mysteriousmre's Reviews (1.22k)

I like this take on Captain Atom. After his transformation into a nuclear-powered superhero, the Captain has all this power, attention, and fear at what he might do. He no longer sees or interacts with the world the same way, and desperately wants to reintegrate himself into society.

For all the comic nerds out there, he’s basically Doctor Manhattan, if Manhattan actually tried to retain his humanity and re-enter society. There are moments of action, but the book itself is mostly laidback and introspective. The story shows the Captain interacting with different parts of the world (the government, the general public, the superhero community), and showing how they react to his presence. It’s a *very* different kind of superhero story, especially when compared to the other New52 books that were coming out at the time.

The art is different too. While normal humans are drawn with regular inks, Captain Atom is made with these chalky, pastel brushes that really sell him as someone separated from the rest of the world and emphasize how his powers continually destroy and rebuild him, molecule by molecule. It’s a cool look that distinguishes Captain Atom from other books that helps accentuate the story. Big thumbs up in my book!

So why is this just 3 stars? That comes down to Captain Atom himself. For someone who wants to rejoin humanity, he has a difficult time showing it. He’s a very distant character, and I wish he actually took some steps *himself* at reintegrating. Like joining the Justice League or something! Without that, Atom comes across as a little mopey. Come on man, go for it! Push yourself!

So yeah, Captain Atom vol 1 is a *very* different kind of superhero book. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either. I don’t think it’s a must read, but for those of you out there looking for story that has a very different tone from most superhero books, you may want to give this a look.

While the book starts out rough by leaning on the VERY well worn tropes of the intellectual loner and the manic-pixie, Victor and Nora eventually grow out of these molds as they slowly fall in love over the summer. The cheesy dialogue in the beginning makes their early interactions extremely awkward, but as the story progresses, they become quite the adorable pair. It was hard not to root for them. Especially once they actually started having real conversations about the skeletons in their respective closets. That’s when Victor and Nora grew beyond caricatures to become characters.

Nora’s illness is fictional, but the symptoms have striking similarities to those struggling with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia. Nora’s reaction to these symptoms and her diagnosis I thought was handled really well, as well as her intentions when trying to manage them. As flawed as her methods are, Nora has agency, control, and personality that her character rarely receives in other adaptations. Victor likewise gains some depth to his character, as we see why he’s so fixated on death and control. It’s a solid origin story for the man who would become Mr. Freeze.

The art is a step up from what I’ve seen so far from DC’s YA line of graphic novels. I remember complaining in my review of Wonder Woman: Warbringer about how it was a missed opportunity to not use the limited color palette in a meaningful way. Victor and Nora does just that, using different colors to represent the characters and how the characters slowly impact one another. It’s great stuff. I wish all the DC’s YA books were like this.

If you’re in the mood for a tragic romance, Victor and Nora has you covered. It’s more than a little predictable if you’re familiar with the genre, but what it does it does well.

So many years later and this series still rules. A great introduction to the character of Aquaman that sets up a ton of fantastic stories down the road. I do have one complaint though and that’s Mera. The hot-headed Aqua-kinetic doesn’t get much time to shine this book outside of a brief story at the end. The origin story they give Mera is very interesting, but I wish she had a more active role in the main plot of the book. She comes across more as eye candy than Arthur’s partner until she gets an entire issue dedicated to her. She gets her due in later stories, but it’s a notable flaw in the first arc. Still this is a good start to a series that totally reshapes the world of Aquaman and how readers see the character. I’m really looking forward to re-reading the rest of this series.

Pardon the pun, but this book was a breath of fresh air. I just recently finished reading through the first volume of Geoff Johns' Aquaman run, and while I think it holds up well, the depiction of Mera in the story was an apparent flaw. Mera's origin is largely the same in Tidebreaker, but we get lots of additional context into Mera's upbringing, her character, and why she would take on the role of an assassin for her people, but ultimately choose to stay her hand.

Because Mera's origin is so intrinsically tied to Aquaman, Arthur Curry is a main character and we see his origin play out here as well, but Paige never takes the spotlight away from Mera and that's something I really appreciate. Their blooming romance was handled really well (as it should be, as it's her opinion of Arthur that compels Mera to go from assassin to defender). Paige dedicates a lot of time to Mera and Arthur getting to know each other, starting out as friends and gradually turning up the heat. What really sold me on their relationship was that unlike a lot of superhero romances I've read, which have the individuals practically swooning over each other's looks, Paige never has Mera or Arthur directly say anything about the other's physical attractiveness. Their friendship and relationship starts from the two admiring and being inspired by the other's character qualities. So when Paige turns up the heat it feels completely natural that Mera and Arthur would fall for each other and pursue a romantic relationship.

Another thing I really love about this book is the small amount of housekeeping it does to explain why Mera wouldn't just immediately try to kill Arthur the moment she saw him. It helped make everything more believable for me and allowed me to focus on the story and relationships instead of nitpicking plot-holes.

In my mind, this is Mera's definitive origin story. She's not only a really well rounded, inspirational character like the rest of DC's pantheon of heroes, but the story features the most believable, well-written romance I've read in all of DC's YA books. This is right up there for me with Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass. Give this a read if you haven't already.

The culinary hijinks take a back seat this volume to give us a fun story of Izutsumi vs a horde of succubi and more lore on The Canaries and how the dungeons initially came to be. Not as entertaining as what’s come before, but it raises the stakes considerably for what I’m sure is going to be a wonderful finale.

I adore this book. Not just for the art and how wonderfully they’ve updated the story, but for how well it shows the struggles of the Lee kids in wanting to be accepted for who they are, for Superman’s desire to feel “normal”, and the way the story tackles racism that’s both in your face and more subtle. This book deserves a place on everyone’s bookshelf. It’s just that good.

A fun behind the scenes look at how Yacht Club Games approached designing the art and characters for Shovel Knight! While it’s unfortunate the book doesn’t include any material pertaining to Specter of Torment or King of Cards, there’s still plenty of designs, promotional material, and creator commentary to make any Shovel Knight fan happy. In short, I dig it.

More of a 2.5. My main gripe with this volume is that it doesn't live up to its premise until the very end of the book. The Turtles and Splinter have seized control of the Foot Clan. Will the Hamato Clan be corrupted by association? Mikey seems to think so!...despite the Clan following orders and refusing to kill. I totally understand Mikey having a problem with Splinter killing the Shredder, but the book should have framed Mikey's disgust around *that* and not the Foot being evil. Mikey talks like he has the moral high-ground (he arguably does by the end), but without the Foot and Splinter doing anything questionable he just comes off as needlessly whiny and childish.

It also doesn't help that there's just a TON of dialogue to sift through during these portions of the book. The conversations with Kitsune in particular could have been trimmed down, and arguably could have been cut altogether, since most of her dialogue amounts to just her sizing up her opponents. It read like padding to reach a page count so I often just turned my brain off and breezed through the art.

What brings the book back up in my eyes is the introduction of Leatherhead and the Utroms on Burnow Island. Unlike the Mikey, everyone's actions and perspectives make sense for the characters, the dialogue is nowhere near as dense, and everyone loves a giant monster crocodile (or is he an alligator? I wasn't really watching the teeth...).

Anyways, by the end of the story, Splinter has the Foot execute one of their rivals and Casey takes over the Purple Dragons, effectively bringing them under Foot control too. Hopefully next volume explores this scenario more.

Picked this up after I finished playing The Witcher 3 and was not disappointed in the slightest. The cover art by Mike Mignola immediately brings Hellboy to mind, and I don't think that's a bad comparison to make. They both feature grim monster exterminators in a dark fantasy setting, but the characters and world of The Witcher are developed enough that they don't come across at all as derivative (even when this collection is viewed in isolation from the rest of the franchise). If you're a fan of Hellboy or good monster stories, this collection comes highly recommended.