weekly loot: june 13

This week:

WORLD WAR HULK #1
(w. Greg Pak, a. John ROmita Jr.)
First, let me say it, I LOVE John Romita Jr. I do, really. I will never be able to get a sketch from him at a con, because it WILL be awkward. For me, him, and my girlfriend. Let's see here, things that should maybe be annoying: Last time we saw She-Hulk (Incredible Hulk #106), she had been temporarily de-powered by Mastermind, right? But now she’s full-on She-Hulk again? When/where did this happen? Never mind that everything about Civil War is just “agree to disagree” so that Marvel’s Merriest can all come together. Iron-Man to Spider-Man, “Oh, but you’ll have to turn yourself in after this, you rascal!” All this aside, I really liked the issue for the comic romp that it was. I liked the opening with Blackbolt, I liked that Hulk got the better of him. And of course, I really like that Iron Man got the shit kicked out of him too, as well he should have. Good fun series to take the seriousness of Civil War out of my mouth. Quesada was definitely right about that.

NEW AVENGERS #31
(w. Brian Bendis, a. Leinl Yu)
OHMYGODholyshitOHMYGOD. Ok, all that really isn’t that necessary, but really, fanboy expectations of the reveal aside, Elektra is a fucking Skrull, and the internet has been broken in half. AGAIN. What does this mean? First off, I hate the bullshit hype that it brings, because for the next 12 months, we’ll hear about this over and over, but it could be some fun while we get there. I’m definitely willing to give Bendis the benefit of the doubt to see how this plays out. The fight scene itself was pretty great, even though I think the deadlines are starting to catch up to Yu. (Just a bit, not hatin' yet.)

LOVELESS #18: This series has definitely become a lot more readable since its dense beginnings. Excited to see what the ramifications of someone knowing Ruth is alive will bring.

DMZ #20: I don’t have anything against Kristian Donaldson, but it's not as good as Burchielli. Good issue though.

FABLES #62
(w. Bill Willingham, a. Mark Buckingham)
Wow, another beautiful James Jean cover. The only bad thing about the cover is that it makes Buckingham’s version inside the book look like a kid's drawing. The Knight being Lancelot is awesome, because I love the Arthurian legends and it never crossed my mind to add all these characters to the mix. So this issue is basically the Knight telling his history (good) and Flycatcher, via a good close shave, becoming a hero for real (GOOD). Other than this, Prince Charming and Hansel have a pretty memorable scene. Hansel’s retaliation could be a ton of fun for sure. But a big BOOO to Willingham for the second issue in a row teasing me about a scene with Bigby and Snow. I’m sick of them being all happy up at the Farm. Another really good book from a good comic. What is down that well? Guess we are going to find out. And pleaseOHplease let me see Flycatcher kick some ass. BOOK OF THE WEEK (second time in a row for this book)

STORMWATCH PHD #8
(w. Christos Gage, a. Andy Smith)
Anyone still debating what the best title to come out of the Wildstorm re-launch is, has not been reading this title, right? And really might be dumb. A gigantic crossover between two super-powered teams, with over 15 characters meeting in a SUPERHERO COMIC and it somehow manages to be a really good character issue. Which is fucking awesome (coughCivilWarcough). I’ll take that any day, especially when it’s this book doing it. The moments going on between all of these different personalities in such a short space (only 22 pages for this many characters) is a pretty amazing feat. But this book took its first big misstep with me by giving us the SON OF HENRY BENDIX. I really didn’t need this. The resurrection of Winter, et al, was weird but I was dealing. Diva's "resurrection" was stupid too, but I never really liked the character (who came from the shallow Jim Lee days) anyway and hell, Gage with this issue is almost making her interesting. And I could even deal with the possibility of the Monitor cameo, even though as a Wildstorm fan, that is frustrating too. But SON OF HENRY BENDIX reeks. Maybe itis because he is the Magneto/Dr. Doom of Wildstorm, and I hate to see him used like this. I’d rather the real Henry Bendix still be running around (which Brubaker did) than this. Just seems stupid, anyway you cut it. And I wish Gage didn’t have to resort to this many callbacks to previous incarnations, to be honest. Still, I really like this book and the approach the crew is taking to the story. I'm warming up to Andy Smith, as I knew I would-- it was just that Mahnke brought a unique style compared to the one Smith does. Um, and yeah, Jackson King dying would be lame, because he’s too good a character, especially with his new mentor role making him look more bad-ass than any fight ever did.

This might be a schizo review, but man, I really really like the Wildstorm Universe and if it wasn’t for SON OF HENRY BENDIX we would be looking at my Book of the Week.

NOVA #3
(w. Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, a. Sean Chen)
Another really fun super hero comic, and I’m a bit bummed it's going full on into the Annihilation because I’m not touching that thing with a ten foot pole. Or at least, not until I get it all in quarter bins at the 2012 San Diego Pop Culture Con. I liked that Nova held his own with the Thunderbolts, but with his new power level, he should have kicked their asses. But I guess that isn’t in Marvel’s best interests with the new team. Still, it was a fun fight. Really good talk with Tony about how he doesn’t fit in anymore, and Nova’s meeting with Robbie especially hammered that home. I thought it was neat just to see how far the characters have gone from one another (my introduction to the characters being early New Warriors), and how far the Marvel Universe HAS really changed. All in all it was a really good three issues, and way better than I expected. The last two pages were perfect for the character right now, and for all those continuing into ANNIHILATION, have fun. I’m out. DROPPED.

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #8: More of the same: if you love it you love it, and if you are like me, you are mildly entertained at times and wondering what the fuss is about.

NEW X-MEN #39: A couple more kids appear to have died, emphasis on the "appear" part, and Skottie Young continues to be perfect for all the different kids’ designs.

CABLE & DEADPOOL #41: If I weren’t reading this title, I would have been bummed to find out that THIS is where we find out what happened to Sabretooth after he disappeared in Carey's X-Men.

ELEPHANTMEN: PILOT

GEN 13 #9
(w. Gail Simone, a. Carlo Barberi)
So let's see, what happened in good ol Gen 13? Rainmaker comes out! Oh, it's not a big deal anymore? Oh, she came out in a very similar way in 1994? Well, anyway, Rainmaker did indeed come out and it was a bit awkward for some of our characters. And there were some odd moments, such as Rainmaker creepingly asking Caitlin to get naked in front of her when Caitlin has no idea that she is a lesbian? I mean, it's just a weird scene if you think too far into it. Regardless, the other characters have fun with it all and we get a little into Rainmaker’s head via narration. The real star of the issue is the young Lynch who admits to the kids being a reboot (ooooooh, for some reason I could get into Junior Lynch), and that they are slightly different then they should be. This is all kind of fun, but an odd way to handle all of this Wildstorm Version 2 if you ask me. I mean, why go out of your way to reboot and change things (for new readers, right?), if you are going to lead to a storyline where knowing the old continuity is going to be a necessity to fully enjoy? Ah, the joy of comics. Regardless, I’m kind of curious to see how all that plays out and this book appears to be one of the most affected (and important). Next: Tranquility.

GRIFTER/MIDNIGHTER #4: Best in the series so far, but not saying much. Grifter’s powers in the Rebooted WS Universe are definitely more powerful.