Do You Believe In Magic?

I admittedly know nothing about Magic cards. I have a general idea about how they work, but I really don't know the inner workings of the game itself. So I apologize for any inaccuracies in regards to any verbiage used.

Though, if Magic: The Gathering used some of my favorite online starlets, I'd be more inclined to check it out.

-Gint

Gint's 10-26-11 Pull-List Review

A big week of 8 books. Lets get right to it.

In Eigth Place:

Teen Titans #2

Scott Lobdell needs classes in naming superheroes. Granted, most of the good names are already taken, but with names like Skitter and Bunker, are you even trying, Scott Lobdell? Not to mention the words "inertrite" and "insectivoid."

This book is kind of cheesy. I don't know if this is what passed as good in the 90s, but it doesn't pass my judgement now. The characters are flat and unlikeable. Except Tim. Coming from a really sharp book like Fabian Niceiza's Red Robin to this incarnation of the Teen Titans is just a disappointment.

Brett Booth's art is all over the board. Some panels are actually pretty sharp. Some are just littered with bad anatomy.

I loved Geoff Johns' run on Teen Titans. I was hoping to get something comparable when DC rebooted the entire universe. Two issues in and this isn't it.

In Seventh Place:

Superman #2

As far as I know, George Perez hasn't written any novels. Well he's working on one now. To the best of my knowledge, these first two issues of Superman are the wordiest two comics I've ever read. #2 was leaps and bounds better than #1, but it still left a lot to be desired.

Grant Morrison's Action Comics has introduced us to a brand new Superman. He doesn't just look different, he sounds different. Morrison writes Superman in a brand new light. Perez writes Superman as the same guy we've been reading for the last 20 years. This book doesn't feel like a brand new universe.

On top of this, Perez feels the need to write words for everything going on. Example: if the panel shows Superman reaching for a pencil, he'll undoubtedly have some word balloon or caption saying, "I will now pick up this pencil." It makes the issue drag.

Other than that we had a pretty nice art showing from Jesus Merino. He crams a whole lot of stuff into each page but its much better managed than issue #1.

The story is still pretty uninspired. The Clark/Lois scenes have potential, but over all this is nothing more than every other so-so comic that's been produced since the dawn of comic-time.

In Sixth Place:

Green Lantern: New Guardians #2

This was a good comic. The story wins out after having to fight its way through fill-in artist Harvey Tolibao.

If you've been following my reviews, you'll know I'm not a huge fan of Tyler Kirkham's work. But after a handful of pages from Tolibao, I couldn't wait to get Kirkham back. Kirkham has a particular style. You know what his lines are going to do and he's in control of them. Tolibao seems to still be learning the craft. Some muddy shading here, a bad angle there... his work is littered with inexperience. It sparks the age-old debate: would you rather a book be late with the original artist, or would you like a book on time with a fill-in?

Tony Bedard's story picks up some steam and he does a great job writing the interactions between each different Corps' member. The little twist of Arkillo's ring speaking for him (since he had his tongue ripped out) is a nice touch. The brief talk between Saint Walker and Kyle about what Ganthet means to each of them adds a nice dimension to their relationship.

Bedard's story really pulled this issue through some shaky art. Here's hoping Bedard's hitting a nice stride early with this book.

In Fifth Place:

The Fury of Firestorm #2

Apparently I got a bad issue. The black on most of the pages isn't solid black, but a washed out grey. I believe this was a printing issue, not an art issue. Fortunately it wasn't so bad it ruined the book.

Issue #1 was jam packed with a lot of information. Almost too much. #2 pulls back a little bit and we get to see Ronnie and Jason beginning to come to grips with their situation. They learn a little bit about their powers and what they turn into together.

Aside from the bad printing, the art is solid if not spectacular. I feel like I say that a lot in this space, but its damn appropriate. I don't know if there really is a lack of superstar artists, or its just that hard to draw a really good looking monthly book.

What bothers me is the new female character Tonya Lu. Clearly an Asian-American love interest for Jason... or Ronnie? So since this girl so closely resembles Jason's former love interest Gehenna, why not just make her Gehenna? Unless Gehenna's untimely "being turned to salt" by Deathstorm is still in continuity?

Anyhow, Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone are writing a solid book leaving just enough suspense to keep you coming back for more.

In Fourth Place:

Annihilators #2

I loved Star Lord, Nova and the original Guardians of the Galaxy. They had personality and relateability (is that a word?). Then Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning "killed" Star Lord and Nova and introduced us to the Annihilators. Though the Annihilators have enough power to handle any threat to the galaxy, they were lacking in personality. This issue Abnett and Lanning change that.

In the midst of a battle (misunderstanding) with the Avengers, the Annihilators, who have been pretty stiff, loosen up and show a side that I've been waiting to see. It took one 4-issue miniseries and 2 issues for me to finally get into this team. Now that I've found my hook, I'm hoping Abnett and Lanning can keep it up.

Tan Eng Huat continues to be a bad artist, but oddly enough, I feel like it adds a certain charm to his work.

In Third Place:

The Flash #2

It only took two issues for any doubt about the writing talents of two artists to be erased. The Flash is one of the stronger books coming out of the relaunch. And its not just the surprise good writing, the art is fantastic too.

Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul really do a great job making Barry Allen's life interesting. Though we're only two issues in, they've managed to make Barry and his recurring cast feel like we've known them forever. But I don't want that to be construed to mean they're writing the same Barry that's always been written like George Perez is doing with Superman. Barry and his cast are fresh and exciting.

Manapul and Buccellato are also doing different things with the art. They're using clever tweaks to color, page layout and even typography to make the art say just as much as the text (no offense to letterer Sal Cipriano).

While I'm loving this book, we are only two issues in. So maybe I should temper my excitement until Manapul and Buccellato have a good run and really prove themselves.

In Second Place:

I, Vampire #2

This is a brutal book. The maiming and killing illustrated this this book doesn't hold back. Andrea Sorrentino isn't afraid to draw the full on carnage that a vampire on vampire war would wreak. I've seen every episode of True Blood, and while True Blood has shown some gruesome things, the genuine horror drawn in this issue is inspiring.

The story falls of a little bit from issue #1 in that its mostly a monologue "overdubbed" on the fight between Andrew and about 50 other vampires. The pace is a little slow and two issues in I think we're still on the same day. I'm looking forward to Joshua Fialkov moving the timeline along a little bit.

But once again I, Vampire is a beautiful book that is really unlike anything else that's out there.

In First Place:

Aquaman #2

Unlike I, Vampire, Geoff Johns advances the story a lot further than I expected. The Trench have landed on well, land, and apparently take Aquaman back down with them. Or so the cliffhanger eludes.

The most interesting part of this book, other than the once again stellar artwork by Ivan Reis and Co., is a brief look at Aquaman's childhood while he and Mera are looking through old photo albums. Geoff Johns is great at finding the seemingly mundane and forgotten parts of a characters' past and making them interesting and relevant. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Aquaman's childhood as we usually get "he was washed up on shore and then he was Aquman."

This is a damn fine superhero story so far. If the creative team can keep it going, it could do for Arthur Curry what Rebirth did for Hal Jordan.

Panel of the Week:

Is there something wrong with me that I find this incredibly sexy?

-Gint

Halloween '11

 

Hawaii 5-0 is a damn fine show. It's great because it doesn't try to be anything that it's not. It knows it's a modern action-drama with a lot of flash and is unapologetic about it.

I am unapologetic about putting $oss funny costumes.

-Gint

$oss' Pull-List Review 10-26-11

Catwoman #2
Last months issue lit the internet on fire "How dare they show Batman and Catwoman having sex!" Calm down people, it wasn't anymore graphic then usual comic fare. While I didn't think last months issue was the most sexist, exploitative comic in the history of DC, I did think it was kind of crappy. I'm glad I decided to pickup (well, downloaded, same thing) this months offering. It was a very exciting book with a lot of playful dialogue between The Dark Knight and The Cat. I loved that Selina went to Bruce's fundraiser, daring him to walk over and talk to her. And of course, because he can't help himself, Bruce does his best drunk playboy impression to get next to her. This scene had a very real "forbidden love" vibe to it.

Illustrator Guillem March was much better this time around. Catwoman#1 read like a issue of Playboy, this month felt like a story. The digital painting was toned down in favor for a more standard ink and markers look. A wise artistic choice.

X-Men: Regenesis #1
This one shot is a behind the scenes look at how the two new X-Teams were assembled. Cyclops and Wolverine state their case to each team member giving them a difficult choice. Do they stay in San Francisco with Scott or return to upstate New York and rebuild the ruins of Xavier's school with Logan? 

Kieron Gillen has had a strong year. He has penned some of my favorite X-Men tales in 2011. Gillen has a great grasp on what makes this cast of characters work. I'm very pleased that he will be on the new renumbered Uncanny X-Men. 

If you plan on following either the new Uncanny or Wolverine & The X-Men it's a good idea to pick this book up so you can get in on the ground floor of the new status quo.

Batman #2
Scott Snyder has the essence of Gotham City down pat. His narration as Bruce gives the reader a great look into Batman's motives as well as a history lesson into the crazy city which he protects. Batman is up against a foe or foes known as The Court of Owls, a group that he insists does not exist. They are a legend from the cities dark past. Bruce has a great line after a failed assassination attempt "He tried to use Gotham's legends against me. But I'm the only legend this city needs." 

This issue also has a fun exchange between Batman and Nightwing. While Dick is a serious crime fighter he is written dramatically more loose then All Business Bruce. It's fun to see Snyder play them off each other.-$

No Panel of the Week. Even after I took a second look thru these books nothing jumped out. I wouldn't want to post for postings sake.

The Wild Wild West

DC's New 52 lineup is bursting with intriguing titles. From new interpretations of classics like Superman and Wonder Woman to reintroductions of lesser known heroes like Swamp Thing and Animal Man there is a lot to be excited about over at the Distinguished Competition.

All-Star Western however doesn't fall into the category of must read book for me. But there was one member of the Mc$oss crew that was eagerly awaiting it's release.-$

Gint's 10-19-11 Pull-List Review

The Pull-List this week includes four books, all of which I expect to be good. Can't say that every week now can I?

In Fourth Place by a hair:

Supergirl #2

The first thing I notice on issue #2 is the art isn't as good as issue #1. #1 came out of the park with pencils, inks and colors flying. The art this issue felt rushed. Especially the inks which show up fairly heavy and ham-fisted at times. And perhaps its the story that doesn't allow Dave McCaig to really shine with the color palette which is pretty straight forward.

The story though is a direct follow-up to issue #1. Naturally. But there wasn't a natural break. You could read #1 and #2 back to back and feel like you're just reading an oversized issue.

Michael Green and Mike Johnson continue to successfully write Kara's confusion and do a great job keeping he bordering on panic. Its very subtle, but there. Mahmud Asrar's pencils do a good job helping Kara act out this role as well.

This is a book that might have lost a few readers with its initial solicitations of Kara not being as warm toward humans as Superman is. So far, there's none of that seemingly forced negativity and this has been a nice surprise of the New 52.

In Third Place by a hair:

Wonder Woman #2

Brian Azzarello keeps the ball rolling, but this time he does it with the word "cock" and innuendo about penises smelling poorly to the Amazons. Now, these references fit in the story, but it was surprising to see it in a mainstream Wonder Woman book. And unfortunately, it pulled me right out of the story.

Diana takes Zola and Hermes back to Paradise Island where they hideout until Strife comes to wreck the party. This issue is basically a lot of backstory about who all of our characters are and where they came from. It wasn't boring, but it was a lesson in backstory I already knew.

Cliff Chiang brings the art again. My man can draw figures and forms. And he knows when to add detail and when to back off. The variations of color by Matthew Wilson is the work I was hoping to get from Supergirl this week. The art really saved this book from being ho-hum.

With some backstory out of the way, I fully expect Azzarello to fire up the good comic machine for the rest of the arc.

A solid Second Place:

Green Lantern Corps #2

Peter Tomasi has shown on his previous run of Green Lantern Corps that he's able to juggle an ensemble cast. After reading this issue, I think he needs to readdress just how to do that successfully.

There's a whole lot going on in this issue. There are about seven Lanterns trying to stop a black whole from sucking in a race of people while fighting off some space ninjas that seem to work off of the willpower the Lanterns are giving off. There's a lot of moving parts in this issue that Tomasi and artist Fernando Pasarin lose control of a couple times.

Perhaps the jumping back and forth between characters and scenes is intentional to bring the chaos of the situation to the reader. But the intended chaos could have been done in a much neater way.

Despite the busy nature of this book, Fernando Pasarin and inker Scott Hanna continue to draw every panel with care and nothing feels rushed. Of all the artists that have passed through the Green Lantern Universe since Rebirth, I'm really happy Pasarin is one that stuck around.

This issue has escalated the threat without writing itself into a corner of "how do we get bigger than this." And despite the silliness of the term space ninjas, they're kind of frightening by just sheer numbers and relentlessness.

First Place:

Justice League #2

If you like your DC heroes getting to know each other by going through the standard team-up motions of fighting and then being friends, then this is the book for you.

Now, I know that sentence sounds snarky. But I am one of those guys that likes to see my heroes in action together. There are some cool moments between DC's greatest heroes, even though Hal is still kind of an idiot. (I really hope Geoff Johns justifies his change from young brash idiot to the Hal we get in Green Lantern).

Batman, Green Lantern, Superman and Flash duke it out until the Mother Boxes finally open to reveal a ton of Parademons entering Earth via Boom Tube. Its big action and sets up a threat large enough to justify the Justice League's existence.

Jim Lee continues to draw great comic books. Sure, Clark might look just like Hal with black hair and no mask, but Jim Lee has other strong suits... like everything else. I can't offer much else than him, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair combine to create a great looking book.

Two issues in and Johns and Lee are really giving the comic book world a book that defines what comics should be about.

The issue finished with a nice touch: a classified excerpt from an Amanda Waller interview with Steve Trevor post-crash on Themyscira. It gives a nice glimpse of the new world of the DC Universe.

Panel of the Week:

Batman vs. Superman by Jim Lee. You don't get tired of seeing Jim Lee draw this.

-Gint

Return of the Gint

I'm not really sure what or who a "Dick Pickles" is. I imagine someday we may get the details of Gint's Excellent Adventure.

-Gint

$oss' Pull-List Review 10-19-11

The New Avengers #17

The team takes on a giant robot who is tearing up Stark Industries. I like this particular version of The Avengers but this issue really didn't go anywhere. It was just one big fight scene. 

Mike Deodato's provides the pencils which are hit and miss. I really enjoy his characters but he tends to get a little crazy with his shadows. They are fighting in broad daylight in the middle of an air field but it might as well be midnight with how dark all the shadows are. 

Superior #5

This was the least appealing chapter in Mark Millar & Leninl Yu's take on the Superman archetype. Simon Poni was a star high school basketball player until he was diagnosed with M.S. and soon found himself bound to a wheelchair. One night a strange talking monkey in a spacesuit comes to him and grants him a wish to become his favorite comic book hero. The monkey, Ormon tells him that he will be back in a week so he should use his powers however he sees fit. Simon goes into all out super hero mode, doing everything from saving astronauts on the international space station to stopping bullying at his school. This issue ends as Ormon returns and takes Simon's powers from him. Why would this cute little guy do such an awful thing? It turns out that he is Satan. Never trust monkeys in spacesuits kids. 

What I really didn't like about this issue was the mix of real world events with this fictional world. Millar has Superior defeat the Taliban for Obama, play baseball for the Mets, rid Russia of it's old nuclear weapons, and beat The Miami Heat. I always think having super heroes getting involved in serious real world problems is tacky. Having them play professional sports is even worse. 

I am interested if Simon will sell his soul in order to become Superior again. Mark Miller has a track record of writing the unexpected so this could end pretty badly. Guess I'll be back next month. -$

Panel of the Week: Get your hands off me you damn, dirty ape!

Tales from Themyscira

Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang's new Wonder Woman isn't quite Tales from the Crypt but there was a decapitation in the first issue. -$

Gint's 10-12-11 Pull-List Review

Month Number Two of the DCnU continues with three of four books being considered successes.

In an unsuccessful Fourth Place:

Resurrection Man #2

My loyalty to Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning isn't making this book any more interesting. They're setting up some serious mysteries, but I really don't give a shit. I want to. I really do. But I don't.

I don't even give a shit about The Body Doubles. I should. Because they're hot. But I don't. They seem incredibly out of place in this story. Like a Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez movie spilled on my DC Universe.

The story isn't bad. And Fernando Dagnino has some truly stand-out pages. But I'm not interested. This honestly upsets me.

...sigh... I guess I'll finish out this arc and see where we go from there.

A strong art showing in Third Place:

Superboy #2

I'm a big fan of R.B. Silva's art. Its sharp, clean and has its own design sense that I find aesthetically pleasing. He also creates some interesting panel layouts.

As for the story, its a solid issue. Part of the attraction is waiting to see how the Superboy (a caged lab rat being used by N.O.W.H.E.R.E.) we meet in this book becomes the one we know from the old DCU. Writer Scott Lobdell also writes Teen Titans which I wasn't impressed with. But I like Superboy. Perhaps the characters and plot set up in Superboy offer more for Lobdell to dig into.

Rose Wilson has a larger role in this book and its nice to see her. She was a character I feared would be left out of the New 52. It looks like she has a place to stay in Superboy and, I imagine, Teen Titans in the future.

A strong outing for Superboy holds my interest for week number two.

A drop to Second Place:

Green Lantern #2

In a surprise twist, Green Lantern lands in the #2 spot, falling from its usual #1 finish.

That's not to say this wasn't a good book. It was. And still gave me the same "down home" satisfaction that #1 gave. It's still keeping the pace slower and while there's still quite a bit of action, it still feels like some required down-time for our hero.

Sinestro comes to Earth to offer a way down on his luck Hal Jordan a chance to wear a ring again. The catch is, Sinestro controls how much power the ring has and Hal has to go to Korugar with Sinestro to take it back from the Sinestro Corps.

The creative team of Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke continues to write this title with the class and characterization it deserves. Mankhe does a great job this issue drawing some cinematic movement.

Though its fallen from its accustomed spot at #1, Green Lantern is still a book to beat.

A very successful First Place finish:

Batman and Robin #2

Very interesting. And very good. My instincts to jump back on a Batman title with Pete Tomasi and Patrick Gleason have proven a good bet. Gleason knows how to draw Tomasi, and Tomasi knows how to humanize characters. Make them relateable and likeable. Part of the problem with Grant Morrison taking over the Bat-titles was that he took the characters, Bruce Wayne in particular, away from being a normal guy along with being Batman. Tomasi walks that line masterfully. No, most of us can't relate to a billionare, but we can relate to a person. And that's how Tomasi writes Bruce.

Turns out Bruce knows who the mystery man coming after him in issue #1 is. And it turns out Damien has some serious demons of his own. Part of me wants Tomasi to use Damien's issues to get him out of the Robin costume and out of the Bat-titles. But if I'm going to be honest with you, and myself, Damien creates a damn interesting character to drop in Batman's world.

Gleason's pencils with inks by Mick Gray are top-notch once again. There's a fluidity to each panel that's beautifully unlike most artwork out there these days.

Tomasi and Gleason really set up an atmosphere in this book that makes me eager for more.

Panel of the Week:

Doug Mahnke does a great job showing the animation in these panels.

-Gint

Who? What? Me?

Being a comics fan comes with its own negative baggage. I'm pretty sure someone once said to me, "I didn't know they still made comic books." But despite that, we are a proud fraternity of nerds who let our freak flags fly without much provocation. And we can always take solace in that at least we're not like those Magic card people. *shudder*

-Gint

$oss' Pull-List Review 10-12-11

X-Men: Schism #5

Lackluster. That’s how I would describe the finale to this X-Men event. I expect better of a book when the writer is Jason Aaron and the artist is Adam Kubert. The real emotional climax of this story happened in the last issue. The X-Men still had the task of defeating the Hellfire Club’s Super Sentinel but it felt hollow in comparison to the fight that Scott & Logan were involved in. 

The biggest problem I had with this book was inker Mark Roslan. He inks a heavy line and it impacted the usually flawless work of Kubert in a very negative way. Everything in this book looked like it was caked in mud. It was a true disappointment.

Moon Knight #6

I now officially get Moon Knight for the comedy. It’s like Famous Funnies. Marc Spector wakes up from his nap to find his apartment crawling with Avengers. And he has a lot of explaining to do. For the first time in the series Moon Knight comes face to face with the people that are always talking to him in his head. It took me two pages to really believe that he was speaking to the real Captain America, Spider-Man and Wolverine. Bendis writes the hell out of this scene. The conversation about whether or not Moon Knight dressed up as Spider-Man and beat up a bunch of strippers is golden. For a dark and gritty book about a mentally ill superhero this book is a laugh riot.

Secret Six: Depths

One of Gint’s favorite books is now officially one of mine. Secret Six follows the exploits of a band of “moral ambiguous” characters who take on any job that comes their way. Save some kidnapped kids? Sure. Help out a few slave traders? They are cool with that too. Whatever will bring in the dough. I’m a big fan of Marvel’s Thunderbolts, another book that takes a look at the darker side of the superhero universe. This book is DC’s version of that theme and dare I say it’s better!

I was unfamiliar with Nicola Scott’s work until I started reading this series. I think I’m going to make an effort to collect all of her work. Her characters have an amazing balance of realistic qualities while still maintaining a comic book feel. She is a master of the subtle expression. Her greatest asset is something that many comic artists fail to do. All of her characters are unique looking. Nothing against the great Jim Lee but all his characters look the same. Awesome, but the same. Gint and I had a 20 minute long conversation about how Wonder Woman is drawn in the issue. Diana looks like a Greek goddess, not a generic hot chick. Scott’s details make her appear undeniable Greek in ethnicity. 

Writer Gail Simone makes you sympathize with these characters. You almost forget that this is a band of murderers, perverts and banshees. Almost. Maybe it’s just me but I’m pretty sure if I had super powers I wouldn’t be in the Justice League. I’d be a member of the Secret Six.-$

Panel of the Week: This whole page is a great “Oh shit" moment for the Secret Six. Wonder Woman has never looked so imposing.

Easy Does It

 

The burning of a bad comic is serious business. You have to mean it. And the book has to be legitimately bad enough to throw in the Flaming Trashcan. Sometimes its an excitable process, but I can assure you no one has been lit on fire in the process.

-Gint

Gint's 10-5-11 Pull-List Review

Week number 2 of the New DC Universe begins without Justice League. Please tell me this book isn't late already? 

Since Resurrection Man #1 was first release a few weeks ago, I'm not including it in the regular winners and losers review format. 

Resurrection Man #1 

I passed this up last month when it first came out. Then I hemmed and hawed for a couple weeks about whether I should get it or not. Finally my allegiance to Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning won out and I picked it up this week.

I picked up Animal Man #1 late and was grateful that I did. Resurrection Man didn't give me the same feeling. I know absolutely nothing about this character other than he's a 90s guy. The old Resurrection Man fans that I've spoken to were pretty happy with it and shocked by the twist to his powers at the end. I have no idea what that twist was however.

Mitch dies and comes back to life each time with a new power. When he comes back he has a job to do setting something right. Very Quantum Leap-ish. I can get in to that. Also, Heaven and Hell seem to be looking for him to claim his soul.

This was a fine comic, but it wasn't captivating enough to get me off the fence about buying #2.

In Fourth Place:

Red Lanterns #2

Week 2 of the DCnU begins with Red Lanterns #2. Any doubts I had about #1 were only magnified this issue. If you take the base of what the Red Lanterns are supposed to be (rage-blind killing machines) then the premise of these characters holding down their own book seems thin.

So what does writer Peter Milligan do? He introduces new lore into the Lantern mythos to, I believe, allow him to write this book. Since the Red Lanterns aren't deep enough on their own, Milligan introduces the ability of Atrocitus to, "increase the consciousness of one of my Red Lanterns." A deux ex machina to get more out of this story if I ever saw one.

Atrocitus doesn't know how he should go about inflicting Red justice on the universe. The issue is pretty much all Atrocitus' inner thoughts as he speaks to Krona, who's dead.

Ed Benes does more fantastic work on pencils including a couple sweet, if subtle, ass-shots. But Benes' art alone can't lift this book to higher than Fourth Place this week.

Third Place:

Supernatural: The Dogs of Edinburgh #1 

Lets start with the art of Grant Bond. Some panels were really stylized and really cool. Cool enough to be considered for the Panel of the Week. Others unfortunately, were pretty rough. It seems Bond knows what he wants to do with his art, he just needs to do it on a consistent basis.

As for Brian Wood's story, some of it was pretty confusing. But I think that was on purpose. He wants the reader to be confused with Sam. This story takes place (I think) before the Supernatural TV series starts when Sam is still at Stanford. But if he gave up the demon-hunting lifestyle while there, why's he looking into the occult on a school trip to Scotland? Also, while some dialog is so spot-on you can hear Jared Padalecki's voice in your head, some just doesn't ring true to the character.

What's missing from this issue is any other Supernatural character. There's a mention of Dean, but that's it. For as interesting as Sam is on his own, its really the story of the brothers that makes Supernatural work.

This issue had its ups and downs but was entertaining enough (and I'm enough of a Supernatural fan) to keep buying whatever comics are created based on the show.

In Second Place:

Action Comics #2 

Action Comics is a $3.99 book. It also has the standard amount of storytelling pages that a regular-size comic has. That, is a rip-off. There are 8 pages of "behind the scenes" commentary of issues 1 and 2 and some upcoming Krypton stuff at the end, but I would much rather spend the extra dollar to get 8 more pages of story.

As for the actual story, it wasn't as good as the inaugural issue. Action Comics #1 was an amazingly new, exciting story full of interesting reveals and characters. Action Comics #2 felt a little more pulled-back. That's not meant to be negative. It was a fine comic, and very entertaining but it left me with a feeling of "its over already?"

Along with the size/cost-ratio-let-down, the pencils are handled by not only Rags Morales, but Brent Anderson as well. Anderson's panels are adequate, but still clearly NOT Morales' when you come across those pages. What this says to me is that some things have changed, but its still the same old DC in the sense of "this guys behind on this book, get him some help." In the immortal words of Tom Keifer, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." 

DC: either knock a buck off of my book or give me more story. Because what we've got here isn't cutting it.

A well-deserved First Place:

Animal Man #2 

Cree-pee! That's the best way to describe Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman's Animal Man. And its awesome. I'm so glad $oss talked me into trying out this book because its really been a highlight of the DCnU.

As the Baker family try to figure out why Maxine can raise dead animals, they also find out she can turn people INTO animals. Or at least their limbs. This also triggers some tattoo on Buddy's body. A tattoo of a map that leads to the Red.

Meanwhile, three hippos at the Zoo give birth to three creatures that eat the Zoo staff and take over their bodies.

Foreman's art, a lot of the time, looks sloppy. But its a particular kind of controlled sloppiness that makes it stand out and makes it really interesting.

One of the best of the DCnU so far.

Panel of the Week:

A perfect illustration of how creepy this book is. Even the stuffed animal dog Maxine is holding creeps me out.

-Gint