’s forced to battle his cousin is great. Later, Batman takes a beating from Darkseid before the heroes return home to find that the battle is far from over.
The comic is a fun read, as I said earlier and Michael Turner once again turns in pretty decent artwork. (Even though his women all look the same, but hey - if they all gotta look the same at least they’re nice to look at.) Next issue will see the conclusion of the Supergirl storyline and hopefully the questions about Supergirl's origin and motive will all be answered.
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Katrina French is a senior at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, where she's majoring in Media Arts and Animation. Originally from upstate New York, she hated the cold and so decided to move down to sunny Florida. She likes to draw, read, and watch cartoons. Her favorite comic book character is Spider-Man. Trina has just recently made her pro debut in the comic industry as colorist for the online hit, Gun Street Girl. Now serving as Comic Book Consultant for The Comic Fanatic.Com, her latest mission in life is to show the world that girls dig comic books, too!
Feel free to send any comments to Katrina at Trina@thecomicfanatic.com or visit the More Reviews Forum at The Fan Man's Forum. Also, feel free to check out Katrina's incredible artwork at her Trina's Elfwood Gallery!
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