The Hood: Blood from Stones

Rating:
Summary: Quite Possibly The Most Realistic Comic Book Yet
Review: ...Or as far as adventures featuring quys who can turn invisible and fly without a vehicle of some kind. Marvel has outdone itself in this new comic from Marvel Max, doing a "double-take" so one can take a glance into the worlds they have created. You've got to ask yourself, when you read Spider-Man or the Hulk, how often do you see how the general class of regular people are taking to beings that have far greater power than their own running amok? Sure you might see a few people running and screaming, or a few damsels getting rescued from one crisis or the next, but you rarely get to look into their minds.
This comic is down-and-dirty showing you some of the roughest and harshest areas of New York(Where most of the heroes carry out their duties in Marvel comics). Before the book gets too far into the "super-powers" aspect, conversations are being spurred about what some super-villian did, or how some super-hero came in and saved the day. Conversations are definitely not jumpy, as every character acts as they would be likely to in real life such as; the mockery of super-hero cliches(like secret lairs, identies, and goofy costumes). You learn quickly that everything their universe is not so black and white as rooting for the good guys, and just knowing that they'll always protect you. The star of the comic sees super-villians to be better role-models than the latter, as the life he leads identifies with them so closely.
Nothing more than a street thug, Parker Robbins, is as far from a hero as you can get. Following the typical marvel trend of showing that their stars don't live glamorous lives just because of their powers, Parker's life is rough. His girlfriend is pregnant, his only jobs come from mugging and theft, and none of the joys he seems to obtain last long enough for this high-school dropout.
Acquiring a blood-red cloak, and a pair of boots with strange gears embedded in them; consequently, Parker finds that they endow him with the ability to become invisible when he holds his breath, and walk on the air. Contrary to the "with great power comes great responsiblity" as is Spider-Man's now famous quote, the book quite accurately coins "With great power... comes great opportunity". Instead "vowing to use these newfound abilities for the greater good", Parker decides to turn to the life he's always looked up to -costumed crime.
From there (actually, the very beginning and then-) on, the book takes to the interesting side of comic entertainmet. Parker goes from a just another thug to a wanted man known as "The Hood" by authorities, aggresses a tyranical crimelord trying to gain control of people with super-natural powers, and lands his friend in jail. This comic is truly a thrill ride of start to finish, laying the cheery side of super-heroes aside, and showing the origin story of one of the most intriguing super-villians in the marvel universe. I cannot reccomend this book enough.

Rating:
Summary: Quite Possibly The Most Realistic Comic Book Yet
Review: ...Or as far as adventures featuring quys who can turn invisible and fly without a vehicle of some kind. Marvel has outdone itself in this new comic from Marvel Max, doing a "double-take" so one can take a glance into the worlds they have created. You've got to ask yourself, when you read Spider-Man or the Hulk, how often do you see how the general class of regular people are taking to beings that have far greater power than their own running amok? Sure you might see a few people running and screaming, or a few damsels getting rescued from one crisis or the next, but you rarely get to look into their minds.
This comic is down-and-dirty showing you some of the roughest and harshest areas of New York(Where most of the heroes carry out their duties in Marvel comics). Before the book gets too far into the "super-powers" aspect, conversations are being spurred about what some super-villian did, or how some super-hero came in and saved the day. Conversations are definitely not jumpy, as every character acts as they would be likely to in real life such as; the mockery of super-hero cliches(like secret lairs, identies, and goofy costumes). You learn quickly that everything their universe is not so black and white as rooting for the good guys, and just knowing that they'll always protect you. The star of the comic sees super-villians to be better role-models than the latter, as the life he leads identifies with them so closely.
Nothing more than a street thug, Parker Robbins, is as far from a hero as you can get. Following the typical marvel trend of showing that their stars don't live glamorous lives just because of their powers, Parker's life is rough. His girlfriend is pregnant, his only jobs come from mugging and theft, and none of the joys he seems to obtain last long enough for this high-school dropout.
Acquiring a blood-red cloak, and a pair of boots with strange gears embedded in them; consequently, Parker finds that they endow him with the ability to become invisible when he holds his breath, and walk on the air. Contrary to the "with great power comes great responsiblity" as is Spider-Man's now famous quote, the book quite accurately coins "With great power... comes great opportunity". Instead "vowing to use these newfound abilities for the greater good", Parker decides to turn to the life he's always looked up to -costumed crime.
From there (actually, the very beginning and then-) on, the book takes to the interesting side of comic entertainmet. Parker goes from a just another thug to a wanted man known as "The Hood" by authorities, aggresses a tyranical crimelord trying to gain control of people with super-natural powers, and lands his friend in jail. This comic is truly a thrill ride of start to finish, laying the cheery side of super-heroes aside, and showing the origin story of one of the most intriguing super-villians in the marvel universe. I cannot reccomend this book enough.

Rating:
Summary: Quite Possibly The Most Realistic Comic Book Yet
Review: ...Or as far as adventures featuring quys who can turn invisible and fly without a vehicle of some kind. Marvel has outdone itself in this new comic from Marvel Max, doing a "double-take" so one can take a glance into the worlds they have created. You've got to ask yourself, when you read Spider-Man or the Hulk, how often do you see how the general class of regular people are taking to beings that have far greater power than their own running amok? Sure you might see a few people running and screaming, or a few damsels getting rescued from one crisis or the next, but you rarely get to look into their minds.
This comic is down-and-dirty showing you some of the roughest and harshest areas of New York(Where most of the heroes carry out their duties in Marvel comics). Before the book gets too far into the "super-powers" aspect, conversations are being spurred about what some super-villian did, or how some super-hero came in and saved the day. Conversations are definitely not jumpy, as every character acts as they would be likely to in real life such as; the mockery of super-hero cliches(like secret lairs, identies, and goofy costumes). You learn quickly that everything their universe is not so black and white as rooting for the good guys, and just knowing that they'll always protect you. The star of the comic sees super-villians to be better role-models than the latter, as the life he leads identifies with them so closely.
Nothing more than a street thug, Parker Robbins, is as far from a hero as you can get. Following the typical marvel trend of showing that their stars don't live glamorous lives just because of their powers, Parker's life is rough. His girlfriend is pregnant, his only jobs come from mugging and theft, and none of the joys he seems to obtain last long enough for this high-school dropout.
Acquiring a blood-red cloak, and a pair of boots with strange gears embedded in them; consequently, Parker finds that they endow him with the ability to become invisible when he holds his breath, and walk on the air. Contrary to the "with great power comes great responsiblity" as is Spider-Man's now famous quote, the book quite accurately coins "With great power... comes great opportunity". Instead "vowing to use these newfound abilities for the greater good", Parker decides to turn to the life he's always looked up to -costumed crime.
From there (actually, the very beginning and then-) on, the book takes to the interesting side of comic entertainmet. Parker goes from a just another thug to a wanted man known as "The Hood" by authorities, aggresses a tyranical crimelord trying to gain control of people with super-natural powers, and lands his friend in jail. This comic is truly a thrill ride of start to finish, laying the cheery side of super-heroes aside, and showing the origin story of one of the most intriguing super-villians in the marvel universe. I cannot reccomend this book enough.

Rating:
Summary: How to be a Bad Guy in 10 Days?
Review: Marvel's the Hood is a new character showcased under the MAX line of comics. This line is set for itsmature content, be it violence, explicit language and sex. In the Hood's case, however, being the bad guy. There are a number of books that come out from time to time that only have a bad guy as the major character. Those books, however, don't consider the character bad, but at fault. Of course, you risk people lashing out at you, having your character lie and steal in comics, a medium wrongfully thought of as impressionable to young kids much more than MTV or cable televisions for instance.

Brian Vaughn and Kyle Hotz introduce a character that steals and kills not because of anything else, but his for his own survival. They made a character who has a pregnant girlfriend, but still managed to have sex with his mistress from time to time. This carried the theme EXCELLENT all the way until the very end, when the character finds salvation or something or the other and wants to redeem himself. After reading Preacher books back to back before this one, I was seriously hoping that Marvel can top that series with something original, unfortunately this book is not the thing.

Vaughn's work is believeable, but you can see that he's being told not to lash out too much. As if his creativity is caged or something. I was never a fan of Hotz, but I have to admit his work here is astounding. I don't want him drawing naked women thogh. You have to stop the pain somewhere along the line and that's that.

Perhaps Marvel should let the creators have more fun. I mean look what happened when DC gave Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon unlimited restrictions in their books. I'm optimistic this will happen. Let's hope the wild imagination of Brian Vaughn is ready when that time comes.

Rating:
Summary: New idea, great characters, excellent execution.
Review: The Hood is something different. It's kind of about family (the main character, Parker, cheats on his pregnant girlfriend and finds refuge in a Russian hooker. He often visits his mom [who's a patient in a mental hospital] and his criminal cousin is his best friend. Sounds like a good HBO miniseries), it's kind of about property (if Parker hadn't stolen the items he did from that demon-like creature he wouldn't have gotten into that whole mess, and if he hadn't stolen the bloodstones his life would have been less hectic), but mostly it's about entertaining the reader. It's an extremely fun read.

I would say that it's a charming book, but it drops so "F-bombs" and other "vulgarities" that I'm not sure I'd be able to say that.

But I do know what I am able to say, and it is that this book is unique and fun, hands down -- nothing more, nothing less. It's not meant for you to question your lifestyle. It's funny and smart in its own way and I've become a big fan of it. If you're looking for lighter reading than, say, Sandman, or for something different but also cool like, say, Fury, buy this whenever you can. Just enjoy it for what it is, not what it isn't.

Rating:
Summary: New idea, great characters, excellent execution.
Review: The Hood is something different. It's kind of about family (the main character, Parker, cheats on his pregnant girlfriend and finds refuge in a Russian hooker. He often visits his mom [who's a patient in a mental hospital] and his criminal cousin is his best friend. Sounds like a good HBO miniseries), it's kind of about property (if Parker hadn't stolen the items he did from that demon-like creature he wouldn't have gotten into that whole mess, and if he hadn't stolen the bloodstones his life would have been less hectic), but mostly it's about entertaining the reader. It's an extremely fun read.

I would say that it's a charming book, but it drops so "F-bombs" and other "vulgarities" that I'm not sure I'd be able to say that.

But I do know what I am able to say, and it is that this book is unique and fun, hands down -- nothing more, nothing less. It's not meant for you to question your lifestyle. It's funny and smart in its own way and I've become a big fan of it. If you're looking for lighter reading than, say, Sandman, or for something different but also cool like, say, Fury, buy this whenever you can. Just enjoy it for what it is, not what it isn't.

Rating:
Summary: "With great power...comes great opportunity"
Review: The Hood: Blood from Stones collects the six issue mini-series by Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man) and artist Kyle Hotz (Incredible Hulk). The Hood tells the story of Parker Robbins; a low life street thug who cheats on his pregnant girlfriend, lies to his institutionalized mother, and struggles to make any cash whatsoever. One night, Parker comes across a mysterious red cloak and a pair of boots which allow him to turn invisible when he holds his breath and walk on the air. Instead of using these newfound superpowers for the greater good, he turns to the life of a costumed super villian, and is soon wanted by the police and a ruthless crimelord who has employed three lower tier villians in Constrictor, Jack 'O Lantern, and Shocker to terminate The Hood. Vaughn's imaginitive writing keeps what could have been an otherwise dismal story pumping with action and quirky dialogue, while Hotz' art greatly carries the story along. I love Marvel's line of MAX comics, but there is something about The Hood that gives me the feeling that Vaughn was a bit restricted with his storytelling. Maybe it's just me, but as good as The Hood is, it just feels like there is something missing. That aside though, The Hood is one of the best MAX titles, and is definitely worth picking up.

Rating:
Summary: "With great power...comes great opportunity"
Review: The Hood: Blood from Stones collects the six issue mini-series by Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man) and artist Kyle Hotz (Incredible Hulk). The Hood tells the story of Parker Robbins; a low life street thug who cheats on his pregnant girlfriend, lies to his institutionalized mother, and struggles to make any cash whatsoever. One night, Parker comes across a mysterious red cloak and a pair of boots which allow him to turn invisible when he holds his breath and walk on the air. Instead of using these newfound superpowers for the greater good, he turns to the life of a costumed super villian, and is soon wanted by the police and a ruthless crimelord who has employed three lower tier villians in Constrictor, Jack 'O Lantern, and Shocker to terminate The Hood. Vaughn's imaginitive writing keeps what could have been an otherwise dismal story pumping with action and quirky dialogue, while Hotz' art greatly carries the story along. I love Marvel's line of MAX comics, but there is something about The Hood that gives me the feeling that Vaughn was a bit restricted with his storytelling. Maybe it's just me, but as good as The Hood is, it just feels like there is something missing. That aside though, The Hood is one of the best MAX titles, and is definitely worth picking up.

Rating:
Summary: Different, but Good.
Review: There is no hero here. Just a low life punk who suddenly gains superpowers. There is humor, drama, nice art, and an entertaning story. Not for kids.

Rating:
Summary: Different, but Good.
Review: There is no hero here. Just a low life punk who suddenly gains superpowers. There is humor, drama, nice art, and an entertaning story. Not for kids.