Comic reviews - 11/27
Nov. 28th, 2013 11:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkTMNT #29
City Fall is finally over?! Hell yes, City Fall is finally over!
I don't know, man. Maybe it's just me, but I've become less and less enthusiastic about City Fall as time has gone on. I think part of it is just that it's too predictable; it was clear that the arc was going to end with an epic battle that results in Leo regaining his senses and the turtles (and friends) either beating or escaping from the Foot. Which is exactly what happened. There were only two things that surprised me:
(1) Alopex turning on Shredder. Yes, they set up for it in her microseries, but it was just so out of the blue at that moment and just so conveniently timed to interrupt Shredder killing Splinter. In general, though, Alopex has about as much personality as a wet piece of paper, so it's kind of hard to say she's acting OOC when she doesn't really have a...personality to begin with.
(2) Shredder revealing the whole Leo brainwashing event was just to test Karai to make sure she was worthy of being his second-in-command. Uh...sorry, no. That's just way too convoluted a plan for such a simple motive. Also, considering Shredder hates Splinter's guts, he passed up on a lot of opportunities to hurt the Hamato family even more with brainwashed Leo. Yeah, no. I'm going to rule this out as terrible writing.
The one thing I'm really glad about is that we can finally get the Northampton arc. I'm a huge fan of Ross Campbell's art, and also I'm hoping for some introspective character development goodness to come out of the next four issues. (Is it too much to expect that, considering I've been pretty meh about the series as a whole so far? Maybe.)
Teen Titans #25
I've been waiting for this issue eagerly, though it ended up being a little anticlimactic. Teen Titans has been hinting at Kid Flash's past for issues and issues now, and #25 was still more of a prologue. At least I can be pretty confident that issue #26 is when the flashbacks will finally, actually begin. Though this issue did confirm my theory that New52!Bart Allen is a combination of Impulse and Inertia—or, to be exact, he used to be "Inertia" and now he's more "Impulse." Which is like a kind of mythology gag, because now Bart is/was his own evil clone. (Random detail: I love the ongoing motif of Wonder Girl carrying around incapacitated male team members. :) )
Aquaman #25
I was kind of meh on the whole "King of the Seven Seas" arc, but this issue ended with a bang. The art is great, Aquaman emerging unscathed from an underwater vent (?) was badass, and Arthur and Mera's relationship was, as usual, fantastic. It did seem a bit rushed to me; after Mera claims she can't stay with Arthur to rule Atlantis, it only takes her one page (literally!) to change her mind. But I can't fault Johns for wanting a happy ending, and it's nice to have ONE series in the New 52 where the protagonist has a stable, romantic relationship.
Also, I really liked the epilogue with Orm. I'm completely unfamiliar with Orm/Ocean Master from pre-New 52, but I think his character is pretty complex and interesting here. I loved the way his brotherly relationship with Arthur was explored in "Throne of Atlantis," especially since we're pretty used to the evil brother trope. I totally did not expect Orm to stay on land with the lady he rescued during his Villains' Month issue at the end of #25. Yeah yeah, the whole "love makes you a better person" is cliché, but I still like the way being around Erin and her son makes Orm question himself about returning to Atlantis, it's such a great conflict for his character to have. I have my fingers crossed that (a) Erin becomes a long-term character and isn't just forgotten about, (b) she isn't fridged, and (c) we'll see more struggle/character development for Orm. (There needs to be more and more complex exploration of sibling relationships in the DCU.)
Though I do have to say, I'm dying for more information about what happened with Arthur from the time he first visited Atlantis, to his stint with the Outsiders, to when he met Mera, to when he decided not to be king of Atlantis. So many gaps and question marks...
City Fall is finally over?! Hell yes, City Fall is finally over!
I don't know, man. Maybe it's just me, but I've become less and less enthusiastic about City Fall as time has gone on. I think part of it is just that it's too predictable; it was clear that the arc was going to end with an epic battle that results in Leo regaining his senses and the turtles (and friends) either beating or escaping from the Foot. Which is exactly what happened. There were only two things that surprised me:
(1) Alopex turning on Shredder. Yes, they set up for it in her microseries, but it was just so out of the blue at that moment and just so conveniently timed to interrupt Shredder killing Splinter. In general, though, Alopex has about as much personality as a wet piece of paper, so it's kind of hard to say she's acting OOC when she doesn't really have a...personality to begin with.
(2) Shredder revealing the whole Leo brainwashing event was just to test Karai to make sure she was worthy of being his second-in-command. Uh...sorry, no. That's just way too convoluted a plan for such a simple motive. Also, considering Shredder hates Splinter's guts, he passed up on a lot of opportunities to hurt the Hamato family even more with brainwashed Leo. Yeah, no. I'm going to rule this out as terrible writing.
The one thing I'm really glad about is that we can finally get the Northampton arc. I'm a huge fan of Ross Campbell's art, and also I'm hoping for some introspective character development goodness to come out of the next four issues. (Is it too much to expect that, considering I've been pretty meh about the series as a whole so far? Maybe.)
Teen Titans #25
I've been waiting for this issue eagerly, though it ended up being a little anticlimactic. Teen Titans has been hinting at Kid Flash's past for issues and issues now, and #25 was still more of a prologue. At least I can be pretty confident that issue #26 is when the flashbacks will finally, actually begin. Though this issue did confirm my theory that New52!Bart Allen is a combination of Impulse and Inertia—or, to be exact, he used to be "Inertia" and now he's more "Impulse." Which is like a kind of mythology gag, because now Bart is/was his own evil clone. (Random detail: I love the ongoing motif of Wonder Girl carrying around incapacitated male team members. :) )
Aquaman #25
I was kind of meh on the whole "King of the Seven Seas" arc, but this issue ended with a bang. The art is great, Aquaman emerging unscathed from an underwater vent (?) was badass, and Arthur and Mera's relationship was, as usual, fantastic. It did seem a bit rushed to me; after Mera claims she can't stay with Arthur to rule Atlantis, it only takes her one page (literally!) to change her mind. But I can't fault Johns for wanting a happy ending, and it's nice to have ONE series in the New 52 where the protagonist has a stable, romantic relationship.
Also, I really liked the epilogue with Orm. I'm completely unfamiliar with Orm/Ocean Master from pre-New 52, but I think his character is pretty complex and interesting here. I loved the way his brotherly relationship with Arthur was explored in "Throne of Atlantis," especially since we're pretty used to the evil brother trope. I totally did not expect Orm to stay on land with the lady he rescued during his Villains' Month issue at the end of #25. Yeah yeah, the whole "love makes you a better person" is cliché, but I still like the way being around Erin and her son makes Orm question himself about returning to Atlantis, it's such a great conflict for his character to have. I have my fingers crossed that (a) Erin becomes a long-term character and isn't just forgotten about, (b) she isn't fridged, and (c) we'll see more struggle/character development for Orm. (There needs to be more and more complex exploration of sibling relationships in the DCU.)
Though I do have to say, I'm dying for more information about what happened with Arthur from the time he first visited Atlantis, to his stint with the Outsiders, to when he met Mera, to when he decided not to be king of Atlantis. So many gaps and question marks...
