Welcome to the (hopefully) weekly comic reviews! As a relatively poor college student, I lack the funds to buy a majority of the books that hit stands each week, forcing me to pick out only the books that I think are worth purchasing. Hope you enjoy!

Angel: After the Fall #3

-May fortune smile upon Brian Lynch, Joss Whedon, and Franco Urru. I must admit that I was cautiously optimistic of this series since the first issue hit a couple months ago, but any hesitations have been erased with this issue. Lynch has an uncanny ability to channel Whedon’s style of writing, right down to the mannerisms of each character. Spike is just as funny as he was in Buffy/Angel, and Angel still has that tendency to quip during fights. Franco Urru does an admirable job with this issue, just as he has with the previous two. If I had any problems with his art it would be that it seems too much like a cartoon, I would much rather have a more detailed and realistic penciler on the project…but I digress.

There are some small issues I have with the book though, but I feel that they can be remedied without much trouble in the coming issues. We’ve been thrown into this desolate situation without much explanation, and Whedon has already said that they are planning to do a separate issue detailing the night when our heroes met in the alley for the final fight. If things were in my hands I would have started the series with that issue and then carried on to the story being told now, but there’s no point in crying over spilled milk. Despite some small problems with Urru’s art, I feel this maxi-series is beginning to take things in stride…especially with the surprise curve ball thrown on the last page of the issue.

Angel: After the Fall #3 gets 3.5 out of 5 

The Umbrella Academy #5

-I spotlighted the first Umbrella Academy issue a couple months ago as the beginning of a series that should be watched by fans of creative and fun comics. Let it be known that the gas pedal has not been let up, and that Way and Ba have been delivering a hell of a story month in and month out. When I bought the first issue I had doubts, knowing that Gerard Way was the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, a band I really don’t care for one bit. I still don’t like them, but his talent as a writer has shown itself in spades as this series has moved forward. Clever and interesting characters, situations, and the overall mythology of their world has drawn me in a way most comics cannot. What I see in him is a younger version of Grant Morrison (A bold claim, I know) in that they both have a knack for creating or reviving fun characters, all while putting them in crazy and entertaining situations.

Gabriel Ba…what can be said about him that hasn’t been already said by others? His style is an echo of something you would expect from Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy) because of the way he draws characters and environments. He can either draw simplistic scenes depicting dialog between characters or in the case of this issue, draw a panel which is more detailed than I would have liked it to be. (As soon as you see it you’ll understand) I really hope that he collaborates with Way in future series of UA, as it will be hard to picture the characters and universe without him. This issue delivers some answers all while raising more questions as to the motives and murky pasts of certain characters. If you enjoy a fresh story with great writing and art, don’t hesitate to pick up this series.

The Umbrella Academy #5 gets a 4.5 out of 5 

The Amazing Spider-Man #547

-I’m having fun with Brand New Day, a lot of fun. I might have mentioned in my review of the previous issue that I didn’t care for One More Day, and while that is true I’ve decided to leave OMD in the past. Move on. I haven’t enjoyed Spider-Man as much as this until now, and thank goodness Marvel is sending it our way three times a month.

I’m going to spare you guys the chore of reading my praises for Dan Slott and Steve McNiven, instead we’re gonna focus on how well this issue did continuing the story. Last issue we were introduced to Mr. Negative, a new villain to add to the already immense rogue gallery for the old web-head. This time around we see him up to no good with a member of the Karnelli family, one of the more prominent crime families in NYC. Without giving too much away, I will only mention that the simple mugging that Peter was part of last issue has more of a lasting effect than you would have thought, bringing about a series of events that begin to unfold in this issue. Slott and McNiven were somehow able to make this work, and it’s one of the more entertaining books on shelves. If you have doubts about where Marvel is taking Spidey, don’t worry. He’s in good hands.

The Amazing Spider-Man gets a 4 out of 5 

The Immortal Iron Fist #12

-The 7 Capital Cities of Heaven arc has been going on for 5 issues now, and I have yet to tire of the story being told by Fraction and Brubaker. In this issue they continue their juggling of story lines between the tournament, Danny Rand’s exploits, and the adventures of Danny’s father during his stay at the city of Kun-Lun. It seems as though Aja has been struggling to keep up with the deadlines, so much so that Kano and Hollingsworth were brought on the share the duties. It’s not as bad as it seems, while the three pencilers have varying styles, they blend together much like the work done on Captain America between Perkins and Epting.

I have almost no problems with the writing, but I have had a pretty small problem keeping up with the story. When I got home from the shop today I opened up this issue, but before I started reading I was totally dumbfounded, I couldn’t really remember the specifics of the characters or anything. I had to dig through my back issues to find the beginning of the arc so that I could refresh myself. Don’t get me wrong, this is more of a personal problem and not one to hold against the creative team. If you enjoy some great kung-fu action with your stories, be sure to check out this book. It’s most definitely one of Marvel’s more overlooked titles.

The Immortal Iron Fist gets a 4 out of 5 

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Matt can be found in the Milwaukee area going to college. He'd much rather be playing on his Xbox 360 or reading his weekly comic purchases, and as we all know, all work and no play makes Matt a dull boy.
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