If you judged this book by its cover, you'd be absolutely right: it kicks ass.

For the last few months, Marvel has released a series of one shots, collectively called “The List,” in which Norman Osborn enacts devious plots against various heroes in the Marvel Universe. Each issue has been a self-contained story, and for the most part, they have all been rather enjoyable. This week saw the release of the best one to date, which stars Wolverine.

As novel an idea as it may be for Wolverine to star in a comic </sarcasm>, I was more intrigued by the guest stars of this issue: Noh-Varr and Fantomex. Both characters were created by Grant Morrison, and have either been mishandled or ignored completely since Morrison left for DC a few years ago. It’s good to see writer Jason Aaron take these characters (as well as other concepts from Morrison’s X-Men run) and use them to craft one of the most fun comics I’ve read in a long time. This comic has tons of action and is funny as hell. All of the characters get some great lines, particularly Osborn.

Not only does this comic contain a great story, but like a good DVD, it has plenty of bonus features, including Marvel Universe entries for Fantomex and Marvel Boy, and a short Wolverine story written by Aaron earlier in his career.

Highly recommended. You get a lot of bang for your 4 bucks here.

More info about the comics reviewed after the break.

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The World's Second Finest Duo...

What has come before: Connor Kent (aka Kon-El aka Superboy) has recently returned from the dead. Shortly before his death, he was cloned from both Superman and Lex Luthor. He is now trying to figure out his place in the world, and which of his “fathers” paths to follow…

This comic worked for me on a couple of levels. On the one hand, it was a self-contained story that had some really nice character development between Connor and Tim Drake (formerly Robin, now Red Robin). It was a little light on action, but had genuinely touching moments and an intriguing cliffhanger.

On the other hand, the events in this series are tightly woven into current events in DC Continuity (this title is one of many written by the prolific Geoff Johns). As Superboy reacquaints himself with the world, it also allows the reader to discover what’s going on in the DCU.

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More info on what’s reviewed after the jump!
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This review is a bit terse, because I am wildly distracted right now, but I was completely struck by the beauty and simplicity of Astounding Wolf-Man #19. Comics can and ultimately should take a lesson from it.

ARISE!!!!

This is the most fun and most pure example of pulp fiction reworked for the 21st century. Jason Howard‘s art and FCO/Ivan Plascencia‘s colors go above and beyond the call of comic book duty, laying down a summer blockbuster feel in the span of 22 pages. Senseless doodles all, of course, if not for the love poured into the book by writer Robert Kirkman.

Kirkman is, as you may be aware, is closing shop on Astounding Wolf-Man with issue 25. It makes sense, he’s got a lot on his plate these days, and while AWM was a good idea, it may not be a Great Idea like Walking Dead or Invincible.

AWM 19 shows us what the series could have been, in a very distilled form. It also shows us how far Kirkman has come as a writer. If you look back even as far as his run on Ultimate X-Men, you’ll find interesting ideas and conflicts being executed by unfortunately similar voices.

Not so here. Even in this (to quote the author) “action packed extravaganza”, extraordinary events elicit unique emotional responses both courageous and cowardly from every player. This is wrapped snugly in the veneer of spontaneous and very believable interaction. The resolution is logical, very clever, and completely in character for the billionaire engineer. The storytelling is not telegraphed or over explained. Kirkman lets Howard do his work.

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More info about the comics covered this week after the break.

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Die Hard: Year One #1 cover

People always ask me, “Mike, why do you read those crappy indie comics?” or “There’s a comic book based off of that TV Show/Movie?” and every time, I give those people the middle finger. Mind you, I do realize these are my friends I’m flipping off but nevertheless, this comic is one of those ‘crappy indie comics’ that I read: Die Hard: Year One. But to my surprise, this comic is anything but crap; it’s fantastic.

With writer Howard Chaykin and artist Stephen Thompson, this comic surprised me at how well put together it was. I mean, when someone thinks of a prequel to a movie in a comic book form, all hope becomes lost for it because, in all seriousness, how many good comic books have been released that were in relation to a hit blockbuster series (here in the US that is)? I can’t say I know of any.

And here we have Die Hard: Year One #1. Let me explain why this comic was so great after the break. (pseudo-spoilers abound)

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