Greg's Comic Reviews for the week of June 16, 2010

It was a small week (only 9 titles, 6 Marvel & 3 DC) with a lot of good books. Spider-man took center-stage with two Amazing offerings to go a long with his appearance in the New Avengers. Despite being on the lighter side of the fare, two out of three of the DC books acquitted themselves nicely. The Spirit continues to be a fun and well-produced read and DC Legacies was a real treat.

The Score Card

SPIRIT #3 ★★★★★

AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 634 ★★★★☆

NEW AVENGERS #1 ★★★★☆

DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES #2 ★★★★☆

NEW MUTANTS #14 ★★★★☆

AMAZING SPIDERMAN #633 ★★★☆☆

BRIGHTEST DAY #4 ★☆☆☆☆

BLACK WIDOW #3 ★★★☆☆

AGE OF HEROES #2 ★★☆☆☆

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

Breaking it Down

The Top Dog (Greg’s Top Pick of the Week)

SPIRIT #3 ★★★★★ (w: Mark Schultz/ a: Moritat) The Spirit is quickly becoming one of my favorite books. The Angel Smert story arc comes to its exciting conclusion. The Octopus makes his first (?) appearance as the world of the Spirit continues to bloom. Moritat’s artwork is still one of the high points in the Spirit adding a sense of genuine “pulp” feel in his Miller-esque style. The back-up story (w: Michael Uslan & F.J. De Santo/a: Justiano) is equally pleasing.

The Good

AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 634 ★★★★☆ (w: Joe Kelly/a: Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano) The Guantlet is over! (Finally)... and all this time the Gauntlet has been leading to (perhaps the least hyped Spidey story arc of all time), the Grim Hunt. The Kraven’s long germinating plan finally leads them into direct contact with Spidey. Kaine, Madam Web and a couple of Spider-ladies are on hand to round out the party. One of them even comes to an untimely (if not final) end. There is a lot of story in this one little book and that’s even before you get to the two bonus features (both are pretty good by the way).

NEW AVENGERS #1 ★★★★☆ (w: Brian Michael Bendis/a: Stuart Immonen) Luke Cage, Spider-man, Wolverine, the Thing, and Ms. Marvel – this is going to be the “fun Avengers”! The new team starts off well enough, with Steve Rogers negotiating Cage into the fold. Cage actually has a pretty interesting argument for not being an Avenger, but of course knuckles under (former) Cap’s peer pressure. His selection of team mates is interesting, my best guess was he picked them by the number of covers they appeared on last month (“Hey, you were on 11 covers last month, you must be good!”). The actual story arc that starts in New Avengers #1 lands the new team smack dab in the middle of a battle royale of the heavy hitters of Marvel’s magic universe. Very few comics “do” magic well, there’s no reason to think that this story arc will be any different, but it is off to a good start.

DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES #2 ★★★★☆ (w: Len Wein/a Andy & Joe Kubert) Legacies continues to be a surprisingly good read. Legacies #2 chronicles the rise and “fall” of the Justice Society and the effect that their presence had on the world at large. From their emergence to the McCarthyism challenge (wow, take that Civil War) that sent away, Legacies #2 follows the same present-day narration and back-then “live action” sequencing that the first issue used tying in events of the “common folk” with the happenings of the cape & tights brigade. The back-up feature for Legacies #2 is a quick, but well executed, introduction to the Seven Soldiers of Victory (much more satisfying than Morrison’s @$$-backwards epic ultra-maxi series of a few years back).

NEW MUTANTS #14 ★★★★☆ (w: Zeb Wells/ a: Ibraim Roberson, Lan Medina & Nathan Fox) The Nimrods (in the present) put up much more of a fight this issue as the battle inside the Dome is not going very well for the X-men. Legion joins the battle (and believe it or not, that’s a good thing), while the casualties and fatalities continue to mount. Meanwhile, X-Factor continues their assault on the future and a very powerful, familiar face prepares to enter the fray. And Hope takes another step towards actually fulfilling her destiny in yet another good (very good) installment in the Second Coming saga.

AMAZING SPIDERMAN #633 ★★★☆☆ (w: Zeb Wells/ a: Chris Bachalo) The Lizard’s “Shed” story-arc wraps up the very long running Gauntlet. The new (old) Lizard has evolved into something entirely new and his new powers are much more devastating than he has ever been before. Gone is the bite-first and ask questions Lizard, the new (old) Lizard has some kick-@$$ psionic powers going for him. “Shed” may actually be better than a 3-★ effort, but the story itself feels as if there is a sequence missing between the middle and the big finish. The same can be said for the resolution (?) of the Aunt May subplot that has been going on for way too long for it to simply be over like that.

BLACK WIDOW #3 ★★★☆☆ (w: Marjorie Liu/a: Daniel Acuna) The Black Rose story arc continues, with Elektra on hand to slow things to a grinding halt. Remember the good old days when two comic characters would meet unexpectedly, mistakenly pick a fight and then be best buds just in time to take on the bad guy. Yeah, not so much of that in this issue, there’s a little bit of fighting, a whole lot of posturing and menacing and way too little advancement of an already thin story arc. The Avengers (except for Natasha, of course) are gone and Widow is left on her own. The Black Rose story is almost interesting, but the twists and turns are overly contrived (like reading the last Red Robin series) and are a poor substitute for more substantial writing. Up to this point, the Black Widow series has gotten by on its artwork and guest stars. Too soon to give up yet, but with the already announced impending departure of Acuna, something tells me this title won’t be on the pull-list much longer.

AGE OF HEROES #2 ★★☆☆☆ Straight from the Heroic Age comes four new tasty appetizers to wet your whistle. The best of the lot are the two very short vignettes, Young Masters and The Gauntlet, at the end of the issue. The Gravity (Sean McKeever, David Baldeon & N. Bowling) story sets the stage for McKeever’s homegrown talent’s appearance in last week’s Young Allies series, but somehow lacks the charm that the original series held. A skeptic might think it has something to do with Gravity’s preamble: “Of course nothing went the way I wanted or expected… and then suddenly I’m dead. Then resurrected. Then leading a team of super heroes… I had my secret identity revelaed to the world an then magically forgotten…” a pretty far cry from his humble beginnings, on the other hand if Peter Parker ever retires, this guy should send in his resume. The American Son story (Brian Reed, Chad HARDIN & Victor Olazaba)… uh… no, just say no. The American Son was bad enough, now an American Son mystery… no. The Young Masters (Paul Cornell & Mark Brooks) is intriguing (especially the art), but it is so short that you have to know who these characters are to make any sense of it. While the Gauntlet (Dan Slott & Ty Templeton) offering is a one-page tribute to the Armed Forces.

The Bad

BRIGHTEST DAY #4 ★☆☆☆☆ (written by: Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi/ art: Ivan Reis, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, Oclair Albert) The first three issues of Brightest Day had just enough actual storytelling to pull the rest of the choppy, ridiculous vignettes through to the end of the book. That is not the case for Brightest Day #4, which is more like a collection of bits of stories (which you probably wouldn’t buy if they weren’t over-marketed) than any semblance of a coherent issue. The Deadman story doesn’t get any worse (surprisingly), but doesn’t really take a good turn as he starts hanging out with Dove & Hawk. The Hawks (man & woman) have always had a lot of potential, and when their stories are done well they are done really well. The Hawks’ curse may not be the worst part of their very complex origin(s), but it certainly isn’t being handled very well in Brightest Day. On the other hand it’s good thing for they’ve probably seen Avatar too or they’d probably be really worried about those giant floating mountains. Yes, I know, not exactly original to Avatar either… but too soon DC. Too soon. Don’t blink or you will miss the introduction of the new Aqualad, because you know we need a new one because they just killed the last one. You see how the angle is working now right? “The revolving door of death” is fixed (yeah right) in the DCU, now we’ll just fit new characters into new (think: Buy these toys kids!) costumes. No one will notice. And when they do, we’ll just bring back the originals! (Think the Atom). The Firestorm story is a (dim and shaky) bright spot, in an otherwise very dismal offering.

The Reading Order

AGE OF HEROES #2 ★★☆☆☆

AMAZING SPIDERMAN #633 ★★★☆☆

NEW AVENGERS #1 ★★★★☆

BRIGHTEST DAY #4 ★☆☆☆☆

DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES #2 ★★★★☆

AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 634 ★★★★☆

BLACK WIDOW #3 ★★★☆☆

NEW MUTANTS #14 ★★★★☆

SPIRIT #3 ★★★★★

Comic Book Reviews: June 9, 2010

This was a good week! 15 titles (13 Marvel and 1 DC/Wildstorm and 1 indies) came home and the majority of them were pretty good. X-Men: Second Coming is back and Avengers’ are represented by the Invincible Iron Man, Captain America and the new Avengers Academy. The Rawhide Kid was nice surprise and the Punisher: Max has an introspective look as only a Max title can!

The Score Card

RAWHIDE KID #1 ★★★★★

PUNISHERMAX #8 ★★★★☆

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #27 ★★★☆☆

ULTIMATE COMICS: AVENGERS 2 #3 ★★★★☆

CAPTAIN AMERICA #606 ★★★★☆

NEMESIS #2 ★★★★☆

AVENGERS ACADEMY #1 ★★★★☆

UNCANNY X-MEN #525 ★★★☆☆

ASTONISHING X-MEN : EXOGENESIS #2 ★★★☆☆

DREAM LOGIC # 1 ★★★★☆

YOUNG ALLIES #1 ★★★☆☆

IRON MAN NOIR #3 ★★★☆☆

SHIELD #2 ★★☆☆☆

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

Breaking it Down

The Top Dog (Greg’s Top Pick of the Week)

RAWHIDE KID #1 ★★★★★ (w: Ron Zimmerman/a: Howard Chaykin) If you hadn’t been reading The Lone Ranger (or Desperados), it may have been a while since you’ve read a good western comic. If you’re jonesing for a good cowboy fix, the Rawhide Kid is it. Zimmerman returns to the character that he helped stir the height of controversy a few years ago. Whether the sexual innuendo that is woven into the dialogue of the series (and now the character) are your cup or tea or not, this is still a really good western that draws upon classic western themes. The Kid is a great archetype, with a fantastic twist to the old genre. The sequence with the villain, Cristos Pike and his henchman, is old-school Justice League hilarious. And Chaykin’s art is a real treat, as good as his work with American Flagg! This series may not be everyone’s cup of tea (which is their loss) as it has started off fantastically. Especially the very-unexpected cameo at the end of the first issue, talk about flamin’ surprises!

The Good

PUNISHER: MAX #8 ★★★★☆ (w: Jason Aaron/a: Steve Dillon) As “Shadowlands” gets ready to kick off in the Marvel Universe proper, with some of the same players, the Punisher: Max series continues its ultra-violent, simple-straight forward, and brutal plot. Don’t ask why, but I have this sinking suspicion that about three chapters (or less) into “Shadowland” you’ll be longing for the Kingpin and Bullseye to be more like these re-imagined versions than their 616 counterparts. The Punisher has always danced a strange jig around waging his war against crime without waging war against the law (or at least most of those who enforce it). While Bullseye continues to try to “get to know” what it’s like to “be” Frank Castle, the Punisher has to re-define the very concept of what does it take to “be” the Punisher. Even the Kingpin has his own look in the mirror, in this “mirror darkly chick-flick” version of the Punisher: Max.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #27 ★★★☆☆ (w: Matt Fraction/a: Salvador Larocca) One of the downsides of being the best of anything is that everyone always expects you to be that best. So if you happen to do something that is good, but not quite great, it gets noticed in a not-so good way. Invincible Iron Man #27 is one of those books, it is a good book in the middle of a strong story arc, but it reads like a middle chapter, not really “filler”, but not really the meat & potatoes of the story either. While there is some good action, it’s starting to seem like the new suit has been around for a while and we’ve hardly gotten to see what the old boy can do. On the other hand we have a lot of movement going on in Stark: Resilient (the company): an old friend returns to help out (surprise!) and Pepper gets her way (not surprise!). Larocca’s artwork is good, but Stark is looking painfully more and more like Josh Holloway from Lost with each issue. There is a pretty cool Rhodey moment towards the end, which is even more poignant after his whole cyborg-not-cyborg adventures of late, but overall this issues is more “part of...” than anything else.

ULTIMATE COMICS: AVENGERS 2 #3 ★★★★☆ (w: Mark Millar/ a: Leinil Francis Yu) The first two issues of UC: Avengers 2 were surprisingly better than expected. But if you’d read the previews you knew that Ghost Rider was on tap. Despite the very commercial comic-turn that the Ultimate line took with Ultimatum, it is still hard to imagine the Ghost Rider in the Ultimate U and even harder to think that it could be done well. UC: Avengers 2 continues to surprise. While the Ghost Rider may very well be a throwback to the wild-ride of the 70s, a little bit demon, a little bit biker and really hard to imagine it being serious (Millar-Ultimate serious) – but Millar and Yu pull it off and UC: Avengers 2 #3 continues to deliver across the board.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #606 ★★★★☆ (w: Ed Brubaker/ a: Butch Guice) Captain America #606 is a tidal wave of Marvel legacy with elements that run from the Silver age, through the 90’s into the Heroic Age. A long time ago Captain America was blown up and cast into the ocean where he was frozen in suspended animation until the Avengers revived him decades later. The same explosion was believed (for decades) to have killed Cap’s kid-sidekick, Bucky. Fast-forward and Bucky is back and has been living as a Soviet super-spy, he teams back up with Cap, who promptly finds himself dead. Bucky becomes Cap. Now while Buck was fighting Capitalism in the cold Soviet, the man responsible for the explosion that ended their WWII career, Baron Zemo had also re-emerged, only to have his plans foiled by, none-other than his old rival Captain America. Zemo dies, but as these things seem to go, his son takes up the hood and a new Baron Zemo emerges. Interestingly enough, one of junior’s more memorable capers involved creating the Thunderbolts, who turned out to be a bunch of super villains pretending to be heroes. And you open Captain America #606, Bucky is now Captain America. The original Captain America, Steve Rogers, is now the head super-cop of the United States and Baron Zemo (Junior) is back and this time he is up to no good. The Zemo story arc is off to a good start as the villains plot begins even as Cap-Bucky is still reeling from the events of the Two Captains arc. Brubaker & Guice make the very most of this very complicated relationship of characters and they don’t shirk away from any of the “history” of the key players.

NEMESIS #2 ★★★★☆ (w: Mark Millar/a: Steve McNiven) For production value alone Nemesis is a good read. The story concept is cool and the art is fantastic, but it is hard to shake the feeling that this series was written with one eye towards the silver screen. Not that Nemesis would make a bad movie. Nemesis #2 gives us more background and even provides an identity for the masked anti-hero star of the show. More of his capers are revealed and there’s even a (somewhat familiar) car chase.

AVENGERS ACADEMY #1 ★★★★☆ (w: Christos Gage/a: Mike McKone) At first Avengers Academy reads like a re-issue of early Initiatives issues upgraded to reflect a post-Dark Reign era instead of post-Civil War, but then you start to think: Hank Pym, Speedball, Quicksilver, and Tigra... are the instructors. Hank Pym the guy who invented (keeps inventing?) Ultron? But before you can realize the implications of this strange bunch, Gage brings the mix to the forefront. All the while, you are treated to an introduction to the Academy cadets and all of their teen-social angst and drama. Oh yeah, and super-powers. As it turns out, there is a very interesting twist to the organization of this particular academy. While on the surface the twist may help make sense of the chosen instructors, after a little bit more reflection it’s kind of like hiring a kleptomaniac as a night watchman. Regardless the plot is strong (except for the whole wolf in charge of the chickens concept) and the new characters and their backgrounds are interesting enough. Add the plot twist and this is a fun first issue.

ASTONISHING X-MEN : EXOGENESIS #2 ★★★☆☆ (w: Warren Ellis/a: Kaare Andrews). This Astonishing mini-series has a really interesting plot and Ellis makes great use of most of the X-men. The same can be said about Andrews’ artwork. There are two glaring exceptions that set this title back: whatever Ellis is doing with Emma Frost is just weird and a lot creepy and there is a fairly important plot reference back to Ellis’ last run on Astonishing X-men. Now, if you know what that means you’re going to be okay. If you didn’t read Ghost Boxes, you might be a little lost or at best just feel like you’re missing some interesting (important?) plot information. If you can get past the strangely diminutive Frost, the rest of the Exogenesis is a very interesting character-driven story that finds the X-men in Africa on the verge of what looks like the re-birth of the mutant-race. Or is it? The Beast steals the show, while Cyclops plays the mutant-leader to a “t” and Storm’s role as conscience and native guide is a very effective use of the character. Overall, really if it weren’t for Frost this series would be no less than ★★★★☆s.

UNCANNY X-MEN #525 ★★★☆☆ (w: Matt Fraction/a: Terry Dodson) Cyclops has sent Cable and X-Force on a suicide mission to the future, we’re all pretty sure we’ll never see that Wolverine fellow again. Hope almost demonstrates a very familiar looking mutant power and the Avengers and Fantastic Four are still outside of the dome trying to bust through. Ten chapters into Second Coming and we have the first, “huh? Too bad I wasn’t reading any X-Titles before Second Coming when Professor X shows up, inside the dome. I guess I had just assumed he was dead again. Or off planet, or dead and off planet. There is even a nice little shout-out to the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the news cameras is from “…RON-4”, the inimitable KRON, beacon of news for the Bay no doubt. Uncanny #525 is a good chapter of Second Coming, but lacks the legs to stand on its own as a single issue, which is to be expected this late in the game. Regardless, expectations continue to rise for this series and it continues to meet the challenge.

DREAM LOGIC # 1 ★★★★☆ (David Mack) Dream Logic is more of a sketchbook than anything else. As such things go, this is a very nice introspective into the creator of Kabuki and popular comic artist. While these types of books come out too infrequently (or are very expensive) if they are done well they can be nice showcases for the creators. The rating on this book applies more to the production value than the content in Dream Logic. $5.99 is a great price for a book like this, as opposed to the $14.99 or $49.99 price tags that accompany some of the bigger, over-produced (think hardcover, glossy pages, etc.). The coffee-book type books may have a certain appeal, but books like Dream Logic or the pamphlets you can purchase at Cons (or creator-run websites) are much more “in touch” with the medium.

YOUNG ALLIES #1 ★★★☆☆ (w: Sean McKeever/a: David Baldeon) If you haven’t been following along, at first Young Allies may seem like an alternate (say, MC2) Universe, but the Heroic Age banner tells us otherwise. The Young Allies features four familiar characters (Firestar, Nomad, Gravity and not-Spider-Girl) and one new one (introduced in this issue). The familiar characters have been kicking around for awhile, heck Firestar has been around since the early 80’s (Spider-man and his Amazing Friends animated series!), hung out with some New Warriors and on the fringes of the X-community. Arana, who is going by “not-Spider-Girl”, has lost her powers but is pal’ing around with Rikki Barnes (Nomad), the former Bucky from an alternate universe. Think of Nomad as a “What if the Robin from Dark Knight” wound up in the DCU - where no one she knew was around (or knew her), that’s pretty much Rikki in a nutshell. The fourth familiar character is Gravity, who like Firestar, has bounced around a bit (and even died once already!) since his semi-successful first appearance (the McKeever-penned 2005 mini-series). These “kids” are right in McKeever’s wheel-house, the story is light and simple but still juggles multiple sub-plots. Overall Young Allies is a “good little” comic that lacks the “bite” of an actual Avengers or mainstream Marvel U title.

IRON MAN: NOIR #3 ★★★☆☆ (w: Scott Snyder/a: Manuel Garcia) The pulp-noir Iron Man story hits its stride as Tony finally gets into armor! This series has been one twist and surprise after the next and Iron Man: Noir #3 is no different. Garcia’s artwork, which was strong enough to carry the first two issues, seems a bit stretched. Still, the "cliffhanger"-Saturday Matinee feel to the series continues as it rushes towards the end of the mini.

The Not-Really that Good (But hard to say “bad”)

SHIELD #2 ★★☆☆☆ (written & illustrated by: Jonathan Hickman & Dustin Weaver) Hickman may very well be a very talented writer, but so far as SHIELD and the Fantastic Four go, they are definitely an acquired taste. Both are complex and have intricate plots, but somehow miss the mark. SHIELD is chock full of historical elements, interesting characters and gigantic sweeping plots. Unfortunately it is also very difficult to become invested in. This maybe a good title, if you can buy into it the big picture.

The Reading Order

SHIELD #2 ★★☆☆☆

DREAM LOGIC # 1 ★★★★☆

ULTIMATE COMICS: AVENGERS 2 #3 ★★★★☆

NEMESIS #2 ★★★★☆

YOUNG ALLIES #1 ★★★☆☆

ASTONISHING X-MEN : EXOGENESIS #2 ★★★☆☆

CAPTAIN AMERICA #606 ★★★★☆

PUNISHERMAX #8 ★★★★☆

RAWHIDE KID #1 ★★★★★

AVENGERS ACADEMY #1 ★★★★☆

UNCANNY X-MEN #525 ★★★☆☆

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #27 ★★★☆☆

IRON MAN NOIR #3 ★★★☆☆

Unread

BATMAN #700

SERENITY FLOAT OUT ONE SHOT # 1

CHEW #11

Greg's comic reviews for the week of May 26, 2010

19 titles (10 Marvel and 7 DC/Wildstorm and 2 indies) came home this week. 16 are reviewed from this week and five from last week! Overall it was a pretty good week with most of the titles falling into the above-average category, but there more stinkers than normal this week too. Second Coming is still going strong and the Heroic Age is off to a heroic start.

The Score Card

X-FORCE #27 ★★★★★

SECRET AVENGERS #1 ★★★★★

THUNDERBOLTS #144 ★★★★☆

SECRET WARRIORS #16 ★★★☆☆

AMAZING SPIDERMAN ANNUAL #37 ★★★★☆

AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 632 ★★★★☆

WOLVERINE WEAPON X #13 ★★★★☆

BRAVE AND THE BOLD #34 ★★★★☆

JUSTICE LEAGUE: RISE OF ARSENAL #3 ★★★★☆

DETECTIVE COMICS #865 ★★★☆☆

GARRISON #2 ★★★☆☆

THOR #610 ★★☆☆☆

THE WEB #9 ★★☆☆☆

BATMAN: RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #2 ★☆☆☆☆

MIGHTY CRUSADERS SPECIAL # 1 ☢

X-MEN ORIGINS: EMMA FROST #1 ☢

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

Breaking it Down

The Top Dog (Greg’s Top Pick of the Week)

X-FORCE #27 ★★★★★ (w: Craig Kyle & Chris Yost/a: Mike Choi) X-Men: Second Coming has become a roller coaster and we are all going to be sad when the ride stops and we have to go back to monthly X-Men titles. Picking up with the nimrods pouring into the Stephen King enclosure that has trapped the X-Men, X-Force has a series of pages filled with great action and then turns the dial and morphs into an extraordinary job of storytelling. One quick note about the nine pages of (almost) wordless action, this is the kind of storytelling that Hickman was shooting for in the Fantastic Four a few months ago: tons of things happen and you don’t need a word to explain it. Cyclops comes clean about X-Force (which goes over pretty well and is handled masterfully) and then sends the team on perhaps their most important and maybe last mission. Hopefully we will look back and Second Coming will stand beside the great crossovers of all time.

The Good

SECRET AVENGERS #1 ★★★★☆ (w: Ed Brubaker/a: Mike Deodato) The wait is over. Steve Rogers is back in action and has a new team to lead. bThere are few things that are curious about the Secret Avengers, first of all is the “b-list” heroes that were chosen, but the big question is why didn’t Rogers press Nick Fury into leading this task-force, which on the surface seemed to have the same operational directive as Fury’s Secret Warriors. I have no doubt that the Rogers/Fury conversation will be chronicled somewhere. The actual plot of Secret Avengers #1 is really good. The characters handled well and the story not only moves along quickly, but has a nice foundation in Avengers’ history: the Serpent Crown. Secret Avengers #1 continues the successful launch of the Heroic Age.



AMAZING SPIDERMAN ANNUAL #37 ★★★★☆ (w: Karl Kesel/a: Paulo Siqueira) “…I have the proportional brains of a spider!” The “first meeting” between Captain America and Spider-man is a cute, well-thought out little story. It is a bitter pill to swallow that markers from “today” are referenced in a story that should have taken place decades ago, but as we all know time is on the side of comic book storytellers, who have to content with heroes who never age. The very idea that Captain America references Wikipedia in their initial meeting is almost painful, despite an otherwise decent offering. Siqueira’s art is somewhere around average, maybe even better in some parts, but less so in others. The real “win” visually is seeing the old-school “modern” Captain America super-hero costume (the one that looks more like a one-piece hooded tunic and less like two-pieces). The second feature (w: Kurt Busiek/a: Pat Olliffe) is also, cute, but less well produced over all. And even though he has a prominent role in the second story, Stan Lee’s movie-like cameo in first part is awesome.



AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 632 ★★★★☆ (w: Zeb Wells/a: Chris Bachallo & Emma Rios) “Shed” is the real deal. Like many of Spidey’s nemesis over the past few years, the Lizard is going through a transformation. While much (as in “all the rest”) of “the Gauntlet” has been more or less a “day in the life” of Spider-Man, “Shed” is the kind of heart-wrenching, gut-turning story that “the Gauntlet” should have been all along. The Lizard is a cold-blooded (literally), ruthless monster… with new powers. Rios’ art is a faint shadow of Bachallo, which might be good in other circumstances. The Grim Hunt is on its way and “Shed” is a great pre-lude.

WOLVERINE WEAPON X #13 ★★★★☆ (w: Jason Aaron/a: Ron Garney) was almost a ★★★☆☆ and very almost a ★★★★★. The Deathlok story started great, became the Terminator which left it sort of predictable. And then the Heroic Age dawned and the Avengers showed up and the story got back on track. Aaron IS one of the best new-writers in the comic universe, as he is demonstrating in Weapon X, Astonishing: Spider-Man & Wolverine and Punisher: Max. Weapon X #13 could have gone a lot of ways, this future-past-Deathlok story was starting to flail a little last issue, but rebounds solidly in this installment.

SECRET WARRIORS #16 ★★★★☆ (w: Jonathan Hickman/a: Gianluca Gugliotta) A long-standing, hard-to-test, theory has been that a comic should be both serialized and easy to “jump-on” anywhere along the ride. That’s a hard theory to test because too frequently mediocre comics on the verge of being good are canceled and books that are good quickly end up on the pull-list or their introductory issues get reprinted fast (accessibly enough) to read before making the “jump”. Secret Warriors is one of those books that gives readers the chance to test the theory. It sprung out of Secret Invasion and has its actual origins in the Secret War (2004, not to be confused with Secret Wars from the 80’s).

So how did Secret Warriors #16 do? Not so bad. Hickman does an admirable job of moving a very heavy and complicated storyline along and still do enough re-cap/intro work to keep a new reader informed. The plot itself is in the middle and is a little hard to follow – which in this case is really the readers’ fault and not the author. One of the acceptable losses in picking up a story in the middle is that you have to be prepared to run with it until you figure out what is going on, and hopefully you do (figure it out that is). Overall, Secret Warriors #16 was good enough to move the title over to the pull-list.



BRAVE AND THE BOLD #34 ★★★★☆ (w: J. Michael Stracyznski/a: Jesus Saiz) JMS gets comics and I can’t wait for his re-launch of Superman and Wonder Woman. The good thing about Brave & the Bold #34 is that it is a classic Legion travels back in time story, with a twist or two. The first twist being the team-up with the original Doom Patrol and the second is that this is the first of JMS’ B&B stories to be more than one self-contained story. The downside is that pretty much all Legion travels back in time stories are very, very much the same. Regardless, JMS & Saiz do a great job with both classic DCU teams.

GARRISON #2 ★★★☆☆ (w: Jeff Mariotte/ a: Francesco Francavilla). Garrison #2 fell just a little shy of the very high expectations set by Garrison #1, but just “just shy”. Much of the issue seems like “filler” and is little boring, but there are important set-up details (introduction to the world of Garrison) throughout and the final sequence goes along way to explaining “Garrison”. There are lot of cool ideas thrown together in an interesting way in Garrison, which make it a good read – even if it comes off as not entirely original in any way.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: RISE OF ARSENAL #3 ★★★☆☆ (w: J.T. Krul/ a: Geraldo Borges, Kevin Sharpe, & Sergio Arino) Let’s be honest, the way the “Fall of Green Arrow” turned out and after the first two issues of this series(a robotic arm? going back t drugs?), expectations for Rise of Arsenal #3 were pretty low. While helping to prove the theory that more than two writers or artists usually spells doom (at least for that particular component), the story for Arsenal makes a little bit of a rebound. The art is, at best, unremarkable (there are three artists), but Krul does a decent job of setting up the finale of the series and hopefully sets up a new life for Roy. There are a lot of ways to go from here, good luck Mr. Krul.

DETECTIVE COMICS #865 ★★★☆☆ (w: David Hine/a: Jeremy Haun). The Black Mask and Jeremiah Arkham storylines wrap up in an almost satisfying little package. Hine stops one step short of actually completing a long-coming transformation, by leaving his last victim (of the issue) alive instead of killing a useful member of the Batman mythos. While actually killing said character would have left a small vacuum it would have been a nice way to cement the new direction and sincerity of Black Mask. Meanwhile the Asylum is not in good hands and hopefully that means good things for Bat-readers. It was a little disappointing to see some of the character background work that they had done with Jeremiah kind of go the way it did, but it is understandable and works with the story. Best Bat-book of the week!

The Bad

THOR #610 ★★☆☆☆ (w: Kieron Gillen/a: Doug Braithwaite): “The Siege: Epilogue” is pretty light reading and lacks the significance that you might expect from the Asgardians, seeing how integral part of the Siege story. That doesn’t bode well for post-Siege Thor stories. Equally jammed into the issue is Thor’s long-awaited confrontation with Ragnarok. Unfortunately, that battle is also less than satisfying. Braithwaite’s artwork is decent, but overall Thor #610 is disappointing.

THE WEB #9 ★★☆☆☆ (w: Matt Sturges/a: Roger Robinson) is the penultimate chapter of the Web series. In other words, Web #10 is the last issue, which is a shame because Robinson is really starting to hit his stride with the artwork, which absolutely carries this story. On the other hand, it seems like Sturges has been trying very hard to keep a dying patient alive. Regrettably, that transition started around Web #6 and has gone downhill ever since. The worst part is that the John Raymond (Web) character and the concept of the Web is good enough to carry its own series.



BATMAN: RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #2 ★☆☆☆☆ (w: Grant Morrison/a: Frazer Irving) Bruce Wayne continues his journey through time, no this isn’t a Booster Gold comic – but apparently that idea worked out so well that it has been adapted for this mini-series. We do get to see a shadowy explanation for why the Justice League is all bent out of shape about Bruce reaching the present and unfortunately it leaves us wishing we didn’t know. In a throw-back to Morrison’s Doom Patrol run, the shadowy explanation is abstract and borderline ridiculous. On the other hand, the witch-trial plot is slightly more interesting, but would make a better ElseWorlds story than a chapter in this “shadowy” (translated: murky and has no substance) mini-series. Irving’s artwork is nice, but I suspect it helps to be a fan of his work.

MIGHTY CRUSADERS SPECIAL # 1 ☢ (w: Matthew Sturges, Brandon Jerwa, John Rozum, and Eric S. Trautmann/a: Javi Pina). Apparently this is the week to test comic theories. One such theory holds that if it takes more than two writers or more than one penciler, the book probably isn’t going to be any good. Last year, JMS re-launched the old Archie comics heroes for DCU under the “Red Circle” banner. Once the actual stories started coming out, really only the Web held its own. The Shield wasn’t bad, but suffered from an unimaginative plot. The Mighty Crusaders unfortunately proves the theory and reads like a really bad independent comic or someone’s Superhero role-playing adventure.

And while proving one theory, the Mighty Crusaders Special disproves another: that there is something good about every comic. There really is no compelling reason to read this comic. Actually, Pina’s artwork isn’t bad, there just isn’t any reason to keep looking at it other than for arts’ sake.


X-MEN ORIGINS: EMMA FROST #1 ☢ (w: Valerie d’Orazio/a: Karl Moline), there were a couple of the X-Men Origins one-shots that were pretty good, the Jean Grey one comes to mind. It could be that the character basically isn’t solidly put together to tell a strong origin story, especially one that covers so much of her life or it could be that this is just a bad Emma Frost story. Either way you can avoid this comic without too much hand-wringing.



The good thing: There is a good thing about this really bad comic! It is nice to see the old Hellion costumes. It had been awhile and they’re still 80’s funky, but nice to see anyway.

The Reading Order

SECRET AVENGERS #1 ★★★★★

THUNDERBOLTS #144 ★★★★☆

SECRET WARRIORS #16 ★★★☆☆

AMAZING SPIDERMAN ANNUAL #37 ★★★★☆

AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 632 ★★★★☆

WOLVERINE WEAPON X #13 ★★★★☆

THOR #610 ★★☆☆☆

BATMAN: RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #2 ★☆☆☆☆

BRAVE AND THE BOLD #34 ★★★★☆

THE WEB #9 ★★☆☆☆

MIGHTY CRUSADERS SPECIAL # 1 ☢

JUSTICE LEAGUE: RISE OF ARSENAL #3 ★★★★☆

DETECTIVE COMICS #865 ★★★☆☆

GARRISON #2 ★★★☆☆

X-FORCE #27 ★★★★★

X-MEN ORIGINS: EMMA FROST #1 ☢

Unread

INCORRUPTIBLE # 6

X-MEN SECOND COMING: BLIND SCIENCE #1

Bonus Coverage from Last week (5/19/10)

BOOSTER GOLD #32 ★★☆☆☆ (w: Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis/ a: Chris Batista) The sense of humor missing from JL: Generation Lost is rampant throughout Booster Gold #32. Unfortunately, what works as “JLA-themed Spidey banter” when the team uses it comes off snarky and awkward when only one character and a bunch of strangers try it. Unfortunately through out BG #32, the dialogue acts more like a distraction than actually adding to the story. Truth be told, much of the story seemed to written around the amusing banter (which is not such a good idea). Booster is still bouncing through the timestream, running errands for Rip Hunter, and he winds up on Daxam the day that Darkseid has come to terraform the planet in his own image. Daxam, where all the inhabitants have Kryptonian like powers... luckily for Booster no Daxamites actually show up in the issue. A side note, the actual events of Darkseid’s coming to Daxam are part of one of the greatest run of issues in any comic, The Legion of Superheroes’ “Great Darkness Saga” (Legion of Superheroes, vol 2, 290-294), which Giffen co-wrote and co-illustrated. Giffen’s co-writer at the time was none other than Paul Levitiz, who returned from a twenty-year hiatus to re-launch the Legion into their own series this week.


RESCUE #1 ★★★☆☆ (w: Kelly Sue DeConnick/a: Andrea Mutti) almost falls into the same boat as this week’s Zatanna #1. There really isn’t anything wrong with Rescue #1, but the good parts are just “good” and not “great”. Not every book has to be part of a mega-event and Rescue #1 does deliver a very satisfying Pepper Potts story and makes fantastic (okay, there is a really “fantastic” part) use of an old friend. Rescue #1 is an empowerment story and comes from a very soft-and-mushy place. The upside of Rescue #1 is it is a companion one-shot to the Invincible Iron Man and isn’t trying to sell Rescue (or Pepper) as a leading-lady type character. In that regard, this story works and works really well. The downside, if you aren’t really into the Invincible Iron Man or Pepper Potts, this book will probably make go,”ehh”.

ZATANNA #1 ★★★☆☆ (w: Paul Dini/ a: Stephanie Roux) Dini & Roux put together a nice and enjoyable package for Zatanna, but you are still left wondering if this series wouldn’t do better as a Second Feature in a Justice League book. As first issues go, you expect a bit of character background, some exploration of the native environment of the series, an introduction to the supporting cast and a plot that will compel you to buy the next issue. While enjoyable, for the most part Zatanna #1 lacks most of those qualities. There isn’t anything wrong with Zatanna #1, however the protagonist (Zatanna), antagonist (Brother Night & company), supporting characters (some cop guy) and the plot lack any real enduring charisma. It is still a win for the title to break an average score with an unremarkable first offering, though you’ll probably hard pressed to really want to part with your hard-earned $2.99 for issue number two next month.

DC UNIVERSE: LEGACIES #1★★★★☆ (w: Len Wein/a:Scot Kolins & Andy Kubert) At first glance this ten-issue mini-series looks like a mistake, but that notion quickly falls away as the story starts to get going. It’s tough to tell a “Golden Age” story and appeal to a contemporary audience. While the artwork harkens back to days gone by, it doesn’t really reach out and grab you until you start to become engrossed by Wein’s storytelling. Remarkably the plot follows two kids that you’ve never heard of as they cross paths with heroes you probably know slightly better and still manages to keep you riveted. The Dr. Fate and Spectre (w: Len Wein/a: J.G. Jones) back-up story looks better, but tells a much weaker story than the entrée. Next issue promises two more stories: The Golden Age and the Seven Soldiers. While the DCU may be an absolute train-wreck of continuity, this series has potential. On a completely-geeky note, one of the baddies in the first story is: “Mike Moran”, which is also the alter ego of Miracle Man, who will very shortly be re-introduced to the world in the Marvel U as “Marvel Man”. I know, totally geeky.

ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS #1 (ONE-SHOT) ★★★☆☆ 36 one-page introductions – like the ones you might see as filler-space at the back of an issue (for all I know, these are re-prints). Remarkably, more than 30 of them written by Fred Van Lente, who has the potential to become a really strong workhorse in the Marvel stable. His work on Amazing has been great, but Iron Man: Legacy... not so much. Overall the one-pagers are so-so, but overall this is a pretty good way to shell-out a lot of information quickly.