I’m finally caught up on the issues I missed last week, and I included those reviews below; that’s why this week’s list is so big. As for the new books, I checked out a few more independent #1s from Valiant, Image, and Boom!, DC’s Earth 2 books continue to impress me, and three of my favorite comics came out as well. Overall, a really good week.
Animal Man #10 (DC) – The Rot begins to move more aggressively against the Red, kidnapping a member of Animal Man’s team while Buddy Baker struggles to get back to his world. The tease at the end is promising, but although I don’t think any harm will come to Buddy’s kid, I hope they don’t remove him. After all, like the Fantastic Four, what makes Animal Man interesting is that he has a family. How many other characters at DC have that relationship?
Animal Man Annual #1 (DC) – An issue I missed last week, but was well worth the wait. We hear a past story about the Red and Green vs Rot, including the mention of times where the Red or Green went rogue. I’ve never read past Swamp Thing stories, but I’ve heard the Rot may have existed at some point in them, so I hope this title (and Swamp Thing) are giving the past justice unlike most of the New 52.
Avengers Academy #31 (Marvel) – Another great issue from the best comic currently on store shelves! Turns up what looked to be the problem wasn’t, and after great team work all around, our heroes may be in some hot water when the Avengers discover what happened. And the art has only helped elevate this title even higher on my favorites list, so tip of my hat and thanks to Tom Grummett! Thanks Marvel, this title always pleases me (although I fear the Final Exam story arc may be the end of the title 😦 )
Avengers vs X-Men #5 (Marvel) – This event continues to impress me, and I knew about it’s ending because of a poorly titled news article, but I never enlarged the picture, so that surprised me when I read it. Things look worse for the Avengers instead of better, and it will be a long two weeks for the next issue.
Batman Annual #1 (DC) – An issue I missed last week, this annual introduces the New 52 origin of Mr. Freeze. Aside from several plot holes that popped up (most prominently dates that imply Batman went through at least 4 Robins in 6 years, and had a child with Talia before he was Batman; I’m so confused…), it wasn’t too bad of an issue. I don’t like the new relationship Mr. Freeze has with his “wife” Nora, but at least that love is still there, which greatly improved his character in the ’90s thanks to Batman The Animated Series.
Batwing #10 (DC) – More Gotham connections begin to pop up for Batwing’s investigations. And speaking of investigations, this would be the time to reintegrate Red Robin into the Bat family better because he’s the best detective after Batman, but we get Nightwing to tag along instead. I don’t mind Nightwing, but they really need to try and get Tim back into the books more (unless they’d change his character, in which case leave him only half-used on the Teen Titans book, then). And this book now has two of my favorite comic creators on it (Judd Winick and Marcus To), so I’m loving it!
Creator-Owned Heroes #1 (Image) – A comic with two separate stories in it. The first, American Muscle, looks like it will be a zombie-ish story, and the second one, Trigger Girl 6, looks like it will be an exciting assassin story. Both had promising beginnings, and I’ll be on for at least a couple more issues to see where it goes.
Detective Comics #10 (DC) – Now that The Night of the Owls crossover is over, we can get the Bat books back to their own stories. Bad guys dressing up like Batman is a very stupid idea if you don’t want Batman’s attention, but they and their boss got it anyway. I’m not familiar with Mr. Toxic (or was it Dr.?) but he makes me think of Dr. Phosphorous a lot (ah, that’s where the confusion may come from). And for the Two-Face backup? It was awesome this month. Looks like the crazy coin-flipping former DA is back in town and wants his turf back (and is willing to take others’, too).
Earth 2 #2 (DC) – When you reboot an entire universe, you don’t half-ass it like the New 52 did. For example, the Green Lantern and Batman books are still right where they left of, but other titles, like Teen Titans, start all new (although Teen Titans might not be the best example). However, Earth 2 knows exactly how to reboot, even if it’s not all to my liking. Don’t get me wrong, though, this issue continues to make this book one of DC’s best, and I wish we got it more than once a month. Keep up the good work, but don’t change these characters too much more; they were great even before the reboot, regardless of sales.
Extermination #1 (BOOM!) – I decided to check out this post-apocalyptic alien invasion story where super-heroes and super-villains must work together to combat the alien threat. For new readers, like me, we get a fair example of who the first hero and villain are, and where they each draw the line when fighting the aliens. A good start, and now I’m more interested in checking out the Hypernaturals next month.
G.I. Joe #14 (IDW) – Mainframe shows how good he is in the field, and Scarlett shows how dangerous she is as a prisoner. The ending’s suspense isn’t that suspenseful considering anyone paying attention should figure out who’s behind the mask, but who knows how the revolt will turn out?
Harbinger #1 (Valiant) – Another new Valiant title that I’ve never read. This one sets up the whole origin of our hero and people like him, and it doesn’t look like he’s completely using his powers for good, although he does get scolded for it. And the ending left me wanting more, which is only a month away.
Journey Into Mystery #639 (Marvel) – With Exiled over, Loki now finds himself going to the aid of the Celtic Pantheon, although officially he’s just up to mischief. This issue just introduced the situation, but it was still filled with humor, and that’s the title’s greatest strength. Once again, Marvel continues to put out one heck of a good book.
Justice League International #10 (DC) – Well, circumstances aren’t looking good for the international team. I do enjoy how this story line ties into current social and political topics, giving the title more meaning in that sense. I do believe it improves the story, and I’m not going anywhere on this title any time soon.
Morning Glories #19 (Image) – This cover didn’t bode well for one of my favorite characters in the book, and the ending may still not bode well for him. We learn more about Hunter’s back story, although I must say it wasn’t as interesting as the last one. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long for the next issue; one of my biggest complaints with Image Comics.
New Mutants #43 (Marvel) – An issue I missed last week, and the conclusion to the Exiled event. Not everything goes according to plan, but at least back up plans work out fairly well for the godling of mischief. This was a fun event to read, and I thank the teams on New Mutants and Jounrey Into Mystery for that. I’ll be rereading the whole thing again, soon 🙂
Red Lanterns #10 (DC) – I didn’t read the Stormwatch issue that sets up this one, but getting the gist of it wasn’t a problem. If the intention of this issue was to interest me in picking up Stormwatch again, it failed, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Atrocitus beat down the members of Stormwatch. Poor Dex Starr, though. Not much else happened, though, but the Red Lanterns draw closer to Zamaran, the homeworld of the Star Sapphires, and another War of Light looks eminent.
Star Trek #9 (IDW) – An issue I missed last week where the Enterprise’s crew investigates a lost Federation ship on a planet forbidden to be visited by the Federation. I believe it’s based off an episode, but since I’ve seen very few of those episodes, this is a new story for me. But I’m really intrigued by the twist at the end, and want nothing more than to know what secrets the Federation may be trying to hide.
Star Trek TNG/Doctor Who: Assimilation #1 (IDW) – An issue I missed last week, but I wasn’t that impressed with it. The Enterprise crew don’t show up until the end, and since I don’t watch Doctor Who, I don’t recognize nor know anything about the enemy that’s joined up or been assimilated by the Borg. I’ll be checking out the next issue, and if things don’t pick up, I think that will be the end of this series for me.
Super Dinosaur #11 (Image) – A guilty pleasure that isn’t always kid friendly, but I’ve seen more gruesome before. And it ends with us arriving at Inner Earth, so that will be worth exploring next time.
Swamp Thing #10 (DC) – A slower issue, although the structure for telling the story was a lot of fun. They tease a big reunion for this issue on the cover, but it looks like the bigger reunion will be next month. Sometimes, the pacing of stories can be really frustrating, at least for single issues like this instead of a trade paperback.
Ultimate Comics Spider-man #11 (Marvel) – Spider-man and Prowler team-up to take down Scorpion, but we all know who would end up doing all the work, right? Now Miles has to deal with his uncle’s blackmailing of him, and trouble continues to brew with Aunt May and the discovery of this new Spider-man. What will she have to say to Miles when they meet? (which they will if May wants to 😉 )
Winter Soldier #6 (Marvel) – A prologue to the next event where we get the entire back story of what happened to the third sleeper agent trained by the Winter Soldier. The other two were dangerous while under the control of their masters, but this one is completely rogue, and I believe that makes him even more dangerous. I’ll be anxiously waiting for the next one.
Worlds’ Finest #2 (DC) – Another great issue from the creative team of Paul Levitz and George Pérez. The blend of the present-day story and the conclusion of the lead up to the present day is very well done, even tying into Levitz’s prior miniseries The Huntress. It’s too bad this and Earth 2 come out on the same week, because we get the entire month’s worth of Earth 2 books in one week. However, DC does this with it’s crossover events, too, and Marvel does it with their Captain America books; they really should space things out over the month to keep the pace up, but I’m not into marketing, so maybe they know something I don’t. It’s still a great book, though 🙂
X-O Manowar #2 (Valiant) – So far, these issues have been well worth the money I’ve put into them, but I still wish they weren’t $3.99. Our hero final dons the armor he’s wearing on the cover, but what does that mean for the enslaved and the Vine?
Other titles I picked up but don’t have anything to say about include Age of Apocalypse #4, Fairest #4, and Invincible Iron Man #518.
More coming next week!
J. Lawrence Davis 