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Location: Blogs Atomic FalloutCritical Mass |
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| Posted by: Jake Bell |
Friday, March 23, 2007 12:16 PM |
 Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #50
HOLY CRAP!!! AQUAMAN IS GOOD AGAIN!!!
Let’s be honest for a moment. I know most people don’t care about Arthur Curry much. Heck, he is one of the most useless members of the JLA and his powers are pretty lame when it comes down to it. His old sidekick, Tempest (formerly Aqualad), is better than he is. He is constantly being beaten on in the mainstream media. Aquaman is a joke to most of the world.
Since One Year Later started, Aquaman was... in a word, "blech". Tad Williams has taken the blech and made it awesome. Artist Shawn McManus also makes a striking contribution to making this book readable again.
For those of you who don’t normally pick up Aquaman here’s a little rundown. Pre-Infinite Crisis Aquaman spent a long time trying to keep the newly sunken city of Sub Diego (formerly San Diego) in some semblance of order. The Spectre came along on his mad crusade to destroy all magic and squashed Atlantis and then the world went... in a word, "kerflooey."
Post-Crisis, we find a new, young Aquaman being trained by The Dweller (old Aquaman turned into a Davey Jones-type monster... and I don't mean the Monkee). Not a lot really happened and the book was floundering... no pun intended. I mean who cares about new Aquaman hanging out and an underwater strip club drinking booze out of a fish? This book was so bad even I stopped reading it!!
Along comes Tad Williams, right off the lackluster The Next series. Sounds like a match made in hell. I looked at this combination and thought to myself, “The Next was pretty bad and didn’t seem to go anywhere... what can Taddy-Boy do to Aquaman to make it even worse than it already was?” So I gave issue 50 a read and was amazed. More happens in this issue than in the last year of Aquaman!!! I actually care about Aquaman again!!! HUZZAHH!!!
The new writer and new characters make Aquaman a book everyone should at least think of reading---kind of like what was supposed to happen when Kurt Busiek came on a year ago--and if Williams can keep it up I think he may be one of the breakaway hits of the next year in the DCU.
And now for the lightning round...
Amazing Spider-man #539: I don’t care what everyone says. This is not a good enough reason to don the black costume. This is just a shameless ploy to tie in to the movie. It was great to see Spiderstrength utilized to the max and I understand Peter is just a big tangle of deep-seeded neuroses, but still I expect a better reason. It was a good story and a good issue but if this was the main reason to start the whole Back-in-Black deal I feel terribly cheated. B
52 Week 46: Black Adam vs The Mad Docs of the DCU. The power of 7 gods vs. Dr. Cyclops and I.Q.? Sounds one sided, doesn’t it? A+
Army @ Love #1: If this is what was really happening in Afghanistan, army recruiters wouldn't have any trouble making their quotas. C
Batman Confidential #4: Now we know where he gets all those wonderful toys. And, man, do I love to talk about Whilce Portacio. What a manly name for a mediocre artist. The story is solid but not amazing or inspired and once again I love to say ANDY DIGGLE. This book gets a B just because I got to say "Andy Diggle and Whilce Portacio."
Birds of Prey #104: Who saw that coming? I sure as heck didn’t? If you don’t know what I am talking about go look NOW!!! Plus it’s got Deadshot and Catman (he’s got a CAT-amaran by the way.) A+
Brave and the Bold #2: Hal Jordan and Supergirl go to Space Vegas and we all know that what happens in Space Vegas stays in Space Vegas. The schoolgirl outfit was excessive but I’m not complaining... and I noticed Hal wasn't either. B+
Cable Deadpool #38: The long awaited return of Agent X!!! Well... at least I was awaiting it. Another fun romp with everyone’s favorite mini-merc with a mouth and his sidekick weasel and Bob the AIM agent. This book has been consistently good since it started. A
Checkmate #12: Greg Rucka is the man!!! Who could have thought that Beatriz DaCosta could be such a cool character? This is a great example of a well balance ensemble cast title. A+
Civil War Battle Damage Report: Not much to report here. It was your typical who’s who and who cares with surprisingly little reporting on the damage. C-
Deathblow #4: Still think this book reminds me of the old G.I. Joe episode “Welcome to Springfield” C-
Detective Comics #830: Bruce Wayne’s personal version of the movie Die Hard. He’s stuck in a Wayne Tower and can’t get his Bat on. It’s up to Robin and some quick thinking to save the day. B+ because it’s still not Dini.
Exiles #92: Wolverine: Agent of Hydra... didn’t we just see this somewhere else? Also, Psylocke returns from the dead for no reason in X-Men and disappears and reappears in Exiles for equally little reason other than Claremont likes her a lot? WHAT? I think Claremont is past his prime. C
Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #10: ZOOM returns to make Bart’s life miserable. Nothing amazing but nothing bad at the same time. B
Girls #23: So this book is basically like Walking Dead with naked chicks, right? I plan on reading this in trade eventually but it still seems a little silly to me. C
Ion #12: All the power of the cosmos at his disposal and all his loved ones have the life expectancy of a chronically depressed lemming. B
Justice Society of America #4: Wildcat(s) vs. Vandal Savage. Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman vs. a whole heap of D-list Nazi Supervillains. A new legacy begins too. A+
Ms. Marvel #13: A little insight in to her relationship with Tony Stark: Director of SHIELD and her new position as leader of the Mighty Avengers. I really enjoy this book but I wish they would get Greg Horn off the covers.
Noble Causes #28: This is one of the best books you are not reading.
Runaways Saga: Really cute for a clip show. This is the whole Runaways series as seen through the eyes of their youngest member. Nothing too new except some Ramos art. Overall, a cute take on the series from an Atomic Comics favorite, C.B. Cebluski.
Shadowpact #11: Blue Devil vs. Etrigan and the hordes of Hell. What a one sided fight. Poor denizens of Hell... I hope they have good medical coverage in the infernal realms. B+
Spirit #4: Still an amazing book. This book is a wonderful homage to the man who redefined comics, Will Eisner. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it should be. A+
Supergirl #15: SUPER POWERED CUPCHECK!!!! A+
Transformers Prime Directive Movie Prequel #2: So Megatron came to Earth and got the Captain America treatment... No, he didn’t see the damage he caused in his war against the Autobots and quit only to be shot by Bumblebee. He got himself frozen in ice for a long time... Will he be discovered by Namor? Good set-up for the upcoming flick. A
Transformers Spotlight Soundwave: Ravage, Laserbeak, Operation: Be Awesome. What is cooler than a robot that can turn in to an outmoded piece of technology? Nothing. Soundwave is still one of the all-time coolest Transformers ever and this issue makes Soundwave and crew even cooler. A+
Ultimate Power #4: Why does anyone let Reed Richards play in other dimensions? I mean N-zone, Zombieville, and now this stuff? What’s next the Ultimate/Mangaverse crossover? Sue needs to keep a tighter grip on Reed's leash. And Greg Land needs to find a better reference for Thor than Kevin Nash of WCW fame.
Walking Dead #34: So this is basically Girls without the naked chicks right? Kidding. Everyone seems to really love this book but I only started reading it about three issues back with the big torture issue. Honestly, I need to backlog this and read it all before I can pass judgment on this book.
Wisdom #4: I feel like I am one of the only fans of Pete Wisdom in the world. Pete vs. a bazillion Jack the Rippers and a monkey is a recipe for mayhem in Whitechapel.
Wonder Man 4: Todd Nauck replaces the previous artist and makes this title drastically more appealing. Peter David has been writing the Marvel version of My Fair Lady, but that doesn’t make it bad. With Nauck's aboard, the clever dialogue and jokes are now matched with art that is de-loverly. Get it? Ask your mom if you don’t.
X-23: Target X #4: I don’t like this character but I enjoy this book. I can’t explain it. B
X-men: First Class #7: Still a fun but not amazing book but a great way to introduce new readers to the original X-men team. B |
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