Comics Bundle: 02.18.09 Pt. 2

This is part 2 of my Comics Bundle. Mostly covering all the DC, Image and Vertigo Comics. Like the first part (click here for part one), I'm going to go off here as fast as I can.

Four Eyes #2
9.8 of 10
The first time I read this title, its high fantasy themes, involving dragons, tailored and fitted into the U.S. depression era captured my attention immediately. But, I haven't heard of it since then so I thought the series was canceled. But I was so ecstatic when I finally saw a copy of #2 at the shelves, last Friday. Like the first issue, this one is also a gem. What I like about this series is that, not only it deviates from the standard high fantasy, it also serves as a warning of what people will do, can turn into, during times of financial troubles.

The Walking Dead #58
9.5 of 10
The Walking dead, especially in this issue, continues to astound me with its human drama. A little light has been shed on the newcomers as Abraham tells his side of the story. Of how his fellow survivors raped his wife, and how he killed them with his bare hands. While there was no illustration of what happened, Abraham's words alone was still pretty brutal. But what really surprised me was Carl, who admitted that he want to kill people and that he was glad he shot a man to save his dad. Normally, I don't care about violence but, coming from a mere boy of 10, it was very disturbing.

Fables #81
8.0 of 10
This is probably the slowest issue of Fables I've ever read. The first part, especially, was a bit dragging for me. Although it did establish a status quo for the new villain. The last part, however, was pretty good, as some characters visited Boy Blue on his deathbed, defining him during his last moments. It made me a bit sad though. Boy Blue is one of my many favorite characters in Fables. He's a cool boy who just likes to play blues, not a hero or an anti-hero archetype. Even in the end, he wished that everybody will continue to treat him as the regular guy by not burying him with those who died during the war with the empire.

DMZ #39
8.0 of 10
Like with Fables, this issue of DMZ is kind of slow too. But that's probably because the protagonist, Matthew Roth, who tells the story in first person, is left in the dark so he has no story to tell. He became a tool of Parco, the newly elected Governor of Manhattan, and doesn't know any of his plans at all. But the end of the issue was very juicy. Parco already have gold, and now he have acquired a nuke. So what's next? I couldn't wait.

Final Crisis #7
@% of 10
At first, I didn't like Final Crisis because it was too convoluted for me. But then it all made sense around #3, got better around #4 and #6 was just awesome. So I thought, with its climbing pattern, it's going to get even better with the final issue. I was wrong. I didn't understand a thing. I read it three times too, and I could've gone for a fourth. But it's too messed up I'm afraid it'll blow my brains out.

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As usual, I was weeks late of picking up my comics again. But I don't think I'll be able to go to the store every Wednesday, ever. But all the comics I've read this weekend were excellent. Unfortunately, I won't be able to write a review for all of them. So, like always, I'll just write a quick review for the notable ones. Also, I'll change the format of my "Comics Bundle" posts because I'm tired of looking for cover arts to put in here. Instead, I'll just take a picture of my bundle and add it here. It fits the title, and it's more personal.

Final Crisis #6
9.0 of 10
Like I said before, Final Crisis wasn't my favorite comic book event. It was, to me, under the shadow of Secret Invasion. But, as Secret Invasion quickly waned in quality of writing, the plot threads in Final Crisis started to come together and made a lot of sense. In this issue, the plot threads of Grant Morrison, that he started in issue #1 and Batman R.I.P., finally came together and all I can say about it is: Epic. Oh, yes, someone significant to the DC Universe died too. I won't tell but, since this issue came out weeks ago, you guys probably know it already.

Uncanny X-Men: Annual #2
8.7 of 10
The X-Men titles have become one of the worst comics Marvel has to offer. It's sad but true. Although, as a huge fan of the series, I'll still buy anything from the shelves with X-Men on it. That's the only reason why I picked up this annual issue. However, this issue turned out to be amazing. The story is centered on Emma Frost and her past dalliance with Namor, when she was still the White Queen, and that brought out a lot of suggestive sexual themes. To sum it up, this book, with its beautifully written dialogue, shows how complex Emma Frost is.

Deadpool #6
7.6 of 10
Back in issue 3 (if I'm not mistaken), Deadpool took something from The Skrulls. Something that Nick Fury had wanted but ended up on the hands of Norman Osborn. So this issue, I thought, because there's a big Dark Reign logo stamped on the cover, was going to about Deadpool running after Osborn for crossing him. But, no, this issue, in terms of plot, sucked. Even the villain here is C rated. It's a good thing that Deadpool is quite a character, and his slapstick humor is the only reason I liked this book.

Dark Avengers #1
8.7 of 10
For months, ever since I saw the cover of The Dark Avengers #1, I've wondered who are the Dark Avengers? Is Wolverine and Ms. Marvel really working with them? This book, answers all that. In most ways, the issue reminds me a lot of The Mighty Avengers #1, albeit it is a bit twisted and borrows the tone of the Thunderbolts. Here we see Norman Osborn shop for candidates to join his Avengers and, boy, I do love the members of this new team. While some of them are predicatble choices (like Venom and Bullseye) to fill the spot of former Avengers, some of them came to me as a shock. Yes, I think, I'm going to enjoy this new title very much.

Thunderbolts #128
9.3 of 10
When Marvel revealed what Dark Reign is about, I knew that Thunderbolts is going to get even better. After all, it is Osborn's own team. So with the old team disbanded (its old roster either on the run or transferred to the Avengers) Osborn started recruiting some new members. Although, as of this issue, only four of them were featured. But what really made this issue incredibly awesome (and what surprised me) is Obama's appreance. Yes, the 44th US President also made an appearance here, talked with Osborn, and even told him that he didn't like him having so much power.

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I didn't have a lot of comics this week, which is nice because I'm dead broke. But, wow, a lot of the ones I picked up were good, or at least better than last weeks. Anyways, here's my reviews. I'm also changing my rating, from numbers to a simple "Buy It/Skip It" recommendation. While I do know how to grade games and music by numbers, it just doesn't feel right grading comics the same way.

DMZ #37
Buy It!
Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Ricardo Burchielli





I was thinking of scratching DMZ off from my pull sheet, after "The Island" concluded, but I decided not to until I've read the new arc. I'm glad that I didn't because DMZ had become much more interesting since Parco Delegado won the election. Particularly, Parco, the newly elected Governor of Manhattan, is acting more like a dictator, far from the charismatic revolutionary we used to know, 4 issues back. On top of that, he's asking Matthew Roth, our protagonist, to help him expand his power by finding the fabled Chinatown gold...wealth that they assumed Wilson have. I can't wait for the next issue. There's definitely going to be a civil war in Manhattan, and within Roth himself as his loyalty is divided between two friends.


I Kill Giants #6
Buy It!
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: J.M. Ken Niimura





Originally, I Kill Giants is not on my pull list (it is now). I just fell in love with this book after reading the first five issues last month. Mainly because of how Joe Kelly plays with his readers' perceptions. He'll lead you to believe that this is a fantasy book about Barbara Thorson, a giant killer who can see and talk to pixies. But, in the next page, he'll tell the story of Barbara, a girl with family issues, who refuses to see reality and lives in her imagination. In every issue since the first, the story flows in this flip-flopping manner that makes it hard to pinpoint if the book is really fantasy or the protagonist is just insane. But in this issue a Titan finally shows up, and Barbara beats him up with Covelski, her magical hammer. What's more is that Sophia, her friend, and Taylor, her bully, seems to have witnessed it all. The issue ends abruptly, however, so we'll never know for sure if Barbara did beat the living daylights out of a Titan or she was just throwing tantrums at the storm.


Final Crisis #5
Buy It. (If you have extra cash)
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: JG Jones, Carlos Pacheco, Mark Rudy, Jesus Merino





I've never reviewed Final Crisis before. That's because its first issues were about setting the whole book up, and I find it to be...meh. Besides, it was under the shadow of Secret Invasion. So I wasn't able to give it much attention. But Grant Morrison is finally done putting up the stage. He's now pulling the circle inwards, tighten it up, particular starting with issue #4, giving some sense to the vague details he had set up in the past issues. In this issue, we see the reason behind why Hal Jordan was accused of deicide, and how he was exonertated by Gardner and Rayner. This was much more action-oriented too, as we see the Watchtower resistance and Bludhaven assault failing against the mindless armies of Darkseid. But, that's only because the major players are nowhere to be found, or haven't arrived yet.


Echo #8
Buy It. (If you have extra cash)
Writer: Terry Moore
Artist: Terry Moore





I've been following Echo for a couple months now. But, like Final Crisis, I never wrote any review about it. Which I find odd because I like this book...a lot. I like the story, especially. The book has all the framework of a superhero's origins tale. But it refuses to be told in such a way. Terry Moore is much more focused on the woman behind the battle suit, showing how broken she was, going through divorce and loss of loved ones, instead of the battle suit. I mean, in the past seven issues, Julie haven't used her powers, at least not voluntarily. It was only in this issue that she finally used it to protect herself and Dillon against a villain, a religious fanatic that wants the part of armor that she have. But that, also, is short-lived since Julie is still running for her life, by the end of the issue, instead of finding out the full potential of her armor, don a mask and become a heroine.


Secret Invasion: Dark Reign#1
Skip It!
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev





Secret Invasion was a lackluster (as I've stated in my previous review). But the last page intrigued me to no ends with the introduction of the Dark Illuminati. Questions started sprouting in my mind, like: "What are they are plotting?", "Why is Namor a part of this?", "Is that Emma Frost?". So I just have to buy this book, hoping it will provide me some answers that will satiate me. But, alas, it did not. To some degree, maybe, it answered my questions. Especially, how was Emma Frost picked and enticed to join the team. But it wasn't enough. For the most of it, I thought the whole issue was written so that Norman Osborn can show his big ego off to his fellow crooks.

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