For this week’s Roundtable Review, the ComicsAlliance staff takes on Batman and Robin #13 for an article that bounces back and forth between brainy analysis and straight up fan gushing like Chuck Taine.
And if that’s not a nerdy reference even by the ISB’s standards, then brother, I don’t know what is.
Today at ComicsAlliance, I review one of the comics that had a big part in my decision to drop $650 on an iPad: Matt Fraction and Carmine DiGiandomenico’s Iron Man Annual!
I tried to be about as spoiler-free as you can be while still doing an actual review, but if you haven’t read it yet, you really ought to come to it cold, as there are a ton of great little surprises and beautiful moments in it that work really well with no prior knowledge. So if that’s the case, here’s the short version: This is probably the best Marvel book of the year, and everyone — everyone — should run down to their local shop and pick it up immediately.
As most readers of this blog are probably well aware by this point, Batman #700 hit the shelves yesterday, and it was our choice for this week’s ComicsAlliance Roundtable, where Laura Hudson, David Brothers, David Uzumeri, Caleb Goellner and I sit around with our Cranky Old Man hats on to talk about how this issue is more than a little bit of a letdown.
I probably come off a little more negatively in the roundtable than I actually feel; aside from some of the art, this issue isn’t terrible, but by all rights, it should be a lot better. At the same time, I re-read Batman #s 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 this week to prepare for it, and as a celebration of Batman, it’s certainly not worse than any of those, but it’s no better either. Well, except #600, where Ed Brubaker does an amazing job creating new “lost” Batman stories with gorgeous, faux-Sprang and Novick art. But the main story holds that one back its fair share. And #100, which tells the story of Batmantown.
What I was hoping for with this one was a big, grand Batman adventure, and while that’s what was delivered, it just feels–and I can’t believe I’m saying this–a little too rooted in what Morrison’s been doing in the title. Which, I suppose, is largely because Morrison wrote it. Either way, it didn’t do it for me, although there are individual pieces of it that I like a whole lot.
So go! Read! Thrill to David Uzumeri correcting me not once, but twice on Batman lore and chill as I plot my revenge!
Sometimes–most of the time, really–writing for ComicsAlliance is really fun. This is not one of those times, because today, I’ve reviewed Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal #3, which is rapidly becoming one of the most universally reviled comics of the year.
I’m a little late to the party on this one, so I tried to dig a little deeper than just the events of the issue, but for another really good take on it, check out this week’s Awesomed By Comics, where Evie and Aaron sum it up a little more eloquently than I manage.
Today on ComicsAlliance, The Great Wednesday Comics Roundtable concludes in a slightly–but only slightly–less crabby installment of the roundtable!
This time out, we tackle Strange Adventures, Supergirl, Metal Men, Wonder Woman, Sgt. Rock, The Flash, Demon and Catwoman and Hawkman, and things get even more divisive. Fortunately, Laura cut out the part where me and Uzumeri were threatening each other over Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo in Slumberland vs. Wednesday Comics’ Wonder Woman strip, so we can pretend like nothing has changed between us the next time we do an article together.
An article that, as Uzumeri has forgotten, I will surely edit before it goes to print. Think about that, David. Think very hard.
This week, DC’s huge, experimental-format Wednesday Comics hits shelves in a hardcover this week, and to mark the occasion, Laura Hudson, David Uzumeri, David Brothers and I sat down for the first part of a massive two-part roundtable review of the project!
This time out, we handle the first half of the stories–Batman, Kamandi, Superman, Deadman, Green Lantern, Metamorpho and Teen Titans–and I’ve got to admit that I probably come off as the crankiest old man in Crankyoldmantown. And just a warning: That’s not really going to change when Part 2 picks up tomorrow, but it was fun to do, and good to look back on the big project that I never really got to talk much about while it coming out.
This week, the ComicsAlliance roundtable tackles one of the biggest titles of the week: Brian Bendis and John Romita Jr.’s Avengers #1!
There are a ton of spoilers, so if you want the short version, I really didn’t care for it, but there were good bits and it’s a pretty book. If you’ve already read it (and let’s be real here, you probably have), then head on over and witness five of us ganging up on David Uzumeri, with me in particular calling him a big ol dummy! Enjoy!