Man, it's a lot harder to keep up a blog than I thought . . . . . Well, in exchange for no posts for a few days, you get 2 today! First up, comics reviews!
100 Bullets 78: I've totally lost the thread in this series. I have no idea who half the characters are, or why they're doing what they're doing. I'm sure this would be excellent if I knew what was going on, but as it is . . . . **
Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Guilty Pleasures 02: Man, I'm embarressed to even say I'm reading this. It's actually not that bad, though. Not great, but not bad. The story, while treading into romance-novel territory sometimes, is decent and Ritchie drops enough clues as to how the supernatural works in this world to make it easy for new readers to follow along. Art is Top-Cowish, but it's not horrible. I'm not the audience for this, but I certainly didn't hate it. **1/2
Batman and the Mad Monk 04: While I really enjoy the Matt Wagner artwork, this whole minseries has just felt sort of flat. I think one of the major problems is that these are supposed to be Bruce's first encounters with non-natural cases, but he just doesn't seem that surprised by anything. It lessens the tension, and thus the story just becomes "oh, it's a vampire, blah blah blah let's see how Batman kicks his ass" **
Cable/Deadpool 34: This is one of those "focus on Cable" issues, which aren't my favorite. It's a pretty well told story, but the sheer amount of manipulation that Cable does is rather unbelievable (in addition to the fact that this is roughly the 3rd time he's done something like this). Now that Cable's in X-Men, I wonder if any of this will get mentioned. Probably not, which is sad. **1/2
Civil War 5 Not much really happens here, y'know? A couple people switch/join a side, and Tony is shown to be even more of a jackass (plus there's a weird disconnect between this and Civil War #4 that doesn't make sense unless you've been reading Amazing Spider-Man) I still like the mini, but I'm still not getting the sense that they're interested in presenting both sides at all. (More on that in in the New Avengers review). **
DC's 52 week 28 The Red Tornado stuff seems rather pointless (although I do like the fact that they're focusing on stuff all over the world) and the space stuff seems like a rather large pointless retcon (assuming that emerald eye is the same one as in Legion of Superheroes). The irony of Adam Strange cursing at "one more &^%& twist!" was not lost on me. **1/2
(man, am I just in a bad mood this week? Nothing but 2 and 2.5 stars so far)
Deadman 04: Well, at least this review isn't a good comic with a bad issue, but a bad comic with a good issue. Bruce Jones actually starts to reveal what the hell is actually going on, and as a result the comic is at least somewhat enjoyable. His dialogue still grates on the nerves and the introduction of the costume was really really lame, but at least the book is cohesive. **
Gen13 02: "When you talk like a lunatic it makes me all melty in my various zones and regions." Ah Gail Simone, your dialogue warms my soul. This one breaks the streak with good, bouncy Talent Caldwell art and the aforementioned wonderful dialogue. A good start, and I can't wait to see more. ***
Ghost Rider 05: Huh. I guess i read this, but I don't really remember anything from it. *goes and skims it* Ah, a retelling of his origin. It's ok I guess, but the aforementioned inability to remember what happened is a bit of a problem **1/2
Green lantern Corps 06: It looks like Steve Gibbons is turning this into a cross between exploratory sci-fi and a cop drama, which I really can't find fault with. The sentient city is a neat idea, but I'm still trying to figure out how a lizard can be so racially biased in the Rann-Thanagar war. ***
Invincible 36: Considering Invincible's already fought off menaces a hell of a lot more powerful than this, it doesn't seem likely that this would take him more than a few minutes to clean up. I liked the goofy Martian stuff though. ***
Moon Knight 06: Ugh. Way too much time given to a de-skinned face, plus Taskmaster is NOT the pussy they make him out to be here. Huston's noir/crime novel sensibilities just overwhelm the story with overblown prose, and when half the book is basically Moon Knight getting bitched at by Konshu, it's not a fun read at all. *1/2
Ms. Marvel 09: Why did they put Weiringo on this book again? Um, it's basically an appearance by an alternate universe Ms. Marvel, who basically just sat around and drank after the Warbird thing rather than get off her ass and do anything. As a result, her universe got destroyed. Riiiiiight. **
New Avengers 25: I remember when Marvek kept saying that Civil War was a balanced affair, despite MANY indications to the contrary. "Oh, due to scheduling and such you'll see Tony's side later in Iron man and his issue of New Avengers." So here's that issue, and what do we get? 16 pages of Tony lying trapped in his armor while a disgruntled employee rants to him about how evil he his. UGH. *
OMAC 05: So the OMAC nanomachines are transferred through sex, eh? So how'd Mr. Virgin get them in the first place? God this book is a disaster. I can't even get into the actual plot - just trust me, it's a mess. 1/2*
Squadron Supreme 07 Hyperion fights another superpowered asshole, and it seems like we've seen all this already. I mean, we did see this fight before toward the end of Supreme Power, but it feels like JMS hasn't added anything new. The death (if it sticks) really came out of nowhere as well. It's really depressing how far this title's dropped from the hights of Supreme Power. **
Supergirl 11: Flashy art and not much substance. When you think about it, Supergirl's actually a really interesting character - an alien being with a completely different moral upbringing trying to fit into the standard Earth communities. Pity the stories themselved are just so boring. *1/2
The Omega Men 02 Really interesting art here. I don't really know the Omega Men beyond the Adam Strange mini, but this looks to be an entertaining "Dirty Dozen" style space caper. ***
Thunderbolts 108: Nicieza really likes to do earth-shattering events that won't be mentioned anywhere else, doesn't he? These last 6 issues have been a bit of a mess, reliant on too much continuity for me to understand what's going on, although the team interplay has been enjoyable. Can't wait for Ellis to come on, though. **
Ultimate Fantastic Four 36: Carey's coming into his own - a lot of fun concepts that put some interesting spins on things. The Pasqual Ferry art's nice too - although the colorer could beef up his palette a bit, as it seems way too washed out. ***
Union Jack 03: Ah, now here's the good stuff. The plot's a nice combination of superheroes and Tom Clancy, using but not relying on continuity. The art's really amazing, especially the coloring. I really want to see more from this team. ****
What If - Spider Man the Other Ugh. As if the original story wasn't bad enough, this is utter crap. Venom takes over Spiderman's comatose body, goes after Mary Jane, but when he's rebuffed decides to resurrect Gwen Stacy and turn her into an equivilent Venom. Do I even need to say why this is bad? Shame on you Peter David. no stars
X-Men First Class 03 Good art and a decently fun story by Jeff Parker. A rolliking trip through Professor X's psyche leads to some fun little moments. Not a very important story, but a fun one. ***
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