HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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AVENGERS FAIRY TALES #3 (OF 4), $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by C. B. Cebulski, Art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Craig Yeung, Cover by Claire Wedling

It really bears mentioning again - Claire Wendling does some awesome covers. Not quite a pin-up, very germane to the story, and simply gorgeous. I’d love to see her handle a Marvel Illustrated adaptation of some fantasy-genred story. It could be quite beautiful.

This issue puts Cassie Lang in the role of Alice as she journeys into Wonderland. That really says all you need to know. This is a fun series, and this has the makings of another good issue.

GREEN LANTERN #32, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns ; Art by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert

When it was first announced that Green Lantern would be taking a step back to reexamine the origin of Hal Jordan, one couldn’t help but be skeptical. The Green Lantern titles have been the absolute best DC had to offer, thanks to an exciting, original story, and an origin retelling was far from original. Added to that, they never seem to turn out that well. Thus far, this one has bucked that trend.

Of course, back when Hal Jordan was first introduced as the Green Lantern, “origins” were short - extremely short - a character would suddenly find himself a full-blown superhero within a couple pages. These days the stories are a little more mature, and this retelling reflects that. Johns deserves some praise here - while fleshing out Hal’s origin, he has managed to remain true to several decades of Green Lantern history, and has planted some seeds about Blackest Night that are sure to factor into the upcoming event. This retelling no longer seems like a dodgy idea.

While slower-paced than what we have become used to from the Green Lantern books, it is still a great read, planting a lot of seeds about what is to come.

JSA CLASSIFIED #39, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Mike W. Barr; Art by Shawn Martinbrough; Cover by Doug Mahnke

OK, for real this time - final issue.

It would be redundant to lament this title’s passing once again - I mean, it was a great book that pretty well launched Infinite Crisis, and helped to add some depth to the Justice Society for a new generation of readers, but it seems like the market just doesn’t exist for titles like this one any longer. Sad really - it wasn’t the best title month in and month out, but it was consistently good, and far better than the terrible “blockbuster” books that survive on hype and marketability alone. Not sure if it is at all possible to reverse this trend - no reason not to keep trying though. So for the final time, goodbye to JSA Classified. You will be missed.

RUNAWAYS #30, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Joss Whedon, Art by Michael Ryan, Rick Ketcham, and Christina Strain

Another end of an era for the Runaways - and just about the start of a new one. Runaways seems to have bucked the trend of new Marvel “teams” that are popular for a short time, then fade away into memory. The departure of series creators Vaughan could have been the beginning of the end for this concept, but Marvel did the one thing that was sure to guarantee the survival of Runaways - putting someone with the name recognition of Joss Whedon on this book guaranteed it wouldn’t leave anytime soon. Now with Whedon’s short run at an end (really, the biggest problem this title has faced is the delays in recent months), and someone with the skill of Terry Moore taking over, you can bet this title’s strong run will continue.

Hopefully Moore will put an end to the slow shipping schedule this title has had - removing really the only drawback this title has these days.

SECRET INVASION RUNAWAYS YOUNG AVENGERS #1 (OF 3), $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Christopher Yost, Art by Takeshi Miyazawa, Craig Yeung, and Christina Strain

Often times, when major summer crossover events happen, almost every title becomes involved in some way, even if it seems that the main character’s involvement is only distantly related to whatever the ongoing story is. In this case, though, there is a much more direct reason for this mini - both teams just happen to have a Skrull on their rosters, so this mini makes a lot of sense.

The Civil War crossover between the two teams was decent, though it was a little bit of a let-down overall. The topical nature of this event should help overcome the weaknesses that the last crossover had. A definite must have if you are closely following Secret Invasion.

SUPERMAN #677, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by James Robinson; Art by Renato Guedes and José Wilson Magalháes; Cover by Alex Ross; Variant Cover by Renato Guedes

After a one issue fill-in story, the new ongoing writer James Robinson comes aboard for his first story arc. Robinson doesn’t have a lot of credits to his name, but what few he has are outstanding (Starman being the most notable). Robinson will also be writing the upcoming Justice League title, which looks to focus on the backlash of the Martian Manhunter’s murder. Robinson has been on hiatus for a couple months, but it looks like he is being thrust right back into the heart of the DCU.

He has some giant shoes to fill - but based on his resume, Superman shouldn’t suffer much of a quality dip under the new regime.

TEEN TITANS #60, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Sean McKeever; Art by Eddy Barrows and Ruy Jose; Cover by Barrows and Julio Ferreira

This issue is the final part of the Terror Titans arc. In many ways, it seems almost logical to say that this is the final part of McKeever’s first arc on the title, since it was only with this story that he really came into his own. A couple editorially-mandated stories did drag down McKeever’s initial start, but this arc has been running on all cylinders - from the team interactions, their individual personalities and struggles, the hint of humor and the antagonist himself - for too long, Teen Titans felt like the “mini Justice League” - McKeever has really restored a Titans tone to this title.

It is the last issue of an arc, one with will likely feature a lot of action, so it isn’t a bad choice for someone looking to jump aboard this book. Teen Titans has quite suddenly come into its own, and is looking like it is going to have a nice long, strong run.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #123, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Growbadger, and Justin Ponsor

A new Ultimate Spider-Man arc is always worth mentioning. Of note is the fact that this arc incorporates elements from the Ultimate Spider-Man video game (which makes some sense, as Bendis co-wrote the script for that game and it has been mostly considered cannon since it was released) - which might help resolve some of the continuity problems the game itself had. Knowing the story from the game, it is safe to assume that this will be an action-packed arc, and a safe one to try out for the first time. If you aren’t reading this book yet (I can’t understand why you wouldn’t be), you should give it a shot - especially if the 3 times a month shipping schedule is putting you off Amazing Spider-man. This really is the best Spider-Man book on the market today, and a good buy if you want a consistent monthly dose of the Wall Crawler.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

MADAME XANADU #1, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics/Vertigo
Written by Matt Wagner; Art and cover by Amy Reeder Hadley; Variant cover by Wagner

Last month, Vertigo gave us the start of House of Mystery - this month it is giving us another title with a lot of promise, Madame Xanadu. Vertigo has always been a good place for DC Magicians to spread their wings a little bit, without the confines of continuity. It worked well for John Constantine- perhaps Madame Xanadu will experience similar success.

Of course, helming this new title is Matt Wagner - of Grendel fame, most recently working on Trinity. He has the chops for an arcane tale like this one - it is a far-cry from the tone we are seeing on Trinity, but it is closer to his usual genre. Well worth a look - this could be another long-running Vertigo hit. Also an excellent buy for fans of the late Shadowpact series - while she wasn’t a member of the team, she did cross paths with that team in Day of Vengeance and Countdown.

DARK HORSE

STAR WARS DARK TIMES #12 VECTOR PART 6 $2.99 Now: $2.59

DC COMICS

FINAL CRISIS #2 (OF 7) $3.99 Now: $3.49
GREEN LANTERN #32 $2.99 Now: $2.79
JSA CLASSIFIED #39 $2.99 Now: $2.79
MADAME XANADU #1 $2.99 Now: $2.69
PROGRAMME #12 (OF 12) $2.99 Now: $2.59
SECRET HISTORY THE AUTHORITY HAWKSMOOR #4 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.59
SUPERMAN #677 $2.99 Now: $2.69
TEEN TITANS #60 $2.99 Now: $2.59
TRINITY #4 $2.99 Now: $2.79

DEVIL’S DUE

WORLDS OF DUNGEONS & DRAGONS #2 $5.50 Now: $4.99

IMAGE COMICS

PILOT SEASON ALIBI #1 $3.99 Now: $3.49

MARVEL COMICS

ANGEL REVELATIONS #2 (OF 5) $3.99 Now: $3.49
AVENGERS FAIRY TALES #3 (OF 4) $2.99 Now: $2.59
BLACK PANTHER #37 $2.99 Now: $2.69
DAREDEVIL #108 $2.99 Now: $2.69
HOUSE OF M TP AVENGERS $13.99 Now: $10.99
HULK #4 $2.99 Now: $2.69
MARVEL ATLAS TP $14.99 Now: $11.99
NEW WARRIORS #13 $2.99 Now: $2.59
RUNAWAYS #30 $2.99 Now: $2.69
SECRET INVASION RUNAWAYS YOUNG AVENGERS #1 (OF 3) $2.99 Now: $2.69
SHE-HULK #30 $2.99 Now: $2.59
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #123 $2.99 Now: $2.69
ULTIMATES 3 #4 (OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.69
UNCANNY X-MEN #499 $2.99 Now: $2.69
WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #4 $2.99 Now: $2.69
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #26 $2.99 Now: $2.59
X-MEN FIRST CLASS VOL 2 #13 $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-MEN LEGACY #213 $2.99 Now: $2.69
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #6 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.79

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

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