I ended up leaving Omega Flight at the store. The final flip through was too much for it. Despite Oeming's involvement, just not interested in the characters enough.
DISCLAIMER: SPOILER WARNING
I do not intentionally try to spoil things, but it's probably best not to read these until you've read the issues themselves.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #2(w. Joss Whedon, a. Georges Jeanty)
An even better follow-up to a book that already had a pretty good start. We catch up with a couple more old favorites from the show, while Joss begins to fully revel in his unlimited comic budget: the reveal of the undead climbing the castle was some great work by Jeanty. The humor from the show is front and center too, as I laughed more than once out loud. So far so good with Season 8, and although it would have been fun to see on TV, as a comic geek, this "next best thing" is turning out to be a brilliant idea. BOOK OF THE WEEK
RUNAWAYS #25(w. Joss Whedon, a. Michael Ryan)
Good first issue. The dialogue was great, and the characters were all spot on, but I had some minor issues with the plot itself. The appearances of Kingpin and Punisher were a bit odd, and the new locale is not my favorite for these guys, who have their own little niche carved out west. Still, benefit of the doubt, we'll see where the story goes. On art, Michael Ryan was good, though he lacks the unique style and character that Alphona had.
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #1(w. Dan Slott, a. Stefano Caselli)
It's nice to see Slott handle something a little more serious, even though I don't think it worked on every level, but the post-Civil War setup might be more responsible for misfires than his writing. The death of MVP this early was a surprise, especially since he was one of the bright spots this issue. Regardless, the kids are hit-and-miss overall, and R. Lee Gauntlet didn't completely work for me. I'm happy that Justice and Yellowjacket are getting some prime panel time, especially the ex-New Warrior. Caselli is getting better and better as he goes along, big things in his future if I had to guess now.
FALLEN SON - DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA: WOLVERINE(w. Jeph Loeb, a. Leinil Yu)
Well so far, the mini-series is rather pointless. This didn't mesh with ANYTHING we read over in New Avengers #28, now, did it? One could argue this happened first, but for this ending to have any meaning, then the New Avenger issue wouldn't have even happened. Whatever. Leinil Yu's art was the shit. But I criticize him for not saying something to someone when reading the two opposing scripts. Hmm. I wonder if in the end, this series is going to be remembered for its run of good art rather than any kind of emotional story point.
DARK TOWER: GUNSLINGER BORN #3(w. Peter David/Robin Furth, a. Jae Lee)
This series is getting better with each issue. Maybe I'll read those Dark Tower books at some point after all. At times, the art by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove is beautiful. And a friendly pat-on-the-back to Marvel for all the extras, which I'm sure fans that are used to the novels are appreciating. Or maybe not, but still, cool.
SCALPED #4(w. Jason Aaron, a. R.M. Guera)
Another series that I'm enjoying more as it moves along. My biggest complaint was the art (mainly the difficulty in distinguishing people at times), but it has grown on me, and at this point, another artist might bug me more. Relationships between characters that were only hinted at before are starting to grow and reveal their complexities. That always wins me over. One of the better books of the week, actually.
PUNISHER #46
FALLEN ANGEL #14
G.I. JOE: AMERICA'S ELITE #22(w. Mark Powers, a. Mike Bear)
I think what's most shocking about this book is that I'm really enjoying a book written by Mark Powers, former X-Editor to Hate. Seriously, the "Sins of the Mother" storyline has been great. New stories with nods to older continuities (even Marvel's). And although at times the art has a wonky figure or two, the new art team is creating some moody, well-done art.
MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #1(w/a. Mike Allred)
I never actually read anything by Allred until his X-FORCE/X-STATIX run, although his exploits had been famous with me. So FINALLY, a good jumping-on point to the legendary Madman. Will I be lost? No. Allred supplies us with a handy-dandy recap issue, meanwhile starting an all-new plotline. I could see long-time fans being frustrated, but I for one appreciate the catch-up issue. Allred's art is unique and dynamic, and the wacky plots and creative character designs are completely what I expected. So I'm around for another few issues at least.
MIDNIGHTER #6(w. Garth Ennis, a. Glenn Fabry)
Well, this had NOTHING at all to do with anything. In fact, I hope this isn't connected to anything and it IS just an Elseworlds story. With that said, I had a blast with it. Fabry's action sequences are great, and the Ennis dark humor was in full effect. With Vaughan next, and then Gage, I'm not sure what the plans for this title are. I wasn't that interested in it when it started (I prefer the Authority TEAM), but since the Authority's schedule isn't on track, it turns out I'm now happy this title exists.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #7(w. Brad Meltzr, a. Ed Benes)
Aside from the annoying printing error (was that in everybody's book?), I enjoyed this quite a bit. Hell, more than I enjoyed the previous six issues put together. Problem for me is, I don't really know recent DC continuity like I know Marvel's. (I bet DC fans in similar shoes would feel the same about one of the Avengers titles right after Civil War. Or would they?) Still, #1-6 were mostly inaccessible, and although I really want to be reading the JLA, I now have to deal with the looming JSA crossover. Meaning, to read these characters, I have to buy an additional title, and wade through even more characters and continuity that I don't understand. We'll see what happens at the store. I like the team quite a bit. (Oh, is it me, or would Wonder Woman have been a more logical leader than Black Canary?)
JACK OF FABLES #9
WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #5(w. Gail Simone, a. Neil Googe)
All the different plots in the storyline are coming together, and it's paying off nicely. Simone has crafted a pretty good little six issue arc here, where even the little scenes in issues past are turning out to be meaningful. The moment where Maximum Man gets his word was fucking great. His relationship with his nemesis, Dr. Hate, has been some of the better moments of the series.
INCREDIBLE HULK #105(w. Greg Pak, a. Carlo Pagulayan)
I think I'm mostly alone on the internet in thinking that the whole Planet Hulk series has been rather silly, and not all that "bad-ass" as most seem to think. (Ridiculously cool Ladronn covers aside.) I think the storyline got better as it led to him being the Green King. And the 2-part Armageddon story was probably the best of it. The death and destruction (by evil Reed spaceship) of everything he has fought for, is a nice catalyst for the upcoming World War Hulk, and I find myself a lot more interested in his return to Earth than I did his exile. Too bad he's bringing with him the mostly goofy supporting cast.
PAINKILLER JANE #0(w. Jimmy Palmiotti w/Joe Quesada, a. Lee Moder)
Although I was well aware of the character when she first existed, this is the first time I've ever picked up any of it. (I mean, I get almost ANYTHING that is 25 cents.) Unfortunately, it didn't grab me for the regular series. The main character was okay, but I was turned off by the each-dumber-than-the-next villains. Lee Moder was good.
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