With back-to-back events such as Civil War,
Also, my store was shorted Girls #24 from Diamond, so that will go onto next week’s pile.
X-FACTOR #18
(w. Peter David, a. Koi Pham)
Little Layla takes center stage here, even though she is mostly pulling the strings of her teammates off-panel. A good issue, although I was starting to get used to my Jamie “dupe of the month” gimmick. Layla continues to be a huge question mark, in actions and in words, and I can’t wait until Peter gives us more. (She should be fun in the X-Crossover later this year.) Pham’s art is really growing on me, and although I think Pablo Raimondi is still the regular artist, I will take Pham as an alternative.
DMZ #18
(w. Brian Wood, a. Riccardo Burchielli)
Has it really only been 18 issues since this series started? Matty has grown up a ton, and the kid that got here in issue #1 seems like a distant memory, really. Anyway, we have another storyline and another pretty damn good start. This storyline definitely feels like something I’ve seen on the news before, and that is one of the strengths of this book as far as I'm concerned. Looking forward to the rest of the arc. And damn, an awesome cover in a long line of good covers this series has had. MY FAVORITE OF THE WEEK
MIGHTY AVENGERS #2
(w. Brian Bendis, a. Frank Cho)
I had a similar problem with this book as I had with the latest New Avengers: by the end of it, we appear to be at the same place as we were at the end of the previous issue. I now have to wait for issue #3 for the THROWDOWN I was hoping to get here. In defense of this book, we do get some fun “this is how they joined” scenes, which Bendis excels at because he can have fun with his dialogue. Cho’s art looks great again, despite the female Cho-tron for the teen boys.
X-MEN #198: I love it when they make Sabretooth mean, scary and kind of cool. Loeb should takes notes.
INVINCIBLE #40
FALLEN ANGEL #15
EX-MACHINA #27:I was a bit underwhelmed, but I’m glad to have it back. I blame it on the mini-publishing gap, not the content.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF (w. Brad Meltzer, a. Shane Davis)
So, I liked it. I think it’s definitely on par with the things I liked about #0 and #7. And although I have no idea who Karate Kid is, or the Legion Heroes, it doesn’t seem to really matter because neither do the main characters. And let's be honest, I don’t have to know everyone to have fun with the double page splash where the two teams meet. Good old-fashioned team up stuff. Fun.
AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTS #51
(w. Tad Williams, a. Shawn McManus)
There are a variety of reasons I really shouldn't like this book, but two issues in, and I’m having a good time. The sidekick is ridiculous, and our new Aquaman is a bit of a bumbling idiot too. (At least, that’s how he comes across in these two issues.) And although this Aquaman kind of bugs me, and I’d rather be reading about the real Aquaman, I feel like I’m learning about this new fantasy-esque world WITH him, so it works for me on that level. The art is almost cutesy, but seems to work with the tone Tad has for the book. I’m glad they are still doing something with Sub Diego, which I thought was awesome during Pheiffer’s run (the last time I read the book regularly). So although I really like a more serious take on the real Aquaman (one that appears to have failed in recent times), I’m (for now) on board with the world building that Mr. Williams is doing.
SPIRIT #5
(w/a. Darwyn Cooke)
My experience with this book has been an odd one. I got #1 and #2, liked them, didn’t love them, but ultimately figured that I read enough comics and any new titles have to knock me off my feet to make my pull list. Then I hear that #3 was great, and my girlfriend wonders where the book is, because she enjoyed it a lot, so I caved and got #3 and #4. Both of those were excellent, and to me, better than the previous two. So, I’m really happy (and so is the girlfriend) that I am getting it again. Then there is this issue, which I think is the weakest one yet. The Spirit canned goods and the villain with a Vulture sidekick were too much for me. Sometimes I hear people talking about how well Cooke is adapting the old characters, but since I don’t know the old series, those kind of connections are lost on me. Did I miss something here? Regardless, just a bit of a stumble backwards. As usual, the Cooke art was great, and the cover was awesome, though it isn't the one I show here. For some reason, the one that was floating around/solicited was different.
CABLE/DEADPOOL #39
ULTIMATE X-MEN #81
(w. Robert Kirkman, a. Ben Oliver)
Man, I’m really bored with this book. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: This book has basically struggled since Mark Millar left. It had an attitude and swagger that the 616 X-universe (which I love) didn’t have. For Shiva’s sake, Wolverine tried to KILL Cyclops. So since then, the book has just slowly spiraled closer and closer to just another version of the 616 books. And that, A) just kind of sucks, and B) renders the Ultimate X-Men book pointless. Back to the book itself, we now have Xavier alive again AND Beast. Now, I know that Xavier wasn’t going to stay dead, but I was hoping he would. That would possibly give this book a new identity. Instead we are just inevitably heading back that way, and whatever we do here is treading water. The one thing I do kind of like is Bishop taking on the cause and finding an X-Men team, even if it might veer closely to Cable’s X-Force of the early 90s. But we’ll see. Aside from my plot issues, Ben Oliver is a solid artist, but I think he’s almost miscast here. Something more serious, maybe even a horror book, might suit him better
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