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I hope you all had a great Fourth of July weekend. Mine was pretty awesome. I did the usual BBQ and I was able to really enjoy Wimbledon before playing a bunch of tennis myself. I also got through the comics I needed to. This week was a light week and with 5 Wednesdays this month I predict the other 4 weeks will be light, too. This week saw a total of 18 comics, 5 of which were DC’s and 13 of which were Marvel’s. That’s all I have for now, let’s see how the comics were.
Spoiler Alert
Marvel
-Agents of Atlas #7- This issue serves two purposes. First it settles the Namor/Namora romance by revealing it was an Atlantean plot to get rid of the Agents while the two get married and it also gives some background on the dragon that is behind the Atlas Foundation. Another awesome Agents issue. 1/1.
-Astonishing Tales #6- This issue concludes all the main storylines (Wolvie and Punisher are able to stop the hounds by sicking one on the leader of Hydra, Iron Man 2020 stops the man who attacked his ship and the Mojo movie stuff ends with a loophole in the contract) as well as throws in a Sabra story. Anthology titles like this (and Marvel Comics Presents before it) just doesn’t seem to have a place in this current comic book market. It is tough to really get into a title that is crammed into only 4 pages. 1/2.
-Cable #16- Cable and Hope attempt to bodyslide but Hope is pissed at Cable and lets go and she ends 2 years ahead of Cable. Cable looks for Hope (who would be two years older) while Hope finds a friend and also finds Bishop. Bishop chasing them across time is certainly leading to some interesting stories. 2/3.
-Captain America: Reborn #1- Sharon, long believing she had killed Steve Rogers, finds the gun she used and realizes it wasn’t a gun at all. She is convinced Steve is alive and remembers seeing him while prisoner of the Red Skull. Osborn is also realizing that Cap may not be dead but is instead slipping through the timestream, and Cap even ends up in his body circa World War II. Interesting concept but I really need to see how Cap made it through the wounds. I don’t know if it is the right time to bring him back either, but the Cap movie coming out soon is probably the reason why. I also hope that since Hitch is on art that this can stay on time. Decent opener. 3/4.
-Daredevil: Noir #4- DD realizes that Fisk has been pulling his strings the whole time and after taking out the Bullseye killer and consulting with his friend Foggy, he heads over to Fisk’s place to end it all. The open ending is something that isn’t often used well but I thought it was great here, as it shows the ongoing fight between the two mortal enemies. 4/5.
-Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead #2- Why was this delayed? Roland admits his guilt over shooting his mother and is placed in jail while his father and his ka-tet head out to capture Farson and exonerate his son. That is all well and good until a group of mutants shoot a poison dart into Steve Deschain’s chest. Another good offering from the group, though the delays worry me that something is amiss with these King titles. 5/6.
-Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #1- Yes, it’s another Deadpool book. This guy has more books than Wolverine right now! So Deadpool takes a job that only he can take and he ends up in the Savage Land to pick up a very important package. That package? His alternate zombie version. Yikes. This is fun and fans of DP will love this. There’s also a reprint of an earlier DP story where he fights the Hulk to fix his broken healing factor. 6/7.
-Exiles #4- The Exiles end up on a Robot world and their mission is to stop the robots. The Robots had eradicated all life in the USA and want to take over the world. The Exiles (except Blink) end up captured and Polaris is experimented on by Jacosta. Is Polaris a robot herself? Hmmm. There was nothing wrong with this issue and the new team is growing on me. 7/8.
-Fantastic Four #568- The Master of Doom is actually a familiar name to readers of Millar’s Marvel stuff. His name is Clyde Wyncham (who you will remember from Marvel 1985) and he is a vegetable in Reed’s time until he reawakens and goes mad, roaming the alternate universes and destroying them. He gives Reed a choice, kill him in this time period and save the FF and the world, or face the consequences. Reed decides to do the latter and all hell breaks loose. Another fine offering and I finally am enjoying Millar’s run on FF. 8/9.
-Invincible Iron Man #15- Tony starts losing his mind and is talking it over with Pepper at his secret Russian hideout when the Masque shows up and captures the two of them. She promises to hurt Pepper as she teases her and Tony’s history. Meanwhile, Maria is able to find the Black Widow and get her to bring something to Captain America. It is really weird to read about a dumb Tony but it is something different and a new aspect of the character. 9/10.
-Uncanny X-Men #513- The X-Men are on the run from the law as Emma takes her place as the leader of the Dark X-Men. They include Mimic, Cloak & Dagger, Dark Beast, Weapon Omega and Daken. They are immediately dispatched to stop a mutant protest in a very visible spot in California. Cyclops decides he needs to have a talk with Norman. I like the Dark X-Men. 10/11.
-USA Comics – Marvel 70th Anniversary #1- This focuses on the Destroyer and it really focuses on how his “clown outfit” is really a nod to the prisoners of the War held in concentration camps, something he shows an ignorant German reporter. There’s a reprint in here, too, of the Destroyer. I’m all over this WWII stuff and I like how almost all of these 70th anniversary titles are dealing with themes of World War II. 11/12.
-War of Kings #5- The Shi’ar are reeling thanks to the death of Lilandra and Vulcan’s empire is slowly crumbling around him. The Darkhawks even leave after a disagreement. The Inhumans decide to end things as quickly as possible by unleashing a weapon that harnesses his voice but at the sacrifice of himself. Vulcan shows himself to battle Black Bolt. Bring it on next issue, baby! 12/13.
DC
-Batman and Robin #2- It’s one of the first night’s out for Dick Grayson and it didn’t go too well. Damien is refusing to listen to him and even heads off on his own. He’s also feeling dejected but luckily Alfred is there for some words of support. He tells Master Dick to imagine the cape and the cowl is just a role for him to play like he did when he was in the circus. 1/1.
-Final Crisis: Run #3- The Human Flame continues being the biggest loser in the DCU by turning on the jokes of villains who enhanced his powers and falling out a three-story building and seriously injuring himself. I love reading how inept this “villain” is. 2/2.
-Green Lantern Corps #38- This issue really ties things up and sets up the Blackest Night. The Corps is about as low as it can get, with their home planet destroyed, the villains in their capture are executed and the rings of black are sent out to find flesh. This was a great lead-in to Blackest Night and it comes at a time when the Corps are really on the fringe of staying alive.
-Justice League: Cry for Justice #1- Green Lantern cuts away from the JLA because he wants actual justice. Green Arrow joins him. The rest of the issue just follows the rest of the characters we’ll see and their reasons for wanting justice including Ray Palmer, Mikaal (someone I never heard of), and Congo Bill. What’s cool about this is the little essay at the end by writer James Robinson detailing why he used the characters he used. This was a simple but effective opener. 4/4.
-Secret Six #11- The Six continue working for a man who wants to reintroduce slavery into the world. Artemis is enslaved until Jeannette goes to free her. This leads to a rift in the Six, between those who want to do what is right and those who want to do what is most profitable. Artemis ends up dead in the melee and Wonder Woman shows up to exact some revenge. This was a really good issue with the Six’ volatile personalities finally bubbling over and an appearance by one of the big three of DC. 5/5.
Awards
-Book of the Week- This is a tough one for me, as there were a lot of good things out despite it being a light week. I will give the award to Uncanny X-Men #513, especially since the X-Men are now one of the premier titles again and that’s all thanks to the great writing of Matt Fraction.
-Disappointment of the Week- Astonishing Tales #6 is the easy winner, though it isn’t saying much. It was definitely a title to avoid and one I won’t be picking up if it does continue.
-Cover of the Week- Captain America Reborn #1 was my favorite cover this week, though it is probably showing some bias to Alex Ross. Whatever, it’s my review and I can do what I want with it.
-The Bottom Line- It is almost 12am right now and you know how I hate being late. I look forward to another light week next week but these light weeks help me out. I was able to finish three trades this week with another one on the way before I pick up the next pack of books. Check back next week y’all!
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Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
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