Marvel

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.

Rather light on the actual whining this week, as it was a pretty strong week.

Blue Beetle #25 - Awesome, but not quite as awesome as the previous issue. Still, a no-contest victor for “Book of the Week.” Now it’s time to be nervous about the writer leaving.

Green Lantern #29 - Solid and well-told, but with everything going down in the Green Lantern corner of the DCU, and the countdown to “Blackest Night” already beginning… this is really a bad time to derail the book in favor of retelling Hal Jordan’s origin. Maybe future issues will make the decision seem more sensible, but I’d much rather be exploring the various new Corps that are starting up.

Ultimate Spider-Man #120 - Another very nicely done issue of the only reason I pay any attention to the Ultimate Universe anymore. (Which is rather sad, as not too long ago I was eagerly following Ult. X-Men, Ult. FF, and the Ultimates.) With the events of this issue, I stand by my half-joking prediction that Ult. Spidey is well on his way to being demasked and married.

Wolverine: First Class #1 - Nicely done. You’d have to ask someone who cares for how well it fits into continuity, but on its own merits it’s a well-told done-in-one that establishes a workable status quo for an ongoing series, with nice characterization on Wolverine and Kitty Pryde. No complaints here; I just wonder if the “Wolverine” in the title will make this perform better than the other all ages books in the direct market.

X-Men First Class #10 - This, on the other hand… well, I’ve been disappointed in the past few issues, and this is no change. It’s a competently told, bland, predictable Cyclops spotlight story that does nothing interesting with the character. It continues to feel like there’s been a writer change, as the humor that enlivened earlier issues is almost completely missing in action here, outside the always awesome “recap” pages. I’m probably going to drop this series soon if it doesn’t start turning around.

JAN080177 BLUE BEETLE #25 $2.99 So excited for this one.
JAN080185 GREEN LANTERN #29 $2.99 Is this the start of the “Secret Origin” arc? I’m dubious, but we’ll see…
JAN082144 MARVEL ATLAS #2 (OF 2) $3.99 How can anyone resist? Now if only DC would do an equivalent, at least for the US to establish where all the extra major cities are…
JAN082125 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #120 $2.99
JAN082189 WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #1 $2.99 Here’s hoping it’s good.
JAN082188 X-MEN FIRST CLASS VOL 2 #10 $2.99 Here’s hoping this one is better than the past couple issues.

First week in a very long time where I’ve bought more Marvel than DC.

As promised:

Batman and the Outsiders #5 - Well, there was one interesting reveal that ought to make a lot of people happy.
Other than that, still solid but unexceptional.

Birds of Prey #116 - Eh. Nothing outrageously bad, but still generally disappointing. The Zinda/Huntress parts were much stronger than the Oracle/Misfit/Black Alice parts, which were just kind of there.

Brave and the Bold #11 - Heh. Ultraman was amusing. (I note, however, that the bizarre insistence on having both the Grant Morrison anti-matter CSA and an only subtly different Earth-3 CSA coexist is already becoming mildly confusing.) Uncertain whether I’ll stay for the next issue.

Checkmate #24 - Huh. So… the Rooks are a bunch of characters I’ve never heard of, and a brief check of Wikipedia reveals nothing to justify the precautions and buildup. Also, the real true evil plan seems significantly less threatening than the distraction for it. I trust Rucka, so it should all hopefully come together next issue.

Robin #172 - Well, there was one interesting reveal that ought to make a lot of people happy. Much like the other Chuck Dixon book this week. I… question the choice of method of reveal, though; since it’s rather anti-climatic to just have her remove her mask randomly after this much buildup in two different books. (Assuming there isn’t another twist coming; although it’s tough to see what it would be, solicitations indicated several more months before the mystery was to be solved.) Other than that, some interesting stuff going on, and the book remains fairly strong.

Sword #6 - Basically an exposition dump, but a fairly interesting one. The religious connotations are… unexpected. Continues to be one of the books I look forward to the most each month.

Order #9 - Sob. The fact that there’s only going to be one more issue of this is a dire injustice; if the whole or most of the team ends up dying to make the villain of the forthcoming Invincible Iron Man book seem more badass, I’ll be rather irked.

One of the things I’ve done while not blogging was pick up the habit of buying American comics. Partly to help make a steadier stream of content, and partly because I do it already on a message board I frequent, here’s what I’m buying this week, with a handful of comments. Sometime this weekend, look for a “Comics Whining” post, where I whine about and nitpick this week’s comics and make you wonder why I buy them in the first place!

JAN080156 BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #5 $2.99
JAN080176 BIRDS OF PREY #116 $2.99 Meh. Not quite digging the current plot arc, but the writer is changing soon, so I might as well keep picking it up.
JAN080178 BRAVE AND THE BOLD #11 $2.99 Intriguing enough team-up - Superman and Ultraman (evil Superman from another world) to drag me in, for this issue at least.
JAN080179 CHECKMATE #24 $2.99 Sob; only one more issue before the dubious creative team change.
JAN080164 ROBIN #172 $2.99 Huh, both Chuck-written Dixon books in one week, the other being BatO.
JAN082087 SWORD #6 $2.99 Yay! I’ll probably do a post sometime about why this book is awesome and all my non-existent readers should buy it.
JAN082176 ORDER #9 $2.99 Sob; only one more issue period.

Recent Naruto Manga

• What’s the difference between the first chapter of a fanfiction I’m not going to read more of and the latest story-arc in Naruto? One swiftly and clumsily eliminates old characters, introduces a host of new characters including a new love interest for a pre-existing character, in a burst of enthusiasm boosts said pre-existing character to new, unrivaled heights of power with little regard to explanation or logic, and generally fails to generate any interest in where the story is going. The other I frequently encounter on Fanfiction.Net.

Read the rest of this entry »

It says something… interesting about my state of mind that when Steven writes (20070315.1900):

I don’t know if anyone’s interested, but I’ve gotten involved in an interesting discussion of the Civil War here and here.

my first thought was: “I didn’t know Steven followed American comics at all.”

Incidentally, both linked articles are worth reading if you’re interested in the Civil War that was about slavery, rather than the one that involved superheros punching each other over a thinly-veiled poor allegory of the Patriot Act.

Real content coming soon. I promise.