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We’re fully into the summer mode right now, even though I still have 1 more day of classes and a few weeks of testing. I just feel so much more relaxed right now. Of course, this week is the last big push and when I finish my grades on Friday I will be almost complete. Just one more Regents to knock out of the way and the summer can really begin. So I read through these titles pretty quickly this week, seeing as I don’t have to do any school work or homework, and I enjoyed that. I can’t for weeks like this in the summer, too. Anyway, we have 23 total comics this week, with 4 DC’s and 19 Marvels.
Spoiler Alert
Marvel
-Agents of Atlas #6- The Agents head to Oceanus, the new home of Namor and of course, a fight ends up breaking out. Venus stops it and now Namora isn’t sure she wants to leave Namor. This was a fun issue that adds to the character of this group. 1/1.
-Amazing Spider-Man #596- Spider-Man is shocked that Harry would rejoin his father. He has a lot going on with his aunt marrying JJJ’s father and a co-worker of his trying to spy as a mole in Osborn’s camp. That gives him an idea and he impersonates the Dark Avengers version of Spider-Man to get as much information as he can. That is a great plot point, having Spidey (secretly) invade Osborn’s inner circle. 2/2.
-Astonishing Tales #5- Wolvie and Punisher stop the Warhounds but now have to deal with the people who sent the Warhounds out. Iron Man 2020 fights more pirates and Mojo goes through more of the movies Sam and Roberto are making. There’s a single story called Shiver that I think deals with the original Ghost Rider but the cover tells me it is actually Shiver Man. That’s one of the worst names I have ever heard for a comic character. The Wolvie/Punisher & Bobby/Sam stories carry this to a point. 3/3.
-Black Panther #5- Morlun is making his way into Wakanda as Storm saves Black Panther while sacrificing her soul. Shuri dons the Black Panther costume to protect her kingdom, despite failing in front of the Panther God last issue. I wonder how Storm will not die here, and how it will tie into the X-Men itself. It was a fun issue regardless and this title is really on a roll since its relaunch. 4/4.
-Captain Britain & MI13 Annual #1- There’re two stories here. The first deals with Meggan, former wife of Captain Britain. She’s stuck in hell but she gathers some forces together to try and get back to Brian. Brian, meanwhile, plays cricket while remembering his lost wife. I would like to see how this ties into the Dracula storyline, especially with this title’s impending cancellation. 5/5.
-Daredevil: Noir #3- DD falls for a big-time set-up. It seems that Halloran told Kingpin he killed DD’s father so DD could search him out. Kingpin played both of them for fools and had Eliza, who Halloran thought worked for him, kill him and reveal herself to be the Bulls Eye killer. I liked the first two issues but really liked this one. The whole storyline is coming together and we as readers were just as taken as Daredevil was and that is a testament to the writing of Alexander Irvine. 6/6.
-Dark Avengers #5- Norman goes on air and turns the spin away from Hawkeye’s accusations and the whole lengthy interview was very well-written by Bendis. Interspersed throughout the interview were scenes of Sentry and Norman chatting, Marvel Boy and the new Ms. Marvel hooking up and Atlantis seemingly attacking the human population. Looks like this is a job for the Dark Avengers! I love Deodato’s art here and this is clearly Bendis’ best title on the stands right now. 7/7.
-Deadpool: Suicide Kings #2- Deadpool works with Daredevil to try to clear his name and the true culprit is revealed as the son of a wealthy man. Daredevil tells Deadpool to lie low, and he doesn’t. He runs into Spider-Man and gets his head blown off by Punisher. This is a really funny story so far and it captures all the wit and charm of Deadpool as he appeared in Cable & Deadpool. 8/8.
-Exiles #3- The Exiles manage to reveal Magneto’s true plot to the alternate universe they are in but the tallus tells them they didn’t save that planet. They still are teleported out to a desert. They have no clue what’s going on but we readers see it is a machine world, with Machine Man, Ultron and Vision waiting for the Exiles. What’s going on with the Tallus? It’s an interesting development. This also must be a record, three issues and no deaths! This is a lot better than the end of New Exiles and the first volume of Exiles were. 9/9.
-Mighty Avengers #25-Hank asks Reed Richards for help in fixing his pocket base and Reed basically laughs in his face. It is true, Reed Richards is a dick. So Hank plans on taking what he wanted anyway and plans a raid on the Baxter Building. Meanwhile, USAgent and Quicksilver head off on their own mission. Hank as leader of the Avengers gives us a troubled man and it has made for the start of a very good arc. 10/10.
-New Avengers: The Reunion #4- Bobbi and Clint stave off AIM and save the day, then decide to start dating as they continue to work together. I’m sure that could’ve been explained in a single issue but it wasn’t and now I am $16 poorer. It was still an okay book, especially for die-hard West Coast Avenger fans. I’m not a huge WCA fan but after reading the Hawkeye Premiere, I had a new appreciation for this relationship. 11/11.
-New Mutants #2-This is interesting. It seems that Legion is being used to channel some of the crazies in the town where the New Mutants are searching for their friends. It seems they want to kill Moonstar and she is ready for them. This is definitely interesting, combining some of the old-school New Mutants feel with new storylines and fresh takes. 12/12.
-Skaar #11- Skaar is taken under arrest after he helped a kid in human form. This causes a transformation to Skaar which brings in the old Warbound. Skaar doesn’t care about them but definitely takes note of Hulk appearing on the scene. I can’t wait for the Hulk/Skaar match-up. This won’t have the big time feel of the Planet Hulk story but as a self-contained story in the Hulk tales it should work well. 13/13.
-Timestorm 2009/2099: Spider-Man #1- I didn’t know this had mileage as both a mini-series and some one-shots. This deals with Spider-Man escaping from his prison and helping out Spider-Man 2099 and telling him not to don the tights. I think this was before events of Spider-Man 2099 and was a possible influence of his character’s origin, or possibly a retelling of those 2099 stories. It isn’t clear yet, actually. I always liked Spidey 2099 and loved reading him in the Exiles so this was a treat for me. 14/14.
-Ultimate Spider-Man #133- This is the final issue of Ultimate Spider-Man and is a silent issue. I guess Bendis wrote so much over the previous 132 issues he ran out of words! All joking aside, it was a well-done silent issue dealing with Kitty and Spider-Woman looking for Spider-Man and coming home with just his mask. The one thing I had a problem with was how this title ended. It was the stalwart of the Ultimate Universe and the one title that could be sustained over the course of the Ultimate line of books. Yet, Spider-Man seemingly dies off-panel in his own solo title to really push forward the Ultimatum storyline instead of anything in Spidey. It’s over, though, and I don’t know if we’ll ever read Ultimate Spider-Man again. Bendis’ historic run on the title is over, too. It was a fair ending, but it could’ve been a little better if it were able to run its own course instead of tying into the Ultimatum storyline. 15/15.
-Ultimatum #4- As we realized in Ultimate Spider-Man, Spidey is dead and his death was for naught as Dr. Strange quickly bites the dust as well, falling to Dormammu, who is housing the flame of Johnny Storm. There’s more death and revelations here, including the fact that Doom had the Scarlet Witch killed. The Avengers try one last offensive against Magneto that serves in killing Angel, Sabretooth and Valkyrie. Magneto also loses an arm, too. I didn’t know what to expect when this started but it seems like it’s just the systematic destruction of the Ultimate Universe to just end the whole line of comics. It’s always shocking to see characters like these die, even though it has no effect on the 616 universe. As a shock appeal title, it works. 16/16.
-Universal War One Book 2 #3- This is probably the best mini-series I have ever read. Nothing I could write here could really do it justice. Basically the whole origin of the CIC is introduced to Kalish (who survived his suicide attempt) and it’s depth and how it came about was just too awesome to spoil here. Let’s just say that teleportation and time travel are always interesting prospects. The ending to this epic was wholly satisfying and I really can’t wait for what Bajram has in store for us next. 17/17.
-War of Kings #4- Oh boy, the crap hits the fan here. Vulcan is running the Shi’ar forces thin, which allows for Lilandra (with the aid of the Starjammers and Gladiator) to stage a coup. However, Vulcan is aided by the Darkhawks and Lilandra is seemingly assassinated by issue’s end. A great epic story so far. 18/18.
-Wolverine: Revolver #1- Wolverine fights a goblin of some sort that killed an Indian chief. It’s a silly tale and the offbeat art really enhances the story in my humble opinion. 19/19.
DC
-Batman and Robin #1- This is the newest Morrison/Quitely team-up and once again they have struck gold. Instead of a reimagining of a character (like All-Star Superman), they tackle a new and current topic and that is the death of Batman. The new Batman is Dick Grayson and Robin is Damien. You have to wonder if Grant had this in mind when he introduced Damien way back when. So the writing and banter between the humble Grayson and cocky Damien is great and it really shines as they battle the Toad and someone in a pig mask named Dr. Pyg, who is recruiting an army of people he’s disfigured. Well, we have some golden age like silly characters that has made Batman fun and I like this iteration of the character so far. Grant and Frank team-ups are always great and this is no exception. 1/1.
-Final Crisis: Run #2- If you thought there were silly characters in Batman and Robin, you haven’t read this issue yet. Perpetual loser the Human Flame comes across some really lame-ass villains and is accepted into their fold, gaining some flamethrowers built into his body. He uses it but realizes that the pain receptors haven’t been closed off and they only will be when he follows the leader of this motley crew, Immortus. I don’t think this was meant to be taken real seriously but more a testament to what a loser Human Flame is. 2/2.
-Secret Six #10- The Six are hired by a slaver to deliver some sort of package to their island. This is crazy, it is absurd, and it is what the Secret Six is all about. It’s short on a real plot right now, but the writing is witty and the action is intense. This has always been a favorite of mine and will be in my pull box as long as Gail is writing it. 3/3.
-Superman: World of New Krypton #4- The Green Lanterns show up for a little look-around as Superman deals with an escaped convict from the Phantom Zone. Superman helps stop the man (but prevents him from being killed) and the Lanterns want to take him. Zod doesn’t let them, stating they have no sort of extradition treaty and the Lantern’s back off. Zod keeps the prisoner alive, and then arrests Kal for treason. This was an interesting issue; despite the fact the cover was a complete bait and switch. I am liking Superman on this New Krypton so far. 4/4.
Awards
-Book of the Week- There’s an easy winner here and it is Universal War One. It just continues to amaze at every turn. I could’ve gone with the more sentimental favorite (Ultimate Spider-Man) but I’m not. That’s because Universal War One kicked that much ass. This mini-series actually swept the Book of the Week awards for it’s full three-issue run and four wins in a row.
-Disappointment of the Week- There were no disappointments for me this week, and I like it that way.
-Cover of the Week- Dark Avengers #5 by Mike Deodato was my favorite cover. It was just a sinister portrait of the Green Goblin. I also give props to Deodato for putting in some of his old art in the interior pages in a kid’s room of Marvel posters. This is Deodato’s 8th win, only 13 behind Alex Ross.
-The Bottom Line- It was really weird to have a week where I didn’t have an issue of Trinity. It was a story that I thought was so good and looked forward to every month but now it is over and there seems to be a hole in my DC collection. This was the week of endings, as Ultimate Spider-Man ended (prematurely in my opinion) as well as Universal War One. Two great titles that I wish I could bottle up and put that sort of great consistent story-telling or epic story-telling into each issue I read. This was a really fun week for me to read.
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