New Reviews, Finally

Captain America Reborn #1 of 5:

Obviously the most anticipated comic of the week, and in part because of that it is hard to say that this comic didn't disappoint.

There is nothing particularly bad about Brubaker's writing in this issue, far from his best but nothing glaringly bad to criticize. The same can be said for Hitch who does a fine job, but none of the panels or splash pages really blew me away like I was expecting them to. Again, back to the point of the expectations and hype surrounding this issue.

The hype factor played another role in my enjoyment of this issue. Naturally with the Monday release and news coverage of this mini-series Marvel wants to sell a lot of these issues to people who have not been reading Captain America. I mean, when you think about it why couldn't this just have been Captain America #601? Well because what sells better #601 or #1. What all this lead to was this story containing a lot of panels where people sit around and get caught up on what has been happened. As someone who has been reading Captain America since about issue #22 this was kind of a chore to get through even though it didn't feel forced in there.

Aside from sitting and talking we do get some action from Bucky and Black Widow which will always be okay with me. Importantly, it added much needed suspense to the issue. Some people might complain about some Dark Reign-centric villains showing up, but again I felt this was a natural inclusion based on what was happening in the story.

Aside from not meeting the hype my other main knock against the story is something I won't spoil for you. Needless to say I was less than pleased with the plot device Brubaker uses to introduce the idea of Steve Rogers returning. Having said that, I still have confidence that this will end up being a great story, but it could have gotten off to a better start.

Green Lantern Corps #38:

Man do I wish I had jumped on board with this title sooner. Well Green Lantern seems to be stuck in the mud in the run up to Blackest Night, Green Lantern Corps has been on cruise control.

One of my favorite things about the book is how well Tomasi balances a number of different plot threads, always seeming to know exactly when to switch gears. So, while I still enjoyed the hell out of this issue that knack for balancing the stories was somewhat lacking here. For my tastes Tomasi spends too much time on Oa in this issue; Soranik receives two relatively text heavy pages but what really bothered me was the Daxam situation showing up for only a two page splash. Not that the scenes on Oa were bad, but I think some fat could have been trimmed from them which makes the reduced coverage of the other situations that much more annoying.

No complaints at all when it comes to art though. Gleason as well as the inkers and colorists have a greated a look which fits this story perfectly. In a word, fun.

The Invincible Iron Man #15:

A lot of people like to complain about how Dark Reign forces changes to be made in their favorite books which hurt the overall stories being told. In fact sometimes I am one of those people, but one book that has vastly improved since and partly because of Dark Reign is Invincible Iron Man. Norman Osborn taking control of the Marvel Universe has given Matt Fraction the chance to craft an excitingly original Iron Man story with a villain on par with the brilliant Mr. Tony Stark.

Before getting into anything else however I need to take a second to mention how the art in this book has improved. In earlier issues I would sometimes cringe looking at the faces of characters who looked like a shiny photo-referenced train wreck. Thankfully things have improved greatly, just take a look at the first page of the issue and then compare it to an issue from six or eight months ago. Now I no longer need to hope that Tony is in costume the entire issue to have any hope of enjoying the art.

Storywise Fraction starts exactly where he left us off last issue with Tony and Pepper staring each other down. From their later interactions we get the best glimpse yet into what kind of impact Tony's mind erasing mission is having on him, and these scenes are wonderful. We also catch up with Maria who has finally found Black Widow, and who could complain about watching these two chase each other around. After only seeing Maria for about one page last issue it is nice to have her plot thread once again take up a good chunk of the issue.

Lastly, and this is something this book has done better than any other in recent months, Fraction leaves you begging to be able to read the next issue immediately. It says a lot that I almost enjoyed this more than a Morrison/Quitely comic that also was released this week.

Batman and Robin #2:

Morrison and Quitely. Do I really need to say anything else? If you aren't reading this comic then what the fuck are you doing.

After only two issues this is already the best book on the stands by far.

Quitely's art is fantasic and his panel layout during one of the fight scenes made me just shake my head due to its sheer awesomeness. The only bad thing is that after one more issue someone else is taking over art duties. I'd deal with this book being bi-monthly if it meant having him on every issue, but for obvious reasons DC needs this book out every month.

Morrison holds up his end of the deal here too. I think the fact that so many people hate Damian is simply a testament to how well Grant is writing him. What is even better than his handling of Damian is his writing of the interactions between him and Dick. Aside from the art it is this that really helps give the book a feeling of freshness.

Uncanny X-Men #513 Chapter Two of X-Men/Dark Avengers Crossover:

Quick hit here. Real solid issue that moves all the important pieces on the board in a nice manner. Hopefully next issue is more than just a slug-fest.