Costume Clash! Who wears it better?

For this second stab at comic fashion I'm going back a bit and looking at two heroes who hark from different sides of the big two!

This week the face of the Mutant revolution Cyclops, who not too long ago played host to the phoenix ,started to dress very similarly to D.C's aerial avenger Nightwing.
Dick has been sporting the look longer but maybe Cyces' extra bit on the shoulders gives him the cool edge:

Nightwing vs Cyclops

Nightwing

He who wore it longest goes first. 

The design for the costume was done by Brian Stelfleeze (I'm talking about the black and blue one) and debuted in 1995. In the comics it was Harold Allnut, Batman's old, pre New 52, mechanic (Has he been in the New 52 yet?) that Dick had to thank for his awesome new threads. This design is widely regarded as the best look for Dick and has endured with only slight changes in the New 52 and it's defining element is the V shape bird with the tail starting at the chest and then spreading out to both shoulders.

I should also mention that during the Hush story line Jim Lee cut off the blue strip that ran down both arms all the way down to the hand in favor of a V point that ended at the shoulder.

With the New 52 Jim Lee and Cully Hamner were in charge of the new costume creating an overall streamlined look with a jump from the cool blue to 'in you're face red' also less noticeable is the layering of material around the neck and forearms which made the outfit look durable or tougher.

All n all Fans have happily embraced the latest look and the color switch and I for one agree; it adds a bit of drama to the otherwise simple outfit.

Phoenix Cyclops

In issue #5 the Phoenix Force is broken by Tony Stark and in a hail mary dive it jumps into five of the X-Men, Scott included, who together become the Phoenix Five! Alas cause these lads and lassies weren't the intended hosts they all slowly fall into darkness culminating in Scott being the last one standing in a full on dark phoenix fury.

The design for all five was by the ever awesome Olivier Coipel who obviously took the opportunity to go ott.

With Scott it is quite a jump from the norm in terms of his usual look i.e the one piece spandex and visor (oh except for that punk look he sported after Apocalypse: The Twelve); instead ol' Slim wears black on red, the red is like armor or padding that goes from the chest to the shoulders in a phoenix shape. The red phoenix armor is layered at the shoulders, protruding out into pointy tips,  and stretches up the sides of Scott's neck, added to this is is the fingerless ends to the black one piece and a big bright diamond shaped gold visor with the eye slit cut in a slight V shape. All the V's and edginess and red make for a bolder extravagant fearless leader and it makes sense when you think of how the Phoenix can project the most self indulgent aspects of it's host.

Verdict

The red phoenix on Scott's chest is way too much like Nightwing's to be ignored but the outfit worked for what was happening to the character at the time and is ticking all the right boxes for a cool superhero outfit. Dick's costume's success is it's simplicity; the image on his chest and shoulders is so well made while the rest of the costume is low key allowing the image to take precedence and pop becoming a symbol much like the Dark Knights own chest symbol. This success gives the outfit permanence and a lasting quality that outmatches all extravagance.

Just imagining that striking red appear out of the darkness of Bludhaven's night skies helps assure me of the victor.

Winner 

Nightwing

The Pull List: Weekly comic reviews for 24/4/2013

A lot of new comics this week ( a lot of new comics every week recently) and thankfully the majority of it was really good. Not a lot of free time this week so I only got the indies reviewed.

Jupiter's Legacy #1

There was a good bit of hype around this title in the closer weeks to it's release and now that it's out and read I can safely say that it is a solid start and well rounded book but it doesn't excite me as much as I thought it was.
The intro/first few pages are really good, accurately capturing the romantic notions we associate with America and it's dream circa WWII and is just vague enough in it's premise to intrigue one to read on. Here we are introduced to a group of characters who become the Earth's first gen of superheroes though the how and why is left unexplained.
An abrupt but fitting jump to present day puts the focus on the first superheroes offspring, the stars of the title, and the future torch bearers of their parents contributions to America and the world. It is here where the level of interest and originality start to waver.
Brandon and Chloe Sampson are son and daughter to this Earth's superman-type and neither are especially convincing; Brandon looks and acts like the front man to some bad emo-grunge band and Chloe, the more interesting of the two, is a satirical play on the reality starlets that plague television.
The key is the breakdown between Brandon and Chloe and their parnets. The offspring's post modern individualism makes it difficult for them to step into the 'greater cause' shoes of their parents some of the reasons for the breakdown are expected or cliche while others are more subtle and convincing.
Be ready for some of Millar's trademark shock dialogue/imagery mainly at the expense of a woman or women.
Quitely's art is usual high standard and the panel layouts are simple 4 panel variations which makes it a bit bland. I don't know if it was Quitely or Millar but the design of the main two characters are uninspiring.

Score 7/10

East of West #2

After #1's amazing kickoff hopes are high for Hickman's latest title. Does it deliver?

Yes!! but not to the same degree as the last issue but this was to be expected. 

The best thing about this issue is that it explains the motivations of so many characters both previously named and unnamed (but now named) while at the same time still stringing the reader along without knowing what all these people and events are leading to.

Picking up almost directly after the exciting ending of last month's installment readers are given a bit more understanding regarding the link between the 3 horse-children of the apocalypse, Deaths hit list and the enigmatic Message.

The pacing is slower in this issue and the time frame of events is much more linear to help communicate all the characters places in the story but this costs the title the wonder it achieved previously through the deviations it took when moving from one part of the story to the next and makes it a little more boring.

Also a couple of characters are left behind in favor of fleshing out some of the others but hopefully this will be made up for later.

Dragotta's art and Martins colors are soooooo good. I love just flicking through this issue and seeing the character designs, the expression, the life, and the color gives the whole thing such energy with a palette that matches the changing mood of different scenes in the story.

It's on fire and it is great.

Score 9/10

The Massive #11

Bringing you excitement in the form of massive sharks!!

This months release, the aptly named "Megalodon", picks up after Cal gets some rather upsetting news about his health and half the crew have abandoned 'The Kapital' and 'Ninth Wave' in favor of the mainland and war.

The start is really attention grabbing; a nice couple of pages dedicated to the extreme changes to earths marine ecosystem and how this has effected some of it's oldest predators; the sharks. It also explains the mass fish suicides and lack of marine life in previous issues. 

Not as interesting is the parts of the story onboard the Kapital which involves a lot of understandable albeit dull sulking on the part of it's crew.

To say that this issue does not further the overall plot of the title seems a bit redundant when, at this point, I have come to understand that The Massive burns steady as an exemplary model of 'the slow burner' type of book. Be warned though; there is no high octane pacing here and the Massive remains, still, out of reach of Cal and crew.

The art is class.Why do I use the word class? Because our own Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire did it thats why but that isn't why it's class. Shalvey's style is very well suited to the story, in fact he seems well suited to Woods' style of writing. Shalvey has whipped up very dynamic panel layouts and they match the pacing of the story to a tee even giving some of the story a needed boost of energy. As always Bellaire is spot on with the color especially with the color change at the start; the blue to a pale yellow and back again; very nice.

Score 8/10

Star Wars Legacy #2

Ania and Sauk are on the run and it doesn't look like they'll be catching a break soon!

As our two misfit stars try not to get caught an Imperial Knight begins to wonder where Master Val is and the Sith imposter takes a personal hand in Ania's apprehension!!

With no rest for the protagonists the reader must hang on for the ride; this issue containing plenty of action and chasing so the bulk of the book is fast paced and thrilling. The action is a joy to follow thanks to the sound execution by artist Hardman who keeps everything clear and easy to follow plus his pencil work is awesome while colorist Rosenburg brings all the colors; blues, greens, yellows most of which gleams with a cool metal tone but when needed pops with a firey vibrancy. All this color adds to the excitement set by the issues fast pace plus such an array is only fitting for the opera of Star Wars.

To it's benefit this issue eases up on the political intricacies existing between the factions of the triumvirate and instead one gets a bit more insight into the condition of the Imperial Court and it's Empress and could there be a bit of romance! No way!!

Dramatic and epic, #2 continues to impress with a strong start of the track plus an interesting new character jumps in to help the two young fugitives. Everything a Star Wars title should be and at the same time it isn't breaking the mold yet so readers must stay tuned to see where this tale will take them.

Score 8/10

The Pull List: Weekly Comic Reviews for 17/04/2013

Reviews!!

Justice League #19

Things are kicked up a gear as a mysterious figure breaks into the Batcave and steals a briefcase marked with Superman's crest on it! Meanwhile new members Atom and Firestorm get to know one another as they tour the Watchtower alone.

Johns' pacing of this issue is spot on as it moves from scene to scene making for an enjoyable easy read and a lot of satisfying bits of information help refine the Justice League's status quo like the confirmation of the Watchtower teleporter etc. but there are also little things that cause the plot to dip in quality like the Atom literally shrinking down and jumping into a LOTR style MMORPG!? The lack of possible realism is frustrating and chaffs even more when you realize 5 pages have been dedicated to what is essentially a waste of space and story.

The backup story delivers a great insight into the past of Shazam and Black Adam as Billy Batson better side sees hope in the worst of Adam. Even better is that both the main story and Shazam's begin to align with Wonderwoman and Superman take action in Kahndaq.

Reis's work n this issue is super. His style is so well suited to JL and he really delivers great renditions of all members and special guests like Red Hood.

The last page is awesome and I can't wait to see what comes next!

Score 8/10

Green Lantern New Guardians #19

Carol searches for Hal and along the way she recruits Kyle and confronts Sinestro; mad over the loss of his home.

The pencil work in this issue by Andres Guinaldo really makes this issue more captivating than events that occur as he successfully makes the raw carnage of Korugar's destruction felt but balances with playful uses of the Lanterns constructs. 

Carol and Kyle are both, emotionally, over played with Carol coming off as too desperate to find Hal and Kyle who only recently became the white lantern acting infuriatingly meek. There are reasons for his condition but none help alleviate the want to give him a good slap across the face.

Also the hook fold out cover has no reason to exist in the story, the character and the shock moment is rubbish just like so many of these 'wtf' cover issues. 

Score 6/10

Wolverine and the X-Men #27 AU

If you've bought this issue along with AoU #6 then read this first cause it happens in the early part of issue #6. If you haven't bought it then don't worry, this issue has no real affect (at least not immediately if at all) on the main event. 

This tie-in follows Susan Storm and Logan as they go back to the day Hank Pym figured out how to build Ultron with the intention of stopping him by any means necessary! Not nearly as exciting as it sounds but still better than other tie-ins thus far, #27 AU gives readers an unusual pairing in the Invisible Woman and Wolverine but fails to cash in on the opportunity and Wolverine makes a serious mess of things in a secret S.H.I.E.L.D base which I hope has some repercussions cause it's the only thing that happened that had any real intrigue to it.

Medina does a good job of the visuals but sometimes the posing and angles on characters is a bit to much when it really doesn't need to be but thats superheroes folks.

Bottom line; this pair up had potential and didn't capitalize and it doesn't connect with the main event.

Score 6/10

Age of Ultron #6

This weeks installment of Marvels event brings the interest levels upward again after issue #5 dropped the ball. Bendis instills an air of dread and one can feel a sense of apprehension so allusive to comic books nowadays that it deserves much credit. 

Much more common to comics is how the story splits in two as one group of heroes go to the future to face Ultron while Wolverine and Susan Storm go to the past to stop Ultron from ever being born! The latter story is by far the more interesting as Bendis does a better job on Sue and Logan's unpalatable situation and the weight of their decisions resonate strongly while the heroes in the future get mobbed by an endless swarm of Ultron heads with some shocking panels that entertain but have no weight to them. 

I really like Pacheco's work on this issue and honestly feel that his style is better suited to the 'past' segment of the story than Hitch may have been and Jose Villarrubia's colors are perfect, he and Pacheco are so well suited. Peterson's stuff is great too. He lessens the dire look of our Heroes forms while retaining the desperation etched on their faces.

A confidence instilling installment to a thus far unnecessary pull. It certainly wants you to see what comes next.

Score 8/10

Nova #3

Another enjoyable issue in Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness but things look like they might get a damn sight more predictable as readers are shown the first threat that Sam Alexander will have to face as the new Nova. To it's credit the issue does well to so successfully give a nice captivating look at things to come (and only on #3) while at the same time entertain with Sam swapping blows with Rocket and Gamora but the balance is lessened by the incoming threat that is way too similar to Guardians of the Galaxy and way too similar to The Avengers film.

Not sure about the dialogue, the previous two issues had a way better handle on the words and voice of young teen Sam, here we get a lot of self correcting, stuttering, talking over oneself all of which is over played and unnecessary. 

McGuinness's art is a joy to flick through and really brings life to what is a plain tale, in fact one has to wonder how much good this book would be so far if it was a different artist? The dialogue here really does slip sometimes either being to sparse and unnecessarily broken to being goofy and unbelievable so is the art just carrying the Characters?

I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

Score 7/10

Daredevil #25

What an issue!! This book just continues to thrill. The hanger on the last page of #24 even takes a nice turn that is really satisfying and the bulk of the issue is the intro and one on one bout between Daredevil's brand new villain and the main man himself. All of Aim's experiments culminate in a foe with all of DD's strengths and none of his weaknesses and still we haven't seen it all; Waid hints at a 'Master' who knows how to put fear into the Man without! Great stuff.

This issue might also be the best by Samnee yet. The panels are super; who they interconnect and move from page to page and Rodriguez's color palette is, as before, perfect for the story.

Score 9/10

The Superior Spider-Man #8

This book is another title that has been going from strength to strength in the last couple of issues and this may be the strongest yet. The avengers put their superior teammate through some head tests to see who is in the driving seat and Spidey closes in on cardiac and the neurolitic transponder.

First off; Slott's take on Earth's Mightiest is hard to swallow, sure their brightest members aren't present but Cap and Black Widow have been through so much the are bound to have picked up a few things and be super cautious when going over info. Unfortunately all Avengers present come off as incompetent. The avengers science fail aside, this issue further develops Otto as Spider-Man with some great character moments and dialogue, the interaction between Otto and Cardiac is genuine and a satisfying pairing; to peas in a science pod. Bonus!; Ghost spidey was actually a convincing part of whatever panel he was in and much better integrated into compositions instead of just looking like a photoshop ghost that talks too much.

Alot of this issues success is due to Ramos's stlyle and his page layouts are really dynamic and epic in this issue. He is very well suited to the book and it's direction.

Score 8/10

The Pull List: Weekly Comic Reviews for 10/4/2013

Before I into the reviews I just want to apologize for going MIA these last couple of weeks. My timetable is more regular for the foreseeable future so I can promise all who give my posts a gander that I will be putting up reviews every Thursday from now on. Cheers.

Now to business.

Action Comics #19:

I have been reading A C's since the start of the New 52 and haven't reviewed one because I'm still rereading them and trying to come to a decision on whether or not I liked Morrison's run so it was with relief and high hopes that I awaited Andy Diggle's mark on the man of steel. In one respect Diggle delivers; he brings a more linear form of narrative and succeeds with a hint of flirtation between a certain two reporters and intrigue courtesy of the ever neurotic obsessive scheming of one Lex Luthor. Alas the issue on it's on is centered around much too simple a thing; Supes bashing some big robots and this blasé affair is made frustrating by a 'wtf' twist that feels forced.

Daniels art is cool but more showboating than storytelling with lots of big robots exploding but what else could it be when that's all she wrote!

Score 6/10

Batman #19:

Capullo is the star of this issue as his deft style elevates the story to a higher level of customer satisfaction complementing Snyder's best bits like the bat-pod going into 'lateral drive' etc. Rather than being a highly intriguing plot this issue was a collection of golden nuggets add to these the fact that the 'wtf' fold out cover reveal actually had an organic and substantial place inside the book and #19 flies straight and true.

The backup story was great but it felt like a Legend of the Dark Knight story. A nice straight forward tale of uneasy mystery that was more about the relationship between the bat and the kryptonian. Maleev sets the tone and it is well set, the only problem is Superman comes off a bit naive in the company of Batman which I found unfair.

Score 8/10

Batman and Robin #19

Here we are introduced to Carrie Kelley who has only appeared (as far as I know) as Robin in The Dark Knight Returns and it's follow-up and this is all well and good. She seems feisty, charismatic and funny but her role is as of yet solely complementary to the after math of Damien's death and she there is no real pathos of her own (yet). One hopes she isn't just going to fade out. The good stuff is with Batman as he further alienates Alfred and everybody else and in grief hunts down Frankenstein to do mad science of his own. 

It is only right that Batman and Robin is the title that succeeds best at showing the pain of loss and it's symptoms with such convincing drama bottled in great storytelling at the hands of Tomasi and Gleason.

Score 8/10

Green Lantern #19

This whole First Lantern business finally starts to make some ground but it's still far from smooth sailing. Volthoom targets Sinestro, and yet again, we are indulged with his memory changing and I don't want to go on about it too much but at the end something actually happens that rocks Sinestro's world! Still the best bits are with Hal as he finally makes a decision on whether or not he should die and the last page is exciting but not all that convincing.

There is 3 different pencillers on this issue (why?) and whoever does the dead world pages wins.

Score 7/10

Green Lantern Corps #19

This is a really enjoyable issue. Why? Mogo, that's why. The Planet corps member intrudes on the First Lanterns buffet del Lantern and rescues all of his teammates by using his outer core! What happens after is a bit of a 'and they wok up and it was all a dream' i.e nothing really happened but still there were loads of pages of dynamic hard light construct battling that entertained the eyeballs. The ending is cliche but one can't help but feel inspired when a planet literally teaches you a lesson.

Pasarin's page layouts are fluid and well paced especially on the action pages. 

Score 8/10

Thor; God of Thunder #7

Present day Avenger Thor meets Future All-Father Thor in this highly entertaining issue with some great back and forth between the young and old. As has been the case so far Thor GoT remains one of Marvel Now's best items on an overloaded shelf. The book is balanced in action and character with solid pacing and humor to fill the gaps. 

This issue doesn't slip, if anything it up's the ante becoming even grander in scale as all Gorr's moves start to make sense and you get a really satisfying 'ohhh right' moment at the end.

Ribic's art is beautiful, with life in every page and perspectives that bring extra punch to each panel. A lot of fun and a must read.

Score 9/10

Hawkeye #9

Another ace in Marvel Now's deck but for very different reasons. This issue sees Aja return and readers are once again witness to a finely tuned co-op between artist and writer (Fraction). The  story is split into 4 each one based on a leading lady in Clint's life as they all start to learn that the Hawkguy's recent choices may be leading him into choppy seas. 

Color and style rarely have went so well with dialogue the way it does here. My only irk is the dress choice on some of the women; a bit outta time!? but this is a little thing.

Score 9/10

Uncanny X-Men #4

If you've read the last issue of All New X-Men then you can immediately see that this is the same events at the same time just from the oppositions (Cyclops') perspective and there isn't a whole lot else to it. The issue moves from Emma Frost confronting the Cuckoo's to the newbies back at base getting a little closer and just at the end Magik has a fit and limbo seems to reach out and grab her. The last one is definitely the high point but gets the least attention, being left for later issues obviously, while Cyclops and Co have very limp reactions to Magik's instability are unbelievable forcing the whole affair to fall flat and create no great expectation.

A book that didn't have it's priorities straight leaves one adrift but for a few glimmers of banter between characters.

Oh and the 'mystery' person who left the Jean Grey school for The New Xavier school in ANX-Men #1 is revealed on the very last page. Poorly executed plotting for this issue.

Score 6/10

Uncanny Avengers #6

Remender is really starting to find his form with this book as he draws on his experience with Apocalypse from his run on Uncanny X-Force and he further expands the mythos of the Celestials Evolutionary Caretaker by intersecting it with that of Jason Aaron's newly born Young Thor and also includes an English ancestor of Wolverine. Meanwhile Kang continues to move certain events over time towards an endgame that is still unclear but highly intriguing. Whats it all leading to? Guess we'll have to stay tuned.

Acuna's art is pulp-tastic with real vibrant colors that both make the book feel retro and come alive. 

Score 8/10

Age of Ultron #5

After the excitement of last issue this one seems to fall back into slower streams with a lot of dialogue and a lot of planning on the part of the surviving superheroes. In fact the only bit of action is a bunch of Ultrons blowing up Austen. The whole thing reads like a 'LOST' episode with a flashback, a bunch of survivors in a jungle, a bunker, a surprise character reveal. 

Hitches art is on form for the most part with only minor hiccups in line work but more often the landscape/wide shoot panel layouts disrupt reading leading one to miss bits of dialogue but not enough to miss any real plot advancement mainly cause nothing really happened this issue.

Score 7/10