This week was another big week! 18 titles (9 Marvel, 7 DC/Wildstorm and 2 indie). Almost half of the haul were good reads and most of those were really good. There were a few (predictable) dogs in the batch and a handful of surprising disappointments. Most remarkably, the Second Coming X-men Crossover event continues to be very strong. Shockingly the X-Factor “tie-in” issue was the best of the best this week.
Enjoy!
The Reading Order
GREEN LANTERN # 53
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA # 44
SIEGE: SPIDER-MAN # 1
BATMAN STREETS OF GOTHAM # 11
BRAVE AND BOLD # 33
AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 628
DARK WOLVERINE #85
X-FACTOR # 204
X-MEN LEGACY # 235
IRON MANUAL MARK 3 # 1
GUILD # 2
ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS # 6
SPIRIT # 1
The Unread
KATO ORIGINS #1
AZRAEL # 7
AMERICAN VAMPIRE # 2
MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ # 5
DARK TOWER: BATTLE OF JERICHO HILL # 5
The Cream of the Crop
X-FACTOR # 204 (w: Peter David/a: Valentine De Landro). Wow. Every once in a while you read a comic that reminds you just how good Peter David really is. X-Factor #204 is one of those books. You don’t have to know what’s been going on in X-Factor. Heck, you don’t even really need to know who all the characters in the book are to enjoy this comic. I wouldn’t necessarily call X-Factor #204 a “jumping on” point… depending on how the ending of this issue resolves itself, but there are worse titles you could start reading this month than X-Factor. The premise is simple, the bad guys hire X-Factor in order to lead them into a trap. What you don’t expect is how the bad guys got to that “simple conclusion” or the surprise super villain who saves the day (at least temporarily). Oh yeah and X-Factor #204 is an ancillary title to the X-Men: Second Coming MegaEpic. Take note DC editors, this is how an ancillary title should be done. Never mind, even if you did read this you’d still put out Kind of Bleak Afternoon next. Grade: A+ (story: A+/art: A)
The Good
BATMAN STREETS OF GOTHAM # 11 (w: Paul Dini/a: Dustin Nguyen) wraps up the long-running Mr. Zsasz storyline. While Grant Morrison may be the “reputed Batman creator” of this era, not enough credit goes Dini for his investment in the character. Dini’s career dates back to the seminal Batman: The Animated Series and since then he has carved out an almost incomparable body of work on the Caped Crusader. Dini gets it. He gets the Batman legacy, he gets the individual characters and he even gets the villains. He moves these characters into new (and yet, oh-so appropriate) situations and then deftly writes his way out of it. As the Zsasz story arc wraps up, we are introduced to “Colin” who in Dini’s hands is a clever turn of the classic Mr. Hyde (Hulk) concept. The Manhunter (w: Marc Andreyko/a: Jeremy Haun) also remains a satisfying back-up feature. Grade: A+ (story: A+/art: A)
X-MEN LEGACY # 235 (w: Mike Carey/ a: Greg Land). X-Men: Second Coming, Chapter Four. Now this is war. Even if you hadn’t been reading X-men before Second Coming, this MegaEvent is a real treat. The story is tight, the subplots are compelling and most importantly the series is accessible (I think just about anyone who reads comics will enjoy it). In a lot of ways, Second Coming is a throwback to the old X-Crossovers of the 80’s, in the best ways. In X-Men Legacy #235, someone dies, someone gets maimed and Warlock makes a big decision. The plot moves swiftly and a villain gets their due. Grade: A (story: A/art: A)
BRAVE AND BOLD # 33 (w: J. Michael Straczynski/a: Cliff Chiang). JMS’s regular penciler on B&B takes a break and Chiang fills in admirably in a story set on the eve of one of the most important events in the DCU of the last twenty years (22 actually, yes I looked it up). What seems like one of those ridiculous, pointless and inane “heroes night out” turns out to be wrought with portent and substance. JMS’ dialogue is remarkable and Chiang’s artwork is a terrific compliment to the issue. There are some absolutely fantastic moments (the Jedi mind trick for example) and some really clever scripting, worthy of “The Big Bang Theory”. There are a couple anachronisms, but it’s a comic… and if those spoil this comic for you, then comics may not be the right medium for your entertainment. While I am not a fan of ret-con tales that muck with really quality stories, where and how this story fits into DCU continuity is harmless and even enjoyable. If you’re chomping at the bit to see JMS’ Wonder Woman re-launch in a few months, this is good place to scratch that itch. Grade: A (story: A/art: A)
THE SPIRIT #1 (w: Mark Schultz/a: Moritat) is more like (than Doc Savage) what you might expect the First Wave titles to be like. The setting is stylized-50s-ish both in written dialogue and illustrations. The story is simple and straightforward, but wrought with a myriad of characters and the undertones of developing subplots. Moritat’s art is on one hand an homage to the era of the Spirit and on the other is derivative of Frank Miller’s early (think Dark Knight Returns or Daredevil: Elektra graphic novel). The back-up story (w: Denny O’Neil/a: Bill Sienkiewicz) might be well done, but is hard to take visually. (Sorry, Mr. Sienkiewicz, you are still one of the great masters). Grade: B (story: B/art: B+)
DARK WOLVERINE #85 (w: Daniel Way & Marjorie Liu/a: Stephen Segovia). Even if you don’t know the Romulus back story (I don’t) and aren’t sure why Daken is walking around after his stint as “Dark Wolverine” (surely there’s a good reason… maybe he died, went back into the past and… oh wait, that would be someones else), Dark Wolverine is a pretty good comic. There is an awful lot of leaning and talking, sitting in the dark and talking, having coffee and talking, but the story moves pretty well despite that (because of it). Just when you think there’s not enough action in the comic, there’s just enough action to make it all pay off. Of course, the last time I got hooked by a final splash page of a Dark Wolverine comic it all turned out to be some cruel ruse. Grade: B- (story: B/art: C+)
ULTIMATE AVENGERS #6 (w: Mark Millar/a: Carlos Pacheco). The “Next Generation” story arc wraps up in explosive fashion. The Red Skull/Avengers battle is well done, but as had been the case, the Captain America/Red Skull sub-plot is the real winning hand. While Ultimate Avengers has been an introduction to Nick Fury’s new team, they aren’t really all that interesting which is plainly revealed throughout Ultimate Avengers #6. A satisfying ending to the first story-arc, not enough to tease the next one though. Grade: B- (story: B-/art: B)
IRON MANUAL MARK 3 #1 is obviously a companion to the Handbook to the Marvel Universe, updated with all the latest Iron Man goodness you might want, except for perhaps an entry for the Mandarin. Mercifully, I now know why James Rhodes is no longer a cyborg. You know, I think I liked not knowing better. Grade: You can’t grade encyclopedias. Worth buying? Eh, maybe, if you’re an Iron Man fan or want to be an Iron Man fan.
The Disappointing
SIEGE: SPIDER-MAN # 1 (w: Brian Reed/ a: Marco Santucci) did not live up to the hype (well, that I gave it), but wasn’t a bad comic. It certainly isn’t the way anyone would have predicted the way this long awaited confrontation between Spider-man and Dark Spider-man (Venom) would have unfolded. There is a very clever twist in the middle (albeit a little ridiculous… add suspension of disbelief here and it goes down easier) and the rest kind of goes downhill from there. Siege: Spider-Man is more like a brick in the road, than an actual conclusion to the Spider-man and Dark Spider-man saga. Grade: C (story: C+/art: C)
AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 628 (w: Roger Stern/a: Lee Weeks) continues the Captain Universe versus Juggernaut, with Spidey in the middle story arc. With Stern at the helm it is no surprise that Amazing Spider-Man #628 reads like one of those “bad guy chases Spidey around New York” stories from the `70s. There aren’t any new tricks to that old dog of a story and we don’t get anywhere with the identity of Captain Universe or why he hates the Juggernaut so much. The back-up feature (w: Mark Waid & Tom Peyer/a: Todd Nauck) is so much pointless filler, that it strains the imagination that it took both Waid & Peyer to put this together. Overall, the Spider-man/Juggernaut/Captain Universe story isn’t bad, but doesn’t distinguish itself from the competition like the rest of the Gauntlet has over the last few months. Grade: C- (story: C-/art: C)
THE GUILD #2 (w: Felicia Day/a: Jim Rugg). It is painful to put this comic in the “disappointing” section, but what makes “the Guild” cool is you can enjoy it without a summary knowledge of WoW or whatever imaginary MMORPG the Guildies are playing. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the comic. If you can relate to the MMORPG Guild #2 is probably pretty amusing. The characters are written, as you would expect in the same “character” that they appear on the show. But otherwise, it is less interesting.
The Bad
Look! No "Bad" titles! That's a good thing! Unfortunately...
The Unreadable
GREEN LANTERN # 53 (w: Geoff Johns/ a: Doug Mahnke) is an extended epilogue for Blackest Night/prologue to Brightest Day.
Something good: There are actually two good things about Green Lantern #53 (and it’s still unreadable, can you believe that?). As he has for the past six months, Sinestro steals the show. In GL #53 Sinestro puts a very definitive end to a completely irrational, reckless and stupid exercise of flirting with jet planes. Thank you Sinestro.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA # 44 (w: James Robinson/a: Mark Bagley) mixes Robinson & Bagley’s downward spiraling JLA arc, the JSA and Brightest Day. What could go wrong? The plot, the pencils, you name it – JLA #44 is an unmitigated disaster. JLA #44 tries desperately to pull together a coherent plot and has too many splash-pages for its own good. Robinson’s dialogue (which is usually one of his strong suits) is forced and crammed into gratuitous action sequences. And it is a good thing that the JLA has a “Kitchen” because the Danger Room has worked out so well for the X-men. Kind of like the Enterprise’s holodeck.
Something good: JLA #44 strains the concept that there is something good in every comic. I was ready to suggest you borrow one of the good things from GL #53 and pretend it goes here, when I decided on Congo Bill. Id’ say more, but we’re going to just leave it at… the big, talking, orange simian is the best part of JLA #44. Which is to say I’d rather have you kick me in the leg than poke me in the eye.
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