How were they? ver. 2 SPOILERS

[murs47]

Blue Beetle #16 - If you complain that comic book companies don't make funny, light-hearted comics anymore and you're not reading Blue Beetle you need to shut the blankity-blank up.  "I--am--a dentist!"  Bwah-ha-ha!!!   :P
Rating:  :thumbup:

Just got around to reading this issue, and if it wasn't for the Sinestro Corps Special I'd say that dentist moment was the best moment in comics this week.  :roll:

[Agent]

Yeah, it's a shame the Blue Beetle series is so underrated.

I also really liked Staci 13 telling off Eclipso.  "Batman's file on you?  Eclipso.  Power: Sucking."  :P

[Talavar]

'I am a dentist' was truly awesome.  The mockery of Eclipso was also a highlight, but the book could be serious at turns too.  The new Blue Beetle is a lot of fun.

[Agent]

QUICK HITS

Countdown #42 - Not bad.  We get some set up for the Hunt for Ray Palmer and the upcoming tour of some of the mulitverse which I'm interested in seeing.
Rating:  :)

Green Lantern #21 - Let's see.  The GLs are still getting they're rears handed to them, the shark faced lady (I can't remember her name) is killing rookie GLs right after they get the ring, and as if that's not bad enough, the Sinestro Corps booby trapped the central power battery to send Hal and possibly John and Guy to Qward.  Man, the GLs just can win for losing.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Justice Society of America #7 - Johns gives us a great introduction to the JSA's newest member, Citizen Steel.  He looks to be your classic hero born of tragedy.  I also liked Superman's visit with Starman.  Eaglesham's art really conveys how much it hurts Supes to see his friend in that state.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Superman #664 - I really like the concept behind Squad K.  The team makes perfect sense, especially after Supes was controlled by Max Lord.  With Arion, Busiek has taken the old "Is Superman a threat?" shtick and made it much deeper and more believable.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Nova #4 - Great, intense issue.  The threat to Nova gets turned up even higher with Gamora, the deadliest woman in the galaxy, possessed by the Phalanx and used to coordinate their attack.  Then there's the suprise ending.   ;)
Rating:  :thumbup:

Annihilation: Conquest Wraith #1 - Good start.  Not suprisingly, the Wraith is a mysterious character and I'm interested in learning more about him.  I also like that morphing weapon of his.
Rating:  :)

Star Wars: Legacy #14 - Great swerve from Ostrander.  Just as Cade finally returns to his Jedi roots, he's captured by the Sith and, according to Jedi Wolf Sazen's vision, in danger of being turned to the Dark Side.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Batman Confidential #7 - The Joker's origin is being retold.  Personally I prefer the idea that the Joker was always dangerous but his accident and subsequent crazy turned it up to 11 which is used here.
Rating:  :)

Stormwatch PHD #9 - The mystery about who shot Jackson King is solved.  I lot of effort is put into giving the culprit a reason for doing what she did including establishing that she wasn't trying to kill Jackson but it still seems like an uncharacteristically cruel thing for the character to do.
Rating:  :mellow:

Green Arrow Year One #1 - Very good start.  Diggle does a good job with the self centered jerkwad version of Ollie.  I also liked the nod to Howard Hill.  Nice touch.
Rating:  :thumbup:

X-Factor #21 - Peter David delivers a great issue.  I like that he's given Layla her own enemy in Nicole.  Especially now that we know Nicole has some sort of connection to the new villain on the scene.  Val Cooper's job offer to Guido was a nice surprise, too.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Omega Flight #4 - Oeming took his time actually getting the team together.  We don't see Omega Flight fighting together until this issue but the action was nice.  I will say it seems odd that a jail cell designed to hold a super powerful mutant could be opened by a little girl waltzing up and pressing a button.
Rating:  :)

Spawn #169 - A nice done in one story.  I'm not familiar with the Nyx character but the quick and dirty history included in the story was good enough to keep me from being lost.  Hine has me really interested in seeing what the shadowy mastermind, Mammon is up to.
Rating:  :)

Martha Washington Dies - I was really disappointed by this.  It hints at a story but never actually delivers one.  I learned later (after having bought the comic) that this was written as an epilogue to an upcoming collection of all the Martha Washington stories.  If I'd known that ahead of time I wouldn't have bought it.
Rating:  :thumbdown:

JLA Classified #40 - I didn't like this issue.  Frank Halloran had been an interesting, conflicted character but here he suddenly decides to stop making sense.  Does he really think attacking the JLA and threatening to kill Wonder Woman in front of his ex-girlfriend will make her want to take him back?  Maybe I'm missing something.   :(

Fantastic Five #1 - I have limited experience with Marvel's M2 stuff, mainly just the short lived A-Next series.  That said I really liked the future FF depicted here.  Reed still seeing Johnny as the impulsive kid from the F4's early years despite his tenure as leader of the team was an interesting dynamic. 
Rating:  :thumbup:

Shadowpact #15 - The Shadowpact with new member, Zauriel, takes on Dr. Gotham who launches a suprisingly brutal attack on the entire city.
Rating:  :)       

[bredon7777]

Justice Society of America #7 - Johns gives us a great introduction to the JSA's newest member, Citizen Steel.  He looks to be your classic hero born of tragedy.  I also liked Superman's visit with Starman.  Eaglesham's art really conveys how much it hurts Supes to see his friend in that state.
Rating:  :thumbup:

I dunno. Citizen Steel doesnt really seem all that well thought out to me:

[spoiler]
"He'll have to bend the metal around him every time he moves. That should reduce his strength by half."  Um, no..that should tire him out twice as fast, but his strength level should remain roughly the same.  The running gag of the damage he does when he walks got old quickly. I think I'd rather stick with the missing leg than lose my ability to touch, as well.  I liked Nate better when he was normal and still defeated the villan using nothing but his brain.

Plus, am I the only one who wonders how he goes to the bathroom in that costume?
[/spoiler]

The bits with Starman, however, were excellent.

X-Factor #21 - Peter David delivers a great issue.  I like that he's given Layla her own enemy in Nicole.  Especially now that we know Nicole has some sort of connection to the new villain on the scene.  Val Cooper's job offer to Guido was a nice surprise, too.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Yes, after the complete anticlimax which was the conclusion to the X-Cell/Quicksilver story line last issue, this was a welcome return to form.

[spoiler]
I think you're overstating a bit. Layla doesn't like Nicole because she "didn't see her coming".  They're hardly enemies.  However, with M's pregnancy this makes two things in a relativley short period of time that Layla didn't know about.  Is she losing her powers?  And where do her powers come from since we've confirmed she's not a mutant.
[/spoiler]

[Podmark]

Haven't had a chance to read this yet. M is pregnant? Is Jamie the father? Hmm I wonder if that might play into the crossover. I long thought the only way to have a new mutant be born was to have both parents still carrying the x-gene.

Again I haven't read 21 yet, but before that I don't remember anything that really convinced me that Layla wasn't a mutant. I don't totally trust Layla.

[murs47]

Is this the first time in the history of the X-Men that all X-titles are just plain awesome? I seriously look forward to every title each month.

[UnfluffyBunny]

QUICK HITS

Nova #4 - Great, intense issue.  The threat to Nova gets turned up even higher with Gamora, the deadliest woman in the galaxy, possessed by the Phalanx and used to coordinate their attack.  Then there's the suprise ending.   ;)
Rating:  :thumbup:

I hate the ending.... hate it....extremely dissapointed with that decision

[tommyboy]

Is this the first time in the history of the X-Men that all X-titles are just plain awesome? I seriously look forward to every title each month.

Nope, back when there was only one X-title by Stan'n'Jack, or Roy'n'Neal they were awesome quite often....
But it IS true that Xbooks seem to be in a bit of a renaissance, except the poor Exiles, saddled with Claremont's Psylocke fixation. Funny, because for many a year, Exiles was the only Xbook I could stand to read, now it's the worst one. Not that I read most of them, only Astonishing. But I can tell. .......Somehow. With my Bad Comic Sense...
Also funny that for decades I loathed the Xbooks, and loved the Avengers, and now the Avengers is a perma-suck-fest (doubt me? Check out nu avengers #32, a whole issue devoted to just flying back from Japan. He already DID that issue in Secret War...) and the Xbooks are pretty good....life is strange..

[Sword]

The thing that struck me about the Nova issue was that Worldmind cannot activate the healing and repair systems if the Alpha Host is in such a bad state. It needs a new host in order to bring the Alpha Host back to  life. And hopefully, from those two, the Nova Corps can be reborn.

[Agent]

QUICK HITS

Nova #4 - Great, intense issue.  The threat to Nova gets turned up even higher with Gamora, the deadliest woman in the galaxy, possessed by the Phalanx and used to coordinate their attack.  Then there's the suprise ending.   ;)
Rating:  :thumbup:

I hate the ending.... hate it....extremely dissapointed with that decision

You don't really think Nova's dead do you?

[Sword]

Sure his body's shredded, but don't the Kree have cloning tech?

[Podmark]

Nova won't stay dead, it's only issue 4 of his ongoing. That'd be the craziest stunt anyone ever pulled.

[bredon7777]

Haven't had a chance to read this yet. M is pregnant? Is Jamie the father? Hmm I wonder if that might play into the crossover. I long thought the only way to have a new mutant be born was to have both parents still carrying the x-gene.

Again I haven't read 21 yet, but before that I don't remember anything that really convinced me that Layla wasn't a mutant. I don't totally trust Layla.

[spoiler]
Pietro grabbed her and nothing happened.  Considering he's knocked out every other (powered) mutant he touched, I'd say that's a pretty solid indicator.  He event comments on it, IIRC.
[/spoiler]

[GhostMachine]

Here's what I got the other day:

Wonder Woman #10 - I'm sooo glad I'm not reading Amazon Attacks, if the issues of it have been like this comic. Is Hippolyta a full on villain now, under someone's magical (or mental) control, an imposter, or what? The cliffhanger ending was beyond idiotic. I recommend skipping this if you're not picking up WW regularly or reading the other AA stuff, and I hope the JSA takes back Hippolyta's membership card if she's still around once this is done.

Justice Society of America #7 - Interesting what they've done with the new Citizen Steel. However, I think its stupid they made his skin shiny and the explanation for his metal costume helping dampen his powers is idiotic. Otherwise, its a great issue. Worth reading just for the scene with Superman visiting Starman alone, and I wish I had gotten that variant cover instead of the regular Alex Ross cover.

Fallen Son Iron Man - I am only reading the Fallen Son books due to them being about the aftermath of Cap's death, and they are the ONLY comics I am willing to read with Tony Stark\Iron Man in them at the moment because quite frankly the character is dead to me now. Fairly good comic, and Sam Wilson's eulogy is well done. My only complaint is Tony Stark being allowed anywhere near the funeral, under the circumstances. Note the comic takes place prior to Cap #26, so if you get Cap and the Fallen Son books and haven't read Cap #26 yet, read the FS Iron Man book first.

Honor Brigade #4 - Not going to say anything that would be a spoiler, other than there's a great Chuck Norris jokes parody that I both chuckled and groaned at (just like I do at actual Chuck Norris jokes), and everyone who isn't reading the series should, because Zap and C6 are doing some really great work and I really hope it leads to a maxi or regular series down the road.

Also got the latest issue of Shonen Jump and am not too thrilled that they're dropping Shaman King, meaning I'll have to pick up the manga books that Viz puts out to follow what's going on now.

Something I found out about JSA #10 from another board:

[spoiler]The regular cover for JSA #10 has the Kingdom Come Superman on it.[/spoiler]

[bredon7777]

Me am confused.

Me thought Honor Brigade was a regular series?

[GhostMachine]

I may be wrong, but I could have sworn Zap said it was a limited series.

[Silver Shocker]

Blue Beetle #16 - If you complain that comic book companies don't make funny, light-hearted comics anymore and you're not reading Blue Beetle you need to shut the blankity-blank up.  "I--am--a dentist!"  Bwah-ha-ha!!!   :P
Rating:  :thumbup:

Actually, it's to hear there are people talking good things about the new Blue Beetle. I have an opportunity to get the first couple of issues really cheap at my local comic book store and some solid convincing could do it for me.  What kind of humor does the book have? Personally I've never really liked Keith Giffen's humor in his books ("the Heckler" is actually one of the worst comics I ever read in my opinion, which is a shame because I thought it looked good), and I actually liked Giffen and Dematties' SERIOUS elements in JLI/E MORE than the humor (which just CAN'T be right, as I don't think those books were intended to be taken remotely seriously), so I'm not really sure I'd like the book. 

Nope, back when there was only one X-title by Stan'n'Jack, or Roy'n'Neal they were awesome quite often....

I just know I'm asking for some serious flak here by saying this, and I do love the contributions Stan Lee and Jack Kirby made to comics, but I don't think thier X-Men wasn't thier best work by any means. I'm not just basing this on the early Claremont stuff, which I actually read first, but by Lee's OWN work from that time. I actually found his stories much less satisfying, with poorer charactizations, some glaring inconistancies powers-wise (during the Sentinel storyline they made such a point of establishing that Jean was just getting the hang of using her TK powers to lift people, and even then it put a strain on her, but her FIRST appearance she could fling Beast around the room with her powers just because he (like each character, INCLUDING Charlies) was crushing on her) and the stories, often done-in-ones, were not very interesting and didn't make a lot of sense at times (WHY was Magneto able to conjure a astral projection of himself?). I was reading Lee's run through the Essential line, just like Spider-Man and Avengers around roughly the same time, and noticed a glaring dip in quality, comparitively. I think the book improved a good deal when Roy Thomas came on board and they told more "arc-like" stories.

And also I strongly disagree about the X-Books being good right now. If I thought they were good I wouldn't have to keep dropping them, which I've done a couple of times in the past two or three years. But that's just my opinion.

On a differant topic, it's gonna be pretty hard for Gamorra (a character I remember somewhat fondly from some of the old Starlin stories) to go after Nova (as shown in solicitations for upcoming issues) if he's dead, though I'm not sure why she wants him dead, considering she was sleeping with him during Annihiliation. Did something happen during an Annihiliation story I didn't read, or is that something new? 

Also got the latest issue of Shonen Jump and am not too thrilled that they're dropping Shaman King, meaning I'll have to pick up the manga books that Viz puts out to follow what's going on now.

Shaman King is still going ON? I read the manga finished a while ago. Is North America really still trying to put out the final installments of the story? Weird. I loved that series and was very interested when I found out about the bonus epilogue stories that were printed in the manga, which didn't exist in the anime.

[GhostMachine]

Also got the latest issue of Shonen Jump and am not too thrilled that they're dropping Shaman King, meaning I'll have to pick up the manga books that Viz puts out to follow what's going on now.

Shaman King is still going ON? I read the manga finished a while ago. Is North America really still trying to put out the final installments of the story? Weird. I loved that series and was very interested when I found out about the bonus epilogue stories that were printed in the manga, which didn't exist in the anime.

Well, they're just dropping Shaman King from Shonen Jump - note I am talking about the American version of Shonen Jump put out by Viz, NOT the Japanese version - but will still be publishing it in their manga book format. The chapters already published in SJ have already been published that way, as well. The volume that picks up where they're leaving off in SJ will be volume 13. The final chapter ("Reincarnation") in SJ is 112.

They've had Bobobo-bo B-bobo in the last few issues and its going to be in the next, so I'm not sure if its a regular strip in SJ now or not, but I hope not. It sucks. No idea on what will be replacing Shaman King yet; it looks like the next issue will have extra chapters of Naruto (*yawn* - I'd rather have extra One-Piece) and a preview of Kurohime.

[BitBiteOuch]

and now the Avengers is a perma-suck-fest (doubt me? Check out nu avengers #32, a whole issue devoted to just flying back from Japan.

Yes, the issue is just one big plane ride, BUT - the issue has great dialogue (in a Bendis book? I know, but its true), sheds light on all the right issues in the perfect way, and creates enough action and suspense without a huge fight scene. Plus, it points to some of the things in Civil War that were just awful and ALMOST justifies them. Theres no way to to say that the Avengers series these days are great, but this issue was good.

[Zapow]

Me am confused.

Me thought Honor Brigade was a regular series?

It's a six issue mini-series. We're working on #5 now.

They'll be more Honor Brigade stuff in the very near future.

I just can't juggle a monthly at this point financially or time-wise while working a day job and juggling other comic projects.

I have a Toy Boy special in the works at the moment. Toy Boy: A Boy in Toyland.

[BentonGrey]

Well Zap, as long as you keep putting out comics like these, that are engaging and clean, I'll keep buying, no matter what the schedule. ^_^

Anyroad, I just wanted to let y'all know that I've finished two and three, and I really enjoyed them.  You've got me hooked into the mystery of what's going on.  I think C6's art (already pretty great) is getting more polished, and...well, it just seems like you're both getting the hang of this.  I'm definitely going to have to track down number four! 

Ohh, hey, on another note, does anyone know anything about that Captain Jack Cosmo title that is advertised in your book?  It looks sorta' cool.  I'd like to pick one up if I can figure out where.

[Zapow]

Ohh, hey, on another note, does anyone know anything about that Captain Jack Cosmo title that is advertised in your book?  It looks sorta' cool.  I'd like to pick one up if I can figure out where.

That's a really fun book. All kinds of sci-fi and superhero hi-jinks inside. I think you can get it through Diamond too.

[thanoson]

Ok, the Hulk is kicking major expletive this week. Wow is he ticked. But the best thing is it's a smart anger. He's not going into "HULK SMASH!!!!" He's soundly beating everyone and giving them a teaching as well.

[B A D]

I dunno. Although the first one revved me up for some smashing, this one fell a bit flat. The composition of the Avengers facing the hulk was a total non win situation for them. They had 24 hours to clear manhattan. WTF happened to all the trainees in that Inititive of Starks?!  Surely they would have had time to prepare a better defense other than the valliant "C'mon ! he's just one guy!" that they used. And don't get me started on Reed and his super flashlight. THAT's what the smartest man in the MU comes up with  when faced with an unstoppable force? This, the dude who beat Galactus with his  noggin? And what of the stupid Sentry? He has to  catch up on his Soaps before he takes the hulk on? Or would that just let the air out of this drama like a popped balloon.  I do like the way Ben was characterized. Thats exactly the ol blue eyes I knows and love. Aware that he can't beat the Hulk, he goes in anyway to give his friends some time. And now, the  US army is set to blow up manhattan to stop the  Hulk. Sure it is. I can't get all worked up over this when all these people have beaten things bigger and stronger than the hulk in the  past. Thanos. Galactus. Tyrant, etc. In the end, People will get beat on,but nothing will change.

[thanoson]

Tyrant? Nobody on earth has seen, much less beaten him. That is reserved for my true King of villany, Thanos. No, Sentry is waiting to see what happens. Or, the talk with Tony set off another vegetable state. Meh. The Ghost Rider fight was fun. As was the X-men fight. I noticed in X-Men, he seems to be a bit more talkative, actually going to the trouble of telling them how he's gonna beat them. Collossus and Wolvie get the worst of this.

On to New X-men. So, Pixie now has a new weapon. Think that will play into Belasco's fall?

[Sword]

All-Flash #1: Let this be a warning. You kill one hero, and you will pay the price. Inertia found that out, as did the rogues. Welcome Back Wally :thumbup:
Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith/Quasar: Both of these titles are really well done, showing the lengths that the Phalanx can go to achieve domination. They have Ronan, and the have the Super Adaptoid. But between a rage-fueled Quasar, Moondragon, and the mysterious Wraith(Who some believe is ROM, the Spaceknight) things might be starting to look up. :D
Ghost Rider 13: Wow. That was a fun fight.  :thumbup:
Modok's 11: This is cool. Anxiously waiting for more.  :thumbup:
Initiative 4: Things are starting to make sense. The SPIN dart Tony used on Hulk WWH#1 was a dud, because of what Hardball did. And is that MVP?  :thumbup:
The Order 1: It's certainly interesting. These are the "Greek Gods" of the California Initiative, led by Pepper Potts in an Oracle role? The "Hermes" is the one who recognizes a morals clause and Ares is getting royalties from the names. But that villain shot on the last page? I can't name a a single one.
World War Hulk Xmen 2: There's some serious buttkicking going on in this title. No-one's going to be able to really harm Hulk due to his power of plot immunity, but that last panel is just fantastic.

[Agent]

QUICK HITS

Countdown 41 - I'm not sure how I feel about Jimmy Olsen as a superhero yet.  I'll have to see more of what there doing with it first.  My hunch is that it's temporary though.  I did like Jimmy discovering the downside of wearing a costume under your clothes though.
Rating:  :)

Checkmate #16 - This is an epilogue to the Checkout crossover.  Primarily, we learn how Mr. Terrific and Sasha Bordeaux became an item.  I love the reason why Sasha was originally attracted to him.  There's also a great reunion between Fire and Ice. 
Rating:  :thumbup:

All Flash #1 - I really enjoyed Wally's return.  I'm looking forward to seeing what's up with his kids.  I like they're costumes, too.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Action Comics #1 - As I said I'm unsure about Jimmy as superhero but if anyone can pull it off it's Busiek.  It was great seeing how Superman got the idea for Jimmy's signal watch.  It's good to see Jimmy protrayed as brave and resourceful.  Oh, and the Clan MacHinery?  A perfect illustration of why I'm a Kurt Busiek fan.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Zero Killer #1 - Not surprisingly, Arvid Nelson uses this issue to give the reader an introduction to Zero's world.  It's pretty interesting so far.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Captain America #28 - Brubaker is juggling 3 different plot lines here and you just know they're going to collide soon.  I can't wait until they do.  On top of the Falcon, Winter Soldier, and Sin stories he throws in a letter from Cap sent to Tony Stark in case of his death.  Cap said that in spite of everything Tony Stark was the only one who could do what needed to be done.  Could Cap have already known about the Skrull infiltration?
Rating:  :thumbup:

Brave & the Bold #5 - Waid does a good job handling the fight between Batman and the Legion.  Actually, Batman doesn't actually fight them, he just evades them.  Waid avoids the "invincible Batman" trap but still lets him shine by being intelligent and resourceful.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Justice League of America #11 - I love Gene Ha's art.  Strangely enough, Gene Ha handling the art for this issue is what made it a disappointment for me.  Red Arrow and Vixen are trapped under rubble after rescuing several people.  The whole story is them trying to get free.  So they have Gene Ha on art for an issue and they just have him draw rubble for 23 pages.  Granted there are some nice character moments in the issue, especially for Red Arrow but if you've got Ha for an issue why not give him something he can sink his teeth into.  Maybe actually show us how our heroes managed to rescue all those people.
Rating:   :mellow:

Annihilation Conquest: Quasar #1 - Good issue and it was nice to see the Super-Adaptoid again.
Rating:  :)

Birds of Prey #108 - This was Gail Simone's final issue and of course she reinforces the reasons why I'm sad to see her go.  Great issue.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #54 - Lots of interesting revelations this issue.  1) Arthur, Jr.'s father isn't dead, 2) according to his father Arthur, Jr. died months before the lab was destroyed, and 3) Kordax's son, Krusivax and Vandal Savage are the ones responsible for creating Sub Diego.  I guess Tad Williams has started wrapping up the lose ends since the titles been canceled.   :(
Rating:  :)

Black Canary #2 - DON'T MESS WITH TEACHERS!!   :P  This mini is turning out to be more entertaining than I expected.  Also, Paolo Siqueira's art is superb.
Rating:  :thumbup:

Avengers Classic #2 - The Avengers first encounter with the Space Phantom and the Hulk leaves the team.  I like that the backups are tied into the actual story.  Dwayne McDuffie's Hulk story was very good.
Rating:  :)

Highwaymen #2 - Not bad but I don't like it when writers get carried away with the automobile acrobatics.  I don't care how you hit a curb, it's not going to make you're car do a 360 degree flip then land back on it's wheels and keep going.
Rating:  :)

[zuludelta]

Seven Brothers TPB (Virgin Comics)

created by: John Woo
written by: Garth Ennis
art by: Jeevan Kang with covers by Yoshitaka Amano

note: contains strong language and portrayals of graphic violence

Okay, where do I start? If you haven't heard of them, Virgin Comics is the publishing company founded by billionaire Richard Branson, self-help guru Deepak Chopra, cross-over Bollywood director Shekhar Kapur, and a number of other business associates, including Chopra's son who's named, I kid you not, Gotham (what's his sister's name? Metropolis?). Also, it's a pretty redundant name for a comic book publisher, since we all know that comics are read mostly by virgins (Ba-zing! Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week!)   

Anyway, the company is publishing a number of comics based mostly on modern interpretations of East Indian myths but also have what they call a Director's Cut line of titles that feature creations made by filmmakers like Guy (Snatch; Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) Ritchie (otherwise known as "the bloke who married Madonna"), the aforementioned Kapur, and John (Hard-Boiled, Mission Impossible 2) Woo.

The basic concept of John Woo's Seven Brothers is that it's a modern update on an old Chinese folktale that tells of seven brothers gifted with otherwordly abilities that they use to help the people working on the Great Wall of China fight the abuses of the emperor's men. Of course, we're talking about Garth Ennis writing here, so you know you're in for a fair amount of slurs and cussing, head-exploding punches, gonad-bursting groin kicks, and all manner of four-colour fun and games. It definitely reads like a Garth Ennis book... which I find to be a bit of problem. I'm a Garth Ennis fan, I've followed his work on Judge Dredd, Preacher, Punisher, and The Boys and I've even patronized his video game work (The Punisher, Ghost Rider). While I expect Ennis to follow certain conventions and tendencies based on his previous material, Seven Brothers just reads like "generic Garth Ennis". He hits all the right notes, but it just seems quite rote and mechanical.

I also have to wonder how much creative input John Woo had in all of this. He's listed as the series' "creator" but that doesn't really tell me anything. Nothing really made me sit up and say "wow, that's a definite John Woo moment there" (and yes, that means we don't get a panel with two white doves flying out of nowhere prefacing the arrival of the lead hero). The cynic in me is guessing that Woo's involvement probably didn't extend much further than allowing the publishers to plaster his name on the cover in a blatant cash-grab (anybody remember "Leonard Nimoy's" Primortals from the mid-1990s?).

I didn't particularly care for Jeevan Kang's art either. The name might be familiar to some of you guys out there, he was the artist on the officially licensed Spider-Man: India comic book that came out a few years back (It's basically Spider-Man; a.k.a. Pavitr Prabhakar, set in modern-day Mumbai). While his line work on Spider-Man: India looked solid and clean, his attempts at painted art in Seven Brothers is a muddy, cluttered mess. I think the book would have been more readable if they had used standard colouring methods but even a change in colouring probably wouldn't have helped the clunky storytelling. He commits some flagrant comic book art gaffes: flipping POV perspective 180° on consecutive "talking head" panels for no apparent reason, breaking panel borders arbitrarily, and basically all the sins that Rob Liefeld died on the cross for. The best part of the art are Yoshitaka (Vampire Hunter D, Final Fantasy) Amano's covers but like Ennis' writing, they had stamps all over them (i.e.; it looked like he was mailing it in this time around).

Still, it's a halfway decent read (really, it is) even if it's just for the novelty of seeing a classic Chinese folktale being turned into a detailed storyboard pitch for the next tepid summer blockbuster. It doesn't stand up to multiple reads but is fairly amusing stuff that'll distract you from the stench the next time you visit the crapper (although a match works just as well, and it's way cheaper too).

My rating: 2 and ½ Virgins out of 5 and a hearty "nice try, but no cigar!"   

[Silver Shocker]

Z, a while back Newsarama had a "Virgin Comics week" with free full page previews of the first issues of all of their new books, and that was one of them. I checked it out and got a real "Usual Suspects" vive to it. You make it sound much more....well, Chinese folk tale.  Does that vive I got go away early on in the story?