April 2008

Booster Gold #8 – Eh. Didn’t really feel it with this issue, probably because of this plot arc’s reliance on the Evil Max Lord/OMAC stuff that I really couldn’t care less about. (And also, the whole “I can’t get Superman to kill” thing was kind of stupid, and retroactively undercuts that whole plot point back in IC.)

Green Lantern Corps #23 – Solid all around, although I really wish they’d back off a little bit on the negative portrayal of the Guardians just a tad.

Wonder Woman #19 – Lots to like here, and thankfully little of the Nemesis/Secret Agent Diana stuff. However, the plot seems to fall apart a bit at the end, and Etta remains woefully in need of a proper introduction.

Amazing Spider-Girl #19 – Was more or less like every other issue of Amazing Spider-Girl: solid but unexceptional.

Terry Moore’s Echo #2 – On the one hand, it’s an interesting story. On the other hand, I’m not sure it’s $3.50-a-month interesting at this point. I think I’m probably going to back off and wait for trades for the rest of this series.

Detective Comics #843 – It’s another Paul Dini issue of Detective Comics, which means it’s a strongly-written, well-told one-or-two parter (two, in this case) with a good chance of featuring Zatanna (this one does) that’s light on continuity and status quo shake-ups and doesn’t stretch the limits of “a Batman story” in any way. And that’s just fine.

Nightwing #143 – Hmm. Not bad, but I didn’t like it quite as much as the previous issues, though I can’t really put my finger on why. It may just be that now it’s only “good” instead of “surprisingly good.”

Young Avengers Presents #3 - A fairly typical issue for this mini. It was pleasant and reminded me of why I like these characters, but not much more.

Young X-Men #1 – Meh. Not too much that was actively bad, but not much that was actively good. The new character doesn’t do anything for me so far and the concept of the book is problematic. (Another Cyclops-sponsored strike force, this time with more kids?) Characterization was iffy. I liked the art, though. As for the “twist”… it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but it was pretty close. And, just for the record, I’m really getting sick of last page reveals that rely on strictly visual identification of not terribly well-known characters that weren’t previously brought up in the book. I’ll probably still give this book another issue or two, but thus far… meh.

Secret Invasion #1 – It was good. Not superb, no. It didn’t change the way I think about comics or change my mind about anything I’ve disliked about recent Marvel books. But it was good, solid superhero entertainment. Mostly a setup issue, but a good one with a last sequence that made me want to read the second issue. I didn’t find the “Bendis dialogue” terribly distracting or out of place, but then I usually don’t.

FEB080206 DETECTIVE COMICS #843 $2.99
FEB080207 NIGHTWING #143 $2.99
FEB082240 SECRET INVASION #1 (OF 8) $3.99 Staying away from most of the tie-ins, at least until trades, but Marvel’s more than sold me on giving the main series a shot.
JAN082180 YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #3 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB082264 YOUNG X-MEN #1 DWS $2.99 Please don’t suck.