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This is going to be a tough one to do. First off I have a crap-load of work to do for school, including a take-home test and a 10-page paper I haven’t started yet. Couple that with a weekend of computer problems where my main computer was out of commission while I was fixing it and that’s why this thing is late. I’ve been terrible this year with lateness and I know this won’t continue. Anyway, only Marvel and DC are represented this week, with 5 titles coming from DC and 19 coming from Marvel for a total of 24 comics.
Spoiler Alert
Marvel
-Amazing Spider-Man #592- Spider-Man comes back two months later to a world he doesn’t remember, especially since JJJ is the mayor of NYC! So Spidey, ever the antagonist, keeps his costume on for three days to annoy JJJ and boy is he annoyed. Peter Parker, meanwhile, catches JJJ Sr. and his Aunt in bed together. Yikes! There was an interesting letter in the letters column which is worth the price of admission alone. Not as great as last issue, but this was good readin’. 1/1.
-Astonishing X-Men #29- Huh, didn’t remember this came out?! Anyway, the X-Men head to see Forge, who made some mutants to battle mutants from another alternate dimension. It made a lot more sense in my head when I was reading it. If you’ve been following along, among the delays, it’s worth it and definitely one to pick up in the trades if you haven’t. 2/2.
-Avengers: The Initiative #23- Osborn comes in and closes down the Initiative Compound while the away team is now stranded in Hydra territory with no means of escape and with Komodo de-powered. I’m kind of just waiting for this title to end. I don’t think it’s been as good as it was when the Civil War ended and now doesn’t even have a place in the Marvel Universe anymore. 2/3.
-Daredevil #118- Kingpin returns and sets up his offensive against the Hand, even freeing the Owl, who goes to Lady Bullseye anyway to take out the Kingpin. DD has his life continue to fall apart, as Foggy fires him for not being a good partner. DD has conflict in his life and that makes him interesting. I’m lovin’ this Brubaker run so far. 3/4.
-Dark Reign: Elektra #2- Elektra escapes because she’s a kick-ass assassin, and then surprisingly goes to Foggy for help. Norman is worried about Elektra being loose and sticks Bullseye on her. No joke, the best Elektra’s been in years. 4/5.
-Guardians of the Galaxy #13- The Guardians get pulled into the War of Kings saga, with half the team going to Black Bolt to ask him to stop fighting (he doesn’t) and the other half going to Vulcan. They end up with the Starjammers, while Adam Warlock finds himself in the clutches of Vulcan. Let the awesomeness begin! 5/6.
-Incredible Hercules #128- Hercules and company end up bailing, allowing the Avengers to battle Olympus. Meanwhile, it seems that someone within Olympus has been contacting Norman without Hera’s approval, and she’s not happy. I like the way Cho’s being used here and this is a title I look forward to every month. 6/7.
-Hulk #11- Yeah, so everyone fights and the so the game is changed with the addition of Galactus, Dormammu, Psycho-Man and Hulk losing to Rulk. This was just a fun battle issue. 7/8.
-Kick-Ass #6- We see the origin of Big Daddy and Hit-Girl (cop whose wife was killed by mobsters) and they want the help of Red Mist and Kick-Ass to take out the mafia. Unfortunately, the Red Mist sells them out and now the father-daughter killers need Kick-Ass’ help. Another “Kick-Ass” issue. The whole thing is pretty unbelievable now, but it’s one of the most unique titles on the stands. 8/9.
-Marvels: Eye of the Camera #5- A dying Phil Sheldon works on his book and gets frustrated that he can’t do what he used to do by taking his photos. He’s stuck up in the hospital when Maggie (mutant he sheltered in the first series) shows up to see him! A very humanistic tale and Busiek masterfully writes a story of a human man living in a world of Marvels and taking a different spin than what he did with Marvels. 9/10.
-Mighty Avengers #24- Scarlet Witch/Loki continues manipulating both the Evil Cabal and the Mighty Avengers to suit her needs, and Quicksilver rejoins the Mighty to see his sister again, not knowing that it is not her. Loki is using the Avengers to save the world (but not America) to piss off Norman and those in the evil Illuminati. Loki was a great addition to this title and gives it an interesting spin. 10/11.
-New Avengers #52- Strange looks for a new sorcerer supreme, Hood deals with the demons that control him, and Peter Parker is still unmasked. Oh yeah, and I’m still unhappy with this title. Strange has never sold comics, and I don’t know why they think he will now. 10/12.
-Skrull Kill Krew #1- The Skrull Kill Krew got their powers from eating the burgers made from Skrull cows and they’re still kicking and still taking out Skrulls. It’s a good story with a decent twist, our star didn’t mutate because of the Skrull meat, he was a Skrull. Well, now I am hooked so good job. 11/13.
-Wolverine: The Anniversary #1- The Anniversary refers to Wolvie and Mariko and Mariko’s untimely death. There’re two tales, the first featuring Wolvie flying back to Japan and stop a suicide bombing, then a second dealing with Wolvie dealing with the ghosts in his life. The first story is just vicious Wolvie and it worth a read. 12/14.
-Wolverine First Class #14- This is the conclusion of the Hand vs. Shadowcat/Wolverine/Elektra/Daredevil match-up. It’s written by Peter David so you know it’s witty and funny and the best two issues of the series thus far. 13/15.
-Wolverine Origins #35- Wolvie battles Daken in order to get the Murumasa blade. The Astonishing X-Men group helps out Wolvie and he gets the sword back. However, Daken has stolen a piece and brings it to the Tinkerer for some reason. Wolverine does end up running into Victor Hudson, a strong brute from his past. A serviceable issue. 14/16.
-Wolverine: Weapon X Files #1- This is a handbook type book featuring characters associated with Wolvie’s long history. You know what you get with these titles. 15/17.
-X-Force #14- We see how Bishop got into the company of Stryfe by bringing him to a future where he can kill Apocalypse and take over the world, a world that now has X-Force and Cable. Stryfe shows up to kill them and Angel leaves, hearing a message from Apocalypse. Archangel finds him and he’s worse for the wear. This has been awesome so far. 16/18.
-X-Men: Life and Times of Lucas Bishop #3- Bishop comes to the present and this just takes things up to date from his first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #282 to the present day of him going after Cable. It’s a recap of his current time in Marvel and is a fitting conclusion to the mini-series. A fun issue. 17/19.
DC
-Azrael: Death’s Dark Knight #2- Azrael takes down the goofs that Talia is using. He finds out that his suit of sorrows drive people to madness. He keeps the suit and heads to the Batcave where Nightwing is waiting. I don’t know how I feel with about this book. It wasn’t a bad story but I just find I don’t care. Maybe there are too many Battle for the Cowl titles around? It’s a serviceable title and I do like the Suit of Sorrows angle, so it’s a point. 1/1.
-Battle for the Cowl: Arkham Asylum #1- So I just complain about too many Battle for the Cowl titles and yet I am about to praise this one. This was a comic that featured no one we’d ever seen before, but was quite interesting due to the storytelling. So Arkham is gone, but Arkham himself (well, the second generation one) is worried about the kooks in the basement, including a man who loves himself, a woman is hideously ugly, and a man with no face. I doubt these characters will lead anywhere but it was a fun title to read giving a different view on the Batman supporting cast. 2/2.
-Detective Comics #853- This is the fantastic conclusion to Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? So what if it is delayed? This was fantastic storytelling on the part of Gaiman. We see Batman, basically going through a near-death experience and seeing different ways that he has died, either doing something spectacular or mundane but all keeping the same theme that he never gives up. He is guided through this by his mother and it’s a touching tale of Batman journeying through his life and what it really meant.. Eventually, he learns to let go of his life as Batman and the story ends with the birth of Bruce Wayne all those years ago. We don’t actually know where Bruce is now, but the story was just amazing and is worth the $8 for the great two-parter. 3/3.
-Justice League of America #32- This mentions the twilight of Dr. Light and the cover sees her in the arms of Starbreaker. It comes across as cheesy and something that a lesser comic would do to bank on the success of the twilight books. It just seems bush league. It’s a shame because the story inside was pretty good. Dinah is dealing with the pressure of disbanding the JLA while all the other members basically ignore what she’s saying. Dr. Light is very pompous here, and it written well. Light and Firestorm visit Shadow Thief, Starbreaker comes out and takes Light’s powers, and it looks like this ragtag JLA will have to battle the vaunted foe. The story inside was fine, but the cover was just terrible. 4/4.
-Trinity #47- The first story features the good guys taking on the bad guys, with Despero’s army showing up as the reinforcements for the heroes arrive, namely TVM and his group and the JLI as the Worldsoul is dying. The second story features Luthor giving Alfred some information on the evil Trinity which is relayed to Batman through Nightwing. Now the heroes have a way to win! Another great issue, which is no different from this group. This has been wildly consistent and is one I can always count on to deliver. 5/5.
Awards
-Book of the Week- Detective Comics by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert was just awesome. I loved this. This is a two-parter you need to read. Gaiman’s storytelling is just so precise and enthralling.
-Disappointment of the Week- I really had no fun reading Avengers: The Initiative this week, but any negative feelings I had towards it were quickly forgotten by New Avengers. This is a title I’ve been picking up out of habit and I’m kind of regretting that now.
-Cover of the Week- Wolverine: The Anniversary, with a cover by Simone Bianchi, was really eye-catching which is something you’d need for a one-shot.
-The Bottom Line- Sorry for the 24-hour delay, but I have just a ton of work to do this weekend. Next week looks to be a short week of comics, too, but I still have some final projects to do for college so that takes precedence right now. It’s the last week so I don’t expect any more delays through to the end of June. It was a decent week, but some of the comics, even though point-worthy, weren’t great and although the numbers looked good, it was an average week.
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