Teen Titans 10
This is the new comic series of the week. Most weeks I take a look at a series I’ve never read before, and evaluate it both on quality and on how easy it is for new readers. However, next week I’ll start only doing this every other week. On the odd week, I’ll instead review a trade paperback – likely one that has recently released or re-released.
From what I can tell, this looks like it’s the final issue in a crossover with Superboy. This is a group of teenage superheroes that are being hunted by someone (don’t know who). They somehow arrived in a place with dinosaurs and they spend the first few pages of this issue running away or fighting. They spend the rest of the issue working out differences between each other.
While this issue seems to show what each of the heroes do, most of their names are mentioned away from the actual hero so it’s hard for a new reader to keep track of who is who. Some of their costumes even look similar; I kept confusing Red Robin with Superboy in the first half of the issue. While we see some of the kids’ powers, they aren’t very well defined; then again they don’t matter too much in a mostly dramatic issue. It was a little confusing for a new reader like myself, but not enough to seriously complain about it.
As for this book’s quality, it’s just ok. The little action within is later revealed to be kind of pointless. One of the heroes is injured, but I have no idea how. I don’t even think you see the injured character – how can a new reader care about a character if they never even see him/her. It would have been nice to have an explanation about that. The character drama seemed like the kind you could find in nearly every team book out there. There isn’t anything special about this issue, but it’s not necessarily bad either. It just exists.
The art is fairly good, even if some of the characters look too similar to each other. It’s colourful, there’s plenty of environmental detail, and it looks like a lot of work was put into the dinosaurs.
I can’t recommend this issue. It feels kind of bland and there isn’t anything unique about it. You might like it more if you’ve been reading this series, you might not. There certainly isn’t enough to keep me interested.
Witchblade 157
In this issue, Sara Pezzini finds a portal to an alternate dimension of some sort. In this dimension, there are elves, giant talking lions, blimps and even a former bearer of the Witchblade artifact. I only read this series for the first time in issue 156 and since then, I’ve read the origin story, the first paperback in the “Redemption” storyline and the Rebirth paperback (issues 151-155). I like what I’ve read with this series so far and will likely stick with it for a while.
This issue was fairly good. The story in this issue moves fast, but not so fast that it’s confusing or lacking in action. This alternate dimension is explained in detail through dialogue and visual storytelling. Pezzini also meets a former bearer of the Witchblade. There isn’t much else to say without spoiling the fun within.
The art is great all round. Characters are detailed, the environments colourful and creative. There are plenty of atmospheric details. Facial expressions are well-defined. I can’t think of any complaints about the art.
This is an easy recommendation. There’s plenty of action, a very imaginative world, little bits of humour scattered throughout and the start of what could be a very intriguing story. Everything you need to know is either on the recap page or inside the issue itself.
healed1337 