Silver Surfer: Devolution

The Silver Surfer is a character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the sixties. In short, he is the herald of an almost all powerful entity that eats planets. A large part of the pathos for this character has to do with his internal fight between being caring and human and being aloft and distant. Silver Surfer: Devolution is the n^th turning of the wheel in this pathos, with a slight twist. In previous stories, The Surfer had been depowered, but had not stopped being The Surfer. In this story he goes back to being Norrin Radd and feels the consequences of being human in full blast mode. The idea is nice and Pak has a good history of written great super-heroes yarns. However, this time around, the writting does not quite live up to the idea. There are areas where the story feels rushed and there are other areas where you can actually "see the seams" of the whole thing. The final script needed a final polishing that it was not given. The art is not exactly my cup of tea, but those of you who enjoy Steve Segovia will enjoy it too.
Story: 2.5
Art: 2.5
Overall: 2.5

Superman: Return of Doomsday

No. Just no. This is a terrible book. If you have no idea of who doomsday is (he killed Superman long ago) and that the Superman you see today was killed and resurrected, you will read a book where a monster defeats and kidnaps super heroes almost haphazardly. If you know who doomsday is, you will read a book where a monster defeats and kidnaps the super heroes that carried the legacy while superman was dead. No idea why. Maybe I'll change my mind if I actually decide to pick up the follow up to this, which is not likely. DC should probably have held off from splitting this into two paperbacks and publish just the complete story. In the meantime don't waste your time. Go read something else. Even the art is uneven.
Story: 1
Art: 2.5
Overall: 1.75

XIII, Tome 20 : Le jour du Mayflower

XIII is a franco-belgian graphic novel series that was created and drawn by Van Hame and Vance. The first cycle of adventures follows a spy, XIII, who lost all memory of his identity and former life. In volume nineteen, after finding our who he might be, XIII defeats all his enemies and finally has the freedom of a regular life, still without his memory. In this volume a new cycle of adventures starts and it looks like this time around he will find out about his past. During the story that is told in this graphic novel XIII reconnects with older (possible) friends, and as it seems that he will finally figure out his memory, a new enemy emerges and by the end of the volume, his life is back to the status quo of most of the previous cycle. The book is competently written and the drawings are even better than Vance's. I look forward to reading the next volume.
Story: 3
Art: 4.8
Overall: 3.9

The Boys Volume 9: The Big Ride

This is volume 9 of the ongoing series The Boys. In this series we follow the adventures of a group of five individuals and a dog, The Boys, that have chemically enhanced abilities. They are a (rebel part of a) secret agency that follows the lives of super-heroes and do damage control of said heroes, mostly by destroying them when they misbehave. In a way it uses a plot device for story progression that is similar to that of The Nam, in the sense that the story unfolds around a new recruit to the organization, that slowly understands what he got himself into. It is a very refreshing look a super-heroes and how they could come about in real life. It is a very politically incorrect series, with sex, drugs, and violence jokes running rampant. I have thoroughly enjoyed all its previous paperbacks. However, for me, this is the paperback that brings the series to maturity. It is very well written, and drawn and we begin to see what lies underneath the leader of The Boys. We see how the (not so) new (anymore) team member comes to the realization of what he might have gotten himself into and how he tries to begin controlling the situation. This is the quietest of the paperbacks so far, and there are very nice scenes between the different characters. The ending is chilling and it is one of the best comics I have read this year. I was very sorry to see my favorite character die, but after reading the ending I understood that it was for a good cause... Recommended
Story: 5
Art: 4.5
Overall: 4.75

The 'Nam - Volume 1

To be fair, what I have just read is the Spanish hardcover for this paperback. This edition is much nicer than the original, and the translation is decent. It tells the story of a unit of soldiers that fight in the Nam, with its mixture of new soldiers, and old warheads that are either about to die or about to go home. Even though this is a war book, it centres mostly on the interactions between the American soldiers during the breaks between battles and military actions. The human interactions between the different characters are very believable, and they make the stories moving. The story in this volume is mostly told from the point of view of a newly arrived soldier who is still fresh and naive. We follow him as he becomes more savvy and learns how the world works in a war. This story was originally published in the eighties, but it is still very good. The writer, Doug Murray is a Vietnam war veteran and he clearly knows what he is talking about. Michael Golden, as usual, makes a superb job with the drawings. Recommended
Story: 4.5
Art: 4.7
Overall: 4.6

U-BOOT INTEGRAL. LIBRO UNO

This is an interesting mix between a war story, a story about the rise of an economic empire, and a sci-fi yarn. In WWII Dr. Mengel boards a submarine in Germany that is destined to got to the Amazon. Mengel experiments on the the crew, and when they reach the Amazon, the submarine is stranded. 10 years latter explores find the submarine and save one single member of the crew. Meanwhile, in the future, several killings seem to be related with the business started by that single survivor. It is an interesting book, go read it.
Story: 4.5
Art: 4
Overall: 4.25

El Gran Duque

This is a compilation of 3 French graphic novels about German and Russian fighter pilots of World War II. specifically, it is the story of a German flying ace who is patriotic but not Nazi and of a female Russian pilot who is as good as the German. The story follows the ending of the war and the atrocities that were done by both sides and of the love affair that develops between the two pilots from just a few fortuitous meeting under less than ideal conditions. I am not a fan of war stories but this is a pretty good one. Because make no mistake, it is a war story and not a love story. Those of you who liked Battlefields will love this book.
Story: 4.5
Art: 4.5
Overall: 4.5