Justice League Dark #20 Review

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #20

by Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes and Mikel Janin

DC needs to make the Flash a permanent member of the JLD. Right now. 

JLD #20 is actually one of the best issues in the series in a long time. Ever since the end of the stellar Books of Magic arc, the series has just been OK to nearly awful with the terrible Death of Magic arc. Now, Lemire, Fawkes and Janin instantly redeem themselves with this awesome 3-issue arc. In this, the Flash steals the show with just straight up being a badass. Fawkes has always written everyone else well, but now, his Constantine feels more like Constantine SHOULD. There is an awesome reveal at the end of the issue I didn't see coming, and Frankenstein... Is just Frankenstein. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of Swamp Thing.

While the story has greatly improved, Mikel Janin's normal pencil work is ruined by Vincent Cifuentes' inks. It gives the book a look that doesn't feel like the distinct style it had established in earlier issues, and makes it look more like Batgirl art (which I hate). 

Justice League Dark #20's story is highly improved from the past 6 issues, but the art suffers from a bad inker.

STORY: 4.5/5

+ FAWKES ACTUALLY DOES A GOOD JOB WRITING CONSTANTINE

+ The Flash steals the show

+ All of the cast is well written

+ Shocking reveal

- Not enough Swamp Thing

ART: 2.5/5

+ Mikel Janin's pencils

- Vincent Cifuentes does a terrible job with Janin's art

VERDICT: 3.5/5

Pull List: 5/29/13

So... I'm way too lazy to come up with a clever intro. So... Yeah...

PULL LIST

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4

by Geoff Johns and Brett Booth

Sigh. Of ALL the fill-in artists DC could have chosen for this, they picked Brett Booth. Just why? You guys could have launched some  pretty good lesser known artists like Juan Jose Ryp, Jason Masters, or Aaron Kuder into the big leagues with this, but NO... BRETT BOOTH. 

THE WAKE #1

 by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy

So... Imagine the first arc of Aquaman without Aquaman, and you get the Trench-- I mean, the Wake. 

X-MEN #1

by Brian Wood and Oliver Copiel

Seriously. I love Oliver Copiel's art. He's awesome. Plus, Psylocke. 

WISH LIST

INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #8

by Mark Waid and Walter Simonson

I wanted to read this arc so badly, because Waid's Hulk is actually really good! I just can't tolerate Walter Simonson's art. At ALL.

ANTI-WISH LIST

CATWOMAN ANNUAL #1

by Ann Nocenti and Adrian Syaf

Nocenti has ruined Catwoman. So why would anyone pay $5 for more Nocenti Catwoman?

(still not as bad as Superior Spider-Man)

Justice League #20 Review

JUSTICE LEAGUE #20

by Geoff Johns, Gene Ha, and  Gary Frank

It's... the TALE OF DESPEREAUX-- I mean, Despero.

So, Justice League #20 focuses on the 3 (or 4 if you count Firestorm as two people) new recruits of the Justice League. And it's a really, really weird issue. It cuts back  and forth between Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman talking about the Kryptonite Ring, and the newbies fighting Despero. The Despero fight steals the show, as it's awesome watching the three heroes banter back and forth (Element Woman is my new favorite character. "Well you could breath me instead!"). However, it's so boring and enraging reading about Supes, Bats and WW just talking about the ring, and not doing anything about the  big alien monster trying to tear the Watchtower from the sky. And a lot of the dialogue in these scenes are horrible. But in the end, Johns redeems himself in a reveal I legitimately did not see coming, and a fun Martian Manhunter cameo.

JL #20 is drawn by Gene Ha, who drew one of my favorite issues of the series (#7, #8 is really good too). His art looks absolutely beautiful, as it shines with a digital sheen but looks pure comic booky. However, the fill-in art of Andres Guinaldo and Joe Prado detracts from much of the book. Now, I'll admit, I actually thought Ivan Reis was drawing a portion of the book during Prado's scenes, but it doesn't mesh with Ha's art. The transition is really bad, and the differences are VERY noticeable. 

Now, the Shazam backup is supposedly at its high point... BUT NOTHING HAPPENS. Not even a single punch is thrown! They just waste time by showing a little bit more of Black Adam's origin, and Billy turns into Shazam again. That's literally all you need to know. But at least Gary Frank's art looks good!

Justice League #20 is an okay issue. It's still not as good as some issues of the series are, and I know Johns is capable of telling a better story. Thankfully, it's worth it just to look at Gene Ha's art.

STORY: 3.5/5

+ The  newbies steal the show

+ Fun Martian Manhunter cameo

+ Unexpected traitor

- Really bad dialogue between Superman, Batman and Wonder  Woman

- Poorly done scenes with the Trinity

- Lack of other JL members

ART: 4/5

+ Both artists look very good

+ Gene Ha's art is awesome

- Jarring transition

BACKUP: 1.5/5

+ Gary Frank's art

- EVERYTHING ELSE

VERDICT: 3/5

The Green Team #1 Review

THE GREEN TEAM #1

by Art Baltazar, Franco and Ig Guara

A car that runs on Internet traffic? That sounds pretty cool. A city underwater? Ridiculous!

The Green Team #1 is the sister title to The Movement, displaying the 1%'s side of the entire DCU version of Occupy Wall Street. Now, I haven't read the Movement #1 due to it being unavailable at my comic shop. Now, this was a damn good book. This defied ALL expectations. Art Baltazar and Franco make their debut writing a full blown DC comic, and they deliver in spades. Trust me, if this duo keep it up, they're going to be the next Geoff Johns! In the first issue, they introduce an instantly likable group of characters. Much of this issue is spent on character introduction, making it feel a bit slow at first, but the story picks back up in the end, as the !@#$ hits the fan. Now, the duo can really write lovable characters, as you'll find yourself instantly getting attached to the charismatic Commadore, the clumsy Mohammed (can you name a Middle Eastern character something that ISN'T Mohammed? Please) and the surprisingly soft spoken Cecilia. And her pet, Bubbles. 

Ig Guara's art is just OK. Now, it's nowhere near as boring as Jorge Lucas's art in Batman Inc #11, but it's flawed. First, the positive. Guara's art is colorful, energetic and his art helps lend a hand to making the characters so delightful. However, he screws up on some facial expressions, sometimes making them look deformed and wonky, and his work can look a little cluttered as well. However, the art does it's job, even if it is more suited for a slightly better artist.

The Green Team #1 is a hit, and you can bet that I'm adding this to my pull list.

STORY: 5/5

+ Character driven

+ The cast is very likable

+ Interesting ideas

+ Bubbles. Just look at that thing!

ART: 3/5

+ Very colorful and energetic

+ Perfectly suits the story

- Some off facial expressions

- Can get cluttered

VERDICT: 4/5

Batman Incorporated #11 Review

BATMAN INCORPORATED #11

by Chris Burnham and Jorge Lucas

The Bat-Alarm is the most terrifying thing in the world. I mean, imagine you're just in the middle of doing something, chillaxing and stuff. AND SUDDENLY Batman's face just pops up everywhere. Yeah, beyond horrifying.

The last of Batman Inc had Batman ready to kick ass, head into Leviathan's base, and give us some closure with Damian's death. And now... We catch up with Mr. Unknown, aka Batman Japan. What the hell! The DC Editorial staff really know how to kill a party. Grant Morrison ended the last issue with an awesome cliffhanger, and I was counting down the days until #11 shipped... But instead we got this. Now, in all honesty, this is actually a very good story. Chris Burnham has thrown more than one awesome moment into this 20-page package, and the fun doesn't let up. He writes some very good back-and-forth dialogue, and well... Things get progressively crazy as the story goes on. The reason the story isn't getting the best rating it could have, is because it killed the main story. 

The art isn't anything spectacular, but it looks good either way. Jorge Lucas's style is like a cross between Japanese manga (suitably) and an old Silver Age comic. The art definitely could have been better, but it's not bad.

Batman Incorporated #11 was actually a pretty good comic... To bad it interrupted the main story at the worse time possible.

STORY: 3/5

+ Absolutely crazy

+ Good characterization

+ More fun that a boatload of monkeys

- Interrupts the main story

- I WANT MORE OF THE REST OF THE SUPER YOUNG TEAM!

ART: 3/5

+ Looks like manga, which is suitable for the Japanese setting

+ Retro

- Nothing amazing

VERDICT: 3/5

Uncanny X-Men #6 Review

UNCANNY X-MEN #6

by Brian Michael Bendis and Frazer Irving

Magneto carries nails around as a makeshift weapon... Why didn't I think of that?

When I read this issue of UXM, I found myself in shock at how good it was. That's not to say the series sucked before this but... This kicked some serious ass! Bendis has perfectly balanced the humor and the dark tone of the book (about the same tone of the Avengers film) making this a very fun book. He nails the many distinct voices of the characters, and to be honest, he's actually made Emma Frost TOLERABLE. I'll  admit, I didn't like the aspect of Dormammu as an X-Men villain, but Bendis makes it work. My only problem, is that the Dazzler thing seems to be a random development in the plot, and kind of out of place.

Marvel, can you please just keep Frazer Irving on this book? For like, forever? Irving's art is chaotic, funny, beautiful, sometimes all three at once, and it's a perfect reminder as to why he's one of my favorite artists in the biz. While it is a bit flat, he makes the 2D feel work for his advantage, giving his art a very epic feel.

With issue 6, Uncanny X-Men has found its groove. And it's groove is awesome.

STORY: 4/5

+ Makes the funny/dark tone work perfectly

+ Great dialogue

+ Makes Emma Frost tolerable

+ Awesome action

- The Dazzler thing's kind of weird

ART: 5/5

+ Chaotic, and awesome

+ Feels epic

VERDICT: 4.5/5

Nightwing #20 Review

NIGHTWING #20

by Kyle Higgins and Brett Booth

Anyone notice the reverse-fan service  going on in this series? I mean, there are a ridiculous amount of shots of Nightwing's ass. 

Nightwing #20 continues the series recent trend of getting better with each issue. Kyle Higgins has set up a pretty complex mystery, and has introduced a fun little villain named the Prankster who's all kinds of kick-ass. Higgins nails Dick's voice, and  does a better job of establishing his new supporting cast. I'm curious to see where the Tony Zucco plot goes, and one of my favorite things about the book is how a simple change in locale can shake up the series so much.

Brett Booth's art is much improved here. While I'm still not a fan of Booth's style, I must admit it's getting better. And even though I don't like his drawings, I have to admit, it looks like he's having a blast drawing this. I noticed a few coloring errors, like Zucco's hair going blond in one shot, and then back to black in another, but they're pretty minor. 

If Nightwing continues to get better, I think DC could have it's answer to Marvel's Daredevil in just a few months. It's THAT good.

STORY: 5/5

+ Higgins does a much better job with his supporting cast

+ He nails the dialogue

+ Surprisingly layered plot

+ The Prankster makes for a great villain

ART: 3.5/5

 + Booth has fun drawing Nightwing

+ Very energetic

- Personally not a fan of the style

- Some small coloring mistakes

VERDICT: I hate giving out these scores that are off of my 10-point scale, but...

4.25/5

Red Hood and the Outlaws #20 Review

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #20

by James Tynion and Julius Gopez

Due to it being a light week, I decided to give Tynion and Gopez one more chance of putting Red Hood on my pull list. Did they succeed? Or is it worse without Lobdell?

So, Red Hood and the Outlaws #20 picks up precisely where #19 left off: With Jason's mind wiped clean of his memories. Now, Tynion just CANNOT write Jason. But surprisingly, he writes Roy and Kori so well, to the point where Tynion would be my first choice of a writer if either of them got their own series. Now, Jason's actions are just ridiculously out of character, and even his dialogue in the flashbacks suck. But the biggest sin the book commits, is the tone. I hated the happy-go-lucky tone of Lobdell's run, and it does NOT work for Todd and his band of bros. And Starfire. However, Tynion despite its slow pace, this issue does have a considerably larger amount of ups than the last. For one thing, I will give Tynion credit for making it fun. It was a blast to read, even with its major flaws. And I can tell he's building up towards bigger things.

I do NOT like Julius Gopez's art. At all. Everyone looks like either Vin Diesel, or  a Mad Magazine caricature. As with last month, the colors here are drop dead gorgeous, and it's a shame that a better artist isn't putting it to better use. Also, some of the action seems stiff. But there is a panel that I just love towards the end. It's a graceful and straight up beautiful panel of a foot simply connecting with someone's face at 60 miles per hour. 

Red Hood and the Outlaws #20 is a fun read, albeit flawed and with some awkward art.

STORY: 3.5/5

+ Starfire and Arsenal are very well written

+ Despite my gripes with the tone, Tynion does his best to make the book fun

+ He's building towards bigger things

- I hate his writing of Todd

- The light tone is not for me

ART: 2.5/5

+ The one panel almost redeemed all of the atrocities in the world

+ The colors are some of the best, almost Eisner worthy

- Everything else

VERDICT: 3/5

Batgirl #20 Review

BATGIRL #20

by Gail Simone and Daniel Sempere

I decided to give Batgirl another chance. And look where that got me.

Batgirl #20 starts with a two-page sequence that could have been chilling and creepy... But really just sucked. Sadly, it just gets worse from there. First off, Batgirl's voice doesn't even sound right, and to think months ago, Simone's biggest strength was her characterization. And then, the Ventriloquist. She had the potential to be the next creepy-ass villain to the Bat-Family, but in the end, she's just poorly written and is cannon fodder. Even worse is the random inclusion of Knightfall, another boring antagonist from a few issues back. Also, reading Suicide Squad #20 takes out a lot of the emotion that could have been taken from the ending. 

Daniel Sempere's art is so boring and generic, that I was yawning my way through the book, when paired with the already suckish story. I mean, Sempere doesn't lend a single ounce of creepiness to the opening two pages, and doesn't do anything special with the fight scene. The colors do look OK, but they're nothing astonishing, and really don't help the art.

Batgirl #20 is just bad. I mean, it's not even laughably bad. If I could go back in time, and find the trees that provided the paper for this sack of crap, and would cut them down, burn them, and spread the ashes around the world. But since time travel doesn't exist (YET), I would settle for just burning every copy of this atrocity.

STORY: .5/5

+ The opening scene had potential, just like the rest of this book...

- ...but Simone wastes it all.

- Batgirl acts very uncharacteristically and stupidly.

- The Ventriloquist is another boring villain

-Why is Knightfall even envolved in this?

- The ever so awesome Suicide Squad #20 takes away any emotion from the ending

ART: 1/5

+ The colors are... Okay, I guess?

- It retains the look the series has become famous for. Not that that's a good thing...

- It's really nothing special.

VERDICT: Because I'm not a terrible person... 1/5

Supergirl #20 Review

SUPERGIRL #20

by Michael Alan Nelson and Mahmud Asrar

Supergirl vs Glados? Oh god, yes.

Supergirl #20 marks Michael Alan Nelson's first issue on the title, and I'm really impressed. First of all, I'm sure I'm not the only one who imagined Sanctuary with an Ellen McLain voice. C'mon you guys, who else did that? Raise your hands. OK, I'm a little confused as to how Supergirl and Power Girl are best friends, but that's really the only flaw I found with the writing. Both characters are written beautifully, and it's hard not liking either of them. Also, Sanctuary is a hilarious new villain, who genuinely had me chuckling at least twice through the book. I mean, politely asking Kara to kill herself is pure Glados behavior their, and it works perfectly. Now, I've only read the first 7 issues of Supergirl, and this works as a great springboard into series. I was able to jump in without feeling confused.

Mahmud Asrar's artwork suits the story perfectly. It's dark when it needs to be, and funny when it needs to be. It feels a lot like Rafael Albuquerque's American Vampire work. He draws Supergirl beautifully without going into cheesecake territory, and his rendering of the Kryptonian architecture looks awe-inspiring. The colors don't hurt things either. 

Supergirl #20 is a sleeper hit. I'm surprised Michael Alan Nelson's first issue didn't get more coverage from DC, because this ain't bad at all.

STORY: 4/5

+ Great character work

+ Sanctuary is a hilarious villain

+ Very intriguing

+ Perfect jumping on point

- Why are Supergirl and Power Girl suddenly just teaming up?

ART: 5/5

+ Suits the story

+ Always matches the tone

+ Good looking colors

+ Nice rendition of Krptonian technology

VERDICT: 4.5/5

Pull List: 5/15/13

I'll be doing a shortened pull list this week, without images, mainly because I've been so freaking busy... So, without further ado, here we go! (I should be uploading full pull lists again by next week.

BATGIRL #20 by Gail Simone and Fernando Pasarin- So, the Ventriloquist is coming to the New 52. Sounds promising.

BATWOMAN #20 by JH Williams and Trevor McCarthy- Decided to give this series another  try, with them starting a new arc and all.

NIGHTWING #20 by Kyle Higgins and Brett Booth- Nightwing has been on the rise lately, with the creepy DOTF tie-in, and last week's awesome  issue.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #20 by James Tynion and Julius Gopez- All right, Tynion, you get one more chance, but only because Jason is awesome.

SUPERGIRL #20 by Michael A. Nelson and Mahmud Asrar- So, Michael A. Nelson is coming on board. Sounds fun.

Batman and Red Hood #20 Review

BATMAN AND RED HOOD #20

by Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Cliff Richards

Batman, why are you being a Shane to Jason? 

So, Batman and Red Hood #20 is the second part of the "Five Stages of Grief" arc, and I think it's much better than the last issue. Here, we start out with Carrie Kelly giving back most of the money she got from Bruce in the last issue, only to be escorted out by Alfred... Who offers her a part time job watching Titus. Later, Batman and Red Hood go out to take out a merc team who tried to kill Damian in the earlier issues of Batman Inc, and then the crap hits the fan. First off, people have been criticizing this series for Batman's uncharacteristic and crazy behavior. I think, it actually works for the series. I mean, the man just lost his son! And after all Batman's been through over the New 52, you'd think Bats would finally hit his breaking point. Now, I hate the fact that just when we thought the relationship between the family and Jason was starting to patch itself back up, it's torn back down here for surprising reasons. That's what I didn't like about this. We're back to square one. But besides that, I love Tomasi's characterization for Jason (If Tynion still can't make RHATO good, I hope DC goes to Tomasi). 

Now, I love Patrick Gleason's art, but when it gets interrupted with a fill-in artist, a lot of the power of his work is lost. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciated that Cliff Richards tried to imitate Gleason's artwork, but I think it would have worked better if DC gave Gleason this entire issue, then the next, entirely to Richards. The transition between the two artists was jarring, but not as bad as it could have been if Richards used the style he used in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. Also, it seems like the amount of detail on Red Hood's mask changes from page to page with both Richards and Gleason, and it gets kind of annoying. 

Batman and Red Hood #20 could have been a great issue of it weren't for the artistic missteps it takes throughout. Pick it up, but don't expect to remember it for years to come.

STORY: 4/5

+ Tomasi does a nice job handling Red Hood
+ Awesome action scenes

+ Batman's erratic behavior makes sense if you think about it

- Everything Jason and the Bats worked for is torn down

ART: 3/5

+ Patrick Gleason's pages look nice

+ Cliff Richards does his best impression of Gleason

- Jarring transition

- Richards takes a LOT out of Gleason's pages

- Red Hood's mask is a Transformer

VERDICT: 3.5/5 

Suicide Squad #20 Review

SUICIDE SQUAD #20

by Ales Kot and Patrick Zircher

DC, y u no give us a solo King Shark series???

OK, Suicide Squad #20 is a creative team change that truly does justice to these characters. While the issue is mostly devoted to seeing the team spend their downtime, there is a LOT of blood. My favorite scene was when Unknown Soldier just went Eli Roth from Inglorious Basterds on Voltiac. Yeah. Awesome. Also, King Shark is portrayed as a sympathetic character here, which I think really works for him. Something I noticed: It seems like Kot essentially gives Harley a Deadpool characterization, and surprisingly, it clicks. However, the thing I LOVED about the issue, was the ending that really caught me off guard. My jaw actually dropped when I figured out who the mystery character was, and believe, you people won't be disappointed. Kot infuses a lot of Secret Six morbid humor and I love it.

Patrick Zircher's art style reminds me of a cross between Ivan Reis and Cliff Richards, and works for the issue. It matches the tone, and he does a great job with the bloodier scenes. My only gripe is that he makes some characters, like Deadshot and Voltiac, look very similar. In other words, he has first stage Jim Lee Syndrome. 

I hate Ales Kot for forcing me to add another book to my pull list. This is a very dark issue, but it's also one of the best books I've read this week.

STORY: 5/5

+ YES! A DECENT SUICIDE SQUAD STORY!

+ Harley Quinn=Deadpool=Awesome

+ I did not see the twist coming

+ King Shark is awesome.

+ Unknown Soldier IS Eli Roth

ART: 4/5

+ Does a great job with the bloody scenes

+ Matches the story's tone

- Jim Lee Syndrome

VERDICT: 4.5/5

Batman #20 Review

BATMAN #20

by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo

I think Bruce Wayne likes Star Wars a bit too much...

Batman #20 marks the end of a fun little 2-issue mini-arc for the series that stars Clayface. The entire arc has a much more light-hearted tone than the first two stories in the series, and I've rather enjoyed that. However, this issue has a LOT of problems. First off, the story jumps around everywhere. I mean, I had no idea the last confrontation with Clayface took place after  the opening of #19 until halfway through it. Also, Clayface came off as a very poor and uninteresting villain. I mean, the flower guy from the #19 flashback seemed more interesting! Despite all this, I will admit, it had a "D'aww!" worthy ending, with one of the better "Damian mourning" scenes so far.

Greg Capullo's art looks great here, especially with Danny Miki's finishes. There are some annoying continuity issues here and there (Didn't Gordon get shot AND run over in the last issue?), but it looks as awesome as ever.

The backup story serves as a fun diversion AND a wasted opportunity. Alex Maleev's art looks great, but didn't suit the B:TAS tone. I also felt Superman was useless throughout the entire backup arc, and it had a rather boring conversation at the end.

Batman #20 is an issue you can easily skip, but if you buy it, you'll get two mediocre stories that you won't remember in about 1 hour. Wait, already forgot.

STORY: 2.5/5

+ A nice little ending

+ It's... Fun? I guess? Sort of?

- Clayface sucks as a villain

- Nothing stands out. At all.

ART: 4.5/5

+ It's freaking Greg Capullo!

+ The colors look awesome

- Some minor continuity errors

BACKUP: 2/5

+ Alex Maleev's art looks great, though out of place

- Superman has become Aquaman

- Maleev's art is out of place

- A boring ending

VERDICT: 3/5

Detective Comics #20 Review

DETECTIVE COMICS #20

by John Layman, Jason Fabok and Andy Clarke

Tell me, Emperor Penguin. WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WANT TO BE A FOOTNOTE?

Detective Comics #20 is the conclusion to the Emperor Penguin storyline, and it's actually pretty good. Yes, the final fight seems kind of rushed, but it's a bucket of fun. I mean, who doesn't enjoy seeing Batman being Batman and kicking the snot out of people? Layman's writing is back to its usual top notch quality. His fleshing out of the Penguin seems cheesy at first, but if you read the issue again, you see his logic for his actions here. I love Layman's characterization of Batman. It feels like classic Dark Knight, almost something out of B:TAS (a show I compare this to too much). 

Jason Fabok's art looks absolutely great. The opening splash page is a piece of artwork I would buy if I had the cash, and the fight outside of the Cobblepot Mansion is brutal. 

However, the backup story is (again) the issue's weakpoint. Oglivy's origin is meant to be a mirror of Bruce's, but sorry, we've already been there with both Owlman and Prometheus. Also, Boss is a boring character, and Oglivy's proclamation at the end is well... Laughable. The only saving grace of it is Andy Clarke's art which keeps it readable.

Detective Comics #20 goes back to the basics of the first parts of Layman's run, and avoids the flaws made by his later issues. Well, most of them. 

STORY: 4/5

+ Satisfying conclusion
+ Love Cobblepot and Batman's characterization

- The final fight feels rather rushed

ART: 5/5

+ Jason Fabok. Yes

+ Brutal and awesome

+ The opening splash is great

BACKUP: 2/5

+ Andy Clarke's art keeps it readable

- Really? Emperor Blackgate?

- I won't miss the Boss. At all.

- Emperor Penguin is NOT Prometheus

VERDICT: 3.5/5

Iron Man 3 Review (Warning: Spoilers)

IRON MAN 3

So, Iron Man 3. The start of the summer movie season. Now, summer movies have a rule. If the movie that kicks off the season is one of the best movies of the year, the movies that follow have to be just as good or better. And Iron Man 3 is the best Iron Man to date, and one of the best Marvel movies yet.

THE PLOT

Iron Man 3 is both, the darkest and the funniest of the IM Trilogy, if that makes any sense. The story goes into some really dark territory after the first act, and explores themes like suicide, and stem cell growth. IM3 is loosely based on Warren Ellis and Adi Granov's awesome "Extremis" storyline, and it's presence can be felt greatly. Imagine that story, but on a much larger scale, and a whole lot of Mallens. However, no matter how dark the movie gets, the humor just doesn't stop, and we get even more laughs than we got out of the Avengers. Some of the actions are pretty damn good, including a mind-blowing and epic final fight that had me cheering by the time I realized what was going to happen. One of my favorite moments involves a scene where Tony is kidnapped, and tries to escape, only to provide unintentional entertainment for his captors. Then, there's the massive twist with the Mandarin. This is either going to really piss off or really tickle the funny bone of the audience. I for one, was the former, as for me, it was one of the biggest highlights of the film, and the jokes it lead had me cracking up even as I walked out of the theater. Now, in the first Iron Man, one of the joys of watching it was seeing Stark use his MacGyver-like ingenuity, and the larger focus on action. This was absent in Iron Man 2 (which in my opinion, is only slightly better than Batman Forever), which made that such a chore to watch. I'm glad to see it back here, as the assault on the Mandarin's palace was pretty cool. Also, it's nice to see Pepper actually do something useful and play a larger role. My one gripe with the film is Guy Pierce's character, Adrian Killich (I think?). He seems like a cross between Obidiah Stane from IM1, and Sam Rockwell's character from IM2, and ends up coming across as a boring and generic villain. I'll give credit to the writers for trying to give him a backstory, but in the end, it just comes off as forced.

ACTING

All of the acting in the film is top-notch. Robert Downey Jr's performance as Stark is (as usual) AWESOME. Downey Jr. IS Tony Stark. If Downey Jr. does end up continuing his role as Stark for a few more movies, his grave is going to say Tony Stark on it, and his epitah will say "I am Iron Man." Yeah. He's that good. Other stand-out performances are Ben Kingsley's threatening and hilarious Mandarin, Jon Favereu's Happy Hogan (the Phil Coulson of the film), and Don Cheadle (or as I call him, Better Terrance Howard) as Rhodey. 

ACTION

The action in this movie is beyond epic. The smaller fights in this movie are just as cool as the finale to the Avengers, and the climax of this movie is even more thrilling. The only fight I like as much was the assault on the Malibu house, and even that was pretty fun at the least. 

COMEDY

Stan Lee's cameo. 'Nuff said.

THE VERDICT

Beyond the movie's boring villain, I've got to say, this is the closest we've gotten to a perfect superhero movie since either "The Dark Knight Rises" or "Kick-Ass" (Don't kill me!). It's funny, action packed, dark, well-paced, and above all... Tony Stark-- I mean, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. What more could you want? 

FINAL RATING: 4.75/5

Swamp Thing #20 Review

SWAMP THING #20

by Charles Soule and Kano

So what? Scarecrow is the new Larfleeze?

So, Swamp Thing #19 was our introduction to discount Scott Snyder and Yannick Paquette... Or so I thought. On my second read of Soule's introductory issue, it hit me. Soule and Kano were trying there best to make this book their own, but try to keep some of what made Snyder's run great in the first place. They continue that trend in #20, but they continue to shape the book to be their own. Soule does a terrific way of working Superman into this issue without making it feel forced or tacked on. Soule provides some interesting insight into not only Holland, but the Man of Steel himself. The dialogue here is actually some of the most well written I've seen this year so far since Green Arrow #17. The fact that Soule writes Superman better than the current writers of the primary Super-books (Diggle [who's actually not THAT bad] and Lobdell [who's actually THAT bad]) makes me doubt DC's editorial decisions of putting those two writers on the Superman's adventures. Back on subject, Soule uses Scarecrow as comic relief, and surprisingly, it worked. Come on, raise your hand if you at least chuckled when Swamp Thing grabbed Scarecrow as he tried to get away during his serious talk with Supes. Yeah, me too. The only things I didn't like about the writing were the nightmare sequences which are slightly written in a way that new fans won't appreciate, and the cliffhanger seems a little dull. Also, keep in mind that there's much more focus on Superman than Swamp Thing in this issue. I'm not complaining, just saying.

Kano's art looks much better this time around. He's very suited for this kind of cross between classic DC superhero and British revolution Vertigo. The pencil work during the bridge scene is just spectacular, and is the kind of thing you'd expect from a Superman artist. Also, Kano manages to keep the slower parts of the issue entertaining, and his drawings of the nightmares (especially the Christmas tree one) are quite unsettling at times.

Swamp Thing #20 is a major improvement from the good Swamp Thing #19. Soule and Kano prove that we don't need no stinking Snyder/Paquette, and the book will do fine without the two.

STORY: 4/5

+ Great character work for both, Supes and Swampy

+ Well written dialogue

+ Scarecrow works as comic relief

+ Is a better Superman story than the current storylines in Action Comics and Superman

- The nightmares will make little sense to those who used #19 as a jumping on point

- The cliffhanger is lackluster

ART: 4.5/5

+ Kano gets surprisingly close to drawing an archetypal Superman

+ The nightmares can look pretty damn unsettling

VERDICT: 4.5/5