Comic Book Day: June 26 Comic Book Reviews

My pull for this week was a little smaller in terms of newer issues. But even without new issues lining my comiXology shopping cart, I still managed to spend $25 on comic books in one sitting. Mainly because I decided that I was going to catch up with Matt Fraction's Hawkeye book because I was so freaking excited about the Pizza Dog issue that came out. I still have a few titles that I desperately need to catch up on (Captain Marvel, Avengers and All New X-Men mainly) but I decided to focus on the three newest issues that I deemed most important to me at the moment. So without further ado, my reviews of the latest in Young Avengers, X-Men and Hawkeye! As always there will be SPOILERS.

Young Avengers Vol. 2 Issue #6: The Toll 

Young Avengers #6 cover by
Jamie McKelvie & Matthew Wilson
Courtesy of comicvine.com

The first thing I have to say is that Tommy is back! We finally get to see a little but of what Speed has been up to since the end of Children's Crusade. He and Prodigy, a former mutant, band together to take on the ultimate teenage task: working a boring temp job. With this being the beginning of a new story arc for Young Avengers, Kieron Gillen is setting up a new plot with a new, sinister villain materializing out of Tommy's past to contend with. I was slightly upset that we didn't get the wise-cracking, sarcastic Tommy we had been left with, but the new characterization by Gillen does seem promising. I'm not as familiar with Prodigy, but I did love the opening sequence with him answering phones as a tech assistant. I have no idea where these two actually work, but it seems perfectly suited to their respective abilities. Gillen has done a masterful job at capturing what a day job for a super hero actually could be. This book also featured the artistic talents of Kate Brown. It's definitely not the same art as the first arc, but it embraces the style with its own flair. It looks a little darker, but Brown has done a great job of capturing the dynamics between the characters. The art doesn't pop off the page as much, but it still works to tell the story in a dynamic way. With the exciting and mysterious finish to this book, Gillen and his team seem to be promising exciting things to come in this arc.
Verdict: 9 out of 10. there are definitely exciting things to come with this arc. I feel it in the Force.

X-Men Vol. 4 Issue #2 

X-Men #2 cover by
Olivier Copiel & Frank Martin
Image courtesy of comixology.com

In the last issue there was a lack of action and violent destruction of buildings (which I said was actually a good thing for a first issue). In this second issue, however, we are starting to see more violence, and definitely more teamwork between the new X-team line up. The wonderful thing about Brian Wood, is that he doesn't sacrifice the storyline for a few bits of combat. You can see as Rogue and Kitty fight Arkea in the Jean Grey School, the story continues to move forward. We learn more about the enemy in the fight sequences than we would if they were just explained to us in conversation. Because the action of the panels, and the visual aspects of the book help to drive the story forward. While Rogue is swinging away, we get chilling quips from Arkea coupled with the glare of Karima Shapandar's deadpan eyes. The art once again is stunning, dark and dynamic. Olivier Copiel matches the style of the panels perfectly with the tone of the characters. Not only do we get to read about Jubilee becoming a more stark and grown up character, but we get to see it as well. Copiel brings the care and devotion that Jubilee has for this baby (now known as Shogo) to life on the page. This issue was jam packed full of goodies, with great art and the driving storyline that had a pretty sweet cliff hanger. I honestly can't wait for the next issue to come out in July.

Verdict: 8.5 out of 10. Wood and Copiel are stepping up their game, showing that this book and these ladies are not to be messed with.


Hawkeye Issue #11: Pizza is My Business 

Hawkeye #11 cover by
David Aja
Image courtesy of comixology.com

OK everyone, let's be honest with ourselves. Who wasn't excited as hell for an issue of Hawkeye entirely dedicated to Pizza Dog!? We have gotten comics about super hero pets before, but this is definitely my favorite one to date. I can't help but smile like an idiot while following Pizza Dog's adventures around his home. With very little (understandable) dialogue, the book still allows for the story to move forward. This book couldn't have been as interesting as it was without the amazing art by David Aja. I absolutely adored every single page while reading. The way Aja captured the mundane abilities a dog has, like the heightened sense of smell and hearing, was brilliant. This issue didn't need dialogue to keep the action moving simply because each panel told a story that fit so well together, dialogue would have bogged it down. And the story itself fit neatly into the last issue, with a little bit of closure on Gil, and picking up from the final scene of #10. And Pizza Dog gets his own action scenes as well, which was fun and interesting. During one of the scenes I vowed to never buy another book if they killed him. There is no doubt that Aja and Fraction are delivering an outstanding series right now. Hawkeye has easily moved up to the  top of my reading list due to the fantastic storyline and the beautifully, unique art. No other book I am reading looks like this one and I love it!

Verdict: 9.5 out of 10. Pizza Dog delivers just as much punch and adorableness as Hawkeye does. Can we have another?