Packed Full of Adventure, Action, Death and a Little Comedy
Why I Love Comics rundown for books coming out January 14th, 2008
Welcome to this week's "Why I Love Comics" which was packed full of adventure, action, death and a little comedy. It was definitely a really strong week that had some strong contenders for Book of the Week. We had the death of one of DC's biggest characters, Spidergirl fighting for her life, Peter Parker being the best friend you could ask for, and Marc getting a brand new job. It's all here as we start with Marvel!
The Amazing Spider-Girl #28 continues down the path to the grand finale. Kaine, Phil and Normie do their best to find Peter as May tries her best to prove to the Tarantula that she really is herself. Tom Defalco really likes to have a handful of different plot threads moving at once and it works in his favor in issues like this.
Norman Osborn once again shows why he's one of the craftiest and most evil villains of all time in a move that will send chills down your spine, especially when everyone is so afraid of hurting the body of the person he's taken over. In fact, that was the selling point of the issue, especially when May sees the truth. It hits home hard when we see the last page and things are really amped up to that new level.
Verdict: I'm very sad to see this title go in two issues. It's been a blast over the years. And it really is thanks to the dedicated fan base. This is the way to go out with a bang and I'm hoping it ends on a happy note. Definitely a buy.
Captain Britain and the MI13 #9 was the end of the title's second official arc and it certainly didn't go out with a whimper. Pete Wisdom finally snaps and says "enough is enough", taking off his kid gloves and going head to head with some very powerful forces. Captain Britain himself finds help from an old friend as they face down the belly of the beast. Alistaire looks to be joining the cast full time and he was a great partner for Cap as he went through the dream corridor.
This issue was packed full of emotion as well as introducing us to a brand new player in the game. Seeing Pete go off like he did was a great moment for the character that I think was needed if they were ever going to move forward. He isn't pulling punches anymore and it showed. It was really a three man show to end the fight with the Lord of Hell and here's hoping that we get more screen time for everyone in the near future which seems to be leading to a very famous face off with a certain big name vampire.
Verdict: This is beyond a doubt one of Marvel's top books. I love every issue and can't wait the month between each one. Cornell is top talent and shines throughout. Definitely a buy.
Deadpool #6 was made of so many awesome moments that, once again, Daniel Way proves how much he gets the character. The fight with Tiger Shark has so many weird one liners from Deadpool; who's too busy trying to get a date with a nurse, that you can't help but to laugh. When Wade gets help from an old friend, everything ends up going downhill and we are left with a very interesting cliffhanger.
Seriously Way, for a man who barely knew the character, you sure have us longtime fans fooled. I loved Wade trying to hit on the nurse while being riddled with bullets and getting hit with a machete. Of course, Wade's obsession with a really cool sniper rifle doesn't make things better for poor Bob as he gets used as a decoy while Deadpool goes to get it.
Verdict: Bob, Agent of Hydra returns to save the day....kind of. Definitely stays a buy as the series gets better and better.
Our Book of the Week is certainly going to be controversial as I chose none other then Amazing Spiderman #583. But it's not because of all the Obama coverage, not at all. The main story of the book follows one of Peter's oldest friends, Betty Brant, and is one of the more touching single issues of a comic in a long time. Betty's birthday is coming up and Peter tries his best to plan the perfect birthday while Betty tries her best to find Peter a girl.
Mark Waid does his best writing on just a flat out character piece as we see bits and pieces of the over all plot of the next year slowly evolving. There is a great scene where Betty gets completely drunk and Pete does his best to take care of her. The best scene in the book comes when Peter has to tell her exactly why no one wants to be at her birthday and it's completely heartbreaking. It shows you that Pete will always be there for his friends, no matter what.
Verdict: Definitely a great issue of Spider-Man with small little plot points that will be picked up later in the year. Definitely a buy and fun in general.
We move on to DC starting with Judd Winick's Titans series where we discover that Joey aka Jericho is not fully in control of his own mind. This was the best issue of the series so far. Nightwing has been taken over and Joey tries his best to show Dick that he may not be completely in control. It's a bit disturbing and you have to feel for the guy....until the thought pops into your head that he may be lying completely as it seems this plot is going to blow up to both Titans series.
Judd does his best to fill you with the sense that you don't know what could happen next and gives you an interesting back-story into Joey's past. I really hope he isn't lying as he's a great character who shouldn't be a villain. Sadly with the JLA on the doorstep it looks like things are going to go from bad to worse.
Verdict: Definitely shaping up to be a great arc but right now, I'm going to have to say wait for the trade as it seems like this arc will be continuing on for the first part of the new year.
Green Arrow and Black Canary #16 has our duo coming head to head with Merlyn who has become one of Ollie's arch villains. It seems he was hired to assassinate a group of 20 somethings who were working on a very secret project. The highlight of the issue was the introduction of a new character who seems to be shaping up to be Ollie's Jim Gordon.
The fight in the issue was a bit shocking as Dinah is shot right through the arm for apparently the first time and she tells Ollie just how much it hurts. I'd rather she have finished Merlyn off for doing what he did but Ollie delivering the quiver to their new found friend was a pretty great moment.
Verdict: All in all, it's a definite buy and a new direction for the book.
Nightwing #152 has Dick facing off against another big name Batman villain as he, in my mind, starts to become more and more like Bruce. At this point, I think everything is being built up to make Dick the next Batman and I have no problem with that. He checks in with Alfred who is honoring a few of Bruce's wishes and faces down a whole bunch of ninja's using just a Batmobile.
My favorite parts of the issue had Ra's al Ghul and Dick going head to head in a sword fight showing just how far Dick has come under Bruce's tutelage. He even gives Ra's a mental check that is absolutely on point and was a great joy to read. At this point, I really hope Dick will be in the cowl and believe that last page definitely shows that I may be on to something.
Verdict: I'm sad to see the book cancelled for a while and I hope that Dick finds a home in the main title if my hunch is right. This, though, is a definite buy.
Booster Gold #16 has Booster lost in time. Michelle and Skeets are trying to find him and Booster is saving a man very integral to his future. I liked this issue a lot and think Dan Jurgens has a fun grasp of the over all series. Booster gets stuck back in WW2 and meets up with a very special soldier whose life he does his best to save. He also comes face to face with the man known as Enemy Ace, who seems to not be everything that is to be believed.
The highlight of the issue came from Booster's short conversations with Ace as he revealed that he was seeking redemption for all the killing he did while at war. It's an interesting character moment and I definitely enjoyed it. It will be interesting to see just where the Dagger is taking Booster.
Verdict: Great issue that was a great over all one shot while at the same time building up the newer plot points. Definitely a buy.
Green Lantern Corps #32 shows exactly how powerful Kyle Rayner is and it's about time. The mind control wasn't going to last long, we all knew it. Tomasi shows a great grasp on the Lanterns and it's great to read. Seeing more of the Star Sapphires gives hints to the fact that they might not be what most readers assumed right off the bat. It's pretty obvious at this point that Sapphire, Blue and Green will be working together. The question becomes who do Yellow, Orange and Red side with as Black will apparently be very much alone.
The most interesting plot element in the issue was the new rule set up by the Guardians which seemed to force them to lose a lot of Lanterns. I don't see why there can be no romance inside the Corps and I think it paints the Guardians in an even worse light then before. I like that the Kyle/Natu relationship was teased yet again.
Verdict: Next issue has Mongo vs. the Arkillo battle which should be pretty great and have ramifications for the whole Lantern universe. We are slowly building up towards Blackest Night and it's a great time to be a reader.
Action Comics #873 is the end of the New Krypton arc and sadly, it goes off with a whimper. New Krypton does exactly what's been hinted at since the beginning and splits off from the Earth to make a new planet. Kara decides to go with her mother because of her father's dying words. Kal does his best to juggle the responsibilities in front of him. Superwoman makes a very surprising move and Flamebird and Nightwing do their best to get used to their new surroundings.
At the end of the day, this whole thing was more of a set up then a proper execution. You bring in a character, reintroducing him just to kill him off or whatever happened to him and then you set up a whole bunch of pieces to start a new series? What the heck?! I love Geoff's work dearly but this is a serious misstep. Except for the big reveal at the end... that was a cool one.
Verdict: I'm going to have to give the eventual trade a skip as it's really now become a wait and see.
Final Crisis #6 gave us the answer to Batman's last adventure all right....you might not want to read the rest of this but Bruce is dead. He went out a hero attacking Darkseid with some sort of super god killing gun but the Batman we all know and love is apparently very dead by the last page and once again, Superman is crying. I'm really tired of that imagery by the way. Why does someone have to die in these big events? Especially Bruce Wayne...you know the backlash is going to be huge.
Also in the issue, the resistance finally gets an edge up on the fight and the Watchtower seems to be coming down to Earth. Kalibak is defeated by Tawky Tawny in one of the best scenes of the book and Supergirl, Black Adam and Freddy are finally able to release Mary from her horrible fate with the New Gods.
Verdict: I really don't know what to say here, at the end of the day, the artwork is great and the story is good but I'm just kind of burned out here. It's time for this to end. Wait for the trade or just wait till the final issue and we'll see how things end.
Invincible #58 as Mark gains a new job, thanks to Eve and everything moves forward. We check in on some old friends and see a new relationship starting. This was one of the best issues yet and put so much forward plot wise. I loved Mark making fun of Eve's arch nemesis as well as the very one sided fight.
The highlight of the book for me was seeing all the different versions of Invincible who are all apparently bad guys. I wish they all weren't bad guys as some of them look like they could be good. We'll see how issue 60 amps up. But for now, that's one hell of a cliffhanger.
Verdict: Definitely a buy as the series gets stronger as it gets older. I definitely can't wait to see what's next.
We move on to Dark Horse with BPRD :The Black Goddess #1 which is my first actual BPRD story. I definitely liked what I read, even if I didn't know what happened in the miniseries before this. Guy Davis has some great artwork here and both Abe and Johann are the characters I know and love. It seems Liz has been kidnapped by someone evil and the team is doing their best to track her down. I can't wait to see where things go next because I definitely loved the over all tone to the mini.
Verdict: Definitely a buy, not a good jumping on point but it's enjoyable over all.
Finally we end the week with Joe Kelly and JM Niimura's I Kill Giants #7. This ends the mini in a truly great and beautiful way that could easily bring a smile to any readers face. This mini series was a constant pleasure to read with a very satisfying last chapter. Barbara finally steps up to bat and decides it's time to face the truth about what's happening with her mother in a scene that honestly brought tears to my eyes. She has real family and friends that care about her and has even found out the truth about the giants that she thought she needed to kill.
It's great to see the bully getting shut down and really feeling some proper resolution in a mini series. Joe Kelly even went the extra mile and put in a bonus little director's commentary in the back giving some great insight to the over all series. I'm going to miss it and it will definitely always be something I give people to read that want to get into comics.
Verdict: This is not only a buy but on the list of must haves for any comic lover.
Well that's it for this week readers join us next week for Dark Avengers, Madman and Green Lantern. See you then!
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching dvd's, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
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