Comics from 25/07/2007 : part 1

And now, this week's comics.

Incredible Hulk #108 (WWH) : A very obvious fill-in story : nothing happens at all, and it is just a comparative recap of Rick Jones and Miek's history with the Hulk. Shame, because I wanted to know where the Amadeus Cho plot was going. This is just time-filling, and very Eh.

Iron Man #20 (WWH) : Now that Tony has been captured, it's up to Dugan to run SHIELD in absentia, and face tough decisions about what to do about WWH. There's a decent amount of plot progression, and Tony's ultimate backup plan is suitably hardcore. I'll go with a low Good.

Annihilation Conquest: Starlord #1 (of 4) : Giffen writes, so of course this quickly becomes an intensive snarkfest. However, he is genuinely funny, and the art shows a suitably deadpan Starlord faced with the increasing absurdity of the plot. This amused me, so Good.

Countdown #40 : I can't even remember if anything significant happened apart for from tiny advancements in each of the subplots. The atrocious Monitor backup is still ongoing, so let's go with Crap.

Wolverine #55 : A disaster. Sabretooth dies in a most undignified fashion, Wild Child does nothing but spout exposition, and I'm apparently supposed to care about this "Romulus" having masterminded Wolverine's whole life up to now. Thankfully this was only 6 issues, but this plot is supposed to continue into 45 further issues of Wolverine:Origins. Crap.

Cable & Deadpool #43 : Well, mostly Deadpool, since the other guy is pushing daisies for the moment. I happen to like Nicieza's Deadpool jokes, so this works for me. Weasel working for Hydra is a joy to read, in a very lowbrow way. Wolverine guests stars and looks like he's completely insane, but then I would too if I was subjected to the writing of his solo titles. Good.

X-Men: First Class #2 : A two-part story, which allows Parker to make the founder X-Men blunder around a death-trap island for a whole issue while not having a clue as to what the heck is happening. Nice, but I hope there's a good explanation next issue. Good.

Mighty Avengers #4 : Still fighting Ultron ? Wake me up when something happens. Eh.

Green Arrow: Year One #2 (of 6 ?) : Is this a 4- or 6-issue mini ? Covers say 4, but 6 have been solicited. Whatever : this is a Very Good retelling of GA's origin, with superb Jock art and a decent enough script.

Amazing Spider-Man #542 : Peter beats off the Kingpin for a whole issue. Color me duly unimpressed : 5 issues, 7 months of build up for just this ? "Behave, or else !" ? This illustrates why the "Angry Spider-Man" angle is such a dead end : Spider-Man cannot cross the line without losing his soul, and any other end comes as an anticlimax. That the "Aunt May may be dead !" plot is still stagnating after half a year makes the whole thing Awful. The relaunch cannot happen early enough.