Blake, John Blake

If you're a fan of The Dark Knight Rises, you're not going to be happy with us for the next couple weeks.

The creative staff here at Mc$oss were treated to a lot of inspiration after seeing Chris Nolan's latest effort. My biggest complaint was that it was essentially "John Blake Begins." Second was that they made Bruce Wayne a crying little bitch for eight years, so much so that his company even started to fall by the wayside. That's not even close to who that character has been since 1939.

Regardless, I'd totally see a spinoff called "J for John Blake."

-Gint

Gint's 7-25-12 Pull-List Review

HUGE week rolling out nine books. But your faithful comic reader is here to review them for you.

Ninth Place:

Superman #11

This book is boring. Its just your basic Superman story... until the end when he fights an uninspired version of the Predator. I want to like Superman. I really do. Scott Lobdell takes over the book with issue #13. But all I expect Lobdell to bring to the table are more corny villain names.

If DC wants to have a successful Action Comics and Superman, they need to do one of two things: either get top notch talent on the books, or find the next up and comer that's really able to see things in a different way.

Pérez, Giffen, Jurgens and now Lobdell have all done/will do a satisfactory job. But satisfactory isn't good enough anymore.

Eighth Place:

The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Men #11

This is a wordy issue. And Joe Harris' first go without Ethan Van Sciver. Its really wordy. So wordy, that I think this is the crux of the storyline where a lot of shit gets explained but I didn't really understand it because I wanted to quit paying attention.

The spirit of Professor Stein shows up to tell Jason that he and Ronnie need to unite to really create the Firestorm he wanted. Jason rushes (no pun intended) off to find him but he's already been co-opted by Pozhar to create Scorn, I assume a giant evil version of Fury.

An expertly drawn issue by Yildiray Cinar, but oddly, a boring one.

Seventh Place:

Teen Titans #11

Could be I'm just used to them by now, but I was pretty impressed with Brett Booth's pencils this issue. He draws a nice issue and Scott Lobdell writes a nice story. He's really throwing a twist to where Cassie's armor comes from. Physically it apparently comes from under her skin. But not in the non-painful way Tony Stark's nano-armor does. Hers bursts through, causing blood and everything. Its kind of gross and cool at the same time.

Nice little setup toward the secrets surrounding Wonder Girl in the New 52, complete with another poorly-named Scott Lobdell villain: Loose Cannon. Laaaaaame.

Sixth Place:

Green Lantern: New Guardians #11

Tony Bedard set a few plots in motion when this book started and now we're seeing how each of them comes together. Sayd, Larfleeze's Guardian is the one who stole the rings in issue #1. Larfleeze is still the target for Invictus and his Solar System Ship. And caught in the middle are the New Guardians trying to stop it all.

Its a quick read each month that's so smooth in its simplicity. Its a straight forward cosmic story. Tony Bedard hits all the right notes working with an ensemble cast.

Its full steam ahead and this book doesn't need to change a thing.

Fifth Place:

Justice League Dark #11

Years ago I read Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic. I'm glad I did because this new story by Jeff Lemire makes a lot more sense. The story also stands on its own of course, but knowing some extra details doesn't hurt. I wasn't crazy about The Books of Magic, but its nice to see Lemire make it officially part of DC canon.

The team fights it out against Felix Faust at A.R.G.U.S. as each of them are trying to find the map to said books of magic. Constantine gets betrayed at the end and things are looking pretty bleak.

Lemire and artist Mikel Janin offer up a great look at a different kind of corner of the DCU.

Fourth Place:

I, Vampire #11

This is a brilliant book. Great issue, great story and great characterization by Josh Fialkov. His John Troughton is pitch perfect every issue. So much so that I want an I, Vampire movie just to see a live action John Troughton. But I'm sure the movies would probably ruin him.

The war in the desert between the vampires, Van Helsings and subsequent Van Helsing mummies rages on. And that might sound ridiculous, but Fialkov and artist Andrea Sorrentino really make it work.

The tone of this book really has an Indiana Jones type quality to it. Some high stakes, some action, some comedy. I can't get enough.

Third Place:

The Flash #11

Marcus To is on pencils once again and its a great choice to fill in for Frances Manapul. Still, I'm looking forward to Manapul's return, I believe in the #0 issue.

Barry Allen faked his own death and has to assume another identity. So he gets hired on as Al the new bartender at the Rogues favorite bar. The coolest part of this issue is seeing Barry use his intellect to get things done while essentially not having a life anymore.

Manapul and writing partner Brian Buccellato make me appreciate bringing back Barry Allen more each issue.

Second Place:

Aquaman #11

This is a great story. The only thing making me roll my eyes is Arthur's constant refusal to have help from The Others, his superpowered friends from his pre-Justice League days. You'd think if you're going after Black Manta, no matter how sure of yourself you are, you'd want some help. Aquaman doesn't.

Ivan Reis draws the hell out of this book once again. The Geoff Johns/Reis combo really make Aquaman and Black Manta credible characters. Even Aquaman seems to have a no-holds-barred attitude toward taking down the bad guys.

Johns may have had a misfire trying to reboot Barry Allen, but he's found Green Lantern: Rebirth-style success with Aquaman.

First Place:

Green Lantern #11

Black Hand is back. And he seems to be back the way I wanted him to be: as the avatar of death. Or at least in control of a black ring that enables him to murder and then raise the dead. Black Hand is fucked up. And he's awesome.

Hal and Sinestro leave Nok to find Black Hand and through the Book of the Black, get transported to Earth, appearing in Black Hand's dining room. They also see a bit of a prophecy involving the new black Green Lantern they keep promoting for this Third Army stuff. Now, I know Earthlings write these comics, so naturally everything is going to stem from Earth. But do we really need ANOTHER Earth Green Lantern? Maybe they'll depower him or kill him quick.

Green Lantern is the winner this week simultaneously tying up old plot threads and expanding on them at the same time.

Panel of the Week:

In the context of the story, this middle panel of Barry cracked my shit up.

-Gint

Disconnect

The Mc$oss review of The Dark Knight Rises wasn't positive. Contrary to most reviews that hailed it as a masterpiece, we kind of hated it. We have our reasons, but that's another story.

The most blatant sore spot is the voice they chose for Bane. In short, it was fucking terrible. If there was any threat to Bane at all, it was lost when he spoke. Sometimes he sounded like Sean Connery and other times he sounded like, well ... Skeletor. That's not a knock on Alan Oppenheimer whose voice was great for an 80s kids' cartoon. But for a "serious" movie villain it was pretty ridiculous.

Regardless, the Christopher Nolan movies will go down as one of the greatest trilogies of all time. And I can get behind that statement. But much like every other trilogy, they dropped the ball on number three.

-Gint

$oss' Pull-List Reviews 7/25/12

In honor of a certain movie about everyone's favorite orphan I'm reviewing one of last year's stand out tales about Gotham's Caped Crusader.

Batman: The Black Mirror

During the year that Bruce Wayne was shot back in time or whatever the hell Morrison did to him, Dick Grayson has taken up the mantel of The Bat. Grayson is a different kind of Batman. It is almost like watching a young Bruce Wayne who had yet to be hardened by the madness of Gotham City. Madness certainly is the word to describe the city in this book. Dick is put through a gauntlet of evil that would test any hero.There is a secret society known as Mirror House that auctions of articles off Gotham's dark past. A mute aquatic gangster named Tiger Shark. The Joker manages to break out of Arkham as well, but he turns out to be the least of Dick's problems. The darkest evil in this story is the newly introduced James Gordon Jr. 

James Jr. is a sociopath that has been getting away with murder since he was a child. While both Commissioner Gordon and Barbara have suspected him for years there has never been enough evidence to send James Jr. away for long. James Jr. is truly a creepy new addition to the Batman universe. His actions in this book are hinted to be the cause of the mutant gangs in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. I loved that part but I can hear Gint rolling his eyes as I write this.

Scott Snyder really understands Batman. It actually might be that his take on Gotham City is the best in comics. Snyder is complimented by two excellent artists in the forms of Jock and Francesco Francavilla. While Jock seems to get a lot of kudos from critics it's Francavilla who makes this book work in my eyes. He has a vintage style that works great with the surreal subject matter of James Jr. psychosis. 

The Black Mirror is great modern story that does well by highlighting Dick's interactions with Commissioner Gordon and introduces new and intriguing elements to Gotham City. If you loved Snyder's version of Batman in the New 52 this is a book for you. -$ 

Panel of the Week: James Jr. chilling handy work performed on his own mother.

500 Days of Gwen

The Amazing Spider-Man was an excellent movie filled with a fresh origin story and wonderful CGI. What made this a masterpiece in my eyes is how director Marc Webb handled the relationship between Peter and Gwen. The dialogue and chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone was so good that when I left the theater I wanted more. 500 Days of Summer was able to provide that for me and little did I know that it featured Joseph Gordon-Levitt who plays the main character in the Dark Knight Rises, John Blake! -$

Gint's 7-18-12 Pull-List Review

I love having a week of books that don't make me ask, "why am I still getting this?"

Fourth Place:

Supergirl #11

A one and done wrapping up the current Siobahn/Tom Banshee portion of Supergirl's story. I'm sure we'll see them again soon enough. But for now Kara beats up on some villain made of nanotech then sets off on her own to get to the bottom of her mystery.

Normally, Mahmud Asrar's art leaves me amazed after every issue. Not so this time. This issue either didn't live up to his already seen potential, or I'm just used to what he can do and expect more now.

It looks like we're really going to get into the story of why and how Kara is on Earth after the #0 issues. Mike Johnson and Michael Green have built this up since #1. I'm ready for some payoff.

Third Place:

Green Lantern Corps #11

When there's talk about the Green Lantern mythology, it always surrounds Geoff Johns and the Green Lantern title. But Peter Tomasi's Green Lantern Corps is just as essential. You can get away with not reading Green Lantern: New Guardians (no offense Tony Bedard). And you can certainly get away with not reading Red Lanterns. But the Corps book really gets over looked as a pillar of what makes these characters and stories so great.

While escaping the Alpha Lanterns, John Stewart and Guy Gardner stumble on to the remains of the Guardians' experiments into other means of policing the universe. So they take a little bit of each and make their own Corps to stop the Alphas.

There are so many moving parts in this book, its hard to imagine anyone but Fernando Pasarin drawing it. He's great at drawing two armies fighting each other. Nothing gets lost and nothing gets carelessly drawn.

Green Lantern Corps is easily the most underrated book on the market.

Second Place:

Justice League #11

Geoff Johns and Jim Lee advance the story of David Graves and his beef with the Justice League by way of a hot-headed Wonder Woman and Green Lantern facing off. Hal kind of gets his ass kicked. Being biased, I'd like to think he'd have fared better than Johns and Lee let on.

I wasn't reading comics in the 90s, so I don't have first hand experience as to what one of those early Jim Lee books looked like. BUT I've seen enough since then that some panels of this book just SCREAMED "I'm from the early 90s!" Jim Lee clearly lost his happy thoughts a couple times.

Johns and Gary Frank continue to do a masterful job of reconstructing the Shazam mythos in the backup feature. Never before have I been so invested in a Shazam story. Unless it was Black Adam in 52.

First Place:

Wonder Woman #11

There's something about a Cliff Chiang drawn issue of Wonder Woman that's infinitely better than any of the other artists that have stepped in. That's not to put down Tony Akins who does a great job. But there's a clear difference in tone and emotion when Chiang is on the book.

The sun and the moon, Apollo and Artemis, come to Earth to kidnap Zola for Hera. And kick the shit out of Wonder Woman, Hermes and Lennox in the meantime. They hand them their asses pretty quickly and make Apollo and Artemis pretty scary.

Wonder Woman is still in its own corner of the DCU, not touched by the "shared universe" that Jim Lee and Dan Didio keep talking about. I guess when you're Brian Azzarello, you get your own rules. But it HAS been a great book, so I don't want to complain too much.

Panel of the Week:

Jim Lee, what is up with Wonder Woman's crazy 80s-ass mullet?!

-Gint

Death, Please

For the most part, $oss and I have pretty similar television viewing habits. Game of Thrones, Psych, Dexter, Supernatural, How I Met Your Mother. I'm sure we'll both check out Arrow when it premieres this fall.

But there's a dark corner of the DVR that is mine and mine alone. A corner that $oss looks upon in utter disgust: a variety of shows whose main demographic is teenage girls.

I will not hide or shy away from my teenage viewing habits. I will proudly admit to watching iCarly, Hart of Dixie and Pretty Little Liars. I've also seen Bunheads and I don't hate it. My interests are myriad. A labyrinth of varied viewing habits.

Bottom line? I probably watch too much TV.

-Gint

$oss' Pull-List Reviews 7/18/12

Avenging Spider-Man #9

This book left me feeling pretty empty. It's beautifully drawn by Terry Dodson and features Captain Marvel (Ms. Marvel if you're nasty!) but the plot was lacking something. 

Usually Avenging features great snapshots of the relationships between Spidey and his co-stars but I didn't get as much of this as I would have like. This is a two parter so perhaps I'll get the Carol Danvers / Peter Parker heart-to-heart next month.

Batman #11

A decent conclusion to one of the better opening acts of The New 52. Bruce Wayne dukes it out with long lost brother Thomas Wayne Jr. high above Gotham. Any battle that ends with a skyscraper blowing up gets an A in my book.

Was Thomas Wayne Jr. truly who he claimed to be? Bruce seemed unconvinced but the evidence seems to point to yes. I'm sure Scott Snyder will revisit this theme in the future. Regardless of the family ties The Court of Owls is an excellent addition to the Bat mythos.

Spider-Men #2-3

I'd like to publicly petition for Sara Pichelli to take over Amazing Spider-Man. Her art is stunning. My favorite part of this book is the difference in the two Spider-Men. Pichelli makes it very evident that one character is a 30 year old man while the other is a teenager. I know that sounds simple but there are many professional artists that would have trouble with this distinction. 

Finally, we get to see Spider on Spider violence. I'm not a regular reader of Ultimate Spider-Man so I was as surprise as Peter when Miles pulled some venom sting power out of his ass. 

This is a truly enjoyable book . It gets pretty emotional when grown up Peter Parker comes face to face with an Aunt May and Gwen Stacy who watched him die on their front lawn. Nobody tells apter Parker stories like Brian Micheal Bendis. -$

Panel of the Week: 616 Peter comes face to face with Aunt May and Gwen.

An Amazing Fifty Years

Spider-Man has long been my personal favorite super hero. I think it is the combination of a cool costume and that he cracks jokes while beating up the bad guys that appeals to me. Hopefully Peter Parker has fifty more years of web-slinging left in him. - $

Gint's 7-11-12 Pull-List Review

Its nice when you get your Pull-List for the week and there's not clear-cut loser. All of these books were pretty solid.

Fourth Place:

Superboy #11

This was a curious issue. It surrounds Superboy learning from Bunker what its like to be a hero and a normal person. It also involves Superboy stealing a crap-ton of money from a local bank because he doesn't know its wrong. Bunker's reaction is pretty much, "oh, Superboy!" I hope this gets resolved in coming issues.

R.B. Silva is back on art illustrating SB and Bunker's brief fight with Detritus, a being of junk. Our intrepid, inexperienced heroes ask some good questions about how they're supposed to be superheroes, but none of them get answered in any satisfying way.

The ideas behind this issue are great, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

Third Place:

Swamp Thing #11

Lots of exposition this week. Anton Arcane spends half the issue talking to Abigail about what she means to the Rot and the un-men. Blah blah blah. The most interesting part of the book is when Alec is talking to the newly formed Parliament of Trees.

Marco Rudy's art also felt a little light this week? New inks? This issue felt like filler just to get to the last page where the Baker clan finally makes it to the swamp to meet Swamp Thing.

So we are a go on August 1st with both issues of the Rotworld: Prologue. 'Bout time.

Second Place:

Batman and Robin #11

I think the only thing keeping this from being in First Place this week was the speed with which I read it. It was a really fast read.

The most interesting bit was the brief fight between Jason Todd and Damian in the opening. Great sequence and great dialogue between the characters. There's lots of gruesome, fast action throughout the book which I'm sure is the way Pete Tomasi and Patrick Gleason planned it, but it felt light. I was happy however to see sexy new Bat-villain, Scallop again.

Still, a very cool issue that turns the idea of what the Bat-symbol means upside down (with a little nod to some Dark Knight Rises promotional materials). 

First Place:

Batman #11

Batman's first entry in to my Pull-List. I haven't bought Batman since Grant Morrison ran me off the book with that Black Glove nonsense. Reviews of Scott Snyder's work, and $oss and Dom's insistance that this is a great book brought me back.

And the whole Court of Owls business didn't disappoint. What a great story and art by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. There was a lot of exposition in this last issue and I'm glad Snyder left it ambiguous as to the real identity of Lincoln March. I was hoping earlier on in the series that he was really going to be a new good guy in Gotham. But I'm glad Snyder left it open ended. Much like I don't think there needs to be some greater mystery surrounding Peter Parker's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne also don't need some greater story. Sometimes stuff just happens on accident. Snyder left enough holes to sate my rationalization that March isn't Thomas, Jr.

Capullo's art never seems to hit a sour note. And the way Snyder writes the relationship between Bruce and Dick is great. Its very unique compared to Bruce's and his other ward's relationships.

I got on board late, but I'm on board now. Keep it coming Bat-team.

Panel of the Week:

Good & Creepy. Coming to you soon from Pat Gleason and Hershey's Candy.

-Gint

AVXVMW

Avengers vs X-Men is this years big all-compassing Marvel event. Over the past few years I've been increasingly disillusioned with both DC and Marvel's handling of their line wide crossovers. It interrupts the narrative that are happening in the various books leaving creators only 6 months out of the year to tell the tales they had in mind. 

My pet peeve with AXV are the tie-ins. Rarely do they add to the main story and typically they feel out of step, so it feels like you are constantly reading yesterdays news. If yesterdays news involved fire gods from another planet solving world hunger.-$

$oss' Pull-List Reviews 7/11/12

Earth 2 #3

What happened to Nicola Scott? Her work on Secret Six was some of my favorite superhero art in years. Three issues in and I'm completely underwhelmed. I hate these costumes designs. The moment Alan Scott becomes the new Green Lantern should be a "holy shit!" moment but instead It was just cheesy.

While Earth 2 has generally been a disappointment the reveal of this arcs villain left me wanting more. The final page blew my mind and helped restored my faith in Nicola Scott. Born on a Monday...

Uncanny X-Men #15

The Phoenix Force X-Men decide that Mr. Sinister is a major threat to the peaceful world they had created. How they come to this conclusion I'll never know. While this is supposed to be a tie-in it feels like Kieron Gillen said "screw this noise" and started on his next X-Men arc a few issues early. 

Daniel Acuna provides the art for this book. I've got to give Acuna his props because when he is on a book he does everything, pencils, inks and colors. In a world were some artists only provide covers it is refreshing when true craftsmen like Acuna and Fiona Staples pour all of their creativity into their work. 

A good looking book but I'm simply burned out with AVX spin off stories.

AVX#7

The Phoenix Five have The Avengers on the run. It's a pretty unfair fight, five intergalactic gods against a World War II vet, an archer and Robert Downy Jr. Needless to say Earth's Mightiest Hero's spend the majority of this issue getting their asses handed to them. 

Another outstanding job on pencils by Olivier Coipel. All of his characters are gorgeous. Highly creative panel work and wonderfully expressive faces take this books art to the next level. Best looking AVX to date. 

He-Man and The Masters of the Universe #1

I've been anticipating for months now. To be honest I've have been waiting for a great take on He-Man since Images uneven attempt in the early 2000's. James Robinson makes a bold choice by not going with the familiar storyline in this first issue. Prince Adam is not a prince at all. In fact he is a woodsman, far removed from the royal throne. Adam has dreams of another life where he was a hero battling Skeletor and his evil army. Only a dream, right? Of course not.

I feel like Philip Tan has ADD. One page will look great and the next couple will look unfinished. The final page featuring Skeletor on his throne looked especially lazy. 

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #1

JMS and Andy Kubert come together on the Batman book of the Watchmen universe. This tale has an elements of student/teacher all throughout as the original Nite Owl trains his replacement. Putting a real life spin on that motif is the added bonus of Joe Kubert providing inks for his son's pencil work. Joe's inks are a nice touch that gives this book the old school vibe that all of the Before Watchmen titles have nailed. 

Night Owl covers a lot of the same scenes from the original Watchmen book with added insight. We get to see how shitty Dan Dreiberg's home life was as a youth and why he grew to idolize the original Night Owl. This book is another solid outing for the new Watchmen universe. 

Animal Man #11

Somehow Animal Man finds the perfect artists to fill in every time the regular artist needs a breather. This month Alberto Ponticelli takes on the duty of bringing the strangest book in the DC Universe to life.

I like the added options that Buddy Bakers new body comes with. Shape shifting is a nice touch. I have to agree with Gint, shouldn't Animal Man already have these powers?

Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #1

Only Jae Lee could turn the least anticipated book in the new Watchmen universe into a masterpiece. This beautifully digitally painted book tells the little know origin story of Adrian Veidt, one of the most pivotal characters in the Watchmen saga. Len Wein and Lee do a fine job of exploring the mind of the self proclaimed "smartest mind on the planet". We also learn about his first love as well as what caused Veidt to become a masked crime fighter. 

I never really liked Ozymandias in the original book but this origin story has brought me a new appreciation for this character. -$

Panel of the Week: Nicolla Scott's creepy ass version of Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday.

Creativity NOW!

This past week The House of Ideas hit us up with their newest one. Marvel NOW! is the next chapter in the ongoing saga of the Marvel Universe. Not to be confused with a reboot or even a reimagining in the style of DC's The New 52, Marvel NOW! is being referred to as a "creative refreshing" following the events of AXV. 

There are positives and negatives to this deal. Yes, Marvel is in grave need of a refresh but judging by the first few press releases it doesn't appear drastic enough. I don't want to get to crazy before all the facts are out but I would hope that Marvel would take a page out of the playbook of it's Distinguished Competition and shine a light on the darker corners of the 616. Where are the titles comparable to Swamp Thing or Animal Man? Isn't it time that Marvel treat the Marvel MAX line with the same care that goes into Vertigo? 

And lastly, damn guys…can we do better with the titles? Uncanny Avengers? All-New X-Men? Hulk and the Agents of Smash? I'd like to think that Joe Q didn't run with the first things that popped in his head, but it's not likely.

All that said I'm fired up for this October. With creative talent like Rick Remender and John Cassaday on Uncanny Avengers, Brian Bendis and Stuart Immonen on All-New X-Men, and Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opena on Avengers there are sure to be some great books in my reading future. -$

Gint's 7-4-12 Pull-List Review

A nice quick four book week. A week that introduces what I've been waiting for, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

Fourth Place:

Red Lanterns #11

I'm just not interested in this book. I should seriously consider dropping it. If it didn't have direct connections/ramifications to the greater Green Lantern U., I wouldn't even bother.

Um... Atrocitus finds Abysmus and gets his ass handed to him. Bleez and Fatality have a "chicks rule" moment. And Rankorr finds an asteroid belt made of dead Red Lanterns. Its not a bad story, I just don't care. Maybe its me and not Peter Milligan or Miguel Sepulveda? But I DO care about the Red Lanterns in Green Lantern: The Animated Series. So maybe it is Milligan and Co.

I thought a Red Lanterns book was unnecessary when they announced it, and eleven issues haven't changed my mind.

Third Place:

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1

In the early 2000's, He-Man was rebooted for a new audience. It was pretty good. Not quite the Dreamwave Transformers series which is the Gold Standard for 80s revivals, but solid. Then it disappeared. So this new series by James Robinson and Philip Tan was eagerly awaited by me.

And it was pretty good to start. The story seemed a little light. Not quite the heavier, more for an adult audience story that I was hoping for out of the gate. BUT, its just one issue. And by saying that, that doesn't mean it was bad. It was a good start.

Philip Tan's artwork was kind of hit or miss. But if you compare it to the trash that's been in Voltron, it was Jim Lee-worthy. Beast Man looked outstanding.

Perhaps my anticipation hyped the book too much in my head. By all means it wasn't bad so we'll leave it at that until issue #2.

Second Place:
Animal Man #11

Buddy Baker gets a new body courtesy The Red and with it he gets limited shape-shifting abilities. This is a cool feature for me because I think in my subconscious I always thought he SHOULD have shape-shifting abilities. Animal Man purists may beg to differ.


Alberto Ponticelli steps in on art. While there's a difference between him and Steve Pugh, inker Wayne Foucher does a great job keeping everything in line. This is one of few books that have gone through three artists since the relaunch and hasn't had a jarring change between artists. Kudos to this art team.


Buddy saves Cliff and comes out on top, but now something is wrong with Cliff. Look this this is a job for Swamp Thing... next issue.

First Place:
Action Comics #11

I never really know what to expect from a Grant Morrison-penned comic book. Some (most) times I think they're dumb. Other times I think their ability to try whatever the fuck he wants and not give a shit is pretty cool.

Action Comics #11 introduces us to Johnny Clark, Superman's new secret identity after Clark Kent gets "killed." I'm sure most comic traditionalists will balk at the idea and scream and moan about Clark Kent essentially no longer existing. Normally I tend to be that traditionalist, but this was a really cool twist. Its also nice seeing Supes call in Batman for some personal help. After last month's Justice League and this issue of Action, you really get the sense that Bats and Supes are good buddies.


The art is split between Rags Morales, Rick Bryant and Brad Walker. I'm not a fan of split art duties, but Brad Walker is more than capable of drawing his own book. I'd like to see more of what he has to offer.


The issue ends with a cool little story by Sholly Fisch and Cafu about t-shirt shops in Metropolis taking advantage of tourists by claiming they're the ORIGINAL Superman t-shirt shop. Sounds corny, I know, but its actually nice story with great art by Cafu.


Panel of the Week:

A righteous Beast Man by Philip Tan.

 -Gint