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***Editor's Note*** This was done on Sunday but I just competely forgot to post it until now!
Last week there was a little hiccup with a 3-day delay but that was due to me just relaxing during the early part of my vacation. This week we’re on time with a stash of 18 comics. Only DC and Marvel are represented, with 4 DC’s and 14 Marvels. Let’s see if we can make it three weeks in a row without a dud in the bunch!
Spoiler Alert
Marvel
-Amazing Spider-Man #591- This was one I was looking forward for a long time. Johnny ripped of Spidey’s mask and now we see his face! Well, we don’t since Sue turned him invisible. She says he shouldn’t unmask unless he wanted to. Anyway, they are in the rapid-moving microverse. I was so drawn into this comic I was feeling for Spidey as all his friends and relationships moved on in the two months he was gone. I felt so bad for him, seeing Harry cope without him, seeing May live on without him, and his life falling apart. Anyway, the FF and Spidey save the microverse (which is the sub-plot to the main theme of the unmasking) with Spider-Man revealing that it’s a psychic blindspot. When Reed reveals he can make that so no one can get that information from them, Spidey actually unmasks for the FF. That is huge, since it’s the first time Spidey has shown anyone his face. Will the FF remember now? So Spidey shows up after two months to see the new mayor, JJJ. This was an epic issue that explained all it needed to explain. I don’t necessarily agree with Spidey unmasking to the FF but at least he’d unmask to Marvel’s first family. There was so much here that got me drawn into the character I didn’t realize how well Spidey has been that I would get that connected to a character. This is so close to the original Ditko/Lee run that it’s hard to believe its this good. 1/1.
-Captain America #49- This issue takes a break from the 3-part storylines as we head to Cap #50. It’s slower than recent issues but it delves into Sharon and her regret over the death of Cap at her hands. She tries to get her life together but her memories come flooding back, to the loss of her baby to something she saw while under control of Faust. The faux-Cap is also lurking around as well. 2/2.
-DarkTower: The Sorcerer #1- This is a one-shot written by the great Robin Furth that delves into the dark sorcerer of the DarkTower series, Marten Broadcloak. This is just an in-depth look at the mythos of the DarkTower, from the grapefruit to Marten’s origin. This acts as a bridge between the last series and the next one and is recommended reading for any DarkTower fan. 3/3.
-Incognito #3- Incognito continues kicking ass as our main star is committing petty crimes at the behest of his co-worker who discovered his identity. He wants to kill him but doesn’t. Unfortunately, other villains looking for him do that and he has to use his powers in public to kill them. He hopes that no one will find out but we know he won’t be that lucky. This is why Brubaker is at the top of my favorite writers list, he creates these amazing noir stories using relatable characters and fantastical scenes that don’t seem out of place or forced. 4/4.
-Punisher #4- Punisher makes his violent escape from the Hood’s troops and make a beeline for the Hood himself. Hood is ready for Punisher, using Microchip to lure him in. This is a great representation of Frank in the Marvel Universe and Dark Reign really fits his dark attitude. 5/5.
-Rampaging Wolverine #1- This was supposed to be a Wolverine magazine that is now just a one-shot. This is done in black and white and is definitely a different take on Wolverine. There’re four stories, the last one is just a shortie, the first is one of Wolvie resolving some loose ends from his past. The best combo is the story of Wolvie taking on a sniper and the prose story by Robin Furth talking about what happened next. This felt like the b&w Elektra story that Miller did and is just really unique and worth a look. 6/6.
-Secret Invasion Aftermath: Beta Ray Bill – The Green of Eden #1- Well, I guess we needed more Beta Ray Bill? This is basically Skrulls trying to worship Bill and Bill getting stuck in the middle of another Skrull holy war. Did he help? I guess we’ll never know. This, unfortunately, has no real redeeming qualities. It was an okay story but not one that one would want to read (like the Wolverine one-shot) and has no real lasting value in the Marvel Universe. I’d take a pass, especially for $4.00. 6/7.
-Sub-Mariner Comics: Marvel 70th Anniversary #1- Roy Thomas, Golden Age enthusiast, writes a kick-ass story of Namor saving a U-Boat then realizing his mistake and exacting revenge on them, due to their hatred and disdain for other groups of people. This was very well-written. There’s another story of Namor stopping Nazi’s who are testing on reefs at sea. The first appearance of Sub-Mariner, as seen in Marvel Comics #1, is also reprinted here. I love these 70th anniversary specials which show the characters that started Marvel. 7/8.
-Stand, The: American Nightmares #2- We see our characters trying to make do in a world where 99% of the population is gone. Lloyd is in a prison by himself trying to escape, Nick shoots himself in the leg fighting off Ray Booth. Nick kills Booth but not before losing an eye. We meet an arsonist who blows up a power plant, Harold and Frannie decide to head to Vermont, and Rita and Larry decide to book it out of New York. This was a set up issue more than anything else with some good character development that will pay off later on in the mini-series. 8/9.
-Uncanny X-Men #508- It seems that Madelyne Pryor is resurrecting old X-people in general. She already has Chimera, Spiral and Lady Deathstrike in her stead and steals the body of Kwannon from a secret graveyard of Wolverine’s. She is going to be revived using the body of Psylocke (does Claremont know about this?) and this sends a psionic feedback to all the telepaths. So Kwannon is revived and great, good for her. In other news, Northstar rejoins the team. I actually would like to see how the Pryor thing plays out, though her man, Cyclops, is nowhere to be found this issue. I’m also interested in the subplot of Beast and Angel and the secrets Angel had been keeping. 9/10, barely.
-Wolverine: Noir #1- We saw Wolvie in the X-Men Noir series, though I don’t know if this is the same one. So Wolvie has a detective agency with his mentally challenged friend (or brother) and a woman named Mariko comes in asking for help. His co-worker, Dog, goes off to the hotel mentioned to speak to its owner, Creed, only to go missing. Wolvie investigates and finds his friend gone with nothing but blood and his keepsake knife in its place. The pacing of this was awesome, with shots and panels you would expect in a Noir type film. Marvel really hit paydirt with these Noir mini’s. 10/11.
-X-Factor #42- Madrox is in the future and meets up with a future version of Cyclops. Gotta love the dystopian X-futures! Strong Guy and Rictor head to New England to find out more about the Madrox priest dupe against Siryn’s wishes. Peter David is really cementing his legacy as probably the best X-Factor writer ever, including the original series. 11/12.
-X-Men: Legacy #223- Xavier takes control of Danger, ending the program but the Shi’ar take him out and want to take Danger. Rogue, she herself finishing a journey to rebuild her psyche and self-esteem, shows up telling the Shi’ar that they won’t assert their will against Gambit and Xavier. I didn’t care for Danger as a character when she was introduced in Astonishing X-Men, and I still don’t like her. The Rogue stuff is passable and earns this title a point. 12/13.
DC
-Action Comics #876-Ursa attacks the two rogue Kryptonians, Thara and Christopher, only to have Christopher dispatch of her and escape with his badly wounded teammate and going to Lois for help. I can’t believe that Action is still quite readable without Superman. I’m impressed with this so far. 1/1.
-Battle for the Cowl: Oracle #2- Oracle still searches for Calculator, who is looking for the anti-life equation to cure his comatose daughter. I’ll admit, I don’t understand the importance of this. If they wanted Barbara to be reborn, do it in the pages of Birds of Prey before ending it. The cover featured a gratuitous shot of Babs’ cleavage which is terribly out of place, too. This just wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on. 1/2.
-Superman/Batman #58- Batman heads to the nanoverse to save Superman from rapid aging (a theme echoed in Amazing Spider-Man this week, too) only to have Batman rescued by the inhabitants of the Nanopolis and Superman captured by the nanotech that Toyman shot there. It leads to Superman (super-charged and ready to explode) about to fight Batman. Another one I wasn’t crazy about, but there wasn’t anything insulting or terrible here to make it worthless. 2/3.
-Trinity #46- When DC lets me down I am able to read this and have my feelings about them redeemed. So the heroes uncover the artifacts the evil Trinity used at the beginning of the series then head to the Arctic to battle the bad guys. Meanwhile, the second story shows Konvikt coming in contact with TVM and the rest of the rogues who turned good that Morgaine employed with plans to go against her. The Crime Syndicate World falls apart, too, and Enigma goes to them to offer help. Things are rapidly heading towards its conclusion and this is yet another AWESOME comic. 3/4.
Awards
-Book of the Week- Amazing Spider-Man #591 just pulled me into its story so well that I was actually feeling for the character of Peter Parker. I have to say this is one of the best-written series since Brand New Day concluded. Dan Slott just crafted an awesome story, going through tons of plot points without feeling rushed and setting things up for some time to come. The big surprise at the ending was just icing on the cake. What I really liked was the FF team-up was used perfectly, using an old story to set up why no one knows who Spider-Man is. I disagree with Spidey unmasking to the FF but that’s just personal bias and not bad story-telling. A great issue.
-Disappointment of the Week- Batman: B4TC Oracle was by far the worst thing I read this week, and the worst thing I’ve read in a long time. It was just a waste of paper for me and I didn’t even feel like I should’ve been reading it, like it was below me. I don’t want to feel that way as a reader. It brought no enjoyment to me at all and I want my $3.00 back.
-Cover of the Week- I’ve done this a few times with DOTW when there’s nothing bad enough to be called disappointment. There was no cover that leapt out at me that stood out among the rest. Some were okay, but none worthy of being the best cover of the week.
-The Bottom Line- Well, the perfect streak couldn’t last forever as two titles fell below what I would consider acceptable. Some of the other titles were borderline, especially some of the X-titles, unfortunately. The good far outweighed the bad and great writers like Stephen King, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Ed Brubaker, Kurt Busiek and Dan Slott carried the week.
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Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
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