Friday, July 23, 2010

Ratings and Rantings

Ladies, Gentlemen, children of all ages, it's that time once again for the rant-fest known as Ratings and Rantings! I'm your host, the always interesting Jason Todd, welcoming you, once again to my Red Hood. First things first, I'm actually not reviewing Dark Wolverine, it's crossing over with Franken-Castle and I didn't wanna read half the story so I didn't get this month's issue. Also, they forgot to put my Deadpool issue in my bad even though it's on my receipt so I paid for it... and I'm too lazy to go back to the shop today so I'll review it next week. We've got a lot of comics on deck today, so I'm gonna jump right into the swing of things. And since I'm running low on ideas, anyone who has an idea for the weekly poll next week, feel free to submit it. Now, let's get to it!


Time Masters: Vanishing Point #1

Now, long time readers may remember how hyped up I was when I found out one of my favorite DC characters, Booster Gold, would get a chance to team up with The Man of Steel and Green Lantern Hal Jordan, to search for Bruce Wayne back in mid-April. So to say I've been waiting for this is an understatement. So the issue starts off with some awesome insight on the usually secret background of Rip Hunter. We see some bonding time between him and his Father, who if you keep up, you should definitely know by now. Jumping into present time, or um.. at least the 15th century, we see the Time Masters crew (Booster, Rip, Superman and Hal Jordan), the latter two want to help some people who have smallpox. Hunter vetoes this saying they can't change anything, except in a much funnier way, to Superman that's almost guaranteed to be the line of the issue. From there we see how Rip put this team together, and also see appearances of Despero, Supernova and Goldstar, Booster's sister. This first issue of Time Masters has everything I wanted and more. I'm usually not a big fan of the whole jumping around, past, present story unless it's done well (ala Lost) and it was done well here. The only thing that bothered me is we were kinda just dropped into it with not a lot of background, but I'm sure we'll learn more as time goes on. As for this issue I enjoyed it a lot, I'd give it a 9/10.

Superman: We can't ignore this, Hunter.
Rip Hunter: This isn't a jaunt to the Smallville candy store, Superman! We are in the past and that means we don't change anything! It also means you'll do as I say!


Power Girl #14

Every once in a while an issue starts with a great scene. A hero flying high, a hero surrounded by the people he's saved who are praising them. A hero staring at another hero letting you know they respect one another. This one starting with PG getting punched by a fist that makes The Hulk's look small in comparison. We then flashback to earlier in the day when Power Girl's alter-ego, Karen Starr, found out that after an employee named Donna embezzled millions from the Karen's company that it was being seized by the government. She then gets a call from Booster Gold, who if you count this appearance is in four comics this month. After Power Girl fails at recognizing Max Lord, a defeated Booster takes off. PG heads off and see's three destroyed buildings along with a currently falling forth. She goes to investigate and runs into a robotic, android type thing that is caused from something else in the issue that I won't spoil for you. From there a little assimilation happens and we leave off with our plucky, precious Power Girl in a precarious predicament. Wooo, Alliteration!!! Anyway, another solid issue of Power Girl. It doesn't have that big time feel though, it just seems like it's to be read, but never to fully be immersed in like some other comics. I did enjoy it though, I'll give it an 8/10 rating.

Purple Dude: I don't even have any junk for pete's sake!
Power Girl: Junk?
Purple Dude: The Frank and Beans, kiddo. I'm like a Ken Doll down south. This is no way for a man to live.


Brightest Day #6

Martian Manhunter's on the cover so I'm hoping it's his story, the Firestorm boys and Deadman. Maybe the Aqua-Team too, and no Hawkman/girl. Well we start with some stupid green alien thingy killing some people for no apparent reason. Awesome... that's just awesome. *Sarcasm* Meanwhile, Martian Manhuter realizes that all the plants he comes in contact with die. Anyway, jumping to Hawk, Dove and Deadman are trying to bring female Hawk back from the grave. Dove comes up with the brilliant idea that to use his ring he needs to embrace life, much like a Green Lantern much use Will for their rings. When trying to remember what he enjoyed while alive the ring or white voice or whatever randomly chimes in with "He loved cheese-burgers." and that causes Black Lantern Girl-Hawk to shoot up from the ground. What in the hell am I reading? Apparently that was a warning and not real, when asked why Hawk's brother and Dove's sister aren't back from the dead the ring says "eat a cheese-burger." .....Anyway, jumping to Jason Rusch, he's hit on by some girl who introduces herself as Kelly from Chemistry. She likes Jason obviously and he turns her down, I'd assume cause he misses Gehenna. After blowing her off she says "If you change your mind, I'm on Facebook." ....WHAT?! Does someone not know how facebook works? I don't think you can type "Kelly from Chemistry" in the search engine just to find her. That just annoyed me more than anything. From there the Firestorm storyline heats up, no pun intended. We also got an explanation of Mera's past that was pretty interesting. Then we jump back to Martian Manhunter who's enlisted Oracle to help him out with finding the culprit of some grisly murders. The end result left me confused on what exactly happened, so I guess I'll be awaiting the next issue. This review is weird because the comic was horrible at the beginning but got good with the Firestorm, Aquaman and last few pages of the Martian Manhunter stuff, but not enough to save this. I'd give it a 4.5/10.

White Ring: Eat a Cheeseburger. (Brought to you by Burger King.)


Superman/Batman #74

Lex Luthor starts off things in this comic, still trying to give his name the respect he feels it deserves on the planet that hates Superman. We see that Lex has been keeping both Superman and Batman busy so that they don't see his true actions, while trying to attain a God-like status on this new planet. Lex has been keeping Batman busy with crimes in Crime Alley or around churches and foster homes, and pretty soon Batman figures out that he's being distracted, but doesn't know what he's being distracted from. Meanwhile, Supes returns to the planet to make peace but is attacked with Kryptonite, obviously a gift from their "God", Lex Luthor. Supes eventually finds out that Lex is behind it, due to him using Luthor Corp products in his rockets. If you're rich, buy someone else's stuff!! That's like Batman using Wayne Corp grappling hooks. Batman eventually discovers it's Lex's men running crime in Gotham and pays him a visit. Superman, much like myself, calls Lex out on using his own products when he also pays Lex a visit. The issue was less team-up and more common enemy, and seemed to be a filler until issue #75. It wasn't bad but wasn't great either. I'd give it a 6.5/10.

Superman: You may push too far one day, Luthor, and all your lawyers and fall guys won't be enough to protect you... Or you might even get me mad.
Lex: I doubt it Superman... I know what buttons to push... and which to avoid.


Batman Beyond #2

Batman Beyond #2 kicks things off with a news report on the man whose been killing people lately that's being watched by someone whose name I can't make out and Amanda Waller. On the other side of Neo-Gotham, Batman drops in on Bruce Wayne to tell him who he almost went up against. Bruce has believed Hush to be dead for some years, due to the events he recounts in this comic, but was never certain. Bruce decides to study the bandage "Hush" left behind while Terry hits the street to find the killer. The killer spends this time killing a former villain by the name of Armory, and his wife and son, this time using sharpened umbrellas, the trademark of the Penguin. While heading home, Batman spots someone trying to steal proverbial billions in merchandise from Cloudware industries. Turns out this person is a futuristic Catwoman, much like our current (futuristic) Batman. Terry loves this, and claims he's always wanted a Catwoman because it's an unwritten law that they have a "thing" for each other. They banter, fight and the feline femme fatale (more alliteration!!!!) disappears like magic. Batman is then sent to look up former Batman villains by Bruce, to possibly cut off the killer at the pass. Terry walks in on the Calender Man, Julian Day, who had the big plan to send Commissioner Barbara Gordon an exploding birthday card. Batman takes it and is suddenly tackled by the killer who bursts through the window. After a quick fight, the killer stands up and says he's going to kill Batman, and the killer has the exact same wrapped face and gear as Hush. This was a very good issue and stayed strong. The introduction of the new Catwoman as well as the mystery of who is the Killer and if it's really Hush is keeping me interested, plus the artwork looked better this month. I'll give this issue a 9/10.

Batman: But Batman and Catwoman are supposed to have a thing! It's an unwritten law! A Tradition!
Catwoman: Well, I ain't into the law... and I ain't your grandma's Catwoman.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #14

From one Hush story to another eh? I'm not complaining at all. Anyway, things here start off with a former gangster getting out of Blackgate Prison after 27 years. He's picked up by Anthony Marchetti  and ZZZ, the big brute that always falls asleep. The gangster makes small talk asking about the town and such and how it's changed. He says he's gonna take a hot shower, go grab a grinder and some beers, take a walk on the bridge and look at his town, and then put a bullet in Bruce Wayne's skill. and yes, he said it VERY casually like that. Then we see Hush, who's just had a dream he's killed Batman, Zatanna, Robin, Katana, Catwoman and the rest of his guardians since he's stepped out into the city as Bruce Wayne. He awakes, shaves, showers and is met by Katana, whose on babysitting duty today. Hush starts to think back on things he's been doing since moving back to the Elliot Manor, like coming across his Mother's diary. We then see a VERY interesting flashback (what is it with flashbacks today?!) with the Elliots, Bruce's parents, Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane, and Zatanna's father, John Zatara. Back in present day, Katana tells Hush that he's dreaming if he thinks Arkham Asylum will release the people he's listed, and he mentions Harley Quinn is free thanks to a recommendation by Bruce Wayne. It seems one of the women he wants released, is Jane Doe. The co-feature is a Two-Face story, and it's phenomenal. It was better than the main story, and the main story was good. I'll give this issue of Streets of Gotham a 9/10. 8 for the main and 10 for the co-feature.

Hush: It's not fair, really. I had to endure months of agony to surgically change my appearance. You wardens cheat with illusions created by Zatanna's magic rings.

And that's it for a big week here on Ratings and Rantings. I'll be back with the new weekly poll this weekend and the results of this weeks VERY lopsided poll. I don't have any plans for posting things but if you guys wanna see something feel free to suggest it. If I'm not too lazy, I'll gladly do it! Well until then, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger man, Jason Todd!

Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

Action Comics #891, Batman: Widening Gyre #6 (I reviewed #5 on March 10th btw...), Detective Comics #867, The Flash #4, Gotham City Sirens #14, Green Arrow #2, Green Lantern #56, Green Lantern Corps #50, JL Generation Lost #6, Deadpool #25 and Wolverine Origins #50.

22 comments:

  1. Hey, I was able to read everything here except for Streets! Sweet! I TOTALLY forgot about Time Masters #1, so I'll have to see if I can score a copy at my CB store. As for the rest, we're def on the same wave-length on BD#6... That was such a waste of time. Sometimes DC really makes me scratch my head...

    I'm not collecting PG, but maybe I should... You always seem to be giving it solid scores, and it is written by Judd Winick, right? That would be a selling point for me.

    I see you're still really high on Batman Beyond too. Out of curiosity, is that a mini, or an ongoing? That's another comic you made sound really good... Blast it JT, STOP making everything sound so appealing!!!

    And 11(!)books on tap for you next week!?! Wow! Are you going to try to do reviews for them all, or are you going to cherry pick?

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  2. Thanks for doing these JT. Very cool!

    Cheeseburger? Hahaha, that review really makes me wonder which parts of Brightest Day Tomasi is writing, and which parts Johns is writing.

    I like Katana's chracter very much, and didn't know she appeared in the Streets book. I would be really interested in knowing what made that Two-Face story so great, since it sounds pretty exciting.

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  3. X - Dude that cheeseburger thing was so weird... I'm like really? What...is happening? And yeah PG has been solid, nothing amazing but a good read. I'd say if you can spare the six bucks, I'd pick up the last two issues because I liked them. Plus Booster was in them, which furthers the Booster/PG romance I've been wanting haha.

    Batman Beyond is really good. Considering you didn't watch the show it may be a little weird for ya but I'd recommend it. And it's a six issue mini buddy.

    I didn't even count!! Lol man that's alot, and I'm gonna review all 11. Yeah, I'm fly like that. Lol but if you can do full length reviews for a ton of comics, I can do that :P

    Kello - Thank you for reading dude. Once again, cheese burgers and White rings?! I'm thinking the voice is someone from White Castles!

    Yeah, I'm also a fan of Katana, so it was cool seeing her, even though it was just her standing there and watching Hush for the most part.

    The Two-Face story was good because it's about him and not Bats for one, and the feds are coming down on him after all the Black Mask stuff and he has a rat on his team giving them info. Then it really gets good when Bats shows up. Also something happens to his coin, so it's interesting to see how he reacts with no 50/50 chance for his actions.

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  4. Once again fantastic review sir. Although I haven't got to all my comics yet, I'll say I'm looking forward to reading PG and Batman Beyond.

    As for Brightest Day, this very well be my last issue, because DC is seriously pissing me off with this. So I'm relying on you sir for some good reviewing on future issues. :)

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  5. Thanks :D And lol you too?! I'm gonna have to read Brightest Day for you, X and everyone else soon :P

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  6. Lol. It's going to be okay bay. Lol, Not our fault DC sucks! Well as far as BD is concerned Lol. At least you know we'll definitely be back for rantings and ratings or rating and rantings, whichever. :-P

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  7. On the Facebook thing, surely he could, you know, look her up on mutual friends or something, which is what she means.
    On a sortof related note, what sorta girl hits on a guy? I mean, that's jus crazy...

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  8. If they have mutual friends, it's not a given that they would just from going to the same college. And girls hit on guys all the time lol, where you been?

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  9. Hmm, maybe I'll see if I can grab the trade for the Batman Beyond mini when it ends if you continue to recommend it. That's right JT, it's all up to you!!!

    I don't know about the PG book still... I may wait another month or two before deciding. Once again, I'll be relying heavily on what you say about the next issue or two before I make up my mind on it.

    11 comics is A LOT of work my man! That's the kind of thing that can burn somebody out! If worse comes to worse you could just be like, "This comic was okay." Next comic; "I hated this comic." etc! :P

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  10. Wow, Brightest Day sounds both awful and bizarre! From your description, it seems like one of those things that tries too hard to be funny and just comes off as stupid and juvenile instead. Too bad.

    Anyway, great reviews as always JT. And you'll really have your work cut out for you next week, huh?

    Also, LOL at Nagash not realizing that girls can hit on guys...

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  11. X - It's all on me?! All this PRESSURE!!! ARGH!!!11!!! Lol, inside jokes rule. But all that aside, I'll let ya know how it goes buddy.

    MORE pressure?! Damn you X!!! But nah, sounds good dude, I'm hoping Judd can keep up the good work with both PG and Red Hood.

    Lol nah, I don't plan on doing anything this weekend so I can rest up for those. Plus all these comments motivate me even more.

    Marc - Exactly Marc! The worst thing is... I can't tell if it's trying too hard to be funny, if it's clever and I should be taking these as hints, or if it's just plain bad. Right now I'm thinking its a weird mixture of the three.

    Thanks Marc. And yeah it should be a big week, hopefully it's a good haul of comics though.

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  12. Not a given, but would be possibly easier. Cultural references that the writers don't understand ftw! ;)
    England?

    Of course, it's actually because I'm a man and men have no way to judge whether a woman is interested in him or not ;)

    Batman Beyond is pretty awesome, though I've only read the first issue of it, and I thought the same of Hawkeye & Mockingbird, and was disappointed with that second issue…

    I figure I might get the PG book on tpb/thb, but I have the distinct problem that I'm not too fond of her really. And no, her redeeming features are not her 'huge tracts of land'. I don't buy comics to see strippers.

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  13. "ARGH!!!11!!!" Hee-hee-hee... Inside jokes DO indeed rule! :P 's right mi amigo, I'm PILING the pressure up on you now! My comic book spending money is now in YOUR hands!!! Don't let me down!!!1!11!!! :D

    I'm def looking forward to next week's Ratings/Rantings... Man, by the end of that post you're not gonna want to look at a comic book for a LOOONG time! 11 books is a daunting task JT! Good luck... You'll need it! :P

    Oh, btw, I picked up the latest issue of Game Informer and it had a BIG write-up on Dragon Age 2. I basically only looked at the pictures, but I'll probably give it a read sometime tomorrow.

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  14. Lmao I love that. And sweet, my reviews will dictate where your money goes. I feel oddly important :P And don't blame me if our opinions differ haha.

    Yeah I was thinking the same thing, and add that to the work load since I'm reviewing Under The Red Hood this weekend too.

    Crap! I was gonna message you about that, I also got that Game Informer, A LOT of stuff changes but it looks very interesting. Lemme know what you think about it.

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  15. You SHOULD feel important JT! It's not everyday the KING OF COMICS allows somebody else the privilege of choosing where his money goes! HA, what an egomaniacal jackass I sound like!! :D

    I still haven't read that article yet... That Game Informer is sitting on my couch right now, and since I'm in the bedroom, I can see I won't be reading it until tomorrow!

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  16. Lmao are you BENDIS again?! :P I'm still more hesitant that you'll just buy the DVD and NEVER EVER watch it haha.

    Mine is on the floor right next to me. I'm interested in what ya think, so take it to school!!! Oh and speaking of which, that Leiliana thing took like two hours. SO not worth it, glad I got it for free. It was fun but TWO hours?! Come on!

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  17. Is Game Informer still a pretty good magazine? I was subscribed to it a few years, and it was pretty much the best one at the time. This was probably around 2002-2003 or so, when EGM (which was previously the best!) kind of dipped in quality.

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  18. It's not bad Marc, if there's something interesting in it that you wanna play they have great news most of the time but I've got some issues where NOTHING in it interested me. But I have a Gamestop account and when you pay 15 bucks for your card and crap they give you a year subscription to Game Informer.

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  19. Yep, I did that Gamestop thing for a year or two, that's how I got my subscription. Actually, that's generally why the magazine has always been fairly good...Gamestop pays game companies for exclusives in Game Informer, which of course leads to more people buying GI and more money for GS. It's not really playing fair, I guess, but since it makes them money I'm pretty sure that's the way it'll always be.

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  20. Exactamundo. I feel the same way, I actually stopped going to Gamestop, I only use them when I wanna pre-order something with an exclusive and then usually sell the exclusive on eBay for like 18 bucks, then I download it from Falisha's profile if she has the same game/pre-order.

    I just hate how Gamestop will sell you a game for 63 bucks after tax, then buy it back two days later for 30 bucks, then sell it again for 55 bucks. I'd rather trade or buy it used from a site like Gametz.com. Lol sorry about the rant

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  21. It's cool, I totally agree with you. If I buy used (which is rare, since I don't usually have a proble waiting till the price goes down) I'll get it either on ebay or from Amazon marketplace. The markup at Gamestop is ridiculous, plus half the time they give you a copy way more beat up than what you would have gotten online.

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  22. I agree with you there. The only time I'll pre-order besides what I mentioned above is when I have the money and I know I'll spend it beforehand so I just give it to them before I do.

    So what games do you play anyway Marc, what consoles ya got?

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