Friday, April 22, 2005

Book Reviews: Atomika, Batman Gotham Knights, Billy the Kid

Big week = busy week. But I did read a few last night that I thought I'd review for you today. (I'm off today - its my birthday, so I'm doing this from home)

Just to review my rating system:
is the best – this book is SO awesome, you’re totally nuts if you’re not reading it.
[[[[[ is good – if you looking for something new, try it out.
[[[ is OK – only average. Nothing out of the ordinary.
[[ is Not so hot – it looked interesting but I was not impressed after I read it.
[ is HORRIBLE – I really didn’t like it and would not recommend it to anyone.

Atomika #2 was just as good as the first. Again lots of action and passion goes into each and every page of this book, both in the writing and in the art. In this issue Atomika has emerged, and he is powerful. His ego is also much larger than life, and he believes he is better than the others created before him, and even his creator. I equate it to "teenage rebellion" as the character is growing and developing in this issue. For anyone looking for something different, I highly recommend this comic. [[[[[

Batman Gotham Knights is a continuation of the Poison Ivy arc. She wants to cure herself of her plant-power because some orphans she took care of years ago have been dying and she feels responsible. Her and Bruce Wayne have gotten together to try to piece together a possible cure. While Hush is trying to talk her out of it. As usual, I won't spoil this for those of you who have not read it yet. But we do find out at the end what is really causing the deaths. I like this arc, Ivy is a good villian and they've been doing a good job of building some mystery into the story that keeps you guessing. [[[[

Billy the Kids Old Timey Oddities #1: Eric Powel writes this, but doesn't do the interior art, which is a shame because I think it would make the book even better. While the art isn't bad, I do think Powel is a better artist. But this comic does have his style of writing, a bit of horror, a bit of humor, a bit of sarcasm. In this story Billy the Kid has assumed a new identiy to evade the law, but he is discovered by a man who is the head of, quite literally, a circus freakshow. They want Billy to help them capture a magic stone from Dr. Frankenstein. And while it's not totally obvious yet, it's implied that there's a whole lot more to this "theft" than what the freakshow folks are letting on. Billy's interactions with the members of the circus show are often quite funny, and generally his behavior is rather "uncouth." I liked the story, the art was good. But, it's not a "must read" book for me at this point. But for those of you who like Powel's work, and/or like westerns and/or like the "non-typical" comics, then give it a try. [[[[

ps.. the spell-checker doesn't want to run from my home pc, so I apologise for any horrible spelling errors that may have occured in these reviews.

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