Year in Review: 2022

 [For those that may know I posted this on a new blog, which I've realized gets no attention, so I've moved it here, this isn't this year's review, but something I wanted to keep and incorporate into this blog]

 My Year in Review for 2022

 

-----Table of Contents----

    On-Going Series: Vampblade

    Series: Glory: The Complete Saga

    Limited Series: Raphael: Bad Moon Rising

    Single Issue: Dazzler: The Movie

    Honorable Mentions:
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Amalgama: Space Zombie, Galaxy’s Most Wanted, Bonyeer: The Aromatic, Super Massive, Adventureman

On-Going Series : Vampblade
The reason why I’m keeping this here is because of the ending, it’s not over as a series (the series ended last year [2021 {I wrote this in 2022}]), but it’s over at the moment, but the series as a whole is still open to keep going. That’s a little confusing, but between when the series stated (2015-ish) and with 2020 happening publishing for comics got a little messy (financially speaking), just to throw some history about what’s still going on (currently as of this posting). Though with the book it’s in a bit of limbo till things settle for the creators (and publishing house), but at this point, you’ve most likely popped up an article or two about what’s going on within Action Labs and know, so we’ll go back to the review. I love violence comics, there’s something about cathartic beatings (whether verbal or physical) that really release a ton of serotonin (the happy brain juice) into my soul. This comic doesn’t let up with the amount of grandstanding for a character to have this beautiful moment of One Piece (manga by Eiichiro Oda) level of destruction. There are times within the series that stands out beyond it’s own two legs, that a spin-off series (I’m looking at you Danger Doll Squad) was developed to expand on story plots and connect parts of the World to other characters, that then inspires another spin-off series (I’m talking about you Amalgama) to expand that expansion. By the end of the series Vampblade had fallen through every Superhero trope in the book, from Time Travel to Body Double to Hell to Alien Invasion! Then the one thing that stops a comic from being ‘On-Going’, publication. As Superhero comics go this is their most shared trope, an unexpected ending. I had a blast and this is one of my Top Five comics of all time (and of 2022)!

Series : Glory: The Complete Saga
How we change between On-Going Series to Series is simple, there’s an end. If they come back, that’s a new series, but this was a rebooted character that got a second life in a more modern interpretation. You can tell this was intended to be a longer story, but I’m so glad that both Joseph Keatinge & Sophie Campbell agreed that this story needed an end and a really good ending. There’s not many series that I enjoy to the point of tears, but this is one of those magnificent comics. Again it’s another cathartic and violent series, that has a strong emotion base between the characters, whether you know who they are or not. It’s good writing when you can jump into something blind and not know anything more than what is being told to you and enjoy every minute. Like I said, not many comics pull me into an emotional state that takes days to get over, but took five pages to read. It’s really that good of a book.

Limited Series : Raphael, Bad Moon Rising
What started out to be me enjoying a cover to a book (thank you Sophie Campbell) formed into an obsession to find the first issue (since I have the other three) that then changed my mind on everything TMNT. I don’t really know what clicked into place, but I just finished reading TMNT: Urban Legends (volume 3 [Image Run {Reprinted in color, with ending by IDW}]) by Gary Carlson & Frank Fosco, so my desire to find more from the Teen Turtles was high on my reading queue. While thumbing through all the comics I have I was reminded about this four issue run, that I found out came from a Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (second Volume) where Shadow visits a cult (It’s New York). Anyhow, that’s the main reason why she was at the farmhouse for volume 4 of TMNT, though this takes place somewhere between. Long and Short, this focuses on the Werewolf Queen and the King of Atlantis, beautiful character moments, with some astounding Illustrations & ink work by Jim Lawson (solidifying him as my top five favorite TMNT artists). If you ever want to get into the weird world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this would be a good ground breaker between the TV shows/Movies and the comics.

Single Issue : Dazzler: The Movie
When thinking about characters that had a hard start Dazzler always comes to mind, since she started as a promotion, a mascot of sorts for Casablanca Records. Then just became a huge character within the X-Men ongoing series. I found her in a little Pilot called “Pryde of the X-Men”, where she was a headband wearing leather jacket toting finger gun shooting laser wielder. To say the least, she had a special place in my heart, so reading this comic was a distance from that character, and a recoupling within the same issue. Mostly because she was still a strong character that was still developing herself, emotionally (as a person does) and distancing herself from being just an Advertisement (as one does). By the end of the feature we see her more whole than when she started, though battle damaged within the landscape of Hollywood. As a single issue, without knowing anything about her, it’s a great story that stands on it’s own, maybe not a Movie in theaters, but I’d be excited for the TV movie’s annual screening.

Honorable Mentions: Mini-Top Five Suggestions
    -Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    -Amalgama: Space Zombie, Galaxy’s Most Wanted
    -Bonyeer: The Aromatic
    -Super Massive
    -Adventureman

Honest suggestions, if you have similar tastes to myself, you wanna see a little violence with comedy, good story structure, and amazing illustrations, then these are my top five suggestions of 2022 (even if it’s 2023 [though re-posted in 2024]).

Shorts SHORT Review: Worst X-Man Ever

X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever

Written by Max Bemis
Illustrated by Michael Walsh

Published by MARVEL

 

When thinking of Marvel the first thing that comes to mind is X-Men, then Spider-Man, but first (or forth) X-Men (or a specific X-Man [hairy, short, has knives in his arms]). This is more of a story about what it would be like if you were plucked out of your life and placed into this MARVELous new world. Through years future & past, the spectacle of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters has been a haven for mutants of any age. And with a community of empowered and powerful beings there’s always a chance that bad luck will arise within this fellowship. Bailey (our title holder for “Worst X-Man”) might just be the most unlucky mutant to walk the Earth, since his power is, well, it’s a surprise. Nothing all that special, like our main character, but it’s one thing that keeps the plot rolling in the direction that it’s in. Since everyone within the mini-series knows that he’s capable of doing something that is most dangerous and hard to control. There’s a lot of mutants out there that have time to play with their inherent genetic skills, but not all mutants have that luxury and that’s kind of the point of this whole tale. Let’s take a moment from this book, so I’m talking to you, yeah, the reader of this review, yep you, you have a chance to use your superpower, just once, for one time only, how will you use it and what would you do? That’s the simple question posed within this story and one that gradually Bailey concludes. Bailey is the one that walks us through his life, nothing really uncanny or astonishing, but it’s him, just an average teenager doing average teenager things (the opposite of xtreme). With all the amazing teams, adventures, and powers that the mighty Marvel mutants have, there’s not too many slice of life stories. Even another Marvel favorite, Spider-Man, has some downtime with his City and cast of characters, away from all the drama and villains. It’s nice to sometimes take a break from making a better tomorrow for mutant-kind and just seeing someone’s life who went to Xavier’s school, since most get a one bedroom apartment six feet in the dirt. Bailey gives us many details of his life, makes us aware of things that were plots happening back in the day to other X-Men teens, and he doesn’t leave out the awkward parts. I feel that’s the linchpin for all of this, if this was a retelling from an older Bailey it would have done better, I’m getting ahead of myself. The fifth issue (which is my favorite) the story felt right, the pacing, the dialogue, the plot, the characters just clicked into place, then boom it was done. What was different between the other issues was this is an older Bailey. There was a time skip, a pause, in the life of Bailey, which I really enjoyed, for a second we caught up to him and where he’s currently at in his life. Just gonna break in here and talk about the accompanying illustrations by Micheal Walsh, as the visual storyteller. His work makes for a gorgeous presentation, that was motivating, to see what he had in store for the next issue, since I was enamored with the backgrounds to the costumes to the character designs, everything was a delight. Back to what I was saying before. This was a nice jump and the documentary motif is perfect, overused, but for this series fits just so well. I would have liked it to be placed throughout the other four issues. Pretty much, it would be like a coming of age TV show where the older version of Bailey taking the role of narrator, but also blurring the lines between who’s speaking so a lot of the fourth wall breaking younger Bailey does make more sense. There was beautiful moments of satirical commentary on the X-Men publication as a whole that I feel fell flat, since how would this younger character know, it was good, but alien within the plot.

For what it’s worth this isn’t a series for someone new to X-Men, not someone fresh from a movie, nor even one of the many TV shows, this is a comic for comic X-Men fans. Not to say someone without decades of consumption wouldn’t enjoy it, but it’s not written for those people. In short, it’s a love letter to a never ending series that will reinvent it’s self, it’s characters, it’s team for decades beyond us all. There are very few Slice of Life X-Men stories out there, and this is one of the best, since this is a personal journey with no real destination, at least no desired finale, which makes Bailey’s story a good limited series.

I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creators, check out your local library, and contribute to community comic & book shops.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, be here next year.
Keep well and Stay well.

Justice League/Power Rangers

 Power Rangers/Justice League

Written by Tom Taylor
Illustrated by Stephen Byrne
Published by DC Comics & BOOM! Studios

 Here’s a softball on getting me to read anything, do a crossover. Though here’s the catch, you want me to buy the book (instead of using the library [Inter-Library Loans are your friend]) make it weird. Here’s an example, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers and [Blank]. It’s really that easy, so far I have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles filling that blank spot (and Godzilla [seems to be a theme, I really enjoy giant reptiles {though is Godzilla an Amphibian}]). Anyhow that’s why I talked it over with my local library and they assisted me with procuring a copy of the newest Justice League crossover; guest-staring the Power Rangers. I just heard the title and wanted to consume this book the instant it reached my hands! Since both sets of characters I really enjoy, so why not watch them run through the trope and cliche handbook, it’d’ll be a fun time. And it was, though it was like a ride at an amusement park that had lines a little too long for the amount of adventure and excitement at the end. Though while we’re waiting here, let me go into more detail about my experience.


Pro:
-Good Writing on the characters for both publications

When dealing with multiple sources of Intellectual Properties you really want to find a blend between them, though that can always be a challenge given the amount of members within a cast. If you have ever tried to be within a crowd and have your voice heard you’d know that if the speaker of the room doesn’t allow others to speak then no one speaks. This is the same thing when it comes to comics or movies or any type of media when there’s a large cast. Some people are focused on more than others, that in itself is a problem, since Intellectual Properties have property owners that want their star to shine. That’s one of the hardest things within this piece, there’s a lot of moving parts that need more definition or a more simple plot. Not one character was written poorly, since they all fit into the mold of who they are and should speak or act like, between both sides of the publication. In the entirety of the six issues there wasn’t a person that was left out of place, drawn or written.


Con:
-Focused WAY too much on Superman

Though my hardest criticism is not within the story, since it’s fair and interesting, but the use of the cast, or to better define the size of the cast. The magnitude of events were too great for the amount of characters needed to foil the villains, or the amount of issues were too slim to fully realize the story to it’s potential. What I keep skirting around is, the plot succeeded in giving the good guys something to do and work toward a common goal, but it felt like a lot was happening, though nothing completed. Most of the story was focused around Batman and Zach (at first), though interesting characters, the drawback was it didn’t reflect their personalities established here. The ties that centered them to each other didn’t knot. And at times we just left that plotline to focus on whatever Superman was doing in the moment. At times, it felt like there were more hands adding ingredience than plating dishes.

Also the main villain Brainiac switching with Zed, who started as the central villain. Brainiac was a good choice, though not for Zach and Batman (the story’s focal characters) this was more of a villain for Billy and Cyborg, since a lot of the problems were solved with super science, than with might or skill. Then we have the Dino-Bots, which were there, then disappeared, once Brainiac was in the picture more prominently. Zed was the inaugural villain of the limited series, but not really there. It was weird that a highly intelligent being of magic was more of a laky to another being that was not his superior, in strength nor abilities, mystical or tactical. I felt that Zed was the least defined character in the limited series, which kind of bothers me the most, since the heroes need a reason to stop a common enemy, so they can work together. This felt less like Zed and more like Goldar, though they needed a means to connect both Worlds. Zed felt less like his true form and more like a vehicle for the Rangers to meet the League. Goldar would have been the better choice for a blind follower, but a fix that might be too dramatic for the plot at hand.

Fix:
-Change the villains

There was a side plot that I thought could have been explored a little more, though with the remaining issues of the comic it wouldn’t make the page count for the amount of action that still needed to be taken by our heroes. Though I’d like to talk about it here, within the “Fix”, since this would change the whole dynamic of the comic and avoid any real change to the villains in whole. The Artificial Intelligence philosophy bridge, that’s what I’m coining it, so here’s my two-cents, enjoy. Pretty much, we have Alpha-5, Brainiac, Cyborg, and Billy (the Blue Ranger), they’re all communicating to each other about the idea, since the curiosity of Brainiac was peeked with the interaction of Alpha-5. The possibilities that Brainiac saw, I feel, will one day lead to the Brainiac that we’ll see in the future for Legion of Superheroes, but that’s a tale for another day. No, today we have two Artificial Intelligence Automatons, a Cybernetic man, and a teenager that “Does Machines” (borrowing that one from a Turtle), all of who have shown within this limited series can understand the basics and practical application of inter-dimensional travel chatting about the possibility of having thinking machines beyond the two functional beings posing logical conclusions. It’s maybe my favorite part of the book and it wasn’t explored enough.

Anyhow, that’s how I’d fix the book, focusing on these four talking it out, debating on the nature of what it means to be Artificially Intelligent and having organic thoughts, while reflective battles are happening on Earth. In short, I’d dial back the interaction between the Justice League and Power Rangers, showing a plot-A (main-plot) and plot-B (sub-plot). Plot-A being that of the conversation between our main villain (Brainiac) debating with our heroes (Cyborg & Billy), though here’s the interesting part Alpha-5 as a neutral party. Since for the most part Alpha-5 isn’t the first Alpha and won’t be the last Alpha for the Rangers, meaning the stakes are meaningless, but his friends (the Power Rangers) are important to him. Which again is a powerful sentiment and statement coming from a robot, that Brainiac has the most curiosity from, since emotions are a mystery to him at this time. Again this would all be a great background fight between what it means to be human and have all four of them verbally battling for the planet, while the Justice League and Power Rangers fight Zed and his cybernetically powered army. Long and short for the B-Plot, they’re fighting and there’s only one thing that can stop the army and it’s forming a giant robot with a sword, but it’s being hurled by Superman and has Batwings, sure why not, it’s all a formality to keep the pacing of the comic so it doesn’t dry out with the Artificial Intelligence talk. Toss in fanservice, like Batman in a Ranger costume or Wonder Woman using the Power Daggers in a fight, it doesn’t have to be groundbreaking, since there’s about six issues and two of them can be summed up with being a Prologue and an Epilogue. Four of which will be action and conversations on moral judgement with a splash of armchair philosophy.

This is my fix, it’s not THE fix, but it’s how I would change the elements within the story to reflect the basic problems I have. So no focus on Batman and Zach, less Superman, and more text boxes, again not a fix that will land. I’m essentially saying “Hey, you know the money making characters that everyone wants to see in this limited series, let’s put them in a sub-plot and focus on anyone else” yeah, I’m gonna win an Eisner for writing this book. Though if you’ve read The Infinity War (comic crossover event [from 1992 {written by Jim Starlin & drawn by Ron Lim}]) from MARVEL they focus on everyone other than the main Marvel Characters (Spider-Man is knocked out with Hawkeye within the second issue and is at the Hospital for the remainder of the limited series), they’re in the sub-plot. Everything is focused on Doom/Kang, Warlock/Thanos, and the moral judgement that Warlock made to create these events. It’s a really well developed story about characters making grand gestures and the repercussions of doing so within reality. And I feel that would be perfect for teaching teenagers from a different dimension, through conversations with alien robots.

Closing:
Well I hope this clears up some matters, though I’ve wrote this, read this, and edited it and again this is my mind and I’m screaming into the void on my opinions about fictional characters and how they interact with each other. The whole concept is bizarre and yet you’re still reading. Meaning you’re most likely waiting for me to wrap things up and I will. This comic was a surprise on many levels, it’s biggest flaw was the pacing, but other than that it has a whole lot throw into the pot and there was a ton of flavor, though that was it’s biggest short coming, since there was too much for the spoon. Suggesting that I was expecting a certain flavor, but still had a good bowl of soup, um, comic. Should you read this comic, of course, read, though is this going to titillate your tongue, it may not, but the juxtaposition of Giant Robots and Superheroes is a beautiful sight worth the admission of the time you spent reading.

Shorts SHORT Review: Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye

 Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye

Written by Gerard Way & Johnathan Rivera
Illustrated by Michael Avon Oeming
Published by Young Animal (an imprint of DC Comics)

This is the perfect series for a short review, this is the perfect blank slate series to drop anyone into the World that these characters infest. Since there’s not a hard history on the characters, this soft-reboot will give more personality than the last time anyone of these fictional beings have seen the light of day. What I mean from this brash introduction is that, this story will give you a broad idea of characters that no one really knows, that the fan base is either dead or happy to see their favorite group again. I’m usually in the latter group, since most of the time I enjoy characters that are B-listers at best, though I’m usually reading D-tier fictional beings, since those are where the weird lands lie. And that’s exactly where we are, on this road of redemption, climbing up from grief, and like any comic today, saving the Multiverse.

There’s nothing like a long and short of a twelve issue series, I mean that facetiously, since usually there’s a lot to cover. That’s the thing about this specific series, there really isn’t that much. At times there’s lore, but that’s wrapped up quick, then there’s character development, but that too is given it’s allotted time. It’s not that there isn’t a great story here, but it’s more of a series of vignettes intertwined between a shared finale. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s like a closed question. I ask you something, it’s answered, very blunt, but then there’s the hanging questions that were placed into the story without anything bringing us back up to speed, and we’re hanging there till the end of the tale (still not completely answered, but here’s hoping it’s answered in the second series [Cave Carson Has An Interstellar Eye {maybe Milk Wars}]). It’s small problems, though the pacing is wonderful and the main cast is fully fleshed out, I just feel like there’s more to be said, but isn’t within the pages.

 

Anyhow, Cave’s wife died (it’s page one), he doesn’t have a great relationship with anyone, but then he finds out that fungus people are trying to collect/kill him and his daughter (she’s at college). With the aid of a local vigilante (Wild Dog) and Cave’s creation (The Mighty Mole Mark One) they set out to fend off against toadstool terrors and get into subterranean adventures, well to pick up his kid and visit his in-laws. Also Guest-starring Superman (who might be a hallucination) and Doc Magnus (featuring the Metal Men). I’m gonna stop right there, but so you want to keep reading the series I’ll tell you this, yes there’s an underground civilization, yes there’s a few robot battles, and yes they travel through multiple Earths, but most of all the artistic direction is astounding.

If there’s anything that this series should be known for, it’s the amazing colors, the stupendous illustrations, the phenomenal page structure, and all of it locking together in a functional way that doesn’t take away from the story, but makes you want to see more on the next pages and what’s in the next issue. This is not a series that has everything, it hits the right moments, it gives you that desired high while reading a comic, it has all of those experimental and creative points that will keep you reading again and again (just to see what you missed the first read). Though it feels like this was a pitch intended for a different purpose and it became a comic. In short, I enjoyed it, so why not unearth this tale and read it, there’s so much humor and weirdness that it needs to see the light of day.

I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creators, check out your local library, and contribute to community comic and book shops.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, be here next year.
Keep well and Stay well.