Hot Picks! July 28, 2010!

ACTION COMICS #891 - Last month Paul Cornell & Pete Woods launched a new villain-centric, specifically Lex Luthor centered, story arc. The result was a remarkably solid and fun affair. Luthor’s adventure continues as his quest to regain the power of the Orange Lantern takes him on a tour of scum and villainy in the DCU.

FLASH #4 - The Flash has been the biggest surprise coming out of Blackest Night. The first story arc has been a clean and simple comic story, without being mired in the burden of dealing with the return of Barry Allen. Instead, the Flash has been a well executed Barry Allen story, with homage to the historic story arcs and even has a modern-classic feel.

WONDER WOMAN #601 - She has pants. Are you over it yet? Seriously, Robin gets to wear pants, Diana can wear pants. JMS’ re-launch, re-design, and overall re-invention takes to the wing. It has been a long time since Wonder Woman has had a truly successful re-launch (the 1980’s Perez story arc comes to mind). If there were one creator you’d pick for this kind of work, it would probably be JMS, who has tackled big mythology (Thor) before and has a flair for keeping the classic feel of his re-imagined (Brave & the Bold, Supreme Power, etc.) characters intact.

UNCANNY X-MEN #526 - Matt Fraction, Allan Heinberg, Whilce Portacio, and Oliver Copiel lead the X-Men into the post-Second Coming world, as the “Five Lights” story arc begins. And if the return of classic X-Men penciler, Portacio, doesn’t get your attention, how about this: Sebastian Shaw.

WOLVERINE WEAPON X #15 - Jason Aaron & Ron Garney wrap up the time-twisted Deathlok story arc, “Tomorrow Dies Today”. Guest starring just about every Marvel hero you could think of, featuring Bucky-Cap, Spider-man and more. If you haven’t been reading this arc, it’s a good one: action, drama, a twisty-sci fi adventure with Wolverine and a brand new Deathlok (s) right in the middle.

Greg’s Pull-List

Marvel

PUNISHERMAX #9

SECRET AVENGERS #3

SHADOWLAND #1 (2ND PTG)

THOR #612

UNCANNY X-MEN #526

WOLVERINE WEAPON X #15

DC

ACTION COMICS #891

BATMAN: RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #4

DETECTIVE COMICS #867

FIRST WAVE #3

FLASH #4

GARRISON #4

WONDER WOMAN #601

Misc

INCORRUPTIBLE #8

Check back Monday for reviews of many of these books!

Comic Reviews for the week of July 21, 2010

Another good week, 15 titles made it home this week (9 Marvel and 6 DC), but had to wrestle with Comic-Con updates for attention. This is the first week in awhile that there were a few (three) two-star books, to go along with a lot of promising four-star titles. The Avengers take center stage, while (unfortunately) Amazing Spider-man revisits the ramifications of Brand New Day.

Reading Order

AMAZING SPIDERMAN #638 ★★☆☆☆

MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1 ★★★★☆

BRIGHTEST DAY #6 ★★★☆☆

NEW ULTIMATES #3 ★★★★☆

ZATANNA #3 ★★☆☆☆

HEROIC AGE: AGE OF HEROES #3 ★★☆☆☆

NEW AVENGERS #2 ★★★★☆

AVENGERS #3 ★★★★☆

THUNDERBOLTS #146 ★★★☆☆

BLACK WIDOW #4 ★★★☆☆

Unread

BATMAN BEYOND #2

BATMAN STREETS OF GOTHAM #14

DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES #3

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 2 #5

SPIRIT #4

★★★★★ = Really, really good.
★★★★☆ = Better than average.
★★★☆☆ = Average.
★★☆☆☆ = Below average.
★☆☆☆☆ = Not good.
☢ = Unreadable.

Pick of the Week

AVENGERS #3

w: Brian Michael Bendis

a: John Romita, Jr.

Story: ★★★★☆

Art: ★★★★☆

Cover: ★★★☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

The Heroic Age has been a real treat, especially Bendis’ Avengers’ titles. As with the New Avengers, Bendis really makes the most out of the characters and history of this Avengers team. While there is plenty of story in the big (Kang) plot, there is also a ton of interesting interplay going on in the “little” story contained in the issue.

The focus of this issue is an imaginative turn on another team’s (the X-men) classic opponent, which sets up both a very well done battle, but also gives the comic some depth within the Marvel Universe. They turn this into a component that Bendis & company make good use of to move the Kang story along.

As with the New Avengers, Bendis & company’s familiarity with the characters and the Marvel U, make the writing (plot, scripting, etc.) and imagery of this series really stand out.

The Good

NEW AVENGERS #2

w: Brian Michael Bendis

a: Stuart Immonen

Story: ★★★★☆

Art: ★★★☆☆

Cover: ★★★☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

Doctor Strange, Daimon Hellstrom and Brother Voodoo guest star as Luke Cage’s New Avengers continue their first adventure. Bendis’ dialogue, sense of humor, and familiarity with the characters are the high points of this well-written issue. Immonen also continues to deliver “good enough” art throughout, with some really good work inter-mixed.

Bendis’ last turn at defining how magic works in the Marvel Universe left Brother Voodoo as the reigning Sorcerer Supreme. This time a new big bad has emerged and Brother V and the Avengers find themselves in a bit of a pickle (intentional understatement). Magic, in just about every super-hero universe, has proven to a difficult nut to crack. Typically “magic stories” suffer from a diaherra of funny languages, bad myths and funky dressed netherworld creatures. So far, this story arc has done a better job of integrating the “magic” world into the superhero world without crossing into the ridiculous. Okay, I know… it’s a superhero comic and guys can’t really fly or cling to walls. And I know that one of them turns into a 40 foot giant… but really, the magic stories (especially when they go to “other realms”) can be hard to swallow.

THUNDERBOLTS #146

w: Jeff Parker

a: Kev Walker

Story: ★★★☆☆

Art: ★★★★☆

Cover: ★★★☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

After Thunderbolts #145 (and even in parts of this story), this series teetered on the edge and could have gone either way (good or bad). Walker’s art stands out as one of the best parts of the issue and kept me reading when I may have otherwise tuned out.

It is interesting how much reading this new Cage-led Thunderbolts team takes me back to the old Ostrander-penned Suicide Squad/Task Force X series from the 1980s, with Cage in the roles of Rick Flag Jr. and the Bronze Tiger. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, comparisons between Task Force X and these Thunderbolts are kind of inevitable, as they exist basically on the same premise. Now, what made the Suicide Squad successful back in the day was Ostrander’s ability to take a handful of hardcore baddies and make them not only interesting people you want to root for, but to also keep their edge. The new Ant Man tries for this (always) and usually winds up just being disinteresting.

The Thunderbolts are a work-in-progress. The characters (should be) are the straw that stirs the drink in this kind of story and with this team, Parker has fertile ground to work with. That being said, often times in books like this, the actual plot goes from bad-to-lukewarm (pun intended)-to-pretty good, all of which can be made better or rendered irrelevant by how the tensions of the prisoner/heroes is manipulated. Case in point, the first two actual missions for the new T-Bolts have been lukewarm-to-bad, but the dynamic of the team (Parker’s work) and Walker’s art has kept this book on the pull-list.

MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1

Story: ★★★★☆

Art: ★★★★☆

Cover: ★★★★★

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

The Marvelman Classic Primer is really a history lesson as opposed to a comic with a plot or an “introduction” to the character. So, with that in mind the rating is really in regards to how well that was done. If you’re interested in the history of the history of the British character who is about to burst into the Marvel Universe, this primer is for you. There is plenty of interesting (to me anyway) background reading and some really nice pin-ups.

A year ago, at Comic-Con, Marvel announced the acquisition of the Marveman properties. Of course, the first thing I thought of was Alan Moore (and later Neil Gaiman’s) Miracle Man. A year later, as I turned open the first MM reprint book, it occurred to me that Moore’s Miracle Man really didn’t fit in the Marvel U. And yet, he was still on his way. Sort of.

The Marvelman Classic Primer goes a long way to help old guys like me, who have a different character in mind, put this new property into perspective. Marvel Man is coming to the Marvel Universe, we’re (I’m) not sure exactly how or what that means, but with each reprint book and now the primer, the event draws closer. I have to admit, I am not quite as excited as I was before I worked through the whole Miracleman/Marvelman dynamic, but I am starting to really look forward to just “how” the Bullpen plans on bringing MM into the fold. Hopefully they have something better than ret-con’ing him into the history of the Marvel U in mind. Hopefully…

BRIGHTEST DAY #6

w: Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi

a: Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Scott Clark, & Joe Prado

Story: ★★★☆☆

Art: ★★★☆☆

Cover: ★★★★☆

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

The Martian Manhunter story returns! That is good news, as J’onn J’onzz’s adventure nicely bookends the issues’ other chapters. The Hawk, Dove and Alive-man (who’d ever thunk that team-up would be interesting) story continues to be surprisingly compelling. The same can be said for the developments in the Firestorm chapter. That makes three “wins” out of four of the offerings in Brightest Day #6.

The one loser is the Aquaman story, which continues to drown (pun intended) somewhere between trying to update Aquaman and re-invent his history. There are scant few “ret-con” stories that hit the mark for me. The “ret-con” idea (going back and re-writing a character’s history), which`h has become so popular (especially in the DCU), too frequently seems like an imagination short-cut which winds up unnecessarily disrespectful to what has come before. Almost all of the Aquaman portion of BD #6 is dedicated to Aquaman’s latest ret-con, but on the other hand… it looks nice.

Another interesting thing about the Brightest Day storyline is the lack of a continuous or coherent “Brightest Day” story. Sure, all of these kind of inter-relate, but doesn’t it seem odd that all these characters are going about things on their own… especially since their “resurrection” or returns were kind of center-stage at conclusion of Blackest Night? You might think the GL corps, if not the Justice League would be a little more interested in what’s going on. Then again, one of the strengths of the Brightest Day series has been that it isn’t overly bogged down by a ridiculous storyline, but instead is fueled by decent character-specific stories (with the exceptions of Aquaman and the Hawks that is).

NEW ULTIMATES #3

w: Jeph Loeb

a: Frank Cho

Story: ★★★☆☆

Art: ★★★★☆

Cover: ★★★★☆

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

Okay, here’s a little confession: I bought New Ultimates #3 by accident and read it anyway. I hadn’t enjoyed the last Ultimates’ series so wasn’t even reading this series. That being said, Ultimates #3 was well put together comic that was easy to just jump into. Clearly, I came into the middle of the story, but that hardly mattered as there was enough back-story in this issue to catch a reader up quickly, even as excitement seems to burst out in the main story.

Loeb’s Ultimates still don’t have that “gritty”, “real-world” feel of the Millar’s original Ultimates (or current Ultimate Avengers), but if you can get past that, Ultimates #3 is a lot of fun. In another review (New Avengers #2), I discuss how magic-stories can sometimes go awry just trying to bridge the gap between “fantasy magic” and “super hero tights” reality. Like Bendis’ New Avengers, Loeb’s Ultimates doesn’t really fall into that trap. That being said, the way Loeb uses his main antagonist (who was also in Millar’s Ultimates 2), stands as a clear example of how the two writers approach these characters: one is a little more over-the-top superhero (Loeb) and the other a bit more subtle.

The Bad

ZATANNA #3

w: Paul Dini

a: Stephanie Roux

Story: ★★☆☆☆

Art: ★★★☆☆

Cover: ★★★☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Zatanna #2 set-up the on-going story of Brother Night and seemed to set a promise of a slightly longer story arc than it wound up being. While Zatanna #2 was nicely paced and well-balanced between a current story arc and the Brother Night sub-plot, Zatanna #3 just sort of “goes for it”, “all in” you might say, with an almost haphazardly rushed pace.

There was a lot going on throughout the issue, in a not so good way. There were too many villains and way too much backwards-talking. Like the Demon’s rhyming monologues, you know that this gimmick is integral to the character. But it is a lot easier to take Zatanna’s backwards spell-speak when she is the supporting character, as opposed to trying to translate it page after page. Roux’s artwork is nice enough and fits the “theme” of the series, if not a little too derivative of Amanda Conner and Frank Cho.

Unfortunately, with this issue, Zatanna falls off of my pull-list.

HEROIC AGE: AGE OF HEROES #3

Story: ★★☆☆☆

Art: ★★★☆☆

Cover: ★★☆☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆

There are four short stories in Age of Heroes #3: “Agents” of the Avengers; Adam, the Blue Marvel; Taskmaster; and Squirrel Girl. As introductions or “where are you now” stories, only the Taskmaster is a really good offering.

The “Agents” of the Avengers story features Victoria Hand, Sharon Carter and Maria Hill as they take on a classic Thor villain. If the rest of the stories held to this standard, the book would have been okay, but just barely. The gimmick at the end is a little weak, but the story could have been a lot worse.

The Blue Marvel is another one of Marvel’s ret-con properties (like Sentry) and his story here has that same superficial (artificial?) feel to it. There is one good (great?) thing about this story: Hyperion makes an appearance, as a villain.

The Taskmaster introduction on the other hand is the best two pages in the comic, setting the stage for Fred Van Lente & Jefte Palo’s upcoming Taskmaster mini-series.

And then there’s the Squirrel Girl of the Great Lakes’ Avengers, a one-page attempt at humor that falls flat (pun intended, cuz’ you know, Flatman is member of the GLA… oh, never mind).

Hot Picks! New Comics for July 21, 2010

BATMAN BEYOND #2 - Pick up this comic and read the best Bruce Wayne story that will come out all month! I don’t think ANYONE expected the first issue to be as good as it was. Old school (and medium-whipper-snapper school) fans of the Batman Beyond tuned in out of nostalgia and were treated to a very good story that is part of a continuing effort to bring Terry McGuinness’ future into the DCU multiverse.

BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #14 - The sequel to Hush begins here! Tommy Elliot (Hush) has been masquerading as Bruce Wayne, under the “watchful eyes” of Team Bat. Yeah, whoever thought that was a good idea is about to find out how wrong they were…

SPIRIT #4 - So far, there has been one quality series in the First Wave line, the Spirit. The first story arc concluded last issue. David Hine takes over the second arc, with a back-up story by Marv Wolfman. Moritat’s artwork (who remains from the first series) has been one of the high points of the book. Hopefully Hine can keep the pulp-feel to Central City and her characters.

AVENGERS #3 - Time is broken in the Marvel Universe. The Avengers and Kang are right in the middle of it. Various alternate realities are all coming to a head… as it’s “title line” this has been a very well executed series for the Heroic Age Avengers.

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 2 #5 - With the Ultimate Avengers, Millar & Yu have re-connected with the “feel” of what made the Ultimate universe great. Classic Marvel heroes in a more gritty, modern sandbox. Ultimate Avengers 1 was good. Ultimate Avengers 2 has been even better (with only Hawkeye & Fury from the original Ultimates).