War Journal Entry number 682 - Weekly Haul 9/30/09
MARVEL
Dark Reign: The Hood #5 of 5 - Jeff Parker + Kyle Hotz. It's another good chapter in the story of The Hood, but its ending was hurt because what happened next has already been shown in the New Avengers. Still, it's an excellent sequel to the original Hood miniseries that keeps what is unique to the character at the forefront.
Dark X-Men: The Confession one-shot - Craig Kyle/Chris Yost + Bing Cansino. Cyclops and Emma Frost have a long chat revealing the things they have or thought that they have kept hidden from the other. The Kyle/Yost writing team isn't exactly known for its depth of characterization, and this won't be winning many points. The writing is pretty melodramatic, but that sort of thing is par for the course with the X-Men. Most remarkable was the portrayal of an open relationship, something that's rarely explicitly shown or condoned in mainstream media.
Fantastic Four #571 - Jonathan Hickman + Dale Eaglesham. Still good, it has the potential to be something that explores the deepest corners of Reed Richards' character. I'll wait and see.
Halo: Helljumper #3 of 5 - Peter David + Eric Nguyen. More enjoyable than the first two since I'm finally starting to get familiar with the characters. And two of the main characters are from the Halo 3: ODST game.
Hulk #15 - Jeph Loeb + Ian Churchill. There's less and less that makes sense, but it's starting to look like Jeph might eventually explain some of it.
Immortal Weapons #3 of 5 - Rick Spears + Tim Green II. The tale of Dog Brother #1 is pretty rough, but very well done. The Iron Fist back-up by Swierczynski+Diaz is finally getting engaging, and now I'm as interested in it as I am the rest of the main stories.
Incredible Hulk #602 - Greg Pak + Ariel Olivetti. Skaar's training begins with fighting the Juggernaut. That tells you right there that fun was had. The Savage She-Hulk back-up by Fred Van Lente + Michael Ryan is decent, but not too inspired yet.
Marvel Divas #3 of 4- Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa + Tonci Zonjic. Firestar's chemotherapy begins, but that doesn't mean the plots for the others are ignored. With a cameo by the Son of Satan.
Marvel Zombies Return #4 of 5 - Seth Grahame-Smith + Richard Elson. It's World War Hulk, with zombies! The story reads way too quickly, consisting primarily of a single protracted battle. Meanwhile, the art is a little too super-heroic for zombies. Still overall enjoyable.
Marvel Zombies Return #5 of 5 - Fred Van Lente + Wellington Alves. A very satisfying close to the series with a perfectly zombie-appropriate ending. I'm impressed with Alves art here, he did a much better job with the horror, gore, and destruction than I expected from his bright & shiny work on Nova.
New Mutants #5 - Zeb Wells + Zachary Baldus. The hyped return of Warlock only constitutes a cameo, but the issue was still enjoyable. It is an epilogue to both the first arc as well as to Exodus, and does an excellent job of following up on open items from both. I'm hoping to see more art from Baldus in the future. The texture of the work, looking almost like colored pencils, is something rarely seen in comics.
Punisher Annual #1 - Rick Remender + Jason Pearson. Lots of violent fun with Frank, peppered with some swingin' helpings of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Thor #603 - J. Michael Straczynski + Marko Djurdjevic. Thor and Sif get some quality time, the Warriors Three get a job, and the evil machinations of Dr. Doom and Loki get revealed to... Bill.
Uncanny X-Men #515 - Matt Fraction + Greg Land. The fallout from the mutant Exodus lands squarely in Cyclops' lap with a heavy thud. It's fun to watch.
Wolverine: First Class #19 - Peter David + Dennis Calero. Another fun issue, this time featuring those dastardly Skrulls. Making Kitty the focus of this Wolverine series was a brilliant choice to keep it different from all the other comics under the Wolvie banner.
Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1 - Mark Millar + Steve McNiven. The much-anticipated (by people other than me) conclusion to the "Old Man Logan" storyline is beautiful to behold but lacks any narrative substance. But if you've been paying attention, then you know I wasn't really expecting much from the story. Hell, it's hard to actually refer to this issue as a story and not just a series of grisly images.
Wolverine: Origins #40 - Daniel Way + Scot Eaton. Wolverine and Romulus, round one, turns out to be just what I expected, considering the history of this series - another chance to show that Wolverine is an idiotic tool (pun intended). Does this writer even like him?
Wolverine: Weapon X #5 - Jason Aaron + Ron Garney. An overall satisfying conclusion to the first arc. Color me surprised.
X-Factor #49 - Peter David + Valentine De Landro. The various plots continued forward, inexorably drawing together. It's great to watch, and even more fun to read.
X-Force #19 - Craig Kyle/Chris Yost + Mike Choi. I'm still mostly enjoying it, though many elements have me asking "Really?" a lot. But I can't really describe it. I guess it should be a good sign that there is so much going on I can't condense it into a brief review, I've been getting more and more annoyed with the decompression seen in other comics that make individual issues completely unsatisfying.
BOOM
Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #3 of 4 - Roger Langridge. Not the best issue of the series, but still highly enjoyable.
BROADSWORD COMICS
Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #58 - Jim Balent. The "Shades of Magick" story finally gets interesting with its final chapter as Tarot confronts Raven in the Library of Magick, and Raven's goals are revealed.
DARK HORSE COMICS
Aliens #3 of 4 - John Arcudi + Zach Howard. The mysteries continue, and our protagonist starts to realize that he may not be able to trust himself either.
DC
Batman: The Widening Gyre #2 of 6 - Kevin Smith + Walter Flanagan. Another good comic, but the inclusion of a love interest feels forced. Then again, it does in any Batman story with a love interest.
Blackest Night: Superman #2 of 3 - James Robinson + Eddy Barrows. The history of the Superman family of characters is coming back to haunt them. Porbably thrilling to a Superman fan, but only OK to me.
Gotham City Sirens #4 - Paul Dini + Guillem March. Another enjoyable issue, that immediately made me want to watch some Joker & Harley episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. I could hear the characters' voices in my head. In my head!
Green Lantern #46 - Geoff Johns + Doug Mahnke. The long-awaited battle between Sinestro and Mongul for control of the Sinestro Corps is only one of the events featured in this issue.
Power Girl #5 - Jimmy Palmiotti/Justin Gray + Amanda Conner. Another fun issue. (Is it that I have less to say on DC comics, or am I just getting tired of writing? I don't know.)
Wednesday Comics #12 of 12 - Most of the stories here are follow-ups to climaxes that took place in the previous issue, but it was still well worth the read. I wouldn't want this to be an on-going thing, but if they did another limited series like this I would pick it up.
IDW PRESS
G.I.Joe #9 - Chuck Dixon + S. L. Gallant. Snake Eyes and Mainframe check into COBRA central, while the rest of the Joes are still ineffectually chasing their own tails.
Dark Reign: The Hood #5 of 5 - Jeff Parker + Kyle Hotz. It's another good chapter in the story of The Hood, but its ending was hurt because what happened next has already been shown in the New Avengers. Still, it's an excellent sequel to the original Hood miniseries that keeps what is unique to the character at the forefront.
Dark X-Men: The Confession one-shot - Craig Kyle/Chris Yost + Bing Cansino. Cyclops and Emma Frost have a long chat revealing the things they have or thought that they have kept hidden from the other. The Kyle/Yost writing team isn't exactly known for its depth of characterization, and this won't be winning many points. The writing is pretty melodramatic, but that sort of thing is par for the course with the X-Men. Most remarkable was the portrayal of an open relationship, something that's rarely explicitly shown or condoned in mainstream media.
Fantastic Four #571 - Jonathan Hickman + Dale Eaglesham. Still good, it has the potential to be something that explores the deepest corners of Reed Richards' character. I'll wait and see.
Halo: Helljumper #3 of 5 - Peter David + Eric Nguyen. More enjoyable than the first two since I'm finally starting to get familiar with the characters. And two of the main characters are from the Halo 3: ODST game.
Hulk #15 - Jeph Loeb + Ian Churchill. There's less and less that makes sense, but it's starting to look like Jeph might eventually explain some of it.
Immortal Weapons #3 of 5 - Rick Spears + Tim Green II. The tale of Dog Brother #1 is pretty rough, but very well done. The Iron Fist back-up by Swierczynski+Diaz is finally getting engaging, and now I'm as interested in it as I am the rest of the main stories.
Incredible Hulk #602 - Greg Pak + Ariel Olivetti. Skaar's training begins with fighting the Juggernaut. That tells you right there that fun was had. The Savage She-Hulk back-up by Fred Van Lente + Michael Ryan is decent, but not too inspired yet.
Marvel Divas #3 of 4- Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa + Tonci Zonjic. Firestar's chemotherapy begins, but that doesn't mean the plots for the others are ignored. With a cameo by the Son of Satan.
Marvel Zombies Return #4 of 5 - Seth Grahame-Smith + Richard Elson. It's World War Hulk, with zombies! The story reads way too quickly, consisting primarily of a single protracted battle. Meanwhile, the art is a little too super-heroic for zombies. Still overall enjoyable.
Marvel Zombies Return #5 of 5 - Fred Van Lente + Wellington Alves. A very satisfying close to the series with a perfectly zombie-appropriate ending. I'm impressed with Alves art here, he did a much better job with the horror, gore, and destruction than I expected from his bright & shiny work on Nova.
New Mutants #5 - Zeb Wells + Zachary Baldus. The hyped return of Warlock only constitutes a cameo, but the issue was still enjoyable. It is an epilogue to both the first arc as well as to Exodus, and does an excellent job of following up on open items from both. I'm hoping to see more art from Baldus in the future. The texture of the work, looking almost like colored pencils, is something rarely seen in comics.
Punisher Annual #1 - Rick Remender + Jason Pearson. Lots of violent fun with Frank, peppered with some swingin' helpings of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Thor #603 - J. Michael Straczynski + Marko Djurdjevic. Thor and Sif get some quality time, the Warriors Three get a job, and the evil machinations of Dr. Doom and Loki get revealed to... Bill.
Uncanny X-Men #515 - Matt Fraction + Greg Land. The fallout from the mutant Exodus lands squarely in Cyclops' lap with a heavy thud. It's fun to watch.
Wolverine: First Class #19 - Peter David + Dennis Calero. Another fun issue, this time featuring those dastardly Skrulls. Making Kitty the focus of this Wolverine series was a brilliant choice to keep it different from all the other comics under the Wolvie banner.
Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1 - Mark Millar + Steve McNiven. The much-anticipated (by people other than me) conclusion to the "Old Man Logan" storyline is beautiful to behold but lacks any narrative substance. But if you've been paying attention, then you know I wasn't really expecting much from the story. Hell, it's hard to actually refer to this issue as a story and not just a series of grisly images.
Wolverine: Origins #40 - Daniel Way + Scot Eaton. Wolverine and Romulus, round one, turns out to be just what I expected, considering the history of this series - another chance to show that Wolverine is an idiotic tool (pun intended). Does this writer even like him?
Wolverine: Weapon X #5 - Jason Aaron + Ron Garney. An overall satisfying conclusion to the first arc. Color me surprised.
X-Factor #49 - Peter David + Valentine De Landro. The various plots continued forward, inexorably drawing together. It's great to watch, and even more fun to read.
X-Force #19 - Craig Kyle/Chris Yost + Mike Choi. I'm still mostly enjoying it, though many elements have me asking "Really?" a lot. But I can't really describe it. I guess it should be a good sign that there is so much going on I can't condense it into a brief review, I've been getting more and more annoyed with the decompression seen in other comics that make individual issues completely unsatisfying.
BOOM
Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #3 of 4 - Roger Langridge. Not the best issue of the series, but still highly enjoyable.
BROADSWORD COMICS
Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #58 - Jim Balent. The "Shades of Magick" story finally gets interesting with its final chapter as Tarot confronts Raven in the Library of Magick, and Raven's goals are revealed.
DARK HORSE COMICS
Aliens #3 of 4 - John Arcudi + Zach Howard. The mysteries continue, and our protagonist starts to realize that he may not be able to trust himself either.
DC
Batman: The Widening Gyre #2 of 6 - Kevin Smith + Walter Flanagan. Another good comic, but the inclusion of a love interest feels forced. Then again, it does in any Batman story with a love interest.
Blackest Night: Superman #2 of 3 - James Robinson + Eddy Barrows. The history of the Superman family of characters is coming back to haunt them. Porbably thrilling to a Superman fan, but only OK to me.
Gotham City Sirens #4 - Paul Dini + Guillem March. Another enjoyable issue, that immediately made me want to watch some Joker & Harley episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. I could hear the characters' voices in my head. In my head!
Green Lantern #46 - Geoff Johns + Doug Mahnke. The long-awaited battle between Sinestro and Mongul for control of the Sinestro Corps is only one of the events featured in this issue.
Power Girl #5 - Jimmy Palmiotti/Justin Gray + Amanda Conner. Another fun issue. (Is it that I have less to say on DC comics, or am I just getting tired of writing? I don't know.)
Wednesday Comics #12 of 12 - Most of the stories here are follow-ups to climaxes that took place in the previous issue, but it was still well worth the read. I wouldn't want this to be an on-going thing, but if they did another limited series like this I would pick it up.
IDW PRESS
G.I.Joe #9 - Chuck Dixon + S. L. Gallant. Snake Eyes and Mainframe check into COBRA central, while the rest of the Joes are still ineffectually chasing their own tails.