Henry10This Week's Comics
October 7th 2006 07:42
Agents of Atlas #3 by Jeff Parker and Leonard Kirk
You know, I really feel like I should be enjoying a comic about a talking monkey, a robot, a perpetually naked woman and a guy from Uranus a lot more than I am. That's not to say that it hasn't been good - it's doing 1950s characters in a modern style and doing them well - but with a good portion of this issue given over to explaining Marvel Boy's appearances in Fantastic Four comics in the 1970s, it's not the most exciting of issues. The side-trip to find Namora also seems a bit removed from the more interesting stuff with the Yellow Claw, but it will probably all tie in by the end. A fun series, but it could be funner.
Amazing Spider-Girl #0 by Tom DeFalco and Lots o' Folks
This book is a primer for the Spider-Girl relaunch, intended to get new audiences up to speed, written as though it's Spider-Girl's diary. It's not bad for what it is. I feel like I know everything I need to for when the first issue hits, but I get the feeling it's a pretty accessible comic anyway. Does what it says on the tin, basically.
After a shaky start, this is turning out to be a whole lot of fun. The Beyonder has kidnapped a whole lot of super-types and told them to duke it out, but instead they've banded together to investigate, and discovered an ever-awesome Space Phantom in their midst. Cue big fight, which is excellent fun despite some dubious mechanics relating to the Space Phantom's power (at least as I understand it. Throw in a very likeable Hank Pym and a cracking cliffhanger, and I'm a happy man. Also, it has this page:
Genius.
52 #22 by Lots o' Folks
This starts well with some scenes of Luthor starting to get a bit paranoid, but then it's pages and pages of Steel, the Metal Men and friggin' Super Chief. Bored now. Can we go back into space yet?
Doctor Strange: The Oath #1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin
Dear God! It's a miracle of some sort! A good Doctor Strange miniseries! I think I need to lie down...
This is really very good. With Wong deeply ill, the Doc goes to find a cure, which leads to him getting shot with Hitler's very own suicide handgun. This one's got it all - ice-cool Strange, an exploration of how the Doc's mystical and scientific sides relate, and a reference to Hitler. It's probably my Pick of the Week. (Oh, and it completely disregards J. Michael Straczynski. An admirable trait.)
Fantastic Four #540 by J. Michael Straczynski and Mike McKone
Speaking of the master... This issue - everybody talks!! And talks! And talks some more... Sue's pissed off with Reed due to whole Civil War mess, so they have a fight. But not a Big Honkin' Kirby-style fight, more of a Husband and Wife How Dare You Leave the Toilet Seat Up kind of fight. It's enough to make one hanker for a guest appearance by Kurrgo, Master of Planet X.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #13 by Peter David and Todd Nauck
With three Mysterios haunting Spider-Man's school (one of them Quentin Beck, complete with bullet hole in the back of his head) I should have enjoyed this more. It's pretty good stuff, the battles between Spidey and two of the Mysterios are enjoyable, and it's great to see at least one writer using Flash Thompson well. But it all feels a bit inconclusive - I was expecting more from Quentin Beck after last month's final page reveal. Even so, this is still the best of the core Spider-Man titles.
Incredible Hulk #99 by Greg Pak and Aaron Lopresti
Planet Hulk just continues to go through the motions. Thankfully, those motions are all pretty satisfying! This issue the Hulk and his crew are caught between the alien Spikes and their enemy Caiera the Oldstrong, and it doesn't matter that the ending stands out a mile away. Things get punched, bombed, and shot with flamethrowers, and the Hulk gets to be a complete asskicker. Formulaic in all the right ways.
Irredeemable Ant-Man #1 by Robert Kirkman and Phil Hester
This issue has an awesome cover, but that's the best thing about it. I'm really not sure what sort of tone Kirkman is shooting for here. He's got a fairly unlikeable lead character, and that could work if a humourous approach is taken, but the book's not that funny at all despite the cover. It might pick up in the long run, but at the moment I'm not sure what this book is supposed to be.
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #20 by Peter David and Mike Norton
Have you been searching all your life for a comic where Spider-Man and Hawkeye fight Frankenstein's Monster? Well, that's exactly what this is. It's goofy it's absurd, it's got a charming monster, and I love it. If you want uncomplicated Spidey tales, this is the book for you.
Marvel Team-Up #25 by Robert Kirkman and Andy Kuhn
I can't believe that this is the same Robert Kirkman who writes Invincible and The Walking Dead. Both of those books are great, and the entirety of Kirkman's Marvel output has been disappointing. Case in point - Marvel Team-Up #25. A whole lot of heroes are gathered together to fight Titannus, which sounds like a promising finale for this series, but it all goes off the rails in the conclusion, when a semi-new character wielding the power of Freedom Ring shows up out of nowhere to save everyone. Exceedingly lame as a conclusion to two years worth of stories.
X-Men: Phoenix - Warsong #2 by Greg Pak and Random Silvestri Clone #88b
Warsong continues with its origin of the Stepford Cuckoos, and I find that I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Mind you, I'm a mark for anything that references Grant Morrison continuity, so it could be that. But it has a couple of nice character moments, an intriguing plot, and a captivating last page. It also has cars piloted by whale brains, always a sign of quality.
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