Dex's Comic Awareness

Ultimate X-Men #63
written by Brian K. Vaughan
pencils & cover by Stuart Immonen

So here comes the big battle between brothers. And it proves to be a whimper instead. Cyclop's team takes out two of the four would be rescuers but lose to Havok and Northstar. Now on the surface, with Jean, Colossus, and Iceman PLUS the Ultimates to stop Havok and Northstar, it really doesn't seem like a contest at all. But we all know that something is going to go down that is unexpected. Forge and Mystique sit in the wings watching it all, neither of which are big fighters. Warren and Alison are also watching and wishing to intervene to get on the Professor's good side. So we can only assume that somehow everything is going to fall to pieces for Jean and that Magneto is going to get out.

Speaking of him, we have his charm working slowly on Lorna to break down her defenses till she's crying in his arms as he tells her that the people she killed didn't matter. Longshot gets put in prison with Deathstrike and Essex, as in Mr. Sinister. But we saw him die right? Well guess not exactly. It's obvious that Vaughan is bringing all of his characters to bear so as to make sure that he doesn't leave any glaring open plot threads. This is nice of him to do. I honestly wish more writers would do this when they go in and alter a comic so much.

I like the scene with Havok and Cyclops. Havok had me convinced that Scott let him win. Why else would he fire his beams at his brother after he just explained that it didn't do anything? And can anyone explain to me what is in those little pouches they both carry on their belt have in them? Eye drops for Cykes? Who knows?

Rating - Good

Wildcats: Nemesis #1(of 6)
written by Robbie Morrison
penicls & cover by Talent Caldwell
additional pencils by Horacio Domingues

Here begins Morrison's chance at redemption. I hated Robbie Morrion's run on the Authority. It stank. This doesn't stink so far. That's a good thing for sure but it is hard to understand where exactly it all fits into continuity. I mean Joe Casey was doing an incredible job with it before they yanked it away from him. This is sad because for whatever reason they did it for, he was making a good book.

They do a good job here of using two artists, one for the present and one for the past and I think it sets the back-story far enough apart to make it feel like a proper flashback. The only problem seems to be that because this character is brand new but is supposed to have been around for a while means that we will be spending a lot of time in the past explaining why she's killing people in the present.

I'll admit that Nemesis is very cool looking but she seems to have that aura about her that makes it hard to believe she's a ruthless killer. I also happen to like her better than I do Zealot. I want Nemesis to win out, even though we all know that both of them have to survive the past meeting between the two.

So far Morrison is winning me over but one has to ask what the point of this series is? Other than to make money? Because it definitely doesn't pick up the pieces of the last Wildcats that was abandoned midway through.

Rating - Good

X-Men #175
written by Peter Milligan
pencils & cover by Salvador Larroca

So begins the Wild Kingdom crossover as we find our X-Men heading to Africa. Quite honestly, this wasn't a very good issue. Everyone acts like children more and more in Milligan's team. Storm is a royal bitch, Bobby is an annoying asshole, Gambit's an insecure and pussy whipped, Rogue is an uptight girlfriend that is mad for no real reason, Lorna is incredibly cold and heartless, and Havok is the stereotype jealous lover. I know this is different than what I had been saying about this series before but somehow Milligan made his characters all become whiney and mean in only one issue. I wouldn't want to hangout with any of these people. That's not the kind of cool impression the X-Men are supposed to emote.

And I really can't understand the whole, power struggle thing between Storm and Havok and Emma Frost. What is that all about? Why are they suddenly all feminist and shit and telling Havok that he can't take orders from a woman? I understand tension is dramatic but it definitely just feels like watching teenagers here.

Complaint number two: What the hell is up with Milligan's take on powers? Rogue has some kind of fire shooting ability now? Lorna's ability to control magnetism somehow allows her to shoot energy beams at creatures? And Storm is invulnerable to a giant mutant crocodile biting her nearly in half? Milligan really needs to clarify this shit. If you just make shit up for their powers then what’s the point of fight scenes? You could make up any old thing.

Complaint number three: The villain is dumb and paper thin but would Storm really leave him to die? It was so out of character that it just felt like that scene in Daradevil the movie where he lets the guy get killed by the subway train.

What the hell is Milligan doing here? He started off so well but now he's turned all the characters into whining brats. Spare me.

Rating - Poor

Wha...Huh? (one shot)
written by (a lot of people)
pencils by Jim Mahfood

This is what "What if..." comics should be, funny. I was never a big fan of the “What if” comics but I did buy my fair share as a youngster. This properly decides to take the chance to poke fun at Marvel itself and a lot of its characters.

I hope you all had a chance to get a copy of this because as you can tell by the tardiness of this review, it was hard for me to get one. This well worth it for any long standing Marvel fan as a lot of the jokes will only be funny to those who have seen these characters for years.

Now some are lame, sadly Stan Lee's little page was. But most are really good and gave me plenty of chuckles and even a real laugh once or twice. The whole thing is written by a group of writers that seem to be pretty good friends and it makes for some inside jokes and references to the writers themselves that will only be gotten by comic insiders. But that's fine because with the advent of Newsarama, almost every comic book fan is an insider in their own way. Besides this comic wasn't for the average reader, it's for guys like me.

Rating - Great

All Star: Batman & Robin: The Boy Wonder #2
written by Frank Miller
pencils & cover by Jim Lee
alternate cover by Frank Miller

A lot of people have been going on about how horrible this series is. I can't say I blame them. This is not Batman in the normal DCU. Hell it's not even Batman from Dark Knight Returns. This is a new and twisted Batman that we suddenly get. We get a pretty rare in-depth look at him too that makes some readers squeamish.

I think it is good writing, as in dialogue, but it is not the best of plots. It rushes the emotional story and condenses the literal action. An odd thing to do actually, but the white rabbit on the front page immediately brings to mind the idea that Miller and Lee are falling down the rabbit hole.

This Batman is insane. I know they reference to that a lot in other stories but here, he really is. He's also part fake and it's interesting to see Robin realize that. And lastly, this Batman is even less caring of human life than any previous rendition. He especially goes out of his way to try and kill cops. No matter how corrupt, the normal Batman wouldn't kill them with reckless glee like he does here. But like I said, this is not the normal Batman.

This whole line of “All Star” comics is DC's way of competing with the Ultimate line of comics at Marvel. They are making stories out of continuity so that they can be whatever they want. The problem? They are all self-contained to the point that none of the stories have any impact on any other comics. Not even later Batman comics by Miller because this series is limited. So why should we care about a Batman series that is inconsequential? This is nothing more than another DKR.

Why I don't think that this is the worst thing on the shelf. It definitely doesn't feel like something from "all stars." The action alone was pretty lame and hard to follow.

Rating - Mediocre

Mutopia X #3(of 5)
written by David Hine
pencils by Lan Medina
cover by Andy Park

This comic does get better, but it still can't quite get all of the pieces to fit together. Some things Hine does well and some things are just dumb.

The opening scene is a good example of the good and bad of the issue. The crazy human terrorist has a real gun and fires off a round at Ortega. She gets wasted and they are good enough to not chicken out but to show her full of holes. The fact that Bishop catches the bullet in his hand, to save Ortega, seems pretty lame to me. Not cause Bishop's powers don't relate to normal guns issue, but because he CAUGHT A BULLET WITH HIS HAND! Is he Superman now? And then to make it more confusing the main human terrorist has a laser gun? Whatever.

The whole plot is extremely convenient and doesn't seem natural at all. Kaufman catches the main human terrorist before the cops can and then takes her back to his lair to convince her to kill Ortega, or maybe Hine will surprise me by not being so obvious and have her go after someone else like Ortega's daughter. But let's not hold our breath waiting for Hine to be original. You see the terrorist wants to kill Ortega already and her words about not killing humans ring untrue.

The best scenes in the comic are the ones with Ortega and his wife. The dialogue for them is good and natural. Hine does get adultery down well at least.

The whole issue is so different than the first two. This one has gore and realistically graphic scenes that the first issue missed in its fight scenes. Why are they suddenly here now? And I really can't find myself to care about any of this because none of it's real because this is all House of M reality. This comic is just for those who were reading District X and wanted some kind of closure with the characters.

Rating - Mediocre

Ultimate Spider-Man #82
written by Brian Michael Bendis
pencils & cover by Mark Bagley

Buh DAMN! Felicia, Black Cat, was on Peter like *fill in the blank* on *fill in the blank*. Still waiting for this comic to catch up to the annual so we know he isn't going to get with Felicia because he's will be dating Kitty. Which is disappointing because I really would like to see both done. His relationship with Felicia would be him dating the "bad girl." And the bad girl is always fun.

Most of the comic is more set up. We see Kingpin decide that it's time to really step it up and not take any chances. We see Captain Wolfe really take charge and openly defend Spider-Man. We learn of how Felicia is even still alive and what she wants, namely Kingpin's head and to make out with Peter. We learn that the Moon Knight is a little weird and that he may have realized that Peter is one of the good guys. But who knows what he took from seeing the battle of last issue. We learn that his girlfriend is a little upset over the dual roles Marc Spector plays with his multiple identities.

The whole thing is set up to have the many players fighting on odd sides. Black Cat is willing to help Hammerhead kill Kingpin. Iron Fist and Shang Chi are gonna try and wipe out Hammerhead for his gang's involvement in Chinatown. We know where Elektra stands as Kingpin's assassin and then there is Moon Knight. Who the hell knows what he plans on doing. And in the middle of it all is Spidey, to decide between two bad guys. Bendis is back in form people.

Rating - Great

House of M #6(of 8)
written by Brian Michael Bendis
pencils by Olivier Coipel
cover by Esad Ribic

So we finally get to the thick of things. Well in true Bendis fashion, no not really. We get a few chaotic scenes of battle and more conversation that really only sets up the next battle. Six issues in and we are just now getting down to actually doing something. You would think that they would try and mind wipe the other characters there, Pietro, Ororo, Namor, and so on but they didn't because they had her out trying to find Prof. X. And his tombstone is not where his body is.

Always more questions than answers out of this kind of thing but hey, at least the dialogue is fairly good. So is the art as usual. I just don't like how he makes Cyclop's head look like a large block of wood.

Speaking of ol one eye, his little speech about holding nothing back does seem appropriate but what about all the countless times before when the world was going to end? Was it ok to hold back then because there was a chance someone else might be able to fix it? I liked it and was totally psyched to see Nightcrawler port someone to N zone and leave them there or see Luke Cage strangle someone. Not gonna happen, at least not yet. BOO! I say. You talk about no restraint, I want to see no restraint, and I want to see some out and out killing. Logan at least was good for it. But that's nothing new.

Rating - Good

Ghost Rider #1(of 6)
written by Garth Ennis
art & cover by Clayton Crain

Ennis is two for two this month with his slight tweaking of the Ghost Rider world. Here we have GR riding for his soul every day in Hell and every day he fails. But an angel that's fucked up is gonna help bust him out of hell so that he can take care of a demon for him. It'll be a race against time as both Hell's and Heaven's agents are out after this guy.

And Ennis loves to make the good guys look evil. Here he has one angel cause a miscarriage and another one has a kid stick a colored pencil into his eye. You want to talk about issues for these people. It really blurs the line between Heaven and Hell and that's the point but then why is there a heaven and hell even? Eh, this is fun stuff and although my mother wouldn't like the host looking so bad, I think its great stuff. Not that I have anything against them that is, heh.

Crain's work is simply amazing. Just downright beautiful and horrible and all the adjectives you can think of all wrapped into one. His art is simply amazing and this is a definite step up from Carnage vs Venom, as good as that looked. Here he really has more depth to his work. And hey, it takes place in Houston, a real hell hole if I ever saw one.

Rating - Great

Y: The Last Man #37
written by Brian K. Vaughan
pencils by Pia Guerra
cover by Massimo Carnevale

Now that we know that Beth is alive, we really have some good reasons to see Yorick go after her. But he's only given a day to do it in before they must set off to find Ampersand. Not much time at all to explore an entire continent.

The real problem doesn't come from not finding Beth though, at least not yet. A reporter keeps hearing rumors of the last man. And a crazed citizen calls the lady in to look into Yorick. She tasers the crap out of 355 and threatens to kill her if Yorick doesn't strip and get his picture taken. We can only assume what’s going to happen next. But obviously the world will be in an uproar if everyone knew about what was going on.

Vaughan continues to be smart about the story, for instance, no one would really still be afraid of women catching the plague after three years so the idea of Yorick running around with the gas mask is a bit of a stretch for people to believe. So they put a burka on him. Seems to work and they explain it away saying that a lot of Afghan women are fleeing to Australia. But they can't use that, say in Japan. I wonder when they are just gonna break down and give him a wig or fake breasts.

Y: The Last Man is easily one of the best comics each month. It's sad that its sales aren't higher than they are.

Rating - Good

The Punisher #25
written by Garth Ennis
pencils by Leandro Fernandez
cover by Tim Bradstreet

This is poetry given comic form people. I really can't stress that enough. I mean Ennis' writing is always good but this particular issue is just poetry. Pure genius.

For example:

"It began a year ago in the rain, on a pitch black Brooklyn night. By the time it had all finished, I knew the rain would fall forever."

Oh how wonderful his writing here is. I would pick up THIS issue even if you plan to never pick up another Punisher in your life. This issue above all the ones I've read from him so far is the best. It's flow. It's art. It's dialogue and it's plot. Even as a set up piece it's masterful enough to not be boring or complacent with its role as a opening comic.

Another example of greatness:

"I'd know the Lord's Prayer in any language. Gave him a moment. To just before the line about forgiveness."

Then he shoots the guy. HOW AWESOME IS THAT! But nothing beats the ending:

"Later on, she told me the whole story. About the day she left her village. About the old man. About Cristu and Vera. About the thing her father said. About her baby. When she was done, I knew a lot of men would have to die."

That people is the Punisher as he SHOULD be. As an intelligent and well spoken monster of revenge and righteous punishment. He is the avenging angel and only Garth has been good enough to give him the grace as well as the menace. His knowledge of weapons and tactics is also keen to the story. Just genius people. You won't ever find a better Punisher comic before this one or ever after.

Rating - Great

The Manhattan Guardian #4(of 4)
written by Grant Morrison
pencils & cover by Cameron Stewart

We get a lot more answers out of this comic than we even did out of the Shining Knight comic. We learn from Baby Brain that the Sheeda knew that a team of seven was going to beat them so they have been searching for all teams of seven and killing them off. The Newsboy Army was such a team of seven so they are after Baby Brain.

So we learn about the exploits and fall of the original Newsboy Army. And while it is part of the story it is a little boring. Most of the Guardian's story has featured very little of the actual Guardian. And so this comic is no exception.

We also get the same ending out of this issue that we got out of Shining Knight. That is to say that it left hanging now that the Guardian has actually met up with the Sheeda. Now I like the experiment and think it WOULD have worked if it wasn't so spread out. I mean the ending to this conclusion isn't till April. I am not going to give a rat's ass by then. Especially if all that happens in the finale is that they win out. They better keep it going as a monthly comic because what the hell is the point otherwise? 28 issues of nothing but set up for ONE issue of climax making for a 30 issue run? Seems a little lopsided on the introduction part of the whole thing doesn't it?

Rating - Mediocre

Uncanny X-Men #464
written by Chris Claremont
pencils & cover by Chris Bachalo

Wow. What a difference an artist can make. I love this comic now. Yes I'm biased. I am a HUGE fan of Chris Bachalo and am more than thrilled to see him join on as the regular artist.

Now I don't know if this is a result of Bachalo's jumping on or not but it really seemed like Claremont shied away from using too many captions and explanations in his writing this issue. Which is the way I want it but it is ironic that he does it when he gets an artist known for having confusing panels from time to time.

Pretty much the fact that TJ, Nocturne, even exists is a scandal for the House of M because she is the daughter of Wanda and Kurt. An illegitimate daughter in this world. But what I don't know is how they found out about her in the first place? Oh I know Prof X knew but how did this Magneto, who seems to not know that he's to blame for all this know? And when did Psylocke begin to fly? Isn't that a new trick for her people? What gives?

But out of ALL the side stories this one is easily the best simply because what the heroes are doing actually matters. They are trying to keep the whole dimension they live in from being destroyed by Roma. Now that's a goal that needs to be worked towards people. Hulk fighting AIM is not.

Rating - Good

Supreme Power: Nighthawk #1(of 6)
written by Daniel Way
pencils & cover by Steve Dillon

I'm quite sad that we won't get anymore great R comics after these but hey, at least these are pretty good right? Nighthawk is mostly set up for what I assume is going to be the main bad guy. This serial killer that was a pharmacists gone wrong. Then some bad stuff happened in prison to make him even more messed up. Of course now he's out and about well, bad stuff with clowns is bound to happen.

To continue the DC as it should be theme, Nighthawk speaks with a cop on a rooftop. God knows why though because Nighthawk didn't get any help from the cop and he wouldn't help the cop out with the cops problems. So why do they meet? Other than to make it like Batman? Eh. As long as we get more Nighthawk then I'm fine with this set up.

I'm not gonna lie, clowns are creepy already. I mean the gay clown was freaking me out and he was just a normal guy. When the bad guy goes clown I think it'll be terrifically evil and creepy.

Rating - Good

Villains United #5(of 6)
written by Gail Simone
pencils & cover by Dale Eaglesham

This story continues to impress and woe me. Only if all DC comics were this good. Our motley band of misfits has seemed to finally broken. Its breaking point was the revelation that Deadshot was the one who killed Catman's pride of lions. Of course we still don't know exactly why HE was the one who did it but I think we can all guess fairly easily, he was trying to get Catman to come to his side. Their tussle was interrupted when Cheshire revealed that she is a traitor. And then the house of cards comes tumbling down and sets up the big finale next issue.

Cheshire keeps hinting to Catman that she's pregnant but he doesn't seem to believe till the end when he's forced to choose between killing her for the traitor she is letting her go with his unborn child. Let's hope he kills the bitch. Also they hint that a lot of Gotham hasn't signed on yet.

Mockingbird is evidently more powerful than they thought as he sees through their lame attempts at subterfuge. Ragdoll and the rest of the cast continue to be incredibly interesting characters. I really wish I could see them fight more. We also learn that Scandal is Vandal Savage's daughter and that's why she is part indestructible. If I knew who that was than maybe I could care more or be shocked or something but I'm not. No matter, this is a good issue and I'm ready to see who Mockingbird really is.

Rating - Good

Fantastic Four: House of M #3(of 3)
written by John Layman
pencils & cover by Scot Eaton

Out of all the side stories, this one had been the most fun. Doom was classic Doom and I really liked his scheming. I knew he was gonna lose to Magneto and die. I didn't know they were going to do it in the most dumbass way possible.

First, Doom wins but does the clichéd move of leaving Magneto alive. Then we see It free Magneto. Anyone who didn't see that one coming from a mile away is dumb, I said it, dumb. That's what the whole plot was, dumb. It was so convenient and predictable just like Iron Man was. They made Magneto look like a pussy yet again. Then, Magneto leaves Doom alive at the end. WHAT! Didn't he like, get the clue that doing that is a bad thing?

The art was good though. I really like Eaton. I don't like It. I didn't want to see him win out. I wanted to watch him die at Doom's hand. Doom is one of those bad guys you want to see win. This is just utter stupidity given comic form.

Rating - Poor

Iron Man: House of M #3(of 3)
written by Greg Pak
pencils & cover by Pat Lee

Sigh, yet another bad ending to another disappointing side story. Lee's pencils aren't nearly up to par with his usual fare and the story that Pak had constructed really ended with a whimper. It could have been at least mediocre but the ending of the issue really just ruined it.

Turns out Tony's dad was behind all the bombs and Pym and planned it all so that Tony would be in the position to kill Magneto. Right. Why is it that the master of magnetism is shown again and again as a giant pussy? He could have done any number of things to keep Tony from setting off the bomb in his hand. I can think of at least three off the top of my head. But don't worry, he doesn't kill Magneto just like we all knew he wouldn't. All these stories that revolve around attempts on Magneto's life kind of make for shitty stories when we know he HAS to live to keep the main plot moving.

Sigh. House of M has really sucked it up so far. This had promise but alas, they refused to do anything with it. I blame Marvel editors mostly for only giving Pak three issues. Yeah he could have really gone somewhere with them but he didn't.

Rating - Poor

The Incredible Hulk #86
written by Peter David
pencils by Jorge Lucas
cover by Andy Brase

Another bad issue out of this team. Sometimes you can't tell what exactly is going on during the fighting and other times it's just poor art period. The cover is really great though. sigh

One pretty glaring error is when the secret off word that Viper planted in Bruce's mind is said as Dormez by Viper then Dormay by Scorpion. Then back to Dormez again. Whatever. Small errors like this are now to be expected by this crappy story arc. I will admit that the giant cyborg looked cool but can anyone explain to me how they got someone to be that big in the first place? He was all stitched up like they used a lot of people to make him. Whatever.

That's the word for this story arc, whatever. At least it's now over. The whole sub-plot with that one guy that went missing was wrapped up in a panel. Then Magneto comes and some dumb dialogue about how if Magneto stays away from Australia then Hulk won't smash him. That pretty much making this side story completely pointless because the Hulk has no role to play in the main story now. Whatever.

Color me whatever.

Rating - Poor

Rex Mundi #14
written by Arvid Nelson
pencils & cover by Jim Di Bartolo

Arvid's Rex Mundi has been an incredibly original comic. Full of mystery and relying on rich history, it has been a good read. That hasn't exactly changed but to say that something hasn’t been lost would be a lie. Somewhere along the road it seemed like the plot changed courses. Like it was meant to be a mini series and is now a maxi series. The whole mystery of who hired the man in white is stilled unsolved. Yet our main character, who was the target of the man in white, is still alive and no more assassins have come forth. See my point? If someone wanted Julien dead than why would they stop trying?

A lot of the change must be attributed to the new artist. It's a good fit for the Victorian era the comic is set in. What it isn't is a close fit to the last artist who's style of story telling was vastly different. I would argue that while Bartolo is more "mature," better angles and panel selections, he doesn't bring a dark enough quality to the book. The book feels more adventurous and less dark and mysterious. I have faith though that the book will begin to become more stable as it picks up speed for the finish. To truly grasp great books like this, you have to be willing to read the extra stuff crammed into each issue. Namely the fake newspaper stories in the back really help draw the reader in.

They swear that the scheduling delays are behind us, it's been six months since the last book came out. They also say that this is the last artist change. I hope so because the book has already lost all the momentum it had and is now having to pick up the pace mid way through. Not an easy task. I hope they are up to it though.

Rating - Mediocre

Kreetor #1
written by Jason DeGroot
pencils & cover by Dann Phillips

Kreetor is the creation of Jason DeGroot that he has been working on since his childhood. Such projects tend to be very rich environments because the author has had years to think of interesting things to fill the world up with. This is no exception. Kreetor is a fantasy comic that has the reader dive right into the world of Guls and Fulkons and many other races. It is a great story so far and the world it's set in is lovingly crafted by DeGroot.

The main character is Gore, the captain of the armies of a nation in turmoil. We find him literally in the midst of a rebellion. But it's one he's started. The action is done well with both chaotic panels for melee and clear ones for those key moments in battle. At the end of the battle we get a small surprise that I won't give away here. But I will say that DeGroot plays off our expectations perfectly so that it's really a shock.

Dan Phillips does an almost flawless job with this first issue. There is one panel in the beginning where some young Guls are supposed to be looking out to sea and are looking up for some reason instead. Then they get killed from below? It was the only confusing moment in the entire comic. The only other art problem was Gore's scale mail under his armor. During close-ups it would look like it should look, but any other distance and it looked like a mass of squiggles. Normally I wouldn't mind such things but it really fooled me into thinking it was CHEST HAIR at first. Yeah, that's gross. But lucky for the character it was just a lazy artist moment and NOT massive amounts of shoulder hair. The artist does a better job with the assorted races and characters by issues end. You can feel Phillips become more comfortable with the characters as the issue goes on. I really look forward to seeing his work in upcoming issues.

The parts of the issue that aren't full of Gore's fight and aftermath are taken up by the march of sea creatures. A nice set of mini-stories ensues as each person tries to flee and warn others only to be killed by those he's trying to warn. Wash and repeat a couple of times till the end. It was a nice karmic way of showing the invading army's advance. They allude to past battles and wars and mention other races we haven’t seen yet and the whole effect of this is to make the story feel like just one pebble in the pond that is Kreetor.

Go pick this up people. You can buy it at www.comiXpress.com. Go do so and enjoy this amazing fantasy comic for only 2.95. This one is a clear winner.

Rating - Good

Astonishing X-Men #12
written by Joss Whedon
pencils & cover by John Cassaday

The conclusion to Danger ends in a similar fashion to the first story arc as it raises way more questions than it answers. The actual fight scene is fairly well done as we've come to expect good things from Whedon. What we didn't expect was the cliffhanger ending of how Emma Frost isn't really a good guy. She's still working for...not gonna tell ya...

The surprise that wasn't really all that shocking was that Professor X knew Danger was sentient and did nothing. He still locked her up and used her. His feeble excuse that he needed Danger for his X-Men smacks of uncharacteristic immorality. Logan nails it on the head that it sounds more like Magneto than the Prof. X they are used to. Hopefully his odd behavior can be explained as things really begin to mount up for the X-Men. The X-Men have a traitor in their midst, disillusionment with their teacher, a reluctant Pete, a still lurking Danger, and the presence of the Breakworld problem that still hasn't been fully resolved.

Obvious questions about how did Emma's secret employers not get killed during the blast or why Prof. X didn't sense their presence all raise little flags about the validity of the plot. Such things can and do tend to be overlooked with Whedon's work though. That's because his fights are so much fun and his characters are so real. Here's for wishing that the plot smoothes out a bit in the next couple of issues.

Rating - Great

Powers #12 (Icon)
written by Brian Michael Bendis
pencils by Mike Avon Oeming
cover by Brian Michael Bendis

It says 64 pages but half of it is the letters and ads pages. The actual story is almost completely self-contained. The gem of the Blackguard is lost and recovered in the issue and a lot of bad guys die as the cop who stole it goes on a killing spree. We get some great characterization about Deena though as we learn about her first days on the force.

The art in Powers is as great as it always is. Oeming's style is similar to Mignolas but its different enough to definitely stand as something different. The color choices however are incredible. The vast arrays of gray really make the few colors allowed to show really pop on the page. It's beautiful to see.

This issue really seemed kind of unimportant for an Anniversary Special. It just didn't really advance the story or reveal any big news about the characters. That doesn't mean it wasn't a great read. It just doesn't live up to its title.

Bendis does more experimental panel layouts here as the interrogation of the Evidence Room Officer is done in a manner to make you feel like she's cornered and surrounded. It comes off very well. Powers should be picked up by everyone for the art alone though. Go pick this up. Even the many pages of ads and letters are pretty funny. And lastly, Bendis LOVES to slip in creators names whenever he can. Others do it too, Brubaker dropping Kirkman, as in Robert Kirkman. But Bendis does it the most and here he drops, McNiven, Lark, and Kirkman. All friends of his and all doing a comic I review somewhere else on this site.

Rating - Good

The New Avengers #9
written by Brian Michael Bendis
pencils by Steve McNiven
cover by David Finch, Danny Miki, & Frank D'Armata

The best team book continues. Too bad we don't actually get the team in this issue but that's ok. We finally get some movement on the Sentry story. And by movement I mean we go ahead by about ten minutes in the story. Sheesh this is the fastest moving slow book ever.

We learn the Sentry is really the Void. Who he made up to keep himself from ever using his powers. We also learn that Mastermind was the one who made this all possible by using Sentry's mind to wipe everyone else's memories about it. But before we can find out who hired him in the first place, we are cut off as Sentry can't handle it all and freaks out.

The scenes of the actual battle being waged outside the tripled shielded bubble around Sentry and Emma is quite funny actually. Between Spider-Man's quips and the funny scenes, I chuckled a couple of times. You might miss it but watch out for the panel where the Void has Captain America literally under foot and Spider-Man is hilariously trying to rope the Void off of Cap. Good stuff.

Every time I think about this team of Avengers and who is in the line up and it just makes me think of how perfect it is. Bendis really picked the best set of characters. Because of their ties to other organizations, the Avengers are finally a microcosm of the Marvel Universe as a whole. This comic is great but can't we get a shot of speed or something to get it moving faster Bendis? I mean we haven't even gotten around to the loose baddies in a while.

Rating - Good

Supreme Power #18
written by J. Michael Straczynski
pencils & cover by Gary Frank

I thought the team would come together here. But alas it hasn't. What happens instead is the after math of Mark's ousting as an alien. People freak out for some reason. The President makes a decree that all super people should report to the government or be considered a unknown threat to the government. For the first time that I've ever seen a comic book intentionally make the President look like George Bush, I wasn't turned off by it. It just was and they didn't try to preach about any current events or make him to be an idiot which is the most common idea. Hell, they put Bill and Hilary Clinton in it and that was fine too.

Mark pretty much makes a statement that the government should leave him alone and clear his name. Then he makes some odd threats about helping other countries destroy the US or something. And lastly, he sets off a huge nuclear explosion in the North Pole just by flying at the ground really fast. Pretty scary possibilities honestly. That has always been the greatness of this comic. The DC universe as it would have been in the real world.

Montages of other future heroes to be looked at are all mentioned. I don't know enough about the DC universe to pick them out solely on the few clues given but I can pick out Atom man! lol Maybe they are going to have Mark make his fortress of solitude. It definitely seems that way.

Now for the news that Supreme Power will be moving to the Marvel Knights imprint and stop being an R comic after this issue. Yes I understand it didn't HAVE to be an R comic but that slight edge is what made it so different. I know they want more money but it doesn't make sense to me to take every comic under the MAX label that's doing good and make it a PG-13 comic. That isn't supporting the MAX label and it is dooming it to fail in the end. How can the label survive if every hit they have gets booted to MK. This just doesn't make any sense to me when they should try to build their label up. But Joe Q. in recent talks has been sounding like he could really care less about trying to build up Icon or MAX. Why have them at all then? What a dumb thing to say. With no Powers then there wouldn't be an Icon. With no Punisher, now with SP leaving, there won't be a MAX line. You shouldn't have an entire line just for one comic. So why have them then? I just see this as bad long term business. Promote Supreme Power more if you have too. Stop thinking with your checkbook and put your money where your mouth is Joe. You SAID it's about making better books. This book is BETTER as an R comic and JMS even said it after he toed the company line first. Whatever. Marvel is two steps forward, one step back. We'll get there one day.

Rating - Good

Runaways #7
written by Brian Vaughan
pencils by Takeshi Miyazawa
cover by Chris Bachalo & Tim Townsend

It appears we'll get a new artist for every story arc. This kind of book works well with that kind of set up as the changes in artists let the book change just slightly in tone from story arc to arc. Takeshi is the new penciler and I must say that I love it. I actually like this rendition of Gert and Molly. I really think I was partly just annoyed with the way they looked or something. The tradeoff is my favorite, Nico, doesn't quite look as cool as she did under Alphona.

The opening scene is has Swarm, a Nazi scientist who turned himself into thousands of bees. Takeshi does a fantastic job of drawing each individual bee. I can only fathom at the patience it must have taken to do it but the pay off is immense as Swarm looks great. Victor gets to help out on this one and easily dispatches of the guy.

Then our little heroes do something you don't normally get to see heroes do, go shopping. No the X-girls buying expensive dresses don’t count. Our heroes are buying real supplies because they need more food, new underwear and the dreaded feminine products. Vaughan does what he does best in these little scenes as the group pairs off. We get some much needed characterization. The soft tones of Takeshi’s art make them all more lovable to begin with. Add in the playful teasing and I might be, gasp, liking these kids.

Karolina makes a move on Nico but Vaughan isn't the type to have two girls kiss just for ratings. Nico is properly confused and a little upset. But before we can really get any farther, a skrull lands in front of them and states rather calmly that he's Karolina's fiancé. Quite the shock. One can only guess where this is going but I have a feeling we might be seeing some space time.

Rating - Great

The Amazing Spider-Man #523
written by J. Michael Straczynski
pencils by Mike Deodato
cover by Terry Dodson

The showdown between Hydra's Avenger clones and Spidey. Things generally go well as Peter is able to use close quarters and his opponent's inexperience to mostly hold them of till the real Avengers show up. Then its beat down city. I can't believe I said that.

But alas, Hydra sends off the missile full of plague before Spider-Man can stop it. Why Peter would know how to override the launch sequence better than Tony Stark is anybody's guess but what the hell, this is Peter's comic after all. But the missile gets launched before Peter can stop it and so he hitches a ride on it. A great flashback for Captain America ensues as the scene is very similar to the one where Cap lost Bucky.

The actual scenes where Peter is disarming the bomb in mid flight are particularly dramatic and full of good emotion. It's classic Straczynski as we've come to know him on this book. It's reminiscent of Peter's struggle in the falling building to help himself and everyone around him. It's a self less act just as this one is.

The art team has REALLY stepped up their game. The reflections in Iron Man's armor were really good looking. The missile scenes were also very well done so that you felt the wind pushing against Spider-Man.

Rating - Great

Captain America #9
written by Ed Brubaker
pencils by Michael Lark
cover by Steve Epting & Frank D’Armata

Now that we finally have a focus for the comic things move rather quickly. Or so we are lead to believe. The whole issue is the preparation for and execution of a covert strike against Lukin’s small empire. But it was really all a waste of time as they arrive to find UN and US officials all sitting around doing an oil deal with him. So the mission is a big bust as they can’t torture Lukin in front of their bosses. They are forced to leave in a rather anti climatic fashion. All the flashbacks about Steve not wanting Agent 13 to go on the mission now seem stupid because the mission wasn’t worth that much time. Yeah it was some good fighting but it leaves us at square one.

The one thing that did actually remind me of classic Brubaker was the return of Death Head. He breaks out Red Skull’s daughter to help add a third party to the whole affair. Red Skull's troops are obviously not going to be happy about his murder and it makes sense for them to try and get back at Lukin. But Lukin is a dangerous foe now that he has a fully charged Cosmic Cube that I learned can alter reality. Good old reality altering devices always putting into question whether or not the weird things that happen really did or not. Makes sense, no?

This issue could have been better if it wasn't a buildup to nothing. And Lark seems to draw Captain America's head too big. Makes it look like a big watermelon or something. I bet next issue will see them go after Jack Monroe now that their hands are a little tied concerning Lukin himself.

Rating - Mediocre

Shining Knight #4(of 4)
written by Grant Morrison
pencils & cover by Simone Bianchi

This is the end of the story for Justin before the big finale in April. That's quite a ways from now and it really seems like they should have done the stories differently. I think it would have been better to have the story move along the whole time rather than having each mini-series lead into the finale. Oh well. It's fantastic work and that's all that matters.

Turns out Spyder isn't dead. We don't know if he was turned to the Sheeda before or after the first Seven Soldier's deaths or not. And we learn a huge secret about Justin in this issue. Particularly that our Shining Knight is really a woman! We learn of his love for Galahad and then we watch her kill him in the present. It's all great story telling but I really can't believe I have to wait six months to read what happens to Justin. *bitch and moan*

The rest of the issue is a flashback to the Don's last stand against the Sheeda. He dies well but we already knew the outcome of this fight because we saw Zatanna find his dying corpse in her own comic. And that's all that really happens here. Things don't really move much past where we found them at the beginning of this issue. But a few bombs were dropped, and great fun was had by all, right?

I think so. The art here is incredible. Bianchi is easily my favorite of the 7 soldiers artist so far. He's able to make such a subtle change in Justin's appearance to make her look feminine only after we learn the truth. Now we wait for the other three of the seven to start their stories and we finish off the other three soldiers who've already started theirs.

Rating - Great

X-Men: The End: Heroes & Martyrs #6(of 6)
written by Chris Claremont
pencils by Sean Chen
cover by Greg Land

I realized why this book isn't that good. The book just doesn't FEEL important. Yeah characters are dying but the battles they are dying in just don't feel worthy of "the End." They are battling Sinister and some aliens. Maybe if CC had played up the Brood angle a lot more then it MIGHT feel that way but I doubt it. The whole plot just seems so boring.

And how can any of us care about ANY of these deaths. For one, this is the end as it MIGHT happen. Two, we've seen these characters all die before! They just always come back. So when I watch Rogue die from a knife stab, of all things. I really could care less. CC always makes Rogue's powers feel like plot devices. Same with Rachel. So the only surprise was the easy in which she dies. I mean she got run throw with a fucking sword people in X-treme X-Men. Now se dies from a knife wound? Whatever.

Somehow this issue is better than the last two. For one, it actually advances the plot somewhat. Sinister dies and Gambit decides to take over to dupe the alien slave traders. The children are saved and Wolverine is freed. But the issue is still full of problems. Wolverine is just kind of forgotten for once. While Rachel proves yet again that she can do anything by reprogramming Technarix to save Cable and herself.

I'm just so tired of the dumb plots. Is my memory bad? Or has CC's plots always been this lame? Maybe it was just that I was twelve then or something.

Rating - Mediocre