Happy Holidays!

No review today.

As those of you who are frequent readers, you'll notice I haven't posted a review today like normal. I've been very busy and have had to prioritize my time. The good news is that I'll have a week off from work around Christmas time, and I'm planning on working on reviewing the large stack of trades I have next to my desk.



When I have new reviews posted, I will post them on my Facebook page, the Comic Collector Live message boards and Facebook group and (if I remember to post there) the Collectors Society message boards.



Thank you for your continued support, and Happy Holidays!

G.I. Joe: Cobra Volume 4

Title: G.I. Joe: Cobra Volume 4



ISBN: 9781600109881

Price: $17.99

Publisher/Year: IDW, 2011

Artist: Antonio Fuso, SL Gallant, Chee

Writer: Mike Costa, Christos N. Gage

Collects: G.I. Joe: Cobra #10-13

Rating: 3/5

One event precipitated the Cobra civil war, and that is the death of Cobra Commander. This trade follows the events leading up to his untimely demise and the civil war. If you haven’t read the single issue of the G.I. Joe: Cobra title, you’re sure to be surprised with what happens.



This title has always revolved around a single Joe; Chuckles. He’s a Cobra prisoner, but soon becomes so much more. You also have a fine cast of Cobra characters to fill the empty spaces in this story: Tomax and Xamot, the Baroness, Big Boa and, of course, Cobra Commander himself. I enjoy the commander’s reasoning behind what he does. This differs greatly from what Larry Hama originally wrote during his days with Marvel, but it works very well.



The art sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, but it is fairly consistent with all 3 of the artists. The art is not entirely great but not the worst I’ve ever seen. The whole trade is well worth the price and I suggest adding this to the collection of any G.I. Joe fan.

What If?: Civil War

Title: What If?: Civil War



ISBN: 9780785130369

Price: $16.99

Publisher/Year: Marvel, 2008

Artist: Marko Djurdjevic, Gustavo, Sandu Florea, Victor Olazaba, Scott Koblish, Harvey Tolibao, Leonard Kirk, Rafa Sandoval, Gary Erskine, Fred Hembeck, Mico Suayan, Rafael Kayanan, Larry Stroman, Jon Sibal, Clayton Henry.

Writer: Ed Brubaker, Kevin Grevioux, Christos Gage, Greg Pak, David Hine, Christopher Yost, Jeff Parker, Paul Tobin.



Rating: 2/5



I love the What If? and Elseworld stories. Always have, and probably always will. In this particular trade, we tackle a few elements from the epic Civil War storyline where we saw superheroes versus superheroes and friend versus friend. This storyline changed the face of the Marvel Universe. These characters were no longer your father’s superheroes, they were a breed apart and they were standing up for what they believe in.



In this trade, we start with 2 stories about Civil War: What if Captain America led all the heroes against registration? –and– What if Iron Man lost the Civil War? These are well worth the price of the trade. It also helps that I read the Civil War trade prior to reading this one, so I understood what was going on within the actual continuity.



From there, we have a Planet Hulk based section of stories: What if the Hulk died and Caiera lived? –plus– Peaceful Planet –and– What if Bruce Banner had landed on Sakaar instead of the Hulk? Having not been a big Hulk fan, nor reading any of the build-up before Civil War, these stories held little interest for me. They’re not bad, just not interesting to me.



Then we have What if Annihilation reached Earth?, What if Vulcan gained the power of the Phoenix? and Spider-Man vs. Wolverine. These stories were very interesting, but I’m not sure why they were included in a trade geared for Civil War.



The art for this trade is well done, and the writing is fair. There are quite a number of names on both sides that I don’t recognize. I don’t think I would recommend to add this trade to your collection at full retail price, but if you can get it at a decent price, it’s well worth the read… for the most part.

World Without A Superman

Title: World Without A Superman



ISBN: 1563891182

Price: $7.50

Publisher/Year: DC, 1993

Artist: Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummett, Jackson Guice, Dan Jurgens, Walter Simonson

Writer: Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern

Collects: Adventures of Superman #498-500, Action Comics #685-686, Superman #76-77, Superman: The Legacy of Superman, Superman: The Man of Steel #20-21



Rating: 2/5



I remember when the Death of Superman made the all the news programs. It was probably the first time that a major character actually died in print. I also remember getting a copy of Superman #75 as a Christmas present from my parent’s that year. This trade offers the Funeral for a Friend storyline that happened after his death.



Everyone is saddened by the passing of Superman, and everyone comes out of the woodwork to mourn and memorialize his passing. But not everyone is there to pay homage to the fallen superhero. Some people have made plans to use Superman’s body as the start to create a new race. (The term “super soldier” was never actually used, but it seems implied.)



My biggest problem with this trade comes from the fact that I never read any Superman title religiously, but I knew enough about the story that I understood several of the main chorus of characters. Because of this, I kept wondering what was up with the new look for Lex Luthor. I also couldn’t connect with any of the minor characters that played more pronounced roles in this particular trade. For my sake, I think that it could have been written better without the attention to these smaller characters and delve more into the storyline of how members of the Justice League were taking this loss.



Of course they left the ending very open so DC could start the Reign of the Supermen storylines. I understand that you can’t leave an icon like Superman truly dead for too long. He’s no Green Arrow; he’s one of the cornerstones of the entire comic world. A true World Without A Superman would be like having Bryan Singer direct every Superman movie… not worth seeing.

Death: The High Cost of Living

Title: Death: The High Cost of Living



ISBN: 9781563891335

Price: $12.95

Publisher/Year: Vertigo, 1993

Artist: Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham, Dave McKean

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Collects: Death: The High Cost of Living #1-3, Death Talks About Life



Rating: 4/5



Gaiman does it again. I wish he would have spent as much time writing stories about Death as he did about Dream. I feel that Death could have had a similar, if not bigger, following than the Sandman series did. Alas, that is not the case and we are forced to just a paltry piece of Death.



In this trade, the focus is on a young man who feels that there’s nothing worth living for. We are introduced to him as he’s writing his suicide note, but shortly he is sent out of the house so that his mother can do some spring cleaning in the middle of summer. Why he becomes drawn to a landfill, I’m not entirely certain, but this is where he comes into contact with Death in the guise of a girl named Didi.



We also have the story of Mad Hettie trying to figure out where she left her heart, and she enlists the help of Death to help her find it for her. It’s this task that becomes the centerpiece of this particular trade. She certainly gets around having roles in Sandman, Hellblazer, The Dreaming and her major role in this trade.



While trying to find Hettie’s heart, Death (as Didi) and the young man (Sexton) make their way through the city. They inevitably make their way to a club called The Undercut where we are given a preview of character’s that star in Death: The Time of Your Life trade. I appreciate the continuity that Gaiman provides in both Sandman and Death. I wonder how different Hellblazer would have been if he would have written it?



The main antagonist for this trade is called The Eremite. He has no eyes or mouth, but believes that the ankh of Death contains all her power. Little does he know that the ankh is just a symbol and has no actual power. Death easily replaces it from a street vendor for $10.



The entire story helps Sexton realize that life is worth living, no matter what problems you have. It’s well worth reading and adding to your collection.

Batman: Sword of Azrael

Title: Batman: Sword of Azrael



ISBN: 156389100X

Price: $9.95

Publisher/Year: DC, 1993

Artist: Joe Quesada

Writer: Dennis O’Neil

Collects: Batman: Sword of Azrael #1-4

Rating: 4/5

First, Superman died. Then, Bane broke the back of Batman. In between these two separate events, we learn of a somewhat normal man by the name of Jean Paul Valley; also known as Azrael. In this trade, we learn some of the secrets behind the man that would take over for a broken Batman.



It’s simply called “The System”. Jean Paul has been systematically trained by his father since he was a child. “The System” makes Jean Paul a suitable replacement for his father as Azrael, the assassin for the Order of St. Dumas. How could such a man act as a replacement for Batman? Batman has rules to live by. Batman has a moral compass. “The System” takes that all away and allows Azrael to work on instinct rather than strategy.



The counterpoint to Azrael is the demon lord Biis taken mortal form in Carleton LeHah; a former member of the Order of St. Dumas and final potential victim of Jean Paul’s father. Poetic irony.

Dennis O’Neil is one of the better writers for any of the Batman titles, and pairing his creativity with the incredible artwork of Joe Quesada was a stroke of genius. In the 90’s, I always loved Quesada’s covers, and his sequential works are just as enjoyable. It would’ve been nice to see this pairing more often.



Azrael is probably one of my favorite DC characters. I really wish DC would have done more with the character. I know that after the KnightsEnd storyline, there was an ongoing series that lasted for 100 issues and Jean Paul Valley was killed off. The character of Azrael was eventually resurrected, but Jean Paul Valley actually remained dead.



It’s a small trade, but well worth the read and addition into your collection.