What You Should Have Read #43

Last Week’s Comic Book Awesomeness

Fables #109 – I’m glad the Vertigo books, or at least this one that I read, weren’t affected by the reboot. That would have been a huge shame, but this wonderful book remains unspoiled. I’m loving the instruction of the children and their very childlike reaction to what’s happening to them. Ambrose is being singled out, and his reaction to flying is priceless. I’m sure the same would happen to me if I could fly on my own.

Invincible Iron Man #508 – I’m really going to miss Tony’s interactions with the dwarves when Fear Itself is over. Those guys are $&#)# great.

DC’s New 52: Week 3

Batman #1 – Well, this might well be the title that brings me into the Bat Family. Although I have followed him in quite some time, I’ve been a fan of Greg Capullo since his run on “X-Force” decades ago. I followed him to “Spawn” but lost track of him once I gave up on that series. Scott Snyder is one of two comic professionals I’ve ever “spoken” with (I’m counting the extremely brief back-and-forth we had on the blog when “American Vampire” first came out as a conversation), and I’ve been enjoying pretty much all of his work lately. So I was really hoping they’d be able to make me enjoy a Batman book…and they did. Capullos art resembles his “X-Force” work more than his Spawn work, which at times I found to be just plain ugly. His work now seems very reminiscent of Mike Parobek (although with more texture lines added), who brought a very simple but unique style to the early ‘90s incarnation of :The Justice Society of America” and DC’s !mpact title “The Fly.” Snyder did a great job of making this book, who’s continuity changed very little after the reboot I believe, very new-reader friendly. The facial recognition program quickly introduced us to some major players, and Bruce’s speech let us know (as if anybody reading comics doesn’t know) his past. And, since he is a detective, we’re left with a wondrous murder mystery. So yes, I’m very happy with this book, and I’m proud to be following a little corner of the Bat Universe. Thank you, Misters Snyder and Capullo.

Blue Beetle #1 – After reading this issue, I kind of want to go back and reread the previous series. I never had a real connection with Ted Kord, so I accepted Jaime as the new Blue Beetle pretty easily. I remember that he was introduced during Infinite Crisis, but I don’t remember how or what he did. All I remember is that I really enjoyed his solo series. It was a great mixture of humor, action and teen angst, the things that really drew me to Spider-Man so many years ago. If I remember correctly, the broad strokes of this Blue Beetle’s origin are the same; it’s just some details that are different. I’m okay with that for now, but as it stands I don’t see myself giving this title more than another issue or two. While the characters may be the same, the book doesn’t have the same feel of the previous series. The action is there, and the angst is there, but it’s just not the same.

Wonder Woman #1 – Holy shit. I’ve never liked Wonder Woman. I’ve never read a Wonder Woman solo story that I’ve liked, and I’ve really never cared about her in any team-ups or Justice League stories I’ve read that include her. I really liked this issue, though. As with Batman, it was a really good jumping-on point. Although she really does have a huge history, you don’t need to know it here. Actually, Diana seems like a side character in her own book. This looks like it’s going to be about God-level family squabble of which Diana is going to insert herself. It read a lot like a darker Hercules book over at Marvel, and maybe that’s why I liked it. Azzarello did a wonderful job at making this a creepy book, and I’m really looking forward to where he’s going to take it.

 Probably for the rest of the month I’m going to whore myself out with an impassioned plea: click on the ads. PLEASE click on the ads. I don’t care if you exit it out of it immediately or actually look around. This isn’t some professional blog where I believe in the products I’m shilling. These are automatic ads placed by Google. But my experiment this weekend proved to me that I actually AM making a spot of cash whenever the ads are clicked. So I’m going to put this little disclaimer on the bottom of all my posts for the next month or so, and I hope you’ll take an extra 10 seconds after reading my blog to click on an ad. Thanks so much!

What You Should Have Read #9

After weeks like this one, good comics are a necessity. Please please please let this be a good comic week.

Absolution #6
Action Comics #885
Amazing Spider-Man #617
Booster Gold #28
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #31
Dark X-Men #3
Die Hard: Year One #4
Invincible Iron Man #22
Jericho: Season 3 #2
Marvels Project #5
Nation X #2
R.E.B.E.L.S. #12
Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #2
S.W.O.R.D. #3
Secret Six #17

This looks like a mostly so-so week, but there are a few heavy hitters in there.

After last week’s Suicide Squad issue, I’d probably say that Secret Six is tied with Invincible Iron Man for most anticipated book of the week. Nothing else inspires me.

Stuff That I Loved

S.W.O.R.D. Well, this was an extremely pleasant surprise. I really was not expecting this comic to be my favorite of the week. After two issues of reading a slightly above-average comic with a nice quip here and there, the third issue steps up and delivers a wonderful issue. First off, the cover was awesome. Lockheed with guns, by John Cassaday. Nice. Second, Gyrich is effective, if not totally predictable. This allows both Beast and Brand to anticipate every thing he does, even if they can’t do much about it. Third, Beast is shining here. This issue is his and he just owns it. What a wonderfully enjoyable book this was.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8. After some fantastically average issues, it takes the creator to give is something exceptional. Whedon is back for an issue, and we get Buffy flying, having an incredibly awkward (from her side, at least) conversation with Xander, having an incredibly touching conversation with Riley, and beating up some goddesses. I guess when you’ve defeated one, defeating more is a cakewalk. And what exactly is a cakewalk? Let’s hope the good momentum from this issue carries on into the fallout of the little war that was just fought.

Amazing Spider-Man. I take back what I said two books up. THIS was my favorite book of the month. I’ve never particularly cared one way or the other for the Rhino. He was just muscle. Hell, but best story I read with him in it was a Spectacular Spider-Man issue where Harry Osborn (pre-BND, natch) hired him to torment Peter. I think the only other thing I read that attempted to flesh out his character some was the Deadly Foes of Spider-Man mini where he attempted to get the Rhino skin removed. This, though…I felt like I knew him, and like Peter, I wanted him to have some sort of happiness. So far the Gauntlet is doing a great job of breathing some new life into Spidey’s classic villains. Let’s hope the payoff is as good as the buildup.

Stuff That I Liked

Secret Six. Wow, maybe I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to enjoy this issue, but it was a bit of a letdown. And really, it was everything I expected after last week’s Suicide Squad issue: nothing but fighting. The quips were great, as usual, but I just didn’t feel any urgency in any of the confrontations.

R.E.B.E.L.S. An excellent issue that considered the Blackest Night detour as just that, a slight detour. But now the title is back on track, and Dox has the gang retrieving the components for his weapon that’ll bring down Starro. This is NOT a team book. This is a book all about Dox, and all the “team members” are just chess pieces in his game.

Marvels Project. I think I expected more spectacle with the “first” appearance of Captain America, but I guess this story is more about the Angel than him. As with other comics this week, it was really a solid issue, but I just didn’t get into it all that much. I think I just need some more of the plot lines to come together.

Invincible Iron Man. Wow. I couldn’t even fully get into THIS book, one I look forward to every month. I think it’s just that the book is missing the awesome, sure-of-himself Stark and we’re getting side characters and fever dreams. It wasn’t bad, just not awesome…except for the art. BEAUTIFUL.

Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard. Too much politics (ANY politics is too much for me) and not enough action in this crossover. It was nice to see Quasar again, but I thought he was already back on Earth at Project: Pegasus. The Fault just isn’t striking me as much of a threat, not like the Annihilation Wave or Vulcan. C’mon, let’s get to some carnage!

Booster Gold. The Blue Beetle backup brought this up from Meh to Like. The Booster stuff was good enough, but kind of impotent. What can happen? He’s not going to change anything. The Beetle stuff, though, that felt like the series again. I hadn’t been all that thrilled about the backups since they started, but this one nailed it. I would much rather have had the Blue Beetle book continue with Booster backups

Absolution. A decent ending to a decent little mini. With this being an Avatar book, I wasn’t expecting the bloodless ending. I had really expected the book ending with Alice killing John, but I like this ending better. If nothing else it leaves it open for Gage to tell more stories.

Stuff That Was Meh

Nation X. (The saving grace of this issue was the Martha/Quentin story. Other than that the book was a boring mess. The Northstar and Gambit stories were just awful, story AND art. Looks like I’m done with this mini.), Jericho Season 3: Civil War. (Works better as a TV show.), Die Hard: Year One (Similar to Jericho, this works better as a movie. The movies are totally ridiculous and fun; this mini wasn’t.), Dark X-Men (I’m just ready for Osborn to be gone), and Action Comics (If I’ve done my math correctly, if you take all of the regular issues of Action Comics, the Zero issue, the 1,000,000 issue, and all of the annuals…this is the 900th issue of the book. I think that’s pretty impressive. Moreso than the story inside.)

Stuff That I’ll Never Ever Ever Read Again

Nothing this week. Whew.

Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Nov. 26, 2008 (Regular Series)

Blue Beetle #33

“Two words: armored codpiece.”

Well, the issue fooled me just as well as it did everyone else. Sometimes it’s refreshing to see the villain gloat and reveal his plans AFTER he’s already accomplished them. Of course, it then allows him to kill the star of the book, so there’s that. I wonder if the scarab can bring its host back from the dead? I guess we’ll find out next issue.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #19

“I hope you die first. With the most wounds.”

Will we ever find out why Willow dragged Buffy to the future? Was it really an elaborate suicide plan, or just a gimmick to get Buffy and Fray together? I thoroughly enjoyed the back-home plot more than Buffy’s. I say give us more of the support and less of the main event.

Captain America #44

If we’re supposed to know who the mystery villain who is sort of revealed at the end is, I’m drawing a blank. I didn’t think there was that much meat to this issue. Cap is intentionally led to Batroc’s next heist, where he gets a beating from said mystery villain. We also get a view at a scene from Bucky’s Winter Soldier days. But the story doesn’t really progress because we don’t learn anything. And I still can’t take Batroc seriously.

Daredevil #113

I like it when writers have to get creative with new villains in order to get around our hero’s powers. Lady Bullseye with her faint scent and calm heartbeat is a nice touch. I don’t see her as a big threat, but I think she’ll make things interesting. I’m also liking Master Izo, but he’s coming off like Stick 2.0, or I guess that would be Stick: The Prequel…or even the Hard Master from G.I. Joe. The last scene of the book caught me fully off-guard. I wasn’t all that familiar with the character, only reading her appearances in DD and not her mini, but it was still pretty shocking.

Guardians of the Galaxy #7

I wasn’t a fan of the original series, but I really like this group. And I’m oddly curious as to what Vance is doing here. We learned why Starhawk is here. Are the two connected? I’m not too interested in Adam’s search for the truth about the search, but Drax’s search for Cammi has my interest. I really enjoyed his mini-series, and I can’t remember what happened to her during Annihilation. Speaking of Annihilation, I seem to remember Blastaar on the side of the angels during that tiny skirmish, which didn’t ring true to me then, but it looks like he’s not all that of a nice guy anymore.

Hulk #8

I still have a problem with Bruce doing a quick switch between the Hulks. I realize that they’re representations of different aspects of his personality, but I’m pretty sure he hasn’t been able to do this before. And since when have there been so many Wendigos? ALL of those people are cannibals? That’s a lot of the long pig. As for the second part of the story, I just don’t like the Red Hulk (and I refuse to call him his other name). And after enraging him even more, some additional big-name female superheroes show up. Tigra? Really? What can she do against the Hulk?

The Incredible Hercules #123

I’m loving the fact that Pak is not sacrificing Hercules’ mythological backround in exchange for more human stories. He’s a demigod, so embrace it rather than shy away from it. That’s what Pak has done, and unless he’s just THAT creative, it looks like he’s done his homework. I felt sorry for Delphine and Amadeus; they make a cute couple. And I hope the goings on with the Olympus Group will be an ongoing subplot rather than the next storyline. They look like they should be very menacing.

New Warriors #18

Well, the Iron Man/Night Thrasher switcheroo was a bit of a surprise, as was who was in the Iron Man armor. So the question now is how all this happened.

Nova #19

Continuity cop! Continuity cop! Rich’s brother was kidnapped by a foe of the original New Warriors and had his finger cut off. When he’s talking with Darkhawk in this issue, he clearly has all of his fingers. Boom! Head shot! One thing I hope doesn’t happen is that this becomes Marvel’s equivalent of the Green Lantern Corps. I know the power set is different, but the concept is similar. Well, I guess it’s not all that original of a concept to begin with, but that is the first thing I thought of at the beginning of the issue. I hope we’ll continue to see Darkhawk, and having two Nova centurions in the Rider family should be interesting.

Skaar: Son of Hulk #5

I thought this was a mini, but it looks like it’s an ongoing series. That’s fine with me. Planet Hulk was some of the best Hulk stories I’ve ever read. I think it’s great that Greg Pak can do a series like this and also do The Incredible Hercules, which is light and humorous and totally different. I’m wondering if this will eventually lead to Skaar taking a trip to Earth to find and confront the Hulk. Eh, he doesn’t seem that proactive. He actually seems like a smarter version of the early Hulk, who just wanted to be left alone. If he gets the Old Power, though, he will be virtually unstoppable.

Superman #682

I’m really enjoying this New Krypton storyline. What the Kryptonians did in this issue made perfect sense, and the ones who killed the cops looked like they wore the garb of the more militant Kryptonians, so I’d guess they might have even enjoyed it. I have no idea who Atlas is, so I should probably do some research on him. Here’s a thought: with 100,000 Supermen and women on the planet, I would think that at least some of them would try and be heroes of other cities, eventually coming into conflict with heroes that might have already staked their claim there.

Teen Titans #65

Mmm, decent ending to a just okay story. Wonder Girl actually looks like a Wonder Girl now, and she’s no longer beholden to Ares or Zeus, so that’s good. I’ll be looking forward to next month’s recruitment drive, though. I’m just not getting the team vibe from this group. I guess that’s natural, though, since Robin and Wonder Girl are the only ones left from the beginning.

Trinity #26

Ah, now here’s a great catch for the continuity cops, but it’s a tip of the hat, not a wag of the finger. Busiek has apparently done his Opal City homework because he uses Charity’s last name, O’Dare. Charity and Mason O’Dare fell in love during James Robinson’s Starman series, and I remember him being shot by Spider right before the series ended, but I’m guessing he didn’t die (I’m rereading the series through the Omnibus, but there’s only one out so it will take me a while to get to the end). Good for you, Mr. Busiek. I thought having the two stories end at the same spot was a nice touch. I’m not sick of Tarot anymore, so that’s a plus, but I still want to see more of Opal’s residents. And Konvict seems like a decent fellow. I see Morgaine and Enigma’s plans failing because of him.

Ultimate Spider-Man #128

This is hands down my favorite book each month. And I think it helps that Bendis has been penning the thing since issue #1. But one thing I really like about it is that it seems a bit more real. I would think it would be difficult for Peter to keep his double identity a secret, especially from those closest to him. And I like the fact that, at least by the government, he’s not a wanted fugitive. The Ultimates know who he is and greatly respect him because of all he’s done. Tony stepping up for him in this issue against Carol Danvers was a good moment. I’m only slightly on the fence regarding Gwen, but I’m leading more toward the good side, if only because it’s known that she’s a clone, or genetic duplicate, or whatever. I like the full disclosure aspect. Next month we get Spidey’s part in Ultimatum. I hope having this big crossover doesn’t ruin the flow of the book.

Ultimate X-Men #98

Well, I guess a bit of this issue was predictable in the wake of the Ultimatum Wave. There were bound to be retaliations against the X-Men by frightened humans, but I never expected it to come in the form of humans with Sentinel armor on. Were there human-sized Sentinels? I can’t remember. I’m wondering if Dazzler and Nightcrawler are actually dead, Kurt in particular. He can teleport, after all. Rogue hooking up with Alpha Flight was unexpected, and I wonder what will happen to Syndicate now that he’s missing a head?

Walking Dead #55

We’ve taken one step forward, yet fell two back. We’re sticking with Rick being crazy, and Army-guy is a paranoid dick. And the suicide didn’t sit well with me. Not because there WAS a suicide, just because I don’t think we got into the character’s mindset enough to know if that’s something she’d actually do. And it seems like Kirkman kills people just to kill them. We get the shock, but no follow through.

X-Force #9

Another good issue, and I hope Domino ends up staying around. I think she would fit in well with the team, and maybe even lighten the atmosphere a bit. I like that the characters have a bit of an objection to what they’re doing, even if they know what they’re doing is “necessary.” It’s also nice to see links to the past while still moving forward: Sinister’s clones, Hodge’s smiley robots, etc. Plus, we’re going to get a bit of a crossover with Ghost Rider. Nice stuff all around.

Comic Books for the Week of Sept. 24, 2008

Cream of the Crop

Avengers: The Initiative #17

This is probably my favorite title to come out of Civil War. It’s fun, it’s action packed, it has character development, it moves and flows well…it’s just some great reading. This issue sees the Shadow Initiative attempting to assassinate the Queen/Spider-Woman at Camp Hammond, while the Skrull Kill Krew slashes it’s way through as many Initiative teams it can. I heard a lot of good things about the recent Ant-Man series, but I don’t know if I’d enjoy reading the back issues. I like my heroes to be somewhat heroic rather than fully selfish. Does he do anything besides trying to save his own ass? I’m very intrigued as to who Mutant X is. My money is on Madelyne Pryor. I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be dead, but when did that ever stop anyone?

Blue Beetle #31

Not the best issue of the series, but definitely a solid one. The Dr. Mid-Nite team-up seemed extremely random, but it did fit in with the story. And I guess it goes along with Jamie, a new hero in the biz, getting all sorts of advice from already-established characters. I think any fan of Ultimate Spider-Man would really enjoy this book. You’re looking at basically the same type of story, a high-school kid who falls into some powers and does his best to use them for good. One of the main differences, though, is not just how this affects Jamie as a teenager, but also as a Latino. His family and heritage play a big role in the series, as do topical situations such as illegal immigration. Since emerging from Infinite Crisis, this title has kept up solid storytelling with good art.

Captain America #42

I didn’t start reading this book until the Civil War event, and I ended up going back and reading the trades from when Brubaker started. Brubaker did for Cap what Bendis did for Daredevil, made me care about a group of characters that I had no thoughts or opinions on one way or the other. By the time it happened, Steve’s death really hit me, as did his “betrayal.” I’ve been loving the rise and rebirth of the Red Skull, and the development on the last page was just crazy and mind-bending. Bucky is a great replacement, and I’m glad to see that Brubaker didn’t just comfortably put him in the costume and give us a new Cap same as the old Cap. I hope Bucky stays around for the long haul. I know death is never permanent in comics (which could always be followed by “except for Bucky and Uncle Ben, que sera sera), but sometimes it’s good to pass the torch. This issue was an excellent end to a long debut for the new Cap, and it leaves me looking forward to the future.

Daredevil #111

From one Brubaker book to another. The transition from Bendis to Brubaker on this book was seamless. Sometimes when a new writer takes over, he’ll do something drastic to make the title or at least the title character “his.” Not Brubaker. I’m not reading this as “Brubaker’s Daredevil,” but just as Daredevil. This issue introduces us to Lady Bullseye, a villain who has ties to the original’s name in the most peripheral of ways. She interests me, though. Where Bullseye relishes the kill and the kill alone, Lady Bullseye looks deeper into the effects that the kill will have. She’s a thinking man’s assassin. And as telegraphed as it was, I steeled myself for Matt’s inevitable betrayel of of Milla. Ninety percent of the time, cheating doesn’t sit well with me. His and Dakota’s actions this issue felt natural, as does Matt’s waking reaction. I’m looking forward to seeing how this F’s up his world.

Fables #76

A good little epilogue to last month’s end to the war. Gepetto is taken on a tour of Fabletown by Pinocchio and a couple of bodyguards. From the hatred he spews at anyone they come in contact with, I would imagine this is what Hitler would have run into if human law circa the late ‘40s were that of Fabletown law (and, y’know, Hitler was captured before he could kill himself). I’m not the biggest Mike Allred fan, but I thought his style worked well for this issue, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him on the book more often.

Deadpool #2

Okay, did anyone actually think Deadpool had gone over to the Skrulls? No, probably not. We all figured he had…well, maybe not a plan, but a general direction, a specific outcome he was heading toward. And it was getting to that outcome, that’s where the funny was. Oh…my…goodness. This guy is insane and brilliant, at least when it comes to killing people…or aliens. And there was even a “Holy crap!” moment on the last page. Good, good stuff.

Fantastic Four #560

Mark Millar is really hit-or-miss for me, but when he hits, he hits BIG. The first two Ultimates series were spectacular. Wanted was awesome. Chosen was powerful. This book is smart. I think Millar has a good handle on all of the characters. This issue finally reveals the mastermind behind Johnny and Doom’s kidnapping and why they were kidnapped. The reason was monumental, and the scope of the story is so big that it’s perfect for this quartet of adventurers. And y’know, Hitch’s art is simply great.

Thunderbolts #124

The switch from Warren Ellis to Christos Gage was pretty much seamless. Gage took all the ideas that Ellis laid down and ran with them. And it’s funny, because in books about villains, the writer will usually try to make the main character or characters appear sympathetic so the reader can identify with him/them in some way. Not Ellis or Gage, and not this team. Okay, maybe Songbird, Radioactive Man and Penance, everyone is a vicious and violent psychopath. And they’re looked at as the good guys who are saving Washington D.C. from the Skrulls. Osborn is delightfully insane and devious, and he’s great. It’s sometimes fun to root for the good guys and still despise them.

Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four Annual #1

The first thing I’ve gotta say is that I’ve disliked Dan Panosian’s art since, well, the earliest I can remember seeing it is post-Liefeld X-Force. Granted, it’s about 15 years late, but whoa, this guy has really evolved as an artist. It was really good. And after a couple of (in my opinion) lackluster storylines in both the Ultimate X-Men and Fantastic Four books, this really stood out. It gave me a Days of Future Present vibe, which is a good thing. That crossover was my first big introduction to both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, and it had some great Art Adams art. This issue has a future team of X-Men traveling to the present to kill Reed Richards. Fighting and deaths ensue.

Ultimate Spider-Man #126

This is by far my favorite comic each month. This issue, a Venom-controlled Peter does a good job of getting rid of the Beetle and goes through Silver Sable and her Wild Pack until the Ultimates show up…then he starts going through them. A couple of elements from Ultimate Origin comes into play regarding Peter’s father and the Venom suit. The great thing about a line of comics this small is that it’s easy to keep a pretty tight continuity going. Stuart Immonen had a tough job after taking on the penciling chores for this title. Mark Bagley made this title his own, but Immonen has kept up the high quality of art while keeping the same youthful energy of the book. My only problem here was Nick Fury. Isn’t he in the Squadron Supreme universe at the moment?

X-Force #7

I’m really enjoying this book. It’s surprised me by using a LOT of X-history. This issue, well, it wasn’t a breather after the first storyline, but it was a good transition into the next storyline. The mystery of Archangel is still here, as is Wolfsbane’s brainwashing. Pierce was brought back in the last storyline, but concurrently he was manipulating the Young X-Men. We find out this issue that that story takes places after this issue. Graydon Creed is back to his anti-mutant campaigning, and Hodge apparently had some of his killer robots in storage, robots I haven’t seen since they killed Cypher in the original New Mutants series. The book is full of history, and it’s history that I’m familiar with, so I’m a fan…except for the art. I find it to be too dark. I understand that this is a very serious book that doesn’t need to be seen as light-hearted in any way, but sometimes it’s a little difficult to make out everything on the page.

Leftovers

Back to Brooklyn #1

I usually expect a lot more from Garth Ennis. This was average at best, and the only reason I’m putting it here and not in the Compost pile is because I have faith that Mr. Ennis will deliver something spectacular. Preacher, Punisher, Hitman, The Boys…well, I guess everyone is due for a miss at some point. This just seemed like a standard mob story where some wise-guy is flipping for some reason, and it ends up being him against The Family. Most of the book read like it was written by Brian Michael Bendis, especially the dialogue of the FBI agent when he was speaking with the Deputy Commissioner. And I’m not a fan of the washed-out looking art. Hmm, just a very lackluster book, but I’ve got faith that Ennis can still grab my attention.

Hulk #6

I’m torn with this book. On the one hand, the art alone is enough to push it into Cream of the Crop territory, but I’m just not moved by the story. Stupid Hulk has never been my cup of tea. I read the Hulk regularly during the Peter David/Dale Keown era, where David merged all three aspects of Banner’s personality (green Hulk, grey Hulk, and Banner), to give us Professor Hulk. I liked him. I started reading the book again with Planet Hulk, and I enjoyed that. He wasn’t Professor Hulk, but he wasn’t stupid. He was more than just “Hulk smash!” So that’s one aspect of the book I’m not enjoying. Also, I’m not the biggest Jeph Loeb fan. I’ve enjoyed a bit of his work (I really enjoyed his Superman/Batman run), but this storyline is looking like his and Jim Lee’s Batman run. Our hero is running into all sorts of heroes and supporting villains a new nemesis from his past, whose identity is a mystery, is stirring up all sorts of trouble. We’re given all sorts of red herrings as to the true identity of the foe, even going so far as to be told it is definitely a certain person…then this issue that’s taken from us. Personally, I never believed it was Samson anyways. Assuming he’s still alive (I’m not up on my classic Hulk), my money is on Glen Talbot. But dislikes about the storytelling aside, it’s a beautiful book to look at, as were the Loeb/Lee Batman issues. I just can’t justify bumping into Cream of the Crop territory on art alone, though.

Nova #17

First off, it looks like we’re eventually going to see Death’s Head show up. I remember Dr. Necker from the Death’s Head II mini series in the early ‘90s…which I think may have been written by Abnett and Lanning. She was a scientist in the future who created Minion, an assassin who assimilated the abilities of a number of beings, the last one being the original Death’s Head. A glitch had the Death’s Head programming/personality surfacing, and Minion ended up becoming Death’s Head II. It was part of the Marvel UK line, something I read very little of, so I don’t know what ended up happing to the character or the line in general. But that’s apparently a story for another time. This issues find Nova back on Earth and fight against the Skrulls with Darkhawk inside Project Pegasus, where his brother now works. Very standard team-up, with a possible fix for the Worldmind, a possible start-up for Minion, and the return of a dead character with ties to Project Pegasus. Not a bad issue at all, just not Cream of the Crop good.

New Avengers #45

Hey! This book actually had some Avengers in it…for a bit. This issue showed us what happened with the Skrull infiltration during the House of M and Annihilation events (moreso House of M). It was just…interesting. Good storytelling, but only really important if you’re a stickler for continuity. I don’t think this was a story that needed to be told. I would have been happier if there had been more attention paid to Annihilation, because that affected the Skrull race and those on Earth more I think than the House of M, but this is what we got. I’ll be happy once we get some Avengers shenanigans back into the book.

New Warriors #16

I started picking this book up because it spun out of Civil War and I was a big fan of the original series. Well, at least up to issue #50. Anyways, this is a good book with a great concept. You’ve got the kids from New X-Men who lost their powers after M-Day who were given a new chance to be heroes by a mysterious Night Thrasher. Since I didn’t read the latest New X-Men series, I’m only familiar with Jubilee, Beak, and Angel. And since the last two, who had very distinctive looks in Morrison’s New X-Men, look normal now, I have a hard time telling them apart from the rest of the cast. So while I’m constantly confused about who is who, I still enjoy the stories. This issue’s story is particularly interesting, because it looks like it’ll be taking cues from one of the great stories from the original series, where reality had been changed by the Sphynx. Night Thrasher’s plan this whole time has been to build a time machine and travel back into the past, saving the previous team of New Warriors and preventing the Samford disaster, thus preventing the death of his brother and the Civil War. But of course there are problems, and things don’t work out quite as planned. I’m interested in seeing where this will go.

Skaar: Son of Hulk Presents Savage World of Sakaar #1

I thoroughly enjoyed Planet Hulk, and I would have been okay if it had lasted longer. I only mildly enjoyed World War Hulk. But I’m enjoying the Son of Hulk mini. This special issue focused on Skaar’s heritage and the history of some of the characters from the mini. All this really did was to reinforce what a badass Skaar is, and we’re pretty much getting that from the main mini. It was well told, though, with decent art, so it wasn’t a waste.

Teen Titans #63

This issue is mostly about Bombshell and expands on her origin a bit. She’s cast as a sympathetic character, although there’s still a brawl with a few of the Titans. And what’s up with Wonder Girl? Wendy survived last issue’s attack, and a funeral was held for Marvin between the issues. I think we can assume who the culprit for sending the dog was, but it wasn’t implicitly stated. Overall it was just an okay issue. I really haven’t been all that blown away with it since Johns left.

Trinity #17

Not much really happens in the main story. The trio of villains sees their plan succeed, and that’s about it. I guess we’ll have to wait for the next issue to see what they’ve become (merged into Cronus?). The back-up story has more meat to it, showing us the story of Konvict.

Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men Annual #1

I’m not saying that this second part of the crossover dropped the ball, but the muddy art at the end kinda killed it for me. Brandon Peterson’s work was great, but Eric Nguyen, while his work in the front of the book was decent, seemed to quickly run out of steam by the end. Future time travel stories are somewhat odd. They usually always only give glimpses of what might be while giving an ominous warning or two. And of course the ominous warning was about Ultimatum. I love the Ultimate universe, so I’m really looking forward to what this might be.

Ultimates 3 #5

Well, this made up for a very disappointing 4 issues, pretty much just by explaining everything. And y’know what? Even with everything being explained, Loeb still pulls out a random mastermind behind the whole thing. I don’t like Joe Madureira’s art nowadays. I enjoyed it when he was on Uncanny X-Men, and while I didn’t read Battlechasers, I still liked the art. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the way it’s colored, but I’m just not a fan anymore.

Compost

My Name is Bruce #1

Wow. Only die-hard fans of Bruce Campbell need to read this. All others stay away. It’s apparently based on a screenplay, so I’m assuming it’s greatly compressed in order to tell the whole story in one issue, but wow, you can’t get much more far-fetched than this, and that’s saying a LOT for a comic book.

Walking Dead #52

This used to be such a good book. Now it’s a bad soap opera. And a quick one at that. I can usually get through an issue in a minute or two. There’s just no substance to it. Each month I hope that something new and exciting will happen, and every month I’m disappointed. I don’t know how much longer I’ll give it a chance.