New Avengers #50 Cover

Man, another incredibly slow week. Lots of comics are coming out, so make sure you actually look to see if your favorite is on the docket this week. However, not much in the way of new or groundbreaking issues to talk about. Still, I’ve got 3 to tell you about, so yeah, you should still stick around and read.

New Avengers #50

The biggest issue of the week will undoubtedly be New Avengers #50. You know when a milestone issue like this is hit, there’s going to be a pretty big deal made of it. Brian Michael Bendis is no different, of course, throwing the New Avengers right up against the Dark Avengers. This is a special over-sized issue (with a special, over-sized price of $4.99), so there will probably be some fun extras thrown in, and maybe extra story too!

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Well everyone, since I’ve been lacking so much in my review count (seriously, what is my problem?), let me give you the insight into a gigantic 8 comics this week. That’s right. 8 comics!

Mind you, this week was pretty big–I myself read at least 18 comics–and here are a few I think you all may find a bit interesting:

• Squadron Supereme 2 #8
• Amazing Spider-Man #587
• Four Eyes #2
• Firebreather #4
• Invincible #59
• Uncanny X-Men #506
• Shrapnel #2
• X-Men: Legacy #221

Who’s excited? I’m excited. Are you excited? You better be.

**some spoilers after the break**

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New Avengers #50 Cover

I’ve been contemplating the difference between a great and a good comic lately. You’ll probably notice that we tend to write pretty positive reviews on this site. For me, this is because I really only read comics that I like. I stopped reading The Eternals after 1 issue cause it sucked. Despite being a Marvel book and in continuity, I just couldn’t put myself through it. It’s not worth my time when there are plenty of other comics that are.

That said, however, I do read quite a few comics that are just “ok”. These are the comics that are interesting and enjoyable in their own right, but sometimes just seem like a chore to read. These are the comics that automatically go to the bottom of your weekly read pile. These are the comics that, when you look at the release list for the week, you don’t feel even a little tingle of excitement for. And that, my friends, is the topic of this editorial.

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So I have been struggling to think of a good introduction to this review and I’ve failed. I really don’t know how to start this because I have such mixed feelings about this comic. On one hand it pushed the story forward, introduced some interesting new characters, and upped the sense of dread that has been building since issue #1. On the other hand it seems like the Wild Hunt is over, gives undeserved precedence to a woman that we have only seen once before (as a baby in Hellboy: The Corpse), and steals six more pages for the conclusion of the Koschei mini.

Review is a GO!

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Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead #1 Cover

Here we are again, solicitation time. Oh yes, those friendly comic book publishers have teased us once again with the issues that we are going to be drooling over in May. So stick around and see what I’ve picked out to spotlight for May, 2009.

Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead #1

Hard to believe that the comics based on Stephen King‘s Dark Tower series are already in their 4 arc. It seems like just yesterday we were following Roland and his Ka’tet on their first adventure. The newest arc kicks off in May and you Tower fans are going to want to make sure that you have this series on your pull list.

Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1

Not sure why, but this title really intrigues me. I mean, it’s not jut Avengers, but Pet Avengers! Just sticking Lockjaw and Lockheed in the comic sells it to me. Then you create a character called Frog-Thor and you’ve hooked me. Sure, it’s probably going to be silly, and not really have anything to do with anything, but sometimes, you just need a goofy, fun comic.

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Ultimate Fantastic Four #60

An undeniably slow week in the comic world this week. While many of you will be picking up plenty of issues of your favorite series which are in the middle of the arc, there’s very little new stuff starting up. So, you may be buying a lot, but there’s not much new or exciting stuff to point out. Nevertheless, I’ve complied 4 books (all Marvel, sorry) that you might want to take a look at when you visit the shop this week.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #60

So, it’s the last issue. Pretty much the only thing that makes this worth noting. Truthfully, the series has gone down hill lately and Ultimatum hasn’t really done much to make it better. But, still, being that it is the final issue, it is worth noting here.

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It's all fun and games until someone ends up in the Phantom Zone...

What Happened? The bottled Kryptonian city of Kandor was Re-Bigulated. The Kryptonians felt unwelcome on Earth, so they made their OWN planet! With Blackjack! And Hookers!!! And they welcomed General Zod back into the fold. Needless to say, Superman isn’t taking any of this very well…

I think it was Alan Moore that complained about comics that read like grocery lists, but sometimes they are a necessary evil. Geoff Johns and James Robinson have seriously upset the status quo in the Super-titles over the past year. This issue does a good job of bringing new readers up to speed while whetting the appetites of the longtime readers for what’s to come.  James Robinson is quite skilled at this technique, as he used to include “checklist issues” like this during his run on Starman between extended story arcs.  Is it filler? Perhaps. Is it still an entertaining comic? Yes.

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Fables #81 is the end of ‘The Dark Ages’, which isn’t so much an arc as it is a large prologue of things to come. As such, the main plot has to do with that. The most memorable part of the issue, however, is the last appearance of one of the heroes of the previous arc, Boy Blue. His departure is touching and sad, and his interactions with Rose Red are poignant in their honesty. Bill Willingham‘s writing is subdued, even reverent, and the art team of Buckingham, Pepoy, and Loughridge do their level best.

After reading through this issue, take some time with the final page and listen to the crack of the bat. Fables only use wooden bats.

Batman #686 Cover

Fittingly enough, DC has decided to call the latest 2 issue arc in Batman and Detective Comics “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”, a question that has been on many fans minds for the past few weeks, after the end of Batman R.I.P. and issue 6 in Final Crisis. Well, while it is unlikely that these issues will provide the answers to the questions that are on all our minds, it is still a worthy book to take a look at.

Why’s that, you might ask? Well, that’s because Neil Gaiman is writing it! Not even joking, I picked up this issue simply because he was writing it. Yeah, I’ve been following the ongoing Batman storyline and such, but even without that, I still would have bought this issue. With all that said, however, I was greeted (unsurprisingly) with an extremely well done comic that exceeded even my lofty expectations. I’ll tell you more if you just continue reading below.

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Ultimate Spider-Man #22 cover

So its been along time for me guys. I have a lot of things to do, but thanks to Mike (again) I have reopened the door into the comic book world. I haven’t posted for about 6 months but since I am reading a bit of Spider-Man again I might as well try to continue where I left off.

Before my hiatus from the comic book work I did three reviews of the progressing arcs of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, so I guess I’ll restart myself where I left. This arc of the series is called “Legacy.” The name of the arc will explain itself if you read it, but you can probably guess the reason behind it if you think of the only psychotic person with a son.

Catch the rest after the break (minor spoilers abound)

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