Green Lantern Corps #17
(w) Peter J. Tomasi (a) Fernando Pasarin
"Wrath of the First Lantern" continues in Green Lantern Corps #17 with Volthoom (the eponymous First Lantern) seeking out various colored Lanterns from which to leech emotional energy. Already, this follow-up to "Rise of the Third Army" feels long in the tooth -- a person who has the potential to literally reshape the entire fabric of the universe is spending his time poking around the lives of mere mortals? "Wrath of the First Lantern" needs to be about more than just exposing our protagonists' emotional frailty because that's basically all "Rise of the Third Army" was about, and that turned out pretty unsatisfactory. It's unfortunate that, even with a new crossover to pump it up, Green Lantern Corps #17 is simply forgettable.
GRADE: 6/10
"Wrath of the First Lantern" continues in Green Lantern Corps #17 with Volthoom (the eponymous First Lantern) seeking out various colored Lanterns from which to leech emotional energy. Already, this follow-up to "Rise of the Third Army" feels long in the tooth -- a person who has the potential to literally reshape the entire fabric of the universe is spending his time poking around the lives of mere mortals? "Wrath of the First Lantern" needs to be about more than just exposing our protagonists' emotional frailty because that's basically all "Rise of the Third Army" was about, and that turned out pretty unsatisfactory. It's unfortunate that, even with a new crossover to pump it up, Green Lantern Corps #17 is simply forgettable.
GRADE: 6/10
Green Lantern: New Guardians #17
(w) Tony Bedard (a) Aaron Kuder
Green Lantern: New Guardians #17 is the third and final GL family title this week to step up to the plate and attempt to make "Wrath of the First Lantern" interesting, and it's also the third to fail. Volthoom, at this point, isn't a very menacing villain because all he does is toy with peoples emotions to gain strength -- and GL:NG #17 proves that he's not even very good at that. Kyle Rayner has mastered all the emotional spectrum and his now a White Lantern, which gives him an edge when Volthoom flips reality at a whim, but there's no sense of high stakes. Much like "Rise of the Third Army", it's frustrating to see so much going on with so little explanation, and being forced to wait for a payoff again with "Wrath of the First Lantern" is already annoying.
GRADE: 6/10
Green Lantern: New Guardians #17 is the third and final GL family title this week to step up to the plate and attempt to make "Wrath of the First Lantern" interesting, and it's also the third to fail. Volthoom, at this point, isn't a very menacing villain because all he does is toy with peoples emotions to gain strength -- and GL:NG #17 proves that he's not even very good at that. Kyle Rayner has mastered all the emotional spectrum and his now a White Lantern, which gives him an edge when Volthoom flips reality at a whim, but there's no sense of high stakes. Much like "Rise of the Third Army", it's frustrating to see so much going on with so little explanation, and being forced to wait for a payoff again with "Wrath of the First Lantern" is already annoying.
GRADE: 6/10
---------- mini Marvel reviews
Avengers #6
(w) Jonathan Hickman (a) Adam Kubert
Again, Jonathan Hickman surprises and astonishes with Avengers #6, which finally answers the question, "Who is Captain Universe?" The 'deus ex machina' of Hickman's first arc, "Avengers World", was a normal human who somehow became the living embodiment of the entire universe who was able to stop the misguided Ex Nihilo and Abyss from wrongly destroying earth -- with no real explanation until now. Hickman promised a huge, epic, grand narrative that would interweave with New Avengers, and the advent of Captain Universe brings those plans one step closer to fruition. If you're not reading Avengers, you should be; simple as that.
GRADE: 9/10
Again, Jonathan Hickman surprises and astonishes with Avengers #6, which finally answers the question, "Who is Captain Universe?" The 'deus ex machina' of Hickman's first arc, "Avengers World", was a normal human who somehow became the living embodiment of the entire universe who was able to stop the misguided Ex Nihilo and Abyss from wrongly destroying earth -- with no real explanation until now. Hickman promised a huge, epic, grand narrative that would interweave with New Avengers, and the advent of Captain Universe brings those plans one step closer to fruition. If you're not reading Avengers, you should be; simple as that.
GRADE: 9/10
The Superior Spider-Man #4
(w) Dan Slott (a) Giuseppe Camuncoli
The Superior Spider-Man continues to be one of Marvel's best series due in no small part to Dan Slott's impecable grasp on Otto Octavius -- the more we see of Otto as Spider-Man, the more we get to know the real motives and thoughts of a man who has been a villain for 50 years. The biggest complaint about SSM so far has been the use of 'Ghost Jedi Peter' -- Peter Parker's phantom consciousness still tied to his body -- and The Superior Spider-Man #4 answers those concerns by dialing back Ghost Peter's appearances allowing Otto to be himself. Though, Peter's emotional bias against Otto (as well as Otto doing anything differently than Peter did as Spider-Man) is starting to make him sound like a twat for constantly getting grossly upset over Otto's way of doing things. And while it's all been relative fun and games for Otto so far, the return of the cold-hearted Massacre promises a challenge that not even the Superior Spider-Man is prepared to face.
GRADE: 8/10
The Superior Spider-Man continues to be one of Marvel's best series due in no small part to Dan Slott's impecable grasp on Otto Octavius -- the more we see of Otto as Spider-Man, the more we get to know the real motives and thoughts of a man who has been a villain for 50 years. The biggest complaint about SSM so far has been the use of 'Ghost Jedi Peter' -- Peter Parker's phantom consciousness still tied to his body -- and The Superior Spider-Man #4 answers those concerns by dialing back Ghost Peter's appearances allowing Otto to be himself. Though, Peter's emotional bias against Otto (as well as Otto doing anything differently than Peter did as Spider-Man) is starting to make him sound like a twat for constantly getting grossly upset over Otto's way of doing things. And while it's all been relative fun and games for Otto so far, the return of the cold-hearted Massacre promises a challenge that not even the Superior Spider-Man is prepared to face.
GRADE: 8/10
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