New Comic Review - Venom #20

Name: Venom #20

Published by: Marvel comics

Writer: Al Ewing 

Artists: Cafu

Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles  

Every time that I think that maybe this time Ewing will let the ball drop, making the pace too slow to make it drag or make the story too convoluted to make me decide it's just too difficult to follow each month, he delivers such a brilliant piece of curveball to keep me interested in the future of his characters. 

This time the story focuses on Eddie Brock as he returns to wreck havoc in a new style. He goes on a road trip to restart the battle he left off. The unique way of storytelling by Al Ewing once again keeps the readers guessing what to expect in the future while keeping the angles fresh for the future of the series. 

The art and coloring seems a notch higher in quality compared to the past few issues this time. The characters are drawn quite detailed and the action scenes seem to jump out of the pages. This really added much to the overall quality of the end product as well as the level of entertainment . 

A near perfect issue in terms of enjoyment, this gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Venom #17

Name: Venom #17

Published by: Marvel comics

Writer: Al Ewing 

Artists: Cafu

Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles 

After the events of 'Dark Web', Eddie Brock is left as a shadow of his former self with his memories in a jumble and his rage prevailing as he is stuck as Bedlam after being used as a pawn in the scheme by Madelyne Pryor and Ben Reilly. 

This issue tells a somewhat convoluted tale of Eddie's struggles both physical and psychological, and does it with some style. The fight scene with Darkoth was quite viscerally enjoyable and brilliantly drawn by Cafu. Despite being at times confusing, this type of storytelling by Ewing is really appreciated if the readers are already invested in the main character. 

To be honest, I was a bit sceptical with Venom's integration into the 'Dark Web' event but Ewing really did use the opportunity quite ingeniously leaving me quite optimistic as a reader for the future of the series. 

4 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Ant-man #4

Name: Ant-man #4

Published by: Marvel Comics 

Writer: Al Ewing

Artist: Tom Reilly

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Letterer: VC's Cory Petit

The amusing and nostalgic journey comes to an end. We finally get to learn about the Ant-man from the future in this final issue, as the struggle against the All-father Ultron comes to a close in this final issue. Reilly tries to mix all of the styles he previously tried in the series to give the finale ever more panache. 

In the first six or so pages Ewing creates a total backstory for the future Ant-man, and tries to explain the reasons behind his time travel. We learn about the devastating nature and the immense power of All-father Ultron as well. The rest of the issue is a fight scene as all incarnations of Ant-man tries to find a way to defeat this version of Ultron. 

The art by Reilly and Bellaire is as gorgeous as ever, they use different color pallets and nuances to draw each version of Ant-man to make each unique and easily recognizable. The actions have an enjoyable and flamboyant nature with Reilly's unique style augmented by Bellaire's exquisite coloring. I also loved the varied method of lettering used by Cory Petit throughout the issue. 

My only complaint with the issue is the overuse of pseudo superhero science in the issue, especially the almost incomprehensible method our heroes used to defeat Ultron in the end. Despite these issues, this was most definitely the best anniversary tribute mini-series that has come out in years. 

This gets a well deserved 4 out of 5 stars from me.

New Comic Review - Ant-man #3

Name: Ant-man #3

Published by: Marvel Comics 

Writer: Al Ewing

Artist: Tom Reilly

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Letterer: VC's Cory Petit

Well, now I am officially a fan of this creative duo. Once again, they provide another brilliant issue, this time dealing with the most famous incarnation of Ant-man. This issue is packed with funny and witty dialogue, progresses the plot towards its inevitable conclusion in the future issue, while introducing readers to more of the iconic and interesting characters from the Ant-man mythos. 

Al Ewing completely understands the essence of the character of Scott Lang, and depicts him clearly as a family man, a smart and down to earth superhero who is smart and witty but knows when to get serious when the situation demands it. I really loved his handling of Cassie and the LMD version of Black Ant. It was great to see the cameos by some big shot Avengers too.

The most funny thing in this was definitely the banter between the characters, I also loved the father and daughter dynamic and the humorous monologue by the Black Ant. In fact, it was hard to find a misstep in the pages of this issue. And the twist at the end cleverly set up the stage for the finale. 

The art and color by Reilly and Bellaire is as good as the first two issues. Reilly once again morphs his style, this time adapting the modern approach, with using his unique grasp of the medium, and from the help of Bellaire creates a sense of motion while the characters change their sizes and the action scenes. The coloring also works to add up a kind of personality for the different characters with the use of shading. 

Despite initially wishing to write a short review, I cannot help myself from adding stuff to express my enthusiasm for this thoroughly entertaining and delightful little mini-series. 

My score - 4.5 out of 5.

New Comic Review - Ant-man #2

Name: Ant-man #2

Published by: Marvel Comics 

Writer: Al Ewing

Artist: Tom Reilly

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Letterer: VC's Cory Petit

It is very hard follow up the first issue of this mini-series, which was a dose of nostalgic perfection. But Ewing and Reilly do manage to deliver another fun and enjoyable issue, although maybe not as spectacular as the previous one. 

This time we switch our focus to the most notorious person ever to use of the name of Ant-man, the irredeemable Eric O'Grady. The story is set just after Eric had stolen the new and improved Ant-man suit from SHIELD, as he tries to get familiar with his new found powers and ends up meeting different incarnations of Ant-man. 

The art style by Tom Reilly, tries to imitate the style of the 2000's and does so admirably. His paneling and drawing style was a brilliant replication of the methods used in 'The Irredeemable Ant-man' series in which Eric used to star on, and once again was an enjoyable trip to the past. 

But to me the pacing was the issue was a bit too slow, and nothing much really happened concerning the main overarching plot of the series. 

This gets, 4 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Ant-man #1

Name: Ant-man #1

Published by: Marvel Comics 

Writer: Al Ewing

Artist: Tom Reilly

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Letterer: VC's Cory Petit

Sometimes you just know you are gonna like something before even reading it. That was the case with me this time as I knew I was gonna like this mini-series as soon as I heard about. The first issue feels like a nostalgic trip into comic books from the '60s with some stylish storytelling approach and innovative humor. 

The story starts in the future, in the year 2549 as we begin the narration with an unidentified male as he time travels to the' 60s taking us to a day in the life of Hank Pym in his early adventures as the Ant-man. After that it's a fun ride as the story shifts its tone to the storytelling typical of comics from that age, which is done very skillfully by Al Ewing, with the delightful mixture of goofiness, wackiness and humor of that particular period in comics. 

The art by Tom Reilly with the help of the unique style of coloring by Jordie Bellaire gives the overall experience of reading a comic book from the golden/bronze age quite brilliantly. They even insert the characteristic thought bubbles and page numbering in the corner to give the art more authenticity. The coloring somehow even manages to make the drawing aged even with its page colors. 

The whole issue is like a fun romp into the past with its delightful plot, stylish and campy storytelling and vintage drawing approaches. This was an experience I will cherish for a while and would recommend to all who loves this character or the comics from that age. 

A perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars from me.