ncrl: may 31

I'm pretty happy to see The Boys back on the schedule.

dark horse:
USAGI YOJIMBO #103

dc:
COUNTDOWN #48
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #7
DEATHBLOW #5
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #6

dynamite:
THE BOYS #7

idw:
FALLEN ANGEL #16

marvel:
DAREDEVIL #97
NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #3
SILENT WAR #5
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #42
WOLVERINE #54

weekly loot: may 23

So I passed on G.I. JOE: SPECIAL MISSIONS BRAZIL this week. I had to. The price on these things is too high, even with my 30% discount. Flipped through it, and the characters weren’t ones that interested me (and I’m a huge Joe geek), plus the art wasn’t anything special, so it got left behind. It’ll be a nice acquisition in a quarter bin at a future con.

I also picked up SATAN’S SODOMY BABY on pure impulse.

This week:

CRIMINAL #6
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Sean Phillips)
Right after #5 came out, I got out all five issues and read them back to back, and it was a great experience, leaving me salivating for the next arc to start. Brubaker excels at crime comic fiction, and I couldn’t be happier with the new arc. Tracy Lawless (whose family got its fair share of mentions in the first arc) is not as firmly in the gray area as Leo was, but that didn’t mean anything for the quality of the story. I thought the Iraq soldier background was awesome, but what I love even more is that Tracy Lawless is not dumb. In fact, he’s really intelligent. So far everything is going smoothly for him, and I expect that his revenge will have some roadblocks, and I can’t wait to find out how this unfolds. By a hair (see below), BOOK OF THE WEEK.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #26
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Steve Epting)
Finally. The second part of the biggest little story in comics arrives. The verdict? Pretty fucking good, actually. Brubaker hitting on all sorts of Brubaker cylinders. 1) I’m interested in Sharon Carter. Her character arc is going to be the best one when all is said and done. 2) I’m WAY interested in Bucky. No one could have ever imagined that Bucky would be this bad ass. I fear for Iron Man’s life. Okay, maybe not, but its gonna be an ass-whuppin'. And 3) I’m even interested in the Falcon. (Which is a feat for me, to be honest.) The way Brubaker handled his speech was pretty great, because those things are always hard to write. The scene with the ‘secret” Avengers was much appreciated too (fuck you Fallen Son). Really good stuff. I’m along for the ride for sure. (Nice to see Rick Jones pop up somewhere.)

X-MEN #199
(w. Mike Carey, a. Chris Bachalo)
Mike Carey is good for the X-Men. I thought this after the first arc ended, and it was only cemented with the second and third. AAAAND, I think the best is yet to come. I find myself like the x-fan of old, really excited for #200 and Endangered Species. Rogue and Cable, two of my favorite X-Men characters, are getting a lot of love from Carey, and that makes me happy. He definitely gets the X-universe, and he seems to have an idea about where he is going and it all seems to blend together nicely. I’m not a big Ramos fan, but I am a big Bachalo fan (figure that), so I was really happy he was on fire here. I think some of my enjoyment of this series right now is how good I’m hoping it’s going to be. (The only nitpick I have is the Iceman/Mystique thing. Laaame. What is she, 20+ years older than him?)

NEWUNIVERSAL #6

SHE-HULK 2 #18
(w. Dan Slott, a. Rich Burchett)
OH HOLY SHIT, DON’T PISS OFF SHE-HULK. Okay, this was all spoiled with Incredible Hulk #106, but regardless, it played out well. As other people have said around the internet, finally someone with the voice of the readership smacks Tony around and gives him an earful. Of course, Tony goes and does another blatantly villainous move by de-Shulking our girl. Still, the beat-down was great, and I can only hope that Jen’s words at the end actually play out somewhere. Sadly, unless the follow-up creative team includes someone like Joss Whedon, issue #21 might be my last.

COUNTDOWN #49: Jimmy Olson has powers? So far nothing has been baaaad, but nothing has completely sold me yet. You hear me DC?!?!

GODLAND #18: You know what’s fucking awesome? The mice in suits and capes. Just needs to be said every once in a while.

GUTSVILLE #1
(w. Simon Spurrier, a. Frazer Irving)
Well, this was the surprise book of the week. It wasn’t great, but damn if it wasn’t interesting. The reason I picked it up was because of Frazer Irving. Some really fun work on Klarion the Witch Boy last year and Silent War this year. So couple his interesting eye with a wacky premise and I’m in. but who expected it to be this good? Simon Spurrier does a good job with this story, creating his own dialect and what appears to be a pretty detailed social dynamic with religion and class issues at the forefront. But really, it is carried by its amazing art. This is what Frazer was meant to do. It’s a little bit reminiscent of Klarion for sure, but here he's getting to flex his muscles even more with creative use of panels. Great colors as well. The last page surprised me, but it probably shouldn’t have. Good comic.

SPIRIT #6

WETWORKS #9
(w. Mike Carey, a. Dave Taylor)
I was never a big fan of the older series. I only read a couple at the beginning, and since then maybe a half dozen that I’ve picked up in quarter bins. But I am really familiar with Wildstorm, and I’ve read almost any appearance they’ve had outside of their book. So with this final part of a storyline, the old Wetworks team comes back and we appear to be at a new status quo at the end with monsters running around the Earth just waiting to be caught. Carey did a good job of getting me interested as the series continued, but for some reason I’ve waned here in the last couple of issues. As much as I love Darick Robertson, the art has been a mess. And maybe that’s because he was JUST doing breakdowns. Who knows. It was just inconsistent and lacked some excitement here in the climax of the issue. So I’m left here with a new staus quo, new-old characters (I really like Ab-Death) and I’m not sure that I’m excited for what is next. The book has shitty sales and now DeMatteis is coming over to be the new writer, so I’m not expecting it to be consistent. We’ll see. I’m a sucker for the Wildstorm Universe, that’s for sure.

ELEPHANTMEN #9; Not much happens (AGAIN), but I still enjoy this series.

WISDOM #6
(w. Paul Cornell, a. Juan Garica)
A fun series while it lasted, although I think my girlfriend is more bummed than me that it is over. It was a tale of two halves for me. The first three issues were awesome, and way better than the final three as far as I’m concerned. Not that the end was bad, mind you, because it wasn’t, but the first three were great, especially my favorite: #2, with the dreams becoming reality. Back to this issue, one of the hallmarks of this title (and issue) was the Skrull Beatles. Does it get any cooler than that? They were amazing. But the stand-out scene for me was Wisdom killing Miss Raven. Sad, but a really good scene nonetheless. Trevor Hairsine of course was the better artist that this series saw, but he’s too damn slow to apparently finish anything ever. I’m not sure if this series is in continuity (I’m guessing no), but I would be open to more Cornell-written Wisdom. Or anything for that matter. Has that British writer insanity that I love so much. (And I hear his Dr. Who episodes are awesome.)

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #2: Okay, what IS going on in this series?

FANTASTIC FOUR #546
(w. Dwayne McDuffie, a. Paul Pelletier)
I won’t rant like last issue, but this is still more of the same and not doing anything for me. Pretty much the same annoyances: First, can someone tell me why Sue is buying any of Reed’s crap? Do we forget that not too long ago she left her husband for helping commit murder? Whatever. I guess we have to get back to the staus quo as quickly as possible. While I’m on the subject of couples, why the hell does Storm put up with T’Challa’s crap? Kidding-- aside from the fact I hate these two together, Black Panther actually comes across as a bit of a tactical bad ass. So that’s good. The frogs were kind of an old-school-esque plot device that was a bit silly, and the fact that Gravity has lived to fight another day I could care less about. So, YAWN. Bring on the Frightful Four.

SATAN’S SODOMY BABY
(w/a. Eric Powell)
Okay, I bought this on pure chance. Maybe I was a sucker for the big YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN’T sign on the cover. Regardless, this is the second time I’ve tried The Goon and wow, I think it might be my last. The first time was the .25 cent issue (#15?) of the regular series. It was okay storywise with some real fun art. I thought it was a bit overrated based on one issue, and left it at that. Then there was this. And boy was this a mess. Truly, a MESS. Like I said, it's going to take a lot for me to try this again. So demon boy comes out of guy's ass with huge flamethrower dick. He scares some people. Priest does dirty things to him. Goon and pal take a hammer and smash him back in. Oh, and there is an unfunny two page fake gay ad, and an even less funny and pointless scene where a female’s breasts are fondled because there weren't any tits in the book. Um, okay. Just not very funny to me. Still, I like Eric Powell’s art, and I thought the four panels where the different religions were joked on was pretty good.

WONDER WOMAN #9: Thrown on the Read Pile with #6-8.

ncrl: may 23

BIG WEEK THIS WEEK!!

Why? But only because its my Birthday on Wednesday. As far as comics go, its not that big of a deal really. A lot of my "middle-favorite" books coming out. I'm really curious about Part 2 to the Captain America story, and REALLY excited about the start of a new Criminal arc.

dc:
COUNTDOWN #49 (i think i'm giving it five issues, then deciding)
SPIRIT 6
WETWORKS #9
WONDER WOMAN #9

devil's due:
G.I. JOE: SPECIAL MISSIONS - BRAZIL (maaaaaybe)


image:
ELEPHANTMEN #9
GODLAND #18
GUTSVILLE #1
MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #2

marvel:
CAPTAIN AMERICA #26
CRIMINAL #6
FANTASTIC FOUR #546
NEWUNIVERSAL #6
SHE HULK 2 #18
WISDOM #6
X-MEN #199

weekly loot: may 16

BATMAN #665: Thank Morrison this came out to wash the odd-tasting Frank Miller Batman out of my mouth.

ULTIMATES 2 #13
(w. Mark Millar, a. Bryan Hitch)
Well, it looked amazing. And although I don’t know that the 8-page spread in the middle added anything to the story, it was pretty cool for what it was. (I’m not sure that it was quite worth the delay, however.) For a comic book with extra pages, it read quicker than some of my regular-sized books this week, and that’s unfortunate. These might read better in their collected forms, although I recently re-read the first twelve issues and this stand-alone fight didn’t really have any kind of resonance. (Maybe because it was filled with armies of heroes and villains that we've never seen before.) Still, this is all too bad, because I’ve really liked the Ultimates, and after the much criticized Civil War, I was rooting for Millar to have a home run. Whoops.

X-FACTOR #19: People are really hating on Koi Pham, eh? And what an odd group of villains that have come together.

UNCANNY X-MEN #485
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Billy Tan)
I was pretty patient with this series, as I’m a big X-Men fan and a big Ed Brubaker fan, but unfortunately, now that it is over, it was a bit of a disappointment. Problem #1 for me was that I never was able to give a rat shit about Vulcan (and his horrible name), regardless of what Brubaker tried. But having him be a nut ball, romance Deathbird and become the leader to an uninteresting Shiar Empire just leaves me indifferent. We’ll eventually get the next part of the story, probably in the Havok-led Starjammers mini sometime soon, but I keep feeling that for an epic, we probably shoud have been at this end point at issue 7, rather than 12. I didn’t read X-Men in the Starjammer hey-day, so the death of Corsair wasn’t a big deal to me. But it works in the sense of giving Havok a purpose that he’s lacked in a while. Hepzibah being on Earth is a bit out of nowhere, but she’s got a fun visual and we’ll see how she plays off of the other characters. The art deteriorated as the series went along, and it bums me out that Billy Tan never got back to the pretty awesome job he did on part one. Maybe it was because of the lead time he had on that one. I’m not as down on the title as it may seem, as truthfully I’m still excited for more from Brubaker. It hasn’t completely lost me.

WASTELAND #9
(w. Antony Johnson, a. Christopher Mitten)
I’m getting happier with this title, but I think we are definitely getting to a point where you are going to be really into this series, or not at all. There are a lot of characters, a lot of names and a lot of plot lines going. Now, nowhere near Tolkien levels, but I can see some people just not having the patience for this. There will need to be re-readings, that’s for sure. Anyway, it was another good issue as we settle in to the second storyline. The flashbacks make a lot more sense this time, as last issue, I wasn’t even sure what the first two pages were. Our heroes were tracked down quicker than I expected, but that means we’ll possibly get to see Michael in an action scene.

FABLES #61
(w. Bill Willingham, a. Mark Buckingham)
Lots and lots of good things going on here in the book of Fables: The reveal of Frau’s spies was excellent, although at first it made me think it was too easy, and then it made me think that Frau could be even scarier than I thought she was, (even after her flashback in 1001 Nights). I enjoy her on the side of the Fables and I would hate to see her turn to the “dark side.” Flycatcher and Boy Blue opened the issue with a pretty entertaining conversation, leaving Flycatcher kind of in limbo as to his next move, which set up pretty perfectly the fun ending with the Forsworn Knight. Bigby and Snow possibly getting involved again excites me too. This is mostly a recap of plot points, but for fans of the series, the pieces are all being put together nicely is all. Looking forward to how this all plays out. Nothing else that I read really stood out, so this was probably my FAVORITE BOOK OF THE WEEK.

MIGHTY AVENGERS #3
(w. Brian Bendis, a. Frank Cho)
Well this was much better than last issue, where we stalled for an entire issue, but once the fists started flying here, it was pretty damn good. The Ultron/Sentry fight was a lot of fun, even though Sentry got his ass handed to him. (How powerful IS this new Ultron?) And where was his backup? With a team that has Ares, God of War on their side, shouldn’t he have been pitching in with Sentry? Odd team choices. Good moments for both Ms. Marvel and Black Widow in this issue. Good Avengers fun, even though the Tigra scene was gratuitous.

ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN #5
(w. Frank Miller, a. Jim Lee)
Holy shitty comics Batman! It's almost embarrassing how all-over-the-place this comic is. Like an old guy trying to be cool by doing something that was cool a decade ago. It just doesn’t work. On one hand, I can see taking Batman to the next logical extension, he would be even crazier and even more violent. Same with the horribly annoying version of Wonder Woman, but this time taken to the level of militant man-hating Amazonian. It’s all just horribly misguided and kind of lame. The kiss with Superman at the end of the argument was laughably bad (and clichéd ta boot). And don’t get me started about the “I love you Batman” girl. This is not good, no matter who wants to spin it that way, because although this all comes across as a parody, I don’t think Miller wrote it that way. And even though he was my very first ”favorite artist” in comics, Jim Lee isn’t right for this story. His ultra-pop style is exposed a little as mere cheesecake when accompanied by the Miller script.

LOCAL #9: I really feel like I’m watching this girl grow, and I’m really going to want a continuation of this series when all is said and done.

FALLEN SON – CAPTAIN AMERICA
(w. JephLoeb, a. John Romita Jr.)
Well first off, I was caught off guard by the inclusion of Hawkeye, but was really happy that he showed. I really liked the initial interaction between Tony and Clint, and was all sorts of excited for this to be the best book of the mini-series so far, but then it started to fall apart for me. I wish Hawkeye would have never put on the Captain America outfit though, kind of a deal breaker for me. He needed to put it on before he realized he shouldn’t have? Another character maybe, but this didn’t work for me here. And are the Young Avengers in the Initiative or not? And is anyone else sick of waiting for Hainberg for a new series? (And now that I think of it, it bugs me just a little that Tony knows Clint is back. Hahaha. I’m just ranting now.) John Romita Jr. is the shit though. As always.

ULTIMATE SPIDERMAN #109: How scary has the Ultimate Kingpin become for our poor little Peter Parker? Really good scene between the two.

AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTIS #52: It's silly, it's serious, it's goofy, it's good, it's bad and it all works. For me. So far.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #9
(w. Brad Meltzer, a. Ed Benes)
Three issues into this crossover (out of five) and I finally feel like I know what the hell is going on. Even if the reveal of the villains, as well as the woman on the last page, went right over my head. Meltzer still loves to fill the page with a ton of words via voice-over in that “okay, who is THIS box?” way, but overall I like the character interactions. The banter between Hawkgirl and Red Arrow was fun, as well as the moment he shared with Power Girl about his flirting. If I can, let me take this moment to wonder out loud about Power Girl’s tits for a second. Why exactly are they hanging out? Has this ever been explained in a story? I mean, as I read the character, she just seems like a woman that would be a little more self-aware, and put 'em away. Right? Also, for the second issue in a row, I found myself entertained by the Wildcat character. Funny.

COUNTDOWN #50: I’m not having too much trouble following, but I’m just not invested in anything, so it's hurting my enjoyment. The Mary Marvel storyline is the best one so far.

EX-MACHINA #28

CABLE/DEADPOOL #40: X-Men #198B? This was a waste of the title. Though I think Deadpool’s team (especially the hilarious Bob) could carry this title by themselves.

STORM SHADOW #1
(w. Larry Hama, a. Mark Robinson)
I love Storm Shadow. I love Larry Hama. I love G.I. Joe. Granted, if it wasn’t for the original series, I might not even be reading comics. So I’m REEAAALLY happy that some 20-odd years after I started reading, he’s back writing the characters. Especially this one, since Larry was always so much fun with the ninja mythology. So of course, I’m a little sad that this was a bit EH for me. It was just kind of uninteresting. There was nothing really going on that mattered to me, and that could be because I just didn’t like any of the new characters that were introduced. In fact, most of them were downright silly. The art wasn’t my cup of tea either, with a little too much manga flow to it, but because of that influence, there was some really cool action moments. I’m not done by a long shot (in fact, I’ll probably give it more of a chance than your average comic reader would), but I’m definitely hoping that it gets better.

MOON KNIGHT #10: Um, what was that issue about?

ULTIMATE X-MEN #82: Boring again.

ncrl: may 16

The first book in the really oddly named Minx line finally comes out. And although I'm definitely not the target audience (male, almost 30), my infinite curiosity about the business wants to see what DC is trying to do with the line. It looks nice.

And also, a couple of HOLY SHIT! moments, as All Star Batman and Ultimates come out.

dc:
ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #5 (!??!?!?!?!)
AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTIS #52
BATMAN #665
COUNTDOWN #50
EX-MACHINA #28
FABLES #61
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #9
PLAIN JANES

devil's due:
STORM SHADOW #1

marvel:
CABLE/DEADPOOL #40
FALLEN SON: CAPTAIN AMERICA (yes, i changed the title)
MIGHTY AVENGERS #3
MOON KNIGHT #10
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #109
ULTIMATE X-MEN #82
ULTIMATES 2 #13 (?!?!?!?!?!?! part 2)
UNCANNY X-MEN #486
X-FACTOR #19

oni:
LOCAL #9
WASTELAND #9

weekly loot: may 9

Y: THE LAST MAN #56: Beth! Finally! And the scenes between Yorick and 355 were pretty awesome.

THE KILLER #4
(w. Matz, a. Luc Jacamon)
I never knew that I really needed a comic about a Killer as the protagonist until this comic hit the stands. God bless the French. We return to our story with our Killer back in Paris trying to find out what the fuck is going on, and he takes a job from his Fixer just to waste some time. Turns out that was a job for him. Which means that the guy trying to kill him is dead AND he comes back and kills the Fixer as well. Did I mention our hero is a bad ass? So with our only connections to the character now dead, our mystery continues. Where does our “hero” go from here? He just wants to retire with his lady friend. The art is a little scratchy, but it's good and fits the story. There is a gap in publishing schedule from this one until I think August, which is odd since I think they are just reprinting, but I don’t know how far ahead the French book is. Anyway, I’m a bit bummed I have to wait that long.

DMZ #19
(w. Brian Wood, a. Riccardo Burchielli)
We’re back with the second part of the “Friendly Fire” storyline, and damn if this storyline isn’t getting better. It’s turning into a bit of a Rashomon type story, but that’s okay with me. This time we hear from Sergeant Nunez, and his side of the story seems to stand strong from his point of view. But that’s how it always works. This tragedy has at least one more point-of-view from the people that live there, according to Matty Roth, leading us into next issue. I’m starting to think that the outcome of this trial might lead to another tragedy. This series continues to be one of a kind, and stands as one of Vertigo’s best. BOOK OF THE WEEK

THE NEW AVENGERS #30
(w. Brian Bendis, a. Leinil Francis Yu)
This issue pretty much revolved around who the hell Ronin II is, and well, it’s Clint Barton, the former Hawkeye. Cool. I can deal with that. (WAY better than just putting Steve Rogers here as some had badly guessed) He needs to be somewhere after his story limbo, and this is as good a place as any. It totally makes sense that he would choose to fight for the cause Captain America was going for and against the Registration nonsense. I love that it came from an organic place too, since Dr. Strange was the only guy that knew he was around. So I really hope he’s not some double agent, because that would be pretty stupid. As for the end battle and cliffhanger, we have Maya turning on our heroes and stabbing Strange. I’m honestly not sure what is coming next issue, but I’m a bit excited to find out what this big reveal is.

STORMWATCH PHD #7
(w. Christos Gage, a. Doug Mahnke)
So this is the best book that Wildstorm is putting out, right? I hope its sales keep it alive for a bit longer, because I’ll be sad if this one gets canceled. I believe this is Doug Mahnke’s last issue, and that’s too bad, because his detail and grittiness is perfect for this series. Nothing against Andy Smith, but Doug is going to be missed. This issue was supposed to be the humans fight back, but one-by-one the members with powers came into the fray and basically, they all kicked the living shit out of Defile and his minions. This was highlighted, of course, by Paris ripping the throat of Amadeus out with his teeth. Disgustingly awesome. Paris is scary. The last two pages were a delight, as Batallion lets Lauren off for causing this mess, and then lets John knows that she was indeed responsible. Christos Gage, a writer thinking ahead. Kick ass fun.

INVINCIBLE #41

THUNDERBOLTS #114: Really nice action issue, but I say again, WHERE IS BULLSEYE?!?!

NEW X-MEN #38: Good times. I’m really happy with Skottie Young on this title.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #540
(w. J. Michael Straczynski, a. Ron Garney)
First off, I like this issue on its own merits. I like the attitude Peter has, breaking bones, chasing down with authority in response to Aunt May’s injury. I mean, it’s a little out of character, but I think that will just make Peter feel even worse later once he gets to reflect on what he has done. The thing that bugs me the most, is just how out of whack/sync this is with everything else that is out there. Not just the Spider books, but New Avengers and Daredevil too. Having the Kingpin as the villain here was just a horrible choice. I understand that it takes place before the Daredevil issue, but it just feels BLAH here. Now we know Spider-Man won’t actually do anything to him. Sometimes Marvel just chooses the wrong things to keep continuity with. Here we could have really used it: Sit Peter out of a New Avengers arc (happy go lucky guy there), and give him his dark arc here. But noooo, that’s not what we get. I’m sure this is fine if you just read Amazing Spider-Man, but for those of us that read a lot of the Marvel Universe, I’m left with a harder time getting into Peter’s emotions here. Really nice Ron Garney art.

NOVA #2
(w. Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, a. Sean Chen)
Another really good issue. Too bad that I’m going to drop it after #3 because of the Annihilation crossover. But until then, these are the things that made Nova #2 an awesome super hero comic book: A) Richard Rider’s dinner conversation with his parents was real and sad, as he found out about the New Warriors involvement in Civil War. B) An even better conversation between Nova and Tony. I especially liked, to paraphrase, “I’ve been saving the Universe, Tony, what have you done lately?” C) His response to finding out that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Hilarious. D) Rider’s Dad coming downstairs only to have a conversation with Worldmind controlling Richard’s body. Creepy. And E) His conversation with Vance. A lot of talking this issue, but it all made sense and made it a really strong comic. Not freaking out about the Thunderbolts, but we’ll see if Robbie reveals himself to Nova.

COUNTOWN #51: There was a lot of DC stuff going on here that I don’t completely get. Still, I’m giving the weekly series at least five issues to hook me in.

GEN 13 #8
(w. Gail Simone, a. Carlo Barberi)
So the Kids are back on the road after fighting dinosaurs, and even though they don’t know it, on their way to Tranquility. Before long the Authority show up and show they can indeed piss a lot farther, but not before we get some more hints about the current Wildstorm Universe and what is going on with it. Swift obviously remembers Grunge, even though she doesn’t know it. She fucked him high on something, I’m sure, back during a party on The Carrier in the previous universe. So I would say it's safe to say these kids are definitely the previous versions, with their brains mucked with somehow. Though Midnighter said they aren’t supposed to be there at all, so who knows what the deal with that is. The Authority team talks about the Wildstorm Universe again as if its security is at stake while knows-more-than-she’s-telling Jenny says leave the "important" kids alone. Hmm. Is there any chance, especially after 52 showing Wildstorm, that what these characters are talking about has NOTHING to do with what DC is counting down to? Yeah, I guess not. And that kind of sucks. And oh yeah, this title is better off with Barberi over Caldwell. He can do the same T&A if he wants (even though he doesn’t resort to it as much), but is just more talented. No pun intended at all.

PUNISHER: WAR JOURNAL #7
(w. Matt Fraction, a. Ariel Olivetti)
Sorry guys, just not loving this like everyone else. I mean, it’s a fun story, Fraction’s sense of humor shines, but it's all too silly for a Punisher story for my tastes. There was a time when I thought this was appropriate, and much needed with Ennis’ first 12-issue arc, but the transformation that he has gone through in the MAX title has become more definitive for me. I feel like I’m saying this every month though. The bullfight was legitimate funny, but then the main villain is just too much for me. The whole Captain American angle is bugging me just a bit. Feels like an attempt to sell more comics on the Death of Cap ride, which is fine, but just too transparent for me. I do like Fraction, and he cracks me up, and he’s at his best with things like the 2-page sequence where Clarke ranted about immigration. That was fun.

JACK OF FABLES #10

ULTIMATE POWER #5: I would stop getting this, but I have a weakness to getting the whole thing when it’s a mini.

GRIFTER/MIDNIGHTER #3: See above.

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #14: As bad as this is, it might be better than the main Wolverine title right now.

DREADNOKS DECLASSIFIED #3
(w. Josh Blaylock, a. Robert Atkins)
I think this is the last book I get of its ilk from Devil’s Due, unless I REALLY want to read it. The price is way too high for filler G.I. Joe stories. And I love me some G.I. Joe too! The series story was okay, some ho-hum filling of background of the Dreadnoks characters, who aside from Zartan have always been uninteresting in the first place. Nothing here made them any cooler, with some clunky plot pieces (the stuff with his brother and sister) and a race towards the status quo that we do know. I still kind of miss the in-between Zartan that existed with Billy in the tail end of the Marvel Comics run. The biggest complaint though is the price compared to the quality. This second issue was the most embarrassing of the three, with some horrible fill-in art which looked like 'zines that are free by locals at my comic book store. Just not very professional looking, and to make me pay $5.50 for that is annoying. And there is a variant cover that goes for like $8.50-- I pity anyone who gets that one. So yeah, the last I get in this format.

MADAME MIRAGE FIRST LOOK: This has a bit too much Top Cow for me, if you know what I mean, but based on Dini, I’ll still get #1.

ncrl: may 9

Things that are exciting to me this week:

Another issue of The Killer, the second part of the excellent new DMZ arc AAAaaaaaannd a new Y: The Last Man. It's getting to that time again, when a finite Vertigo series ends and I think,"Its going to be really weird to not be reading that series anymore."

Countdown a cometh as well. I avoided 52, but I'm going to check this one out. Which is a bit hypocritical I guess, since I've been complaining about my lack of DC Universe knowledge. But I'm learning.

The list:

archaia:
THE KILLER #4

dc:
COUNTDOWN #51 (gonna give it a try)
DMZ #19
GEN 13 #8
GRIFTER/MIDNIGHTER #3
JACK OF FABLES #10
STORMWATCH PHD #7
Y: THE LAST MAN #56

devil's due:
G.I. JOE DREADNOKS DECLASSIFIED #3

image:
INVINCIBLE #41
MADAME MIRAGE FIRST LOOK

marvel:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #540
NEW AVENGERS #30
NEW X-MEN #38
NOV #2
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #7
THUNDERBOLTS #114
ULTIMATE POWER #5
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #14

weekly loot: may 2

100 BULLETS #83
(w. Brian Azzarello, a. Eduardo Risso)
What the end of this arc tells me is, I could read an entire mini (at the very least) about Shepherd’s past. It also tells me that I miss the character. (I also miss Wiley, but you can’t get too attached in this series.) Not only was it great to get some of Shepherd’s past, but Loop’s dad as well. Curtis Hughes comes from what is still one of my favorite stories in the series, “Hang Up and Hang Low.” The quasi-relationship forming between Dizzy and Graves is fun to read, and the ending sequence was great. A) Because we get to see some of the respect Graves has for his counterpart, and B) Because Eduardo Risso is fucking amazing. The art on that last page was perfect. As for the present day "Remi in Italy" story, I’m a bit at a loss at how this is connected to the overall storyline, but I trust that will clear itself up. A big re-read is coming of (at least) the second half of the series before it reaches its climax.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #21
(w. Joss Whedon, a. John Cassaday)
I really really wish this came out more often. Have I said that before? Oh. Maybe I have. Mr. John “Bad Ass” Cassaday was on fire this issue. Some really good panels going on. I like the continued buddy up of “Armor” and Wolverine. Speaks true to Logan forming Mentor-like bonds with young females. For me, it was also a big Cyclops issue. I love it when he’s being funny, “Did he teach you the handshake?” His fight with Emma during the dogfight was great as well, and I just love the way he is portrayed. I feel like Whedon’s Cyclops is the best written Cyclops since Morrison, really. He’s a real character: strong and intelligent, when sometimes he’s played as more of a pansy, almost a caricature of himself, and I like that he is far from that here.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #3: Even I had to scratch my head for a second with the last page reveal.

RUNAWAYS #26
(w. Joss Whedon, a. Michael Ryan)
This was an odd issue, and I was having a little trouble getting into it. Last time, I was struggling with the inclusion of the Punisher and the Kingpin, and they are still not really interesting me in a Runaways story. Out of place for my tastes, to be honest. (Although Molly punching the Punisher out was hilariously awesome). Regardless, the characters are still great, and Whedon’s writing is fun and true to them without a doubt. Art is good, but again, it pales in comparison to Alphona, and that’s too bad. Hard act to follow. (And where the hell is he popping up next, anyway?) So the first two issues have been a bit of a stumble, but I loved the last page reveal as the Whedon Runaways run finally wins me over. I can TOTALLY get into a time travel Runaways caper. FUN.

SCALPED #5
(w. Jason Aaron, a. R.M. Guera)
So as it turns out, five issues and the series is getting better with each one that comes out. Part 2 of 2 is really 5 of 5 in a lot of ways, as it finishes our introduction to the characters, their world, the stakes, and questions about what’s to come. Older characters' past relationships become clearer (what did happen with Red Crow and Gina), present-day relationships get more complicated (Dasheill and Carol, Red Crow’s daughter) and we get another mystery with Gina’s death on the last page. Why was she so desperate to talk to Dasheill? How is the lone rider, Catcher, connected to any of this? Bad Horse’s life leading up to his return the reservation was pretty cool, especially his army background. This is the next big Vertigo series, for sure. Some good comics this week, but this is definitely my FAVORITE BOOK OF THE WEEK.

DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN #4: I’m getting excited for the battle at the end of this road…

PUNISHER #47: The birth of Punisherette?

EXTERMINATORS #17
(w. Simon Oliver, a. Ty Templeton)
One of my favorite issues of Exterminators in a while, but that could be because Stretch has become one of my favorite characters in the series. The idea of a bug convention (which I’m sure is real) cracked me up, but it’s a perfect place for us to meet some of Stretch’s old friends and enemies and learn a little about what makes him tick: his Buddhism, and how he wasn’t always this nice guy that he is on the surface. Also in this issue is Dr. Stuart, a nemesis of sorts for Dr. Sar who is at the convention showing off his genetically enhanced mice. The one with the cow milk was the absolute creepiest. Fun issue, even if I’m never quite sure where this series is going.

WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #6: Solid ending to a solid arc.

MIDNIGHTER #7: Fun gimmick issue with very little meat, but fun none-the-less.

INCREDIBL HULK #106
(w. Greg Pak, a. Gary Frank)
WORLD WAR HULK: PROLOGUE
(w. Peter David, a. Al Rio, Lee Weeks, Sean Phillips)
As I think others have said, how odd is it that we had to read #106 BEFORE the issue called “Prologue.” (I bet there was an intern over there that noticed but was too scared to say anything.) Anyway, the prologue wasn’t bad, but the highlight for me was the reprint: never read it before and in the small appearance he had in #100, I really liked Mastermind so it was fun to see the first time he showed up. There was also cheesy fun from Chris Giarruso, but that was exactly what it was. The recap of sorts on Hulk as he approaches Earth was handled as well as it could, but it wasn’t interesting at all. I get it, he’s mad, but this was for people that haven’t been reading the overrated Planet Hulk storyline. Hulk #106 on the other hand, was good times. Jen becoming friends with Mastermind, her whuppin' ass on Doc Sampson. and Hercules and Angel showing up at the end were all great moments. Helps that it had some smoking art by Frank, who I’m a fan of. All-in-all, the books do their job, as I’m stoked to see Hulk smack on some villainous heroes; read: Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic.

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #2
(w. Dan Slott, a. Stefano Caselli)
I am so torn with this title, it's not even funny. We are now two issues in and I can’t decide if I like it or not. I enjoy Dan Slott’s dialogue and character work-- his strengths. And I even think Stefano’s art is pretty great too. And I eeeeven like the concept of the book coming out of Civil War. But holy shit, the execution is all over the place. They took the kids into action – pretty cool action mind you – before being properly trained. Hell, one of them JUST died. They were using jetpacks that they weren’t even trained for. I mean, one of the kids mentions it, but it goes out the window. On a personal level, it bugs me that Justice is having the wool pulled over his eyes. I mean, everyone is talking about the death of that kid (including probably the janitors) and he doesn’t know what is going on? Gauntlet continues to be an annoying cliché. Aaaaaand Bush’s appearance was stupid. Was it supposed to be funny? I couldn’t tell. Last page made me curious what X-Person is coming over, but that is because I’m an x-fan. Like I said, not sure what to make of this title.

IRON MAN #17: I like the style the Knaufs bring to the series. Can’t wait for more Mandarin.

G.I. JOE: AMERCA’S ELITE #23: The (clunky at times) Mike Bear pencils and colors by Jean-Francois Beaulieu have been one of the best additions to the series. Gives it its own style.

LONERS #2

SHAZAM: THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #3

CITY OF OTHERS #2: This is not very good, but the art is decent from the legend.

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #41: Blah blah blah, bring on the Surfer storyline. I do like that The Thing is blue. Is it bad I don’t want him to change back?

ALL NEW ATOM #11: Added it on to the Read Pile with the rest of the series.