Jack Stewardson Comic Reviews

Overall, Absolute Evil #1 was an unexpected but welcome surprise. When it comes to stopgaps or teaser one-shots, this issue is one of the better ones. I don't know to what degree this will be relevant to the rest of the books rather than brief nods or Easter eggs, but I genuinely am curious about the intentions and plans of this Absolute Justice League.

Ultimately, while it does serve as a break in the action, Absolute Flash #8 is a little lackluster. I'm a staunch believer in superhero books prioritizing fun before plot. While this book technically fails at this, the art and design is of too high a quality to dock too many marks.

I appreciate that Lemire is really focusing on what makes this Flash different than Prime-Flashes, I wish the Rogues would do more than project energy. I will give props to Lemire for jam packing Absolute Flash #10 with plot.

While the first issue of Assorted Crisis Event intrigued me, Assorted Crisis Events #2 left me gob-smacked. Masterful work on all fronts by emerging talents is what I love to see, and this issue has it in spades.

Overall, Challengers of the Unknown continues to be an exciting inclusion to the Justice League titles. The mystery seamlessly weaves the character studies and the interconnecting plot threads of the previous issues and the rest of the JL line. The art is slick. If only somebody was paying attention to the lettering.

Ultimately, there's not much going on here that you wouldn't find in any of the other "Age of Revelation titles. The twist on Cloak and Dagger's powers isn't nearly as exciting or tragic as the book would have you believe, especially because as far as I'm concerned, none of this is canon anyways. That being said, the art does look good, albeit not ground breaking.

Death of Copra #3, while so far the most action heavy and animated of the series, is also the most messy in terms of plotting. However, the hand of the author outweighs most of the faults this book brings.

While the final issue of this four part mini doesn't exactly provide closure, it does provide a spectacle of violence that more than lives up to the title and premise. This issue will go down as one of the best in the series.

Exquisite Corpses #2 has been a true treat. It's able to differentiate itself from the headier and drearier Tynion books through its massive cast and hauntingly familiar vibe.

Exquisite Corpses #4 continues the engaging experiment in sequential art, albeit somewhat slow. There's depth to these characters and this world and the violence, when present, is ominous. I'll be curious to see how long and how far this continues, as so far only volume one of the trade has been announced.

The Rascal Randy versus Gamer Kid moment in this book takes a really subversive twist that is sold beautifully by a five-panel moment to moment page of Randy nonchalantly walking towards the traumatized Jason, patting him on his head, then continuing on past him into the corn field. It flows like magic, especially on a digital-scroll format.

Exquisite Corpses continues to be a well made package. As long the pacing keeps ramping up, and Tyrnion and Walsh don't pull any contrived plotting in the coming issues, I'll continue to be stunned by this series.

Godzilla #1 is a solid introduction to this new era of Godzilla comics. It's nice to see the "indies being able to compete with their big-two rivals. The art truly is stunning and the characters really pop, and most importantly Godzilla is awesome and does cool things. If Seeley and Cizmesija are able to sell me on Jacen, and if the lettering continues to improve, this may move closer to the top of my stack month to month.

Godzilla #1 is a solid introduction to this new era of Godzilla comics. It's nice to see the "indies being able to compete with their big-two rivals. The art truly is stunning and the characters really pop, and most importantly Godzilla is awesome and does cool things. If Seeley and Cizmesija are able to sell me on Jacen, and if the lettering continues to improve, this may move closer to the top of my stack month to month.

Overall, while I've yet again cooled on my initial hype for a modern Godzilla book, there's still enough to like here to continue reading. The art duties remain stellar, and while I'm afraid Seeley has brought some bad habits along with him from his big two work, I'm willing to be proven wrong on my assessment of future issues.

Overall, while an exciting comic visually, Godzilla #5's writing choices bring it down to a so-so experience. With plot contrivances out of the way, however, next issue promises to be more drag-out fighting, which I do look forward to.

Godzilla Heist #2 is an atomic breath of fresh air in the licensed comics scene. It delivers on a big scale kaiju action while executing on its high concept premise. While the book falls prey to some novice tendencies, there is an undeniable crackling excitement on a majority of panels on each page.

My initial enthusiasm for Godzilla Heist has grown a little weary with Godzilla: Heist #3. While a lot of the art is spectacular, the exciting stuff suffers from some amateurish linework.

It's a shame a book with such a compelling premise and start has bottomed out to a lackluster middle. The previously interesting if conventional characters have thus far slid into the realm of the bland, and we've traded fast paced Godzilla action for messily choreographed, human roughhousing. There's still one issue to turn this mechanized-lizard around, but I don't have high expectations.

Imperial War: Exiles #1 is a decent, if abrupt read. I like seeing how this aisle of the marvel cosmos engages with itself, but I do wish it went a bit zanier with the character action and art.

Ultimately, Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2 does its job as a superhero-kaiju crossover. I appreciate the editorial headache that these kinds of projects bring. Buccellato and Duce are able to bring both franchises to life in a mostly believable way, even if they don't do anything that new or groundbreaking with the material.

Shalvey delivers a strong conclusion to his Mystique mini-series; possibly the definitive ending for the character and a true epilogue to the Krakoan-era of the X-men.

Pop Kill #1 offers little in both style and substance. It's a comic that at once thinks it's smarter than it is yet not nearly as senseless as it desperately needs to be. Its influences are obvious, leaning on imitation.

While Radiant Black #31 doesn't give new readers an easy in, it is a stellar opener nonetheless. The nuanced characterization and interesting mystery hook surrounding the alternate earth refuges make it no wonder why the Radiant franchise has blossomed into what it has become.

The art is pretty solid in Titans #30. Woods has a strong grasp of anatomy in various angles and perspectives, it's really impressive. What's more is his ability to draw different, recognizable iterations of each character while maintaining his own style.

While Ultimate Hawkeye #1 is a little uneven in terms of tone, the action and conflict of the story feels right at home for an Ultimate book. Despite it perhaps being overhyped in its importance to the upcoming Ultimate Endgame,I still had a genuinely decent time reading it. I hope some elements of this character carry over into whatever future Marvel has for the Ultimates.

Ultimate Wolverine #4 presents a rare treat of superhero comics as legitimate literature. Any readers who may have been skeptical of the most popular mutant getting another prestige title can relax.

Ultimate Wolverine #5 is as fun and gritty a modern slash-em-up can get in mainstream comics. While it misses the flourishes that made the last issue a true piece of literary art, I appreciate the style and characterization this book brings nonetheless.

It's another awesome issue in the bag for Condon and Lins. Any skepticism for Marvel introducing an Ultimate book for their most popular mutant character has been dismayed. What can I say? This book is a cut above the rest.

While I'm less enthused by the plotting in Ultimate Wolverine #7, it's understandable to give these characters some space to breathe in what has been a pretty action-heavy series. Cappucio hasn't lost a step, even if the script doesn't play to his strengths.

This is is yet another example of whyUltimate Wolverineis the best Wolverine title in years. Ultimate Wolverine #8 perfectly demonstrates the strengths of the character and defines his growth in an organic and consistent fashion.

All-and-all another fine piece of covert-super-mutant-action. Condon and Cappuccio have rarely slipped on this title, and Ultimate Wolverine #10is no different.

Ultimate Wolverine continues to impress. The escalation of stakes present in Ultimate Wolverine #11, while painful, is worth applauding.

The Ultimates #10 continues the trend of delivering nuanced politics and blockbuster action into the superheroic realm that is rarely seen in the current landscape.

All and all, Ultimates #12 is another mixed bag of an issue. I wish this book had more to offer than science fiction debate. The dialogue is good, the characters are still rock solid and the art is great, but nothing happens here that I, the reader, didn't already figure out by myself months ago.

Camp and Frigeri have come back swinging on The Ultimates #13. They've managed to recapture the energy that made Ultimates such a revelation when it comes to superhero-team books. The heavy blend of class-conscious politics and medium-bending science fiction is what I've been missing.

The Ultimates #16 really grew on me the more I thought about it, a hard thing to do for a cape comic with little to no capes in it. Its place right now in the cultural moment should be championed, not ignored. I dread when this book will no longer be on the stands.

I love all the alternate designs for the Fantatstic Force and how he twists the four main archetypes. I'll be happy to see these characters return in the larger Ultimate Endgame. Not to mention the emotional gut punch of depicting the emptiness in Doom's life via the empty outlines of the rest of the Fantastic Four. It's a clever visual metaphor.

The Ultimates continues to impress, even if the new Ultimate Universe begins to lose its momentum. I'm hoping Camp and Frigeri can stick the landing on the finale, as this kind of optimistic energy can only go downhill, I fear.

The prospect of introducing a new mutant villain to the line does spark some curiosity, but the fact of the matter is this feels more like an afternoon tv-special rather than a superhero comic. I still yearn for the halcyon days of Krakoa, where it felt like anything could happen and every book bled into each other.

Wolverine: Revenge was a ripping, roller coaster of a book. While much of the actual plotting is conveyed more in dialogue or captions rather than being shown through the art, the relentless action more than makes up for this.