Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Dec. 24, 2008 (On-Going Series)

Brave and the Bold #20

Part 2 of probably the best story so far to come out of this series. The story keeps moving and doesn’t give you a chance to be bored with it. The art is strong and clear, and the alien landscapes are beautiful. Does anyone actually understand what the Phantom Stranger can do? If so, could you please explain it to me, because I’ve got no clue. He can apparently be taken down by an alien plant, so he’s not all powerful. Is this character popular enough to be so mysterious? Can we get an origin story, and not some cheap cop-out like the Secret Origins issue where he’s given multiple origins.

Daredevil #114

So Black Tarantula and White Tiger have been killed and then resurrected as agents of the Hand. Not good at all for Matt. Plus, the thing with Dakota came back to bite him royally in the ass. Again, not good. Foggy’s right. Matt just needs to give the Donovan’s what they want and forget all about Milla. And Izo is the guy who taught Stick. I guess that’s why I made the connection last month. Yeah, we’ll go with that.

Gigantic #2

So the big robot thing that’s actually a human accidentally killed his niece when he appeared on Earth. That sucks. This is a better take on the Mojoverse than the Mojoverse is. The only problem I had was with the fluctuating size of Gigantic. When he appeared last issue he was as big as a building. By the end of this one he was laying on a couch. I hope that’s addressed.

Hulk #9

This comic doesn’t seem to have any substance to it. It seems like a way to showcase great artists (Ed McGuinnes? Art Adams? Frank Cho? Some damned fine artists) drawing the Hulk and various guest stars. And Loeb is tailoring each story to that artist’s forte. McGuinnes gets to draw massive characters, Adams gets to draw a lot of monsters, and Cho gets to draw a lot of ladies. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but it just seems to be pandering. Loeb could at least be dropping hints as to Rulk’s identity (my money is still on Talbot) along the way. All that being said, it IS a pretty damn fine looking book, and worth the money for the art alone.

New Avengers #48

Nope, I don’t buy it. I don’t buy that Luke would go to Osborn and the Thunderbolts for help. Jessica, sure. She’s always been a little messed up. But not Luke. He has standards and won’t break them for anything, even if it’s about his daughter. Unless of course he’s going to use this as an opportunity to infiltrate Osborn’s inner circle. That I can almost buy. Otherwise, I enjoyed the rest of the book…well, except for the art. I’m not a big Tan fan. I’m hoping he’s not the regular artist. I miss Yu. I hope Cap stays on as a team member. We already know that Mockingbird either isn’t going to be on the team or is going to be a mole of some sort. Spidey and Wolvie together is always fun, and Hawkeye and Bucky should almost be like brothers, both learning from Cap. Fun times are in store for everyone.

New Warriors #19

I’m done with this series when this storyline is over. I’m not at all connected to any of the characters, and there’s just too much bitching and moaning. And apparently in the future the dead can be brought back to life with no consequences.

Nova #20

Now THAT’S the New Warriors I remember. I still don’t know how I’m going to like a whole corps of Novas. If this is going to turn out to be a team book, I don’t think I will like it. Too many people with the same powers. If Nova continues to fly solo, though, I don’t think I’d have any problem with it.

Skaar: Son of Hulk #6

So it seems as if the legends of the Sakaarson were made up. That’s gonna piss some people off. Of the three possible Sakaarson’s I recognized Nova and the Silver Surfer. Was the other one an Eternal? The Death’s Head Guards look somewhat Phalanxish, but I’ll have to take a look at some Nova back issues to see how much they resemble Minion. If they are Minion, that’ll give me a headache what with the timeline confusion. Next issue should be good: Silver Surfer vs. Skaar.

Thor #12

This was a clever look at Loki’s past. All of the scenes we saw have been seen since this book started, either IN the book or in the specials by Matt Fraction. It pretty much ruins any hope of ever having Loki as a sympathetic villain, though, since it’s his hand behind his past that sets him up as a villain. And for a moment, there, I half expected Loki and Hela to start going at it. That sure would have messed up Sif if she’s able to live again once Loki isn’t wearing her form.

Ultimate Spider-Man #129

If I’m remembering this correctly, was Spider-Girl a female clone of Peter? Did I get that right? Having it be Gwen would make sense, what with the symbiote’s ability to change just about anything having to do with her appearance, but I don’t think the ever met the Torch. Can May be arrested like that, or can she be asked (nicely) to come down to the station to answer some questions? And all this is going to be interrupted by a giant tidal wave. Nice going Magneto.

Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Nov. 19, 2008 (Regular Series)

Amazing Spider-Man #578

So, it’s Mark Waid’s first ASM issue. Not bad, I guess. We got some of the Master Planner feel without the heart. It was good to see the Shocker, a villain we haven’t seen in a while, but he was as much of a joke here as he’s ever been. The art by Marcos Martin was pretty decent. There was definitely a fluid, limber feel to Peter and Spider-Man, and it seemed natural. When McFarlane was drawing Spidey, the contorted poses he’d put our hero through seemed more painful than limber. Martin’s art worked well. And at the end Waid throws us a good cliffhanger. Who knew JJJ still had a parent who was alive?

Angel: After the Fall #14

I’m kind of surprised that L.A. has stayed occupied by Hell for so long. Ditto with Angel and his humanity. I thought the way he was saved this issue was pretty cheap, though. I think my favorite part was the conversation between Illyria and Wesley. As much as I liked Fred, I’m glad they didn’t bring her back. It would have kind of invalidated her death, which was a highlight of the last season. Of course, now she’s reverted to her true form, and I kinda hope she’s killed after this. If not, then what’s to stop the good guys from using her as an out to any difficult situation? So the only logical conclusions are to kill her or to severely deplete her powers. I like her as a character, but I think keeping her around if she can go full god at will would just lead to sloppy writing.

Brave and the Bold #19

I was really impressed with this issue, more so than I have been with any of the other 18 issues so far. It starts off with the Phantom Stranger and Green Lantern already together, so we don’t have to wade through any contrived method of getting the two together. A special girl who is channeling alien doomsday prophecies lead the duo to Oa and then to a pleasure planet that is supposed to be destroyed soon, where the duo meets up with another Lantern. The whole book worked really well. The interactions between the characters and everyone’s motivations rang true. And the art by Doug Braithwaite was quite good.

Deadpool #4

Double-cross seems to be the tagline for this series. I’m enjoying the banter between the multiple personalities, and the little glimpses into Deadpool’s maniacal mind by showing us what he sees. Other than that, it was a pretty average issue.

Ex Machina #39

I am just a little disappointed as to how Trouble was taken down. All this build up for a kiss and being knocked out with one punch. I almost have to believe that this just sets up a future storyline. She was just a crazy stalker-fan of The Great Machine? If it’s not setting up a future storyline, it leaves me very cold. And Kremlin is getting on my nerves. Let’s get his story going.

Fantastic Four #561

Well, this was a very logical solution, but it leads to questions. Why didn’t future Sue do this in the first place? She obviously already went through this, as evidenced by Reed injecting present Sue with a tracking device that immediately showed up in future Sue and future Sue knowing what was going to happen with Doom. But those flaws are easy to forgive. It was still entertaining, and the art by Bryan Hitch is always spectacular.

Iron Man #35

So wait, this whole thing was a set up for a new War Machine series? I hate it when that happens. I didn’t even think this was that great of a story. I’ll be looking forward to the return of Tony next month, even though I’m enjoying the Invincible Iron Man more than this series. I’m hoping this book will focus on rebuilding Shield after the Skrull invasion.

Squadron Supreme #5

I liked Straczynski’s take on the Squadron, but I’m not all that into where Chaykin is taking the story. First off, I was always under the impression that the Squadron members were analogs of DC characters, but clearly with this book we’re already seeing Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Thor and the Hulk. I also don’t like the Ultimate Nick Fury over here. He needs to be stirring up shit in his own universe. With the mention of Nighthawk and the return (I don’t remember her, I’ll have to check my back issues) of Inertia, are we going to see a big battle between the original Squadron members and Fury’s new Shield?

Supergirl #35

I’m picking this up for two reasons: the Alex Ross cover and the New Krypton crossover. I’ve heard nothing but bad reviews about this series since it started, so let’s see. Well, I actually liked it. It looks like Sterling Gates used Kryptonite poisoning to explain all of Supergirl’s erratic behavior that made her so unlikable as a character. So now she has all of her memories back, and it looks like there’s either a new Supergirl in town or a Superwoman. I guess we’ll learn more in next week’s Superman.

Thunderbolts #126

What a great start for the new creative team, and it’s a logical one, too. Norman has effectively disbanded the T-bolts and behind the scenes he’s got the crazier members dispatching the saner ones. And so far it’s working. It’s only a two-issue storyline, so it looks like we won’t have to wait long to see if this is actually going to happen.

Trinity #25

I know it’s a pipe dream, but I’d really like to see Jack Knight show up. Tarot just showed up in Opal and met Charity, but Jack’s not even there anymore. I’d settle for a Shade appearance, though. I have to agree with Vibe. If the JSI were there as friendlies, why break through the walls? The bulk of the issue was two teams working through their differences for a common cause. We’ve seen it before, we’ll see it again, but I guess this is something we had to go through. Tarot, whom I thought was as boring as Hell in the beginning, was the interesting part of this story.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #58

Following up immediately after the events of Ultimatum #1, this was a very exceptional issue. While Ben does what he can (which isn’t much) to help Sue, we get glimpses into his past with Reed, which explain why they’re such good friends. Sue and Johnny’s dad is apparently dead, and as the buffer between the team and General Ross, that should have a great impact on the future of the kids. Ben ends up heading underground to bring in the Mole Man to help with Sue’s condition. The Sue stuff wasn’t all that great. Her mom, who either wasn’t told about her husband (ex?) or just didn’t care, is brought in to help and is pretty much useless. The gems are the flashbacks of Reed and Ben. Ben isn’t using Reed to get out of doing homework, and Reed isn’t using Ben to protect him from bullies. These two kids are best friends, plain and simple.

Young X-Men #8

The banter between Santo and Victor was great. The super-powered tattoo artist is a good idea. It takes DC’s Tattooed Man to a new level. Almost a year into this book and it’s holding strong. I think it’s funny that I’m not even trying to get into the two main X-books (Uncanny and Legacy), but I’m loving this book and Astonishing.

Cream of the Crop

Amazing Spider-Man #573

"Wow. Ven-orpion. That’s like the turducken of supervillains."

Oh, yea, a teaser from Norman about Harry being dead before. I’m looking forward to how his death and resurrection are explained to the fans. As an ending to what was supposed to be a big storyline, though, I thought the book fell a bit flat. Slott and Romita Jr. still put together a great comic, but I want answers in my finales, not more questions. Granted, they’re questions that we’ve been needing answers to, but let’s have some kind of wrap-up before teasing us some more.

Astonishing X-Men #27

"You say anything like that again, I’m gonna puke right in your visor."

Be warned: if I ever buy a Warren Ellis book, it will almost assuredly end up in the CotC section. I have yet to find any of his work that I don’t like. And Simone Bianchi’s work is just beautiful. As Ellis always does, he brings up fantastic theories and ideas; this issue we get the ghost box and the Chinese X-Men’s version of a supercomputer. Oh, did I forget to mention that? We’ve got Chinese X-Men now. I hope we get to see some decent flashbacks of them since they appear to be dead, something along the lines of Apollo and Midnighter’s first team that Bendix created in Stormwatch.

Captain Britain and MI13 #6

The book really hasn’t slowed down since the defeat of the Skrull’s advance on England. Now the group is after one of the demons that Wisdom had to release in order to defeat the Skrulls. This one provides your fondest dream, but at the cost of your soul. And it offers up to Captain Britain the only thing that could ever tempt him. Blade and Spitfire also go at it for a while. Paul Cornell is doing a great job of making the comic very British. I have no doubts that everything is happening there and not in the U.S. Leonard Kirk is also doing an excellent job with the art, and I can never get enough of Bryan Hitch, even if it’s only on covers.

Fables #77

Ah, the beginning of a new storyline. While I like the one-off stories, these multi-issue stories are always excellent. I thought Freddy and Mouse might be from a sword and sorcery world (possibly belonging to Michael Moorcock), but a Google search didn’t turn up anything, so I guess these two are new creations. I like them and am looking forward to seeing what’s in the box.

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #2

I’ve never been a Legion of Super-Heroes fan, but I know a good story and great art when I see it. First the Sinestro Corps now the Legion of Super-Villains, what insane super-group will Superboy Prime end up in when this story is all over? I like seeing the Green Lantern Corps, or at least what’s left it, in the future. The GLC had their ban against killing removed when fighting Superboy and the Sinestro Corps. I wonder what will happen to the Legion’s similar band when going up against the LoSV. So far I’m enjoying the peripheral mini-series of Final Crisis a LOT more than the actual series.

Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #3

Wow, taking out Zoom and Inertia in one issue. As I just said, these peripheral minis are so much better than the main story right now. I didn’t care for Kolins’ art in this mini as much as I have in the past. If it’s as good as the Green Lantern version, I’m really looking forward to Flash: Rebirth.

Trinity #20

Excellent issue as, through Firestorm, we learn how and why the Earth he’s on is different from the Earth he knows. And Krona attempts to talk to the universe. But if I’m not mistaken, the DCU doesn’t have celestial personifications similar to the Marvel Universe. There, if he wanted to talk to the universe, he’d just strike up a conversation with Eternity (assuming it were that easy).

Young X-Men #7

So we’ve got the New X-Men and the New Mutants together at last. I like the concept. I’m indifferent to there being a non-mutant on the team, but I really like who it is and what the real situation is. I’d like to see more happen with the ACTUAL mutant, even though Pierce and Dust seem to be the only two that know about him. I hope there’s fallout from this, good and bad.




Leftovers




Brave and the Bold #18

This is was only so-so. It started off pretty crappy, then redeemed itself when they got into the Triumph stuff, but was then resolved too quickly. I’m not a fan of either Supergirl or Raven, so I’m not sorry that this team-up is over and we’re on to the next one.

Mighty Avengers #19

I’m being a bit generous putting it in here rather than the Compost. The story deals with the Captain Marvel Skrull sleeper agent coming to grips with who he actually is. Framing the story we get a glimpse of Marvel Boy and the riot going on at the Cube now that the inmates have been freed. Once again, the Avengers don’t show up in their own book. I haven’t minded it since this book and New Avengers were showing facets of the war that we hadn’t seen (or didn’t recognize) before the invasion. I wonder if Bendis was a little worn down by this whole event by the time he got to writing this issue. Khoi Pham’s pencils were passable, but there was a lack of backgrounds that I found unsettling. I don’t know if he’s just not good at them or was rushed, but it left a bit to be desired.

The Chronicles of Dr. Herbert West #1

I rarely expect much from licensed properties. I mostly view them as quick money makers for companies who might like the property but don’t give too much consideration for the actual story. I haven’t seen any of the Re-Animator movies, but I’ve got them and I plan on watching them soon. I’m curious as to what makes them, and Lovecraft in general, such cult favorites. I would assume that this is an updating of the story, considering that Lovecraft wrote this in, what, the ‘20s, and the first movie came out in the ‘80s? I may have my dates wrong. This works as a good introduction into the mythology, and while simple, we understand West’s motivations for what he does. The books isn’t the greatest thing I’ve ever read, but it’s solid, and the art is easy to look at. I just hope this becomes more than just some zombie book.

Ghostbusters: The Other Side #1

This is pure nostalgic fun. The first movie is an excellent piece of work, the second movie tried to be too preachy with anger and love and all that crap, and I don’t remember the cartoon all that much. Actually, I take that back. I remember one character from the cartoon scaring the piss out of me. The Boogey Man. He’d attack kids by traveling from his dimension to ours through closets, and I think he was one of the team’s toughest foes. Anyways, the dialogue is pretty corny in this book, but I’m at least feeling Egon. Not so much Ray, Peter or Winston. The group runs afoul of some gangster ghosts, and by the end of the issue all four of our heroes are dead...wait, really? Well, that’s one hell of an ending for a first issue. Hmm, how to top that next issue?

Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode #1

Decent issue, but since I’ve seen it more recently, I’m more familiar with the Rob Zombie remake of Halloween rather than the original Jamie Lee Curtis version. Had I not recently seen it, I probably wouldn’t have picked this comic up. It was very average. Nothing stuck out about it, good or bad. I’ll try and stick it out, see how it ends.

Iron Man #34

Hmm, looks like I need to Wikipedia War Machine to see what I’ve missed. Seems as though he went and got himself all blowed up at some point. I’m not a big fan of War Machine. He was created in the ‘90s when big guns and massive damage were the norm. Is there any consistency to his weaponry, or does he always have just what he needs? I’m chugging along with the title despite Tony’s absence, but I’ll look forward to his return...provided we don’t get sappy flashbacks that conveniently mirror what’s happening in the present. I thought those two pages were pretty unnecessary. Oh well, let’s see how he gets out of the end of the issue’s predicament.

Grant Morrison’s Doctor Who #1

I’m almost positive this would end up in the Cream of the Crop if I had any prior knowledge of the Doctor Who universe. But I don’t. I’m being told I need to watch the current series as it’s incredible. I plan on it, eventually. But for a noob like me, this book was very easy to follow and understand. You didn’t need to know anything. I was comfortable coming into this cold. Everything you needed to know to enjoy the story was provided for you. That’s a pretty good accomplishment considering the character has been around since the early ‘60s. And for a Grant Morrison story, it wasn’t all that weird or far-out. I would assume these are reprints of previously published material, possibly from 2000 AD.

Justice Society of America #19

I’m a huge fan of Kingdom Come. It’s what got me back into comics after an almost 2 year hiatus. So I was pretty stoked about Johns and Ross working with that universe in Justice Society of America. I’m a bit confused, though. Was the Kingdom mini-series completely ignored? Hasn’t he already come to the DCU proper and fought Superman? I’m just so confused. And I think the story is dragging a bit. We been going back and forth about what Gog is doing, whether it’s right or wrong, and we finally got into some in-team fighting, and poof it’s over. Now the Justice Society Infinity is here and there’s going to be an Earth-2 vs. Earth whatever this main Earth is. I want some fighting!

X-Men: Worlds Apart #1

Good issue. I like the fact that both Logan AND Ororo’s split allegiances were brought up, even if for just a split second. I like the villain. It’s the same villain that was terrorizing the X-Men when I first started reading Uncanny lo those many years ago, and he definitely has a history with Storm. I don’t know what his current status is supposed to be, so hopefully we’ll get a quick re-cap next issue.

Compost

DC Universe: Decisions #3

This issue just didn’t do it for me. The writing, by two excellent writers, was a bit too corny. Leonardi’s art was okay, but it looked rushed. While I generally like his work, the best I’ve seen by him was actually from a Phoenix mini-series that was never published. The reveal at the end of the story’s villain was extremely anti-climactic, not because I had guessed it, but because I just don’t care. I assume we’ll learn his motivation in the next issue, but the story just doesn’t have enough oomph to make me care.



Titans #6

This issue dropped the ball on a number of levels. First, more fun could have been had if we had seen the "Seven Deadly Titans" actually in action. But then I guess Garth would be dead. I’m not really averse to that. Second, Dark Raven’s "cure" was a massive deus ex machine. It was just WAY too convenient. Third, isn’t Jericho stirring up trouble elsewhere? Consistency, people!

Comic Book reviews for the week of Sept. 17, 2008

Cream of the Crop

All-Star Superman #12

I don’t think I’m the only person who doesn’t always get Grant Morrison. But I still buy just about everything he writes, because when I DO get it, I always enjoy it. I enjoyed this series for the most part. I don’t think I’m enough of a Superman fan to get what Morrison was trying to tell us. I realize that there was some grand point to the series, but it was lost on me. Now, just as a Superman story, it was great. Each issue was fun, and they showed why Superman is widely considered the greatest hero. In this final issue, Superman comes back from death, defeats a super-powered Lex Luthor, and reignites the sun. All in a day’s work, right? Something else I enjoyed was Frank Quitely’s art. It’s a conundrum, really. His work isn’t pretty. Everybody looks lumpy and the women are not attractive, but somehow it works and looks great. I’m not sad that the series is over. It had an erratic release schedule, and Morrison was able to tell a complete story, so nothing else is needed. All that’s left to wonder about is the sequel. I’m sure there will be one, so all that’s left to wonder is will it be Morrison and Quitely again following up on that last page, or will it be someone else telling their own out-of-continuity story?

Amazing Spider-Man #572

Dan Slott is an excellent Spider-Man writer. I think I need to go back and read his Thing and She-Hulk books. I think he’s really captured everybody in Spider-Man’s world. I like Norman Osborn as sort of a psychopathic Lex Luthor type character. I’m liking Anti-Venom, and I’m looking forward to finding out exactly what’s going on with him. I like Mac Gargan as Venom more than I liked him as the Scorpion. He was always just some loser in a suit. I’m glad Norman was able to get the symbiote healed, but I’m not all that crazy about the Venom/Scorpion hybrid. I guess I’ll have to wait until the next issue before I really decide if I like him or not. There’s nothing new I can say about JR Jr.’s art, so we’ll just leave it at “Me likey.”

Captain Britain and MI 13 #5

I loved the introductory storyline for this series, which I had thought was only going to be a mini-series that tied into the Secret Invasion. I’ve not read much of Pete Wisdom. I stopped reading Excalibur before Ellis took over and made him into the character he is today. I read Pryde and Wisdom years ago, and I just recently read the Wisdom mini and really enjoyed it. Paul Cornell has really made me care about these characters that I new little to nothing about. I felt Captain Britain’s sacrifice and the death of Skrull John, and I cheered for Faiza when she pulled out Excalibur and for all of England when Captain Britain returned. This issue is a jumping-on point for those who didn’t pick up the first four but heard the good buzz. It re-introduces us to this new team and brings in a surprise (well, not if you look at the cover), somewhat odd member, Blade. Kind of risky with a vampire on the team, no? I guess we’ll see what happens with that next issue. I also really enjoyed the scenes with Dane and Faiza at Faiza’s parents’ house. This book was a pleasant surprise for me. It’s always exciting when you end up enjoying something that you’re not expecting.

Iron Man #33

‘Bout damn time, although I expected this story to happen in Avengers: The Initiative, where War Machine is a main character. But this is okay. This issue follows on the heels of Secret Invasion #1 and a recent issue of A:TI. The Skrulls have just disabled all Stark Tech, and Rhodey gets a message from Tony that sends him to a satellite. I’m not too big (no pun intended) on the big mecha War Machine, but we really do see War Machine live up to his name. Christos Gage delivers a great story, and it’s good to see Sean Chen on an Iron Man title again, even though we didn’t see much of Iron Man in the issue.

Mighty Avengers #18

Once again, it’s an Avengers book with no Avengers in sight. But that’s okay. This issue gives us a quick look into how Nick Fury trained his Secret Warriors, including lying, injecting them with explosive tracking chips, kicking the crap out of the, kidnapping them, and torturing them. What a great guy! He then makes them kidnap Maria Hill, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., telling them she’s a Skrull…which is another lie. It’s all a test for something bigger, which just happens to be the Skrull Invasion that starts on the final page. I’ve always known Fury was a badass, but I’ve never known him to be such a devious hardass. I guess have to kill your lover who is in fact a shape-changing alien will do that to a person. I’m loving this event, and I’m looking forward to some more of Bendis’ non-Avengers goodness in this Avengers title.

Trinity #16

After a somewhat slow start, this book is really starting to pick up. I’m glad we didn’t have to wait until the end of the series for the Trinity to battle their opposites. The blending of the personalities is a good idea, and I like how they’re using what was supposed to be a hindrance into a strength. It’s why these three heroes ARE the trinity. They can turn weaknesses into strengths and inspire others to do so. I’ve liked Mark Bagley’s work since I picked up the first issue of New Warriors on a spinner rack almost two decades ago. I was disappointed when he left the title, but thrilled when he showed up on Amazing Spider-Man, a title I was already reading. I didn’t read Thunderbolts, but I’ve been reading Ultimate Spider-Man since the beginning, and his run with Bendis is legendary. It’s nice to see him branching out to DC now, and I think he’s finally getting the hang of the characters...which is good since he’s drawing just about all of their heroes in these last two issues!

Young X-Men #6

As with the new X-Force book, I figured I’d start back into the X-world after the current calamity with some brand new books rather than jumping right into Uncanny X-Men or X-Men: Legacy. I’ve been very pleased with this book. The only character on this new team that I was even remotely familiar with was Dust since I read all of Morrison’s stint on New X-Men. But I didn’t feel knowing the team members intimately was all that important, and I was pretty much right. The first story arc had some double crossings in it and some good (if not a bit one-sided) battles with the original Young X-Men, the first group of New Mutants. When all was said and done, we had a traitor revealed, the villain revealed, and a team member dead. This issue was fallout from that, and it worked well. Now we’re getting the official formation of the team, and we’re seeing a lot of emotion and angst. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this will all play out.

Leftovers

Brave and the Bold #17

Okay, I don’t like Supergirl, or at least this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous incarnation written by Peter David. She was just so…pissy. Asking for help and then not really doing her best to use it. Snapping at the people attempting to help her. If I were Raven I would have swept her up in that cloak and left her in Azarath. Marv Wolfman did a good job with the story, and if I’m correct in my assumption as to who Jon’s father is, he pulled out a relatively obscure character from a little more than a decade ago. I didn’t read much of him when he was around, but I’ve got the gist of what happened with him. I’m not the biggest fan of Phil Winslade. He’s a very adequate artist, but it’s just not my thing.

DC Universe: Decisions #1

Hmm, not a bad issue, but I’m a little scared that it’ll get preachy, especially with Judd Winnick being one of the writers. He’s a good writer, as is his partner on this book Bill Willingham (Fables), but he’s been known to promote causes in the books he’s been writing. I’m not into politics in the real world, so unless we’re reading about a major character running for office (Lex Luthor for President! Again!), I may end up glossing over the actual political stuff in the series. I’ll be with the book for the detective work, and the obvious conflict that Green Arrow’s decision will create. As for the art, I’ve like Rick Leonardi’s work for some time now. Even after 20 years, his style is still very recognizable, but it’s cleaner. He’s a solid artist that always delivers a quality product.

Gravel #5

When Ellis wrote stories about Gravel, the weird shit he put on the page was sick yet compelling. I think Mike Wolfer is capturing the essence of Gravel, but it’s just not up to par with Ellis. I’m still enjoying the story, though, and I like the idea of a combat magician. It’s in this issue that we see that Gravel doesn’t win all the time. I mean, it’s his book, so I’m sure he’ll come through eventually, if not next issue, but he can still be outsmarted.

Greatest Hits #1

This book almost made it into the Cream of the Crop. I like behind-the-scene stories, but I like it interspersed with at least a bit of action, especially if we’re jumping into a story about a brand new team. I feel like I should know more about these guys than I do. But it was still a very solid story by David Tischman, and Glen Fabry’s art is almost always nice to look at.

Incredible Hercules #121

I thought this was the weakest issue of the series so far. Not bad, just a weaker issue in a run that’s been pretty darn good. There just wasn’t enough Amadeus or Hercules and too much set up for this new storyline. When we DID see the duo, it was really good. I liked the interaction between Herc and Namora, and Amadeus being a typical horny teenager was pretty darn good. Good, but not great.

Squadron Supreme #3

It’s just not the same without JMS, and it’s not the same without the MAX label. It’s still a very readable comic, but it’s not on the same level as when it began. I want the original Squadron to return, and I want Fury sent back to the Ultimate universe. I’m wondering if Ultimatum will deal with this at all. And what’s with the analogues to the regular Marvel Universe? We’ve seen a Spider-Man (woman), a Captain America and an Iron Man. Hmm, since the original Squadron Supreme members are analogues of the Justice League, maybe this is a sneaky way to have a Marvel vs. DC non-crossover.

Compost

Age of the Sentry #1

I liked this book…when Alan Moore did it with Supreme. This really felt like a DC book from the ‘60s. I like the Sentry as a schizophrenic hero who is also his own arch enemy. But I can do without these campy throw-back stories. No thank you, sir.

Walking Dead #52

I keep reading this because the beginning of this series was so good, and I keep waiting for it to get that good again, but it just stalled a handful of issues ago. It seems like we’re just going over things that have been done before.