ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade

DARK HORSE
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Usagi Yojimbo #92, $2.99. By Stan Sakai. If all comics were as well-structured as Usagi Yojimbo, we would really have little to complain about. Sakai has the amazing ability to tell long story with multiple arcs so intertwined that time actually feels like it is moving. With your standard big-name book, you get maybe 2 six issue arcs a year, and it just feels like time for the character is dragging on. In Usagi, when an old character pops up again, it really does feel like the ronin is encountering an old friend (or enemy) after a long time. Sakai really is a master of this medium. 24 Pages.

DC COMICS
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Action Comics #837, $2.50. Written by Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek, Art by Pete Woods. The opening Superman crossover and the first story post OYL continues here. So far so good on this story, it is still a bit disappointing that DC decided to lead off OYL with another big crossover. This has kept a lot of non-Superman readers from trying either of these titles. No one wants to commit to two issues for four months when they just want to try something out! 32 Pages.

Batman Legends Of The Dark Knight #202, $2.50. Written by Christos N. Gage, Art by Ron Wagner and Bill Reinhold. The second part of a three part story where Batman must work to clear his father from being pegged as the notorious “Gotham Ripper.” This has the potential for a pretty decent detective story, something you don’t really get a lot of in Batman anymore. Usually it is all beating thugs for info. 32 Pages.

Batman Journey Into Knight #8 (Of 12), $2.50. Written by Andrew Helfer, Art by Tan Eng Huat. Buy did the buzz drop off on this one, or what? An good book to get if you are into the art, but there are probably better Batman stories out there. 32 pages.

Green Lantern #10, $2.99. Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Ivan Reis and Marc Campos. Ten issues and “One Year Later,” the glow of Rebirth has definitely faded away. It seems like we are now facing the inevitable problem – what was the reason, beyond the “cool” factor of a resurrection, to bring Hal Jordan back? Outside of a couple obvious and pretty run-of-the-mill character specific encounters relating to his return, Hal hasn’t been involved in any stories that couldn’t be centered around a different Green Lantern. And the fact that it is Hal sure hasn’t made the story more interesting. Heck – Kyle and Guy’s adventures since Hal’s return have been far more interesting to some. 32 Pages.

Nightwing Mobbed Up TPB, $12.99. Written by Devin Grayson, Art by Phil Hester, Cliff Chiang and Ande Parks. This was a decent arc, but considering the huge impact Grayson has made in her outstanding run on this book, it would have been nicer to see her go out with a bit more of a bang. This was a good arc, though it did seem a little drawn out at times. Still – it will read much better in the collected format, which is what we have here. Collects Nightwing #107-111. 128 Pages.

Teen Titans Go #29, $2.25. Written by J. Torres, Art by Mike Norton and Lary Stucker. The news finally released by Cartoon Network regarding the future of this series is superficially exciting, but leaves a lot to be desired in the long term. We can expect a Teen Titans animated movie in the near future, which is the good news. The bad news is that there seems to be no plans in the immediate future for a new season of the program. Very bad news indeed. 32 Pages.

Warlord #2, $2.99. Written by Bruce Jones, Art by Bart Sears. As you might expect, fans are somewhat divided on this new Warlord. While it really isn’t too different from the original, it is supposed to be an all new version of the character. It is only natural then than readers would be divided about the book. 32 Pages.

Vertigo

Hellblazer Lady Constantine TPB, $9.99. Written by Andy Diggle, Art by Goran Sudzuka. This trade collects the four issue “Lady Constantine” mini. It is set in the 18th century, where an ancestor of the modern-day Constantine dabbles in some sorcery of her own. Could be a good pick-up for displaced Losers fans looking for a dose of Diggle. 96 Pages.

Lucifer #72, $2.75. Written by Mike Carey; Art by Peter Gross and Aaron Alexovich. The final part of the two part Evensong arc, then Lucifer will bow out with three more issues, each seemingly stand-alone. It looks like Carey has a very polished series end coming up, and it is refreshing to see a series go out like this, rather than an explosive six issue arc where you can only hope all the lose ends are tied up amongst all the chaos. It’s a good bet Lucifer fans will be pleased with this ending. 32 Pages.

MARVEL COMICS
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Books Of Doom #5 (Of 6), $2.99. Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Pablo Rivera. This series has been a pretty nice treat for fans of Doom who will no doubt be excited about this issue – the beginning of Doom’s revolt and his bid for control of Latveria. This series should wrap up nicely. 32 Pages.

Captain America 65th Anniversary Special, $3.99. Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Eric Wight. Maybe 65 is an odd numbered anniversary to make much fuss over, but so long as the story is good, who cares right? This seems to be basically an annual in which Brubaker will tell a story that spans Captain America’s entire history. A must-read for fans of his current run, and possibly a good lead-in for new readers. 48 Pages.

Essential Nova Vol 1 TPB, $16.99. Written by Marv Wolfman and Len Wein, Art by John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Carmine Infantino, Gene Colan, and Ross Andru. Seriously – if I didn’t already have all of these issues, I’d by buying this for myself! With Nova making a bit of a comeback as a part of the Annihilation event, it would be a disservice not to give Nova his own essential collection. This book will be a good read. Collects Nova #1-25, Amazing Spider-Man #171, and Marvel Two-in-One Annual #3. 512 Pages.

Fantastic Four #536, $2.99. Written by J. Michael Straczynski, Art by Mike McKone. Really, not much needs to be said about this issue. Spoilers are distasteful, but there is no point in subtlety when the cover is a flaming image of Mjolinar about to be lifted from the ground. He had to come back sometime… 32 Pages.

Infinity War TPB, $29.99. Written by Jim Starlin, Art by Ron Lim, Tom Raney, Angel Medina, and Shawn McManus. Speaking of 90s comic style, here we have a collection of the 1992 follow-up to the Infinity Gauntlet. And like most things from the 90s, this series had its share of fans and detractors. So if you enjoy the cosmic Marvel U, and want to give this a shot, it collects Infinity War #1-6, Marvel Comics Presents #108-111, and Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7-10. Pretty packed for the price. 392 Pages.

Iron Man #6, $2.99. Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Adi Granov. Well now, look at this – Iron Man! When they say that this is the pulse-pounding conclusion you’ve been waiting for, they do mean waiting! Hopefully it ends up being worth it. 32 Pages.

Marvel Romance Redux Guys & Doll, $2.99. Written by Jimmy Palmiotti, Jeff Parker, and John Lustig, Art by John Buscema, Don Heck, John Romita, and Gene Colon. This could be a fun little issue – basically they took the art from some old comics and rewrote the dialogue with some humorous romance stories. Good for a laugh – the same things we have seen on the internet courtesy of Photoshop for many years now. 32 Pages.

New Avengers Illuminati Special, $3.99. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Alex Maleev. Another lead-in to Civil War, and judging by the title, this group of well known figures in the Marvel Universe is supposed to represent the real power behind the super-human community. Newest twist on the old Illuminati conspiracy theory I have seen yet. You should pick up this one shot if you are interested in the lead-in to Civil War. 48 Pages.

Nick Fury Howling Commandos #6, $2.99. Written by Keith Giffen, Art by Derec Donovan. So is this sucker a mini or an ongoing? It took a big blow all the way back in the first issue with some really rough art and story. Though the former has been addressed somewhat, the latter remains an issue. If this isn’t a mini, it might not be much longer for this world. 32 Pages.

Sentry #7 (Of 8), $2.99. Written by Paul Jenkins, Art by John Romita, Jr. The whole spectrum of Marvel style for this decade could possibly be wrapped up in this series – whether you like it or not. The decompressed storytelling, JRJR art, this mini just screams “Aughts” just like Liefeld screams 90s. The question is – do you like it? Fans seem to be divided on that point. It is interesting to check it out just for that debate alone. Was this a good decade for comics in terms of style? 32 Pages.

Spider-Man & Arana Special, $3.99. Written by Tania Del Rio, Art by Jonboy Meyers. Seething Arana fans can rest a little easier – the end is here for Arana. Granted, the end of a series is rarely ever a good thing, but as fans of Negation War will tell you, having an actual end to the story is way better than just having it stop in the middle. Maybe not as satisfying as one could hope, but even so – an ending is an ending. Thankfully they are at least giving us that. 48 Pages.

Thing #5, $2.99. Written by Dan Slott, Art by Andrea Di Vito. It seems that we have come to a point that I will buy any title Marvel decides to assign Dan Slott to. Has he had a flop for Marvel yet? If he did, I didn’t read it. It takes a special kind of writer to put together a respectable Arcade story these days, and Slott hit a homerun with his Arcade arc. Thing is another must-read title for Marvel. 32 Pages.

Ultimate Spider-Man #92, $2.50. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Mark Bagley. It was curious that Ultimate Deadpool would debut here, and not in Ultimate X-Men. At least the X-Men get a guest appearance here! In a way, hooking up Spider-man and Kitty Pride was a clever way to allow Bendis to write an Ultimate X-Men story on occasion, if you think about it. 32 Pages.

Untold Tales Of The New Universe Psi-Force, $2.99. Written by Tony Bedard, Art by Russell Braun. Another New Universe nostalgia issue here – this one, of course, Psi-Force. Haven’t heard much in the way of complaints from new Universe fans, and that can only be considered a good thing. Hopefully this is living up to everyone’s expectations. 32 Pages.

Uncanny X-Men #471, $2.50. Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Billy Tan. Some people are accusing Claremont of being repetitive with this story, which features the Shiar our to kill Rachel. Even if you grant him some leeway there, overall Exiles fans have cause to be sweating his eventual start on that book. Hopefully all the man needs is a change of pace. 32 Pages.

X-Men Colossus Bloodline TPB, $13.99. Written by David Hine, Art by Jorge Lucas. The return of Colossus avoided a lot of criticism from fans simply because it was Joss Whedon holding the pen, but it never did sit right with me. Colossus had what I would term a good death – it fit the spirit of his character, it was a rash decision that ended up serving the greater good, and it was a self sacrifice that no one would have asked him to make, but it ended up being one that mutants everywhere would be eternally grateful for. But bringing him back cheapened all that. It is sad, but the trigger was pulled, so someone had to do something with it. Enter Hine and Lucas with this mini, which brings Colossus back to Russia to find out who has been killing off his family. A decent read if you are a fan of the character. 120 Pages.

X-Men Deadly Genesis #5 (Of 6), $3.50. Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Trevor Hairsine. Penultimate! I knew that word wasn’t gone forever! This issue is a little late, but for a change, it seems to be worth the wait. This is the most I have heard fans buzz about an X-Men comic in a long time based on its own merits, not for the writing team or some sensational storyline. Real, honest-to-goodness story enjoyment – it is nice to see. If Brubaker’s plate wasn’t already practically overflowing, the success of this series would almost demand that he be put on an X-Men title pronto. Oh wait… they did. Hopefully his work on Uncanny won’t take away from the quality of Daredevil or Captain America. And hopefully he will have a little more freedom from the editorial staff that seems to have hampered his predecessors! 32 Pages.

X-Statix Presents Dead Girl #3 (Of 5), $2.99. Written by Peter Milligan, Art by Nick Dragotta. This series has turned into pretty much a Dr. Strange/ Dead Girl team-up, which is fine. It is satisfying the long-suffering X-Statix fans who are happy to see their book back in one form or another. I am jealous – what I wouldn’t give for a Slingers Present Prodigy mini. This issue is the hump- hopefully it finishes up as well as it started! 32 Pages.

X-Men Dark Phoenix Saga TPB New Printing, $24.99. Written by Chris Claremont, Art by John Byrne. With the X-Men movie about to come out, this collection was bound to make a comeback. This was probably Claremont’s crowning achievement as an X-Men writer, and is pretty well a must-read if you call yourself a fan of the X-Men. If you haven’t read it, you need to pick this up. 200 Pages.

Craig’s Pick of the Week

Blue Beetle #1, $2.99, DC Comics. Written by Keith Giffen and John Rogers, Art and Cover by Cully Hamner. This is one of the more anticipated new titles to come out post-Crisis. The fact that it is so anticipated is a tribute to how well DC handled the death of Ted Kord. Not only was there very little in the way of angry reaction to his death (which makes sense, considering how perfectly it was handled), but it also managed to stir up enough interest in the Blue Beetle to potentially make this a hit. It really goes to show that even in death, if you treat your characters right, the fans will show their appreciation. 32 Pages.

NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.

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