Comic List Last Week -May.26.13- Preview

As I said my weekly list of comics that I’ve read will be back soon and here it is with four comics this time and most of them are a good read.

Helheim #3 by Cullen Bunn and Joelle Jones: I liked this issue even more because it had even more characterization. Rickard from a week boy becomes are fearless warrior who dies in battle, a witch who is his lover brings him back from the dead as a creature named Draugr and now in this issue he becomes something even more monstrous but with a free will. He chooses to wage war on both witches his onetime enemy and his lover who have been manipulating and destroying both his land and its people.

Cullen Bunn continues to weave an intriguing story and with Helheim #3 he establishes his hero and sets him on his own path accompanied by a new ally. Joelle Jones and colorist Nick Fillardi continue to provide excellent art. All in all a thrilling issue which makes me anticipate issue #4 even more!

Uber #1 by Kieron Gillen and Caanan White: There is so much going in this comic that only the tiniest of hints will be a spoiler. From page one and through the whole issue it’s a real thrill, with plots, references and storylines based on real people and facts from the WW 2 era. The cool thing is that it’s done with an absolute respect without making it a parody this is something difficult to accomplish especially if you want to say it your way without giving any interest in research. Kieron respects the history and weaves elements of it in his story making it true and believable and all the more an exciting comic book. It’s not a superhero comic by far, the “power”s is just an aspect of the whole comic the people and what they are living in WW2 is where the whole story lays and this is what makes it a remarkable read.

Also Caanan White has leveled up his art in this issue its big, its detailed, it’s great in general it’s a lot better than #0. In general Uber #1 is a great comic even better than #0 story and art wise  and I enjoyed it it to its fullest!

Cable & X-Force #8 by Dennis Hopeless and Salvador Larroca: The art in this issue is amazing; Salvador Larroca and Frank D’Armata are doing a superb job. Visually its one of the best comics out there with splash pages and big panels with dynamic art, colors and action scenes. Story wise the arc is tied up and ended nicely in a way that Cable succeeds in preventing a fatale future for earth although his actions do have consequences he will deal next issue as he confronts his “uncle”. Dennis Hopeless does a perfect job of building characterization and in this issue we see from amusing to creepy character interaction. It was a fun comic for me this specific issue and I enjoyed even more than I expected.

Thunderbolts #9 by Daniel Way and Phil Noto: This comic In this issue we see who the is the man hiding behind the whole gamma gadget tinkering and selling it to the black market which I will not reveal  but I was pleased of his return, this was unexpected addition to the story. The art is not the best I like it more than Steve Dillon’s not because its better but it’s more fluid and suits more  the title in its action scenes but I know Phil Noto can do even better  I’m a fan of his from way back. The thing that still makes me feel uncomfortable is that we don’t see the full personality of all the characters but aspects, it is a team book but still I would like to see them in character. The interaction and only would be dynamic.

I will continue to read it after all it features one of my favorite roasters where only two characters have their own title and are not on other super teams. So yes I read this comic for Electra, Punisher, Red Hulk, Venom and Deadpool and I will continue to read it for a while.

So this is it guys I know it is a small list but it’s the ones I like and will continue for some reason or other and I would recommend to others to check out.

Cheers!

Con Barbatsis for eCharta

Über 0 – Germany during WW2 just in middle of the battle of Berlin!

I’m a big fan of Kieron Gillen ever since a small preview about Phonogram got my attention. Since then I was blown away when I read the first issue! So I had to follow this creator’s course especially when he delved into my favorite genre, superhero comics! Recently I found out that he was doing a comic book for Avatar Press a publisher where I knew creators like Warren Ellis and Garth Ennis lurked creating dark comics with no hold back content! So what was Gillen doing here what was he writing about? The answer is Über! A comic book placed in Germany during WW2 just in middle of the battle of Berlin with a whole new twist!

The twist is that this time the German army by using powered beings as weapons they win the battle but don’t expect to read it as a golden age superhero comic, it’s nothing like that, it has more substance! There is much deep behavioral aspects of what humans do in a time of war, what they do to survive or conquer by using violence.

Violence is a cruel behavior and in this issue of Über. We see it used

by different point of views, by people who it comes natural to them that do not see the wrong in it, by those who use it because they are forced by situations of life or death and by those who although they see the wrong in it and how it can corrupt you they also know it’s the only way to gain your goals in a time of war and conspiracy!

At first the comic didn’t catch my attention and that is only because I was not familiar with the detailed history of WW2 battles, armies, ranks and names, but as the story unfolded I was drawn into it without

realizing it! The main story develops in different threads in the same time which made me turn page after page in anticipation of what the final outcome will be. Finally all plots intersect at the most critical moment which is the battle! I won’t go into detail on who the characters are or what powered beings are being used. I will only say it is a story about soldiers and civilians in a cruel time of our history which Gillen delivers in a  most fascinating way. It shows that he has studied and worked hard to create a story using a lot of facts and references from that era to hold what he has to say all the more true!

The creative team on Über’s art consists of Canaan White doing pencils, Michael Dipascale colors and Keith Williams inking. It would be wrong of me to not mention on how much the art helped in saying this story!!! Although it is in many ways realistic you cannot go without noticing some aspects of darkish 80’s retro style, the storytelling is very good and the colors with the inking add atmosphere giving a full illustrated outcome!

So in conclusion this is a comic still at the beginning of its story and very promising! It’s raw it’s true and I do believe that in the future we will see much more twists and turns and more griping character development in one of the cruelest eras of our history! Über #0 may have super beings but their powers are the special effects, the power of human behavior is what the story is about!

Read it and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!!!!

Con Barbatsis for eCharta