August 29 Reviews

Ex Machina: Masquerade Special
Wildstorm
Written by: Brian K. Vaughan
Art by: John Paul Leon
2.5/5

As someone who follows Ex Machina closely I was quite disappointed with this one-shot special. There were far too many occasions in which it conflicted with the regular series. Certainly with guest artist John Paul Leon and a story removed from the current timeline of the title a degree of inconsistency is to be expected, and actually is part of the allure of a 'special' to begin with. The differences I'm referring to however, ring more of sloppy writing than of using the one-shot as a chance to explore. Lazy decisions like having Mayor Hundred forgetting people's names when in past issues specific attention has been paid to illustrate how sharp his memory is, especially with names. The small bit of lightheartedness wasn't at all worth the legitimacy such little oversights sacrifice for the issue. There were other moments that didn't click as well. I cannot recall Hundred ever having used his machine-voice when he wasn't directly interacting with a machine. There was also far too much un-natural speech, notable since this is usually one of Vaughan's strongest abilities as a writer.

Not to say there isn't anything to be offered from this special. I love visiting unexplored years of Hundred's career and lines such as, "I hate this city," are fascinating in the context of the title as a whole. Seeing his earlier interactions with the people in his life and the events that followed his accident were exactly the type of thing I want as a reader. I would welcome more of these back-story specials with open arms were they as well written as the regular releases which, unfortunately, just isn't the case. We are expected to believe that that is all the more he explored his powers before deciding he wanted to be a super powered crime fighter with a jet pack? Please. Vaughan is way better than that, and so is Ex Machina.
-Tom



Mice Templar #1
Image
Written by: Bryan J.L. Glass
Story & Art by: Michael Avon Oeming
4/5

Folks around the net don't seem to agree with me here, but I'm going to go ahead and give this the nod as the week's best. First of all, this is a huge issue and a lot happens. Throughout much of the first half I harbored the same concerns I've seen voiced in the past few days. Yeah, I had trouble distinguishing who was who, what was what, why was why, or where was when and how many. Yeah, attribute that to the art which otherwise looks effin tremendous.

What stood out to me though was that the final quarter of the book is exceptional. By then I had a grasp of what was going on and felt involved in the story. It was intense and I'm excited to see what happens next. So in a way, I'm giving this series a high recommendation less for what it said and more for what it implied. The introductory stuff was a bit cumbersome but what came out of it is is looking to be great. Don't let morons start talking about there being too many books on the market with mice in them. That's just...those people are idiots. Mouse Guard and Mice Templar are massively different and I cannot understand those who are saying otherwise. I'm definitely excited about this one. Tons of potential.
-Tom



Walking Dead #41
Image
Written by: Robert Kirkman
Art By: Charlie Adlard
-/5 (3/5)

Alright. Personally I don't have a problem with Robert Kirkman taking his sweet time in developing this title however he pleases. No one denies this reads best in hardcover format and I have conceded these tedious conversational issues to that eventually satisfying experience.

That said, I've decided that reading them monthly is soiling the experience. I don't want to be bored by this title, and yet don't want to rush it. Yes, reading it monthly at the pace the story is moving is, well, sort of a let down, but it's always organic and always believable. So I'm going to let my Walking Dead issues pile up until I read word that things have picked up again. This series is great. It's just better all at once.
-Grady

I'm going to stick with it. Yeah, meh, not a lot going down in these last few issues. I'll stay around though because whenever shit/limbs/lives do hit the fan it'll be just as surprising for me as it is for our band of survivors.
-Tom



Avengers: The Initiative #5
Marvel
Written by: Dan Slott
Art by: Stefan Caselli
4/5

Wow. There are sixteen character portraits featured on the intro page of this book. Sixteen. Don't get too overwhelmed yet though, because within the first few pages an additional four more join the party. Seven, if you want to give the Scarlet Spiders some individuality.

Twenty-three characters is a lot to juggle and were I not following this series I'm sure I'd be rolling my eyes. What is this? DC? X-Men in the 90's? Thankfully though, Dan Slott seems up to the task thus far. This is a very exciting series, and for reasons above and beyond action scenes. Say what you want about big events (there seems to be an influx of articles trashing on them lately) but the government team structure Marvel's events have put in place is very tangible and gives an incredible dimension of unity across the company's core books. I don't at all mind series tying in with each other when it as fluid and natural as is done here. To an extent, you could claim every issue of this series is a tie-in book, not meaning it's exploitative but that it's relevant across the entire board. I'd buy this book twice before picking up Mighty Avengers, any day.
-Grady



World War Hulk: X-Men #3
Marvel
Written by: Christos Gage
Art by: Andrea Divito
3.5/5

There isn't anyone reading this that doesn't know exactly what it's going to be, leaving anything I have to say as somewhat of a foregone discussion. Hulk continues to wail and impale all up on the entire X-Men family which, you will be reminded, is quite extensive. The keyword here is "smash," but in many ways Gage actually delivers the most layered and developed issue of the series. A whole bunch of characters get huge moments here, some which have long deserved some spotlight. Nightcrawler and Guido in particular get a shining performances, but it's Juggernaut's stand that really ties the series together and stamps it's conclusion.

From the onset of this mini tie-in I was expecting nothing more than an enjoyable all out romp and stomp rumble. With this third and final issue I'm more satisfied than anticipated. Neat.
-Grady


________________________________________
The Word:

Not a whole lot to get excited about this week. I was really expecting more from the Ex Machina issue. I read it again and there's a lot to enjoy about it but it's definitely below the bar set by the regular installments of the series. Basically though, this week's problem was that there just wasn't really anything that came out. Next week is looking to step it up a bit with Fables and Scalped, and if nothing else at least more than 30 minutes of reading.
-Tom

Conquest stuff next week and I think One More Day kicks off does it not? I realize that everyone is bailing out on Spidey but I have no problem with bringing him down to bring him back up again. Is that not what life is like? Do we not already have decades full of feel-good Spider-Man stories? Frankly I enjoy the new generation of writers and the artistic direction they are taking many of our favorite characters. Yeah, it's not what warmed my soul when I was eight years old, but c'mon everyone. This is far more complex and fascinating.
-Grady

I agree actually. I have piles of favorite old Spidey books. I can go back and read those whenever I want. Why would I want to see a bunch of sad attempts to recapture or recreate these cherished old issues when I already have them? They are a time and a place and a feeling that can't be imitated. So why freak out because people aren't sticking to the same old formula, only so you could condemn them for being unable to recapture Spidey's style in the way you remember it. I say, we have those issues, that feeling, that place. Read them whenever you please. We also have dozens of years of shitty wandering attempts to recreate past glories. Enough of all that. Let them march forward and take a stab at doing something new that just might...matter. Ya know?
-Tom

Yeah. I do. It's pretty much exactly what I said with, ya know, way fewer sentences.
-Grady