Batman Superman #4
Truth be told, I'd enjoy this book a lot more if Ben Oliver drew the whole thing. Why Ben Oliver? Because he drew the backup (epilogue) this issue. His style fits the super hero genre. I liked the Jae Lee experiment, but after four issues I can determine he's better suited for other things.
Greg Pak's story was pretty neat all said and done. There was some confusion in the middle, but issue 4 here cleared that all up. Batman Superman is definitely an in-continuity story and shows some really cool developments between Earth 1 and Earth 2.
My recommendation for future arcs? Get Ben Oliver to do the whole book.
Rogues Rebellion #1
A very passable comic book. It wasn't outstanding, but it wasn't crap either. Brian Buccellato can write a good comic. Its the artists that hamper this book.
Patrick Zircher and Scott Hepburn share art duties, and neither knocks it out of the park. Zircher does the lions share of the work, and like the book itself, its passable. Hepburn's pages are a little more questionable. There's only a couple pages of it, so I'm not sure why they had two artists on the book anyway.
Buccellato and the Rogues themselves are the draw for this mini series, and through one issue haven't let me down.
Wonder Woman #24
Brian Azzarello's "Elseworlds" tale continues. For a second this issue I thought we were going to see Steve Trevor and some ARGUS soldiers... but nope. Silly me.
Goran Sudžuka has joined the cast of artists on this book that are more than capable. Cliff Chiang, Tony Akins and Sudžuka all have similar enough styles that they're each enjoyable to see. DC has NOT dropped the ball when it comes to artists on this book.
Its a fairly quiet issue, but Azzarello's characterizations of each cast member in this ensemble speak loud and clear. Azzarello knows who each of these characters are and how they speak and interact with each other. Its a very clear, entertaining story... even if it doesn't "really" count in continuity.
Hawkeye #13
Well, this was a pretty uneventful issue. We get to see the Clint side of the stories we've already seen from the points of view of Barney Barton and Kate Bishop. So it was almost like a repeat?
But it was still good. Matt Fraction, David Aja and Co. are doing things in a round about manner. Getting bits and pieces of the story, not necessarily in a linear fashion. It makes for a good book.
Aja sticks to a pretty hardcore 9-panel grid this whole issue. The best way I can put it was it was an interesting issue, with nothing particularly interesting about it. I know. That's retarded.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #7
If Dan Abnett didn't write the daylights out of this book it would have been dogshit.
Rafael Kayanan takes over art duties and well... he's not very good. I expect more from DC. I know He-Man isn't Batman or Superman, but that doesn't mean we don't want good art on these books. I could scratch out this issue. And I'm not a professional artist!
Abnett however does a great job taking over from Keith Giffen. Its a little lighter on the jokes because only Giffen can write his own kind of witty comedy. Abnett tells a deeper, darker story of the Masters trying to rally from Eternia being taken over by Hordak. We also get a Grizzlor appearance. Sweet!
Fingers crossed Kayanan's run on this book is a quick one. I like it too much to have to suffer through crap artwork.
Green Lantern: New Guardians #24
Man, do I love Brad Walker's art. He is killing it on this book. And he's killing it for a few reasons.
Firstly, the combination of Justin Jordan's writing and Walker's art gives Hal Jordan a decidedly young Harrison Ford-y feel. You can almost hear Han Solo in those word balloons.
Secondly, he uses a lot of the tricks of the trade that made me fall in love with the Green Lantern mythos when Ethan Van Sciver and Ivan Reis were helming the ship. Just small details like the 3D-style logo on the GL's chests or the way the logo is used in creating constructs. Brad Walker is really speaking to my GL sensibilities.
The new creative teams on these books have been making this Lights Out crossover very satisfying.
Guardians of the Galaxy #7
Brian Michael Bendis writes it and Sara Pichelli and Valero Schiti (heh heh) draw it. Its a great looking book.
There's a lot of talking with a little action. Bendis' dialog is pretty sharp, except when he has Peter Quill and Tony Stark make Who's the Boss and Belinda Carlisle references. Its incredibly awkward and couldn't pull you anymore out of the story. That being said, the way the Guardians sit with Angela to figure out who she is and where she's from is an entertaining round table. What I took away from this issue is that Pichelli and Schiti (heh heh) do a great job drawing hot chicks. Gamora has never been sexier.
It looks like next month starts the Infinity crossover, so I expect to be lost the next few issues.
Justice League of America #8
Matt Kindt takes over for Geoff Johns as the writer along side Doug Mahnke on pencils. Not being familiar with Kindt's work, I had no idea what to expect. What I got was a solid issue.
J'onn J'onzz and Stargirl wake up in a mental prison which I assume was created by the Crime Syndicate. There's a ton of mysteries going on like, how Jason Rusch is able to navigate the prison, and who the mysterious stranger is that keeps showing up in the background.
I'm pretty impressed with all the Forever Evil stuff lately. Villains One-Shots excluded. Everything else has been enjoyable. Lets hope DC is able to finish like they started: strong.
Batman and Two-Face #24
The naming convention of this book since they killed Robin has been super silly. And the post-death grieving issues weren't Peter Tomasi's best work. So, I needed a little convincing at the comic shop to pick up this issue. I'm glad I did.
Tomasi and Patrick Gleason tell a very Animated Series-style story (with a little added gore of course) surrounding Two-Face and the woman who scarred him up after killing his wife. Tomasi and Gleason tell a heartbreaking story in a couple pages that tells you all you need to know about Harvey Dent and Irish mob boss Erin McKillen.
If this book picks back up to just telling good Batman stories, I'm 100% back in.
Animal Man #24
Wow. Amazing issue. Jeff Lemire and Rafael Albequerque really out did themselves in this issue.
Albequerque's art is the perfect style for this book. Its a genuinely creepy horror book and Albequerque's dark, gritty violence tells the story perfectly. But he doesn't just do the horror well, he augments Lemire's script to make the quiet, sweet and heart-wrenching moments all the more emotional. I was locked-in to this issue.
Image Matt always asks, "Is Animal Man good again yet?" I answer with a resounding "yes!" Go get caught up. Buy this book!
Page of the Week:
Rafael Albequerque absolutely killing it on Animal Man. And animal pirates!
-Gint
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