War Journal Entry number 677 - Weekly Haul 9/2/09
MARVEL
Agents of Atlas #10 - Parker + Hardman. The war of the evil empires escalates in this great issue of a great series.
Cable #18 - Swierczynski + Gabriel Guzman. Space action and evil aliens.
Deadpool #15 - Daniel Way + Paco Medina. DP tries to find something interesting to live for, and ends up talking to the voices in his head a lot. Not much plot movement other than some teasing, but it's funny and ties into Dark Avengers #8 and the Utopia crossover.
Exiles #6 - Parker + Salva Espin. Crap, this is the series finale. Another great series choked out by the glut of other series out there. Or maybe it never recovered from the stench of Claremont's run on the previous issue. I don't know. But I highly recommend picking up the trade when it comes out as a fantastic bit of reality shuffling full of wonderful dialog and interesting characters. There was so much this series could have done if it had been given time, but Parker did a nice job of providing a satisfying resolution on short notice.
Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire #2 of 6 - Aaron + Boschi. It's a great supernatural ride. Followed up by the second half of the original Ghost Rider #1.
Immortal Weapons #2 of 5 - The Bride of Nine Spiders tale by Cullen Bunn and Dan Brereton doesn't offer an origin, but does deliver a classically creepy horror story. The continuing Iron Fist back-up by Swierczynski + Foreman is decent, but hasn't done anything that really shines yet.
Marvel Zombies Return #1 of 5 - Fred Van Lente + Nick Dragotta. This issue starring the Zombie Spider-Man marks the return of the big name Marvel Zombies not seen since the finale of the second MZ series. I usually love everything Fred Van Lente does, but the over-the-top 60s style narration was a bit much. Sure, its appropriate since the story features Zombie Spider-Man ending up in a 60s Spider-Man comic setting, but it's stomach churning when set against the copious amounts of gore.
Official Index of the Marvel Universe #9 - Covers Amazing Spider-Man #367-401, Iron Man #300-332, vol.2 #1-7, and Uncanny X-Men #338-375.
Oz: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz hardcover - Eric Shanower + Skottie Young. A nicely faithful adaptation of the original L. Frank Baum novel with wonderfully original character designs. It shows its fairly tale roots a little too strongly for my tastes in some scenes, but it's overall delightful and I'm looking forward to the next volume. That's right, they are going to adapt more of the novels.
Strange Tales #1 of 3 - This anthology is a bizarre mix of independent artist playing with Marvel mainstays. Creators include Paul Pope, Molly Crabapple, Junke Mizuno, James Kochalka, Peter Bagge, Nick Bertozzi, and the Perry Bible Fellowship. My favorite was the Dr. Strange piece by Dash Shaw that was the most surreal that the good doctor has been since Ditko drew him.
DC
Wednesday Comics #9 of 12 - Still fun.
WILDSTORM
Authority vol.5 #14 - Abnett/Lanning + Drew Johnson/Simon Coleby. I'm not overly thrilled with Drew Johnson's art on this series, it's far too bright and clean for this post-apocalyptic series. Still, the story and writing continue to be top notch.
Agents of Atlas #10 - Parker + Hardman. The war of the evil empires escalates in this great issue of a great series.
Cable #18 - Swierczynski + Gabriel Guzman. Space action and evil aliens.
Deadpool #15 - Daniel Way + Paco Medina. DP tries to find something interesting to live for, and ends up talking to the voices in his head a lot. Not much plot movement other than some teasing, but it's funny and ties into Dark Avengers #8 and the Utopia crossover.
Exiles #6 - Parker + Salva Espin. Crap, this is the series finale. Another great series choked out by the glut of other series out there. Or maybe it never recovered from the stench of Claremont's run on the previous issue. I don't know. But I highly recommend picking up the trade when it comes out as a fantastic bit of reality shuffling full of wonderful dialog and interesting characters. There was so much this series could have done if it had been given time, but Parker did a nice job of providing a satisfying resolution on short notice.
Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire #2 of 6 - Aaron + Boschi. It's a great supernatural ride. Followed up by the second half of the original Ghost Rider #1.
Immortal Weapons #2 of 5 - The Bride of Nine Spiders tale by Cullen Bunn and Dan Brereton doesn't offer an origin, but does deliver a classically creepy horror story. The continuing Iron Fist back-up by Swierczynski + Foreman is decent, but hasn't done anything that really shines yet.
Marvel Zombies Return #1 of 5 - Fred Van Lente + Nick Dragotta. This issue starring the Zombie Spider-Man marks the return of the big name Marvel Zombies not seen since the finale of the second MZ series. I usually love everything Fred Van Lente does, but the over-the-top 60s style narration was a bit much. Sure, its appropriate since the story features Zombie Spider-Man ending up in a 60s Spider-Man comic setting, but it's stomach churning when set against the copious amounts of gore.
Official Index of the Marvel Universe #9 - Covers Amazing Spider-Man #367-401, Iron Man #300-332, vol.2 #1-7, and Uncanny X-Men #338-375.
Oz: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz hardcover - Eric Shanower + Skottie Young. A nicely faithful adaptation of the original L. Frank Baum novel with wonderfully original character designs. It shows its fairly tale roots a little too strongly for my tastes in some scenes, but it's overall delightful and I'm looking forward to the next volume. That's right, they are going to adapt more of the novels.
Strange Tales #1 of 3 - This anthology is a bizarre mix of independent artist playing with Marvel mainstays. Creators include Paul Pope, Molly Crabapple, Junke Mizuno, James Kochalka, Peter Bagge, Nick Bertozzi, and the Perry Bible Fellowship. My favorite was the Dr. Strange piece by Dash Shaw that was the most surreal that the good doctor has been since Ditko drew him.
DC
Wednesday Comics #9 of 12 - Still fun.
WILDSTORM
Authority vol.5 #14 - Abnett/Lanning + Drew Johnson/Simon Coleby. I'm not overly thrilled with Drew Johnson's art on this series, it's far too bright and clean for this post-apocalyptic series. Still, the story and writing continue to be top notch.