Weekly Comic Review for 11/9/11
OK. I’m finally catching up on my reviews. I finally found a copy of Avenging Spider-Man #1 to read so now I can finally do a proper review.
Avenging Spider-Man #1 – I thought this was going to be just another Spider-Man title. It seems this is their way of launching a new Marvel Team-Up title that is definitely revolving around Spidey. I actually liked the idea that there was freedom to team 2 different characters up. The last Marvel Team-Up was all freedom but didn’t last long. We’ll see how this goes. The first issue starts out with the Avengers and ends up teaming Spider-Man and the red Hulk and is filled with way too much negative bickering. *yawn* J. Jonah Jameson gets kidnapped by the Mole Man’s minions and Spider-Man and the Hulk get dragged down to assist them save the Mole Man from the new ruler of the underground empire. I won’t be adding me to this to my pull list though I might pick up an issue there and there if the team-up character is really interesting. This first issue definitely wasn’t a great draw as a story though.
Demon Knights #3 – For the most part, it’s a case of “the battle rages on” for the issue. We see more development of the characters and how they interact together. The title is definitely still growing with a combination of both new characters and characters in times of their lives that we have not seen before. It’s got a bit to go before it’s really rolling but it’s still quite interesting.
Green Lantern #3 – Sinestro leads Hal to Korugar to try to take down the Sinestro Corps. While they make the trip there, the Guardians start making plans to replace the Green Lanterns with a new group. The Guardians are really going off the deep end and need to have someone smack them down and show them they aren’t as great as they think they are. Making it to Korugar, Sinestro acts as a distraction while Hal goes off to destroy the yellow power battery. Sadly, the plan doesn’t work as was expected and Hal may have ended up the one to be destroyed instead.
Legion Lost #3 – Dawnstar and Tellus start scanning Earth for Alastor while Wildstar and Tyroc work on the technical needs of the team. This leaves Timber Wolf on his own to track down a lead he sees on TV. He tracks down an alien hunter and shows a new power in battle, the ability to fore his claws off his hand. (OUCH! Really? You’ve got to be kidding me.) He takes down the hunter who it turns down is a host for the returning Chameleon Girl. I love the Legion and especially Timber Wolf but this series seems to be a bit of a mess.
Point One #1 – Following the concept of the “.1” numbering, Marvel put out ax extra sized issue with a lot of brief stories. There are some really interesting stories in here. The overall backdrop revolves around 2 people breaking into the Watcher’s home. This leads to some revelations and s future story of its own. The first story involves Nova flying ahead of the coming of the Phoenix who is seen destroying the planet where Terrax is and kills him. Next we have a hint of what’s going on in a new upcoming Age of Apocalypse storyline. Following that, we see Kaine (another Peter Parker clone) coming into his own heroic self. This will lead into a new Scarlet Spider title. After that is a story introducing a couple new sibling characters called Coldmoon and Dragonfire who come across the Avengers. Then we get to see a dream based Doctor Strange story hinting at the new Defenders title. Finally, we have a story of Ultrons hunting Avengers (particularly Spider-Man and Hawkeye in this brief story). There are some really interesting stuff going on. I’m not sure what to make of the Phoenix storyline, but I am really interested in seeing Doctor Strange back with the Defenders as well as seeing Kaine as the Scarlet Spider. Coldmoon and Dragonfire could be quite interesting too. I’m not sure if they will be based through Avengers titles or what though. The Ultron and Age of Apocalypse stories were the ones that caught my interest the least. AoA was fun the first time around as an alternate reality that was stopped but each time it comes back, it’s less interesting.
Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #1 & #2 – This is a title I missed when the first issue came out but I saw issue 2 on the shelf and picked them both up. Instead of having one of the groups go to the other’s universe, IDW has them both end up in a totally alternative reality for both, one controlled by the Imperial Planets. You’ve got the original Star Trek cast is there and from the Legion they chose Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, and Shadow Lass. They don’t actually cross paths until the very end of the second issue. I’m not sure how long this title is supposed to run and I’m not sure I really want to follow it any further either. I’m a big Legion fan as well as a bit of a Star Trek fan (though more Next Generation and Voyager than TOS), but it may not be enough to carry this team-up and storyline.
This week is quite a variety of comics. For my top three, I’d go with Demon Knights, Green Lantern, and Point One. Each one brings something different to the table and takes for a nice mix of stories to read when brought together.
