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 June 3, 2010

A remarkably small week! Only seven titles (3 Marvel and 2 DC/Wildstorm and 2 indies) came home this week. The Avengers continue lead the pack, while Brightest Day doesn’t suck. There is a painful lack of X-Men: Second Coming offerings this week. Sometimes books sit on the desk unread because I’m not caught up (for example, Dust Wars from this week is a first issue of a sequel, whose first two-part story still waits for my complete attention). Sometimes I like to save them to read in small clumps or story-arcs (like Irredeemable this week). Sometimes I set books aside that I know (think) are going to be good to savor them. Then, if the week gets away from me and they’re still sitting there. The Spirit and Streets of Gotham are two books that deserve better than waiting two weeks before being cracked open. Next time…

The Score Card

AVENGERS: THE ORIGIN #3 ★★★★★

HAWKEYE AND MOCKINGBIRD #1 ★★★★☆

AVENGERS PRIME #1 ★★★☆☆

BRIGHTEST DAY #3 ★★★☆☆

JOKER'S ASYLUM : THE RIDDLER #1 ★★☆☆☆

Released May 19, 2010

BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #12 ★★★★★

THE SPIRIT #2 ★★★★☆

Unread

IRREDEEMABLE #14

DUST WARS #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)

AVENGERS: THE ORIGIN #3 ★★★★☆ (w: Joe Casey/a: Phil Noto) Noto’s artwork still carries the day in this series and Casey’s plot continues to hold together the classic Avengers origin while respectfully re-imagining it for a more civilized time. “The Origin” really captures the essence and nature of the all the characters, even Reed Richards in a guest appearance. Time is hard for comics, where time keeps moving though characters never age. It is difficult to modernize an old story and still keep true to both what has gone on before and what is going on right now. Most of these kinds of stories wind up pretty bad. “The Origin” is the rare exception.

The Good

BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #12 ★★★★★ (w: Paul Dini/a: Dustin Nguyen) Streets has been the best Bat-book for about a year now. The long-running Zsasz storyline has come to a fantastic close and the new storyline begins almost before you realize it’s started. Damian “cleans up” a loose thread from the Zsasz arc and Dini goes a long way to establish the young Boy Wonder as a permanent fixture in the Bat-mythos.

THE SPIRIT #2 ★★★★☆ (w: Mark Schultz/a: Moritat) The Spirit has not only been a wonderful introduction to the storied world of the Spirit but does so with a better than average story and fantastic artwork. Schultz’s story and character work are simple, straightforward and delightful. Moritat’s art continues to develop with very heavy influence from Miller & Janson’s work in the 80’s: a brilliant complement to the plot.

HAWKEYE AND MOCKINGBIRD #1 ★★★★☆ (w: Jim McCann/a: David Lopez) This series deserves better than it is going to get (10 issues, 15 tops...). Hawkeye/Clint Barton done well is a fun character to read and watch play. He has a checkered past, a sense of humor and a gunslinger/knight in shining armor sort of noble streak that have always made him fan-favorite. Mockingbird/Bobbi Morse is still just a knock-off of Black Widow, Black Canary, now Ms. Marvel, or whichever female spy Bendis is toying with this week. The unfortunate comparison to Black Canary is inevitable and doesn’t favor poor Bobbi. The overall plot of H&W is pretty good and like any good first issue, this one is chockfull of star-spangled guest stars. There’s even a little spoiler of things to come for one Steve Rogers which is kind of interesting. One of the best bits in the series is the WCA… which long time readers (myself included) may have been bilked into thinking this was a reincarnation of the old West Coast Avengers (WCA), thankfully its not. It is something far worse off and something way better to read about (at least so far). There is also a little Mockingbird mystery afoot, which may go a long way to help separating her from the pack, hopefully.

AVENGERS: PRIME #1 ★★★☆☆ (w: Brian Michael Bendis/a: Alan Davis) Avengers: Prime #1 gets a higher grade on the strength of a few pages where Steve Rogers and Tony Stark get into post-Siege. Time-travelling or reality-jumping stories are usually gimmicky and shallow, as it is difficult to tell a good story, build a complete universe/backstory and fill it with interesting supporting characters. So imagine what happens when Stark, Rogers and the God of Thunder stumble into one of those nexus of reality things. Of course, you can probably already guess (seeing as how the rest of the Marvel Universe has moved on post-Siege) that whatever happens (plotwise) is going to be like one of those classic episodes from Star Trek where they go along way, do a bunch of cool things and end up in front of the same planet they started at in the beginning of the show. Still there is undoubtedly more Bendis-goodness in store for Rogers and Stark. The back-up story is also a pretty good re-telling of the Avengers’ origin.

BRIGHTEST DAY #3 ★★★☆☆ (w: Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi/a: Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark & Joe Prado) It is hard to imagine that Brightest Day seems to be holding its own despite itself. The miniseries and connected DCU titles are loosely held together by the inane idea that there is some unifying plan behind the “resurrection” of a dozen DCU heroes and villains. Oh yeah, and the White Lantern. None of that makes any sense and the more that Johns and company tells the less interesting it becomes. The Brightest Day series actual is less of a contiguous story and more like a collection of barely-related stories featuring second-rate characters. A good portion of these are mind-numbingly painful to read: Deadman (which is apparently the central, unifying story), the Hawks and the jury is still out on Aquaman. On the other hand, the Martian Manhunter and Firestorm sequences are at the very least interesting reading. Surprisingly the artwork is neither disjointed (with so many artists), nor in any way spectacular – you would really expect at least one of them to stand out, and none of them really does.

The Bad

JOKER'S ASYLUM : THE RIDDLER #1 ★★☆☆☆ (w: Peter Calloway/a: Andrews Guinaldo) The Riddler kicks off the second Joker’s Asylum series with a bad romance that would make Lady Gaga blush, well maybe not. The actual story is more hampered than augmented by the Joker’s narration (continued interruption). It starts off decently, has this faux “End” and then continues through the rest of the issue. Now that is odd pacing. The mystery is kind of fun, though the ending leaves a lot to be desired.

The Reading Order

BRIGHTEST DAY #3 ★★★☆☆

JOKER'S ASYLUM : THE RIDDLER #1 ★★☆☆☆

AVENGERS PRIME #1 ★★★☆☆

HAWKEYE AND MOCKINGBIRD #1 ★★★★☆

AVENGERS: THE ORIGIN #3 ★★★★★