snap judgments

Ack! My boss had sadly removed the preview books form the store to flip through at his leisure… and I only got my hands on them until yesterday. Bad reviewer! So, much apologies for the actual snap judgments and bare bones approach… at least I didn’t miss a week.

Also, lease note: these reviews are being written by a girl, alone on Valentine’s Day, eating chocolate and curled up on the couch in pajamas. Clichés abound!

Punisher vs. Bullseye #4

Color me pleasantly surprised! Not too shabby. A far sight better than the usual ‘Punisher vs. _____’ I’ve read. I think that’s mostly due to Daniel Way’s interpretation of Bullseye (yes, go read Bullseye’s Greatest Hits, now in trade paperback. You’ll be glad you did) and the fact that Steve Dillon’s art makes me laugh from the moment I see it. And… possibly due to the fact that the Punisher is actually versus-ing Bullseye. They are against each other and do fight during the issue! How novel. Some fun rousting of the mafia (man, there must be a SURPLUS of mafia guys in the Marvel Universe. Them and ninjas. Kept in silos.) Some fun hand to hand combat eventually leading to a rescue from… some kids. With a rocket launcher. You’re set.

Spider-Woman: Origin #3

Nope! Still don’t like her, Marvel, you can stop trying so hard! Please? It’s like they’ve dropped all premise of making Jessica Drew a deep and interesting person and just keep throwing stuff on her background and reputation and hope we just think she’s ‘cool’ by default. Now, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra want Ms. Special Boots for their super-secret plans so she runs away! Dyes her hair! And puts on the same style of outfit that X-23 had in NYX. She beats up EVERYBODY (poor Taskmaster…) and then runs away again! To College! And Nick Fury comes and tells her about her parents! Sorry, I’ve seen the ‘I hate my implanted memories’ before, called it Wolverine and it won’t strike gold a second time. Well… a third. Kinda. Thanks, X-23. Mind you, if they’d made Jessica Drew an unpowered ex-hero who worked as a detective… then we’d have Alias. *tsk*

X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula #1

More fun than I thought it would be. Let’s face it, these X-Men minis don’t have a really good track record. But this might actually be worth a second look come second issue time. Tieri really liked Bram Stoker’s Dracula and most of the movie version of From Hell, so don’t stop if you feel like you’ve seen this one before. Apocalypse as the head of a bloodline cult is certainly an interesting concept and even makes sense plot-wise. I’m not expecting Shakespeare, but this should prove kind of fun.

She-Hulk #5

This is the heartwarming supporting cast issue where everyone learns a little something. While I would have wanted more of the main character in her own title book, her fellows aren’t all that distracting or obnoxious. New cast guy, the Two-Gun Kid, goes through a very mild ‘new century-itis’ thanks to having guest-starred in previous books around the 20th century, so his transition is nice and his story rather interesting. Awesome Andy kinda of takes the spotlight this issue as jealousy rears it’s silent head against the wheelchair bound Ms. Book’s doe-eyed looks at the new cowboy on staff at the law firm… yep. Pretty solid middle issue into something bigger. Not something I’d hand to a new reader (mind you, the cover kind of dissuades me from that already; ugh, another Greg Horn mess), but a little bit of sweet for the loyal reader.

Sentinel Squad O.N.E. #2

My turnoff include: bugs, a failure to communicate and BIG OPENING PAGES that have a SENTINEL snapping GALATICUS’S NECK. I wince just typing those words. Sure, it as part of a ‘training exercise’ but still…. COME ON. What is this book supposed to be anyway? It is a Voltron-style team robot book? Is it a secret organization book? Why do I care about these rather bitchy and bland people again? A gratuitous Hydra suicide bomber shows up for the ‘Bots to actually do something and a member is gratuitously maimed. Oh, I wish this book was over.

New Mangaverse #2

Stupid cute. I’m not saying it’s a work of genius that reinvents characters in a fascinating form or that I’m adding the book to my pull, but… I wouldn’t kick it out of bed for eating crackers. A little bit of everything in the Marvel U. done up in big eyes and small mouth and a far sight better than the first attempts by Ben Dunn. Flip through it, enjoy a couple gags, see if it works for you.

Generation M #4

We’re almost done with the series, and Sally Floyd is still an unrepentant drunk, the serial killer is still on the loose, more former mutants are S.O.L. and… I still want more. In fact, I would have been happy if the book was just a bunch of articles on how ‘Decimation’ has affected the Marvel Universe at large and the overlying plot wasn’t there. I kind of care about all these poor loser and want to know what’s going on with Toad, Beak, Jubilee (who was made useful and interesting in a few pages) and the rest.

Runaways #13

Ragamuffin fun. A little cloying for me, but personal and kind of endearing enough to let it slide. Mutant cutie-pie ‘Princess Powerful’ meets Oliver!

Daredevil #82

Seamless. Beautiful. It is so nice on a book as tightly written as Bendis had been at it to have the ‘new guy’ come in without a bump in transition. No big splashy ‘lookit me! I’m the new writer!’ plot points, no dropped characters, this was artfully done. Not easy shoes to fill, but Brubaker does a fine job at keeping the ball rolling and telling the kind of dark, grit-ridden stories we’ve come to expect from Daredevil. There’s a small hiccup in the ‘Mwhaaha!’ moment at the very very end that could have been just left out, but I’m still going to hang out to see how they handle Foggy. I like underdogs.

Justice #4

Just epic! YES! Jim Krueger does it again with Alex Ross as they craft a fascinating story with just about everyone they can get their hands on. If you have it, find the Conan soundtrack and crack open this book for some truly widescreen storytelling. Lex Luthor shows up in the middle of my city the size of the tallest skyscraper, flanked by Poison Ivy, the Riddler and Black Manta (of all people!) and starts laying down some of the most honeyed poison to the populaces he can come up with all the while the Justice League is being taken out brutally one by one. ‘Where are your heroes?’ Luthor asks as they are all having their asses handed to them. WOW. And all of this… without mention of The Batman, most likely to come back and kick ass next issue. I am THERE.

Loveless #4

Well, Ma. Well, Pa. Some solid western-age here, very dark and episodically written, but not actually accessible to the first time reader. Mind you, this is issue was enough to make me consider going back for #1-3, so I wouldn’t *not* recommend it, I’d just keep that little fact in mind…

Losers #32

Man, you had to be there. This is the last issue for the little series that could, a book that my Dad really likes, so I thought I’d give it a try. While Jock’s artwork is really good, something about the book never stuck to me. Maybe because it came out around the time of Queen and Country, 100 Bullets and other similar books. I can’t seem to put my finger on it, but there’s something similar to all those books that I can’t easily label … at 12:50am. Anyhoo, this issue has a guy hand-detonating a nuke on his lap. Nice.

Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi #1

This is such a breakfast cereal book. Like a sugar bomb of clip art manga, Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi explodes into your face with super simple stories that all blend into one another with little ‘fun facts’ of Japanese words. Good for the hyperactive set.

Hellblazer #217

Okay, I like the cover artist. I thought no one could possibly take the place of Mr. Bradstreet, but the new stuff is growing on me. In order to cure his curse of doom and empathy, Constantine travels to Scotland to see who set him up for his current predicerment. Sill worth the next issue.

Y The Last Man #42

AAAH! Monkey issue! Why won’t you let me be!?

Happy Wednesday everyone, and hopefully I can snag the preview books before the owner does.