Post by ryokowerx on Sept 19, 2011 14:12:12 GMT -5
(cross-posted from my Facebook account. I hadn't originally intended on picking up all the new #1s but the 50% off deal at DCBS turned out to be too good to pass up. Feel free to discuss, agree or disagree
So what the hell is this? I'm going to try to write a review of each of the new #1 issues put out by DC Comics. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, DC Comics (home of Superman, Batman, etc.) is completely restarting most* of the history they have established with their comic books since 1939. (* some continuity remains but all events that remain are considered to have happened within a five year span of time) If you're still confused, think of it as everything being set back to square one and all these superheroes are new things to show up rather than a given part of the world.
Anything I say from this point on is my opinion and reflects only my feelings. Please take your nerd rage elsewhere if you disagree or at least be civil in your disagreement.
NOTE: I have not read Flashpoint #5 which kicks off this new history so I'm going to try to approach these issues as if someone completely new to comics were picking them up for the first time. If you're interested in what I have to say, I'd encourage you to go to your local comic book shop (if you have one) or you can buy them digitally at Comixology (http://www.comixology.com).
PLOT SUMMARY:
Trouble breaks out on a plane as Cole Cash (going under the alias Cole Argent) hears voices in his head before the woman sitting next to him tries to stab him. He kills her only to have one of the flight stewards try to kill him before the two of them tumble out of the open door mid-flight. Cole kills the man as they fall and then we cut back to a flashback of his big score when he pulls a double-cross on a businessman. He is on his way to San Juan to meet his female accomplice when he is abducted. He wakes up strapped to a table in front of a alien in a energy tank. He escapes, killing a man in the process and begins hearing voices in his head. His accomplice, thinking he burned her, spills the beans to the cops as he has been missing for seventeen days that he can't account for. We cut back to the present to the Pentagon where Cole's brother, a special operations commander, is told to take care of the problem since his brother is now a wanted terrorist after the incident on the plane. The issue ends with Grifter hiding out in a cemetery in New Orleans and donning his trademark mask for the first time.
THE ART:
The artwork is done by "Cafu" and it is good but nothing exceptional. It is on par with what you would expect from a normal monthly comic book title. If I had to level a criticism against the art, Grifter comes across as stiff in several panels but it isn't terribly noticeable unless you pay very close attention to the art. Casual readers won't notice.
THE STORY:
Grifter has a decent story even if they are rifting off of the movie They Live a bit. Just instead of a pair of sunglasses we have a interrupted experiment to make Cole a host for one of the aliens that allows him to hear them if not see them (so far). The story so far is marginally interesting if not very deep. However, there is room for growth here. Grifter was always one of my favorite characters from back when he was in WildC.A.T.S. so I'm a bit biased here and I like the different spin on his even if it is derivative. "Lone Man on the Run" is going to get old pretty quick unless they've got some really good twists up their sleeves. Let's hope that compelling supporting characters are on the way as well as a enemy that isn't so faceless.
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:
Grifter will set you back $2.99 and it is going to be one of those titles that I'm going to give a few more issues to prove itself to me. If I'm not good and hooked by #4 this is one that is going by the wayside. It's a average comic with average art but could be more given time.
NEXT WEEK:
Demon Knights #1, Frankenstein: Agent Of Shade #1, and Mister Terrific #1
GRIFTER #1
So what the hell is this? I'm going to try to write a review of each of the new #1 issues put out by DC Comics. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, DC Comics (home of Superman, Batman, etc.) is completely restarting most* of the history they have established with their comic books since 1939. (* some continuity remains but all events that remain are considered to have happened within a five year span of time) If you're still confused, think of it as everything being set back to square one and all these superheroes are new things to show up rather than a given part of the world.
Anything I say from this point on is my opinion and reflects only my feelings. Please take your nerd rage elsewhere if you disagree or at least be civil in your disagreement.
NOTE: I have not read Flashpoint #5 which kicks off this new history so I'm going to try to approach these issues as if someone completely new to comics were picking them up for the first time. If you're interested in what I have to say, I'd encourage you to go to your local comic book shop (if you have one) or you can buy them digitally at Comixology (http://www.comixology.com).
WARNING! SPOILERS OFF THE PORT BOW CAP'N!
PLOT SUMMARY:
Trouble breaks out on a plane as Cole Cash (going under the alias Cole Argent) hears voices in his head before the woman sitting next to him tries to stab him. He kills her only to have one of the flight stewards try to kill him before the two of them tumble out of the open door mid-flight. Cole kills the man as they fall and then we cut back to a flashback of his big score when he pulls a double-cross on a businessman. He is on his way to San Juan to meet his female accomplice when he is abducted. He wakes up strapped to a table in front of a alien in a energy tank. He escapes, killing a man in the process and begins hearing voices in his head. His accomplice, thinking he burned her, spills the beans to the cops as he has been missing for seventeen days that he can't account for. We cut back to the present to the Pentagon where Cole's brother, a special operations commander, is told to take care of the problem since his brother is now a wanted terrorist after the incident on the plane. The issue ends with Grifter hiding out in a cemetery in New Orleans and donning his trademark mask for the first time.
THE ART:
The artwork is done by "Cafu" and it is good but nothing exceptional. It is on par with what you would expect from a normal monthly comic book title. If I had to level a criticism against the art, Grifter comes across as stiff in several panels but it isn't terribly noticeable unless you pay very close attention to the art. Casual readers won't notice.
THE STORY:
Grifter has a decent story even if they are rifting off of the movie They Live a bit. Just instead of a pair of sunglasses we have a interrupted experiment to make Cole a host for one of the aliens that allows him to hear them if not see them (so far). The story so far is marginally interesting if not very deep. However, there is room for growth here. Grifter was always one of my favorite characters from back when he was in WildC.A.T.S. so I'm a bit biased here and I like the different spin on his even if it is derivative. "Lone Man on the Run" is going to get old pretty quick unless they've got some really good twists up their sleeves. Let's hope that compelling supporting characters are on the way as well as a enemy that isn't so faceless.
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:
Grifter will set you back $2.99 and it is going to be one of those titles that I'm going to give a few more issues to prove itself to me. If I'm not good and hooked by #4 this is one that is going by the wayside. It's a average comic with average art but could be more given time.
NEXT WEEK:
Demon Knights #1, Frankenstein: Agent Of Shade #1, and Mister Terrific #1