Friday, February 17, 2012

Back of the Bin Wednesday Reviews..! (a little delayed)

Back of the Bin Reviews
by Chris Grisby

This week’s Back of the Bin reviews was brought to you by the latter “I” and a cheap reviewer. I’ve brought you some more dollar bin comics to review, all centering around the letter “I”. (All except Judge Dredd, but I can do what I want because “I” AM THE LAW..! As usual, Dig is a recommendation to look for the title, Sift is to look for specific or interesting ones only, and Bury is to avoid the title at all costs…

This stack:
Invaders #1 (1993)
Invincible #’s 34, 41, 42, 51 (2006)
Helios: In With The New #3 (2006)
Incorruptible #1 (2009)
Infinity Guantlet #2 (1991)
Invisibles #11 (1995)
Intimates #’s 9, 12 (2005)
Judge Dredd (1986)



Invaders #1
flashback WWII adventures starring the classic stars of Marvel’s past: Captain America, Namor, Human Torch, Miss America, Whizzer and… The Thin Man? (lol). Human Torch and Miss America are the standout characters for me. The android Human Torch plays much like Johnny Storm but a bit more badass. He and Namor have a great rivalry here and he actually comes off like a challenge for the powerhouse. Miss America is a great female lead. She has an obvious femininity and emotional side but still kicks ass alongside her beau, Whizzer, and the other male heroes. Kind of upset she’s not around. The adventure is some standard anti-Nazi shtick but the characters are great, and there’s a cameo from Dr. Death aka the X-Men’s Dr. Nemesis (who’s working for the freaking Nazis..!) Dig..!



Invincible #’s 34, 41, 42, 51
Dig! I’m so mad I didn’t get hipped to this book sooner but it is wonderful. I’m not a trade buyer but I’m holding off buying more of these singles just so I can read them all at once, in order. Super heroics, teen angst, and sci-fi… oh my! Solid story arcs alongside some wonderful art, this is a complete super hero comic. Dig, I say..!



Helios: In With The New #3
Published by Dakuwaka Productions, the cover art by Mike Choi and Sonia Oback is insane and a big reason why I picked this up. The interior has a certain style to their faces that takes getting used to but overall is really good, perfect coloring and clean lines. This military super hero story is in the middle of an arc and the learning curve was a bit steep, but I’d say Dig for this title. The issue showed potential for a good story and if you’re a fan of comic art this may work for you…



Incorruptible #1
There wasn’t enough story in this first ish for me to really tell if I like this title or not. It seems to have been written, as if you know these characters/stories already (which maybe I should) but I don’t, so it didn’t work well for me. Certainly some promising stuff but if it’s this sorely decompressed in the first ish, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the series. It gets rave reviews but I’ll say Sift for interesting issues/covers until further notice…



Infinity Guantlet #2
ugh… setup, setup, setup. And what isn’t setup is the same reactions to the events of the first issue, all bland and boring. When half the galaxy disappears and the only character I can feel for is the fake Thor (impersonated by Thunderstrike, I assume) having to pretend he knew the missing heroes, something is wrong. Maybe it reads better in trade but Bury this… The only really good thing about this was we were just talking about this comic having one of Jean Grey’s “deaths” in it and I happened to run across it in the bin…



Invisibles #11
It almost took me the whole issue to get behind this book, but I did finally like it. Slow moving but some nice character work with a touch of what the fuck. Still no clue what the ongoing story is about but if each issue is a one and done, I’d say Sift for this creepy title to give you a little something different...



Intimates #’s 9, 12
Absolutely horrendous!!! I hated ‘Howard the Duck’ last week and would rather read that than try to drudge my way through an issue of Intimates again. Punchy might’ve been a good idea…but is horrible in ink. I couldn’t stand to read his semi-deadpoolian-gangsta speech. I barely followed the story outside of that anyway, possibly from putting the book down every second panel and only picking it up again out of my dedication to CBNAH. But fuck you guys, I flipped through issue 12 and more of the same so I didn’t read it. Burn and Bury the ashes…



Judge Dredd #27
I know it’s not kosher but I liked the movie, but I love bad/simple movies, and have never read a Judge Dredd comic. Other than sometimes the panel placement throwing off my flow for reading, it was an enjoyable read. Despite the violent action it came off weirdly like an adult Saturday morning cartoon. Comic book action coupled with social commentary and a moral at the end. A major plus, was the multiple short stories within the one issue. Judge Dredd gets the job done repeatedly in one session, gotta love that. Can’t say that I’d want to read the hit you over the head morality all the time but I don’t think you could go wrong with Sifting for this title by the cover art. Their usually pretty funny, just find one (or more) that tickles your fancy…

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