Eric "djotaku" Mesa Comic Reviews

Overall, this issue is a great, fitting tribute to the past 50 years of Spider-Man. If you're into Spidey you should definitely pick up this issue. If you were worried about Spidey getting a sidekick and cursing out Dan Slott - take a read of this issue first and see if he doesn't change your mind.

It's a really good issue, but Dan Slott is doing a lot of setting up for this arc so it's not a great issue. No surprise there, it's pretty rare for the first issue of an arc to be great. We're left wondering just where this is all leading to that forces Slott into hiding. All I have to say is that if it involves Mephisto and erasing of more continuity or if we end up back at the beginning of Parker's life or something like that I will straight up stop reading this book. I know fans always threaten to stop reading, but I truly mean it. I don't have that much money for comics so if Dan Slott gives me an excuse to stop reading Spider-Man I will take it. And since there's the possibility once again of the world knowing his identity (which was also part of the non-marriage deal), I am a little wary.

The story also still has a lot of room for an interesting resolution. This issue just seems a bit repetitious in an effort to pad out the arc's length. It may well work as better as a trade because Astonishing X-Men seems to be the only X-Men book left that's not biweekly. I think that having to wait a month and then not moving the story forward by much is part of what contributes to my frustration with the pace. Still, I've read much worse X-Men stories.

This issue is a buy, but good luck finding it. My comic shop was sold out on Wednesday since everyone's been talking about the issue all over the news because of the gay marriage issue.

While this issue is nothing special, it is some of the best writing in the Avengers vs X-Men (behind Wolverine and the X-Men and New Avengers). Gage gives a good mix of humor and drama. While I have found some of the kid's dialog and actions to be slightly off, it's no better or worse than the way young people are usually portrayed in comics. I don't normally give shoutouts to the colorists, but Chris Sotomayor does a great job here. It matches the tone really well and the nice clean colors really work. The difference in the tones from most of the book to the last page work really well.If you've been reading the series - there's no reason not to pick this issue up. It wraps up nicely in a not-so-predictable way. You might see the ending coming, but the way they get there is pretty fun. If you haven't been reading, this issue is not a good jumping on point. Wait for the next issue.

Having only read Snyder in arcs that were all building up for a long time like The Black Mirror in Detective Comics or The Court of Owls in Batman I wasn't sure how he'd do with this #0 issue. It turned out to be great because Snyder is such a Batman fan. The pages oozed with his happiness at being able to tell the stories of Bruce/Batman's past.

This really is the worst issue to pick up if you haven't been reading Batman since the New 52 relaunch. While the writing and art remain very tight in this issue, a lot of the impact of the payoff is lost if you haven't been along for the ride for the past ten months. I'd recommend getting the first trade and then catching up with back issues from your local comic shop. If not, make sure you're there for the next arc because Snyder has promised to top even this one.

You really need to be reading this book! If you missed the last issue and can't find a physical copy, make sure you buy one digitally on ComiXology. (It'll be a dollar cheaper anyway since you waited a month).

I love what Tomasi has done so far, but I'm curious what kinds of adventures he imagines for the Dynamic Duo going forward. It would have been great as mini-series, but I'm not sure how well it continues going forward.

If you aren't reading Chew you're crazy! Go get some trades or get the issues on ComiXology and get caught up!

Right now I'm pretty on the fence about the this book. It could go either way. The story has a lot of promise, but I'm hoping it will start paying off in the next issue.

If you're looking for something different to read, you should give Damsels a shot. I know I'm looking forward to seeing if it can continue to improve in my view in the next few issues.

I think this is definitely a book to follow and it looks like we'll be getting deeper into the story starting with the next issue. So definitely make sure to jump on then.

If youre looking for a great art book, Frank Cho: Women Book 2 is a great book that has a lot to offer. It has workflows, pinups, covers images, and studies. There are great artists that are amazing at drawing facial expressions - key in the comic medium. There are others who excel at drawing bodies in action. Others can take a very cartoony look and still wring pathos from the images. But I dont think there are too many comic artists out there that have mastered the realistic female form from head to toe as well as Frank Cho.

This mini-series is really great. If you want something gritty - truly gritty not "gritty" as in "look at us - we added blood and sex in the New 52", but gritty in the noir way, then you need to be reading this. If I had to find fault - sometimes the dialog can waiver into cheesy territory, but it's pretty rare. The great thing is that nowadays you can use ComiXology to catch up if your comic shop doesn't have the first two issues.

In the end, Marvel will probably still get money from me because now I'm leaning towards collecting the trades of Bendis' New Avengers run. Still, what was there was good and I enjoyed reading it. I'd recommend it if you're reading any part of the Avengers vs the X-Men. Just, caveat emptor - this cover has NOTHING to do with what happens inside.

The writing continues to be superb in this issue. Hickman does a good job of ensuring that each character has a specific personality and way of speaking. All too often writers with large casts end up writing everyone too similarly, especially fringe characters. Pitarra's art continues to give this book a feel that's unique among all the comics I read. If you're a fan of science fiction and of World War II history, I continue to recommend this series. The first two issues have gone through a number of printings so chances are good that you can find them and get caught up - and I suggest that you do! You won't be disappointed.

I still recommend this book, but I do hope that Hickman gets on with it and starts the story proper in which there are events that span more than one issue - and feel incomplete that way.

When it comes to Hickman, you really need to be careful where you jump in because he usually is spinning a lot of plates at once, plot-wise. It makes for brilliant stories, but these are stories that need to be read from the beginning. It's a bit quirky so it's a must-buy for fans of the series, a pretty good recommendation if you're a Hickman fan, but I can't universally recommend it for everyone the way I could with a good Dan Slott Amazing Spider-Man.

Nick Pitarras art continues to be perfect for the book. Most importantly for this issue, Pitarra really nails the facial expressions of the characters. Not only are the two sides at war with each other, but some of them are also insulting each other as they fight and the facial expressions are key to making their interactions realistic. Interestingly, this is the first issue I can remember that doesnt have a section thats colored entirely in blue or red. But there is a key palette change that signals when a key change happens.When this issue ended I was more excited than ever to see where it would go. There are still so many loose ends to tie up and if you throw in what happened in this issue - I think things could be exciting for quite a few months to come.

If you like a good comic book story, but LOVE a good comic book story that takes the comic book to an artform and truly uses everything unique about comics to tell a story then you will love this issue. It also makes a very good jumping on point. From the way it's written and with the intro in the first few pages, you almost need to know nothing else about The Manhattan Projects to enjoy this issue.

It's hard to tell just where Peter David is going with this story arc. It definitely has the feel of an arc that will read very well when it's collected, but the threads seem so loose right now. Even the villains we saw in the first couple issues with Guido and Rahne have disappeared for the past two issues. And an earlier plot point with a few villains in an ice fortress seems to either be forgotten (unlikely) or I've somehow missed how they've been used because of the disruptive nature of comic book releases. I like how it seems that everything is spiraling out of control, but I'm hoping Peter David starts tying it together soon.