- Amazing Spider-Man #529
- Welp, there it is, the new costume plus the Times New Roman fonted ‘Civil War‘ banner. This is just the issue that tells everyone who’s been reading Newsarama and other comic news sources what we already know: Spidey’s getting a new costume from Iron Man that does a bunch of nifty things and that will require him to enter an important pact with Tony Stark that will come into play during Civil War. There’s a fourth wall moment regarding Mary Jane’s arm healing properties during The Other which was a little off-putting, the mention of a ‘Blood Pact’ between the two (their words, not mine) was a little more off-putting and the fact that Iron Man gets hold of Peter Parker via an eagle (is that an eagle?) statue in his bedroom, even more so. Little points aside, it’s the issue that leads into all the rest and will most likely be important to collectors. But that’s just me.
- New X-Men #23
- X-23’s a cutie. I have to admit, despite not really caring for the title all that much, there’s a lot of stuff going on. A nice change from the rather slowly paced other X-Books. There’s a Student Battle Royale to determine who gets to stay at the mansion as the next team of X-Men and who has to take the bus home. Everyone’s split up in this issue, whether it’s by faction or team, beliefs (hey, Stryker again!) and the usual Human/Mutant issue, tons of strife and action. I just wish I felt a little more strongly about the characters other than ‘Hey, that’s a neat character design!’
- Thing #4
- Lockjaw! Lockjaw wins! Dan Slott proves again that not only can the ‘ol’ funny books’ be funny, but… you can learn a little something in the process. Just let the man write. Don’t worry about how bickering and irritating the FF seem, it’ll all make sense in the end. He even throws in a fairly typical villain battle without making it seem obligatory. Lockjaw (yay) is out POV for the story about patience and family and it looks like they’re going to be keeping the Inhuman pup in the book. Unexpected, but I trust Mr. Slott.
- Captain America #15
- What do you do after Winter Soldier? What could possibly follow bringing back Bucky? Apparently, it’s the Red Skull’s daughter. Not a bad ‘quickie’ deprogramming session that allows for readers to catch on this character and feel pretty bad for her in the process. An evil man with evil plans finds Synthia Schmidt and tries to bring back the line of the Red Skull and the gal he once knew despite her SHIELD programming to cover up the programming that the Red Skull gave her to make her the perfect little Nazi daughter. Rough time. But I have to say I want to see where he’ll take this…
- Fantastic Four #535
- All ages? I didn’t know this was ‘All Ages’ on the cover. Sweet! And we got a Hulk vs. Thing fight, making me the luckiest girl in the world. This is the ’shaved head Hulk’, making me wonder where this is set, since (correct me if I’m wrong, lord knows I’ve been quite often of late) Hulk went Vin Diesel during Bruce Jones’s run but got his hair back for Peter David’s jump back. Hrm. Anyways, he and the Thing fight, hair or no, and I get a lovely dose of Hulk Philosophy via. Mr. Straczynski well illustrated. It’s also a good family issue too, which is a point Mark Waid made so well when he was writing and does my heart good to see it settled in. And, for those keeping score at home, an inkling of ‘Planet Hulk‘/’Illuminati‘.
- Storm #1
- Awesome! Great! Let’s see it! Storm Goddess at work! Some romance and passion with Black Panther! A strong female character who is defined by who she is now and all that she’s accomplished! … Okay, maybe in a few more issues as we start this one off waaay back when with her start as an orphan thief. The writing is full of art but little substance. David Yardin’s art is very real without looking photo-perfect, faces are built, Storm’s awesome cat-like blue eyes are in effect and he has an etchy, but fluid storytelling style. Storm as Ragamuffin does click as much for me as I think she’s pretty damn cool and there was that mini Ororo: Before the Storm which seemed pretty recent… I’d like to see something new out of this period and instead I get a fairly wincingly flowery inner monologue on Ororo’s blossoming womanhood. The flashback to Storm’s parents, pretty cool, but I think we’re starting awfully slow on this one.
- Wolverine #39
- Wolverine finds the Winter Soldier, they fight. Ahh… so simple. So nice. There’s a start with some officials getting put in a top secret prison for their own safety so Wolverine doesn’t come for them and SHIELD’s Thaddeus Dugan (can we still call him ‘Dum Dum’?) jumping at shadows as he too fears the Canuck. I like the idea of ‘mortal men’ jumping at the thought of Wolvie as the Bogeyman, but… I dunno. I think of SHIELD as a very macho business with full guns a-blazing, waiting for that little hair man to ‘come get some’, but this could be me. I think Mark Texeira on Wolverine is great, probably my favorite artist for him (Javier Saltares is on breakdowns), and the fight’s good and mean but… nothing new under the sun. Looks like Winter Soldier killed Wolvie’s wife and unborn kid, giving Logan another notch on the ‘dead love interest’ list.
- X-Men #183
- Splash pages! Tell me Larocca isn’t talking to Bryan Hitch on how to pad out an issue… This is Apocalypse’s big appearance and he makes short work of those at the X-Mansion. The refugees think the big blue guy on the giant sphinx might have a point, Sunfire shows off his awesome Age of Apocalypse design (really, it’s cool.) and does his work as the new Famine horseman. In order to stave off their new hunger, the refugees (not the X-Men, though, apparently, since they’re major characters) and (get this) the Sentinel Squad jump in line for a taste of Apocalypse’s blood. Wow. Oh, and Gambit turns traitor. Again. People, watch him. It just seems to quick, too easy. At least the Twelve was confusing.
- The Book of Lost Souls #5
- When I grow up, I’m going to be a Vertigo book! From the pretty and mysterious cover Tall Dark and Handsome, the angel on page two and the cheeky cat to the mascara tears, it’s got all the earmarks of a stereotype. The last issue of the series, it looks like it might have been cool (the owner of the store rather liked it and he’s strangely not known for reading a lot of books) but I can’t get through it without making comparisons. Colleen Doran’s art is lovely indeed and Straczynski’s story looks solid. It’s just a little shy of Gaiman. Gaimanesque.
- Marvel Spotlight: Joss Whedon/Michael Lark
- So, all those Director’s Cut reprints must be doing well because Marvel made their own in-house magazine based on the interviews and ‘commentary’ those featured. Kinda neat. Not sure if I’d pay comic price for it ($2.99?), but it’s fun to read.
- Black Window: The Things They Say About Her #6
- I love the Black Widow minis they’ve been doing. Richard H. Morgan is a smart and interesting writer who’s totally got my attention when it comes to Natasha Romanov. I still can’t put my finger on why I like this better than Spider-Woman: Origin. Maybe because it doesn’t feel contrived. The art is beautiful and viscous and sinks in the story of political intrigue and vendettas right into the bone. I hope they keep this up because maybe the title isn’t strong enough to carry a ongoing series, but the stories are just too cool.
- Lucifer #71
- Lucifer is some fine writing. Highly detailed and connected within itself, but accessible to the layman reader. I’m a sucker for linear tales and mission stories and adore cleverness in a main character and Lucifer never disappoints. The events of the religion-realigning story are coming to their rightful conclusion and Lucifer is just sort of cleaning up his own story and being keen. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.
- The American Way #1
- Oh, lord. This book would have been a lot cooler 10-15 years ago. it would be quite talked about if it was just new. Disillusionment in your authority, questioning the idea of faith and complacency, peeking behind the curtain of a beloved administration to see their lies, it’s kind of everywhere now. There’s no such thing as the altruist anymore, everyone has to have done something wrong in their past, honor is sort of lost in the modern day. And seeing it in patriotic symbols reminiscent of one’s childhood… I’m not intrigued, I’m just sort of depressed.
- Catwoman #52
- It’s almost an okay issue to jump into. Too bad it’s the last one before One Year Later. Catwoman, having her supporting cast threatened or in the hospital, confronts the madman Black Mask who’s behind it all and deals with him in an efficient and brutal fashion. Another DCU chick playing hardball! Very well written and nicely played out. Makes me wanna hit the back issues which is always a good sign.
Much apologies for not finishing up the rest of the DC preview titles, but I was out of town this weekend. I promise it won’t happen again.
Happy Wednesday!
