I tried reading Daredevil before, during Ed Brubaker’s run on everyone’s favorite blind swashbuckling superhero. Brubaker at the time was my favorite writer, and his now-classic Death of Captain America storyline convinced me that Daredevil’s the next book I should follow. I admit that I haven’t read too much Daredevil before, except for Jeph Loeb’s Daredevil: Yellow (back when nobody considered Loeb to be a hack) and Frank Miller’s Man Without Fear. I haven’t read Born Again simply because I can’t find a copy anywhere. Anyway, I found Brubaker and Miller’s work on the character brilliant, but it never really connected with me. Daredevil was far from my favorite character, and I honestly won’t be bothered to follow the title. Especially when you see that the comic becomes progressively depressing to read. There’s something about making a character’s life even shittier than Spider-Man’s that gets to me. (continue reading…)

Last week RJ and I reviewed the comic that introduced the new DC Universe to readers old and new alike, Justice League #1. We were, in a word, underwhelmed. Immensely. To introduce the DCnU in a comic that was just banter and nothing else was nothing short of disastrous, in our humble comic book blogger opinion.

Action Comics #1 was how they should have introduced the new universe. Aside from the obvious parallels – the original Action Comics #1 in 1938 introduced readers to an exciting new character, Superman, who would be the world’s first super hero – the relaunch introduces a radically different Superman, one who takes a more proactive approach towards social justice as opposed to the “big blue boy scout” that we all know and love. (continue reading…)

This is it: the DC Universe as we knew it since 1985 (or at least 2007, if you’re really pendantic) has come to an end. In its place is a brave new world known as the DCnU – where DC starts over with a blank slate, and where everything can be told anew in a different light. 2011 marks a new era for DC, and this is where it begins: Justice League #1. Comicgasm editors Ade and RJ tell you what they think of the very first comic of the brand-new DC Universe.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Ade: So after yesterday’s Flashpoint #5 review where we saw how the DC universe ended and it’s all BARRY ALLEN’S FAULT, THAT ASSHOLE, let’s take a look at Justice League #1. DC marketed this issue as a good jumping-on point for people who find that years of continuity too confusing for casual fans, and the comic book meant to be less confusing for newbies starts… in the middle of a chase scene. This does not bode well for the comic that introduces the new universe to new and old fans alike.

RJ: They started with a classic Green Lantern and Batman can’t work with each other bit. It had a promising start; Hal showing off constructs left and right, being too cocky for his own good while setting up Batman as an urban legend. Johns can at least write Jordan well. But let’s not have him go anywhere near any of the Bat-family anytime soon.

Ade: I swear, when I was reading Batman’s lines, I seriously thought that this was the same Batman in All-Star Batman and Robin. It doesn’t help that Jim Lee’s doing the art, too.

RJ: Let it be known that while we do not dislike All-Star Batman and Robin, we do think that it’s a stupid book.

Ade: … dude, I HATE All-Star Batman and Robin.

RJ: But it’s hilariously stupid! Plus it gave us the “Goddamn Batman” scene. (continue reading…)

This is it: the DC Universe as we knew it since 1985 (or at least 2007, if you’re really pendantic) has come to an end. In its place is a brave new world known as the DCnU – where DC starts over with a blank slate, and where everything can be told anew in a different light. But before we go to the shiny brand-new universe, let us first see how it ends. Here’s Comicgasm’s review of Flashpoint #5.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Ade: Well, that wasn’t half-bad, actually. And I’m saying that as someone who’s hated Flashpoint with a passion since issue 1.

RJ: It certainly exceeded my expectations. It’s no Batman & Robin #16, but it was a good end to an otherwise terrible event.

Ade: Terrible isn’t even the word to describe the clusterfuck that is Flashpoint, man. Everything was just done so haphazardly. The idea that an Age of Apocalypse-style event leads to a universe-wide reboot was just horrible. Which leads to my first problem with Flashpoint: you’re ending a goddamn universe, do the sendoff in THAT universe you’re saying goodbye to, assholes. (continue reading…)

Released in 2006, Spider-Man: Reign was Marvel’s attempt to revitalize Spider-Man in the same way Frank Miller brought Batman back in the ’80′s with The Dark Knight Returns. You could see Kaare Andrews liberally put all sorts of homages to TDKR in Reign, even changing his art style to emulate Miller’s. I have the TPB in my home, and I haven’t touched it in nearly 3 years. I loved Reign when it first came out, but then, I was of the “reject everything silly and Silver Age-y about comics it’s all serious dark gritty adult shit from now on” mindset. Now, four years after it first came out, I am rereading it, and does it age well? Here’s my reread review of Spider-Man: Reign. (continue reading…)