Express Review – Immortal Hulk 42

The Immortal Hulk 42 is scratching my comic itches, and it took me a little while to put the elements together. The writing is solid with good dialogue that moves you through the story and keeps a good pace. Al Ewing (the writer) seems to be laying a foundation for the next issue as there wasn't much action in this one, but something interesting is happening with the Jackie McGee character that could make this a Key issue or at least preluding to one in the next couple of months.

The art was slightly mashed as the credits show four artists working on this standard 28-page issue and I think the colorists help hold the line for continuity where the art changes weren't too jarring. The page layouts weren't flashy or minimal (which I appreciate) and the pacing, art, and story have an old school Swamp Thing vibe going on – if you don't know what I mean those earlier Swamp Thing runs are worth a read. I'm not saying this book is the second coming of Alan Moore, but I am saying I'm enjoying the overall experience of this current series. I paid a cover price of $5.25 Canadian dollars for this issue and there are awesome variants by Joe Bennett and another by Alexander Lozano if you can get your hands on them.

Bottom Line: As a collector, this one might show promise as a Key issue or a precursor to a Key. A good read either way and I'm looking forward to where the series is heading.

Stay focused fellow humans!

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Express Review Dos – Spiderman 56 & 57

Let's just tackle two Spiders with one review. I'm probably never going to abandon the Amazing Spiderman, it was one of the first comics I bought with my own money and I wish I had all of those issues today – such is the life of a collector. Back in the '90s (when I was much younger) I couldn't get enough of all the Spiderman / Ben Reilly 1994 - 1996 clone stories. At the time Mark Bagley designed the Scarlet Spider costume and I vividly remember his style of drawing. Well, here we are decades later and Bagley is drawing Spiderman again. Bagley's work is consistent but is starting to feel a little outdated, and not in a nostalgic way. I love old Romita Sr, Buscema, and Kirby comics just to name a couple – I'm having a harder time with Bagley this year. An example would be Arthur Adams, even though he seemed a bit snarky to me at a convention I went to, there is no doubt Adams' work is both masterful and has become better with age. Bagley's work feels st

Express Review – Future State: The Next Batman

For the sake of time, I'm only going to focus on the first story in the oversized 64 page - Future State: The Next Batman issue #1. As a reader, I needed more set up to care about the new Batman Tim Fox. The character is showing some real promise, but writer John Ridley just threw us into the story which felt more of a tell than a show. I will say there are good points. Ridley wrote some convincing moments with the Bane-litos gang recruiting new members and an interaction between ex-partner street cops. I will also give Ridley credit in that the page count he was working with was dismal. Shame on DC for not at least allowing the writer to develop the full 64 pages for the new Batman. The drawing was good for this first story. Nick Derington has some really decent pages in here, especially with the action shots. Denington makes consistent use of shadows, which is a must to maintain the look and fee l of Gotham City. Some panels also had a Judge Dredd tone (which is a good thing) mi

May the roll be with you

For years Darkhorse published Star Wars comics. There were some bright spots here or there in their publishing, but as a whole, I just never connected my Star Wars enthusiasm to the Darkhorse runs. There could have been many things that contributed to that feeling; mediocre art, disjointed writing, inconsistent timelines, or just sub-par editing. I never want to downplay anyone's hard work and making comics can be very labor-intensive if done right. Darkhorse Star Wars just lacked the excitement and sense of adventure, place, and scope that made the Star Wars films so awesome. There was a different horse before the dark one held the license. Trusty old Marvel comics published Star Wars between 1977 and 1986 and are now publishing the franchise again, re-acquiring the rights in 2015. Here is where my collecting bells go off, and not the bad ones either. When you can crossover the love of comics with the film/TV/action figure bedrock that Star Wars encapsulates it spells out potent

Comic Sandwich by CT Guy

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