52 Week #48 - I think it's safe to say that most readers saw this coming as soon as it was revealed the Question was dying of cancer.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just means when the inevitable happens it needs to happen with a bang.  Unfortunately, Renee Montoya taking on the mantle of the Question didn't have the punch it needed to be successful.  I think part of the problem is that her relationship with Kathy Kane never seemed all that strong.  It really doesn't feel like Renee would be anymore inclined to risk her life for Kate than she would for anyone who happened to be in trouble.  In fact, I think with the amount of effort put into developing her relationship with Charlie, aka the Question, it would have more emotional impact if she had been fighting to save him instead of Kate.  Speaking of Charlie, I really think 52's writers missed an opportunity.  The best thing about Montoya's storyline has been her interaction with the Question.  I don't find anything inherently interesting about Montoya taking over the role.  However, Montoya becoming the Questions permanent partner would've been great.  I can see it now.  She could call herself the Answer and they're comic could be called "Q&A".   :P  Oh well, bring on WWIII.
Rating:  :mellow:

QUICK HITS

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - More Buffy goodness.  An interesting revelation about the General and Amy attacks.  Next month - WILLOW!!
Rating:  :thumbup:

Justice League of America #7 - An epilogue for the Tornado's Path.  The team officially forms and gets a spiffy new Hall of Justice-y headquarters and a Satellite headquarters completely with a danger room, called the Kitchen.  Bring on the JSA and the Legion of Superheroes!?!?.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Atom #10 - The Atom vs Zombies.  How can you go wrong with that?
Rating:  :thumbup:

Immortal Iron Fist #4 - This series just keeps getting better.  That one page with the Iron Fists, Danny Rand and Orson Randall taking on a butt load of Hydra is a thing of beauty.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Detective Comics #831 - Fun to see Harlequinn again.  Now that she's out of Arkham and presumably off her Joker kick, what with the trying to murder her and all, maybe she'll join the Secret Six.
Rating:  :)

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #28 - Now that's the way to turn the tables on Dominators.  They might want to steer clear of Cosmic Boy, though.  He might be cranky after the torturing.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Iron Man: Hypervelocity #4 - Much better.  Warren gets back to telling his story and cutting loose his gift for wacky techno babble.  I do wish the art was a little clearer.  At times it's a little hard to tell what's supposed to be happening.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Midnighter #6 - This was an elseworlds with Midnighter as a samurai warrior.  It comes out of nowhere and doesn't seem to connect with the present day Midnighter.  It was okay story but I'd rather read about the current version.
Rating:  :mellow:

Welcome to Tranquility #5 - Nice misdirect there Gail.   :)  It looked like we'd discovered who killed Mr. Articulate but it turns out Fury's going ballistic over something else we didn't even know about.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Superman #661 - I love Kurt Busiek but he does have his occasional missteps.  This is one of them.  The story isn't very engaging at all.  Even a guest appearance by Wonder Woman doesn't help.
Rating:  :(

Omega Flight #1 - Not a bad start.  We see very little of the team, though.  Only Sasquatch and Talisman show up.  In Talisman's case, she just shows up to say she doesn't want to join the team.
Rating:  :)

Annihilation Heralds of Galactus #2 - An alright :mellow: comic but a reminder about who the Centurian are would've helped.  It also seems like Tenebrous and Aegis should've been harder to kill.
Rating:  :mellow:

Jonah Hex #18 - Jonah Hex - "Sorry about killing you ladies' husbands.  Totally my fault.  So, nohardfeelingsokaybye."
Rating:  :thumbup:

Madman #1 - I'm not familiar with the character so I'm sort of catching up.  Fortunately, this issue is a run down of Madman's history so far.
Rating:  :)

Yeah, 2 beings easily as powerful as Galactus, beaten by his herald? Wow!

Iron Man #16 - I've made it pretty clear I'm not a big fan of Civil War but if someone asked me to name one good thing about it, I'd say it led to Tony Stark as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.  It opens so many great story opportunities I'm surprised no one thought of something similar before.  Actually, come to think of it, Tony Stark as Secretary of Defense is similar but this leaves the door open for Tony to still go into action as Iron Man.  In this issue, the strange upsurge in terrorist activity among seemingly unconnected terrorist groups continues.  Now even groups that previously didn't have much in the way of training or weaponry are suddenly using incredibly high tech weapons (case in point, a rail gun bio-engineered to link with the user's brain) and military tactics.  Meanwhile, terrorist mastermind Karim Mahwash Najeeb gets more than he bargained for when he mistakenly thinks he can control the Mandarin (there's a great scene where the Mandarin takes down almost all of Najeeb's henchmen while strapped in a strait jacket and chained to the floor).  I can't wait until Iron Man and the Mandarin clash.  Once again the characterization of Tony Stark is superb.  His struggling to handle the key difference between running a corporation and running a military organization, the death of team members, was well handled and Tony's remarks at the funeral of the deceased Team Alpha members were simple but powerful.  I'm really excited about what's coming up next.  It turns out this was just the type of shakeup (having Stark lead S.H.I.E.L.D. not the stuff that lead up to it) the character needed.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Green Lantern Corps #11 - Wow.  What a difference a month makes.  I enjoyed this issue much more the issue #10.  I know part of the reason for that is the fact that Patrick Gleason did the art for the whole issue.  This thing was a visual treat throughout.  However, the story is much improved, too.  You really get the sense that a serious threat is building.  It appears Mogo has been infected by viral Sinestro Corps member, Despotellis, and is being used to brainwash GLs that visit him.  It has already turned the Green Man and in this issue Kilowog is forced to turn against the Guardians and the Corps, too.  In addition, some of Alan Moore's GL Corps stories get revisited including my second favorite (next to "Mogo Doesn't Socialize"), "Tygers" which introduced the Empire of Tears.  The Guardians fill Salaak in on the Empire's role in Abin Sur's death and assigns him to watch for signs that their prophecies may be coming true.  The only flaw is one I've mentioned before.  Gibbons just doesn't get Guy and once again he seems off (Do people even still use the term "goldbricks"?).  Maybe Keith Champagne could give him some pointers.  Anyway, I hope Gibbons can keep this up for a while.
Rating:  :thumbup:


QUICK HITS

52 Week #49 - I like the mini Metal Men.  Magnus and Morrow's relationship is pretty interesting, too.  Now for the chaos.
Rating:  :)

Nova #1 - Good first issue.  Chen's artwork looks fantastic, too.
Rating:  :)

newuniversal #5 - This comic has a great concept but Ellis needs to pick up the pace a bit.
Rating:  :mellow:

All-Star Superman #7 - I love the way Morrison re-imagines the Silver Age with this series.  Making Bizarro World a huge space-faring planet eater was a great idea.  Still, I wish DC would put someone else on art.  I mean, are Superman and Zibarro supposed to look like they're wearing big diapers.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Teen Titans #45 - A little repetitive in places but the last page makes up for it.
Rating:  :)

Trials of Shazam #6 - Really good issue.  It's great to finally see Freddy in full costume, well almost full costume.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Stormwatch PHD #6 - I love the way Christos Gage turns the tables with this issue.  Usually the police are just background cannon fodder for the superhero battles but here John Doran is about to lead an army of police officers on a mission to save Stormwatch PHD from Defile and his henchmen.
Rating:  :thumbup:

JLA Classified #37 - I'm not sure were Milligan is going with this but I'm interested.
Rating:  :)

Green Arrow #73 - This is an interesting start to the series' last storyline.  The wheels start to come off of Ollie's tenure as mayor of Star City and Brick reneges on a deal he made with Ollie. 
Rating:  :thumbup:

Wonder Woman #7 - This just isn't working.  The "I don't know how man's world works" shtick gets old really fast. 
Rating:  :(

I think I'll pass on WW until Gail Simone's run starts.   :thumbup:  She gets it.

Quote from: NewsaramaNRAMA: Yeah, but many argue that WW has the same problem Superman or Batman do in that case - that they've become so much larger than life, and mean so many things to so many people...

That said, does Wonder Woman still "work" in today's world? She comes form a matriarchal single-sex theocracy that preaches peace, yet are the planet's fiercest warriors, despite a lack of an ever-present enemy...playing devil's advocate, and not pulling punches here, if someone claiming to be from a world like that showed up in our..."man's" world, she'd end up marginalized, not warmly accepted and certainly not seen as having much of value to offer...

Or would she?

GS: Eh, bleah, that just isn't what this book is going to be at all, to be frank. Look. It's simple, and it's never outdated.

The book is about the best [gosh darned] warrior planet Earth has ever known, and she happens to carry a mystical arsenal around just for the [heck] of it.

If a writer can't make that interesting and fun, they really shouldn't be writing superheroes.

There are layers upon layers of the character, and we'll get to them all. But let's just make it very clear that Diana is the premiere [fanny]-kicker in the DCU, period. Batman and Superman have other things that make them special. Diana is the one who occasionally carries an axe if someone gives her lip.

This is actually in my first issue, but the quote is, "When a giant robot attacks Metropolis, send Superman. An alien attack? Get Green Lantern. When a car is hijacked by an escaped loony, turn on the bat signal, by all means. But if an ARMY shows up on your doorstep, that's when you call in Wonder Woman.

Simple.

i read the gl corps too and its awsome :thumbup:

as much as i'm enjoying TT, am i the only one getting sick of the whole roster getting beat nightwiong and old crew  come in and make it look easy stuff. this is the second time in 3 stories

Yeah Teen Titans has gone downhill for me since OYL. Wonder Woman is a complete mess which is an ashame.

I haven't gotten into TT this entire run.  By and large the characters seemed pretty unfocused to me. I've found the series mostly took dark in the art department for most of the run.

Wonder Woman has been a disaster since the relaunch. But with Gail Simone being given the book as of issue 12, I have high hopes for it improving dramatically.

Quote from: Renegade on April 14, 2007, 06:23:21 PM
Wonder Woman has been a disaster since the relaunch. But with Gail Simone being given the book as of issue 12, I have high hopes for it improving dramatically.

Well, the first storyarc not even being finished was pretty much a disaster, yeah. And the fill-in issue could have been better. What I don't like is the choice of villain Jodi Picoult made for her arc. But I am glad that the Dodsons are only taking a temporary break (they're supposed to be back around issue 10 or so), and am EXTREMELY happy that Gail Simone will be taking over. My initial plan was to dump the book when the Dodsons leave unless an actual comic writer took over.

(At another board I go to, I suggested Gail Simone as a potential writer back around when issue #3 was out. :) )

Batman #664 - Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's return to the book. And the cover is by Andy Kubert and some guy named.....Joe Kubert! Pretty cool seeing Andy and his father work together, and I'd love to see that happen on the interior sometime. The story is the start of an arc involving something called `The Black Casebook', which unfortunately isn't brought up until late in the issue, and we won't find out what the deal is with it until the next issue.
One big problem I have is, we're introduced to a new villain - I think. He looks waaaaay too much like Bane. According to the next issue blurb, this storyarc is supposed to tie in with the attack on the Joker.

52: Ok, Adam can handle most of the teams that are put up against him, yet was taken out earlier by the nerds? Hmmm...... Still, he was pretty awesome.

How were the 4 World War comics?  I passed on them Wednesday.

Good thing you did. they were horrible.

Quote from: thanoson on April 19, 2007, 02:58:54 PM
52: Ok, Adam can handle most of the teams that are put up against him, yet was taken out earlier by the nerds? Hmmm...... Still, he was pretty awesome.

I thumbed through that one in the comic book store, and was ridiculously surprised to see him taking on a huge team of heroes.  Yeah, he could take most of those guys, but the Martian Manhunter was there, and by himself J'onn could give Adam a run for his money.

QUICK HITS

52 Week #50 - Great issue.  I love the way Capt. Marvel and the other magic users de-powered Black Adam.
Rating:  :thumbup:

World War III #1-4 - Um . . . 52 was good.   :P  Most of the OYL plot points addressed here either would've been better in their own books where they could've been given more space (Aquaman's transformation into the Dweller in the Depths) or didn't really need anymore explanation (Firestorm taking on Lorraine Reilly, aka Firehawk, as his new partner after Prof. Stein is kidnapped).  Plus the war with Black Adam actually had more impact when it was condensed into one issue of 52.
Rating:  :(

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #51 - Pretty good but not great.  Unfortunately, an Aquaman comic might not be able to survive without being great.  Williams takes a somewhat less humors tone with this second issue and it ends up being hindered by Shawn McManus's style.  The monsters in the issue end up looking almost cute when they should be menacing. 
Rating:  :)

Justice League of America #8 - Part 1 of the JSA/JLA crossover and a very fun read.  The Legion of Super-Heroes' involvement is an unexpected treat.  I wonder who are the other 4 Legionnaires loose in the 21st century.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Manhunter #30 - I'm so happy this series isn't being canceled.  It's a perfect example of how, unfortunately, quality doesn't always translate into sales.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Birds of Prey #105 - On the other hand, I'm disappointed to hear that Gail Simone is leaving BoP in order to take over Wonder Woman.  She produced another great issue here.  The tension between Oracle and Spy-Smasher continues to build and round 2 of Birds of Prey VS Secret Six, with new member Harlequin  :thumbup: is about to begin.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Brave and the Bold #3 - Mark Waid is good at writing the new Bats.  Just like his appearance in the first issue, Batman isn't too touchy feely but he's not borderline psychotic either.  The interaction between him a Blue Beetle is a lot of fun.  Especially when BB interrupts Batman's interrogation.
Rating:  :thumbup:

X-Factor #18 - Layla Miller is still one of the coolest kids in comics.   :)  I've never been a fan of Marrow, but I think Peter David will find a way to make her interesting.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #11 - The Flash VS the Rogues isn't new but it's still fun.  Bringing in one of Bart's villains, is a good move.  I definitely wasn't expecting Bart to reveal his secret identity this soon.  I hope it's limited to the police interrogators, though.  I like the idea of Bart being a Police scientist.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Nightwing Annual #2 - Awesome.  Marc Andreyko has such a perfect grasp on these characters.  Everything they do is completely believable.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Robin #161 - Not bad.  Always good to see Robin do some detective work.
Rating:  :)

Shadowpact #12 - I gave up on this series around issue #4.  On a whim, I decided to see what was happening with the series now.  It looks like Nightsword will be getting a power boost and Zauriel will be joining the team soon.  I might give it another try.
Rating:  :)

What happened in the Nightwing Annual? Wasn't this the issue that explained why be and Babs broke off the engagement?

Ah! Gail Simone is leaving Birds of Prey for Wonder Woman?  Is this confirmed?  Curses!

Quote from: Podmark on April 20, 2007, 04:15:20 PM
What happened in the Nightwing Annual? Wasn't this the issue that explained why be and Babs broke off the engagement?

[spoiler]Basically, Babs insisted that Dick go on sabbatical with Bruce and Tim.  The issue was a very well written history of Dick and Barbara's relationship.  The actual comic is much better than my description of it.[/spoiler]

Quote from: Talavar on April 22, 2007, 09:07:06 AM
Ah! Gail Simone is leaving Birds of Prey for Wonder Woman?  Is this confirmed?  Curses!

Yep, it's been confirmed by Gail herself.  I hate to see her leave BoP but I can't deny Wonder Woman desperately needs the help.

Apparently, Sean McKeever will be taking over BoP once Gail leaves. 

semi off-topic but reading Agent response just made me think.

Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake.

Bruce & Tim.

Bruce Timm?

Coincidence or kismet?

Hmmmm...

I loved Martian Manhunter going up against Black Adam in WWIII -- I just paged through it in the store..  But it gave me mad goosebumps  :)

Hey in World War III book 3. Who is the Robin wannabe in the Teen Titans?

Quote from: Glitch Girl on April 23, 2007, 07:48:02 PM
semi off-topic but reading Agent response just made me think.

Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake.

Bruce & Tim.

Bruce Timm?

Coincidence or kismet?

Hmmmm...

You are aware that Tim Drake was created several years before Batman TAS started, right? Tim: 1989 Timm: 1992. So unless someone at DC was a big fan of Tiny Toon Adventures (Which Bruce Timm worked on before Batman TAS), I'm going to say it's not terribly likely.

Umm, you obviously misunderstood what she said.

Look up the word "kismet" in a dictionary.

Quote from: Midnite on April 26, 2007, 02:08:37 PM
Hey in World War III book 3. Who is the Robin wannabe in the Teen Titans?

Talon, Owlman's ward from Earth- 3. Meh.

Of the stack I bought today, this one stood out:

Marvel Zombies Vs Army of Darkness- Multiple Ash Williams! Half- eaten MODOK! Dr. Druid! Zombie child superteam Power Pack! Totally necessary cameo by Nextwave! Quinjet Mile- High Club (or lack thereof)! Giant zombie Black Goliath! WHOO- HOO!

Wonder Woman #8:

I'm impressed... I wasn't really getting into Jodi Piccoult's short arc until this issue.  The pace and the action picked up immensely.  Circe is no longer an annoying uninvited house guest.  She seems to actually have a motivation now, and also has some philosphic debate for Diana.  Much as I don't like the idea, Circe seems to be set up as Diana's arch-nemesis.  I'd rather have seen it been a revamped, interesting take on Ares... but this Circe is smart and plays dirty.

There is more genuinely clever banter between Diana and Nemesis.  He's lost the juvenile attitude and steps up to the plate as a hero this time... and manages to lose none of his masculinity when faced with Diana's superheroine might.  It is a great dynamic and I hope he sticks around!

The art is done by the Dodsons once again, and it's some of their best stuff on the title.  it's just as packed with detail as Drew Johnson's new work on the title, but with the added bonus of, well, being the Dodsons.  Their work is amazing, and there are actually scenes of WW in battle this issue, something they haven't had the chance to draw yet.

The Punisher: Man of Stone (Marvel MAX imprint TPB Vol.7)
notes:
- Mature readers rating for violence and sexual content
- collects Punisher (Max imprint), vol.1, #37-42
- very minor spoilers ahead

This TPB collects the "Man of Stone" storyline, which sees the reunion of Frank Castle with former CIA agent and one-time gal-pal O'Brien. Also making return appearances are Yorkie (Frank's SAS buddy from the "Kitchen Irish" arc), Rawlins (the sneaky rat-bastard double agent from the "Mother Russia" and "Up Is Down, Black Is White" arcs and O'Brien's ex-husband), and General Zakharov (the highly methodical and intelligent Russian general from "Mother Russia").

The bulk of the story takes place in Afghanistan, and neatly ties up all the loose ends from "Mother Russia" and "Up Is Down, Black Is White" and you know that only means one thing: a horrendous body count. We again get to see Frank show his >ahem< "tender side" in his interactions with O'Brien. Garth Ennis does a great job of differentiating between the character of the two main antagonists: General Zakharov and Rawlins (who find themselves as unlikely allies). Zakharov is painted as a coldly calculating, cruel man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. His actions all stem from his single-mindedness, however, never out of malice. Rawlins, on the other hand, is a sadist who genuinely enjoys inflicting pain. Ennis also introduces some topical political commentary on the UK's involvement in Afghanistan and the two-faced nature of the peacekeeping/rebuilding operations. As for the art, it's a slight step down in consistency from what I've come to expect from Leandro Fernandez, but it does its job.

Still, there isn't really a lot going on here, and the pay-off at the end was slightly underwhelming after some of the over-the-top scenes in the last 3 story-arcs. Also, the big firefight that had Castle and O'Brien going up against Zakharov's men just really stretched things... I'm used to seeing Ennis' Punisher come out on top against impossible odds, but those encounters are still fraught with a sense of danger, or at the very least, the execution is such that I don't mind the wonky battlefield logic... this one seemed like a scene out of Rambo 3.

It's probably the most straightforward storyline in the MAX series so far, and without the usual digressions and running subplots, it reads like something that could have been fit into three or four issues' worth of material instead of the usual six. Nevertheless, Ennis maintains his ear for sharp, funny, and genuine-sounding dialogue, and ultimately that is what saves this TPB from a mediocre rating from yours truly.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5         

That was one of the TPBs I bought a few days ago, along with Young Avengers Vol.2 and the latest Sandman Mystery Theatre TPB (Dr Death & Night Of The Butcher) ... they were all very entertaining reads.

Punisher: Man Of Stone was great ... not for the plot, but because of the characters. Ennis can seemingly create a million different shades of bad guy, and its always interesting to read (well, aside from Punisher MAX: Kitchen Irish).

Omega Flight #2- Thunderball is vastly becoming my favorite of the Wrecking Crew. The way he treats his "mutt" is awesome. The Wrecking Crew was one of my favorite villain teams, especially when they were hooked up with the Masters of Evil. Good to see them shine a bit.

That issue had the opposite effect for me.  While I liked the story in general, (including the return of the jerky US Agent I remember from West Coast Avengers) I didn't care for Thunderball's personality change.  He used to be the only member of the team that seemed to have some intelligence.  In fact, he was once a physicist.  According to Marvel's web site he was almost on par with Bruce Banner.  The question of why this guy that was obviously much smarter than the rest of the Wrecking Crew chose to stay with them always made for some pretty interesting character moments.  He was pretty much the only thing that made the team interesting for me.  Having him act like the rest of the team just makes the Wrecking Crew seem like a group of 4  guys that all have the same personality to me.

Quote from: The Hitman on May 02, 2007, 12:09:06 PM

Quote from: Midnite on April 26, 2007, 02:08:37 PM
Hey in World War III book 3. Who is the Robin wannabe in the Teen Titans?

Talon, Owlman's ward from Earth- 3. Meh.

Of the stack I bought today, this one stood out:

Isn't Talon suppose to be a villain?

See, I think he has something against Walter. They are both scientist, correct? Maybe they were rivals in college or something. Thus the animosity. Maybe the others are finally rubbing off on him after so many years of working together. Or he's possessed again.

Wait a minute if Earth-3 is suppose to be another CSA. What about the CSA from the Anti-Matter Universe? I really hate how DC is bring back the multiverse.  :thumbdown: