Comic Book Review: Wonder Woman #44

Wonder Woman was created by William Moulton Marston

Literary and Artistic Credits

Written by Gail Simone

Penciled by Nicola Scott, Travis Moore

Inked by Doug Hazlewood, Wayne Faucher, John Dell, Hi-Fi

Colored by Hi-Fi

Lettered by Travis Lanham

Cover by Nicola Scott

Associate Editor – Sean Ryan

Editor – Brian Cunningham

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

Wrath of the Silver Serpent has been a very underwhelming story arc, probably the worst since Simone came on board as the writer.  (Although it still beats the pants off of anything Grant Morrison has ever written.)  However, issue #44 presents a much needed conclusion that is both satisfying and well written, a great way for Simone to go out in style.

Theana, the apparent cousin of Wonder Woman, goes tooth and nail against the Amazon Princess in a duel to decide the fate of Earth.  Wonder Woman, as always, attempts to appeal to the human side of her opponent with no avail and must now engage in a fierce battle against her own family.  This plot is quite interesting despite how poorly managed it was.  One problem we faced in this arc was how sudden and undeveloped the discovery Wonder Woman makes of the family additions.  Simone never gave us a chance to understand and comprehend what was going on and why Auntie Astarte was attacking Earth, it felt as if her only purpose was to attack the planet for the mere sake of attacking it.  This is either poor literary planning or a set up for future plot lines, either way there seems to be a severe lack in quality.

Simone does manage to brand this installment with that quality “Simone Stamp” that I’m sure we all have come to love.  The back story of Theana was as twisted as can be, only to be topped by Astarte shooting Theana when her mission seemed compromised.  Wonder Woman also feels as if she has returned to her normal self in both dialogue and action, showing that she is the most compassionate DC hero in history but is no push over.  The ending to this arc does make sense and left me satisfied , but I had hoped for something a little stronger.

Nicola Scott shows no error in inconsistencies in her art along with new team member, Travis Moore.  She rivals Aaron Lopresti with her ability to create emotional faces and epic scenes that pop out at you from the page itself.  However, I must say the cover is one of the more unattractive covers to hit the Wonder Woman franchise in a while, but maybe that was the point.  We’ve always expected Wonder Woman to be pretty, even when she’s been beaten and broken.  Perhaps Scott wanted to present Diana in a not-so-pleasant light.

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

I actually did love this issue in and of itself, but its connection with this truly BAD arc leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  I’m not sure I can ever reread this issue and enjoy it to the full potential without looking back on its predecessors.  Oh well, I look forward to issue #600 later this month!

Writing: 8

Themes: 8

Art: 10

Overal: 8.67 out of 10

Comic Book Review: Superman Last Stand of New Krypton #2 (of 3)

Book Information

Written by James Robinson & Sterling Gates

Art by Pete Woods & Travis Moore

Plot

The Legion has successfully made it aboard Brainiac’s ship, Zod battles the hundreds of robot soldiers Brainiac has sent down to New Krypton, and Superman tries to reclaim the twice bottled city of Kandor.  What else can go wrong you ask?  (evil cackle) Silly humans…

My Thoughts

For a comic that ties to a story that has had very little success this past year, it sure does maintain a forward momentum.  Sterling Gates might very well be the best thing that has ever happened to James Robinson as he does everything in his literary power to keep the story flowing smoothly and pumping through lackluster that was World of New Krypton.

Writing

I’m not entirely sure who’s at the helm of the script and who is navigating as far as the writing quality is concerned, but I do know that ever since Gates teamed up with Robinson towards the end of the World of New Krypton series, the writing quality had a most notable increase all the way to the end.  This issue brings us a hard hitting, in your face, action packed battle from page one to the end.  There’s very little drag and corny dialogue and my interest in the story is staying constant, which means I’m intrigued for the conclusion.  However, with everything that is going on here, I am beginning to wonder how #3 will conclude LSONK.  With #3 coming later this month, shouldn’t the story be further along?

Of course I am used to the stretching out of storylines in comics, what should only be a three to four issues spread in a miniseries typically gets dragged out into a twelve issue installment, hence World of New Krypton.  It’s very possible that my worries are due to miniseries never ending within two months in DC Comics.  However, my K-9 senses are picking up the trail of James Robinson’s typically poor writing style which makes me worry about the final issue.

With that being said, the literary approach in this issue in its entirety is a great piece of work.  The shinning moments James Robinson has had in the past are due to his action based storylines; the touchy-feely, thought provoking storylines really aren’t his forte.  This is all that really maters to me!  I do prefer the more meaningful stories that cause the analytical part of one’s mind to wake up, but if an author can push forward with a story by making it a fun, hard hitting action comic, then by all means, do that!

Rating: 9

Themes

There is only one predominant theme in this book…to fight the good fight!  To press on even when all hope is lost.  To protect those you love and cherish.  Everything really does go to hell in a hand basket as Brainiac ceases to yield the attack on Kandor; the perseverance and reclaiming of Kandor as his own is at the forefront of his mind.  And Zod’s consistent belief that the Legion of Superheroes is a terrorist group here to help Brainiac’s diabolical plot also ties well into this arc.  Every side has their own agenda and all hold true to it, which makes for a wonderfully angst driven story.

Now there is mention of Brainiac using fear to achieve his goal, but for me it wasn’t the main aspect of the book.  I’m sure Robinson wanted that to be a prime factor, but it didn’t come off as successfully as it could have.  Fear is always going to be used in a story of good vs. evil, but if it’s going to be a main theme in a story, a writer can’t give us a book where EVERYONE is fighting the good fight and showing an immense amount of courage and hardly any fear.

Rating: 6

Art

Pete Woods and Travis Moore really put it out there as far as the artwork is concerned.  The cover is nothing less than stunning with its chaotic and colorful tone.  One major criticism I’ve had with Pete Wood’s art is how great he is with close up shot, but the further away he gets from the characters in the story, the more the quality goes down.  But this issue shows Moore stepping it up a few notches, especially when Brainiac lands a good one on Superman’s iron jaw…

Amongst the raging robots, the explosive sequences of destruction and the great use of lights and darks, Pete Woods and Travis Moore have shown they can produce better work than what they have presented in the past.  However, with that being said, my artistic preference is far from what they produced here in #2.  The characters still seemed way over inked and feel too wooden for my taste.   Oh sure, when Superman’s getting punched, or someone’s flying up to take out a robot the art suddenly becomes fantastic, but the majority of the book shows characters too dark in the face and body to make out what they’re feeling and have very little emotion coming through facially.

Rating: 6

Overall

A fun read.  I never know what to expect with Robinson, but this issue was definitely better than what was coming out of World of New Krypton.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming April 28, 2010

LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON ships twice in April as the biggest Superman story in years rockets towards its mind-blowing conclusion!
In this epic conclusion, Superman and Zod must work together if they're to have a chance of stopping Brainiac! But a victory for New Krypton means a devastating loss for the Legion! 
Over a year's worth of New Krypton stories has been building up to the final page of this series, and once you see it, you'll know there's only one outcome: the WAR OF THE SUPERMEN! 

Comic Book Review: Justice Society of America #35

Book Information

Written by Bill Willingham

Art by Travis Moore

Plot

Mordru has sent the Society into separate dimensions where they face unique and dangerous tasks that match their personalities.  Dr. Fate lays unconscious in the real world unable to assist his team mates.  What will the Society do to rectify their current predicament?  Will Mordru finally get his revenge on his enemies or will the Society learn from past mistakes? 

My Thoughts

A series of tasks are appointed to each member in which Mordru no doubt thinks them unbeatable.  Why Willingham decided to do this, I have no idea.  Why put the 3^rd smartest man in the world in a battle of wits with a sphinx?  We all know it’s going to be no challenge right?  But to make matters worse, not only was it an easy task, but there was no conflict with the beast in any shape or form.  Mr. Terrific smart talks his way out of this fight right at the beginning and the whole string of dialog becomes redundant and contrived, along with the rest of the book.

Willingham attempts to make the story interesting by singling out each member into different worlds that resemble a bit of their personality; however nothing interesting becomes of it all.  Liberty Belle doesn’t actually defeat the multiplying beast, Wildcat never breaks free of his own doing from the giant stuffed animals, Mr. America never actually out runs the pack of wolves, Doctor Mid-Nite stays trapped among the sickened patients, Lighting only meets, but does not fight the electrifying creatures ready to destroy her, and Flash only sinks in the quicksand running from an ever growing swarm of bees.  The only Society member who actually accomplishes anything is Green Lantern in his battle of intelligence and agility against Mordru’s onslaught of raw power.  How are they freed from their dimensional prison?  Dr. Fate sticks his hand inside different boxes and pulls them out.  Plain and simple.  No member learns anything new about themselves nor do they discover any new mysteries involving Mordru or of a future oncoming threat.  If Willingham had at least made each society member beat their individual tasks, then the issue could have been salvageable, but nothing good comes from it.

I truly hate this “hokey” approach Willingham is taking with the Society.  It feels as if the team has split, and the All-Stars are the ones taking things seriously while the other half is joking around and making light of the situation.  This feels cheap and poorly planned and I’m not sure I want to continue picking this title up anymore of Willingham continues to write crappy stories like this.  Grant Morrison writes better stuff for goodness sakes!

The art is fair, although not what it needs to be to help boost the lack in quality writing.  However, Travis Moore does possess a talent that resembles the old style of comic book art, which fits with this title very well.  I could live with having Moore stay with the JSA for a long time, as long as Willingham gets out of dodge!

Overall

Piss poor.  Take this opportunity to save $2.99 or spend it on something worthy of your hard earned money.

Rating: 1 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 24, 2010

The discovery of exactly who was behind the recent attacks on Obsidian and other members of the Justice Society puts the team on the trail of a true Axis of Evil! This means war!