It’s Wednesday! That means new comic book day and a stack of number ones reviewed just for you!
I started something new a few weeks ago: I featured student guest reviews of some new titles, and we will be doing that again today! That’s right. I get to the comic book store at 7:00 A.M., buy a chunk of new titles, have students stop in and grab a few, they read them, we review them. All in the course of the school day. I hope you enjoy.
My plan is to feature two-four student writers each Wednesday. And today…is ALL student reviewers, and it’s my last student guests of the semester.
Star Wars: Age of Rebellion – Boba Fett from Marvel Comics
Written by Greg Pak; Illustrated by Marc Laming; Colored by Neeraj Menon
Reviewed by Sam V-W.
Greg Pak and Marc Laming have done it again; this issue is tied with Star Wars Age of Rebellion: Grand Moff Tarkin for my favorite Star Wars issue thus far.
I LOVE this art. Marc Laming is just so darn good at capturing the tone of an environment in his work. The character art is simply fantastic and super detailed. The background art is visually stunning, detailing dark and gloomy atmosphere in most panels.
Story has Boba Fett on a bounty hunting mission, attempting to corner his mark and bring him in, dead or alive. The best part of this issue is that Boba offers no dialogue of his own until the very end of the issue. He doesn’t need to introduce himself; his reputation precedes him wherever he goes; everyone knows to run from a professional bounty hunter.
Pick this issue up if you know what’s good for you. Remember… you can’t fight Boba Fett.
Eve Stranger from Black Crown/IDW
Written by David Barnett; Illustrated by Philip Bond; Colored by Eva De La Cruz
Reviewed by Sam V-W.
I enjoyed it; the plot and action were both intriguing and intense.
I can totally see myself picking up the next issue, plot starts off quickly and is immensely enjoyable.
Art is really fantastic, drawn in smooth, vibrant colors that really pop. The character art is detailed in some ways, yet simplistic in regards to facial expressions.
The story: Eve wakes up with no memory in a hotel room, something that apparently has happened to her more than once in recent months. She is told she must complete a mission, and in doing so will save her life and the lives of several innocents. With some hints to her past mixed in, the flashbacks conveyed through this issue are subtle yet potent.
There are not any scenes that are harmful to the fast pace of this issue, and there didn’t seem to be any misused or pointless dialogue either.
All in all, it was a good read.
Gears of War: Hivebusters from IDW
Written by Kurtis Wiebe; Illustrated by Alan Quah; Colored by Sean Lee
Reviewed by Anthony A.
I was really expecting this to be a good book because I personally would buy an Xbox just to play the video game version of this. I grew up playing Socom, Gears of War, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted on my uncles Playstation 2 and Xbox.
This issue starts off with a group of the COG attempting to destroy a hive. They end up “activating” the hive, I guess, and all hell breaks loose. That is the whole first half of the book. Not a lot happens.
I think that the writing is meh. There is an obstacle that the soldiers have to overcome and they do. Nothing special at all. Some of the writing was difficult to follow just because the dialogue does not match the initial portion of the conversation.
I like the art though; it is very bright and colorful. There is very little detail, and I did not like that; it almost seemed like a fuzzy memory sequence.
Overall the book was not that great. I was hoping for more because of the already established Gears of War series.
Batman and the Outsiders from DC Comics
Written by Bryan Hill; Illustrated by Dexter Soy; Colored by Veronica Gandini
Reviewed by Anthony A.
This number 1 issue from DC leads to an origin of a character similar to the Hulk minus the hugeness and greenness. As she gets hurt, she gains power. The team of Outsiders are tasked by Batman to find her and bring her to Gotham City.
I liked this issue, and I think I might follow it. The whole team of superheroes thing is pretty played out by now, but I don’t really mind it. I don’t know much about any of the characters in the issue, and I want to know more. Long story short: new team with new characters, please.
The writing in this book was not bad. It is difficult to have an awesome number one only because you basically have to start from scratch.
I like a lot of the art DC has done for their characters and issues. The costumes look great, and there are some drawings that make the whole page super dramatic.
The issue flows pretty well; though it does have a few points where I thought that I had accidentally skipped a page: that was not good. After going back I just realized that it was a bad transition to the next scene.
The Mighty Mascots from Alterna Comics
Written by Keith Gleason; Illustrated by Ian Waryanto; Colored by Anton Bandi
Reviewed by Ahmad M.
This story is interesting, childish, and confusing.
The story is about a group of “creatures slash people”: 3 robots, a scientist, an alien, a cup of punch, and a pirate with a robotic bird. It story starts off with criminals creating a muck monster, and these mascot hero’s (so they are called) come to save the day; throughout the fight scenes there are so many cheesy lines, but some were, no lie, pretty funny.
The end is different than just heroes save the day; they receive help from an outside source that everyone seems to know that want to exterminate the mascot heroes, and it ends like that on a cliffhanger.
The story is confusing for the simple reason that nothing has a backstory. For instance, there is a character unknown beside his name (Trevor) who apparently died, and we have no idea if he is a villain or a hero.
Finally the art style is colorful and looks like it was simple to do, but it suits the story. Each panel is straightforward and easy to understand. Also to note the paper is like newspaper, not like your typical glossy comic page which I feel helped the book; it adds a little of change and made it cheaper to print; the issue is only$1.50.
Overall the story is meant for children. Not many teens would read this all the way through, so it would make a nice gift for a comic loving 6th grader.
Samurai Jack: Lost Worlds from IDW
Written by Paul Allor; Illustrated by Adam Bryce Thomas
Reviewed by Ahmad M.
I didn’t grow up watching Samurai Jack, but for a comic it wasn’t that bad; it was quite interesting actually.
It is your typical samurai but in a world that sees him as a teacher; they believe what he says and follow his way of the calm, peaceful, and loving worrier.
The story has good morals, and if anything I recommend this story to children and preteens that have seen Samurai Jack just because they will understand the timeline more. This is a book you can pick up just to read even if you are clueless of Samurai Jack like me.
The art is nice too: clean and the colors match the story. But there ware some panels that seem a little confusing to understand, and you have to look twice to understand what is happening.
Overall I would rate it a 8/10 for children and a 6/10 for teens and adults.
Three IDW #1s along with their quality give the San Diego publisher its 4th Best of the Week! Congrats IDW!
BOOM! Studios: 2
Image: 4
Archie Comics: 1
Dark Horse Comics: 2
Marvel: 8
IDW: 4
Vault: 1
Black Mask: 1
Shout out to my shop, Alternate Reality located at 111th and Kedzie in beautiful Downtown Mt. Greenwood, Chicago…where I get all of my new books. Check them out if you are in the Chicagoland area. Tell Tim that Eric sent ya!
Check out the happenings of Alternate Reality by clicking here.
Happy reading!
Eric
Twitter: comics_teacher
IG: @comics_teacher
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