Martin's Profile

Void Rivals #31 pulled away from all the action taking place on the Sacred Ring and zeros in 100% on the Skuxxoid storyline that was left dangling. I have a special place in my heart for ole Skuxxoid as I was a huge fan of the big swings taken in the third season of the 1980s transformers cartoon, so this issue was written for me. It wraps up things nicely with the Skuxxoid we’ve been following co ming face-to-face with Skuxxoid Alpha in a fight to the finish. The ending was well written and tied things up perfectly. My only real complaint was that it was a fast read … Kirkman could have added more meat to the bone, I still thought it was great.
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G.I. Joe #23 was a mixed bag for me. As a kid I always enjoyed the more “grounded” 80s G.I. Joe comics over the zaniness of the cartoon … with this mysterious mind-twisting technology, the series seems to be flirting with those over-the-top cartoon concepts. Granted this technology is powered by energon, but I don’t feel that should explain away what seems like magic. The pace of the storytelling was great and the art was on-point, just some of the concepts seemed too far fetched. Also the story focuses on Risk and his backstory, while that’s fine - I would rather learn more about some of the “classic” Joe characters. On the plus side Destro and the Baroness have been paired up … maybe we’ll get a scene where they are practicing their clarinets (that is such an obscure joke - sorry). Even though I’m not a fan of the sci-fi concepts at play … this is still a top tier title with an amazing creative team.
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The Last Starfighter #1 wasn’t a bad book … not by a mile … however I think it failed to nail the tone of the film. This is a direct sequel to the 1984 movie, picking up soon after Alex and Maggie leave their trailer park behind and head to the stars. The book does a great job of establishing the events of the movie as it moves into continuing the story and though well written - that’s where the b ook starts to lose me. Granted I haven’t seen the film since the last century, but I remember it being fun and bright … this book is gloomy and dark. Assuming that they are appealing to (the small amount) of folks who recall the original … they don’t seem to be writing towards them. Aside from the tone of the storytelling the art and colors are unappealing and fail to nail the look and feel of the movie. All that aside - on it’s own The Last Starfighter tells a pretty good story and if you can overlook the differences between this and the source material, I think you’ll enjoy it. more

Transformers #34 felt a little like filler. Lots of conversations that hopefully are laying the groundwork for what is to come. Way too much focus has been given to Optimus no longer being a Prime and it’s getting stretched a bit too far, sort of just page filler. They did drop in a factoid that I don’t think had been mentioned before - Spike’s deceased brother was an astronaut? That’s pretty conv enient, seeing as Spike now hangs out with robots from space. There is some nice random action with Cliffjumper and Shredhead, but it was maybe a little too random. As the cover suggests the story introduces Transformers Generation One cartoon villain Doctor Arkeville, and I have to ask why? With Transformers, Void Rivals, G.I. Joe, and now M.A.S.K. - doesn’t the Energon Universe have enough going on? Also Flagg made no mention of the events that took place in M.A.S.K. #1 nor did he mention Arkeville in in the M.A.S.K. book … so it makes figuring out continuity a challenge. I’m still a fan of the series, and this wasn’t a “bad” issue - it just didn’t really move the overall story forward much. more

M.A.S.K. #2 was a solid comic book … however it still feels like an Energon Universe side-quest as opposed to anything important. I don’t have too much of a history with M.A.S.K. so the introduction of Baker and Sato didn’t really move the needle for me. They were given some surface level characterization but nothing too deep. That’s actually my main issue with this book, the lack of depth. It fel t like a Saturday morning cartoon and if that’s the vibe the writer was going for he nailed it, however it seems a little out of step with the rest of the Energon books. The art was top tier, don’t know much about Pye Parr outside of this book, but he’s someone to keep an eye on. All around, it was an enjoyable read, even if it lacked a sense of depth - I would recommend it. more

M.A.S.K. #1 opened on an action sequence and then slowed down from there. The book does a good job of establishing Matt Tracker and that’s about it. We get all the backstory through an interrogation but no real action. While well written, it really failed to grab the reader and make him or her care about what’s happening or rather what’s abut to happen. Lot’s of setup but nothing that would pull i n someone who wasn’t a fan of the property or already invested in the Energon Universe. Also … though General Flagg is involved in the plot … it still feels a bit like a side-quest and not tied to the “larger story”. In spite of it’s flaws, I still would cautiously recommend this book. more

Transformers #32 was an interlude on Cybertron, that was pretty solid. I don’t like the direction the book was headed with Prime giving up the Matrix … it just feels old and over-done. That being said this was a killer straight up action issue and I liked it. Elta and her team of Autobots arrived behind enemy lines and must sneak back to their base of operations. When a damaged and decapitated Sho ckwave with a small army shows up the cogs hit the fan. I don’t necessarily care for the over the top brutality, but it keeps the story moving. In the OG cartoon Elta had the power to stop time … for this incarnation she’s given the Ghost of the Star Saber (Japanese cartoon reference?) To cut down the Decepticons. It’s all very exciting and epic. more

Not sure that Void Rivals #30 stuck the landing for the Quintesson War, it just seemed to feed into the next story arc as opposed to closing this one out. The action and danger was turned up with this issue, with daring escapes and ferocious battles. There was a clear status quo change with the end of this book, I don’t know if that merited a 6-issue story arc. I’m interested to see where things a re going, however it doesn’t seem that Kirkman cares about the destination, but the ride has been enjoyable thus far. I still highly recommend this title and all of the other Energon books. more

Emperor Aquaman #16 was a slight return to form for the series. It broke away from the family drama and KO nonsense to be a story that moves … this time to an alien world. The plot wasn’t over complicated or all that captivating, it was just a mini-adventure for the King of Atlantis. Also, it was a basic one-and-done tale, but I think that’s what the series needed. I wish we could get back more of the supporting cast from the first few issues … but I am still excited to see where things go from here.more

The writing is solid the art is what it needs to be … yet Thunder The Barbarian #3 falls on so many levels. This series will be many folks first introduction to these characters and this world, so Aaron decides to go with a time travel alternative history story. That is a huge mistake as a new reader has no time to truly understand what’s happening before everything is turned inside out. Also, no one actually believes that anything that happens in the alternate version will have any lasting ramifications on the series. I will give it one more issue, to see if there isn’t some really exciting twist coming up, if not - I’m out.more

I have been avoiding the Dynamite Disney comics, but for Free Comic Book Day I picked up Stitch #1 - after reading it … I will continue to avoid the Dynamite Disney comics. I don’t envy any writer having to come up with new ideas for this character, however this book was a muddled mess. It’s obviously written for little kids and in that I think it fails, the plot wouldn’t appeal to kids and is to o thin to appeal to adults. Without featuring Lilo the story has zero heart and the characters (especially Stitch) are off. The artwork is decent but a tad too basic. At the end of the day Disney/Stitch fans will no doubt LOVE this, even though it misses the vibe and charm of the film by about a mile.
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I enjoyed the Energon Universe 2026 Special - but I think I’m already getting tired of MASK. The first 16 pages were a MASK story, setting up what to expect in the series. While it was fine, and exciting - it felt like it should have been a GI Joe story - espionage, prison breaks, action, and a page where they “call in the team”. It just seems to me that MASK is taking up space that should be give n to the Joes. The next 6 pages were a tight Transformers story, more mood and texture than an actual narrative, but I liked it. The 6 pages after that was where the Void Rivals story fell, it was a nice “bridge” story - but in some ways spoilt the end of the Quintesson War. The final 6 pages were a backstory for something that recently happened in the GI Joe comic, good foundational stuff that I’m sure will have ramifications. All-in-all a great sampling of what is to come in the Energon Universe.
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I can’t say that I was excited to read Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge - Echoes of the Empire #1 as it is more “product” than “art” - more “marketing” than “story”. That’s pretty much what it turned out to be. It’s dull and contrived, crafting a story in two different timelines - sometime after The Force Awakens with the meat of the story being flashbacks to between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Everything feels hobbled together - wedging characters into situations that defy continuity and feel a bit pointless. The creators are (I’m sure) doing the best they can with the task they were given. Unless you are a Star Wars completest or a die hard Disney Parks fan, you can skip this comic. In the past this sort of marketing was regulated to FREE comics given away with a box of C-3POs cereal.
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I didn’t know what to expect when I cracked open Void Rivals #29 … the cover felt nostalgic, harkening back to the 1986 Transformers movie, what I got was shades of that and so much more. Where as the Transformers series is a love letter to the classic Transformers of the 80s, Void Rivals seems to be madly deeply in-love with the insane elements of the (post movie) third season of the cartoon. Eve rything about this book so far (including this Quintesson War story arc) screams third season, and we are all better off because of it. This chapter finds Zerta Trion communing with Vector Theta in a last ditch effort to stop the war. Meanwhile on the surface the battle is turning against the Agorrians, making things feel hopeless and yet still epic. Cobra-La is at play once more and small story elements are starting to come together. This feels like the penultimate chapter … but unless the next issue is double sized … I have no idea how all these plots can be wrapped up in just one issue. more

Emperor Aquaman #15 was a great ending to the story started in issue one (that got muddled with the K.O. event). It was a also a clear NEW beginning for the series, that I think this book needed. Once Aquaman and his group of heroes returned to earth after the first arc, the story felt like it was spinning it’s wheels, however now everything seems back on track. The way Arthur returned and Mera’s mother was dealt with were comic book perfection. The stage set by the events of the ending of this issue are pointing Aquaman and all of Atlantis in a new direction and I can’t wait to see where this all goes. I highly recommend this issue. more

I didn’t remember exactly how the Scarlet mini-series ended so it was nice that they got me up to speed with this one. They took the story forward catching up to current events in the Energon Universe. This was a quasi-silent issue and frankly I’m over that concept. Image seems to be beating that poor horse well past the point of being dead. The problem with silent issues is that they read super f ast, so I was done pretty quick and there was very little nuance to what was happening. Cobra attacks to steal the lightsaber (or whatever it’s called) while the Joes are trying to extract Scarlet, not a ton of story here. It was nice to see my favorite Joe Snow Job again and it was doubly nice NOT to have Transformers or MASK lurking around. While I didn’t hate this issue - I’m looking forward to getting back to some Joe/Cobra meat and potatoes. more

I was excited for this NEW Fury of Firestorm series as I was a fan of the character in the 1980s. Over the years I felt that writers mishandled him and drifted a bit too far away from the original concept. When I started reading this issue - I got the sense that Lemire missed the whole point of the character, but as I read further I saw what he was doing. Without spoiling too much this seems to be the next evolution of the character, however the narrative seems to be pointing back to the core of the original book as the salvation for this current dilemma. While not what I expected - I was pleasantly surprised with what I read. I eagerly look forward to where this story is going. I highly recommend this series. more

I was not a fan of issue 30 - so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Transformers #31 … what I got was a mixed bag. While I enjoyed switching the focus to Megatron, it did feel a little like filler. Granted we were introduced to some new Decepticon lore, none of it seemed that relevant to the story at hand. Of course this could all make sense in future issues, I guess I wanted more after the flat en ding to the previous issue. Still a good read and I would recommend … however I am slowly starting to lose interest more