So here we go, my first selection of reviews for your delectation:
· Haunt vol. 1 collects #1-5 TPB. (Image) Robert Kirkman, Capullo, McFarlane
Another new collaboration from the mind of Image main-stay, Robert Kirkman, supported with artwork by Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane. Image comic's Haunt introduces readers to a new unique type of hero called Haunt. this creature is a combination of two brothers, one a womanising, chain-smoking priest and the other is his extremely violent government secret agent sibling.the latter is killed and "haunts" his brother by bonding with him to form the character known as Haunt, a monstrous beast of great strength and agility. The two brothers, the Priest and ghost who is invisible, are quickly hired by the agency the secret agent brother used to work for.
I was always going to read this comic, even if it ends up being another ephemeral tale like some of Kirkman's other creations, because i am always left so very satisfied by the graphic artwork, mature content and re-readable story. he does it every time!
i really enjoyed the characters in Haunt and i will enjoy exploring the direction and arcs the story goes next. the main character at the beginning, played by the Priest, struggles to accept the ghost of his brother pestering him all the time to help find his killers. The pair seriously find it difficult when they form to create Haunt. towards the end, the story reveals how well the two characters play off each other with great amusement whether they are bonded as Haunt or separated as man and ghost.
its an extremely violent story handled masterfully by Capullo's panels splattered with blood and body parts. the Haunt creature is very similar to Marvel's Anti-Venom, not only in appearance but because they both shoot white tentacles to out of their body to fight off baddies. i happen to like both characters in their own way regardless of the similarities which aren't really that important but worth mentioning.
Looking forward to vol. 2 and if its survives as long as his other titles, then i dare say i'll be looking forward to Haunt featuring in other Image cross-overs and team ups which will be fun.
·Transformers Ongoing #5 (IDW) Mike Costa, Don Figueroa
Oh dear! just when i thought things couldn't get any worse, #5 shows just how woeful this latest attempt at a Transformers title really is. I was surprised and extremely disappointed to see very sloppy artwork from Don. he seemed to draw vehicles with very little attention to detail an its just looked rushed and clumsy. not impressed.
i can't believe i'm saying these things about my beloved Transformers, but sadly i am. TFs ongoing #5 was terrible. its strange that an issue can include poor drawings one minute, to quite literally jaw-dropping works of art the next. i am of course talking about Figueroa's pencils, quite possibly the one, one redeeming factor in this dreadful issue. Figueroa's double page spread of the Stunticons combining to form Decepticon Menasor was particularly sublime. i spent a good deal of time absorbing the fantastic artwork of this spread and really got a feel of how brutal Menasor is. i'm looking forward to the force he is surely to unleash in the next issue. but apart from that, the rest of the story ambled along waffling about something to do with Optimus Prime and human soldier Spike Witwicky. it was pretty forgettable and did very little to excite me about the relationship between the Autobots and the humans.
my biggest complaint about IDW's current run with the TFs is the human element. why on earth don't they just get rid of any human involvement altogether, get off earth and get back to good ol' fashioned fighting between the Autobots and Decepticons only. if i see any more TFs getting slayed at the hands of humans with big guns having robbed them off TFs technology, i won't be pleased.
i'm going to continue to be patient with this series as its just, just started to introduce some action and spotlights some interesting characters from both factions. but be warned, my patience is wearing thin! if i don't start to see some return to familiar ground, without the humans and Skywatch, then i will be forced to cancel my subscription.
but until then, this series is on very thin ice and i don't think i'm alone in this view. there is only so long that Figueroa can keep this comic afloat with his awesome drawings of robots. if it gets too dire, then for goodness sake, get Simon Furman off TFs Nefarious, swap him with Costa on this and bring back E.J. Su and dare i say Pat Lee?!
Amazing Spider-Man #625 (Marvel) Joe Kelly, MAX FIUMARA
I have to say to begin with that i'm an occasional reader of the friendly neighbourhood spidey. i only tend to follow issues or arcs featuring Venom and the symbiotes of which there are many but this current run about The Gauntlet has been good. nonemoreso that the issues featuring the Rhino. i always enjoyed episodes of 90s spider-man cartoon featuring the rampaging behemoth and tended to route for him to clobber spidey's butt, so when he appeared in this arc i thought hey why not give it a try.
Joe Kelly is an excellent writer and he has proved his amazing standard with ASM#625. issue #617 introduced the first part of this story line and was wrapped up in #625. focusing on the classic rhino having departed from his sinister criminal ways, now settling down to enjoy life with his wife, things get ugly when a new Rhino with a devastating hunger to replace the old Rhino once and for all.
i think this is such an important issue of ASM that explores this character. Spider-Man battles valiantly to prevent any harm coming to anybody but when these two Rhinos throw down there is literally no stopping them. once the Rhino charges, there is nothing that can stop the stampede.
i genuinely felt sorry about what happened in this issue and sympathised with the anguish and suffering inflicted upon the Rhino. he was a lendendary Spidey villian that i'm confident will rear his ugly horn again in the future. but for now, after the dust has settled and the impact of what occurred during this issue calms down, the streets will be relatively safe again.
I think Kelly should continue with ASM for a while as this issue was such a good read i was left wanting more from him, so thats why i'm making Amazing Spider-Man #625 my pick of the month. awesome.
