COMIC BINGE: Earth 2, Vol. 5: The Kryptonian, Axis: Hobgoblin & Carnage, & Lumberjanes, Vol. 1
I got so much reading done in the last week that I actually had options to write about for the Comic Binge today. To spare you all of the books, I’ve chosen some of the best to share with you. I have been going through and doing a lot of clearing out of my “to-read” list on Goodreads, so I’m catching up on a lot of things I’ve missed in the past. In reading them, I’m finding out why they never really made it into my hands, and that’s because they’re not nearly as great as their ratings suggest. However, I did have some new stuff on the pile this week beginning with the fifth volume of Earth 2. Earth 2 recently was switched over to being written by Tom Taylor, who is most known for his comic Injustice, which is based off of the hit video game that depicted one of the greatest DC stories outside of the comic book realm. When Tommy took over on the fourth volume, he used his expertise at writing a villainous Superman to Taylor (get it?) his story from Injustice to sort of, kind of fit in at Earth 2. Earth 2 is left with an evil Superman who is now beginning to work with Darkseid to take over, which is awfully similar to Tom Taylor’s Superman in Injustice who no longer defends the people of Earth, but rather would get rid of them to create a utopia for he and his people. The last son of Krypton may not be the last though, as a new Superman shows up in The Kryptonian, which is exactly where the title comes from. The new Superman is actually really great, and it was an interesting dynamic watching the now transformed Lois Lane guiding the new Superman in his journey to becoming a superhero. Not only is she dealing with herself as a hero now as the Red Tornado, but she’s recalling her past with Clark in dealing with the now corrupted version, which enables her to assist Val-Zod the new Superman. Overall, this book was extremely enjoyable and is reminiscent of everything Tom Taylor has done so far with Injustice. I surely hope that Taylor has carved out his place in the DC offices, because I’d really love for him to write more stories. Not only has he shown that he can do alternate universes and original stories very well with dark characterization, but he can also juggle several characters at once, most of which don’t have to be top-tier characters. I am really beginning to back Tom Taylor as a voice in modern comics, and we’ll see what he gets to work on next, if anything. Also a buyer beware, despite being on the cover, Power Girl does not make an appearance, but a familiar villain is hiding in plain sight throughout.
RATED : ( PG-13 )
STORY : ( 9 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )
Up next was a little fun book called Axis: Hobgoblin & Carnage, which focuses on the Axis event in the Marvel Universe. As to what entirely the Axis even is, I have no clue because I just truly do not follow the Marvel books as closely as the DC ones. However, this book was pretty surprising as I didn’t expect too much from it. The first half of the book has issues that are centering around Carnage, which is where the book shines. Then, in the latter half of the book you have the issues that deal with Hobgoblin, which in itself is far less interesting than anything with Carnage in it. But what was great about this book for the most part was the sense of humor it had. Carnage could have easily been exactly that, all carnage, but it did a lot to make the reader laugh and sort of enjoy the presence of Carnage’s wearer like you would a Spider-Man. I suppose when Spidey isn’t present to keep readers entertained, there needs to be another way and in this book there is. I enjoyed the Carnage half of this book much more than the Nobgoblin half, and there are many reasons. One, the name Carnage is obviously a much better super name than the HobGooberlin is. Also, the Carnage featured much more of that humor, but also the darkness of a Carnage story. It pretty much had everything going for it, where the Hogpoglin was a little more stagnant and just had a strange old-timey feel to it. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great, and it really brings this book back down to an average read once you get to the end of it. So, overall I’d recommend picking this up just to get a peek at the Carnage featured in this book, as I found it highly entertaining. But if you don’t have to, don’t venture into the Hogbobblin part of the book.
RATED : ( PG )
STORY : ( 6 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 7 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 7 / 10 )
The last book I read is just a little addition to the Comic Binge this week, as I’m sure it’s probably not going to grab the attention of most that read here. However, I have to put this book in my reviews this week because it was actually that great. Lumberjanes is exactly how it sounds, a group of girl scout troop girls that are in their zone for the summer or whatever, hanging out together. It sounds like the premise to a very childish cartoon, but to be honest I thoroughly enjoyed the Lumberjanes. Something about their dynamic with each other was extremely entertaining, and all of the girls had their own sense of humor. I really liked the characterization of each girl to fit a certain stereotype, even though they were pretty typical, it actually worked really well. I would definitely be looking for more Lumberjanes to read in the future if there are some more books. My big question in my quick review on Goodreads was whether or not this was a cartoon or based off of something that I am unfamiliar with. Because if not, this comic would work really well for a cartoon treatment, maybe even a young adult one at that. The book had plenty of laughs and it was a plenty easy read with a regular old mystery story. If you’re looking for something fun and fast, that may not be your typical read, here’s your book. Highly recommended for readers of all ages.
RATED : ( PG )
STORY : ( 7 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 7 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 5 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 7 / 10 )