X-Men #199, Countdown #49, Shadowpact #13

X-men # 199
Mike Carey-Chris Bachalo

Still the best X-book going for my money. The art is STILL fantastic. And the last arc just ended, so you should be picking this up at 200. This is by far the most interesting X-team out there. I think Astonishing's Team is kind of the headliner X-men, which aren't so much put together because they're a good team, but because they are the top marketable team. Uncanny is Charles Xavier-led team, and we all know he's no fun. So that leaves us the Dirty Dozen-esque Adjective less(appropriately) X-men.

In this issue we get almost a JSA type level of team work by this group that at the same time seems to be barely holding together. The way that the team splinters off when Rogue isn't around is a fantastic move by Mike Carey.

We also get more development of the Rogue/Mystique/Iceman triangle, as well as getting to see Iceman do some really amazing stuff with his powers.

All of this of course drawn in the near seizure-inducing art of Chris Bachalo. The way that Carey narratively builds to these almost orgasmic climaxes of art is truly something to behold, when he lets Bachalo go nuts on a page, it's one of my favorite things in any monthly.

Read this x-book!

DC Countdown # 49
Various

The plot thickens this week in DC Countdown. We get to see our good friend Jimmy Olsen do some peculiar stretching in a fight with Croc. The monitors argue about what is to be done. We get something of a hit list, and those Rogues in Flash's book are up to something. All of this building up to a lovely climax involving our good friend Mary Marvel, and a significant villain from 52.

Yes, Countdown is off in full swing. And I have to say, so far it's looking like it may just top 52 in terms of payoff week in and week out. Sure there are parts that are more interesting than others, but we're getting a lot into that crazy metatextual multi-verse talk again, so this is a book you really want to be reading to illuminate the rest of the DC Universe, and not get completely lost sometime next year.

The art is also quite good for a weekly. All in all, I'm definitely signed up for this weekly format of comics, it's very television-like.

It's only 3 issues in, so get on now!

Shadowpact # 13
Bill Willingham-Scott Hampton

sSo last week I reviewed Fables, this is another book by Bill Willingham, this one set in the DCU about the group of heroes who helped beat the Spectre on Days of Vengeance there awhile back. This book is for anyone who enjoys magical adventures, demon slaying, and really good writing.

This is an excellent issue to start with too, because I for one, have been lax in reading Shadowpact, but this issue kind of sets the stage for a lot of big things that are about to happen, that don't really rely on a lot of things that have already happened.

The narrative voice that Willingham chooses to employ for this book, in my opinion, hits near the one you see in The Dark Tower, but much more tolerable. Plus Willingham seems to have a gift for almost effortless characterizations.

The art of the book is suitably dark and foreboding.

I think if you are at all a fan of the magical part of the DC Universe, which I am, then this is defintiely the book to read. It also is a fantastic read just for fans of Bill Willingham. If you are reading Fables, you really should read this as well. I don't know what it's sales numbers are like, but this is definitely one of the better books set in the DCU being put out. Hopefully people take notice before it gets canceled, because I think this is a book that many will read in trades and be very impressed with, and wish they had been on board earlier.

All-star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder # 5; Ultimates # 13; Fables # 61

All-star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder # 5
Frank Miller-Jim Lee

People with a sense of humor and a keen sense of the absurd need be the only ones who apply. Fact being, this is not Dark Knight Returns. This isn't some super-serious thing that will be made into a movie, change lives, and find a cure for cancer. This to the untrained eye is the worst thing Frank Miller has ever done. It's offensive. It lacks fully-developed characterizations. It's at times embarrassingly written. And in some ways it may cause you to think less or diffrently of some of Miller's other work.

However. And it's a big however. This is my new freaking bible. This is the most hilarious and great thing on the shelves from last week. From the opening page quote from Wonder Woman "Out of my way, sperm bank" to yet another incarnation of "I'm the goddamn Batman", this book is full of silly somehow charming quotes that you will be dying to use amongst your nerdy friends.

There is an extent to where this book is some kind of parody. It is basically taking the basic foundations of these pristine mythological DC characters and taking them to such an extreme so as to pervert them fully. Which IS fascinating, because it's always been a charge against DC that they are too stiff with their characters, and hold them up too often as museum pieces. But Miller brings no such respect to the characters here. Intentional or not, this is derisive mocking work, and should only be ready with a readiness to laugh.

If you remember back, Charles Bukowski once wrote a book called Pulp which was his stab at a "bad" book. We'll see how the whole book turns out in the end, but I'm leaning to thinking ASBARBW is Miller's Pulp.

Ultimates # 13
Mark Millar-Bryan Hitch

The stunning final issue of Millar and Hitch's Ultimates can best be described as a comic Ragnorak. If only Civil War had been allowed to hit these heights. The final battle in Ultimates has been going on for what....5 issues? That's like...100+ pages. And Millar and Hitch throw everything in but the kitchen sink. This issue we get monsters, gods, massive explosions--if this were a movie, this issue alone would suffice as the final battle for most movies. That this is the final act of several issues of this quality only further underlines the fact that when this does finally come out in trade, you need to own it.

The Ultimates when all is said and done, may be the best thing Marvel has ever done. It will be interesting to see how it holds up over time, because the politics could end up dated in terms of the names and faces, but I would guess that in the end those are just place holders, and this can be viewed as a cautionary anti-establishment tale, with lots of great intrigue, drama, and moments that should prove iconic for ages.

Bryan Hitch is really the star of this show. Millar writes a great book to be sure, but Hitch is insane. He's a mad man. Like, I'm shocked that my eyes didn't explode out of my head. The way that the book builds to it's excesses and then always pays off is orgasmic.

If they ever talk about the age that Marvel finally took comics back from DC, this will be THE book they point to. This is wholly a marvel book, and it measures up to anything that DC has put out in it's decorated history.

Yeah. I'm a fan.

Fables # 61
Bill Willingham-Mark Buckinham

It's kind of weird that I don't have a fables review up every month. I mean, whenever people have asked me the last few years about comics I recommend, I usually tally Fables in that ledger. But the fact of the matter is that I have been following it in the trades, and have fallen behind there. So I was a bit reticent to jump in and spoil things for me.

This month however I bit the bullet. And I'm glad I did. I was surprised that I could basically jump right into this issue and not really be all that lost. I think I'm like...18 issues back in the trades or something. But yeah. Fables is one of the best possible books you could ever pick up in a monthly.

This is a book for that kind of Sandman crowd, that likes the adult fairy tale bend. The series really has it all. It can be funny, charming, intriguing, tear jerking--it really touches on every kind of emotion, and honestly, I hope Willingham never stops. He was born to do this book, and there are infinite stories he can tell in this world with this concept. I really don't see how anyone could NOT like Fables. It's probably the safest book on the shelves for me to reccomend anyone regardless of race, gender, age. Though obviously, it's vertigo, and even though it involves fairy tale characters, it probably isn't for like...really little kids. But I would have definitely dug this when I was 12 or 13.

Anyways. Yeah. I'm officially going on record to say that I am a huge Fables fan, and it's taken too long for me to tell the readers of this blog that. So now go your honest day's duty, and support the book.

Annihilation Saga, Nova # 2, Thunderbolts #114

Annihilation Saga
Keith Giffen-Various

So let me be direct here. If you have any single fiber of your being that likes a good old fashioned space opera in the vein of Star Wars, Dune, and Battlestar Gallactica, run, don't walk to your nearest comic book shop and get yourself some of this. Annihilation Saga is just plain staggering in it's scope. That this was going on at the same time as Civil War and Civil War was getting all the pub, is astounding.

It's all here. Galactus. Silver Surfer. Thanos. Skrulls, Kree. Death. The Beyonder. Quasar. Every marvel space character shows up to battle for you guessed it, the universe's existence. It's your basic dark threat comes in, makes things seem bleak, heroes rally, lots of things blow up. Entire planets are destroyed. Entire galaxies perish. Great stuff.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of the series is making Nova into Marvel's answer to Green Lantern. This is definitely the best story that Marvel has told in the last year.

I just hope Marvel does the smart thing and collects the entire thing in a huge hardcover tome.

Nova # 2
Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning-Sean Chen

Yeah so after reading Annihilation, I pretty much had to check out Nova's book. And have to say. I was pleasantly suprised and impressed. Basically this book is about Richard Rider, Nova, returning home after Annihilation to a post-civil war america. The basic thrust is Tony Starks and the government bugging Nova, and Nova being like "I saved the freaking universe, man!".

The story basically falls into that man out of time type of encino man type story. Even though Rider hasn't been away from earth for very long, so much has changed, that he has become dissociated from it all.

The artwork is good. The writing is really strong. This book will appeal to fans of DC's Green Lantern. And maybe fans of the old Captain America, as it does hit that note too. And then also fans of the New Warriors.


Thunderbolts # 114
Warren Ellis-Mike Deodato Jr.

I was not initally overly impressed by Thunderbolts by Ellis. In fact I thought it was going to be another Ellis project I just would have to give a pass to. But I'm starting to get glad I stuck with it. It's really starting to ramp up.

The art is fantastic. The writing, we're starting to see some of the threads spun early on pull tight. I like that this is a serious book compared to Next Wave, which was full of jokes I didn't laugh at. Thunderbolts just seems more like Ellis's brilliant work on Stormwatch and The Authority. So if you are a fan of either of those works, then this is definitely a book to check out.

I mean, techinically everyone in this book is a villain. So it's interesting how you have within that group heroes and villains, and then to some degree you are also rooting against the team as they fight their actual "villains"(unregistered heroes).

So yeah. As if you needed my recommendation on a book as hyped as Thunderbolts. But consider this the official stamp of approval, at least until Ellis gets bored with the concept.

Sensational Spider-man Annual # 1; Spider-man: FCBD; Astonishing X-men # 21

Sensational Spider-man Annual # 1
Matt Fraction-Salvador Larocca

I've certainly been no fan of the current crop of Spider-man scribe for whom, unfortunately for me, have been current for quite some time--so this week is kind of dedicated to the guys who most likely "got next". The first of which is one of the brighest stars coming into the marvel universe, Mr. Matt Fraction, of Cassanova and Immortal Iron Fist fame. He too of the ever improving Punisher War Journal. Well he's been handed the keys to a project, I've really thought for the longest time he was born to write, and that is as one of the writers of the big three monthly spider-man books.

And boy does he not disapoint. To say Sensational Spider-man Annual is one of the best in continuity Spider-man stories in recent memory would be to sell the book quite short. It's that good. This is the type of story quality wise I'd have thought to only exist in Ultimate Spider-man anymore--but thank god we've finally come up for air. Because really this is the type of mature Peter Parker story that you can't tell in the Ultimate world right now.

The issue basically focuses on Mary Jane and Peter Parker's relationship, and how it is holding up under the pressures of his now ruined life. And it's really romantic and great and wonderful and I definitely teared up reading it in a few places. This is definitely a book where the adage, I laughed, I cried, I was moved adage holds suit. Which is to say, it's everything Spider-man SHOULD be, but seems so rarely to be. It seems like event after event is thrown at him, but no one seems to be taking a second to take stock of the very human issues surrounding these changes, and Fraction definitely does that here.

The art by Larocca stands up to the writing. There are some scenes in here that will stay with you for a long time. Just beautiful iconic stuff.

But really. I've said this so much, but I'll definitely say it again. Matt Fraction is the up and coming superstar of comic books right now. He's paid his dues, and now he's starting to get the projects worthy of his talents, and he's knocking them out of the park. It's no stretch to say that a year from now Matt Fraction(and what a great comic book name that is, it's Steranko-esque), will be on the same level as a Millar, Brubaker, Morrison. You'll see his name, and you will read it, no matter what it is. And you'll like it.

The Amazing Spider-man: Free Comic Book Day Book
Dan Slott-Phil Jimenez

Judging by all the rumors coming out, Dan Slott WILL be the new writer on Amazing, once JMS steps down(thank god). So I thought it was important to also review his book, as it sort of gives us a preview of the type of story we might expect from Slott on Amazing.

It's pretty much what you'd expect from Slott. Slott's writing manages to capture that kind of youthful mirth of how you felt about comics as a kid, even if the quality was probably never this good. Coming out of the current dark times for Spidey, this could be the perfect writer to give the fans a breather with. He seems like he can bring the fun back to Spider-man. Wacky villains, high paced adventures, and quipy quips, I think these are the elements we can expect to make their way over to his official run.

It's hard to find any fault with this book in particular. First of all. It's free. But second of all, the art is fantastic by Phil Jiminez, there's lots of great action, and it's got that classic Peter Parker trying to cram super heroism in between the events of his life. In many ways what this is most like is De Falco's Spider-girl. It's got that same vibe, but it is in continuity with Spider-man. Which I think is really what a lot of fans have been clamoring for for awhile. JMS seemed to take the fun out of Spider-man, as well as just not being all that compelling in spite of the radical changes he constantly through Parker through.

Slott basically writes the Spider-man of the first two movies. The one that everyone remembers and loves. And if he can keep that up, while dealing with the aftermath of the catastrophic events that marvel have thrown upon Peter Parker, we should be in for quite a treat.

Astonishing X-Men # 21
Joss Whedon-John Cassady

I still do not get the fan fair behind these books. I don't understand why this book is so acclaimed over in my opinion, Mike Carey's FAR superior X-book. It's baffling to me. I think Cassady's art makes the x-men look like stay-puffed marshmallow men, I keep expecting someone to poke Wolverine in the stomach and for him to go "woo hoo". And then the writing...has no one ever watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Does it not bother people that Whedon has essentially just thrown X-men skins on the characters he already had in Buffy, which in turn were brilliant modernizations of the Scooby gang? I don't really get why he's even writing Buffy the Vampire Slayer in comics. You get all of that you need in this book. I guess if you're partial to vampires instead of mutants, but still, there's so little diffrence here, that it really hampers my ability to relate to the characters.

I definitely respect that Whedon has made Cyclops interested for the first time in perhaps ever, but I've definitely read this character before. And I don't know why this issue bugs me, because really it's just Whedon's style coming through, right? But I guess it just feels very empty. It feels like he's not made any concessions to the fact that he is not writing Buffy or Angel or the Buffy in Space epic Firefly--I don't feel like he's geniunely interacting with these characters, and that bugs me. It feels like he's just madlibbing it, which I don't think is that rewarding for him. Frankly listening to him in interviews, and taking into account comments he made before he quit trying to make the Wonder Woman movie, I've got the sense that he's running out of gas right now.

These Astonishing Books seem to take ages to come out, and then when they do, nothing really happens. His run is almost over, and I've yet to be emotionally interested or involved in the entire series. And it's not like it's the characters, because you read Grant Morrison's version of the same characters, and it's far more revlatory. Morrison seemed to really have fun with the sandbox, whereas Whedon is kind of sitting in one corner playing his PSP.

So I don't know if I'm more mad at myself for not finding a way to enjoy this book that seemingly everyone on the planet loves, or mad at Whedon because I feel that he's cheating himself as a writer. I mean he's obviously got a lot of talent. But I question whether he actually enjoys what he's doing right now. The joy that is there in his earlier work seems nowhere to be found anymore. Everything feels by the numbers-Whedon. Which is nice for cashing a check, but I can't imagine it's fullfilling as an artist. But who knows. I guess it's not a good sign when a review tilts from being a discussion of the work at hand, to a psychological analysis of an artist I've never met. But it's a hurdle I'm having an increasingly hard time crossing as we get deeper and deeper into Astonishing.

Fallen Son # 2; JSA # 5; Firestorm #35

Civil War: Fallen Son # 2
Jeph Loeb-Ed McGuinness

Really disappointing book after a decent opening salvo. The problem with this book I think is mainly structural. The decision to cross cut the Avengers and New Avengers story in an alternating panel way was really kind of batcrap insane. The two stories really don't interconnect. One is the New Avengers playing poker, dealing with their anger over Cap's death. It's really good and the tension in the room is palpable. But the other story, which you have to read every other panel, is just Tony Stark's Avengers team in a fight with some sea monsters. And we are meant to imply that the way they fight is some way of dealing with their anger over Captain America, but it completely misses that mark and ends up just being a random adventure by the Avengers.

Generally when you chose to alternate panels like Loeb has done here, the panels kind of talk to each other and illuminate what is in each one, but in this case, it just makes you lose your place while reading. I eventually gave up on even reading the Avengers panels, just to get back to the New Avengers, which I think is hardly the intent.

Hopefully the next book in this series picks it up, I had really high hopes that Loeb was going to knock this story out of the park, but so far it seems like the writing and creative decisions are being mailed in.

Justice Society of America # 5
Geoff Johns-Fernando Pasarin

This is part two of a very good JLA-JSA crossover...which involves the finding deranged time stranded members of the League of Superheroes, the first part of which was contained in this month's JLA which was also very good. I definitely recommend going back and starting there and using this arc as a jumping on point for both books, because despite constant internet complaints about Meltzer, he's doing a fantastic job.

As for JSA. Geoff Johns continues to make this book the best super-hero team book going. The sense of family and history, as well as drama and action, is fantastic. This issue has Batman, The Sandman, Geo-Force, and Starman teaming up to go into Arkham Aslyum. If that doesn't make you want to read, I don't know what is.

I think JSA is the book that finally trumpets Geoff Johns arrival in that top tier of comic book writers. He's at least now on Mark Millar's level as a storyteller, and what he's pulling off in Justice Society of America is tremendous and is not to be missed by anyone.

Firestorm # 35
Dwayne McDuffie-Pop Mhan

Geez. Wish I had bothered to read this BEFORE it got canceled. So this is the last issue of Firestorm. A character I've only marginally cared about. But after reading this, sort of dig. Really excellent book. Heroes with voices in their head always get the win.

The Art is a lot of fun, and there's a ton of action in this book. Including plenty of New Gods, which is great. Who doesn't love New Gods? Bless you Kirby.

But yeah, very solid book, and I guess I would recommend it even though the series is done, just so you kind of don't hate Firestorm in other series I guess. I think maybe it's his shoulder pads that put me off. Who knows.

Probably a good enough book not to be canceled, but obviously Firestorm no matter how well written, is not a character that most people are going to embrace without cause. So here's to his next apparence.

Did I mention Darkseid shows up? This book may be somewhat relevant for DC's next big event. Not sure though.