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Well, school is almost over. When you read I will only have one teaching day left, and the summer can officially begin. Yeah, I will have to proctor tests, but that is easy. I can devote more time to DVD reviews (currently working on Family Guy: Blue Harvest) and comic reviews, including a huge backlog of Marvel graphic novels (including three I picked up this week, Punisher Circle of Blood, John Byrne Visionaries and Iron Man Omnibus). This week was a lighter week than last week (thank God) as only DC and Marvel are represented. There are three main event titles, like last week, and totals look like this: 9 DC titles and 16 Marvel titles for a nice pulling of 25 comics. Looks to be a good week just by looking at the titles in hand.
Spoilers Ahead
The Main Event:
-Secret Invasion #3- Maria Hill and the rest of SHIELD are floating on the water with their busted helicarrier when Jarvis shows up looking for their surrender. Hank Pym (who we know is a Skrull) sends all the Initiative to NYC where the superskrulls are battling the Young Avengers. They take some hits (Vision is destroyed, and others seemed to have been hurt badly or killed). The main story aspect is Spider-Woman finding Tony Stark working on his armor and Spider-Woman revealing she is a skrull and almost convincing Tony he is one as well. We don’t know for sure if he is, but that seed has been laid. The Skrulls are in control in NYC when Fury and the team he has assembled arrives. Of course, if you hadn’t read the New Avengers tie-in, you would have no idea who they are. A lot of information is needed from the tie-ins but the story stands on its own and can be enjoyed just from the mini-series epic. This issue really had a great sequence of Spider-Woman and Tony Stark and the issue is another good one, as the story really keeps moving forward and at the end of the first act the hereos finally have some hope. 1/1.
-Trinity #1- One of my all time favorite Marvel artists, Mark Bagley, has finally gone over to the dark side, or DC. He gets pegged to draw the weekly series since in a day of consistently late artists, he was cranking out 16 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man a year. The issue, penned by Kurt Busiek, sees the trinity gather (in their secret identities) to discuss dreams they had of someone shouting to let them go. No one else has had these dreams (including a Flash who is in this issue for good measure). They leave but all of them (now in their street identities) hear the voice again and somethine explodes in Metropolis. I do want to know who the main villain is and it was a good opener. The back-up story features Morgaine La Fey meeting someone named Enigma and they look into the future and see Superboy Prime being involved in a dire future involving the Trinity. The main enemy from the feature is also shown at the end of the back-up. 1/1.
-Ultimate Origins #1- The Ultimate universe is all connected. Banner told Spider-Man that many months ago (their time). Spidey didn’t know then what it meant but we fast forward back to World War II, where the first US super soldier is killed, FDR demands another one, Fury, Fisk and Howlett (Wolverine) are together stealing things when they are discovered. Fury and Howlett are arrested and used by their respective governments for testing with both becoming super powered at the end. Howlett himself is shown to be the first ever mutant and Howlett is it. This was an interesting opening, setting the stages for many more reveals in the coming issues. So, just to make it clear, Bendis is writing the main story events for the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe. That is power right there. 2/2.
Marvel
-Amazing Spider-Man #561- Spidey can’t focus his camera so he sets it on auto when he finds that Paper Doll is there. Paper got her powers due to some dimensional compressor her father was working on we see in an aside. Spidey saves Carr and his mystery girlfriend (who Spidey doesn’t see since she’s in a panic room) and stops Paper Doll. Peter follows the way of Joe Roberston and quits the DB and gains Osbourne’s friendship back. MJ leaves, signs an autograph for a Sara Ehret (mentioned in a previous BND issue) and contemplates calling Peter. She makes reference to coming to NY in secret, and Spidey sees he from a distance and says her hair is like Jackpot. The BND story breathed new life into the title and is just great fun. They’ve introduced many new villains and Peter is just as down on his luck. All the weeks have self-contained story that still move along major plot points and it makes Spidey a winner. 3/3.
-American Dream #3- AD follows the rock being who they find out is made of silicon, they investigate it at the Avengers Mansion where some of the Avengers are worried about AD’s private exploits. Maria Hill threatens to arrest the Avengers if they interfere so AD quits the team and goes out on her own. She is led into a trap by Ion Man, Red Queen and Silikong (no joke) and a whole bunch of silicon monsters swarm her. The villains name is Silikong? Are you serious? Still, a fun ride so far. 4/4.
-Astonishing X-Men Sketchbook #1- This is just Simone’s sketchbook of how the AXM will look and it looks pretty cool. I hated the Wolverine issues he worked on but not because of the beautiful art but more because of the crazy story. Simone will kick ass on the new AXM title and in the hands of Ellis it will thrive post Whedon/Cassady. 5/5.
-Avengers/Invaders #2- The Mighty Avengers go off to try and talk to the Invaders who won’t listen and still think they are in a Nazi trap. The Mighty Avengers have to resort to force and capture all the Invaders (except Namor which should lead to an interesting Namor/Namor battle) and imprison them. Bucky reveals how gangsta he is by keeping explosives in his arm that he cuts out and escapes. The New Avengers say they need to go free the Invaders now. This was a fun story, so far, but it may be a little out of character for the NA to free the Invaders for no reason. 2008 Bucky sees his past self and seems conflicted, too. Awesome issue. 6/6.
-Cable #4- Cable has gone to the past, being chased by a Bishop with no morals and hellbent on killing Cable and taking the mutant child he is harboring. Cable is on the run, he runs into Cannonball. Cannonball says he’ll give Cable time to get away. Cannonball ends up getting killed and Cable decides he will make a stand. This issue didn’t really do it for me, as I wasn’t into the Cable character, the Bishop character, and although Olivetti’s art is beautiful to look at, it overpowers the story in some ways. It doesn’t seem comic booky enough for me. 6/7.
-Criminal Volume 2 #3- This standalone issue (the third in a row for the series) focuses on the tough life of Danica, girlfriend of Sebastian who was forced into having an abortion, being sent away by her mother, taking drugs as a way out of her pain, and jumping from rich man to rich man in pursuit of affection and money. She has really had a tough life and you feel for her. This is the third in the introduction of the new characters and it will help the start of another great arc by Bru and Phillips. There is a decent artcile by author Michael Stradfor about the movie, “The Yakuza.” Overall another winner fo Icon and Bru’s noir epic. 7/8.
-Darktower: The Long Road Home #4- Alain and Cuthbert are attacked by mutant wolves and Alain gets a bad bite in the arm. Cuthbert accidentally shoots Sheemie but Sheemie has restoring powers. He heals and heals Alain’s arm. They ask him to help Roland and Sheemie sees Roland being sent to the Crimson King and face certain death. Sheemie sees himself in the vision and heads into the grapefruit to save his friend. The Robin Furth back-ups detail the mutant beasts found in this world. Another winner with gorgeous art and tight storytelling. I like this one even better than the first one. 8/9.
-Kick-Ass #3- Dave Lizewski is becoming a YouTube sensation and even has a name, Kick-Ass. His fame transcends into his attitude at school where now girls are paying attention to him. He soon learns it is because they think he is gay. He has a Myspace page for Kick-Ass where he takes requests and gets into a bit of trouble when he tries to take on a posse. He is about to be beat on pretty badly when a new costumed hero comes onto the scene. She is a young girl with a sharp sword and she impales one of the guys and lops off the top of another’s head. That is an interesting twist and Millar and JR JR are just killing on this title which is equal parts funny and disturbing. Icon is kicking ass. 9/10.
-Marvel Spotlight: Secret Invasion- The spotlight focuses on the Skrulls and a little thing called Secret Invasion, which I guess is some story going on in Marvel these days. There are interviews with Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu, Brian Reed, Paul Cornell (Captain Britain and the MI13), and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and a look at the original Kree-Skrull war. They are also little bits of information on all the SI tie-in issues that will be coming out. It was a fun read, especially the Bendis article. The Kree-Skrull war look was the only low point of the issue, as it could’ve gone more in depth with an actual interview with Roy Thomas. 10/11.
-Nova #14- Nova battles Silver Surfer who refuses to talk to Nova. Nova brings him to the planet and Surfer is out of range of Galactus so he speaks to Nova. Nova just wants more time to fix the ships to escape the planet. Surfer blinks and it is done and the planet can escape. Nova notes Surfer wanted to say something but didn’t, afraid of Galactus. Nova flies back to try and stop the psionic enemy named Harrow and frees the trapped citizens but falls victim to Galactus and his world breaking powers. Nova is trapped there facing certain death. Abnett and Lanning are destroying the title, with great action pacing and a great story. 11/12.
-Punisher War Journal #20- Jigsaw hires the Hand to kill Frank, SHIELD (specifically GW Bridges with three women who look to be Domino, Silver Sable and Tessa) determines Frank is not the terrorist but it is actually Jigsaw, Frank is attacked by Hand at the end of the issue and they tell him he can die then be reborn to join the Hand! This was a serviceable issue, no real complaints here. 12/13.
-Thor: Search for Odin- This was just a reprint of Thor #’s 7 and 8, something I didn’t read prior to buying it. Well, that’s $4 down the drain. Still, if you haven’t read these two issues you should. It features a great story of Odin and how he betrayed his own father like Thor would for him and finally Thor looking for Sif and Loki causing him not to find her. 13/14.
-Wolverine: Dangerous Game #1- Wolverine stars in two different tales here. The first is Wolvie being involved in a game of hunting with a pompous Brit and hippies involved. The second is Wolvie losing control when he is betrayed and monks are killed. Neither of the stories were all that interesting, and I don’t think the $4 I paid was worth it. These Wolvie one-shots are getting to be too much, as they feature stories that have no lasting impact and aren’t good enough to stand on their own. 13/15.
-Young X-Men #3- Ink betrays Blindfold and gives her and Dani to a shadowed man who we see at the end of the issue is Donald Pierce, former Hellfire Club member who Blindfold foresaw all the Young X-Men fighting. The rest of the gang battle Magma and Wolf Cub almost kills her. He is a bit guilty but Cyke tells him not to worry since they didn’t ask to be put on the edge of extinction. Dust was turned to glass and so they need to deal with that. It is interesting to see the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are the old original New Mutants (I would like to read how that happened!) and they make for fearsome enemies. One online writer speculated that the Cyclops here is a Skrull which would be an interesting plot turn. I like the kids featured in this title. 14/16.
DC
-DC Special: Raven #4- Raven continues to investigate the weirdness going on around her and learns of the girl whose father seems to be behind it all. Laura got involved with some bad stuff (drugs and all, kids, don’t do drugs) and she ended up in a coma. Her father has been trying to help her and the Psycho mask is involved. At the end, Raven finds Laura and sees that the whole time it has been Laura behind it all and not the father as originally thought. At least we are going somewhere now, the last two issues have been a lot better than the first two and I hope the mask will continue to play a role in the DCU and this Final Crisis. 2/2.
-Detective Comics #845- There is a new serial killer loose in Gotham and Batman is puzzled as to who the new murderer is. Riddler (who, if you don’t know, has gone straight in the DCU). Batman confers with others in a chatroom (Detective Chimp, Riddler and Oracle) when Riddler gets a clue. Batman eventually solves the puzzle, it was a kid whose life was shattered by Riddler and wanted revenge. Batman saves Riddler and the kid kills himself, and Batman wonders aloud how many other lives Riddler ruined. 3/3.
-Infinity Inc. #10- Infinity Inc. finally solve the riddle of the Bogeyman (it was the suspected boy’s mother) as Mercy decides she needs to leave the team. Superman and Steel find more of the Everyman Project kids dead with his brain cut off. The Gerome plotline was mentioned for 1 panel and it is going nowhere now, just like this title. It’s just something I haven’t been into since issue 1 and after this arc this will be dropped. It’s just not compelling storytelling. 3/4.
-Justice Society of America #16- Gog is here and he is not evil, he wants peace. To show his goodwill he cures a whole village under a plague, and even cures Damage’s face. There was an interesting bit where Mr. Terrific can’t communicate with Gog since Mr. T doesn’t believe in gods. Black Adam makes an appearance and you know that isn’t good. They showed how Gog fell to Earth (cast out from the Third World and looking like the energy being from Trinity) and how Magog got the powers. This set up Gog as just a powerful being, Black Adam will play a role, and it was purely set-up and if it is done well, I don’t have a problem with it. 4/5.
-Nightwing #145- Nightwing watches out for his girlfriend, who Talia threatened. Talia tells the guy she’s working with to lay off of the girlfriend and Nightwing which he doesn’t. Nightwing fights the winged fighters who are being mass produced vaginally (the comic’s own words, not mine) from some woman and are aged and dead in about 3 days. Ra’s Al Ghul escapes, and Nightwing takes out some of Talia’s goons. Nightwing finds the location of the mass produced humans and descends upon the Hudson armory. I am torn. There was some cool things going on, but it seemed way too much happening in one issue. Still, it was a good issue. 5/6.
-Rann-Thanagar Holy War #2- Bizarro is kept occupied by food and cartoons, Comet decides to join Strange to stave off the church group trying to kill him, Thanagarians still don’t want to believe in anything other than Lady Styx, the gang takes on some Rann miner pirates when an old dinosaur attacks them. It appears some ancient long-extinct things are coming back. The Weird shows up, too. I don’t know where this is going yet and when we are a quarter into the series, there seems to be not enough happening to make it worthwhile. I wasn’t a fan of this issue. 5/7.
-Robin / Spoiler Special #1- There are two stories here, one of Robin and Spoiler teaming up to help a kdinapped girl and Spoiler’s time in Africa and deciding to return to Gotham after stopping some criminals from stealing vaccines. This was good enough, two decent stories, a low price tag ($4.00) and a real insight into the mind of Spoiler for those (like me) who didn’t read DC when she was in the stories. 6/8.
-Supergirl #30- Supergirl wonders what to do and feels she has no identity. She goes to the Fortress and gets some information from the crystals that she is what’s left of Krypton and its heritage (as Clark was a baby). She now has a sense of what she is, the last link to Krypton. Yeah, it was an interesting story and all but we’ve read it about 4 times already before that Supergirl is the last link to Krytpon. They keep pounding home that plot point and the character of Supergirl has not grown since she appeared in Superman/Batman. 6/9.
The Awards
-Book of the Week- Kick-Ass #3 was the title that really captured my eye in the midst of the monster titles out there, like Trinity, Secret Invasion and Ultimate Origins. Kick-Ass is just a fun title, something you can pick up and read and just enjoy. It is down to earth, you feel for the character, and the story is getting zanier and zanier. Millar and Romita Jr. are doing some fantastic work and you casn tell they like doing it.
-Disappointment of the Week- Supergirl #30 was the sore loser this week. It is nice to be reminded of key plot points, but to be hammered home like this month after month and with no growth in the character in a long time, you have a problem. It’s just not a good series right now.
-Cover of the Week- Trinity #1, with Carlos Pacheco’s great Superman illustration with the nice logo on top, wins this week, beating out two Alex Ross covers. I just like the Trinity Logo, and the iconic Superman pose.
-The Bottom Line- DC was surprisingly average this week, despite a huge showing the last two times. It was just run down by a few below average issues that didn’t move the characters or plots along at all. I want at least some advancement of stories if I am spending upwards of $3.00 an issue. DC really needs work on the mini-series front. The Marvel mini-series are generally pretty good but I have been underwhelmed by the DC ones, as percentage wise it is looking like only 64% of them are getting points. Marvel, on the other hand, was almost perfect, with just two X-titles being the weak points. I guess that’s interesting since two weeks ago the X-titles wouldn’t even be on the list and this would’ve been perfect for them. I blew threw these comics this week which tells how enjoyable they are, I hardly “suffered” through a title and that’s a mark to the strong storylines out right now. Looking ahead to next week, DC has Trinity and the end of Salvation Run and Gotham Underground, while Marvel looks strong with New Avengers, a SI tie-in and Skaar, the third part of what will be Greg Pak’s magnum opus.
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