Comics from 12/09/2007 : part 1

And now, this week's books...

X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #1 (of 5) : Far better than I imagined. Brubaker's Uncanny arc was surprisingly light in characterization, so it is a pleasant surprise to see some personality kick in (especially Lorna). Not sure about the "Enemy Mine" plot, but we'll see. A Good start.

New Avengers #34 : Still milking the Skrull paranoia, but it more or less works. The explanation for the superbly bizarre cover is pretty much what I expected, but doesn't disappoint too much. On the other hand, we have a crossover with a Mighty Avengers plot that won't start for nearly three months, which is groan-inducing at the very list. Okay on the whole.

Nova #6 (AC) : A lot of fun, as the titular characters are put in a ridiculously hopeless situation. Some clichés (of course she had to die, she showed us a photo of her daughter !), but the momentum carries it all. I have no idea how this will not tie-in with the main mini in two months, but we'll see. A Very Good guilty pleasure.

X-Factor #23 : Oh, come on. The villain was behind all the events from the last two years ? Very annoying, and bringing down a bit an otherwise Very Good middle chapter.

Thor #3 : Guest-staring the Fascist Iron Man, and thus not fun at all. There are some interesting ideas, but confronting Thor to New Orleans is not one of them. Crap soapboxing.

Heroes for Hire #13 (WWH) : Ignore the infamous cover : this is just a barely Okay issue of a dying title without any direction (as characters helpfully start complaining about the plot).
And the Scorpion back-up is a bit too clever and cryptic for its own good.

JLA Wedding Special : Wow, a fun JLA comic. Who knew DC could still do these ? Nothing much to do with the actual wedding, this is mostly the first part of the Injustice League arc. Very Good.

Comics from 06/09/2007 : part 2

Yeah, I know this is already the next week, but life happens.

Daredevil: Battlin' Jack Murdock #4 (of 4) : An interesting ending, with Jack figuring out Matt is Daredevil, deciding he can care for himself, and deliberately "suiciding" himself by winning the fight. It doesn't really redeem the boring previous issues (do we really need yet another retelling of Daredevil's origin, even from his father's perspective ?) or the high price point, but the twist is Okay enough.

Captain America: the Chosen #1 (of 6) : Boring, though the ending twist might indicate that things will pick up next. Awful opening, though.

Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #1 (of 6) : No interest, and already forgotten anything about it. Eh.

New Excalibur #23 : Wow, this series has really lost the plot. I don't care at all for the alternate evil X-Men, and the regular cast barely appears. And still one issue to go... Crap.

Fantastic Four & Power Pack #3 (of 4) : Fun, and a nice old-school twist. Good.

White Tiger #6 (of 6) : A bit anticlimactic, especially after the months of wait. Fun team-up, though. Okay.

All-New Atom #15 : And now, after a pointless Countdown tie-in, we resume the ongoing story. Problem : though there are nice gags, Simone tries too hard, and the result is not so funny nor fun. A low Okay.

Supergirl #21 : Resuming the ongoing story after Amazons Attacks... Oh, wait, it's a Countdown tie-in. And one of its most boring threads, too : Karate Kid. Shame for the good art and the decent script. Awful.

Infinity Inc. #1 : This could go either way. Milligan is in his element, what with the neurosed former heroes ; on the other hand, I don't see much plot or compelling characters yet. Okay for the moment.

Y the Last Man #58 : Very mawkish issue, and the closing cliffhanger is a bit melodramatic. I'm not sure how Vaughan can pull off a satisfying ending in the last two issues, but we'll see. Okay.

Comics from 06/09/2007 : Part 1

Now, let's get back into the rhythm...

Incredible Hulk #110 (WWH) : End of the Mastermind Excello WWH tie-in arc, on a relatively satisfyingly note. Pak walks on a fine line on the question whereas Cho has a big master plan from the beginning or is just making it all up on the fly, and he pulls it off. Not really a complete story by any standard, but a Very Good WWH tie-in which succeeds in setting up a new supporting cast for the Hulk (which does not bode well for those aliens).

Outsiders #50 : This is more like it. The five preceding one shot had the redeeming value of disposing of the worst plot-hammered elements of the new setup, helping this issue feel less contrived. I'm not sure I buy the "vaguely help criminals once, become outlaws immediatly" idea (it would have been nice to see references to the previous storyarcs, which did establish the Outsiders' poor PR), but it is merely a transition bug : the overall direction of the new series remains promising. There's a few continuity glitches (why would Batman think that Catwoman would not recognize Matches Malone ? It was a plot point in War Games that she knew about him and clued Spoiler in to her mistake...), but I remain cautiously optimistic. A high Okay.

She Hulk #21 : And thus ends Slott's run on the title. It's a fun little issue : the solution to "continuity glitches" works well as a joke, and offers lots of good characterization. Slott can be a bit mean-spirited at times, but it stays bearable here. And there's enough closure for most of the cast here for me to give a Very Good.

Ms. Marvel #19 : After a very promising first arc issue, this one slows down a lot, resulting in a slightly less enjoyable issue. Very predictable, too. The Puppet Master is less creepy, and even Machine Man felt a bit subdued. Still fun, but down to Good after the riot of last issue.

Uncanny X-Men #490 : After the superlatively good plot twist of last issue, this one is back to more of the same : not really bad, but not very interesting either. This does not feel like a team book at all, just random cast members thrown together. Rise and Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire had a bit of this problem, but the removal of half the cast cinched it. I hope whatever recomposition of the teams after Messiah Complex will correct this problem (Adjectiveless fares better thanks to its momentum, but its cast IS down to three members...). Pending some serious changes, Eh.

Black Canary Wedding Planer : A cute filler story, but not charming enough to go beyond Okay. This marriage still isn't very compelling, which is not good news after three full months of buildup...

Amazing Spider-Man #544 (OMD) : Finally, after six months of time-filling, the May plot looks like it will finally be resolved. Well, there isn't any progress yet in this very Eh opening issue, and the art rubs me in the wrong way. Still, silver lining : in three issues, this will at last be resolved.

New Warriors #4 : The plot progresses incrementally, and a few more members are identified (most already guessed). Not the one who (supposedly) dies, though, which is a bit of a shame. Still, there are nice moments, and I like the direction a lot (though the Night Thrasher mistery is getting a bit annoying). Good.

Comics from 29/08/2007

Amazons Attack #6 (of 6) : Wow. And Pfeifer is such a good writer usually. Well, this is an abject mess, with lots of characters acting like idiots, and an utterly silly anticlimactic ending. The Deus Ex Machina doesn't work at all, while the "disparition" of the Amazons is stupid beyond words. And the final "revelation" (that this was just a prelude to Countdown plots) is a nice kick in the groin for those who expected a real ending. Crap.

Batman Annual #26 : Milligan strikes again : faced with the remit of "the Origin of Ra's Al Ghul", only he could write a story where the given origin is obviously fake, Ra's doesn't appear, and Batman is in a subplot completely missing what really happens in the plot. Good, because I enjoy Milligan's sense of humor.

World War Hulk: X-Men #3 (of 3) : Credits to Gage for his showmanship, but the stupidity of the plot still makes this Awful.

Outsiders: Five of a Kind: Grace/Wonder Woman : This is somehow a Countdown tie-in. I fail to to see how : it does reference the "Amazons disappearance" plot (mainly by dismantling a good chunk of it the very week it is established !), but Countdown itself has not referenced it at all yet. Whatever. Some good points and a few potshots at WW's current characterization raise the grade to Okay, but just barely : the overall plot and random team-ups still feel forced.