Post by ryokowerx on Oct 7, 2011 18:16:06 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:
In Gotham City in the 1880s, Jonah Hex gets off the train and makes the mistake of going down a bad alley. Except the mistake was for the thugs there to try to take Hex's horse - a mistake that ended up with one of them dead and many wounded. Meanwhile, Doctor Amadeus Arkham has been summoned to a crime scene by Detective Lofton. As Arkham looks over the crime, he is harangued by the police commissioner. Hex shows up as he has also been contacted by Lofton and Arkham and Hex end up working together. They go to a saloon where Hex questions a prostitute he knows but not before getting into a huge fistfight. The next day she is found dead with a message for Hex to get out of Gotham. As Jonah violently works his way through the underworld for information, the two men become convinced that it is two men doing the killing rather than a single murderer. Arkham and Hex plan on showing up at a charity event at Mayor Cobblepot's house because they believe the wealthy part of the murderous duo will be there. At the party, Hex sticks out like a sore thumb and the two ruffle feathers before Hex grabs Arkham and they leave - everyone at the party was wearing skull-engraved rings - the same symbol seen worn on the finger of the killer.
THE ART:
A man who only goes by the name Moritat does the artwork. To put it simply, the art is just fantastic. Moritat has a eye for detail and he isn't afraid to just put things in the panels because such as Arkham drinking absinthe or them money being used by Hex as period appropriate. The limited color palate used by Gabriel Bautista is also very effective relying on lots of sepia, gray and red.
THE STORY:
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, the writers on the previous Jonah Hex series, handle the writing for this title as well. What is wonderful about the story is that it is one of the few comics that has taken me longer than ten minutes to read. The story is a bit derivative of a Sherlock Holmes or Jack the Ripper story but it does differ in enough ways to still put a fresh spin on it. Also interesting is how they're tying in some of the history of Gotham City and its families. Equally interesting is the contrast between the pioneering psychologist Arkham and the sociopath Hex. I was a bit hesitant when I heard about the premise of this comic but it was unfounded. This works amazingly well as a story.
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:
All-Star Western is one of the few comics that cost $3.99 rather than the standard $2.99 namely because of a extra page count and I will happily pay the extra dollar. I'll be back every month for this because this is a great story with great art, in short, everything you'd want from a comic.
ALL-STAR WESTERN #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:
In Gotham City in the 1880s, Jonah Hex gets off the train and makes the mistake of going down a bad alley. Except the mistake was for the thugs there to try to take Hex's horse - a mistake that ended up with one of them dead and many wounded. Meanwhile, Doctor Amadeus Arkham has been summoned to a crime scene by Detective Lofton. As Arkham looks over the crime, he is harangued by the police commissioner. Hex shows up as he has also been contacted by Lofton and Arkham and Hex end up working together. They go to a saloon where Hex questions a prostitute he knows but not before getting into a huge fistfight. The next day she is found dead with a message for Hex to get out of Gotham. As Jonah violently works his way through the underworld for information, the two men become convinced that it is two men doing the killing rather than a single murderer. Arkham and Hex plan on showing up at a charity event at Mayor Cobblepot's house because they believe the wealthy part of the murderous duo will be there. At the party, Hex sticks out like a sore thumb and the two ruffle feathers before Hex grabs Arkham and they leave - everyone at the party was wearing skull-engraved rings - the same symbol seen worn on the finger of the killer.
THE ART:
A man who only goes by the name Moritat does the artwork. To put it simply, the art is just fantastic. Moritat has a eye for detail and he isn't afraid to just put things in the panels because such as Arkham drinking absinthe or them money being used by Hex as period appropriate. The limited color palate used by Gabriel Bautista is also very effective relying on lots of sepia, gray and red.
THE STORY:
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, the writers on the previous Jonah Hex series, handle the writing for this title as well. What is wonderful about the story is that it is one of the few comics that has taken me longer than ten minutes to read. The story is a bit derivative of a Sherlock Holmes or Jack the Ripper story but it does differ in enough ways to still put a fresh spin on it. Also interesting is how they're tying in some of the history of Gotham City and its families. Equally interesting is the contrast between the pioneering psychologist Arkham and the sociopath Hex. I was a bit hesitant when I heard about the premise of this comic but it was unfounded. This works amazingly well as a story.
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:
All-Star Western is one of the few comics that cost $3.99 rather than the standard $2.99 namely because of a extra page count and I will happily pay the extra dollar. I'll be back every month for this because this is a great story with great art, in short, everything you'd want from a comic.
