I lack the necessary motivation and material to bitch about a particular piece of technology (though I may well have some fodder relating to a recent game), I’ll recap a few recent comics launches.
Moon Knight, now on its fifth issue, has been off to an interesting start. The titular star of the book, Marc Spector, is a wealthy businessman in Los Angeles who makes his money financing big-budget films and the like. In his spare time he uses his funds to fight crime as Moon Knight, along with his friends–Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine–who assist him in some usual ways. Right off the bat, the Knight finds an interesting piece of technology in the hands of a local gang, which starts him on a cat-and-mouse quest that has yet to yield fruit. So far I’m enjoying it, and I look forward to more issues.
Rating: 7.5/10
Planet of the Apes #6 hit shelves this month, as well. Timed to coincide with the release of the recent film, the comic tells the story of oppressed humans living in a Hooverville of a town on the outskirts of Mak, an ape metropolis. After the lawgiver, the supreme authority of Mak, is killed by a human, the two species stand on the brink of war. The situation only gets worse when a cache of futuristic weaponry is discovered, some of which falls into the hands of the humans. It’s nice to see an original story that doesn’t attempt to rehash the Rise film, or Tim Burton’s now-forgotten piece. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
Rating: 7.5/10
Two months ago, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles celebrated its relaunch. This being the fourth volume of the comic since its original debut in the mid-Eighties, times have changed and so has the story. The first issue begins some eighteen months after an accident in which the turtles and their master, Spliter, were exposed to toxic waste, at which time Raphael was separated from the group. Now Raph wanders the streets aimlessly, searching for a purpose, while Splinter directs the remaining three Turtles in the search for their lost brother. The art style gets some points for being a bit nonconformist, while not straying too far. I’m liking it.
Rating: 8/10
DC Comics recently had the bright idea to “relauch” their entire line of comics, cancelling a large number of long-running series in the process and rebooting all continuity. Batman in particular took a backward step–after months of Dick Grayson running around as the Caped Crusader, DC decided to put Bruce Wayne back in the suit. While I’m not a fan of this decision (Grayson made a great Batman in my opinion), the first issue of this new run shows promise. Scott Snyder was the writer at the end of Detective Comics‘ run, and his skill gives me faith. I’m happy to see him working on this series now.
Rating: 8/10
Green Arrow is the one I am less than thrilled about. Almost every aspect of the character has been tinkered with, to the point of violating a lot of the basic qualities he used to have. While he was previously a Robin Hood-like hero stalking about the city, now he looks rather like Duke Nukem in a domino mask. He has also been given a supporting team, not unlike Batman’s former partnership with Oracle, which is unusual for a character who has always been a loner. The series has an action-oriented feel to it, rather than the dark brooding philosophy he used to have. I don’t think I will be follwing this one for long, but I’ll give it a few months.
Rating: 3/10