New X-Men Teasers Keep the Mystery Alive

Just when you thought you couldn’t take any more X-Men teasers, here come two more.

Three issues in and X-Men: Schism is much better than I expected (and I expected a lot from Jason Aaron). I’m fascinated to see how this will all play out and what the make-up of the X-Men will be when all is said and done. Last week Marvel released their teasers for the inaugural issue of Wolverine and the X-Men and the relaunched Uncanny X-Men. The Uncanny teaser featured Emma Frost on the cover with some fairly iconic silhouettes behind her and the Wolverine cover featured ‘ol Logan with an equally mysterious cadre of mutants.

Today, Marvel released two more teasers for X-Men #20, featuring Jubilee, and X-Men Legacy #259, featuring Rogue. It’s unclear which books will feature which teams for certain—though I suspect X-Men to focus on Wolverine’s team because it seems clear the Jubilee was on the Wolverine and the X-Men teaser. Confused yet? All will be explained when X-Men: Schism completes its five-issue run this October.

Video Review: 'X-Men' #14

Cristian is thoroughly enjoying Christopher Yost’s current “First to Last” storyline in adjectiveless X-Men #14—an epic story with great art by Paco Medina (on the present day piece of the story). Medina will get a shot at the mutants again when he and Nick Spencer relaunch Ultimate Comics: X-Men in September.

Unfortunately Cristian was not thrilled with Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force by Rob Williams and Simone Bianchi—the book is missing Rick Remender. In Superboy #9, Jeff Lemire really gets things going as the book begins winding down before DC relaunches the title (with everything else) in September—Cristian was blown away by the book’s quality. But the best of the week? Check out Jonah Hex #69 with fantastic art by Lemire.

You can see more of Cristian’s video reviews here.

Cape Town Capsule Reviews, 5/18/11 Releases

By Don M. Ventura

Batman: Gates of Gotham #1

DC Comics

««««

Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgins are proving that there are still stones to be upturned in their new mini-series Batman: Gates of Gotham.

The story opens in the late nineteenth century Gotham, the city is as dark as we have come to know it, but its forefathers are filled with the hope that their city can eventually out-metropolis nearby Metropolis. We come to learn that those forefathers are the Waynes, the Cobblepotts, and the Elliots—considering their descendants have been destined to war with one another, there is little hope that these men will walk away from this mini on amicable terms.

The story feels like an epic mystery right from the outset—something we have come to expect from Snyder whose American Vampire and Detective Comics have set high expectations for any future work. Before long we are transported to present day Gotham where the bridges of Gotham are taken out by simultaneous explosions. The scene below the Gotham River is a nightmare. Batman and Red Robin are unable to save all of the unfortunate Gothamites who found themselves in the middle of the destruction

The breakout star of the book is Trevor McCarthy, who has recently done some fantastic work on Batman Annual 28 and the recent Superman 80-Page Giant. I’m glad the dynamic artist has gotten an opportunity to spread his wings on a long-form story—he proves here to be up to the challenge for sure.

There is a truly haunting scene in which Batman is submerged below the Gotham River, surrounded by the victims of the bridge explosions. Guy Majors colors keeps all of artwork dark, but all of the images are distinct and not muddled. This can be a problem with some artists who work with night scenes.

Snyder and company have started off Batman: Gates of Gotham with a bang (or three?) and I can't wait to see what more they plan to add to the already dense Batman mythos.

Got Yer Nose! Wolverine and Cyclops At Odds in Latest X-Men Teaser

It looks like the rumors from Bleeding Cool have been accurate and Wolverine and Cyclops are set to come to some pretty devisive blows under Marvel's "Year of the X-Men" banner. Today's teaser features the results of a Scott and Logan altercation where Scott is clearly the loser.

According to the website, Logan will lead one team and Scott the other when all is said and done. More to come!

Victor Gischler talks to his x-cited fans

The best X-book I would have to say is X-Men.

It's the more 'superhero' take that I like. But that's me.

CBR has a good Q&A with the book's writer where he answers questions from the fans.

Check it out Cape Town Commuters.

Cape Town Capsule Reviews, 2/23/11 Releases

By Don M. Ventura

Fantastic Four #588

Marvel Comics

«««½

Although not perfect, this was a strong final chapter to one of Marvel’s longest-running titles. Jonathan Hickman has finished the story off with class with an issue that is told almost entirely without words as we explore the fallout after the death of Johnny Storm.

Nick Dragotta is on hand to illustrate the painful last month of Marvel’s first family and the results are quite striking. Dragotta’s art is reminiscent of a contemporary mix of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko; the only misstep is the artist’s version of Sue Richards whose look is somewhat inconsistent.

The book is made up of several two and three page scenes, my favorite being one in which Reed comes face to face with Annihilus, the villain responsible for the Johnny’s death. He smugly holds the fallen hero’s tattered uniform. I love good villain moments and this image stuck with me for days after finishing the issue.

Marvel missed an opportunity with this issue to provide a proper sendoff. Where are the pin-ups? Where are the words of farewell from the legendary writers and artists who have tackled this flagship title? A Spider-Man follow up after the main story was the books nicest moment; Spidey attempts to comfort Franklin Richards with a story about the death of his own uncle.

"I will do what needs to be done."

Marvel is keeping the teases strong huh...here is the latest one coming from the X-Men books,

Colossus donning the helmet of Juggernaut....hmmm is Pro. X up to something?

See below for all the teases, so far, from Marvel's  MMXI -- The Year of the X-Men.

Cape Town Capsule Reviews, 1/26/11 Releases

Age of X: Alpha

Marvel Comics

«««

The Age of X: Alpha takes our favorite mutants to a reality where the world “fears and hates” them. Times infinity.

This issue is an anthology, written by Mike Carey, that introduces readers to the characters and the world they inhabit. What a world. The book serves as a prologue to the action. We get something of a who’s who of the characters with the most time given to Cyclops, Cannonball, Dr. Rao, Wolverine and Magneto. The X-Men—looking a little different and acting a little different as they sit around the fire and share personal stories—each drawn by a different artist.

The best sequence features Cyclops—known as Basilisk in this story—who is held in a Mutant prison run by Arcade. His eyelids have been cut off and he is forced to murder mutants with an awful mask that opens at Arcade’s control. This is a far cry from Utopia folks. It will be interesting to see how Scott’s persona plays out over the course of the series. The worst story, mainly because of its protagonist’s distracting behavior, features Cannonball and his sister Husk.

The art in the main story was gorgeous by Mirco Pierfederici. I don’t buy variant covers unless that is all that is available but the Olivier Coipel cover is beautiful.

Cape Town Capsule Reviews, 12/22/10 Releases

By Don M. Ventura

Power Girl #19

DC Comics

«««½

Month in and month out, Judd Winick churns out another chapter of his modest Power Girl epic that serves as a complimentary tale to his Justice League: Generation Lost biweekly series. While a few issues have served as one-shots, the book has ultimately been a single story involving the recently revived villain Max Lord toying with Power Girl and her alter ego Karen Page. The story seemed nearing resolution until halfway through the book where Power Girl finds herself squarely in the same place she began on Winick’s run, unsure who was screwing with her and her company.

While this book has not been doing anything revolutionary, it has continued to be a fun book where Winick has been able to tell a solid story (at his own pace) and throw in plenty of humor. When Power Girl questions whether Nicco’s (her own Oracle) intel has led her to the correct coordinates he replies “No. I’m joking. I’m throwing you a surprise party and this the only way I knew I could get you there.” Power Girl and Nicco’s working relationship has become one of my favorite parts of this series.

What really sets this book apart is artist Sami Basri who is poised to become a breakout artist. This issue continues to come out on time, but Basri’s art, while not overly complex, looks like it’s time consuming. Basri gets an opportunity to draw the JLI from the 80’s, the Royal Flush Gang, and some of the JSA in this issue and the artists draws each character with a distinct look—nothing is thrown away.  Sunny Gho (Velocity and Superior) is quickly becoming one of my favorite colorists; she handles this issue with Jessica Kholinne. Gho has a distinctive palette, adding nice textures to all of the artwork.

X-Men #6

Marvel Comics

«««½

Victor Gischler’s “Curse of the Mutants” arc ends on a high note with Cyclops leading the X-Men to Xarus’ lair for a final match against the vampires that have been attempting to take down Utopia. This has been a well-written mini-epic opener to Gischler’s ongoing X-title. He’s kept some of the best X-characters in the forefront of the action, written Cyclops as a believable leader and strategist, and injected the proper amount of humor into his vampire tale.

This issue features a great showdown between Xarxus and his legendary father Dracula. Papa demonstrates, in a truly vile but appropriate manner, why his son was never able to make a name for himself while standing in the far-reaching shadow of his father.

In this issue there are some nice standout moments for the characters that remind us why we root—or should root—for them. First Wolverine. He’s interrogating a vampire to track Xarxus. He has one claw up to the eye of the bloodsucker and says “Where?” In the end Cyclops has to stand visor to eye against Dracula, and Dracula blinks first (I assume). One minor gripe was seeing Storm and Gambit in the background and not having anything to do or say.

Artist Paco Medina turns out another wonderfully drawn superhero comic book. His artwork is sharp and clear, and the colors by Marte Gracia are fine. Gracia colors most of the action in muted neutral tones to identify the rising dawn.

Batman Incorporated #2

DC Comics

««««

This week I really enjoyed Nick Spencer’s ability to create a genuinely BAD bad guy in the pages of Morning Glories #5. Not to be outdone, Grant Morrison continues to create a memorable nasty in Lord Death Man in Batman Incorporated #2. Last month he not only melted off the hands and face of Japan’s hero Mr. Unknown, but he dumped the girlfriend of Mr. Unknown’s ward Jiro Osamu into a tank with a killer Octopus. In this issue he blows up a bus with disabled children on it. Bad enough for you?

Batman Incorporated is the fun international Batman that Grant Morrison has wanted to write for years. Batman and Robin enjoyed an adventure on the other side of the pond early in their series, but this is a James Bond cool version of Batman that still remains true to the character. Another nice thing about this title is that the first arc is finished with this issue—I’ve been going through fatigue with having to follow so many six issue arcs that begin to flatline during their fourth and fifth issues.

This issue features the ascension of Jiro from Mr. Unknown to the Japanese Batman. While we don’t see the transformation, we are treated to a great final splash page with Jiro Batman fighting a big gorilla in a mask. Morrison and artist Yanick Paquette have created an excellent adventure yarn with fast paced action that still allows for Morrison’s clever dialogue.

There’s a cool panel with Jiro taking the same oath Robin took before flying into the night with the Caped Crusader (the room is ever lit by a single candle between the two). It’s these nice touches that bring a nostalgic smile to my face.

The Invincible Iron Man #33

Marvel Comics

«««½

There is a cinematic feel to Matt Fraction’s Iron Man that is engaging. The Invincible Iron Man #33 was the final issue of the “Stark Resilient” storyline in which Tony, after having rebuilt himself, rebuilds his company with Pepper, Rhodey, and a new supporting cast.

The story so far has not been action heavy because Fraction has utilized strong characterization to move the story along. However, this was a fast paced issue in which Tony races in Stark Resilient’s newly unveiled car from the Hammer drones and Detroit Steel while Pepper lays dying. While Justine Hammer does not succeed in bring Tony down, the story ends with the inclusion of two more Iron Man baddies into her fold to create an eventual big time headache for our hero.

Salvador Larroca is perfect for this book because he draws sleek technological doodads and a pretty fantastic Iron Man (who doesn’t appear in this issue). My only qualm is the somewhat distracting character models he uses, which I have previously mentioned sometimes takes me out of the story.

Fraction writes a fine dialogue-free follow-up called “Good Morning Tony” that offers a day in the technology-based life of Tony Stark.  Jamie McKelvie handles the artwork on the eight-page story and I would not be averse to seeing more from the artist on this title.

Uncanny X-Men #531

Marvel Comics

«««

Greg Land’s artwork is not always my cup of tea. When his female characters are smiling I imagine them shouting “Weeeeeee!” I don’t hate it, because it is oftentimes quite dynamic, but it doesn’t mesh well with Matt Fraction’s current “Quarantine” storyline. I’d like to see Land’s work on something lighter I think.

Regardless, I am enjoying Fraction’s story of a mutant flu strain that has the mutants on lockdown in Utopia while Dr. Rao attempts to cure what ails the children of the atom. Fraction humorously uses introductory captions to establish each character and and as a commentary device where they might normally be used to identify the character’s power (“Namor. King of the Sea. Snotty, however you choose to define it”; “Scott Summers—Cyclops. Optic blasts. Bit sniffly”).

The story also involves a faux-mutant X-Team created by Lobe, a team of five heroes designed to mimic the powers of the five original X-Men. Another story has Angel forming a team of non-bedridden X-Men (Storm, Pixie, Dazzler, and Northstar) to take down the Collective Man.

Finally, all of Emma’s scheming seems to have been fruitless as Sebastian Shaw has not proven to be as easily disposed as she had hoped. Fraction writes few pages of their history to illustrate how far Emma has come from her wicked origins with the Hellfire Club.  There’s a lot of story going on in Fraction’s Uncanny X-Men and all of the stories are keeping me fully absorbed.

The Fantastic Four #586

Marvel Comics

««««

Were this any other arc of the Fantastic Four it would still be top-notch. Knowing that this is the penultimate chapter in Jonathan Hickman’s eventually infamous “Three” storyline that will feature the death of a beloved member of the team.

The team has been segmented into three separate dangerous scenarios with their most infamous adversaries. Reed with Galactus, Sue with Namor, and Ben and Johnny with Annihilus. Hickman has masterfully amped up the danger for each of the members. I’m reminded somewhat of Identity Crisis in which we knew there was going to be multiple deaths and, while reading it, you crossed your fingers that it actually wouldn’t happen because Brad Meltzer brought great compassion to the characters. Hickman demonstrates, perhaps more skillfully than Meltzer, the ability to remind us why these characters are beloved without knocking us over the head with it.

So Reed is saving the Earth from the wrath of Galactus, Sue is trying to stave off an Atlantean war, and Ben and Johnny are fighting off some frightening bugs who report to Annihilus. As exciting as this unfolding story is, things are looking gloomier than ever for the FF.

Rating Scale:

Excellent ««««

Good «««

Average ««

Poor «

Cape Town Capsule Reviews, 11/17/10 Releases

By Don M. Ventura

The Flash #6

DC

Logic has been asked to take a backseat in the final issue of the “Dastardly Death of the Rogues” storyline, the first arc of Geoff Johns’s re-introduction of the Silver Age Flash back into the DCU. This flaw is simply too large a leap to accept.

In this arc the Renegades, a team of Rogue doppelganger police from the future, have traveled through time to arrest the Flash for the future murder of the Mirror Monarch. The B-story involved Barry Allen re-opening of a cold case in which a young man is falsely imprisoned of murder. It turns out the Renegade Top is framing the Flash of Mirror Monarch’s murder so that he can prevent Barry from solving the cold case because the Top’s ancestor was the actual murderer. The Top knows that he will never be able to serve as a police office if an ancestor has a criminal record.

Wait. At no point in the story has Barry altered the past. This means the Top’s ancestor would have always had a criminal record and the Top would have never been able to be a cop in the first place. This took me out of a story that I had been enjoying up until this point.

Plotting aside, Francis Manapul has delivered another issue full of exquisite artwork. The chase scene between the Flash and the top is phenomenal. Manapul never wastes a panel on this book, and the coloring by Brian Buccellato is stunning. The chase scene in particular is phenomenal with all of the lights of the building illuminated in yellows and oranges.

I love Johns, but this ending threw me.

X-Men #5

Marvel

I’m still not sure how Victor Gischler has kept me interested in a storyline about vampires (something to which I admittedly have an aversion) but this book’s inaugural arc has been a fun ride while never becoming silly. Another feat considering the subject matter.

The newly vampired Wolverine and Xarus’s minions have begun their assault on Utopia and Cyclops has the troops ready. This is the action-packed story that this arc has been building up to and it is well paced and offers plenty of good scenes for the main characters.

With the vampires descending on Utopia, Cyclops has the impenetrable charactesr on the frontline and refers to them as “tough skins.”  In typical Emma Frost fashion, we are treated to “How can you possibly look at this glittering form of mine and lump something so glamorous into the category of tough skin?”  I appreciate Gishler’s infusion of humor where it is appropriate and fitting for the character and scene. X-Men is perhaps my favorite of the current long line of X-books.

Superior #2

Icon

While perhaps not “the most important comic book since 1938” as the cover promises, Superior is a fun and sometimes thoughtful book by Mark Millar and Leinil Yu. In the last issue, Simon Pooni was granted the powers of Superior (a movie super hero) and in this issue he seeks the help of his friend Chris to help him figure his powers out.

Millar is has mastered foul language to communicate awe and disbelief. This issue serves as an opportunity to establish Superior’s powers and allow Simon to begin mastering them. Some are easier than others. Superior sight and strength come fairly easy. Heat vision and flight will take some work.

As with the last issue, Millar proves that he can produce incredibly touching work that doesn’t become maudlin in the least. Scenes of Simon in physical therapy are featured between the panels of Simon as Superior trying to pull multiple train cars.

Yu’s work is equally important to this book. His work has continued to grow stronger with each project. The scene with Simon grappling with flight is wonderful as he awkwardly attempt to control his new powers. I have been enjoying Sunny Gho’s colors on Power Girl and her work on Superior is equally as strong.  

Batman: The Return (One-Shot)

DC

Deciding between this book and Batman Incorporated as the best book of the week was difficult. Batman: The Return is another fine piece of work by Grant Morrison who has firmly established an ability to find the distinct voices of the peripheral characters in the Batman universe.

The book opens with beautiful prose by Morrison involving the voyage of the frightening and bloodied bat that inspires Bruce Wayne to don a cape and mask as Gotham City’s protector. If you love Batman, try to avoid goose bumps while reading this opening passage.

The story serves as Batman’s assertion as the general of the Bat-family of characters (specifically Dick Grayson Batman, Robin, Red Robin, Batgirl and Oracle) as he doles out their specific tasks going forward. This book presents an exciting new status quo for these characters as Batman declares “From today on, Batman will be everywhere it’s dark, no place to hide.

While I have not always been an enormous fan of David Finch’s art (I’ve found that the eyes of his characters have been particularly soulless) but this book’s script plays to the artist’s strengths. The guy draws a hell of a batcave.

Supergirl #58

DC

Sterling Gates is closing up shop on Supergirl with this final two-part arc before Nick Spencer takes over the title in January.  The story focuses on Cat Grant who Gates introduced into the book as a foil for Girl of Steel, criticizing her and trying to break her down at every turn.

Three children in Metropolis have gone missing and the modus operandi appears to be that of Winslow Schott, the original Toyman and murderer of Cat’s son. Gates takes his time on this issue presenting some strong character work between Cat and Kara. The writer seems to want to bring some closure to Cat’s arc on this series by the end of his run.

Jamal Igle’s artwork is as strong as always.  His Toyman is creepy and unbalanced and all the toys have a properly haunting quality. The story concludes with the appearance of a character that hasn’t been in the book for sometime, an indication of more resolution to Gates’s run.

Osborn #1 (of 5)

Marvel

I wonder if it might still be a little too soon to return to Norman Osborn stories? Gone since being taken down in Siege about six months ago I opened this book and realized enough time has not passed for me to become nostalgic.

The story involves Frontline Norah Winters who has been assigned to write an expose on Norman Osborn. Norah admits that she feels partially responsible for him getting away (literally) with murder by not exposing him when she had the opportunity. We then get into some business about the legality of Norman’s incarceration and ultimately his move to a special containment center for super villains.

While I never felt invested in the story, Kelly Sue Deconnick moved the story along fine and absolutely has an ear for dialogue—a scene between Norah and Peter Parker was a good example of this as a brash Norah reveals touches of humanity. Also, while I didn’t dislike Emma Rios’s artwork on the book, I did not like her rendition of Peter who seemed a tad too young for the character.

Osborn ends interestingly enough to warrant picking up the second issue of this mini, but I’m not yet committed to the entire run.

Spider-Girl #1

Marvel

I walked away from this book much in the way I did Superboy a few weeks ago. While it wasn’t bad, it doesn’t seem to have enough heart to it.

Writing strong teenage characters can be difficult, and while Paul Tobin is in the right direction, there is something that rings a bit strained in his attempts here. Spider-Girl is part of the “Big Time” relaunching of Spider-Man related titles and it is a pretty average opening. I thought the use of Twitter for Spider-Girl to communicate to her fans was an interesting concept, but it wasn’t well executed.

Spider-Girl is off preventing small crimes from occurring while the Fantastic Four deal with a major baddie off screen (who appears in the final panel). The book’s light approach to Spider-Girl’s crime fighting efforts works tonally, but it doesn’t succeed in a way that Batgirl (by Bryan Q. Miller) does—a title with a similar protagonist.

Clayton Henry’s artwork is quite nice however. Henry’s characters are expressive and he draws strong action sequences.

Marvel Continues to Tease 'Age of X: Alpha'

If you were collecting X-Men comic books in the mid-90’s you’ll remember an obscure crossover event called “Age of Apocalypse.” Okay, perhaps obscure is not totally fair. How about giant-sized mega event? In that alternate-universe event, all of the X-Titles were renamed for four months as the X-Universe was erased, re-imagined, and eventually put back together again.

Marvel has been hush hush about their upcoming Age of X title that is planned for release next year, but they have released a solicitation for the book that is actually titled Age of X Alpha. This is interesting because the original “Age of Apocalypse” opener was titled X-Men: Alpha. I can’t imagine that Marvel is planning as enormous event as its 90’s predecessor but this should pique your mutant-loving interest.

A new teaser has been released today featuring more characters (Berserker and Nightmare join Gambit and Hellion) on the wraparound cover by Olivier Coipel. I would assume we’ll have the completed cover by the end of the week.

Age of X: Alpha is scheduled for release in January 2011.

New York Comic-Con: Saturday's Announcements

Here’s a quick glance at today’s announcements from the New York Comic-Con:

More DC Universe cartoons are on their way. Of course we know All-Star Superman is coming this Spring. Next up are Batman: Year One, Frank Miller’s classic retelling of Batman’s first appearance, and Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, starring my personal favorite Lantern, Guy Gardner. Also a new Green Lantern cartoon series will be showing up on the Cartoon Network late next year.

Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming (Powers) are set to release a new creator-owned title under Marvel’s icon label: Takio, a book about super-powered siblings who don’t always get along. Bendis promises a much lighter book then fans of he and Oeming are accustomed.

Bendis, who really needs more work, is reuniting with Alex Maleev (Scarlett and Daredevil) on Moon Knight. They plan to redefine this character who could do with a little redefining.

A Powers series may be in the cards. If you haven’t read Bendis and Oeming’s post-modern look at superheroes, you’ve got some reading to do.

Andy Diggle and Adi Granov are working on next summer’s Astonishing Captain America. The book is set to come out in conjunction with the release of the big screen Cap adventure Captain America: The First Avenger.

The X-Men are finally ready to jump into the Heroic Age as they team-up with Spider-Man on the mean streets of Manhattan. This could be interesting, because the X-Men have rarely done much super-heroing. Let’s see if it’s a good fit.

Dark Horse introduced their Dark Horse Bookshelf app which removes the need for third party distribution fees of their digital books. The savings are being moved onto the readers—$1.49 per issue—and creators get to take home more change. 2011 should be an extremely exciting time for digital comic books!

Wednesday's Finest, 9/9/10 Releases

By Don M. Ventura
Titles released on September 9th.

Batgirl #14
DC Comics
I am sorry to say that I have not picked up any of Bryan Q. Miller’s Batgirl run prior to this issue, because Batgirl #14 was an excellent read. More than that, it was fun. How else could it live up to a title like “Terror in the 3rd Dimension”, a borderline goofy one-shot featuring Supergirl and two dozen marauding Draculas?

Kara Zor-El, who doesn’t go by Linda in this issue, comes to spend a Friday night with Stephanie since neither of them have any derring-do to do. Being a couple of teenagers, the two head to Gotham University where they eventually find themselves at a 3-D vampire film. When a nearby science experiment goes awry, unleashing 24 hard-light carbon copies of Dracula, the girls are ready to bring the cadre of vampires to justice (although in a hilarious scene, we see that Stephanie is unable to leap into action as quickly as Kara).

Tracking down and defeating the renegade Draculas is expertly laid out by Lee Garbett. This is especially so in a two-page spread showing the heroines in a number of oddball settings; most notably a photo booth where the action is depicted in four photos, beginning with a very regal Dracula and ending with Supergirl and Batgirl making funny faces to the camera. Garbett clearly has as keen a sense of humor as Miller does.

While Grant Morrison has brought some fun to his Batman and Robin series, Batgirl has got to be the lightest of the current slate of Bat titles. Miller takes several opportunities to establish the chemistry between Batgirl and Supergirl as well as managing to have fun with their differences (both as heroes and as their alter egos). I will also admit to being a sucker for a good pairing of any Batman and Superman protégés.

I enjoy a well structured story arc, but it refreshing to come across a good one-shot like this where it isn’t necessary to remember what occurred in previous issues. It delivers on the humor while further establishing the friendship of these two young women.

And I can’t finish without touching on the fantastic cover by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau. It is wonderfully busy, but sets the tone of the story inside perfectly.

X-Men #4
Marvel Comics
X-Men titles have never consistently been my cup of tea; this is mainly because the creative teams seem to change so often. New writers often come aboard to reintroduce obscure and little-beloved characters that they believe deserve a fresh spin. I’ve not historically been impressed with the results.

However, this new title has been solid in spite of a plot centering around a vampire army’s attempt to recruit the X-Men into their fold. Paco Medina’s artwork is top-notch. There’s a fantastic scene with Logan violently doing the best he does against a horde of the undead.
Victor Gischler has taken on what would seem a thankless task: heading up the "Curse of the Mutants" storyline. But he is handling the story with great excitement and has kept the story progressing nicely.

A minor qualm with this book has been the covers which have so far consistently shown action that does not appear in the book. That said, Gischler continues to put out good stories with strong cliffhangers.

The Amazing Spider-Man #642
Marvel Comics
Mark Waid returns to this book with great aplomb and demonstrates that he understands Peter Parker as much as anyone. Waid delivers some great comedy as Peter races across town to make a first date, then immediately interrupts the scene by a crowning Lilly Hollister on a Goblin Glider (trust me, it’s good stuff).

She is being chased by an army of Spider-villains led by Doctor Octopus who makes a creepy appearance—which is a testament to Mark Waid’s ability to set up a scene. The book goes quickly from light to chilling as Spider-Man, Harry Osborn, and Mary Jane are subdued by Ock as he delivers Lily’s child.

The artwork by Paul Azaceta fits the tone nicely, but feels rushed and awkward in some parts. This five-part arc titled “Origin of the Species” is a welcome departure from Joe Queseda’s needless four-issue “One Moment in Time” story.

Weird War Tales One-Shot
DC Comics
There may be a theme here. I am really enjoying my arc-free books this week.
I grew up on books like Weird War Tales and the other horror anthologies that flourished in the seventies for DC Comics, such as Weird Mystery Tales and Secrets of Haunted House.

This issue submits three tales for our approval: Darwyn Cooke and Dave Stewart present an oddity called “Armistice Night”, the story of Earth’s greatest deceased warriors at something of a family reunion (too peculiar in places); a second story, titled “The Hell Above Us”, revolves around a sunken sub and its last doomed survivor. Written by Ivan Brandon with chilling illustrations by Nic Klein, this was the best of the three; Jan Strnad and Gabriel Hardman offer a final piece about a mortally wounded young soldier with an affinity for dinosaurs titled “Private Parker Sees Thunder Lizards.”

Stories like this are best judged twofold: 1) did you enjoy it while reading it, and 2) did you continue to think about it afterwards? In other words, did it haunt you?
Yes to both.


Thor, the Mighty Avenger #4
Marvel Comics
Like Batgirl, I was impressed to read a second one-shot this week that was also lighter than a run of the mill Thor tale. Thor, the Mighty Avenger has been surprise. Since I was a kid I’ve never warmed to this character, but I’ve been hooked by this simple take on the God of Thunder.

Stripped away is all of the posturing and dread seriousness. In it’s place we have a fish out of water tale about Thor’s banishment to midgard (Earth).

In this issue he is visited by the Warriors Three who take him out for a boy’s night out in England that quickly turns to fisticuffs between the four Norsemen and Captain Britain. Writer Roger Langridge continues to impress with his take on Thor; it is both funny and accessible. Equally, I am becoming an enormous fan of Chris Samnee’s art. It is deceptively simple, but there is so much expression and character in his straightforward illustrations.