Planetary

To be honest, I’m not really sure where I stand on this one. I think it was a very interesting approach, it was different than all the others in a strong way. A group of observers rather than action-takers and fighters. Each issue was a different story, with different side characters. This led to me having different opinions, for example, I really liked the one about ghost cop but didn’t really like issue 6 with ‘The Four’. With so many different stories though, nothing was dwelled upon for too long which led to an interesting and quick read but also left me feeling that there was a lack of closure. As I kept reading, I learned that everything had a connection somehow, and would likely be re-visited, but there were no ‘happy endings’ or even endings at all for any of the issues I read. As for the comics themselves, I found them backstory heavy for each issue. It makes sense, considering that Planetary is a group of observers and archeologists, the past is an important thing that must be understood completely. But from a personal opinion, it was tiring, and I often skimmed and had to re-read because I missed something important. I found the wording sometimes odd.  I didn’t think there was enough character depth, I believe it was there but never explored. Snow had some character reflection, but as readers, we never really learn about the Drummer or Jakita. Overall, I appreciated the idea and the take of these comics, but sometimes they seemed scattered and didn’t have great cohesion.

Black Panther

This by far is one of my favourite comics that I’ve read. It’s very different than many others so in some regards it is my favourite altogether but in other ways, it’s not. I believe everything about these volumes of Black Panther was done very well. I first noticed the colouring. It was outstanding. The neon pink and blue contrasting against the black and jungle setting was very enticing. The costumes altogether were intense without being overwhelming. Black Panther’s costume especially, it was just black but the shape of it and the spikes around his neck gave the impression of great power and strength. The story line was confusing at first, and I had to re-read many things, but I realized that I had the unfortunate notion that comics were usually a simple read. I caught on to the transitions between characters that were seamless. It used a single panel between two stories to indicate a setting and character change, I found this very interesting. The multi story line was something I didn’t and still haven’t completely understood but I appreciate it. I know that some more context going into the first issue would have been very helpful but that’s on me. Something I liked was the complexity of each character. T’Challa was  flawed but he was strong. He asked for advice when he needed it but still trusted his intuition. The Midnight Angels were interesting as well, they fought for justice but had an anger that was both dangerous and empowering. I found that that these Black Panther volumes had an inspiring nature that was absent from all the others I’ve read. It wasn’t completely unrealistic like Superman but wasn’t trying too hard to be relateable like Ms. Marvel. Overall, I loved it and am now even more excited for the film to be released.

Ms. Marvel

I didn’t like it. It wasn’t bad by any means, just personally it wasn’t my favourite. Simply, as a whole, it just wasn’t my thing, and I’ll explain why. But my dislike, doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate the things that were done well. I’ll start with that. First of all, it was really cool to see a Muslim superhero. Too often, are comics westernized with American culture and predictable norms. It’s nice to be reading something different and learning about different cultures. Also, it wasn’t just great to have a superhero that wasn’t your typical Caucasian, but to have someone that could be relatable as well. During Ms. Marvel’s first real fight, she lost. Which is actually a lot more likely than most superhero comics would seem to think. She knew she wasn’t immune to everything, and felt pain just like most people and most superheroes do as well.  However, I thought the inner narration was tedious, as well as the abundance of text in general. It just felt like a lot of reading, and I didn’t really need a step by step of her feelings all the time. Another thing was the humor. Again, just not my thing. It’s very likely I dislike humor in comic books altogether, but the sarcasm and constant attempt to be ‘relatable’ I grew tired of. And, the stereotypes, I mean, a girl liking video games and writing fan-fiction and being different from the popular blonde shouldn’t be a trope, and it doesn’t make her an optimal human being. I found this comic villain-ized too many people. In writing, I don’t agree with making the main-character the only ‘good’ character with out any character flaws, it’s often frustrating to read, it’s all inner conflict or ‘loneliness’ or ‘nobody understands me’. Too much angst. (Words 300).

All-Star Superman

I’m not an avid comic-book reader, but I know the premise of almost all mainstream superheroes and I like to keep up with my favourites. My only experience with Superman was either through movies or with my small collection of JLA (Justice League Alliance) comic books. It was interesting to experience a completely different approach with Superman. In volumes 1-6 he’s what I would consider vulnerable, as a superhero anyway. Most of the volumes focus greatly on a Lois Lane story line and besides Kryptonite, it’s apparent that she is his weakness. Superman, the Man of Steel has reoccurring internal struggles, and that’s something I appreciate about All-Star. It becomes tedious to have a immune, all-powerful hero repeatedly fight battles he’s bound to win, but when the battles are brought on by his own difficult decisions, internal conflicts and when danger surrounds everything he loves, it gets more interesting. However (and it’s very possible I don’t know enough about comics to properly form this opinion), but I found the volumes a bit disorderly. I didn’t think enough time was spent on developing character motivations and emotions, and I also thought there were some things that seemed out of place or unlikely. For example, when the attention of Lois Lane is being fought for, I don’t think it’s likely that Superman would have been so easy-going about it. He is Superman after all and I believe should have been more protective. I did like the Lex Luthor story line and I believe they portrayed him very effectively through both his dialogue, and through the comic formatting. His repetitive appearances and very confident attitude was antagonizing yet also foreshadowed to the reveal that Superman going to die. (285 Words)