SuperSearnold - Comic Book Reviews

Hey everybody. I’ve got a super special announcement for you!

For the next month or so, I’m going to be focusing my time on finishing up production on my latest comic book project: Behind The Hero. That means that this blog is going on temporary hiatus. But don’t worry - I’m not gonna leave you high and dry. I’ll be digging into the archives and still providing you with some great insight every single day!

If you’re a new reader - welcome! I’m glad you decided to check out my blog. If you like what you see, keep checking back. Soon - very soon - my reviews will be of MODERN comics. There are a few series that I’m dying to get to (like Earth X and the rest of Final Crisis). So you never know - any day now I might pop in with a few new entries.

Finally, if you have a request - let me know! I’m still going to be sure to make time for at least 2 requests each week - and it could be yours!

I hope I haven’t shattered any of your dreams too terribly. I know - I’ll miss you, too. But it’ll be like I’m still here! See you tomorrow for a classic Searnold review.

Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Tuesday, November 25th, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3. Published by Marvel in October, 2008. Written by Brian Michael Bendis (Powers, Secret Invasion) with art by David Lafuente (Patsy Walker: Hellcat, X-Men: Divided We Stand). Cover Price $3.99. This comic book is part of the “March On Ultimatum” crossover event.

Premise:
This is a pretty standard Spider-Man story. Peter and MJ are having relationship problems (this time revolving around sex). Meanwhile, Spidey’s got to deal with a new mysterious villain.

Awesome Parts:
This is a very well written Spider-Man story. Everything you could want from a Spider-Man story is here. And the Ultimization of this new villain (I’m not saying who - it’s a surprise) is handled incredibly well. He’s a villain that doesn’t always translate well - but he was downright menacing here. Well done Bendis.

Un-Awesome Parts:
It was awkward watching MJ and Peter consider having sex with each other. I mean - they’re 15 years old. Which I suppose means Bendis captured those characters perfectly! Bendis played with time, again. Normally he does it really well. And I do like the way the story was broken up, interweaving the two tales with each other. But I felt we lost a bit too much of the story in the temporal transitions. Finally, this story has less than nothing to do with Ultimatum. Apparently the “March On Ultimatum” “crossover” just means the issues taking place right before Ultimatum. That’s just false advertising. I would say I don’t like the idea of a Spidey tale that doesn’t fit easily into continuity - I mean, when in the regular series are we supposed to believe this is taking place? But there are 2 explanations for that: first, I just don’t like the concepts of Annuals in general, and that’s not Bendis’ fault; second, Bendis said he really wanted to find a way to work with David Lafuente, and this provided that opportunity without derailing regular Ultimate Spider-Man artist Stuart Immonen.

My Recommendation:
I recommend Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3 to any 15 year olds considering having sex so that they can see what an awkward topic of conversation it is. Seriously though, anyone who wants a good Spidey tale should pick this up. Nobody who is interested in Ultimatum should pick this up though - it has NOTHING to do with that crossover.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you tomorrow. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Monday, November 24th, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Ultimatum #1 - a brand new comic from Marvel written by Jeph Loeb (Spider-Man, Batman) with art by David Finch (Moon Knight, Disturbed’s Indestructible album cover). It is the first in a 5 part mini series that takes place in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe. Cover price: $3.99.

Premise:
Let’s talk about the hype for this comic because I think that’s the best way for you to understand what it’s about. It was originally announced as the destruction of the ultimate universe. In Ultimates 3, we saw the death of Magneto’s children, Wanda and Pietro (check out my review on Sunday, October 19th to figure out why you really shouldn’t bother reading it for yourself). Now Magneto is claiming that, “For what they’ve done, they must pay the ultimate price.” Recently, every single Ultimate book has been part of the countdown to ultimatum - whether or not it actually had anything to do with this crossover. Even Ultimate Origins was released because “You need to know how it all began before you can understand how it ends.” (<— Jeph Loeb quote, Mighty Marvel Podcast.) Just to go a bit more in depth, Brian Michael Bendis (the architect of the Ultimate Universe) has been talking about how the ultimization of characters isn’t special anymore - they’ve been introducing new ultimate characters too often recently. He describes Ultimatum as an attempt to get the Ultimate Universe back to its core. I interpret that to mean that they plan on killing off a huge cast of characters during Ultimatum, so that the Ultimate Universe can go back to having a small managable cast. Especially because Bendis claims Peter Parker might not even be Spider-Man anymore after this event is over. So then… what exactly is the premise of this book? Magneto causes cataclysmic weather changes which kill off a whole bunch of people!

Awesome Parts:
Hey - they’re actually living up to their hype for once! In fact, most of this first issue was just all of the Ultimate characters getting caught up to where we are - they discover that Magneto is pissed and planning on destroying the universe, which we’ve known for many many months now. I thought the execution of the comic was great! This is by far the most enjoyable Jeph Loeb product I’ve read in quite some time. It seemlessly hopped back and forth between ALL of the major Ultimate characters so that we can see how they are reacting to the coming destruction. A few things even happened that I didn’t see coming - bravo. Jeph also did a great job of capturing all of these characters’ very human moments immediately before the impending doom. Even anyone who doesn’t know anything about these characters will care about them by the time they start dying off. In fact, this book did SUCH a good job of introducing all of the major players, that I don’t think you need to have read a single Marvel book ever to understand what’s going on.

Un-Awesome Parts:
Ultimate Power and Ultimates 3 led me to believe that Dr. Doom would be playing a crucial role in Ultimatum. But based upon his reaction in this first issue, it seems as though that won’t be the case. That disappoints me not just because I love the character but because they’ve been sewing seeds which it doesn’t look like they intend to harvest. I hate it when they drop the ball on an awesome opportunity like that (unless they’re pulling a Bendis and plan on coming back and explaining it in 5 years.) Also, a character appears whose very presence is a HUGE spoiler to the end of the current Ultimate Spider-Man arc. I don’t like that they got their release timing off on that. Finally, the last page of this book is total crap. It’s Professor Xavier expositising in a completely transparent, uncharacteristic way. I don’t mind the fact that he’s expositing, it’s just that the dialogue itself was written so badly that I literally cringed. Really Jeph - that’s the best you could come up with?

My Recommendation:
Ultimatum #1 was a great read. I absolutely recommend it. Anyone who likes a disaster movie will probably love this comic. Anyone who likes big events with real consequences will like this comic. Anyone who likes to see characters they care about thrown for a loop will like this comic. Anyone who likes to see something unexpected will like this comic. Anyone who likes a large cast of superheroes will like this comic. Anyone who likes it when comic book heroes die will like this comic. Anyone else, well, probably doesn’t like superhero comics very much.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you tomorrow. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Sunday, November 23rd, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Secret Invasion #7 is the second to last issue in the mini-series which makes up the core of Marvel’s latest super gigantic crossover event, Secret Invasion. It was published back in October, 2008, written by Brian Michael Bendis (Powers, New Avengers) with pencils by Leinil Francis Yu (New Avengers, Ultimate Wolverine vs. The Hulk).

Premise:
It’s a super duper no holds barred brawl between the denizens of Earth and the invading Skrull army. There aren’t any secrets anymore - this is just an invasion.

Awesome Parts:
The concept of this battle is incredible. The triumphant return of Nick Fury, Captain America, and Thor to the core Marvel Universe. The uniting of heroes and villains against a common enemy. And a fight to the death with an army of Skrulls who have all the same powers our heroes do - and more!

Un-Awesome Parts:
Unfortunatley, that great concept is about all this issue had going for it. The execution was not nearly as awesome as one would have hoped. The brawl was mostly just confusing, as it was SOO big that we didn’t really get to see anyone being awesome (except Hawkeye). I also had a hard time buying that characters like Bullseye, Spider-Man, and Iron First were standing up to Skrulls who have the powers of Thor, Professor Xavier, and Black Bolt. The introduction of The Watcher felt forced to me - to make this event matter they had the Watcher show up. The reason we know the battle matters is because The Watcher showed up. We don’t actually know WHY this battle matters (on a cosmic sort of scale - obviously we understand that if the Skrulls win our heroes die, but that’s no different from any other battle). I felt there was a missed opportunity for the heroes and villains to have a difficult time getting along with each other during this battle. And now that we’ve seen the fallout, I feel completely justified in saying that last issue’s reveal that the Skrull catch phrase “He loves you” refers to God was a totally lame reveal. God was the obvious, easy, and lame excuse that makes this entire thing an even more blatant parallel to what’s happening over in the middle east. Couldn’t Bendis have come up with a better, more unexpected, far more bad-ass explanation for the Skrulls’ mysterious motivations? I also don’t like the fact that a huge event that occured over in the tie-in title Deadpool (see my review on Friday, October 31st, 2008) had absolutey zero effect on what happened in this issue. Finally, I felt that Bendis spent way too much time following Luke Cage’s baby daughter. It felt like we were supposed to believe what was happening with her was more important than the actual fight with the Skrulls. If that’s the case, that’ll be a sweet twist, but there’s gonna have to be one Hell of an explanation for me to buy that. Overall, this issue was just filled with disappointment after disappointment.

My Recommendation:
Here’s the kicker: if you’re reading Secret Invasion, you HAVE to read this issue. I mean, it’s part of the core mini-series. And I still recommend Secret Invasion - I’ve been having a lot of fun following this story. Just, don’t expect too much from this particular issue. It was a let down.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you tomorrow. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Saturday, November 22nd, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today I have another special treat for you. My friend Robert has purchased the Hellboy II Special Edition DVD and wants to talk to you all about what it has to offer and whether or not it’s worth your money. Check out September 7th, 2008 for my review of the movie itself. But without any further ado, here’s what Robert has to say:

The Movie:
Hellboy II is a natural evolution of the story from the first movie. Almost all of the original cast returns except Rupert Evans (Agent Myers). He was the audience’s perspective as the only normal person in a cast of “freaks,” but really he wasn’t needed in this movie. The opening scene with Hellboy as a child in the fifties with his dad (John Hurt) is pure movie magic. The story of the Golden Army and the Elves is slightly reminiscent of Lord of The Rings. A race of Elves whose time on earth is done created a magical army designed to destroy man. This makes me wonder if Guillermo del Toro was using this as a warm up for The Hobbit. The creature design of monsters and the Troll Market borrow some of the styling from Pan’s Labyrinth. From the story, to the sets, to the acting, you get a very engrossing movie that makes you feel like you’re being shown a world that actually exists somewhere, and leaves you wanting more. Everything you loved from the first movie is in this movie and so much more.

The DVD’s:
The movie came in two retail configurations. The basic DVD for $14.99 and the three disc special edition for $22.99. So, you ask, what do you get in the special edition?

Disc one: You get quite a lot of swag with the first disc. You get two commentary tracks, one with Guillermo del Toro and one with cast members (not Ron Perlman though). You also get seven set visits. These visits are short 5-10 minute video diary shoots of a scene. They don’t offer too much in the way of depth, but it is sometimes funny to see what a scene consists of. For example, you get to see behind-the-scenes for the fight between Hellboy and Wink in the Troll Market. The funny part of that is watching Wink who needs a fan to blow air into his mouth between takes. Also notable is the giant arm holding the golden egg that the prince throws to release the Forrest Elemental. Movie magic is sometimes just funny looking behind the scenes. This first disc also contains an animated comic that is an epilogue for the movie. Finally included are 6 deleted scenes. All of which are more like scene extensions than new scenes.

Disc two: This disc starts off with a prologue from Guillermo del Toro which includes a very in depth look at the production of the movie titled “In the Service of the Demon.” You get 19 chapters that take you from the beginning concepts all the way to the voice overs. It’s several hours of movie goodness and behind the scenes tidbits. Along with a postlude where Toro gives credit to Mike Mignola. Which is a real treat, because you don’t often get directors having such a close relationship with the creators, and you can tell that Toro really respects what Mignola created. The rest of the disc has numerous other goodies. “The Production Workshop” is a look into the puppet sequence showing the creation of the Golden Army with story board artwork running on top of the scene. The “Pre-Production Vault” contains the director’s notebook and a gallery. The notebook has some copies of Toro’s notebook that he used to make notes and sketches of characters and scenes. Along the way, there are some icons that take you into the scenes that are being shown in the notebook with narrative provided by Toro. The gallery section includes, well, galleries. Mignola’s Gallery has voice over by Mignola himself, but otherwise it’s all just standard stills. Another one of the galleries gives you a look at the marketing campaign for the movie. Some cool posters, but no media promotions were included. Lastly, there is a DVD-ROM feature to allow you to print the script of the movie.

Disc 3: The third disc is simply the digital transfer copy. As with The Hulk (see the review of THAT DVD on Thursday, November 13th, 2008), you can copy Hellboy II as a Windows file or QuickTime. But again, no PSP support. However, unlike The Hulk, you get a larger actually viewable picture on the iPod. The gig price tag is a little higher, though, at 1.37.

All and all if you want to save some cash and don’t want to waste two days on in depth special features then the single disc is a better buy. But if you want to forget having a social life for a couple of days and learn how a movie is made, then the three disc is for you.

That’s it for today. A special thanks to Robert for letting us all know about this DVD. As always - thank you for reading - I’ll see you tomorrow. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Friday, November 21st, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Final Crisis #4, published by DC in September 2008, written by Grant Morrison (X-Men, Batman) with art by JG Jones (Wanted, all 52 covers of 52). It is the 4th of 7 issues in a mini-series that makes up the core storyline for DC’s super duper uber major crossover event, Final Crisis.

Premise:
Evil has won. Darkseid released the anti-life equation on Earth. Now everything is going to Hell.

Awesome Parts:
Some parts of this story actually did make sense. There was some great post-apocalyptic anti-zombie type fighting going on. There were a few very powerful moments based around the human spirit trying to fight against the anti-life equation. And we got to see how a huge cast of characters are dealing with the fallout.

Un-Awesome Parts:
First off, I really wish they had stayed with the resistence fighters longer. We never got any SCENES of their battles - just clips of “this person is fighting here” cut to “this person is fighting here.” It was more like a montage than actually getting to see those stories unfolding. Second, and most importantly, so much of Final Crisis is still so confusing. Some things simply don’t make any sense, bordering on direct contradiction. Grant implies that anti-life spreads through the internet and TV, that just by seeing it you get turned. But he also clearly and repeatedly demonstrates that the way you become a minion of Darkseid is by having a mind-control helmet forcibly placed on your head. So - you know - that doesn’t make sense. And what’s up with the New Gods choosing human vessels? Is that something that’s been established that I don’t understand the context for or just something else that isn’t explained and doesn’t make any sense? I think maybe the problem when I first read Final Crisis is that I spent so much time trying to play catch up and understand characters that I wasn’t familiar with that I was unable to pick up on some of the more subtle touches Grant Morrison included. When I went back and read it a second time, I caught a few details that I think were supposed to be important. The things is, if these details were so important, they shouldn’t have been so subtle. And I shouldn’t have had to have read ALL of the Final Crisis tie-ins (such as Submit or Rogues’ Revenge) in order to understand them. I’m just having a really hard time getting into this story.

My Recommendation:
I simply can’t justify recommending Final Crisis #4. My only hope is that once the entire series is finished, things will make more sense. But I’m not going to hold my breath.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - and see you tomorrow for another special guest DVD review from my friend Robert: Hellboy II. Plus, don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Thursday, November 20th, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Final Crisis #1 Director’s Cut, published by DC in August 2008 - cover price $4.99 - written by Grant Morrison (X-Men, Batman) with art by JG Jones (Wanted, all 52 covers of 52). It’s an oversized 54 page comic book.

Premise:
This director’s cut includes Grant Morrison’s script, JG Jones’ un-colored artwork, and some creator commentary for Final Crisis #1. It does NOT include the finished pages of Final Crisis #1.

Awesome Parts:
Anyone who’s been reading my nonsense here for awhile will understand how much I adore insider stories about the comic book industry. I love seeing everything that goes into creating a comic book. And this director’s cut is all about that. JG Jones’ artwork is spectacular. I loved comparing it to the finished pages and thinking about when the colors helped and where they were unnecessary. Getting to read Grant’s actual script and see how those words translated into JG Jones’ pictures was a true thrill for me. And their commentaries helped me understand a few plot points that I was still shaky on.

Un-Awesome Parts:
I don’t like that the book didn’t also include the finished pages. Though I do understand that at that point the book would have been way too thick - so I’ll forgive them. But there shall be no forgiveness for the commentary, which (for $4.99) should have been much better - and a lot longer. In this 54 page book, the commentary only took up half of 8 pages. Don’t get me wrong - I enjoyed what I got - but it was pretty skimpy.

My Recommendation:
I think that you should be able to tell whether or not this is the sort of thing you’d enjoy. It’s great if you want to get your hands on Grant Morrison’s original script or JG Jones’ uncolored artwork. It’s not so great if you’re looking for the commentary - certainly not worth $4.99 just for the commentary. But if you REALLY like commentary you might consider picking it up anyways.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you tomorrow. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Wednesday, November 19th, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Final Crisis Sketchbook, published by DC waaay back in May, 2008 with art by JG Jones (Wanted, all 52 covers of 52) and blurbs by Grant Morrison (X-Men, Batman).

Premise:
This sketchbook is a collection of JG Jones’ concept art for Final Crisis. It has short blurbs about the creative process that went into designing each of these characters and character bios that explain how they tie-in to Final Crisis.

Awesome Parts:
This is exactly the type of book I was looking for! I really really wish that I had known this existed BEFORE I read Final Crisis. It explains many of the characters that I didn’t even realize were important characters. Don’t get me wrong - I still think I shouldn’t have NEEDED to read this in order to follow Final Crisis - but it sure did help A LOT! All that and we get some great behind-the-scenes concept drawings from JG Jones.

Un-Awesome Parts:
They focused A LOT on these Japanese superheroes which I am now convinced were created for this series - which explains why they were introduced so much better than any of the other characters in the actual pages of Final Crisis. But I wish the sketchbook had included JG Jones’ concept designs for some of the classic DC characters, too. I also wish there had been a bit more talking about the creative process (maybe let JG give us a little insight himself?) as opposed to focusing almost entirely on Morrison’s explanations of these characters.

My Recommendation:
2 people absolutely need to find a way to get their hands on this book - any DC neophytes interested in picking up Final Crisis and anyone who enjoys looking at concept art. If you’re anxious to see designs for a few characters that haven’t appeared in Final Crisis yet, this has those, too. If you want behind-the-scenes stories, though, this isn’t the place to get them.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you tomorrow. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Tuesday, November 18th, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Final Crisis – Rage of the Red Lanterns #1, published by DC in October, 2008. It was written by Geoff Johns (The Flash, Infinite Crisis) with pencils by Shane Davis (JLA, Superman/ Batman).

Premise:
Sinestro is being executed for his crimes, but his Yellow Lanterns have different ideas. Meanwhile, Atrocitus - the Red Lantern - gathers an army of Red Lanterns. They are the antithesis of everything good about the Green Lanterns and intend to throw some major hitches in the giddy-up of the Guardians. All this and the introduction of the BLUE Lantern.

Awesome Parts:
The Red Lanterns are awesomely evil. And I’m excited to find out more about this Blue Lantern. I definitely enjoyed this comic. Also, thank God for editor’s notes. “These events take place between Final Crisis #1 and #2.” Because without that, I would have ABSOLUTELY no idea how this was happening when Hal Jordan had just been arrested.

Un-Awesome Parts:
I felt that the dialogue was a bit drab and forced at times. Sinestro and Jordan were having a conversation that just feels poorly written. They were expositing. I also don’t like that this is clearly a one-shot that is essential in order to understand the events happening in Green Lantern #36. With that being the case, why bother making a one-shot? And how exactly does this tie in with Final Crisis? I guarantee that everything that happens here will wrap up before Final Crisis #2 – they already told me that at the beginning of the issue. Maybe there were scheduling problems and this was supposed to get released long ago, before Final Crisis was in mid-swing.

My Recommendation:
I’m teetering. Not having a lot of experience with the Lantern characters, it’s tough for me to tell whether or not this was something special. There was definitely a lot going on, and it appears to be a significant tale for Green Lantern, if not for Final Crisis. I did like the character of Atrocitus. I wish I understood the different Lanterns better. See how I keep going back and forth? The thing is, if you’re a GL fan, don’t miss this one-shot. But if you’re a GL fan, you probably already read it. If not, you might enjoy this issue just for its epic space battles, but it’ll be hard to get into the characters, as there are A LOT of them in this issue. So again, I’m teetering. I think I’m going to do something completely unprecedented and not go either way on this one. I’m not going to specifically recommend it, but I don’t think it would be a waste of your money, either.

Alright - that’s all my rambling for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you tomorrow. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Monday, November 17th, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Final Crisis – Resist, published by DC in October, 2008 – written by Greg Rucka (Final Crisis: Revelations, Detective Comics) with pencils by Eric Trautman (Checkmate). This is another one-shot that has a direct tie-in to Final Crisis.

Premise:
Anti-Life has spread everywhere. But the members of Checkmate are trying to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, and maybe even fight back.

Awesome Parts:
I was far more okay with Resists’ tie-in than with Submit’s. Resist shows a few characters and how they are reacting to the spreading of Anti-Life. If you want to see how Checkmate is handling the Crisis, you read this issue. If you don’t care, you can skip it. That’s what tie-ins are supposed to be. But you know what… now that I think about the ending, and the fact that it went so far as to specifically say “To be Continued in Final Crisis,” I have to imagine that issue 5 or 6 of Final Crisis will require you to have read this book. So we’ll see. Overall though I enjoyed seeing this collection of characters’ resistance more than I enjoyed watching Black Lightning and The Tattooed Man argue at each other. The greatest part about this issue is that despite not knowing who a single one of these characters are, I had no difficulty understanding what was going on.

Un-Awesome Parts:
I’m still having trouble understanding what the Hell happened when Darkseid released Anti-Life. From what I can tell, it just makes everyone wear a mind control helmet. And it also appears that the helmet has to be put on you - as we have directly seen this happen to many people. So how did it spread so fast? And why were there some nurses in this issue who had the mind control helmets on but were taking care of babies? Darkseid doesn’t seem to want normal life to continue. And how did those without the helmets defend themselves from it? That’s that whole giant part of this story that they just decided for some unknown reason not to show us. Also, this story doesn’t REALLY have an ending. That’s the part that I’m worried is going to happen in Final Crisis, and you’ll HAVE to have read Resist for it to make sense.

My Recommendation:
I would actually recommend picking this up. It’s kind of like a zombie story - but with super powers. This group of people are trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where they can’t get caught being alive because the “zombies” will get them. And the Checkmate organization looks pretty bad-ass. You don’t even need to understand the larger context of Final Crisis for this to be a cool post-apocalyptic story.

Alright - that’s all my rambling for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you tomorrow for Final Crisis - Rage of the Red Lanterns. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold