Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Dec. 17, 2008 (Limited Series)

Black Terror #2

Black Terror breaks into the White House to rescue Tim, and he does it in a very dramatic way, rather than just storming the gates and forcing his way inside. It didn’t make any sense to me. He says he needs to announce his coming, but wouldn’t tearing through the ground forces work just as well? I guess it wouldn’t make for an as dramatic comic book. Eh. I had assumed the twist at the end would be Tim there ready to take him down, not other heroes from the urn we haven’t seen before.

Dead of Night: Devil Slayer #4

This mini started out a little differently, not like the same-old same-old comic. I’m not just talking about the cussing. I had expected some commentary on war, some real heart-breaking stuff. But it turned out to be a standard comic…with cussing. This issue ended the mini with our hero thought of as a bad guy, even though he saved the world. That NEVER happens.

Punisher: War Zone #2

It’s just like Ennis and Dillon’s first Punisher mini ended a few months ago. There was a lot of death, but it really wasn’t as disturbing as you might expect from Ennis. Just normal shootings and stabbings. I like Dillon as an artist, but his characters look a bit stiff. The facial expressions are wonderful, though.

Spider-Man: Noir #1

The best thing I can comment on with this issue is the cover. It’s a beautiful play on a classic Spider-Man pose. The story was your run-of-the-mill alternate reality story with Spidey and his supporting characters shoe-horned into various roles. The art was very muddled, especially whenever it was snowing. The flakes covered a lot of the frame. Yet another mini I’ll pass on.

Tangent: Superman’s Reign #10

So this whole thing is going to come down to a battle between the Tangent Superman and his New Earth Villains vs. his wife and a combination of New Earth and Tangent heroes. Sounds a bit one-sided to me, especially of Lola really does have the same powers as Tangent Superman. How many times do we have to read an absolute power storyline (Squadron Supreme, Authority) to realize in the end it never works out. There is no perfect solution.

Trinity #29

One thing I’ve been liking about this series is that there have been tiny storylines inside this massive, weekly, year-long book. But this latest tale about the three heroes being gone and the world attempting to fix the vacuum is starting to wear thin for me. I sort of like where it’s going (where the heck ARE they?), I just wish it would get there a little quicker.

X-Men: Kingbreaker #1

I know I say this each time I start reading a new X-Men title, but I’ve missed a BUNCH of stuff. I think I’m going to put this away until I’ve caught up on my X-history. I knew about Vulcan, but I had no idea about his takeover of the Shi’ar empire. I’ve got some research to do.

Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Nov. 12, 2008 (Mini Series)

Anna Mercury #4

I’m not totally sure I know what’s going on. I’m pretty sure the whats and whys of New Ataraxia and Sheol were addressed an issue or two ago, but I just can’t remember...which has made this issue more than a bit confusing. I understand why New Ataraxia is attacking Sheol. I understand that Mercury is helping the resistance. I understand that Mercury is actually from "our" Earth and that she has to be transported somehow to...there...but I either don’t get or don’t know WHAT New Ataraxia and Sheol are. Hopefully it’ll all be cleared up next issue...and I’ll remember what happened in this issue.

Batman: Cacophony #1

"Floyd? My toilet’s on fire over there."

I had to get this. I may be a glutton for punishment, but I just had to. Who knows if the other two issues will ever see the light of day (cough cough Daredevil: Target cough cough), but I’m a Kevin Smith fan. So I thought the story was decent. I thought it was a little cheesy that Smith brought in his own creation, Onomatopoeia, to bust the Joker out of Arkham, but what are you gonna do? I think I’ll enjoy watching Maxie Zeus run like a scared little bitch from the Joker. As for Walt Flanagan’s artwork, wow, no, I didn’t much care for it. I get the Smith likes to give his friends work, it’s what I’d do if I could, but play to their strengths, man. Has he done any comic work before? If not, you start him out on what should be a pretty high-profile story? I don’t think so. Well, it’s only three issues, and there’s a good chance that we won’t see #2 until next year, so maybe he’ll get better by then.

Black Terror #1

Well, that was better than I expected. I think I liked it better than Project Superpowers, the book it’s spinning out of. This book is basically all set-up for Black Terror to rescue his lost sidekick, who is believed to be held captive in the White House. I’ve enjoyed Ross and Krueger’s team ups on the Earth X Saga, and I’m enjoying it here. I also enjoyed Mike Lilly’s artwork. I don’t recall seeing his work prior to this, and it’s not so great that I’ll search out anything he does, but it works very well for this story.

Dead of Night featuring Devil-Slayer #3

Hmm, it’s a Max title, so it might not be in continuity, but does anyone know of the Bloodstone group has ties to Elsa or her dad? I only ask because I don’t follow the characters...but wasn’t Elsa in Nextwave? So Sylva is being chased by Bloodstone, the U.S. Army, demons, and angels? Man, this guy has it bad. It’s too bad I’m enjoying all this crap coming down on him. This is a good little mini (redundant?). I hope we see more of Danny when this is over.

Push #1

I’m not actually sure if this is a mini or an on-going, so I’m just assuming. It wasn’t a bad story, but I’ve got one big problem with it. The team’s changer went in with the target. So the guy who can kill you with his voice comes in and "kills" the target, but doesn’t notice that his orifices aren’t bleeding? Wouldn’t that clue you into something? And why was nobody questioning why H.R. was in the bar in the first place? He was supposed to be outside as cover. Just sloppy writing. And what was Jonah even doing on the mission? He’s in the alley and on the transport home, but we don’t see him again. Like I said, sloppy writing.

The Cleaners #1

I picked this up after really enjoying the Samuel L. Jackson/Eva Mendez movie of the similar name. It looks like there’s a mystery to be had here, but there’s no way of telling which way it will lie. A bunch of blood leads to multiple "donors" leads to runaways leads to The Cleaners...doing what besides cleaning up the mess? Are the private investigators also? Is there a supernatural connection to this? I guess I’ll just have to pick up the next issue to find out.

Dark Tower: Treachery #3

Another great if not short chapter of this part of Roland’s life. These minis have turned out to be a great companion to the seven books. Since it’s been so long since I’ve read the books, I can’t recall if Stephen’s death actually happened, or if the Grapefruit is just showing Roland what will happen. Either way, Jae Lee’s amazing artwork has given us a gruesome picture of his death.

The Stand: Captain Trips #3

It’s weird seeing Lloyd and NOT seeing him as Miguel Ferrera. I like how this adaptation is being done: Aguirre-Sacasa isn’t putting in anything new. All the dialogue and text is lifted straight from the book. It’s just his job to figure out what gets in and what gets cut, and therefore what Mike Perkins should draw. Stu is getting in deep, Frannie had it out with her mom, and Larry is starting to get cabin fever. Oh, and Captain Trips is still making its way across the country. Only two more issues left, and I assume we’ll end with everyone dead.

X-Men: Magneto - Testament #3

My last name is commonly a Jewish name, but I’m Catholic. As far as I know, other than an uncle who married in, I don’t have any Jewish relatives. I say as far as I know because I don’t know really anything past my grandfather, and I don’t really know much about him. My heritage is something I’ve never been that interested in. But now that I think about it, there’s very little doubt in my mind that I probably had Jewish family that were persecuted by the Nazis. Regardless of a family connection or not, this is a very powerful and compelling issue. I’m going to assume that Greg Pak did his research and all the facts are true. There doesn’t even have to be a Marvel connection for this to be a good story. This could be about any Polish Jew family.

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Listening to: Alien Ant Farm - Happy Death Day
via FoxyTunes

Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Oct. 8, 2008

Cream of the Crop

Deadpool #3

An unforeseen double-cross in the first issue was followed by an expected double-cross in the last issue, and this issue we get a very unexpected sort-of-double-cross. This issue had less of the funny and more of Deadpool kicking Skrull ass. We learn his true purpose for being where he is, and ultimately why he allowed the Skrulls to use his genetic material. He’s pretty devious for a guy who’s nothing but a smart ass who kills really well.

Fallen Angel #30

For a book with such religious overtones, it’s about time we get to the big question. I think David handles this very well. Jude’s question to his mother isn’t answered, but at least she tells him why. And in an issue devoted to faith, Lee and Jude make the ultimate leap of faith (with a much more convincing outcome than in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). And there goes Black Mariah following. Will something different happen to her because she fell rather than believed and leaped? I guess we’ll find out next issue.

Ender’s Game: Battle School #1

I can’t remember if it was my freshman or sophomore year of college, but for one semester I took a class called Sci-Fi and Fantasy. We read books, we wrote stories, and we watched movies. It was awesome. Because of that class I read Frankenstein, Wizard of Earthsea, Brave New World, Stranger in a Strange Land, Dune, and Ender’s Game. Out of the three books in that list whose stories continued on into other books, the future of Ender Wiggin was the only one I was concerned with. I followed him through Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. I haven’t read any of the short stories or Shadow books, but I’ve been meaning to. I think after finishing this comic, I may have to go back and reread the series. From what I can remember, this comic is pretty faithful to the book. Since it has been about a decade since I read the book, I can’t call forth any details, but the comic is ringing true for me. This is going to be a book I’ll be looking forward to every month.

Green Lantern #35

Great writing, beautiful art…yet I can’t help feeling that I was cheated a bit. Johns gave us a seven-part origin story, which updated and tweaked Hal’s origin to account for current happenings while setting the stage for The Blackest Night. That’s okay, I have not problem with that, but that’s seven months not knowing what Hal is doing NOW. Couldn’t this have been a mini-series, or at least trimmed down and made into back-up stories or used as flashbacks while telling a current story? I’m okay with Johns replacing Legion with Atrocitus and totally removing Hal’s DUI and prison sentence (Emerald Dawn I and II), but rather than moving Hal forward, we’re taking a look back. Still, it was a great story.

Green Lantern Corps #29

This series is just as good as the main Green Lantern book. With this, we’ve got all the Earth GLs taken care of (I think…John is still a member of the Justice League, right?). As with Hal’s GL book, this is setting us up for The Blackest Night, but at least with this one we’re moving forward instead of reinventing the past. Guy and Tora explore their relationship. A new Star Sapphire (Pink Lantern) is born, thus leading me to believe that Tora might be recruited as Batman was recruited by the Yellow Lanterns. We’ve also got the Lantern who talks to the dead following a giant cosmic hand around the galaxy. The giant hand has got to be Chronos, but I can’t remember what happened to him after the JLA/Avengers crossover, which was supposed to be in continuity. I think he’s showing up in Trinity, so I wonder how that’s going to fit in if at all.

Invincible Iron Man #6

While still a good issue, after the past five GREAT issues, this was a bit of a let-down. Tony using various past armors to help him save the day has been done before. He’s a super genius, a futurist, and this is his fallback plan that he has to go to every time something big comes up? C’mon, man, think of something new!

Marvel Zombies 3 #1

And I thought they mined all the stories they could out of this. So they first showed up in the Ultimate Universe, the 616 Black Panther traveled there I believe, and now the zombies are traveling to the 616 world. I liked seeing Florida’s Initiative team, as well as the A.R.M.O.R. crew. I stopped reading Darkhawk somewhere in the early teens of the series, but I recognize Portal. That’s one good thing about the Initiative, a lot of obscure characters are showing up, if only to be cannon fodder (poor Siege and Conquistador). Right now it looks like Morbius is going to be the Black Panther of this series. It’ll be interesting to see how far this reaches out into the 616 universe. Consider me hooked.

Dark Tower: Treachery #2

And now we’ve got a female gunslinger, or at least a girl who wants to be a gunslinger. I think that’s totally new. I don’t remember any mention of her in the books. Another great and beautiful issue, if not somewhat slow. Other than introducing Aileen and showing us her skill and having Steven stop his fellow gunslinger from bleeding to death, nothing happened. It seems like we’re being set up for what might happen in the next issue.

The Stand: Captain Trips #2

I really hope that the TV movie hasn’t ruined me on this. I’ve already got character faces in my mind: Gary Sinese as Stu, Rob Lowe as Nick, Dr. Kelso from Scrubs as Frannie’s dad, Jamie Sheridan as the Walkin’ Dude, the guy who played Parker Lewis from Parker Lewis Can’t Lose as Harold, the dad from Alf as one of the scientists at the CDC, Dauber from Coach as Tom (M-O-O-N, that spells Dauber), Molly Ringwald as Frannie, and Ed Harris as the General who keeps watching the monitors. Oh, and Kareem Abdul Jabar…can’t forget him. Some of the casting choices never sat right with me. I always envisioned Stu as younger than Sinese (I think I’m spelling his name wrong, but I’m too tired to check), and I didn’t like Parker Lewis as Harold. So far I’m okay with the portrayals here. Perkins is doing a great job visually differentiating all of the cast member from each other. Aguirre-Sacasa is doing a good job so far at chopping the massive novel up, and it looks like the script is lifted straight from the book. I thought this issue ended in a weird place though, rather abruptly. But that’s minor. This is my favorite book, and as long as Aguirre-Sacasa stays true to the story, I think I’ll probably geek out with every issue. BUT (all caps, what could it mean?), this week in his Lying in the Gutters gossip column at www.comicbookresources.com, Rich Johnston mentioned that King would be moving his comics from Marvel to…Del Rey? Does that sound right? It’s a publishing company, but I didn’t realize they were in the comic book business. We’ll see how that goes, and how that’ll affect the two books already at Marvel.

Trinity #19

This book has really gotten a lot better since it started. And I love alternate reality stories. I love getting glimpses of how this “new” world is different yet the same. It looks like Busiek is working on something massive here, and I’m glad I’m along for the ride. The back-up story was pretty good. I like how it brought up Invasion, tying it to both realities. It looks like this artist is taking the place of Tarot, who has moved up into the main story.

X-Men: Magneto – Testament #2

I have one complaint and one complaint only about this issue. At the beginning, when Max’s father takes his book away, I thought it was a picture of a boy he was looking at. If it weren’t for his father’s comment about it always being a girl and then me noticing the pig-tails, I never would have thought that was Magda, or that she was a she. Other than that, this was another powerful story from Greg Pak. It’s sort of nice to see that I haven’t been totally desensitized to this type of violence. It lets me know that I’m not a total robot. Max and his family’s flight from Germany as the Nazis raid homes and businesses was heart-wrenching. I don’t know if this story will make Magneto any more sympathetic, but it’s very interesting to see what this mutant figurehead witnessed and lived through as a boy, and we see why he is so militant about not being persecuted again.

Leftovers

Crossed #1

I went back and forth on where to put this, Cream of the Crop or Leftovers. It’s a very well-written and well-illustrated book, but are there really more zombie stories to tell? And essentially, isn’t that what the Crossed are? I’m going to stick with it and see where Ennis takes us, but I’m just wondering if it’s an excuse for him to just be ultra-violent and deviant. I think I prefer Ennis when he’s working with a more realistic storyline such as his war books or The Punisher. Even Preacher with it’s religious overtones was still grounded in reality. With this book, it seems like he was trying to be Warren Ellis.

Dead of Night: Devil-Slayer #2

That’s a pretty big change of tone from last issue. We go from a pretty standard war story to a horror show in an eye blink. Everything seemed to work pretty well. We met Isaac last issue, so his appearing out of nowhere to save the day isn’t a stretch. And Bloodstone’s methods make sense. Never let it be said that demons aren’t smart or can’t take advantage of a situation. I guess the big question is why the name Bloodstone? Will Elsa (is that her name?) be showing up at some point?

Presidential Material: Barack Obama & Presidential Material: John McCain

These are decent biographies of both of the 2008 major-party Presidential candidates. McCain’s book focused on his military service legacy and record, which seems to be lousy with destroyed planes. Obama’s is more of a full biography (which should be easier since there are fewer years to go through), beginning with his birth in Hawaii. These books should not be used by fence-sitters as decision makers for who they will vote for in the election. It’s useful for anyone who wants to know a general backstory on the two, and that’s it.

Secret Six #2

Not a bad issue. Catman travels to Gotham to keep Batman occupied while the rest of the team infiltrates Alcatraz in order to break out Tarantula. The team runs into trouble in the form of Mammoth, and Catman matches Batman just about punch for punch. Catman sure has come a long way since his appearance the Archer’s Quest storyline that ran in the Green Arrow series.

Walking Dead #53

Oooh, the book gets a reprieve. I don’t like that it was so easy for Rick to find so many friendlies so quickly. But I think it was necessary. He and Michone now have a connection. He and Dale have a connection. And assuming he’s not lying, a new character may just be able to tell us what happened. It was a decent issue, a touching issue that wasn’t nearly as sappy as it could have been. And it took a little longer to read than usual, so bonus.

X-Men: Manifest Destiny #2

Not a bad issue, this. I’m not moving into the CotC pile mainly because I’m not fully up on all the goings on, such as the history between Iceman and Raven, but I’m not turned away by it, so that’s good. And damn, another Dan Panosian story where I don’t want to throw up after looking at it. This is how it works, kids. You’re crap when you start out, but you practice, and you hone your craft, and once you stop trying to be Rob Liefeld and find your own style, you start getting more appreciation from critical nonartists like myself. The Emma story was good too, but how many times have we seen variations of it? Rogue, Magneto, Wolverine…the first two villains before joining the X-Men, Magneto later returning to his roots, and Wolverine a cold-blooded killer and loner before finding a family like the X-Men. But really, with Emma, how many readers have been saying the exact same thing about her that she was thinking?

X-Men: Original Sin #1

Good opening, good enough to know who Daken is if you haven’t read Wolverine: Origins. I’m still not up enough on the X-verse to know why Xavier is out of the picture. While it doesn’t look like I’d need to be expertly versed on recent happenings, I think I’ll wait for the trade of this. I’m slowly revisiting and catching up on the X-verse by starting at the very beginning, and I’m almost to the Mutant Massacre, so I’ve still got a lot of books to read. I would imagine, though, that this would be a great read for X-fans.

Compost

13 Chambers #1

This book actually had a lot of potential, but it fell way short. The plot was very interesting, but there were just too many holes. There were a lot of scene shifts with too little explanations. There’s apparently a follow-up book in the works, but the creators needed to give us more story in this one rather than expecting us to come back for more.

Ferryman #1

The beginning of this book was promising. I thought it was going to be a tongue-in-cheek shoot-‘em-up type of book, but like the move Shoot ‘Em Up, it didn’t know when to just stop. The narration was annoying and the action was improbable. The sketchy art didn’t help either.


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Listening to: Shinedown - Save Me
via FoxyTunes

Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Sept. 3, 2008

Since this is my first set of comic reviews, I thought I’d walk through a little rating explanation. The Cream of the Crop is the best books of the week. The Leftovers are decent, readable books, but there isn’t anything in them to just wow me. And the books in The Compost Pile are just stinky piles of vegetable matter.

Cream of the Crop

Doktor Sleepless #8

This is the end of book one, and I finally feel like I’m getting a handle on the title. I’ll read anything Warren Ellis writes. I’m sheep like that. But I freely admit that I don’t understand a lot of the stuff he does. Some of the ideas he’s put forth in this title went over my head. So this issue, which explained a lot, really helped me out. Unless Ellis is messing with us, we learn which John Reinhardt is the real deal and what happened to his parents. We also learn about the angels spotted around Heavenside. Because of explanations, this issue was probably my favorite of the eight so far.

Fables #75

Even after 75 issues, I still have yet to find an issue I don’t like. I think in this issue, though, the art outshone the story. How many double-page spreads were there? It was crazy! And I’m not knocking the story. It, like the 74 before it, was great. This whole war just seemed a bit too quick to me. I almost feel like Willingham made Bigby, Snow and the whole crew just a bit too…well, good, and Geppetto and his evil ilk a bit too incompetent. The major death in this issue (and I won’t spoil it for you in case you haven’t read it yet) seems thrown in so there would be a major death. Regardless, the story was excellently told, and in my opinion it’s the best book Vertigo’s putting out.

Amazing Spider-Man #570

It really didn’t take me long to adjust to the new Brand New Day status quo. My biggest problems have to do with nobody remembering his secret identity and the fact that Harry Osborn is still alive. Both of those stories, especially J.M. DeMatteis’ work on Spectacular Spider-Man that really focused on Harry and culminated in his death, were pretty big events. I’ve read in a couple of interviews that these two things will eventually be addressed, but they’ll bug me until they are. But back to the issue. Venom vs. Anti-Venom, with a bit of Spidey thrown in, and Norman Osborn in the background acting as sort of an anti-Nick Fury. He’s creepy and crazy and I love it. I actually loved the whole thing. Excellent writing and JR Jr. drawing what he draws best. Personally, I think it’s a great time to be a Spider-Man fan.

Angel: After the Fall #12

It is my belief that the final season of Angel was the best overall season of television I have ever watched. And I’ve watched a LOT of TV. I thought Buffy petered out after moving to UPN, and Angel got a little tedious during the 4th season, but wow, the writers and actors all delivered top notch episode all season. And while many people hated the gigantic cliffhanger ending, I thought it was excellent. It allowed each viewer to end the show the way they wanted it to end. Then Whedon announced both Buffy and Angel continuing their seasons as comic books. I’ve enjoyed Season 6 of Angel so far, but not as much as I’ve been enjoying Season 8 of Buffy. I think it’s because I built the ending of Angel up so much, that ANYTHING would have been a letdown. But this series is series is delivering everything a fan of Angel would want. We’ve seen just about every major character who appeared at some point during the 5 seasons. I love the characterizations of the major players. I love how they brought back a certain someone. I love the inner turmoil of Illyria, how she switches back and forth from Fred depending on the stress. And I love the dragon. I really should be enjoying this book more than I am. And this issue helped. The Shanshu prophecy and Angel’s role in the Apocalypse is explained. Oh, and he died.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #18

And speaking of Buffy, I found part three of this cross-over with Fray to be pretty lackluster. As much as my inner horn-dog enjoyed the Willow/Kennedy/Snake-Lady scene, I thought it was a little juvenile. She’s gotta have sex or an orgasm in order to meet with the Snake-Lady? And she’s gotta be naked? Really? And the big bad doesn’t seem all that big or bad. I hope it’ll make a bit more sense once we find out her motivation for doing what she’s doing. The best part of the issue involved Xander and Dawn and their flight from Castle Slayer. This book really should be with the Leftovers, but I’m too big of a Buffy fan to do that, and I’m hoping that the book will redeem itself by the end of the storyline.

Green Lantern #34

I’ve enjoyed this title since its beginning. It’s not due to the title character, but the writing talents of Geoff Johns. He’s one of a handful of writers whose comics will always get my money, regardless of the character or subject matter. This issue is the penultimate chapter of Secret Origins, which seems to be a retelling of the first Emerald Dawn mini, but with some changes that help set up the Blackest Night storyline. There’s a lot happening in the storyline: Abin Sur dying and Hal getting the ring, Hector Hammond gaining his powers as well as Black Hand, Hal’s training by Kilowog and tutelage by Sinestro. This issue has Sinestro and Hal up against Atrocitus (who seems to replace Legion from Emerald Dawn), with Sinestro showing Hal something he doesn’t know, and Hal doing something he’s not supposed to be able to do. I’m looking forward to the end of this storyline, and the beginning of Blackest Night.

Invincible Iron Man #5

I really need to start reading more stuff by Matt Fraction. His work on this title has blown me away for the past five issues. This issues sees Iron Man go up against what I’m assuming would be called the next Iron Monger, just a lot more streamlined. And he trounces Tony. As for the ending, we all know that’s not it. You don’t kill off a major title character without some hoopla surrounding it. So what do we have here? Was Tony not in the armor? Is Ezekiel nucking-futz crazy and imagining the whole thing, a la Norman Osborn/Green Goblin during the Final Chapter storyline that preceded the reboot of Spidey and his titles? I don’t know, but it’ll be a treat to find out.

The Boys #22

I guess the most important part of the story is the Legend finishing his story to Hughie. We also learn who one of his sons is/was. That’s all well and good, and hearing about the rise of superheroes and Voight-American was important. But as with the rest of this series, the best parts are the character moments. Hughie and Annie; Annie and A-Train, Hughie and the Butcher. I’ve never hated heroes as much as I do in this book. It’s great, and it’s filthy and way too over-the-top, and I won’t let my kids read it until they’re 18, but dammit if it’s not a great book.

Leftovers

Dead of Night: Devilslayer#1

I ended up being surprised by this book. It was more enjoyable than I thought it would be, even though it’s mostly a set-up issue. We’re introduced to Sgt. Danny Sylva, who I’m assuming will become Devilslayer. The rest of the book just sets the scene, Iraq, and we don’t get any action until the end. But as set-ups go, it was engaging, and I’m rooting for Danny. Maybe the next issue will be moved up into the Cream of the Crop.

Fringe #1

I enjoyed the first half, but I liked the second half when I saw it earlier this summer as an episode of Fear Itself. I’m intrigued by how it will tie into the TV series (which starts this week), but I wouldn’t be heartbroken if I never finished this mini-series.

Secret Invasion: Frontline #3

I found this to be the least compelling of this mini so far. It just didn’t sit well with me. I would think that the cop would have been killed after doing nothing to the Skrulls except pissing them off. I want to know how that Skrull got into Stark Tower. Was he a mole that was in the building when it sealed up? And I don’t buy the last scene. I think it’s safe to assume that, were there not an invasion going on, the subway tunnels would be in use. Would a gang, after only an hour, already have territory claimed as their own? Like I said, it just doesn’t sit well with me.

Secret Six #1

Good, solid story, but nothing that made me truly excited. I’ll definitely pick up the next issue, and more than likely the whole mini (is this a mini or an ongoing?), but it’s going to take a bit more to bump this out of the Leftover pile.

Sub-Mariner: The Depths #1

First off, I’m confused. I get that this is a Marvel Knights title and may not be in continuity. That doesn’t bother me. A good story is a good story is a good story. I’m confused as to when it takes place. If it was around the time of his published introduction, we’re looking at pre-WW II, or at least before America’s involvement. But at one point, a character calls Communists “Reds,” a term I associate with the McCarthy hearings in the ‘50s and the Cold War. But I guess that really doesn’t matter. For a book about a character I have no love at all for (and who didn’t actually show up in the book, unless you’re counting a possible shadow), it was surprisingly engaging. Both Peter Milligan and Esad Ribic are hit and miss with me. What work I’ve read by Milligan tends to lean on the weird side, often too weird and incomprehensible for me. But this was easy to follow and understand. For me, I tend to enjoy Ribic’s (every time I type that I end up thinking of a bullfrog) art when looking at the non-human elements, in this issue the city backgrounds and the ocean panels. I’m not digging his characters, especially the faces. But I’ll be back next month, if only for the story and hopefully some beautiful scenes of Atlantis. That might be enough to bump up the book.

X-Men: Manifest Destiny #1

I think the only story worth talking about out of the three presented here is the first one. To be totally honest, I’ve been an on-again off-again X-Men reader. I haven’t read Uncanny since Casey started around #390-something, and I ended up dropping it in the middle of Poptopia. I enjoyed Morrison’s New X-Men, but dropped the title after he left. I’m also a loyal Astonishing fan. But that’s it. So I’m not really up on the mutants at all. I had thought that Bobby lost his powers after House of M. Was that Mystique’s doing? Well, his is the story that looks the most intriguing. It’s somewhat reminiscent of when the White Queen had control of his body about 200 issues (of Uncanny) ago, how she did things with his powers that he had never thought about. I couldn’t care any less about Karma or Boom Boom. Since I don’t read issue previews or summaries, I don’t know what to expect with the mini. Will it be different focuses each issue, or will it focus on Iceman, Karma and Boom Boom?

Compost

El Diablo Volume 3 #1

The biggest flaw in this book is the overall premise: a guy on the brink of death become hell’s bounty hunter, a skull-faced character with a flaming steed exacting vengeance on those who prey on the innocent. He basically a Hispanic Ghost Rider who was a criminal in his previous life. It’s not necessarily bad, but really, we’ve seen this before. Jai Nitz, the writer, is a new name to me. I would hope that his execution will end up being more original than the premise, but I won’t be along for the ride.

Marvel Apes #1

If this were played for humor, okay, it’d be cute. But the Gibbon gets transported to a Planet-of-the-Apes type world that has monkey equivalents of Marvel’s superheroes and villains? Wow. This is so not good.

Rann/Thanagar Holy War: Adam Strange Special #1

That seemed vastly pointless and something that could have been handled in a couple of pages in the main mini-series. I’m sure it’ll have dire ramifications for the story, but really, I think you could probably just enjoy the mini by itself.


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