snap judgments no, really, there are some comics you really should read

Short and Sweet – Reviews for 5/24

Shorter, snappier, wired on two iced mochas of the day, I bring to you... some of what Marvel and DC is a little too lazy to promote on their own.  I have to admit, doing these reviews is pretty helpful in regards to plying my craft of selling books to people who don't know what they want.  There's a lot of stuff I normally wouldn't read, but stuff that other people ... might. If that makes any sense.  And when someone comes into the store and says 'So, what's this DMZ thing?' and other register jockeys start to get that glaze in their eyes, I can a little spotlight as I scribble down notes for them to read to the customer.

Just 12, since I was turned on and tuned out to a new manga title on the shelves thanks to a rather awesome writer who happened upon my humble store.  It's called Death Note and once you get past the character who looks like a reject from KISS then you find yourself in a artful crime drama that far too smart for it's own good.

Daredevil #85

You know you've hit a rough spot when the Punisher is giving you morality advice in prison.  Ed Brubaker hasn't missed a step in Bendis's party line and I'd even say one upped the man as far as killer drama.  After all, who wouldn't want to watch a shark tank?  With the Punisher, Daredevil and the Kingpin all swimming about, you're on the edge of your seat for first blood and even though we never get that blood, there's enough characterization and story development to explain why.  Daredevil isn't Punisher, and with all the hardcore prison tough guy routine it's nice to know that they haven't forgotten that.   Next issue, prison riot!

Exiles #84

It's the Heroes Reborn universe!  The miniseries version to boot!  Oh... boy?  Morph-Proteus shows up to do the obvious 'convince clueless heroes he's the good guy before the other guys show up' shtick, the saps being the Young Allies, the group with the girl Bucky.  The Exiles show up, lather, rinse repeat, then 'O' and 'K' (manifestations of Order and Chaos wikipedia tells me) pick up Proteus for an end of the world kind of thing.  Could this mean the end of Proteus?  Can we dream?  This is a great concept book but the recent line has really started to stall with an overdone storyline.  Or maybe I'm just smarting since they lost Morph.

Fantastic Four: A Death in the Family

Okay, I don't say this very much unless it's absolutely true, but for this one-shot, it's entirely deserved:  Don't buy this book.  Really.  There is nothing to see here and the fact they want $3.99 for it is rather depressing.  It's a short story about Johnny Storm inadvertently causing a monster to show up who's energy blast can't be deflected by Sue's invisible shielding so she dies.  Reed (who last went a little around the bend when Ben kicked the bucket when Waid was writing) is pretty much hopeless as he holds the dead body of his wife so Johnny goes back in time and stops the monster.  Apparently, this is a futile gesture as it saved another reality's Sue and not the Sue that died in Time Traveling Johnny's universe, but Ben says that he did it to prevent them from going through the same heartache as his universe and then it's group hug time!  This is like 6 pages.  The rest of the book is a reprint of FF #245, a Official Handbook entry and a Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius reprint, 'Now You See Me'.  I don't know why they bothered.

Iron Man #8

Iron Man continues to do hellacious damage to guys listed on a mysterious laptop screen as Tony does hellacious damage to his reputation on the (new) Avengers.  Iron Man is on the scene for a breakout attempt handled with excessive force, definitely showing up the rest of his team in the same amp'd up manner of last issue.  When Captain America tries to get him to stand down, Iron Man attacks Cap.  When they call him on being late, Tony couldn't give a damn which Spider-Woman is left to sort of deal with.  Which she does by giving Tony the benefit of the doubt.  I guess people are more willing to believe the Avengers's Clock is off than that the guy who nearly choked out Captain FREAKIN' America and was a pheromone away from throwing down with Wolverine might have been late.  Total alcoholic behavior, getting belligerent and blaming other's vehemently for your own bad behavior, which means that when a team guest stars in a title character's book, they lose all credibility.  As long as you don't think about the Civil War tie in potential, it's actually interesting to watch Iron Man's descent into addiction to the new power of the Extremis virus... if that's what this is.

New Excalibur #7

Black Tom Cassidy loses his mutant powers thanks to Wanda/'M-Day'/whatever they want to call it nowadays and is back to being human instead of a man-plant monster.  What does he do?  He goes out and at great expense recreates his powers mechanically.  Because robotic 'plant' tentacles can't be cheap.  Oh, and he wants to defeat the new Excalibur.  Most likely because they were there.  Juggernaut confronts him on the death of his precious Sammy the Fish-Boy and talks at him a bunch, causing Tom to give up.  And Dazzler dies and comes back, Tessa 'defeats' the Evil Charles Xavier from Another Dimension and the team flounders on.  With Sean Cassidy gone (thanks a lot Deadly Genesis), there's some great potential for the Black Sheep of the Cassidy clan.  Uhm, maybe that'll be in next issue.  Or something.

Sensational Spider-Man #26

I love Clayton Craine.  His run with Garth Ennis in the last Ghost Rider mini-series was off the charts awesome.  I'm not a big Ghost Rider fan but the detail and visuals were just great.  He does this issue of Sensational Spider-Man and can certainly do some big monster battles.  Spider-Man visits Madame Web, Reed Richards theorizes and Puma shares with the Black Cat pretty much the same info:  that there is some sort of radiation being emitted that is causing all the 'animal' themed villains and heroes to go feral.  Spider-Man isn't as effected because he is, and I quote: 'so decent'.  And he's honestly been turned into a human spider way too much in recent months.  He goes under cryptic orders to Central Park, talks up his new super suit when coming in between the Lizard and Vermin, and learns that Dr. Vincent Stegron is behind this whole thing! Or... at least behind a bunch of Lizardy-henchpersons.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #6

Don't you think the title should be the other way around?  After all, MJ really shines in the book.  Anyhoo, Mary Jane is caught up in liking Peter who may or may not be totally into the new girl and is wonderfully high school girl about it to make Liz ask why.  Cue flashback where MJ is dumped by Ned Leeds for 'Betty' (ah, name dropping!  like Scooby Snacks for the uber-nerd) and in response to her heartache... goes goth with new friend, 'Jessica'.   Read into that what you will.  In the end, it's this new Spider-Man guy's 'Shaa, whatever' attitude that's got her smiling.  I love this book.

X-Factor #7

HA!  Scott Summers, bless his heart, comes to the X-Factor detective agency to tell ailing Siryn her father 'died in action'.  Her response?  A shrug and 'He'll be back'.  Leave it to Peter David to put to paper what we've all thought for years.  One half of the X-Men are always mourning the loss of the other half, so let's get some chow.  Wow.  Mind you, the skeptic in me says that this reaction only means they killed the guy for good, but I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed.  Guido mistakes the death of Sean Cassidy for the death of Shaun Cassidy, which is the kind of joke you know is going to be lost on half the audience and is kind of sour.  And the standoff between Tryp and X-Factor continues to follow very Angel-esque guidelines.  Do note Scott asking what Layla's doing there, harkening back to House of M.

American Way #4

Racism is an ugly thing and really hard not to write without going cliché.  Having a racist character named 'Burning Cross' for example.  Poor, poor stereotyped Southern people.  In the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, someone is an idiot and lets an actual psychotic murderer loose to kill Cuban delegates. The government wants it done covertly too, and for this psycho 'Hellbent' guy to fall to their fake hero team as well.  This should not only get rid of the communist delegates, but make the CDC look good since it's been found out they have an African American hero on the team.  Unsurprisingly, Hellbent does none of this and slaughters a bus full of innocent black protesters and, well, most of the CDC.  The story continues to bring me down as far as message and cliché go, but I'll still leave some hope that there's going to be hope.  Remember when heroes were heroic?

Hellblazer #220

The noose continues to tighten around John Constantine's neck and we continue to wait because this is when he does his best work.  The secret and most likely evil religious sect that's lured John to Scotland and wants him dead is going to power an engine of some sort that will flood the world with empathy and make the keeper of Limbo very unhappy.  Decisions are made, some of them bad, and the story rolls along smoothly.

JSA Classified #12

There's a One Year Later stamp on the cover, but can they do that for an anthology book?  I guess so as a few things are let slip throughout the story, such as 'the JSA's not... totally together at the moment'.  Not to mention the idea that you really shouldn't mess with Vandal Savage, even when you think he's dying and certifiably crazy.  Alan Scott and the Sandman go to look into Mr. Savage, mad, vengeful and dying, only for Alan to be trapped and confronted about his parenting skills.  It's a so-so conversation, but the intent is there.  Because if Vandal Savage goes, he's taking Alan Scott with him.

Skye Runner #2

Remember Battle Chasers?  Man, that was a good looking book.  There was the girl with the big gloves, a big metal guy, and old guy, a hero with a sword and oh!  The chick with the HUGE boobs.  It was a pretty book, back in the Joe Madureira heyday and certainly sold right off the shelf, but does anyone remember it was supposed to be about?  I can think of a few character points and a couple hooks, but what was the overarching story?  Nope, not coming to me.  Welcome to Skye Runner.  Enjoy it for the art, the neat little nuances but leave the plotline to long forgotten memory.  There's an underwater fight in this issue and a J. Scott Campbell cover.

Happy Wednesday, folks.

Like It, Love It – Reviews for 5/10

It's Tuesday, I got a Soup at Hand, it must be time for reviews!

Annihilation: Super-Skrull #2

Please note that the 'Day Timeline' in the book was updated and noted with a correction from last issue.  Andy Schmidt just might be an actual editor at Marvel Comics.  It makes me proud.  More of the same bad-assed bad-assery from the last issue with a moment taken to acknowledge how hardcore the Super Skrull is from the vantage point of a kid.  it's nice to see the book notice itself like that;  I mean, the Punisher gets away with a lot of stuff and we pretty much get used to chalking it up as par for the course, but it's nice to see a book that notes that the 'hero's' methods aren't exactly always the right ones.  Super Skrull takes on the Negative Zone with a kid mechanic that is starting to realize that his childhood hero isn't all that heroic.  in fact, he's a pretty brutal guy.  But in the end, it might take 'an even more deranged form of evil' to defeat the Annihilation menace is his answer. The Super Skrull hunts down the way to stop the 'Harvester of Sorrows' (the catchy title of the weapon that took out the Skrulls), which turns out to be generically labeled as 'a virus', but we don't care too much as Super Skrull recruits himself rather forcibly a new alien squad.  I still say this Annihilation thing should be getting all the good press, but prove Civil War hype wrong and pick up some fun.

Cable & Deadpool #28

Awww.  He had to go and ruin the 4th wall breaking format by trying to give it actual format.  When it's just a couple characters talking to you on a white page, we know not to take it seriously.  Dress it up as some 'talk show' and it starts to get irritating.  First page included, this issue we learn that Domino is still not an interesting character.  Okay, I haven't read everything and I'm sure there's a comic out there that really brings out her wealth of depth and character, but today, she's not really fit to give the book running dialogue.  Especially when there's Deadpool about.  Made up country 'Rumekistan', controlled by the Flag Smasher, is under resistance fighting and looks to be up for an overthrowing.  Domino is there to make sure the new guy isn't as messed up as the last guy, so is Deadpool, let the fighting begin.  The art's actually really good as far as action goes, very well paced and fluid.  There's an obligatory Civil War reference and we find out that the new leader in Rumekistan is... Cable!  Surprise!

Fantastic Four: First Family #3

Not 4: First Family as you might guess from the logo on the cover.  This time people seem a little more settled and a little less 'made up' so to speak as we see the start of Ben's private war with the Yancy Street Gang, Johnny's shown a little more polite than we might be used to these days, and the FF gets set to battle their first foe, the giant green monster from their first issue.  Reed is all systems go on founding the Fantastic Four, enough to look into purchasing the Baxter Building from his little dockside warehouse, while Sue's not so sure that 'nothing is more important' that their new responsibilities.  They still have a head chat with 'Franz' from the first issue, which only really serves to remind us that these sorts of re-tellings only really click when they extrapolate from the original story and not add to it.

Last Planet Standing #1

Last Planet Standing?  Oh, it's Galacticus, doing what he does best and that's eat.  The Richards (Sue and Reed) happen to be out in space when they catch sight of the oncoming muncher and send a distress call to Earth, where the Avengers are pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel.  Earth's Mightiest Heroes are not s mighty according to the rest of the M2 Universe and even the President doesn't seem too happy they're the Earth's best hope.  May Day internal monologues on whether or not it would matter if she went to college and gets called in as a reservist of the oncoming menace.  The Fantastic Five (Fantastic 3 now?) go to see where Reed and Sue last were and find a big nothing, as if nothing was ever there!  Not exactly monumental reading, but fun nonetheless.  Hey, it's Galacticus.

New X-Men #26

  If I remember correctly, shouldn't there be an 'after Byrne' note on the cover?  I seem to recall most homage covers making a little nod to the first artist... Anyhoo, let's spin the Wheel of Death!  Who's it going to be this week?  To start, we get X-23 and Dust in a rather sexy looking burka chat about religion and what it means to a girl that not only met the person who created her literally, but who X-23 killed as well.  Reverend Stryker explains what's making him nuts this time and it happens to be that he can see the future through the Nimrod sentinel he found.  Stryker seems to think that the Days of Future Past storyline is a grand old idea and is trying to bring it about.  It involves killing everyone (obviously), including Dust who has risen up in the wake of Wallflower's hideous demise to be the linchpin of the plan.  Josh Guthrie feels awfully stupid for going along with all this and apparently leading Dust into a trap which she probably survived.  Instead of investigating, Stryker gets cracking on his assault on the X-Mansion Internment Camp on the last page.  Huh, come to think of it... why isn't this book getting more press?  Why aren't people watching this book as it seems to be hinting that the entire Marvel Universe at this point just might be headed towards Rachel Grey's future?

She-Hulk #7

I was getting worried, but apparently Dan Slott knew that.  The comics archivist at Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway mentions to Pug that the whole idea of Star Fox is kind of skeevy and not the kind of character he wants to read about.  Pug reminds him half heartedly that Star Fox isn't a character, but it's still nice nod to the fact that this Eros guy gives me a bad vibe when looked at for sexual harassment.  In fact, She Hulk herself seems to get the same idea when she realizes that all her flirting (and apparent foolin' 'round when they were in the Avengers together) might have not been her free will.  But while i get squick'd out, she gets mad, grabs the guy out of the court and proceeds to try and get an answer out of him.  Well, no answer is had as the Eternals yank him home than sully their name with this court case, leaving a reporter at the steps showing us this is just another example of 'privileged son using Daddy's connections to flee the country and avoid sexual assault charges'.  Heh.  Slate is cleared for Civil War.

Spider-Girl #98

Really, who thinks this book is actually ending this time?  Normally, I'd have shrugged my shoulders after such a statement but after this issue, I'm starting to wonder where to sign the petition.  The Hobgoblin has been hired by the Sciriers to dismantle Spider-Girl's friends and family network and goes about being enjoyable evil.  Meanwhile, caught lying to her dad about Venom not actually being dead and more bonded to Normie Osborn, Mayday is grounded until her father 'can find a way to kill the alien creature'.  That's awesome parenting.  Of course, May Day has another costume and web shooters stashed away and can't help but try and stop the people out to get her and spends some time being really guilty about continuing to lie to her dad.  Plus, Moose is going through a rough patch at school and working it through with Mayday at school ... instead of his forlorn girlfriend.  Love triangle, villainous villain on the loose and personal guilt.  This is a Spider-Man book.  Not a bad issue to pick up off the shelf and a good recommendation to the pre-teen set.

Thunderbolts #102

Wait, when did the 'Squadron Sinister' get here?  And why do they want to be called by their Max title name?  Apparently, they and the Gamesmaster want to tap into the power source of the Church of Infinite Truth (apparently the Magus of the Infinity Gauntlet used to run with them, but I think they were mentioned in Cable & Deadpool... or was that another crazy cult?) in order to combat the secret war cold war we'll say between them and the Thunderbolts.  We get this information through the story of 'Thunderbolt' Joystick, a fairly ridiculous character given some time, some back story and motivation.  It's hard not to look at a fair shake at a super villain without thinking about Villains United (okay, maybe that's just me), but it stands up pretty well. Good story, good art, plot's a little odd considering I'm not sure how fearful I should be about the... cold war between the Gamesmaster and Baron Zemo, but a pretty good issue to pick up off the shelf.

Uncanny X-Men #473

Speaking of plots I'm not sure how fearful I should be of...  Remember Jamie Braddock mentioning 'The Foursaken' last issue before he was pulled into his own chest by green monster hands?  Apparently, they are his old school buddies, a real Brat Pack that got kicked out of private schools, thus their moniker.  Oh, and they have super powers.  And there's a 'male' or opposite force to the Phoenix Force called the 'First Fallen' and they're trying to summon it, thus the End of Everything Psylocke mentioned last issue.  Thank heavens there's a Watcher hanging around for exposition purposes.  We also get another butterfly effect reference, meaning no one's watching for reused metaphors at the X-Office.  Well, the Foursaken show up, cause some trouble at Cleopatra's Needle in London and set about using Jamie and the X-Men who came to rescue him to bring about the 'First Fallen', and Betsy's the only one who can stop them as they all get sucked into another dimension anyways.  I'm pretty sure the End of Everything isn't going to happen and the story arc will be fairly self-contained despite its threat level.

X-Men: 198 #5

Last issue and what was a really good idea sort of has that rush job feeling.  The kid with the crazy stomach manipulates everyone and has Leech and Magma kill Absolon Mercator (a name so silly I just can't help but say it as much as possible!).  That... pretty much kills this whole '198 going to live by themselves on an island' thing and everyone goes back to the Internment Camp.  Stomach Kid is never caught, Magma blames Empath, and in as about a resurrection-like analogy as they can fit in, Leech and Lorlei wait by Absolon Mercator's coffin only to wake in the morning and found himself turned into butterflies.  God, I hate butterflies.

American Virgin #3

Remember the nice young man from issue #1?  Well, his intended/soulmate was brutally killed on missionary work in Africa, senselessly so to boot.  And she was sleeping in a room with another guy while she was in Africa and never told him.  Oh, and it looks like she was raped too.  Nice kid to angry slightly unhinged Christian off his own wagon in three issues.  It would have almost made a bigger impact if he's put though all this drama and heartache but manages to remain true to his beliefs, but I guess that's not as interesting a story.  Anyhoo, looks like there's a shady guy who's going to take him to the guy that killed his girl so... maybe we're breaking him down to build him back up.

Batman: Secrets #3

Third verse, same as the first:  more moody, intense and provoking artwork from Sam Kieth, more telling drama and introspective character development and a little shoestring of a plot to hang it all on.  To tell you the truth, I don't even care anymore, the book is too pretty and nifty to let it get you don't.  Here we have the Joker's new squeeze selling him out to Batman because she can't get commitment from the Clown and we just keep slow dancing with secrets.

Captain Atom: Armageddon #8

Wow, 8 of 9 and we already know we get Capt. Atom back in the last Infinite Crisis.  Bad timing?  Lateness?  And... Captain Atom married Plastique?  The Canadian terrorist?  Wow.  Well, Apollo and the Midnighter are sent down to off Captain Atom, the usual thing you do to a guy who's going to 'destroy your universe'.  A pretty heinous fight goes down, Grifter gets his head melted and set on fire and the boys take the fight on the road to space.  When you're killing a guy who's a nuclear reactor, you have to watch where you do it.  If you're committed, great.  It's an interesting read with some minor commentary on the Wildstorm universe, but we all pretty much know the end result.

Cartoon Network: Action Pack #1

We got a toned down Samurai Jack story, a simple Powerpuff Girls tale and something to do with big robots called Mega XLR.  This is kids only stuff, but I wouldn't say it's dumbed down or anything.  Give to the younger set with pride!

Fables #49

The issue before Something Happens.  Everyone remembers the storm and any thought that's given to the moment before is always relative to the damage the storm wreaks.  This is merely filler and story push to get us to the next big thing.  Mowgli finds Bigby, he gets him to come back to Fabletown with him, the chick Bigby shacked up with goes back to her world, Snow and the North Wind notice a change in the winds he didn't cause and everyone's got that sense of foreboding.  Why?  Next issue.

Firestorm #25

Killer Frost, Mister Freeze, some men issues and Firestorm.  Welcome to issue #25.  With the two villains combined, they hijack Firestorm to take him to the sun where Killer Frost can finally feel warmth for the first time by absorbing enough heat from the surface.  Yeah.  Fun science ensues, a random giant floating head moment from Professor Stein and someone peeking in on this world that gave me the willies, and an answer to the dilemma that made me wish I paid my attention in Physics.  Batman shows up at the end to pick up Freeze, admonishes Firestorm for not doing a better job and goes home.  Firestorm freaks out.  'He's just an ordinary guy in a bat suit.  I could take off his head in a second!  But he's got me shaking! That's the way I want to be!'  You can almost see the stars in his eyes.  The story is fun, the artwork a little confusing when they switch from Firestorm Mode to Inner Firestorm Mode, but this is another one you might be able to take off the shelf for flip through fun.

Wildcats: Nemesis #9

Last issue.  It's a lost relationship week at Wildstorm as to cap off another 'isn't she AWESOME?' uninked back story, Nemesis used to date Mr. Majestic.  But, their love was forbidden, and he was forced to 'breed' with her mentor, so he's a dog and doesn't understand her feelings.  Back to the present, Charis takes on the back guy who calls her names and insults her while she counters with witty repartee and his own swords in his stomach.  She gets rescued by Mr. Majestic, asked to join the Wildcats, but no!  She's far too independant and cool for them.  Eh, it wasn't monumental or surprising, but it was fun.

Happy Wednesday everybody.

Buying in – Reviews for 5/4

Second week we've gotten Image previews, second week I've missed getting to them.  Rats.  I'd probably feel worse if it was more than just three books.  Ah well, enjoy your big two previews at least.

X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula #4

Surprisingly enough, I give more cred to Apocalypse from this book than all the other appearances he's got going on these days.  The fairly predictable ending to a very straightforward premise: Apocalypse versus Dracula.  Accept no substitutes.  There's some preliminary mook battles before the Big Guy and the Bat Guy throw down.  Despite the incredible bravado on both ends, the simple human element isn't forgotten and Van Helsing comes in at the nick of time.  Dracula defeated (oh, like he would win?), Apocalypse goes back to sleep thinking his 'Clan Acaba' is done.  Considering one of the supporting characters is named 'Starsmore' and the pink-haired, green-eyed kid has a woman whose last name is Ferguson led up to his room, we all know better and are shown a more sneaky side of Ozmandius to boot.  Hey, if you didn't get all the issues (shame on you, with all those lovely Jae Lee covers!), wait for the trade and take a flip through.  Sure, it's candy, but it's good candy.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #8

Okay.  I like Peter David, a lot in fact, but I think this book isn't doing it.  We are eight issues, four of which were part of The Other, one of which was practically a 'What If?', leaving two for stories in current continuity.  And, number eight starts us off in an alternate universe!  What's the deal?  Spectacular Spider-Man is for a rather outside little plot dealing with animal villains, Amazing Spider-Man is to push Civil War along... what's up with this title?  Is it for kids?  What are we doing here, folks?  Picture a world where Aunt May died instead of Uncle Ben.  Now picture Peter Parker as an insufferable jerk and imagine what that would do to Uncle Ben.  Now picture what that Uncle Ben would do if he walked into this dimension/universe/whathaveyou.  Now picture Hobgoblin 2211.  Yeah.  Is Civil War really that bad?

Marvel Team-Up #20

There is an awesome recap at the front of this book, plus an all ages rating, so feel free to make it a recommendation to the middle set.  Apparently, last month's 90's Redux was tied into a larger building plot and this time Captain America far too excited about slinging his shield at a MODOC squad to remember the RING OF ULTIMATE POWER he's got in his pocket.  He loses it in the fight and it turns up in the hands of Joe Everyman who, after a night of wild experimentation with his friend, learns how to use his power ring.  Meanwhile, something green regrows his/her/its brain.

Sentinel Squad O*N*E #5

Bug Sentinels look cool.  That's all I really have to say, but here's a recap, just in case anything in this book will come in handy later on.  Big Robots fight bug robots in South America to protect a little mutant hamlet in South America.  The government continues to be mean and nasty and at the end of the day, Lexington is the big hero.  Guys e haven't seen in the X-Men books leave the program for ethical beliefs (the alien-looking green guy stays behind to take care of the mutant hamlet, so... we'll never hear from him again...).  Then M-Day happens, Lexington gets to be in charge since he lost his powers and the current status quo gets set, leaving us with the feeling that... stuff happened.

Spider-Man Unlimited #15

Nice touch with the bios in the front, telling us a little about who got to be in the book.  For your $2.99 you get two stories, a pretty cheesy tale about a little kid whose a Spider-Man fan who stayed brave when his brother left him in the getaway car during a robbery and he makes a friend from the encounter, and a second which is absolute gold in my book.  We're taken through a bunch of memories from the perspective of the wife of Dr. Connors, whose single minded dedication to his work and the desire to hold his wife again turns their life upside-down.  It's a very human story, almost an allegory for a dysfunctional family and how they have to hold together despite it all.  Honestly, it's these kinds of stories that really mean Marvel to me.

Marvel Romance Redux: I Should Have Been a Blonde! #1

Patsy Walker!  Satan!  Peter David!  We're on a collision course to wackiness.  I will agree with Kevin (call I call him that?  Is it 'Mr. Beaucoup'?), the story did run long, but I'm so ticked by the romance of Hellcat and Hellstrom, I can almost overlook those obnoxious boxes commenting on everyone's clothing and hair.  We're those in the original?  Geez.  In the end, it's a laugh or to, much better than the last one and worth the $2.99 if you like Patsy Walker and her Son of Satan hubby or just a good hee hee.

The End: X-Men - Book Three: Men & X-Men #5

I was so ready to just plow my way through this book, pick up the salient points and move on but Claremont pulled a fast one on me and waxed philosophical for a bit on Charles Xavier.  Suckered in, I kept reading with interest when suddenly Marie D'Ancanto is helping Kate Pryde's mayoral campaign.  Didn't she die in that big Gambit debacle?  We learn to let go, and let Claremont, and move on.  We get more info on that campaign, which is a nice turn from the rather raucous events in space and just when I was getting comfy, back to the stars!  Fight fight fight fight, one thing after another goes down and just when I'm wondering when anyone is going to notice that the X-Men have perfect telepathic communication when fighting Cassandra Nova in Charles Xavier's body (they even made a point to mention how much psionic power that is in the front of the book!), the over-the-top villainess gets the power of the Phoenix.  My guess?  Next issue she gets the Power Cosmic.

Annihilation: Silver Surfer #2

Speaking of which... Do note this book's all ages rating, making me thrilled to be able to not only give a customer with the Silver Surfer in it, but I can give it to his kid too. Plus, the 'Previously...' recap page has a nifty day count, helpful for putting a multi-issue series in context with itself. This is a happy comic shop employee.  Now, I loved the first issue, and I am happy to report that the second loses no momentum.  Thanos goes to see this conqueror and finds out that Annihilus wants to expand the Negative Zone and to declare war on Universal Balance.  INGENIOUS!  Silver Surfer gets the band back together with other surviving Heralds who all collectively 'Whoa' at the scope of this story.  There hasn't been much, but man, I am on the edge of my seat for the fate of the universe.

Exiles #80

Oh, you know it's bad when they recap a character's life story.  It's a trick I noted in a lot of anime series, that one episode where they tell you everything that happened before so you'll know exactly what they're throwing out the window.  The moment I saw this was going to be from Morph's point of view, I knew the poor guy was up for it.  And I was not proved wrong:  during the big battle between Hulks 2099 and Maestro, long time baddie Proteus jumps into Morph when his defenses are down, decides that this is the body for him and jumps to the next 'verse.  Team leader Blink says this time it's personal.  Considering this guy got away with killing her beau and has been the focal point for way too many issues, something better give.

Exterminators #5

Did you know this is an ongoing series?  I thought it was a mini!  Anyways, the bug phobia continues.

Hard Time - Season Two #6

Nothing like a story about a kid in prison and his place in the multiverse!  This issue steps out of the current conflict to dive head first into mystics, metaphor, various allusions, secrets and a cheery tour of the book in general and the cast at large.  The kind of story that tickles long time readers and the author himself as he gets to hint at a bunch of stuff, but really doesn't o much for the average reader.  As a storytelling device, it's a cool idea that you can just take the main character to a metaphysical museum and have him tour himself in various tableaus, and in the end, everyone learns a little something about themselves and Cutter promises revenge.

Justice League Unlimited #21

It's supposed to be a 'romance issue' as it revolves around a few couples but it just has the feel that it was written by a high school nerd.  There are a lot of expositionary facts around a very simple story:  Vixen and Green Lantern are having relationship issues while fighting a big storm which just so happens to be caused by Heatwave and Killer Frost having a lover's spat.  Black Canary and Green Arrow are there to provide backup and couple advice and everything's resolved in the end but the Shayera/Vixen/Green Lantern triangle.  Does Green Arrow really have an arrow for everything?

Swamp Thing #27

Enrique Breccia's art is very Corben in this issue, which is a little over saturated for me.  Especially since the last issue I read was so pretty, but it does deliver the sort of dreamy scary story Vertigo is known for delivering.  Swamp Thing makes camp and draws his line.  The inhabitants of said camp warn that they may have to fight to hold that line and the Swam Thing promises protection while slimy things makes life hard outside the swamp.  Not too wordy, not too complicated, just storytelling.

Team Zero #6

The Machismo Issue.  And it's the last one to bring it all home!  There's a big throw down with the Russians in this WWII tale, a handful of double crosses met with bullets and all the characters you're not familiar with from the Wildstorm Universe get bumped off and in the end, the mission is completed and... uhm, yeah.  That's it.  Maybe we were supposed to learn something, but that's what Sgt. Rock and Fury: Peacemaker are for.

Y the Last Man #45

A fast paced issue with plenty of plot points blooming up like spring flowers.  Dr. Mann's mom spills the beans on her connections to this whole story, Agent 355 reaches her breaking point, the monkey stays in unfamiliar hands and in the end... NINJA!  Really, this is a hard book to keep up with issues after issue and really reads much better in trade paperback form.  There's no shame in this; there's a lot to think about, so I continue to recommend it in a thicker format.

Fat Load of Books! – Reviews for 4/26

A lot of previews this week, plus a little something extra: IMAGE previews!  Didn't get ot them though, so we'll make an extra special addition to the reviews tomorrow.  Otherwise, enjoy!

American Way #3

Well, surprise, surprise, being a 'fake' superhero sucks.  The African-American hero, now known as 'The New American' takes his job seriously and becomes the golden boy of the superhero set, bristling at not being able to show he's black due to political climate.  The book continues along predictably as some rather interesting characters fall into either the 'spoiled and jaded actor' to the 'longing to do right idealist' categories.  One even turns out to be homicidally crazy, killing his family and has to be taken down.  In the middle of the battle, the New American's faceplate cracks and everybody gasps in shock. Let's see where they take it from here, but this might be a 'wait on a trade' story.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #204

I just don't feel it from those cover zombies.  I mean, I have seen some zombies in my comics these days, those guys look sort of bored.  At least Batman looks mad.  We open with a tale about a 'Gotham' under the reign of King John in Nottingham, England, where the populace decided to act crazy, thus putting their town under quarantine lest the madness spread, to keep from being taxed.  Back in our Gotham, Bruce Wayne finds a secret door with secret info in his stately mansion that tells of a group called 'The Madmen of Gotham' which was sort of a covert group of high public officials that would help lead Gotham into a new enlightened future.  One of these guys wanted to put chemicals in the water to even everyone out.  Apparently the rest of the committee has seen Serenity, knew it was a bad idea, but the guy remained adamant.  Cut back to now again and we find random super-powered lunatics in Gotham (new ones this time instead of the old standards) trying to control Gotham's populace in one way or another.  It's well-written and well-paced and certainly worth a look, maybe two with the next issue.

Catwoman #54

Continuing the good.  Holly gets out of her jam in the tradition of desperate survival.  Selina breast feeds.  Slam Bradley gets drunk and Wildcat shows up just in time to be seen in a bar brawl, get a phone call from Holly and dispense a bit of advice to 'keep fighting'.  Looks like a late night TV host of all things seems to be more than he appears, especially since he has footage of a unmasked (but still vaguely anonymous) Catwoman kicking a man when he's down.  Not too much happens here, plot creeps along on little cat feet but it does do one thing and that's remind you that this job is hard.  Being Catwoman is tough and Holly just might be tough enough to do it right.

Ion #1

... uhm, excuse me?  Really, why do we need this book again?  Not that Kyle Rayner isn't a good character who made a passable Green Lantern, but his time is done now, isn't it?  And, didn't we already have this story?  Kyle Rayner is 'Ion' now, a 'torch bearer' for the Guardians who aren't sure if he can handle all this awesome power- no really, I'm sure this is familiar...  what isn't familiar is the flashback-now cut scenes with flashbacks of Kyle really wimping out in space, possibility annihilating a bunch of GLs (including one 'Torquemada') and then it's back to now with him chilling out at an artist's retreat.  He meets a chick who doesn't talk.  He meets a chick who wants to collect them bounty on him, causing him to understandably 'power up' in a nice splash page of eminent battle on the last page.  Still, it leaves you with that 'why are we here again?' kind of feeling.

Lucifer #73

With it's Hellboyish charms, this book can bring in the bigger issues of why were create stories about where we're going and what we're doing here when they came come at it from both sides, the lofty heights and the everyman sort of state, which is what Gaudium, Spera and Lumen are for.  The book pretty much made a restart for the idea of God, Heaven and Hell, et al. and is still cleaning things up in preparations for the final issue.  We get a tour of the forgotten Hells and Heavens that Elaine has to dust off, erase or take care of and meet Remiel, the angel that used to rule Heaven with Duma back when there was a Hell.  Lumen laments the fact that everything has been reset and feels a bit cheated out of all the hard work that had been done since time out of mind, while Spera gives hope that the best really is yet to come.  Amazing how a simply written book can make you smile on a philosophical level.

Skye Runner #1

Don't worry if you feel like you're missing something from the first part of the book, it's supposed to be that way.  Otherwise, Battle Chasers fans this way!  We have the cute sword and sorcery tale of a young busty lass who's got a warrior's spirit despite her problem of being a woman.  Lady Skye, instead of being a knight as she's always dreamed, is a 'runner' a sort of page/herald combo deal.  At least she would be this if the kingdom she came from wasn't reduced to a small village.  She's got 'the strength of three men and the outfit of three whores' (the latter of which she's rather embarrassed by, making me wonder why she doesn't just get a shirt), a sister, a moppet-like niece and nephew, as well as a flintlock and sword.  Alex Garcia's art is pretty cool, very Jamie Hewlett in some places, and gets extra points for getting the story across when the art doesn't.  The story really starts towards the end of the book where we get an inkling of were we're going on this adventure, when Skye kills a god.  This is an epic level adventure, folks.

Solo #10 (Damion Scott)

Whoa, heavy hip hop art.  Did anyone else even know these things are numbered?  I kind of like them as single shot of art.  And this shot is way too cool.  Warning, this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but the work is vivid, dynamic and feels pulled off of someone's high school notebook or the underside of a cement bridge.  This guy apparently used to do Batgirl, a style he revisits for a 'Cassie' era Robin/Batgirl story the only way I really see the short lived girl Robin.  There's a incredible Flash story, some great portraits of Superman and a future story about Tim Drake and Cassandra Cain that's well done and slick.  Again, you really got a dig the funky art, but if you do, get two copies.  It's worth it.

Warlord #3

Sing along if you know this one: amnesiatic tough guy lands in a barbaric land that mistakes him for their savior.  The guy who has been bested by our hero doesn't buy it, has ambition and hooks up with some conflicted royalty.  Bart Sears's artwork is very thickly inked, which combined with the rather thick language Bruce Jones uses, it just tends to make you want to skip pages.  There is a dinosaur in the book, so it can't be bad, but you'd still be better off with an issue of Red Sonja or Conan.

Amazing Spider-Man #531

Spider-Man fights the Titanium Man!  Good ol' Russian stereotypes are in place with just a little bit of a twist at the end.  He goes on an on about how terrible the fall of the USSR is and how the US government will eliminate its own heroes because he's gotten word of this 'Superhero Registration Act' and so have all his evil buddies.  Yeah, you're right, that is a little too convenient.  Turns out Tony Stark put him up to the attack and write that little speech for him in order to buy him some time with the committee.  Forget the Civil War historical analogies,  Spider-Man's appearance in the hearing the next day with his everyman sort of speech, the best moment in the book comes from the hired Titanium Man, who asks Iron Man as he hands him his payment, 'When your government turns against you... when you are hunted down and drawn out... I wonder -- how will you feel the day you run errands for other people... for briefcases full of money?'  The end of the book dovetails right into Civil War #1.  Folks, it begins.

Annihilation: Ronan #1

Like the Super Skrull issue, but not as solid.  Months after the Annihilation wave (instead of the previous 'right after' issues), Ronan is a sort of Judge Dredd on a payback mission, dispensing hard justice along the way.  Tana-Nile is the name of the witness who testified against him and sold him up the river, so he's hunting her down.  He fights folk along the way and is a general sort of bad ass and on the last page, sort of squeezed in is a Gamora cameo.  Simon Furman may need some room to get this all together.

Black Panther #15

Flip through it fast to get the basics.  Not really worth your $2.99 considering the endings not all that surprising.  What is surprising is the first three pages where we, out of nowhere, get a new/another 'Arabian Knight' from a unmentioned Middle Eastern country.  They even seem to think this isn't the best idea, but if the Vatican can have a 'Black Knight' go attack Wakanda, why not them?  Indeed, why not have this poor guy show up with his one little word bubble of 'Die Infidels! For I am...' sort of speech, can't hurt?  Well, it can when it's right in the middle of some Black Panther & Storm relationship drama.  As if Reginald Hudlin didn't trust himself to write the scene all that well, so he just sort of threw in some action to keep our interest.  This miserable stereotype gets his ass handed to him while Black Panther tries to woo Storm, who's rightly a little put off by this sudden proposal.  They don't spare this Arabian Knight a second look as he's trounced.  Poor guy.  Storm agrees to think about it and Black Panther takes her back to Wakanda when the inhabitants seem shocked and awed by the sight of their monarch holding hands with her.  Meeting the Panther's momma, she finally sets things straight.  Storm is a very powerful and strong character, the kind of woman you want co-leading a country.  The question she poses to Ororo is simple:  do you really want this crossover to last... forever?  Well, you know the answer.

Daughters of the Dragon #4

Now that there's a Heroes For Hire book in the works, looks like this is the issue to tune into.  And, believe it or not, it all sort of fits in to the recently announced title.  Misty Knight gets her cybernetic arm (and The Chip) stolen back by Belladonna amidst some textbook references about psychology and masks (yeah, just go with it).  Then its Humbug to the rescue!  You heard me.  HUMBUG.  We get some 'How did Misty Knight lose her arm' flashback sequence and Stark shows up for a quickie cameo and upgraded arm-aments (Ha ha).  Humbug looks to be going legit as he helps Colleen Wing find out that this book could really use some Ninjas.  This book would be a lot better if they took themselves a little less seriously.  I'm not saying they want to make a operatic epic, I'm saying they still want to come across as 'cool'.

Fantastic Four #537

Doom with hammer on the cover.  Do we get it inside?  HELL NO!  Inside, we get Doctor Doom getting asked how he made it out of hell, only to sort of drift off for a moment to recount a fairly slap/dash explanation of how it all went down.  Hammer coming crashing back to earth apparently opened up a gate between hell and earth, he hopped through, the end.  Try not to think about it too much says Marvel and I don't mind agreeing with them on this one.  I mean, come on, who wants to live in a world without Dr. Doom?  Exposition over, he fights the FF, tries to pick up the hammer, unsurprisingly FAILS and goes home to clean house in Latveria.   We get another stupid 'flash of blinding light' when Doom tried though, which apparently sent a signal to perhaps the heir to Mjolnir?  Someone with the initial 'DB' or... who just likes wearing those initials?  A lot of in-betweens here, just points to get to the next points.  Though there is one monumental thing:  THE RETURN OF THE EDITOR'S NOTE!  My favorite tiny yellow boxes are back as Tom Brevoort reminds us all that Ragnarok actually happened.  Not the best of notes, but still!  Nice to see them back.

Incredible Hulk #94

Hrm, lost my notes on this one, let's see what we can pull from memory.  More Gladiator action!  More aliens with complex backgrounds and political structures!  And finally the Hulk concedes to being in the book.  I mean really, we're on our way to Planet Hulk and what is sure to be his eventual return to the Marvel Universe, this is just the slow boat.  However, there are some pretty cute retro flashbacks regarding his rag tag crew's personal origins, including one from the perspective of the Hulk.  Apparently, the gamma bomb was Banner's way of trying to kill the Hulk.  So ... so it seems this week.  Eh.  This is pretty much trade fodder, considering the arcs slated for a year.

Runaways #15

Oh!  Last issue, when Alex Wilder's old MMORPG group tries to resurrect him, they wound up getting his dad from the 80's!  Somehow, that's really cool.  He takes the rag tag group and goes about getting revenge for the kid he never even got to sire.  Meanwhile, the Runaways deal with personal feelings and issues in a way that doesn't seem trite or whiney, we learn a little more about them through the little touches and never forget that these are kids in a really big world.  That's why they go down like a tons of bricks to the right amount of tactic trickery.  This book never tries to make them more than who they are and I appreciate that.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #5

Mary Jane gets her dream date with Spider-Man, who takes true nerdy care to be romantic and sweep her off her feet.  Skyscraper views, a picnic beside city lights, a carriage ride in the park, not to mention a few swing bys to rescue those in need.  The only thing missing is, well, a personal connection.  Realizing the perils of loving a man behind a mask, MJ asks to go home, giving Spidey a peck for his troubles and pours her heart out to Liz the next day.  Realizing her mistake, Liz doesn't bother telling her 'I told you so', just acts like a good friend and reminds her that Peter Parker is head over heels for her, and Mary Jane decides to give him a second chance.  But it seems Peter's hitting it off with the new girl in school, a girl by the name of Gwen Stacy.  God, I love this book.

Storm #3

And as if in contrast, we have the young love of Storm and T'Challa.  The young prince is actually portrayed pretty well as he brings back Ororo and her rival to the little thief camp led by 'the Teacher'.  Both share there awe and distaste for one another because of class and wealth.  The rest of the orphans are in awe of T'Challa, who seemed a little more like a kid and less like some big great destined prince.  His eye on Ororo, she laments being a girl, not et a woman and walks off to visit treasures that remind her of her dead parents.  T'Challa follows, they talk and the rival girl gets even more jealous.  Oh, and a white guy wrestled a bull.  Maybe it's me, but there's just something kind of uncomfortable about reading a comic about a young girl and her blossoming womanhood.

Wolverine #41

Double sized, probably was slated to be an annual or some such.  But this, this is the kind of Wolverine story I can get into, just a hard man doing hard work the hard way.  Zwarthied, classily labeled by the UN 'world's worst country', is pretty much a little bit of everything going wrong in Africa right now.  One good man cleans things up as bets he can, is assassinated for his troubles, leaving an heir in the form of a tiny baby girl who needs to get out of the country.  Enter Black Panther first, who can't get involved due to the fact this book is called 'Wolverine', so he calls the New Avengers and Wolvie takes up the cause.  Never been to the world's worst country, apparently.  In some well illustrated scenes, Wolverine straps the baby to his chest and fights his way out.  Good, moody, warmly silhouetted art, it's not too preachy on the political stuff, but it's honest as well.  It's nice to see some problems with doing what he does best from Wolverine, especially when things are this messed up.  Also, that is one good baby.

X-Factor #6

Aw.  My pet theory was that Layla Miller was actually Charles Xavier after House of M. Instead, in this rather 'settling in' sort of issue, we learn as much about her origin as we learned from Wolverine's in Origin, a.k.a. just enough to keep us interested.  Turns out she's an orphan and been sort of 'hanging out' at the X-Factor Detective Agency when she should be in foster care.  Most of the cast still seems a little mixed on her being there, as well as sorting out what to do in lieu of the attack on Siryn and being generally snarky.  Jamie and Rahne (orphans themselves) go and check this thing out and we find out Layla has some sort of 'chaos theory' power in which she can choose to do something or not and affect the future outcome of things.  Think the character 'Destiny', only younger and with more butterflies.  They eventually decide to take her in and only Rictor seems to think the girl is still more than she seems.  It's a nice series of moments to give our heroes some credibility or detail as needed.  Heck, it's been what six issues now and the little moment between Jamie and Guido (buds since the old X-Factor days) has that nice worn sweater feel.  We know these characters, David's just reminding us and adding something new and different to the mix.  Now whether this new and different turns out to be something more than a Deux ex Machina... we'll see.

Happy Wednesday.