Offhand Opinions

At different websites at different times, I’ve done comic book reviews under the auspices of O’Shea’s Offhand Opinions. Now I bring it to The Great Curve. If you’re looking for Randy Lander or Johanna Draper Carlson-level analysis, look to those fine folks. The key to offhand opinions is it’s a gut reaction with bare bones analysis. I tell you if it’s worth buying in a basic Yes or No situation.

What If Aunt May Had Died Instead of Uncle Ben?
Brubaker/Devito/Villari
Unlike other framing devices for this event week series (such as with Bendis), Brubaker’s comic book owner with Watcher t-shirt as narrator works for me. While a little too tidy in terms of plot resolution, it’s a fun romp (particularly compared to the other What If's from this week).
Yes

What If Jessica Jones Had Joined the Avengers?
Bendis/Gaydos/Villarrubia
I’m not sure what bothers me more about this book, the way Bendis knocks his own current plot in The Pulse or the way he uses degradation of a female character as a major plot fueling point. Make some male heroes a “pet” sometime, Bendis, and maybe your weak writing won’t annoy me so much.
No

What If Magneto and Professor X Had Formed the X-Men Together?
Claremont/Raney/Hanna
It would be called Excalibur and would bore me as much as this did. And it's a shame, as I really like Raney's work typically.
No

What If Karen Page Had Lived?
Bendis/Lark/Stewart
Well apparently if she had lived, Daredevil would have become more unbelievably dumb than any Daredevil tale I ever read (except for that Ditko filler issue in the middle of Frank Miller’s run, but that doesn’t count…). What a lifeless waste of Michael Lark’s talent. And what annoys me more than Bendis writing? Bendis as narrator.
No

Iron Man 2
Ellis/Gradnov
Am I the only person that remembers Warren Ellis saying he didn’t want to write superhero comics anymore? Did I imagine that? I felt like I was reading a testimonial from the Winter Consumer Electronic Show instead of Iron Man. Boring…
No

The Amazing Spider-Man 515
Straczynski/Deodato Jr./Brooks
OK, fanboy moment: Peter Parker owns a car? Since when? Why? I really enjoyed this issue, if for no other reason no Gwen Stacy children appeared in it. Memo to Marvel, once a month, please could you give me a cover that has anything to do with the inside story? Covers should be more than breeding grounds for alternative generic TPB covers. One other small prob—Tony Stark is an idiot in JMS world. And while the presence of a heretofore unrevealed high school classmate of Pete has a shoehorned plot quality to it, I still see potential in this arc.
Yes

Green Arrow 45
Winick/Hester/Parks
For a guy who came back from the dead, Ollie has been an incredibly constipated character under Winick’s guidance during non-action scenes. Fortunately Winick gives me enough action in this issue to make his Ollie as a prop in the afterschool special opening almost bearable.
Yes

Adam Strange 4
Diggle/Ferry
I’m immensely enjoying this book. I never cared two licks about The Omega Men in their series lo those many years ago. But in a few pages, Diggle and Ferry made me interested in them.
Yes

Legion of Super-Heroes 1
Waid/Kitson
Over the years, nearly every reboot of the Legion has bored me as much as the previous incarnation…until this one. I feel no “have to know the background” pressure. Plain and simple it’s a fun read.
Yes

JSA Strange Adventures 5
Anderson/Kitson/Erskine
This miniseries could have been a three-parter instead of a six-parter. Johnny Thunder has said the same whiny thing for five issues and I am sick of him. It had potential, but has seemingly been stretched out for greater TPB potential. There are numerous scenes that just scream “padding!”.
No