Saturday, October 31, 2009

Comics Roundup for 10/28/09

I worked on two other entries, and I just didn't like where they were going. Good thing I finished reading all of my comics this week, so I can do the Comics Roundup. Don't forget, tomorrow starts Haiku-A-Day.



Superman: Secret Origin #2 (of 6) - This origin series for Superman definitely justifies itself by this issue. Not only does it get a bit more into who Lex Luthor is, but it ties in all of the Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes stuff into the origin story. Not only that, but it's a fun read that focuses on character just like all of Geoff Johns' best stuff does. Plus, Gary Frank is doing a beautiful job with the art.



Spider-Man: Clone Saga #2 (of 6) - They're really fast-forwarding through the story here, and I doubt that anybody who didn't read the original clone saga could really appreciate what's going on here. We already have Ben with blonde hair, and we also have him as the Scarlett Spider (even though those two things didn't happen at the same time in the original series). Not only that, but we've already got the return of the Jackal, and it doesn't look like we'll see Judas Traveler in this series - which is too bad, as I thought that he was interesting but turned lame in the end. There's also a third clone, and I really hope that they don't make him "Spider-Cide" like they did originally. I just might stop reading in the middle of the series if that happens.

Hulk #16 - This issue debuts the Red She-Hulk, which is a silly idea, but this is a silly series. Still, the intrigue gets ratcheted up a notch, and even more hints are dropped as to what the Red Hulk was really all about. I'm just hoping that they eventually bring the real Hulk back into this series sometime soon. I hear that there's going to be a "World War Hulks" which may or may not be interesting.

Blackest Night #4 (of 8) - The mastermind behind the rise of the dead reveals himself, and it's a fella named Nekron (who was in an old Tales of the Green Lantern Corps story that was recently reprinted). Other than that, this issue focuses on what's going on with all the rest of the DC Universe - The Flash in particular - as the Green Lanterns deal with the crisis out in space. I really think that if you're only reading this, you should also pick up Green Lantern to get a better picture of things. Speaking of which:



Green Lantern #47 - By the end of this issue, five of the seven corps are finally united, and the last two (red/hate and orange/avarice) look like they're getting together as well. That's going to be interesting, and the thing that I like best about this whole storyline is that it makes Sinestro into one of the best comic book villains around. The guy really thinks that he's a good guy, and he's willing to set aside old feuds to fix this whole Black Lantern mess. And of course, when you have a great villain, the hero gets even better. Hal lets Sinestro know that there's no way that he's going to let him be in charge - and he actually gets him to back down. Hal is also a really great character in the way that he's so forward-thinking. While his good name had been tarnished in both the destruction of Coast City and his being taken over by Parallax, he's refusing to dwell on any of that. That's something that I could take a lesson from, as I tend to dwell on every mistake I've ever made.

Batman #692 - I wasn't that big of a fan of Tony Daniel's art when he was simply drawing the book with Grant Morrison writing it, but what he's doing here is certainly a step up. Maybe it's because he's writing the series now too. Anyway, this was a great setup with some good character moments between Dick Grayson (former Robin, now Batman) and Selina Kyle (Catwoman). It also has a pretty interesting ending, even though I feel like I'm supposed to know who that guy is in the last panel - and yet I don't. Yeah, I was lamenting that Judd Winick was leaving the book (although that seems to be temporary) but I'll keep getting it if it's like this.



The New Avengers #58 - This was some pretty fun stuff, and it's good to see the New and Dark Avengers really having it out. Basically, this one ends with Luke Cage being indebted to Norman Osborn, which should be pretty interesting considering that he already was when Osborn helped to get his kid back for him. This time though, Osborn has him in custody, so it's not looking too good for him. I'm really hoping that when this is all said and done, we'll get a proper Avengers team again, although I think that Marvel is going to want to keep having as many series going so long as they sell.

Astro City Special: Astra #2 (of 2) - This was pretty good - nothing fantastic, but a solid read. Kurt Busiek has gone over this territory before (even with this character) that it would be pretty hard for a public superhero to have any sense of a normal life. This one just focuses on what their relationships would be like.

Star Wars: Legacy #41 - I'm starting to think that I should just buy every other issue of this series. This one was pretty much just filler, and even though there have been a lot of really good filler issues in this series, this one just didn't grab me. I was expecting it to since it focuses on the Mandalorians (think Jango/Boba Fett) but it left me cold. I'm guessing that I'm going to love the next issue, as that's how it seems to go with this series.

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