I am Yumi Sakugawa and I am a comic book artist and illustrator based in the Southern California. I am a regular comic / illustrator online contributor to Sadie Magazine and Wonderhowto.

Most recently, my comic zine “Mundane Fortunes for the Next Ten Billion Years and Other Stories” was selected as Notable Comics of 2012 by the Best American Comics anthology editors.

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Muy Mareado!, Indie Spotlight: Yumi Sakugawa

If you read Frank Cho’s Dynamite book Jungle Girl, you already have an idea of what to expect here.  It takes place in the Savage Land, and all hell breaks lose rather fast.  Cho hasn’t hidden his love of Shanna the She-Devil, and it shows in his writing.  She gets some good dialogue compared to the other characters in this book. Granted, most of her dialogue is explaining the trip that the reader just saw themselves.  Savage Wolverine #1 isn’t written well, but it shows a lot of potential.  It could be a fun and outlandish book.  Cho misses a great opportunity for humor, instead going for straight seriousness.  The recent Avenging Spider-Man arc in the Savage Land used the absurdity of the land rather well.  Wolverine can’t stay in the Savage Land forever, so Shanna will have to make a trip to the Jean Grey School sooner or later, which is a situation ripe with humor.

Wolverine doesn’t fare well in this issue.  It’s clear from the start that Cho wanted this book to be a Shanna ongoing, but Marvel thought it wouldn’t sell. So Cho threw Wolverine into it so that it would sell.  He barely speaks, and narrates every little thing he does.  The reader doesn’t need to be told he just killed someone when we saw the head flying across the panel.  The narrations go away once Wolverine bumps into Shanna, which betters the issue.  If the next few issues have the same problems, maybe Marvel should bring a cowriter aboard for a while.  Help Cho get his ideas out more effectively.  If I had any control over the books Marvel published, they would have turned this into a Shanna book instead.  Wolverine has enough books, and Marvel has been succeeding recently with B and C lister books.  If the book is good, it will sell.  Also, this would be a MAX book.  Cho could pencil the nudity that he terribly wants to pencil.

At this point in Frank Cho’s career, everyone knows what to expect from his books.  Lots of dinosaurs, cavemen, and scantly clad women.  Every other shot of Shanna has her standing in a provocative position with her boobs almost hanging out.  With the story being serious in nature, the amount of boobs sticks out that much more (no pun intended).  If Savage Wolverine had been more lighthearted and over the top, the boobs would have felt natural (I seriously didn’t mean that pun either).  Savage Wolverine is one great looking comic though. Every character is very expressive and detailed, and the lush jungles are beautiful.  The contrast of wide screen panels and small panels is used well to convey the fighting.  Cho’s amazing art is going to be the big draw on this book for some time.

Savage Wolverine is going to be a bubble book for some time.  If the writing can improve, and the tone can shift a little bit, we have ourselves a great book.  But if not, we have a dud.

Savage Wolverine #1 gets 3/5.

MrComicBook, Review: Savage Wolverine #1

Marvel touts the series as giving readers a “rare glimpse into the ultimate nihilist’s early days on his far-off home planet Titan” and the life events that lead him down his path of cosmic villainy. Aaron promised that the origin story is literally that, starting with the Mad Titan’s birth. The series will have some new characters, but there will be several familiar names including Thanos’ father Mentor and his mother Sui-San. Aaron talked about the question that runs through the series:

Well, that’s really the main question of the book. Who is Thanos? When the book starts, even Thanos doesn’t know the answer to that question. It’s the pursuit of that answer that begins to take him to some very dark places. This is not a super hero story. There are no good guys swooping in to save the day here. This is the origin story of a very bad dude. A cosmic mass murderer.

This past summer I had the opportunity to speak with Jim Starlin about the first proposed Thanos origin story, and he shared his thoughts on that (you can find that here). Starlin laid down a lot of history for his creation, but Aaron will be going through pulling it all together and giving it a slight twist. Aaron is sticking to Starlin’s work and talks about how he will continue on from what has already been written:

Jim Starlin of course had already laid down a lot of the pieces of Thanos’ origin, but they were spread out in several different stories written over the course of several years. THANOS RISING combines all those pieces and also fills in a lot of the cracks. I think it’s true to Starlin’s original ideas for the character, while also expanding on some aspects of the origin, and playing around a bit with the dark romance part of the character’s history.

The series starts in April, but as of now there is no word on how long the miniseries will run. Thanos Rising will serve as an entry points for people who just found out about the Mad Titan through The Avengers, but old fans will also get something out of it. Aaron has been writing some great stuff the past few years with Scalped and his recent Thor, so it will be interesting to see what he brings to Thanos. Bianchi’s art is great so that’s an added bonus. You can read the full interview to see what Bianchi had to say about redesigning a young Thanos by clicking here. What do you think about the proposed series? Will you be picking this one up?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Jason Aaron To Write Thanos Origin Series: Thanos Rising

• It’s off to Jotunheim, the land of the Frost Giants as Bruce Banner and his lab team embark on an all-new secret mission for S.H.I.E.L.D! Caught trespassing by the local natives, they’re going to need the help of the mighty Avenger, Thor!

Waid is excited to get Simonson on the book and having the legendary artist draw Thor again. While Thor will be showing up, the question should be which Thor is showing up? Waid makes an interesting  statement about the Thor we’ll be seeing:

Why on Earth would you have the amazing Walt Simonson aboard and NOT ask him to draw Thor? The teasing question is–which Thor will we be seeing? Banner and his team of assistants build a portal to Jotunheim, land of the Frost Giants, in order to obtain a rare metal there–but in doing so, they may have accomplished something totally unforeseen!

While we’ll have to wait and see exactly what Waid means, Simonson touched on revisiting the world of Thor and how he goes about tackling the Hulk:

It’s been interesting drawing Thor and not writing him. (laughs) I like what Mark’s been asking me to draw a lot, and he has kindly allowed me to kibitz a little. My earliest work on Thor was done pretty much the same way when I did layouts for Len Wein to write on the Thor title in the 70s. I also got to draw Thor in some of the Brian Bendis Avengers recently. I’ve found it’s been a lot of fun for me to go back and revisit the old boy again.

Regarding the drawing the Hulk and Thor, there’s an essential difference in their natures I try to reflect in the figure work.
I’ve approached drawing the Hulk with a certain ‘wildness’, since he is essentially a ‘monster’ who is the unfettered version of a mortal. The shapes that make up his figure as well as the actual lines used to define those shapes can be far less restrained that they might otherwise be for a more ordinary character. In other words, the drawing technique itself is meant to suggest the limitless quality of the Hulk’s fury and power. And because of his ‘monstrous’ nature, the Hulk’s figure and face don’t require the kind of symmetry that a character like Thor needs in order to be handsome within the context of the comic. I’m also inspired by the earliest versions of the Hulk by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko where there seems to me to have been a nod to the Karloff Frankenstein monster of the early Universal horror films. All of which means I can pack a lot into my drawings to try to capture some reflection of the Hulk’s wild nature.

If you want to check out the full interview with Waid and Simonson click here. It will be exciting to see Simonson taking on Thor again. The artist did some incredibly work with the thunder god back in the day, so having him return to draw again mixed in with it being a Hulk book makes this a must get. What do you think about Simonson’s return? From what Mark Waid said do you think we’ll get a big twist with the Thor story?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Waid And Simonson Talk Indestructible Hulk

Preview pages:

Batman Detective Comics #16
Story by: John Layman
Artwork by: Jason Fabok

Batman is forced to cut a deal with the Penguin, one that will come back to haunt both of them when a new villain interferes!

And in the backup story, Ignatius Ogivly usurps The Penguin’s throne and decides to lead the underworld crimelords in The Penguin’s place!

Batman Detective Comics #16 hits shelves on January 9th!

Chuckie Valdez, Preview: “Death of The Family” Continues in Batman Detective Comics #16

**SPOILERS**

Extinction Is Forever

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Art: Alberto Ponticelli

This is it folks; Jeff Lemire provides a satisfying conclusion to his Extinction is Forever arc and boy what an emotional roller coaster of awesome it was. Lemire finally pieces all the plot threads together for one giant brawl that we won’t forget.

From this point the rot has taken control of Buddy’s body and is after his son cliff. Buddy travels to the red were he gets a make-over but apparently very painful according to this weird looking Martians. This make-over gives buddy greater powers than before and even looks cooler doing it. Before when buddy would transform into any animal we (the reader) couldn’t really tell. Now with his new body we can tell and thanks to Alberto Ponicelli pencil duties it’s clearly badass! But I can’t give Ponticelli all the love, colorist Lovern Kindzierski really shines in the issue. Every page from the transformation to the ultra boss battle at the end we can only smile for how well this combo artist/colorist work together. Also when socks transforms into his true totem form in order to protect Maxine, I had the biggest smile on my face, SO GOOD.

Animal Man is seriously one of my top favorite books of the New 52 relaunch. One thing I do regret was artist Travel Foreman stepping down and Steve Pugh stepping in for him. The transition between artist was hard at first but Pugh is starting to warm up to me now. Issue #11 really makes me wish Ponticelli was the replacement for Foreman though. Ponticelli just understand what Lemire is looking for since they worked together on Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E .

The future for Animal Man looks promising; I can’t wait for the crossover event happening between Scott Snyders- Swamp Thing and A-Man coming up. I am pretty sure my head is going to explode with amazing writing and phenomenal art work!

Animal Man #11 gets 4.5/5

Chuckie Valdez, Review: Animal Man #11

Len Wein, the original editor for Watchmen, gives readers a character study of Adrian Veidt.  Much like in Watchmen, Veidt is still this almost god like character who can do no wrong.  Wein contrasts Veidt and his hero, Alexander the Great, perfectly.  His adventure, combined with his troubled past, deeper Veidt’s love of Alexander.  While reading Watchmen, it was understandable why Veidt would love Alexander, but the hero worship could have used more explanation.  This is a strength for Ozymandias, as the reader feels like they are getting to know an old character all over again.  And there is nothing better as a comic fan to read something that shows shines a new light on a classic character, making them feel fresh and new again.  With the previous four issues of Before Watchmen issues, it felt like the creators were expanding on things we already knew.  Not a bad thing, but Ozymandias truly feels like we are exploring brand new territory (even though it does expand on things we know).

Ozymandias #1 isn’t perfect though. The “reason” for Veidt to become a vigilante is a little out of left field, and for a graphic novel that revolutionized the industry, is somewhat cliched.  Miranda comes out of nowhere, and is gone in the same amount of time, which makes her feel like a plot device.  It doesn’t break the issue, or make it a bad issue, but it’s worth noting.

The point I noticed while reading is that Ozymandias #1 is the first Before Watchmen book that could be read perfectly on it’s own.  No prior knowledge of the universe is needed to understand what is going on.  While it certainly helps the reader, and makes this “autobiography” more tragic, it’s easy to pick this up and just read it.  Every comic fan should read Watchmen, as it’s a right of passage for every comic reader.  But if you are new to the medium, and are slightly intimidated by Watchmen and it’s universe, Ozymandias #1 is a good introductory course.  While it’s great to see writers expanding on this rich universe, Ozymandias goes off the beaten path and focuses more on characters.  If you have read every issue so far, it’s a good change of pace.

I have only seen Jae Lee pencil covers, most recently Wolverine at Marvel, so I was excited to read this issue for that alone.  And boy do Lee’s atmospheric pencils deliver.  He doesn’t stick to the nine panel style that has been synonymous with Watchmen, but sticks to a style all his own.  Nearly every page has a circle layout somewhere, which keeps the readers glued to the page.  And while a lesser artist would have had trouble guiding the reader from panel to panel, Lee has every page flow smoothly.  The panels look great, but the flow from panel to panel is somewhat strange.  The panels make big leaps in events, leaving the reader wondering how got to this point, when we saw them standing in a complete other way just the panel before.  Considering this is an autobiography, this is probably due to Veidt leaving out the small details.  A lot of the backgrounds are blank as well, giving an odd perspective to the events transpiring.  Veidt’s narration keeps the reader afloat as to where Veidt is and what’s going on, so the reader won’t be that confused.  On the splash pages, the dialogue boxes can be slightly hard to follow, as the reader is given no indication where to read next.  This happens a couple of times, but it’s easy to figure out fast where the text boxes are leading.

With Minutemen #2 (released 7/11), six parts of Crimson Corsair will have been released.  I’ll have a preliminary review out with that review.  For now, the two pages continue to look great, even if the story is hard to follow.  Part of me is wondering if releasing two pages an issues was the best format for the release.  It forces people to buy every issue to understand what’s going on, which is one of the mortal sins that a comic publisher can commit.  Having Crimson Corsair be it’s own mini-series might have been a better option.

While I was in Walt Disney World last week, I couldn’t get around to writing a review for Nite Owl #1.  But as you can tell from the first paragraph, it wasn’t a good issue.  Before Watchmen Nite Owl #1 gets 2/5.

Before Watchmen Ozymandias #1 gets 4/5.

MrComicBook, Before Watchmen Ozymandias #1 Review

Jonathan Hickman finally discusses the aspect that everyone has been begging for: the philosophical debates.  Many of the characters in this issue discuss both sides of this fight, and whether anyone is actually right.  Fighting is great to read, but this series did need some conversation about what is going on.  Hickman does so, and in a very interesting way.  It also helps that the wild characterization that kept popping up in the first five issues is gone.  Everyone behaves in character, and is thinking more.  To many of the plot points in Avengers vs X-Men #1-#5 were based around people suddenly beating the crap out of each other for no reason.  The fringe aspects of this event, like K’un Lun, are brought in to make the event more cohesive. And while all this is going on, the issue isn’t bogged down or feels to busy.  And while the ending has been wildly teased, it gives the issue an epic ending that makes the reader really excited……for the first time in a while.

Wolverine was a good choice as the person on both sides of the fight, but it looks as if other characters are filling that role better.  Black Panther and Beast get some great lines in the philosophical debate, and it goes a long way to making this event more entertaining.  Of course the smartest people on Earth are going to have something to say about it.  And every hero in town is questioning if they should do something or not.  It’s still a superhero comic, so we have some fighting, but barely factors into the issue.  I will never get tired of seeing heroes hit each other, but there was a great opportunity for some debates in the first five issues and those were gone.  This new direction that the series seems to be taking is one for the best.  It’s sad to say that this is Hickman’s last issue on this event, as he clearly knows how it should be written.  His two issues have been the best of the group so far.

Side note, Hickman has been writing one hell of a great Black Panther recently.  Marvel, consider Hickman for a Black Panther book when the movie comes out.

While I love John Romita Jr., his artwork seemed rushed near the end.  But with Oliver Coipel, the issue has some new energy.  Every scene is hyper detailed, and characters beyond expressive.  These are things that we have come to expect with Coipel and his work at Marvel.  But Avengers vs X-Men needed his artwork right now.  The fight scene feels bombastic, and every time one of the Phoenix Force Five appear, they have an otherworldly look.  As if they really are gods.  It shows in the eyes of the characters as well.  The only fault is Hope herself.  While she has been said to be around 17 or 18, she looks like a child here.  Every artist pencils her differently, but she looked like a 13 year old here.

Oh, and Emma Frosts’ costume is awesome.

Event books are always constant.  If the quality starts to dip, usually it’s hard for an event to turn around from bad issues.  But Avengers vs X-Men is the first one I have seen do it.  It helps that the series is double shipped, but the quality alone has changed.  I’m actually excited for Avengers vs X-Men #7, and the event in general.  And that’s the first time since the first issue.

Avengers vs X-Men #6 gets 4/5.

MrComicBook, Avengers vs X-Men #6 Review

Part 1: Beat the Poet

Writer: Matt Kindt

Art: Alberto Ponticelli

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E #10 welcomes new writer Matt Kindt who is filling in for Jeff Lemire since he stepped down to take over Justice League Dark (issue #9 was amazing!), however for some odd reason Lemire’s name is still on the cover? I wouldn’t worry though Mindt brings his A-game with all the fun wild craziness Frankenstein has to offer.

Kindt gets the ball rolling quick. Things start off in the library when all of sudden Frankenstein is attacked by ninja bug creatures, which are hard to kill according to the S.H.A.D.E database, but nothing is a match for Frankenstein! From this point he must assemble his finest men and travel to an upside down city and track down a S.H.A.D.E agent who went rogue. We are then believed to think that the rogue agent might have something to do with the attack back at the S.H.A.D.E library. When all things are said and done there is a twist at the end and Frankenstein might have been left for dead!? This isn’t the best issue I have read, but new writer Kindt serves up a good story and I can’t wait for the following issue.

Ultimately Alberto Ponticelli’s art is worth the $2.99 price tag for me. I love all the sci-fi action, characters facial expressions, and cloud traveling (with cloud jets!).I first heard about Ponticelli in 2011 when he was drawing IDW’s Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliath mini-series, which I absolutely loved. Seeing these larger than life monsters come to life and destroying Tokyo really made me admire him as a artist, also John Layman (Chew) writing it made me love this series even more. Regardless, if you like Ponticelli art definitely check out IDW’s Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliath mini-series.

Rating: 3/5

Chuckie Valdez, Review: Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E #10

Review: BATMAN #10 (spoiler-free)
Assault on the Court
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo
Backup story: Fall of the House of Wayne
Writer: Scott Snyder,James Tynion IV
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Rating: 10/10

Agent Burgos, Review: BATMAN #10 (Spoiler-Free)

We are featuring his review here at Comic Book Therapy and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Make sure you leave your comments below.

Essential Iron Fist Volume 1 collects the first four years’ worth of Marvel comics starring the character, who debuted in 1974 during a martial arts craze. The series is mainly known for some of the earliest work by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne. This book is part of the Marvel Essentials series, which republishes hundreds of pages of comic books in black and white, a great cost savings for comic book fans!

The Long, Strange Journey of Iron Fist

A 1970s Comic Book Character Revisited

Essential Iron Fist collects Marvel Premiere issues 15-25; Iron Fist 1-15; Marvel Team-Up 63-64; and Power Man & Iron Fist 48-50. Iron Fist debuted in Marvel Premiere 15. After issue 25 he graduated to his own comic, which lasted 15 issues. The Marvel Team-Up stories tied up some story lines after the character’s own comic was canceled. Then Iron Fist was injected into another comic that wasn’t selling well, Power Man, to give it a lift. As you may be able to tell from the list Iron Fist was not a huge success story of the 1970s.

Even so, I liked Iron Fist at the time. The stories had some freshness, and John Byrne’s art was very cool. I decided to write this lens to highlight some of the reasons I think any comic book fan would enjoy this collection, which really is a good way to experience the character. The image here is of Iron Fist and Power Man, off the back cover of Essential Iron Fist Volume 1.

Chris Claremont and Misty Knight

The X-Men Writer At His Best

Agent Burgos, FAN REVIEW: Essential Iron Fist Volume 1

Spoiler warning for all of Season 8 and 9

As usual with Buffy, she is having a hard time dealing with the repercussions of her decisions.  At the end of Season 8, she decided to destroy the Seed, which housed all magic in the world.  Willow is unable to connect to magic, thus destroying an important part of her life.  Dawn and Xander are trying to lead a normal life, but that is never possible when you are related to Buffy Summers.  But Buffy tries to keep going, finding a place to live and a somewhat steady job.  The first night in her new place, she gets black out drunk.  Then she is hounded by a demon who wants her to pay her student loans.  But something else is coming after her.  A certain person with powers is hunting Buffy, because Simone, a Slayer, sent him.  She is non to happy with how things turned out with the Seed.  The final issue pertains the controversial story line that was mentioned earlier.  Considering it’s a very big thing, it will not be in this review.

Joss Whedon writes the first issue, and Buffy vet Andrew Chambliss writes the rest of the issues.  It’s never apparent to the reader when the switch is made, as Chambliss has a knack for writing in Joss’ voice.  Some will not like the direction that these two have taken Buffy.  But there is no doubt that these five issues have some great writing.  The character progression feels natural, and their voices are there.  While the dialogue is not as spot on as Angel & Faith, it’s still better than most of Season 8.  Buffy and the Scoobies have always been a witty group, but this Season seems to be more in tune with Season 6.  The group is not necessarily as happy as they could be.  It’s an interesting turn given last Season, and one that not all readers will like.  Chambliss balances the big cast well, always giving the reader just enough of the fringe characters without losing focus of Buffy and whatever adventure she is on.  Even the controversial scene is handled very well.

George Jeanty, the penciler for most of Season 8, is back again.  His pencils have improved quite a bit since that time.  The characters look more like the actors, especially when they are giving odd expressions.  The action scenes flow better as well.  Occasionally characters lose a bit of detail when they enter the background, but again, it’s not as big a problem as it was in Season 8.  One thing that Dark Horse has done this season is know when to give Jeanty a rest and bring in a fill in artist.  Even just giving him one month gives Jeanty enough time to make his next arc look that much better.  The fill in artist for the fifth issue is Karl Moline.  His artwork is suitable, and he captures the look of the actors well.  He pencils the controversial scene, and handles it very well.  Readers can really feel that Buffy doesn’t know what to do with this news.

Extras are skim, but good for the price.  All are sketches by Jeanty, with a few being the designs of new characters.  There are alternate covers and promotional materials as well.  Die hard fans will like these, and considering Dark Horse sells two covers for each issue, it’s nice to have all the covers in one spot.

This collection is $9.67 on Amazon, so Buffy fans don’t have much of a reason to not get it.  It’s a great collection for a season that is proving to be much better than the previous season.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 Vol. TPB gets 4/5.

MrComicBook, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 Vol. 1 Review

I knew nothing of this series of books before reading this hardcover.  Let alone that it’s a long established series of books and this hardcover takes place in between two of them.  Over the span of these five issues, the reader gets a hold on the nuances of this universe and how everything works.  The way vampires are presented is genuinely different, which keeps it from being boring.  The series was clearly written for fans of the series, delving deeper into the mythology of what people already know.  While I won’t be reading this series anytime soon, it surprisingly worked as a gateway to a bigger universe.  The stories of vampires past was interesting, and handled well.  These classic characters are barely changed, but it’s enough that you could imagine this happening to them and not messing up the story they are originally from.  Characters could have used some more depth, but this is a tie-in story.  If you’re reading this series, you are most likely a fan of the series and have a basic understanding of these characters and their interactions.  This is mostly evident when the characters are talking about events and relationships that happened in the novels.  Not the worst atrocity committed by a tie-in comic, but does hinder the enjoyment.

But the book doesn’t hide where it gets it’s influences from.  House of Night: Legacy seems like a mashup between Buffy, Harry Potter, and Twilight.  Kids have the wit of Joss Whedon, complain about boyfriends like it’s the only thing in the world, and they go to a school to learn how to be a good vampire.  The mashup sounds like it shouldn’t work, and there are points where it doesn’t, but it does work.  House of Night does fall into some of the generic story points for books like this.  The students discuss classic tales of heroes who were vampires, and how their god, Nyx, helped them.  But in the present day, Nyx helps them with simple self confidence problems that are solved by one sentence spoken by a supporting character.  Doesn’t Nyx have something else to do besides helping this one girl in the middle of Tulsa?  If the stories of Cleopatra and others hadn’t been in the same hardcover, I might have taken them a little more serious.  But I couldn’t help but laugh at these situations.  The humor can seem a little out of place, as these characters suddenly being witty bastards after speaking generic lines for a few pages is jarring.  The school aspect all but yells that it’s copying things from Harry Potter.

The artwork is one of the better aspects of this collection.  Each story is penciled by a different artist, with the school scenes penciled by Joelle Jones.  Her artwork blends the fantasy and high school well.  The backgrounds were what struck me, with a great amount of detail added to them.  But then again, she only pencils about half the book, so it’s no surprise that everything is detailed.  The five artists who handle the stories of ancient vampires fit their stories well. Most of them give the story a hue that matches the “element” that the story is talking about.  While not surprising, it still makes the images pop off the page.

The biggest gaff this collection commits is the lack of extras.  No sketches, no interviews, nothing.  Even though I’m not a fan of this series, I would have liked to read a little bit about the series.  Then again, the book is rather cheap on Amazon, so whoever buys this is already saving a bunch money.  Fans of the House of Night: Legacy series would be wise to pick this series up.

Now I’m going to give this HC a 3.5/5. But, taking into consideration that I’m not a fan of the series, or that I had never heard of it before, I’d say fans of the series would give this HC a 4/5.

House of Night: Legacy HC is available on July 17th

MrComicBook, House of Night: Legacy HC Review

Matt Fraction deals with this week’s issue.  He frames the issue with Hope comparing herself to the man who pushed the atomic bomb onto Japan in World War II.  It’s a nice comparison, and one that helps sell the reader on how Hope feels this issue.  Fraction finally has her crack and agree with what the Avengers have been saying all along.  That scene would have worked really well, if it wasn’t surrounded by more and more fighting.  Look, I knew there was going to be endless fighting in this series, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be the same five fights over and over again.  But Hope’s confession that she made the wrong choice is a good story point, and one that I didn’t see coming from this event.  Tony Stark’s robot and plan was good, and it’s no surprise considering Fraction is one of the best Iron Man writers ever.  He also grounds the characters a little more than Ed Brubaker did in his issue, but retains the quirk from Jonathan Hickman’s.  Characters aren’t going wild for the sake of satisfying a plot point, but are speaking in character.  While Fraction had trouble giving everyone a chance to speak on Uncanny X-Men, he did a good job here.

What really left a sour taste in my mouth was the ending.  It’s not the worst ending in the world, but not exactly the best either.  The Avengers vaguely did something to the Phoenix Force, which pissed it off.  I hope they state in another issue what the Avengers exactly did, otherwise it’s a cheap plot twist.  But having the X-Men present be infected by the Phoenix somewhat messes up continuity.  Wasn’t the Phoenix only able to get into the mind of certain people?  I could be wrong, and I’m sure Marvel will say something like, “It’s the Phoenix Force, it can do whatever the hell it wants.”  #6 comes out in two weeks, so I shall reserve my judgement on this story choice till then.

John Romita JR is bashed quite a lot on internet forum boards.  He is a very talented artist who is one of the legends of the comic industry.  Look to his run on Amazing Spider-Man with J. Michael Straczynski for proof that he can be an amazing artist.  But Avengers vs X-Men isn’t going to be one of this better books.  His artwork is starting to look rushed, even when it looks good.  The page where the X-Men get infected looks great, and the costume designs are great to look at.  While Tony’s new toy looks like a big Transformer, it gives JRJR some room to pencil a couple of great pages.  But the wires that connect Tony to the robot look cheap.  And Cap’s shield strangely floats in one scene.  One thing that I have been noticing for some time is that Marvel has been overworking JRJR.  The guy needs  break.

I have been using the Marvel AR app on my iPhone, and I must say that it’s not 100% worth it.  Most of the added details are just the page going from pencils to inks to the final product.  Cool?  Yes, but not worth it really.  I like it when Marvel adds videos from the writers and artists, but they only work half the time.  Most of the time they play twice, with the reader hearing the audio twice but the video is only playing once.  It gives an odd echoey sound that makes it impossible to listen too.

While not the worst issue, things to change fast in this series if the event is going to be saved at all.  With JRJR finally getting a break and Olivier Coipel taking over on art duties, it’s time for the event to turn it around quality wise.  My fingers are crossed for Act 2.

Avengers vs X-Men #5 gets 3.5/5.

MrComicBook, Avengers vs X-Men #5 Review

The Uruguayan illustrator was best known for his work on DC Comics‘ New Teen Titans in the 1980s, and also his recent Judge Parker newspaper strip.

Eduardo Barreto was born in 1954 in Montevideo, and worked with the Argentine writer Hector Oesterheld during the 1970s, before starting work in North American comics in the 1980s. In the U.S., he was best known for his designs for DC Comics, which illustrated series like Superman, Action Comics, Shadow Strikes, Martian Manhunter, and especially New Teen Titans.
One of the best-known works by Eduardo Barreto is especially Lex Luthor – The Unauthorized Biography, in which is told the origin of the greatest enemy of Superman and how he had come from a poor childhood to become the most powerful man in Metropolis.

Another well-known work of Eduardo Barreto in Brazil was the magazine of Elseworld line (also known here as The Time Tunnel) called Superman – Batman The story of Steel showed what would happen if, instead of falling in Kansas, the Kal-El rocket had landed on the outskirts of Gotham City and the baby was adopted by Thomas and Martha Wayne.

He has also worked for Dark Horse, drawing a meeting between Alien and Predator, and Oni Press. He returned to comics with The Phantom Sunday strips earlier this year.

Oni Press, which published the 2009 Union Station which Barreto worked on with Ande Parks, has released a statement.

“All of us at Oni Press were saddened to have learned of the passing of our friend and colleague, Eduardo Barreto,” said the publisher.

“It was our absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to collaborate with this great artist. Eduardo fit the classic model of a working illustrator, and he particularly loved the wide variety of comics that he read growing up in Uruguay.”

“Those who worked with him remember him as a true professional, and everyone who met him could instantly call him a friend. Eduardo Barreto leaves behind a tremendous body of work, as well as a legion of fans, all of whom will miss him dearly. We join them in extending our deepest condolences to his family for their loss.”

Barreto is survived by his colourist daughter Andrea and son Diego, who has worked on BOOM! Studios‘ Irredeemable.

Legendary comics creator Joe Simon also died, at the age of 98, earlier this month.

wolverinept, Veteran Dc Comics Artist Eduardo Barreto Dies, Aged 57