Review: "Superior" HC Edition

   
                                                               


  by Mike The Fanboyable


                

     Over the last several years, writer Mark Millar has given comicbook readers an intriguing alternative take on superhero conventions. In Wanted, Millar showed us the inner workings of the supercriminal world. In Kick-Ass, he showcased a teenager who decides to take his love of superheroes to a higher level by actually becoming one. In Nemesis, he took a Batman-archetype and turned it on its head by giving us an absolutely dangerous criminal mastermind.

     Now, in the lates hardcover Marvel publication, Superior, Mark Millar, along with artist Leinil Yu, takes the Superman-archetype, as well as some of the aspects of Captain Marvel, and gives us a flawlessly paced story, with richly-layered characters in this deconstruction of the superhero genre.

   
     We are introduced to Simon Pooni, a twelve-year-old wheelchair-bound boy with multiple sclerosis who, by a mysterious talking space-monkey named Ormon, is granted the wish of becoming his favorite comicbook superhero, Superior. With, not only the ability to walk, as Superior, Simon has all of the incredible powers of his icon and in the course of one week he becomes the world's greatest hero after rescuing people from natural disasters and other danger, and brings hope to the world.

                

         However, something else that is to transpire after that week is Ormon's explanation to Simon as why this wish was bestowed upon him. Is there a catch to all this? What are Ormon's true intentions?

                             

        Mark Millar does an outstanding job in fleshing out the personality of Simon Pooni. As Superior, despite his awesome power, he still behaves very much his age, and isn't sure how to act after doing heroic deeds. The Tom Hanks comedy "Big" seems to be a little bit of an influence.

                              

            This is a very compelling superhero tale that will not disappoint if you're looking for something with alot of heart as well as excitement. Leinil Yu's art is sharp and very clear. If you found Millar's previous work much to your liking, Superior should be a solid pick.

Review: The Phantom- The Complete Series: The Charlton Years: Vol. 1

by

Mike The Fanboyable

Charlton Comics was the now long-gone company that gave us such cult-classic characters like Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, The Question, The Peacemaker, Nightshade, and Thunderbolt. All of these characters would eventually be bought by DC Comics, and then Alan Moore would use them as models for the main characters in his graphic novel "Watchmen". So, in short, it could be said Charlton Comics is partly responsible for the creation of Watchmen.

Ah, but Charlton is also known for something else; they published original adventures for Lee Falk's costumed crusader of the jungle, The Phantom, during the period of The Bronze Age of Comics. The first nine issues of this series, which ran from 1969 to 1977, are collected for the first time in the hardcover edition of "The Phantom- The Complete Series: The Charlton Years: Vol. 1", published by Hermes Press.



The yarns featured in this volume stay very much within the tradition of engaging The Ghost Who Walks in perilous, cliff-hanging jungle adventures, much as it had been established in the original comic strips. In one story, we see The Phantom taking on a cult called The Ghost Tribe, who intend to take over the Bengali Jungle. Another story has our hero tracking a friend of his to the fabled city of Shang-Ri-La. There's also an adventure involving a vengeful mad man who intends to control killer apes to kill The Ghost Who Walks.

For good measure, we also see The Phantom trying to uncover the secret of The Pharaoh-Phantom, who claims to be the one true Phantom.

The writers included in this edition are Dick Wood and Norm DiPlum, while artists are Pat Boyette, Don Perlin, Bill Lignante, and Jim Aparo, who does the majority of the artwork in this volume, and is probably the best reason why to purchase this book. Most fans are probably most familiar with Aparo's work on the Batman titles, but before he graced The Dark Knight's pages, it was with The Ghost Who Walks where Aparo first displayed elegant style of drawing a realistic version of a fantasy hero. Those who loved his Batman, should enjoy his Phantom as well.

I personally would put Jim Aparo's rendition of The Phantom on par with those of classic Phantom artists like Ray Moore, Sy Barry, and Paul Ryan. Hence, this is a must for Phantom and Jim Aparo fans. For those who came in late, this is not a bad place to start.

Review: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- The Ultimate Collection Vol.1" Hardcover

By Mike The Fanboyable








Hey, folks! Mike here again! This time I will review the hardcover edition of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1" This edition, published by IDW, collects the first seven issues of the first comic series written and drawn by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird that began publication in 1984.


The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a very mainstream property now, but the concept had started as an underground comicbook published by an independent company called Mirage Studios. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created The Turtles as a parodical answer to the popular comicbook titles of the early 1980's such as Marvel's "Daredevil", and "The New Mutants", Dave Sim's "Cerberus", and Frank Miller's "Ronin".


I'm sure you know some of the basics; Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michaelangelo are teen mutant humanoid ninja turtles who reside beneath the streets of New York City under the guidance of their mutant rat mentor Master Splinter. We also get to see The Turtles confront familiar villains like The Shredder, The Foot Clan, The Mousers, The Triceratons, and Baxter Stockman, as well as villains that seemed to have inspired the villains we would come to see in the 1987 animated series. You will see how The Turtles met April O'Neill and see what she actually did before becoming a news reporter, then the sports-crazed vigilante Casey Jones, and the mysterious robot Honeycutt, as he accompanies them to an outer space adventure.

The stories are both gritty and humorous. The influences of Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, and Dave Sim are mentioned. There's a good amont of fighting that includes hacking and slashing, and there's plenty of amusing craziness going around.

IDW really did a good job with the quality of the pages. As they are in black and white, they give off an exuberant cinematic-like feel. Also, at the end of each story, there's an overview by Eastman and Laird on what was on their minds when they were doing a particular issue.



So, all in all, this is a very entertaining book. If you love the property or the outrageousness that come with underground comics, this is worth checking out. Turtle Power all the way!!

Review: Batman The Dark Knight- Golden Dawn

Review: Warlord of Mars Vol.1

Augmented Reality Podcast #4 - "Augtoberfest" (10/01/11)

Augmented Reality Podcast #4 - "Augtoberfest" (10/01/11) by Augrealmag on Mixcloud

Welcome to episode 4 of the Augmented Reality Podcast. Join Ruben Rascon, Alicia Bracken, Mike Cervantes, Mike Quevedo, Alex Galindo, Cris Enriquez and PJ Moreno as they discuss upcoming events for the month of October, celebrating Augtoberfest, at Augmented Reality Online Magazine.

(c) 2011, Augmented Reality Online Magazine

Review: Swamp Thing-Dark Genesis TPB

Review: "The Tomb of Dracula" Vol.1 TPB

Review: "Tales of The Batman-Gene Colan Volume 1" Hardcover

Punisher #1(2011) Review

By Mike The Fanboyable
August 20, 2011



Mike The Fanboyable here!! My first post here at Augmented Reality. Thanks , Alicia and Mike!! Hope I can make a significant mark among the excellent talent here!


About 12 years ago, Marvel relaunched its iconic justice-thirsty vigilante The Punisher, a.k.a. Frank Castle, with the very popular ongoing series that started with th 12-issue arc, "Welcome Back, Frank", which was written by Preacher-duo, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, with covers done by Tim Bradstreet, and its success launched other popular Punisher titles like The Punisher Max series. Now, as it happens when a decade has ran its course, a character like The Punisher needs to be rebooted, due to running out of ideas, like launching a title called Frankencastle(ugh), and try and rekindle an interest in the character after declining sales. This task has been handed now to writer Greg Rucka(Wolverine, Gotham Central), and artist Marco Chechetto(Squadron Supreme, Daredevil) on The Punisher.



In this first issue, the story opens with a 5-page sequence with no dialogue, in which, at a wedding, the bride and groom are massacred, along with many other guests, by a pack of armed men. We are then introduced to two recently partnered detectives who are investigating the mass wedding shooting, Walter Bolt and Oscar Clemons. Bolt and Clemons are persuing some leads, but so is Frank Castle, via an inside source.

In the next half of the issue, we see a then-Officer Bolt being interviewed by a detective as he's been promoted for "supposedly" taking out a group of mobsters by himself. Hmm? What really happened? You have to see for yourselves.

I thought this was a very effective entry of The Punisher for this new re-launch. Rucka handles The Punisher in this issue in such a way that he seems like a force of nature. He's barely seen, and this creates a sense of mystery around the character. Rucka, rather gives the spotlight to Bolt and Clemons, as each has his own problems. This aspect gives an appropriate "Seven"-type vibe.

Checchetto art is fluid and brings effective shadowy strokes giving the story a gloomy atmosphere. His style is perfect for this type of grounded story.


I'm very much looking foreward to this series. Rucka and Checchetto so far seem to understand how to make Frank Castle work, and keep him fresh with readers. It's out now. Don't miss it.

3.5 out of 5.

Coming Soon: Mike the Fanboyable

Augmented Reality is getting a new regular contributor! introducing Mike the Fanboyable, who will be bringing news, reviews, and videos featuring the finest in mainstream american comic books and graphic novels. Look forward to his first article soon. In the meantime, feel free to check out some videos he's already made for his own YouTube channel.