HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!

BRAVE AND THE BOLD #11, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Mark Waid; Art by Jerry Ordway; Cover by George Pérez

In many ways, it seems like this title just got too big for itself. Initially, it seemed like a standard team-up book, which normally makes for a pretty good read. Instead it rather quickly turned into an “Entire DCU” book, which in many ways made it too heavy to enjoy. Especially considering the Event Fatigue that a lot of readers are feeling. It might not be considered an event book, but it very well could be one, to its detriment.

This approach doesn’t look like it is going away anytime soon, but occasionally there have been single issues that focus on a pair of characters, and by far these have been the most enjoyable. This one looks to be one of those - a story matching Superman up with Ultraman. Unlikely alliances always make for good reading. Should be a decent action read, if done properly.

SUPER FRIENDS #1, $2.25, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Sholly Fisch; Art by Dario Brizuela; Cover by J. Bone

The latest new Johnny DC book has a title that most comic readers these days are familiar with. Not quite the Super Friends of old (No Wonder Twins, not sure if that is a bad thing or not), this team features the standard JLA of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, John Stewart Green Lantern, and the Flash. Like any good kids comic, there are activities included as well (including a “Secret Code Key”). A great pick-up this week if you have kids - no one can argue that comics featuring any of these characters are a little too adult these days for younger readers, so it is nice to have an all-ages alternative. DC has always been good about that, glad to see they intend to continue that tradition.

SUPERMAN BATMAN ANNUAL #2, $3.99, 48 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Joe Kelly; Art and Cover by Scott Kolins

This year’s annual is a modern take on an old Silver Age World’s Finest story - specifically issue #178, where Superman loses his powers, and becomes Nova in order to continue his superheroics. This title has had its ups and downs over the years, but it has been at its very best when you have a simple team-up story, much like what we will be getting here. This issue features the return of Joe Kelly, who wrote the last annual, and the debut of artist Scott Kollins on the book. Kelly did a fantastic job on last year’s annual (which, if you remember, was also a retelling, that time of Superman and Batman’s first meeting in Superman #76), so you can expect more of the same from this issue. Of course, since Ed McGuiness isn’t working on this issue, I doubt we will see a return of the alternate Deadpool from the last annual - a nice tribute to past collaboration and one of that issue’s highlights. Even still, it should be an enjoyable read.

THOR #7, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, Art by Marko Djurdjevic

Possibly the only real weakness in this title is its untimliness - not sure if it is the art or not, but that is usually the prime culprit in late books. If so, that is a real shame - while good, the art hasn’t been so phenomenal that it is worth the wait. It rarely is.

JMS has delivered a solid character story. While his opening arc was really lacking in terms of action, it proved not to be needed. The subject matter was spot on, and we got to see Asgard’s return without a lot of what would have been needless physical conflict. Of course, the action will have to come at some point - this is Thor, after all, but Straczynski has thus far avoided putting it in for its own sake.

This is the start of a brand new story arc, and is a natural place for a new reader to jump aboard. That is, if you are one of the few who aren’t already reading Thor.

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #23, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Daniel Way, Art by Steve Dillon and Matt Milla

What Deadpool fan isn’t reading this arc right now? Since the new Deadpool ongoing is going to spin out of this story, and is going to be produced by the same creative team, it makes sense to jump aboard now.

Are there problems? A bunch. The art is frankly terrible. Steve Dillon has a distinct style, and to his credit puts together a pretty good panel, but the looks of the characters is really distracting. You get the sense reading this book that he is a decent artist, when given the right characters. Wolverine and Deadpool are not it. Deadpool is not that crazy - he doesn’t hallucinate like that, at least, not in a long time (when he was crazier than he normally would be). And it still bugs me to see Deadpool walking around without his mask. Nicieza was guilty of that as well - but it was done sparingly in Cable & Deadpool. This whole issue has Deadpool fighting in broad daylight without a mask or costume.

But - there is a silver lining. For all its shortcomings, it really wasn’t that bad. Deadpool’s attitude is right. He is lethal, efficient, and funny, and what he says is often right on. Despite the problems, there has been something to enjoy in the last couple issues.

Ousting Dillon for a different artist would make things much better, but as it is now - hope for a quality Deadpool ongoing is not totally lost. That is at least something.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #115, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak, Art by Khoi Pham, Paul Neary, and Stephane Peru

You really can’t say enough about this title. It really speaks to the quality of writing when you can change the title and the protagonist of a book, and the end result is still a fantastic piece of comic literature. Pak and Van Lente have consistently delivered a thoughtful story, well told and enjoyable. You care about the characters - and they are written correctly (a real plus these days). The transition from Hulk to Hercules was outstanding, and they never really missed a beat. And the art - Pham & company have to be commended for an outstanding job. The book has been pretty well on time, and the artistic end of the storytelling has been spot on.

This is one of the most enjoyable Marvel books on the market today, and a great choice for anyone looking for a new title to read. This issue looks like it is going to be heavy on the action - always a good issue for new readers to try out.

DC COMICS

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #5 $2.99 Now: $2.69
BIRDS OF PREY #116 $2.99 Now: $2.69
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #11 $2.99 Now: $2.69
CATWOMAN #77 $2.99 Now: $2.59
CHECKMATE #24 $2.99 Now: $2.59
COUNTDOWN SPECIAL ECLIPSO 80 PAGE GIANT $4.99 Now: $4.39
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 6 $2.99 Now: $2.59
DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #7 (OF 8) $3.50 Now: $2.99
FLASH #238 $2.99 Now: $2.69
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #19 $2.99 Now: $2.69
ROBIN #172 $2.99 Now: $2.59
SHADOWPACT #23 $2.99 Now: $2.59
SUPER FRIENDS #1 $2.25 Now: $1.99
SUPERMAN BATMAN ANNUAL #2 $3.99 Now: $3.49
WORLD OF WARCRAFT #5 $2.99 Now: $2.69

IMAGE COMICS

INVINCIBLE #49 $2.99 Now: $2.69
PVP #39 $3.50

MARVEL COMICS

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #554 $2.99 Now: $2.59
AVENGERS CLASSIC #10 $2.99 Now: $2.59
CAPTAIN AMERICA #36 $2.99 Now: $2.69
CAPTAIN MARVEL #4 (OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.69
EARTH X TP TRILOGY COMPANION $29.99 Now: $2.69
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #13 $2.99 Now: $2.69
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #115 $2.99 Now: $2.69
IRON MAN #27 $2.99 Now: $2.69
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED ILIAD #4 (OF 8) $2.99 Now: $2.59
NEW EXILES #2 2ND PTG GRUMMETT VAR $2.99 Now: $2.69
THOR #7 $2.99 Now: $2.69
TWELVE #2 (OF 12) 2ND PTG WESTON VA $2.99 Now: $2.69
UNCANNY X-MEN #495 2ND PTG CHOI VAR $2.99 Now: $2.69
WOLVERINE #62 2ND PTG GARNEY VAR $2.99 Now: $2.69
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #23 $2.99 Now: $2.69
WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH WARBOUND #4 (OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-FACTOR #28 2ND PTG RAIMONDI VAR $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-FORCE #1 2ND PTG CRAIN VAR $2.99 Now: $2.69

MANHUNTER IS BACK!

Boy, took them long enough to announce this one, didn’t it? It’s been nearly a year since Dan Didio announced that the title would return, and the silence from DC since then has really upset some fans who wondered if he was “just saying that.” Well, he finally announced that Manhunter issue #31 would finally hit the shelves this June, featuring the return of Marc Andreko as writer (it couldn’t be anyone else really), and a new artist in Michael Gaydos, who should be familiar to anyone who read Alias.

This is fantastic news - and you should mark this one down now for your preorder list. It is one book every one of you should be reading. It’s about time it came back.

JOE KELLY RETURNS TO MARVEL

After a significant stint over at DC, Joe Kelly is coming back to the House of Ideas to work on the three-times-a-month Amazing Spider-Man book. Kelly should be a perfect fit there - many will remember his outstanding run on Deadpool, who at the time was being described as a more vicious, more lethal version of the Wall Crawler, at least when it came to his sense of humor. Kelly has established himself well on an underdog, bantering hero, so he should do fine on the original. No official start date was announced, but you can look for Joe Kelly on that title later this year.

STARGATE SG-1: THE ARC OF TRUTH

Not exactly comic news, but since most comic fans enjoy sci-fi, it seemed appropriate. If you haven’t been paying close attention (DVR users who skip commercials especially), you might have missed the release of the first of two direct-to-DVD Stargate SG-1 movies which are intended to wrap up all of the loose ends from the series. Just a friendly reminder that it hit the shelves last week. Carry on!

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

Post your comments in the Forum!

---