Tag Archives: Jerome Opena

October 21, 2013

Infinity #4 Review

By Ryn Fraser

 INFINITY2013#04 (1)

Negotiating the fall of worlds.

The Illuminati versus Thanos.

Thor, God of War.

Before reading this review catch up on Infinity here!

Infinity #1 

Avengers (2013) #18

New Avengers (2013) #9

Infinity #2 Review

Avengers (2013) #19

New Avengers (2013) #10

Infinity #3

New Avengers (2013) #11

Avengers (2013) #20


The Good

Cover- Green is Infinity’s color this month and it does look super cool on the stands! Thor, hammer held high with lightning swirling around him is the order of the day.

Tragedy-Thane undergoes Terrigenisis and kills everyone he has ever known. This former healer and son of Thanos is shaping up to be quite the dysfunctional hero/anti hero/villain. One god knows what happened to his mother, his father wants him dead and he’s now lost everyone he’s ever known? Yikes!

Action- Infinity has some mighty fine action scenes and this issue Thanos and Black Bolt throw down in the ruins of the Inhuman city to great effect. Every blow had weight; Thanos’s rage was palpable as was Black Bolts determination. INFINITY2013#04 (3)

Art-two distinctive styles one for earth, one for space, both perfectly fitting.

Inhumans- Hickman has managed to renew my interest in the inhumans in a big way.  While War of kings was intriguing because of Crystal’s marriage to Ronan and their taking over of the Kree and defeating the shiar empire. Hickman has grounded the race on Earth and managed to add so much depth and history in the Infinity line of books that I’m dying to see, hear and learn more.

Story- Captain America rallies the Galactic council while the builder on Hala makes plans to broadcast their surrender throughout the galaxy. On earth in the hidden city of Orollan five disparate being undergo terrigenisis with a small fragment of the terrigen crystals. In New York at the site of the terrigen bomb and the destruction of the inhuman city those with Inhuman genes start undergoing terrigenisis immediately.  In the ruins of the inhuman city Black Bolt and Thanos survive and start a fight. Black Bolt battles valiantly but Thanos defeats him. In Orollan the terrigen mists hit the city and activates the latent powers of Thane which kills everyone in the city. In space Thor is sent to negotiate the surrender of the council. Thor of course kills the builder, brings the kree back to the council and thanks to the builders broadcasting what took place everywhere guarantees that their army will grow.

Cool- By now everyone has heard or at least seen Thor toss his hammer in a sun, retrieve it and then kill the Builder. This is one of those comic book moments where the art and story blend so seamlessly and create the one perfect moment that readers will be talking about for the next decade.    


 

The Bad

No complaints

 

The Ugly

Infinity #4 is emotional, action packed, top notch event book. It has a certain pick up and read it charm but has so much depth if you’ve been reading Hickman’s New Avengers (2013) and Avengers (2013). . Not reading Infinity? Shame on you!

stars- 5 excellent

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October 13, 2013

Infinity #3 Review

By Ryn Fraser

Imfinity #3 (1)Prison break.

Stealing a worldkiller.

The fall of Attilan.

 

The Good

Art-The space bits were the best illustrated, the other section were not terrible but were not of the same quality.

Cover- This month’s Infinity book follows the trend of an all black background but switches it up will yellow illumination. We have the InHuman king Black Bolt mouth wide open screaming and the Inhuman floating city broken in two. The sheer simplicity of these Infinity covers have me falling in love every month.Imfinity #3 (12)

War- Picking up where Infinity #2 ended this issue has the Behemoth planet destroyed by the Builders. The Kree and other races then surrender to them so their planets will be saved similar fates. As the Builders settle on Hala the Kree home world Captain America rallies the remnants of their army and springs a surprise attack which seemingly turns the tide. They also manage to rescue the captured Avengers squad.  On earth the Mighty Avengers battle Proxima Midnight (See Mighty Avengers #1 and Mighty Avengers #2)

The King- Black Bolt, what to say about the Inhuman king? He’s in typical recent characterization where his only concern is his people and it doesn’t matter who or what must be sacrificed as long as they are safe. It was also pretty damn epic how Black Bolt faced Thanos and scattered his people across earth for their own good.

Action- Epic spine tingling action in this one from start to the big banging finish!Imfinity #3 (15)

Inhumanity- I’m going out on a limb here and assuming the Terrigen bomb that Black Bolt commissioned from Maximus which was to be used against the shiar during war of kings has been modified to go off within earths atmosphere to activate all latent inhumans. This will add another layer to the superhuman dynamic of the marvel universe in light of the upswing in mutant births after Avengers Vs X-men. The MU is about to get mighty crowded!

First Victory- On the far side of the galaxy Captain America rallies the remnants of their almost defeated resistance and manages to give them their first real taste of victory since the war began. Cap managed to

Black Heroes- Eden Fesi again is central to rescuing those captured and Night Mask and Sunspot also get cameos.

The Bad

 A few nitpicks.
Firstly when we first saw the seeders in the form of Aleph in Avengers (2013) #1 they were able to singly dispatch a squad of Avengers. These on the front lines of battle have become the equivalent of the power rangers putty. They are easily killed and dispatched. Mind you this dramatic drop in power was used by Joss Whedon in his last televised season of Buffy. The first ancient Vampire could easily defeat her but when she faced an army with apprentice slayers everyone was able to kill multiple.

The Ugly

Marvel’s Infinity is breathtaking, exciting, edge of your seat action sure to please comic veterans and neophytes alike. 5/5

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September 22, 2013

Infinity #2 Review

By Ryn Fraser

Infinity#2 cover

The Inhumans pay the tribute.

Victory in deep space.

The secrets of Thanos.

 

The Good

Cover- This month’s cover has a red hue bathing everything, war rages on around him but Captain America leaps head first into the fray.

Interior art- Jerome Opena and Dustin Weaver are both on this issue but it does not detract at all. The facial and emotional portrayal of the characters are all spot on.

Epic Scale- One thing that this event has going for it is it’s unification of the entire mainstream marvel universe. Stuff is happening on Earth on multiple fronts and on the other side of the galaxy again on multiple fronts.

Inhumans- The illustration of the Inhumans as regal was spot on, though I still can’t tell how or why they left the Kree after the War of Kings event but I’m loving them right now!

Respect- It’s a nice feeling to see Wakanda actually on the winning side nowadays after Doomwar and AVX.

Illuminati- I really enjoyed Hickman’s use of his illuminati in critical roles throughout earths conflict with Thanos invading forces. Black Panther and Wakanda managed to repel the invaders; Dr. Strange fell to Ebony Maw while Iron Man and Reed Richards try to hold New York City. Black Bolt meanwhile and his Inhumans are given the same proposals as the race from the FCB day issue. Kill all your young between a certain ages. At the time the tribute was very vague but this issue sheds new light on earlier events involving Thanos and his “tribute”.

Revelation- So Thanos has come to Earth to find and kill his son to appease lady death. This ties in to the continuity of the Thanos Rising storyline.

 

 

The Bad

Too big- Jumping all across the galaxy may be too much for some as the scope and constant jumping from point to point will def put some off.

 

The Ugly

Overall this issue was very good with nice art, an epic scale and a revelation that ties into current continuity and opens this story up in a major way. 4/5

stars- 4

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Reviews

August 18, 2013

Infinity #1 Review

By Ryn Fraser

 Infinity#1 (1)

The oversized kickoff to the year’s most anticipate Blockbuster summer event, chaning the way you view the Marvel Universe!

The outbreak of war on two fronts: Earth and Space, with our heroes torn between them.

The world-shattering return of Thanos!

Includes material from FREE COMIC BOOK DAY: INFINITY

 

The Good

Cover- The standard cover has Thanos bathed in blue light while he stands in pitch darkness. The blue hues are very bright and dynamic making this cover easily stand out on the stands.

Art- Jim Cheung does a bang up job on this opening arc, I’m very satisfied!

Threat- So the builders are not dead as previously thought (or that’s what I thought in Avengers (2013)’s opening arc [See Avengers #1, Avengers #2 and Avengers #3 for details] they are continuing their work by destroying planets they deem unworthy. Now this issue they destroy a whole planet very casually and if we remember the opening arc, the entire Avengers team could not defeat Aleph (one of their robots) and these guys have a whole armada of said robots. If these guys reach Earth our heroes are screwed! Infinity#1 (2)

It Begins- Ever since Avengers (2013) #1 and New Avengers (2013) #1 I’ve been eagerly anticipating Hickman’s event and to finally have it in my hands fills me with all kinds of excitement

Black Heroes- The books opens with a flashback to New Avengers (2013) #6 when Black Panther and his Illuminati destroyed another planet to save our own. On the cast page we have Captain Universe who now lays comatose after surviving the destruction of a planet, Falcon, Eden Fesi, Nightmask and Sunspot.

The Attack- Now when I initially heard of the invasion of Earth I was left wondering who in their right mind would even think of attacking the mainstream Marvel Universe when they have defeated Galactus, thwarted alien invasions by the kree, Skrull and Brood, survived the Phoenix etc. It’s suicide to attack this planet, it never ends well, heck I would be terrified to even meet a human from said planet. Corvus Glaive paints the picture for us of why this is the time to invade and Hickman uses the army to voice my concerns and those of countless others by having him reason that Schism among the mutants, discord among the Inhumans and the Avengers heaviest hitters leaving the planet; this leaves the planet, at least from the outside prime for an invasion of some kind, all it’s defenders are either divided or not present. Infinity#1 (4)

Comixology-   The beauty of modern technology, if you want to check out this issue buy it here

Mystery- What is Thanos searching for on Earth?

Two edged sword- The Avengers have been instrumental in just about every one of Marvel’s big events since Civil War so they have this reputation that makes them intimidating on many levels.

Digital Content- There is a Silver Surfer tale tacked onto the Digital version that shows what’s happening to the people/individuals on the planets set upon by the builders and their machines. It’s written by Jason Latour and illustrated by Agustin Alessio. This makes the almost perfect Infinity #1 perfect! It really could not have unfolded in this manner in a physical comic and gives credence to  Digital only content o at least putting extra effort into the presentation of Digital content. The war and the absolute reality of the panic, the madness and the fear of what’s going really reaches new heights int his tale. Silver Surfer’s action scenes are just epic from start to finish as is his reaction to the Skrulls seeing him initially as a threat instead of a savior. Kudos all around this was tight!

The Bad

Reprint- Not a fault of the book itself really but the first fifteen pages where reprints/flashbacks that we have seen in other books so far. It didn’t hurt the story but I skipped them since I know them inside out already, I think most already following this crossover will do the same.

Enjoyable- I was disappointed when the issue came to an end…..but that may be because I was enjoying it so damn much! Around 54 pages of story and it flew by quicker than I would have liked. Infinity#1 (3)

New Readers- So new folks can pick up this issue but there is no way for them to understand or really follow the gravity of the situation unless they have been reading Hickman’s Avengers line and have intimate knowledge of X-men’s Schism etc. A few text boxes may have helped in that regard or include a  back up feature to detail what some things are would have really helped to explain to new readers just what the hell is going on.

Event- No matter how grand a scheme Hickman and Jim Cheung present this is just another Marvel event and another will follow just like last year we were having Avengers vs. X-men fever.

The Ugly

Overall I found Infinity #1 is a very enjoyable read with great interior and cover art. It managed to introduce us to the two pronged threat approaching Earth and the assortment of villains. It’s all just set up so it’s not the most perfect of issues but it prepares us for what comes next. Luckily if you have the digital version with the Silver Surfer backup tale then it becomes perfect. So for the Physical copy I give this one 4/5 For the Dgital though with the added bells and whistles it’s a 5/5

stars- 5 excellent

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February 5, 2013

Avengers (2013) #3 Review

By Ryn Fraser
Avengers 2013 #3- By Jonathan Hickman

Avengers 2013 #3- By Jonathan Hickman

The birth of the New Adam.

On Mars, the Battle between The Avengers and the Garden comes to a dramatic conclusion.

“If you want LIFE and all the good things living entails, then you’ll have to earn it.” –Ex Nihilo

Summary

On Mars Ex Nihilo’s “New Adam” is born and exhibits great power. Steve Rogers and his reinforcements arrive and free the captured Avengers which turns the tide of the battle. Just then Aleph gets ready to destroy them all when Captain Universe ends the threat by destroying Aleph and giving Ex Nihilo and Abyss new objectives.

Cap and his team take “New Adam” back to Earth with the world safe.

 

 

The Good

Cover- The finale piece to the connecting cover poster which introduces us to the global (or is that universal?) Avengers team created by Steve and Tony!

Avengers 2013 #3 3Art- This is prime crème your pants grade “A” undiluted perfect on every single page. This book is worth the money based on art alone. Jerome Opena I hope marvel appreciates the stunning top notch work your delivering every month!

Falcon- I’ve got such a “broner” right now for Hickman it’s not funny. I’m not the biggest Falcon fan; in fact I straight up think he’s one of the biggest jokes in comics’ period! Hickman though just added a whole new dimension to his powers I never even thought about before. Apart from the training by cap his ability to communicate and command birds has always been underrated. This issue we realize that this ability is not just limited to birds but extraterrestrial avian life forms and things connected to them. With an Earth based member of the Shiar Empire on the team Falcon’s power if executed properly could open this character up in endless ways. The Shiar are avian based extra terrestrials……..could his powers extend to them? Hmmmm, the possibilities! Avengers 2013 #3 2

Team- If this team continues with this kind of execution it may become my favorite Avengers teams. The range of characters and array of abilities has potential far beyond what Bendis did in his runs as head writer.

New Adam- It’s interesting that Hickman chose to give new Adam the pigmentation that he did, why make him black as opposed to the traditional stereotype of white? Not complaining just thinking that Hickman is a long term thinker so he must have a very specific reason for just about everything that occurs in his books.

Action- Explosions, mutated creatures facing mutants and superhumans and even what appears to be discorporation? Yup this mother****** had it all!

Captain Universe- Now here is a chick who I would not advise anyone piss off! Aleph is easily a Galactus level planet destroying threat and she lays his down with a finger? It’s a good thing the  “Omni Force” is benevolent unlike the Phoenix Force otherwise Cap should be less “were so cool’ and be worrying if his little blond, blue eyed Aryan ass will be flash fried next.

Black Heroes- New Adam, Captain Universe, Sunspot, Falcon and Eden Fesi; Just typing that made me think of Dwayne McDuffie of Milestone comics fame, he would be very pleased with what Hickman is doing with this book.

Humor-Not the funniest book on the stands but I got a chuckle from the womanizing Sunspot hitting on Smasher in the idle of a firefight and the equally horny Thor making plans to spare Abyss his wrath because she was a good kisser.

The Bad

Captain America- This is based purely on my opinion on everything that has happened in recent history in regards to Captain America, both based on the Avengers Vs X-men event and his brief stint on Hickman’s New Avengers. He seems like a pompous, self righteous prick who thinks by virtue of him being “Cap” that he is the be all and end all rule maker of the marvel universe…….upon typing that he seems to be channeling George Bush recently.

Resolution- While I Loved how epic this opening arc was, and that Captain Universe saved earth, the resolution was a bit too neat and tidy for me. I like when storylines have far reaching consequences and ramifications. This one just had Mars become another inhabitable planet or at least have a small inhabitable region very similar to “Tabula Rasa” in the X-men line of books.

 

The Ugly

Despite nitpicks I found this the best damn read I had all month. Sure the review was delayed until February but in January this was the benchmark of the very best that comics in general had to offer. Hickman and Opena are f*cking rock stars reinvigorating the Avengers brand every month while kicking copious amounts of ass and taking names! Simply must read material 5/5

stars- 5

5 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Reviews

January 20, 2013

Avengers (2013) #2 Review

By Ryn Fraser
Avengers (2013) #2

Avengers (2013) #2

The greatest heroes in comics together on one unbeatable team! Now shipping twice a month, the Avengers “go large,” expanding their roster and their sphere of influence to a global and even interplanetary level. When Captain America puts out his call – who will answer? Big threats, big ideas, big idealism – these are the Avengers NOW!

Summary

In the past Tony Stark and Steve Rogers recruit Eden Fesi, Sunspot, Cannonball, Falcon, Wolverine, shang Chi, Spider Woman and Captain marvel.

On Mars Ex Nihilo explains to Thor how him and Abyss were created by Aleph and how what he plans to do to earth is mercy considering Aleph would raze the entire planet and leave it a barren dead husk.

On Earth Captain America and his freshly minted team assemble an aircraft to head to Mars. Earth meanwhile is bombarded by Origin Bombs resulting in loss of human life. Cap realizes they don’t have time to wait on the aircraft and has Manifold use his powers to bend space time to take them all to Mars.

The Good

Cover- The standard cover which connects with last issue (Avengers (2013) #1) is pretty cool, with Falcon and Sunspot getting background time to the more popular Thor and Black Widow.

AVENGERS #2 (4)Jonothan Hickman- Somebody slap me and call me sandy, my man crush meter has just hit max! Not since Joss Whedon (Buffy, Dollhouse, Angel, Cabin in the Woods, Firefly, Astonishing X-men, The Avengers [Movie]) and Grant Morrison (JLA, New X-men, Batman & Robin) have I had such a serious love for a writer. This book is enchanting in a great many ways.

New Mythology- I must say just like Ex Nihlo I have a serious fetish for creation myths so I was glued to this issue as he explained the origins of “The Builders”, Aleph, Ex Nihilo and Abyss. This tale was made for me! I can also see the possibilities for marvel’s entire

Art- If Jerome Opena continues to do what he’s doing here on this book I will be forced to rethink my top ten comic book artists list. This is simply stunning work from start to finish!

AVENGERS #2 (6)Humor- Also of note is how Hickman manages to sprinkle humor throughout this book. The scenes involving Wolverine, Falcon, Manifold, Sunspot and Cannonball in particular stood out in my mind.

Black Heroes- How is Hickman selling this book to marvel? Or even the comics industry as a whole? What happened to having a single token black member of a team? Or let’s be more “progressive” and have two! Hickman upends the tea table (Do you get the Nintendo reference there?) and throws Sunspot, Eden Fesi/Manifold, Falcon and Captain Universe! I still can’t get over how much black is in this book, honestly! Kudos Mr. Hickman, Dwayne McDuffie would be proud.

AVENGERS #2 (3)Recap pages- These Marvel Now recap pages fill my mind with images of those fold out recap and character biographies of 1997-1998 right around when Scott Lobell (Current writer of Teen Titans in DC’s New 52) departed from the X-men line (and marvel). The second page is my favorite though; we see this global Avengers team represented by symbols surrounding the stylized Avengers “A”. Active members are represented in blue while those taken off the battlefield in this case captured represented in red. This simple way of bringing the reader up to speed makes this a very accessible tale with the added bonus of telling us which members will be getting the limelight in each issue.

Villains- I’m enamored by Ex Nihilo, Abyss and Aleph. Here are three beings cast as villains based solely on perspective. Aleph is a machine ruled by logic and thus would destroy earth simply because of the threat level to the rest of the universe. I get that! Earth survived multiple attacks by Galactus, spawned multiple Phoenix hosts and survived destruction, defeated a skrull invasion, a Phalanx Invasion, a kree invasion and a many other great things. As a race that has not reached the pinnacle of their evolution or even their technological advancements those are truly terrifying feats from a multiple galaxy perspective. Meanwhile Ex Nihilo and Abyss are trying to save the people of the planet by forcefully evolving them. Both lead to the destruction of earth but one leads to something far greater for the race found there. I can see and understand their perspective which makes them the most fleshed out villains of Marvel Now bar none! Hannibal Tabu (from Komplicated.com) must love these guys.

The Bad

I loved every panel, every frame and every detail! GOD! This is how comics should always be!

One nitpick is there was no action in this issue

The Ugly

Beautifully realized Villains, gorgeous art! A world ending threat and more black Heroes than you can shake a stick at! 4.5/5

stars- 4.5

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Reviews

December 25, 2012

Avengers (2013) #1 Review

By Ryn Fraser

Marvel Now Avengers #1 (1)

The greatest heroes in comics together on one unbeatable team! Now shipping twice a month, the Avengers “go large,” expanding their roster and their sphere of influence to a global and even interplanetary level. When Captain America puts out his call – who will answer? Big threats, big ideas, big idealism – these are the Avengers NOW!

Summary

Iron man and Captain America put a new Avengers program into effect in anticipation of a worst case scenario. In the present Mars has been converted/recreated by the Avatars of creation. The Avengers comprised of Cap, Stark, Widow, Hawkeye, Thor and Hulk take the fight to mars where they are soundly defeated and Cap is sent back to earth battered and defeated.marvelnowavengers covers (2)

Once he recovers he activates the protocol implemented by himself and stark and he assembles a new team of Avengers for the task of rescuing those captured and defeating this new threat.

The Good

Accessibility- Hickman you sly dog! By using Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Man and Thor (Joss Whedon’s movie team) it gives this first issue a level of accessibility to new converts from the movie not common in modern day ongoing comics. You come in well aware of the skills abilities and personality of these veterans and the entire thing sets the stage for the premise of the book. A global functioning larger more diverse cast of Avengers! Very nicely done!

Cover- The standard cover with Captain America front and center that connects t other covers is very dynamic with its use of light and darkness. There is an alternate cover to this one with ½ the colors stripped to reveal the inks only, I like it! marvelnowaveng (8)

Variant Covers- By far my favorite cover was the one with Captain America in the foreground flanked by Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Man and Hulk. The sketch of said cover is also well worth the price with its stunning ink work. Another cover worth owning was the one with Captain America and Thor only in the heat of battle

Mystery- Who are the members of this new team outside of those already announced? In particular who the hell is the new Omni/Uni power wielder?

Threat- These Avatars of Creation seem like a major threat to life on earth itself easily warranting a different kind of Avengers team for the task, thus justifying the existence of the team.

Art-Honestly I never expected to like the interior art but it’s so beautifully executed I can’t help but anticipate the turning of a page and the next stunning art piece. Kudos to Jerome Opena for a stunning opening issue!

Black Heroes- Sunspot (Afro-Latino from Brazil), Falcon (First African American superhero), Eden Fesi (Aborigine descent) and a new black chick wielding the Omni/Oni power! Yes please and thank you very much!

Action- While the fight itself didn’t last very long I found it very exciting and well choreographed, action junkies should be pleased.

The Bad

Alternate Covers- The plain white cover is too overly simplified for marvel to honestly charge the same price for it. Sorry that is lazy design work and then charging premium price for a white piece of paper with a footer and a logo? Really marvel?!

The A-babies cover is also quite useless from any standpoint you look at it honestly.

The worst cover ever though has to be attention whore deadpool cut and pasted onto the standard cover doing the equally ridiculous fad gang-nam-style dance (Rolls eyes). The inks only version as you can guess is worth as much.  The midtown comics’ exclusive cover for some reason just seemed like a waste of time as did the others. NB marvel- Do you honestly need so many different covers for a single issue? Why not spend that money on launching a book centered around a few women or black characters?!

 

The Ugly

Hickman turns in a very well crafted book that pulls you from reality and into the adventure. Here’s to a bold new era for the Avengers! 5/5

stars- 5

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