Week of May 23rd

Honorable Mention

Green Lantern: New Guardians # 9 (DC Comics)

The Blue Lantern Corps...the corps of hope. Well, they’re going to need it because the Reach have just invaded their home world, Odym...and they aren’t interested in taking any prisoners. Not to worry (or do), help is on the way as Kyle Rayner has rallied the rest of the New Guardians...except, they won’t make it to Odym in time. I don’t read Blue Beetle (I’m a Ted Kord fan) so this issue was great in my education on the Reach armor and capabilities. I found myself reminded of Mecha...and look forward to the level of carnage they will bring.

Secret Avengers # 27 (Marvel)

Captain Marvel is back (Mar-Vell for all you die-hard fans)...and he doesn’t seem quite right in the head. He is bent of destroying his former friends, and easily demonstrates the ability to do it. He isn’t the only one acting out of character. Ms. Marvel and the Protector have switched sides and play for team Kree now. Not only that...the entire Kree populace of Hala are all too welcoming of the Phoenix Force...which will surely destroy their planet and all life on it! Just what the heck is going on...and how can the Avengers make things right when their strongest member, Thor, is pwned by Mar-Vell?

...and now for this weeks All-Stars!

Aquaman # 9

Company: DC Comics

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Geoff Johns, Artist: Ivan Reis, Inkers: Joe Prado,  Oclair Albert & Andy Lanning, Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano, Colorist: Rod Reis, Editor: Patrick McCallum

All-Star Summary for Choice: The longer this series goes, the more interesting it becomes. Aquaman hasn’t always been a favorite of mine, but that has changed over the years with creative writing and continues to get stronger with the excellent writing of this new series. This isn’t the Aquaman we all grew up on...he’s better. Nobody ever really took him serious because he was never presented as being serious. This has recently changed and I suspect the positive fallout from that change has prompted a deeper look at the character and the potential he has.

   In his earlier years, Aquaman was part of another team...a seemingly secret team with members with names like Prisoner, Operative and Vostok. The past has a way of making it’s way into the present..and Black Manta is hunting down and killing all the members of the old team. His next target is Prisoner...but Prisoner isn’t an easy kill...not by a long shot. I look forward to the exploration of this mysterious team.

   As always, the artwork in this book is spectacular and the perfect fit for the great writing. The direction Aquaman has been taken has made him interesting again, and it’s not just because of the boost in power or the realistic attitude from enduring years of criticism, both in the comics and in real life, of being simply a ‘‘fish out of water.” He’s somebody you don’t want to mess with...anywhere. The tweaks being made to his mythos are also engaging as some of the finer points have undergone some changes. The rivalry between Black Manta and Aquaman being next up to be examined...I was surprised that Black Manta may soon be a sympathetic character since it is Aquaman that irresponsibly killed his father, not the other way around.

  

All-Star Quote of the Book: “A gun under your pillow? With one bullet? Why are you even fighting me?”

Batman: The Dark Knight # 9

Company: DC Comics

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Judd Winick, Artist: David Finch, Inker: Richard Friend, Colorist: Sonia Oback, Letterer: Steve Wands, Editor: Mike Marts

All-Star Summary for Choice: Ok, I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’m a Batman fan. I think he can beat anybody and in doing so, remains a plausible testament to what the human spirit can achieve if driven by enough passion, tempered with pinpoint focus...immersed in an endless well of resolve. That said...kudos to this issue for bringing that feel to it, without the focus being on Batman

   At a time when it seems the New 52 is struggling in finding artists good enough to maintain any momentum and push ahead with brighter ideas, this book remains one of the few that has  artwork that can tell the story, even if the words were to suddenly disappear. There are few opportunities it seems, these days, to put a book out that captures the imagination with it’s visual presentation. This book is one of them, making any reader of it fortunate indeed.

   The Court of Owls is making it’s move and has unleashed their Talons upon Gotham. In this book, we get the whole presentation from the perspective of the Talon. This, for me, is what made this book awesome. For the time it took me to read it, I was a Talon in service to the Court of Owls.

All-Star Quote of the Book: “But I return...and see what has haunted me. What has driven me here. It is not a thing. It is a man. I can kill a man.”

Fantastic Four # 606

Company: Marvel

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Jonathan Hickman, Artist: Ron Garney, Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles, Colorist: Jason Keith, Editor: Tom Brevoort.

All-Star Summary for Choice:  This book seems to be red hot. I’ve noticed the number of All-Star entries it’s had recently...and am very appreciative to the creative team for all the enjoyment reading this title has given me lately.

   The great thing about the Fantastic Four is that they are primarily explorers and scientists (well, Reed is at least) and their adventures, their greatest adventures, aren’t ones where they are trying to save the world in some grandiose fashion, but are acting from very personal motivations of their hearts. That is the exact feel I got from this book the moment I opened it.

   Halfway through the story I figured out I was being treated to the Fantastic Four’s version of the “Fantastic Voyage.” I loved that movie and it was brilliance to do it again with these characters in the way in which it was presented. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective...and this simple, well established story, was very effective in being able to move me. I highly recommend this issue.

All-Star Quote of the Book: “A miracle...does that guy have any idea who he’s talking to?”

Irredeemable # 37 

Company: Boom

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Mark Waid, Artist: Diego Barreto, Letterer: Ed Dukeshire, Colorist: Nolan Woodard, Editors: Matt Gagnon & Shannon Watters.

All-Star Summary for Choice:  So...this is the final issue, the series now comes to a close...and I’m saddened. I truly enjoyed the roller coaster ride that was the Plutonian, and read this book with anticipation that something big was going to happen to end it all. Of course, I was right...but not even close in any way that I thought it would.

   Qubit, now containing Modeus inside him, has come up with a plan to save the world...but he needs the Plutonian on board with it if it has any hope of success. What could he possibly do to persuade Tony to help him? How about murder him? It’s not all bad though, he also offers Tony a second chance to get it all right. I’ll say this, he is good to his word...but it’s his words that Tony should be very afraid of.

   The conclusion of this book is fantastic and took me on one last ride down the road of the unexpected. I couldn’t have guessed that Mark Waid would wrap this book up in such an iconic way, completely fitting considering the journey he’s taken us on for  thirty-seven issues. Read this one and by the end, you will be feeling just super .

All-Star Quote of the Book: “I got a good feeling about him, Joe. He’s gonna be a sensation.”

Lord of the Jungle Annual # 1

Company: Dynamite Entertainment

All-Star Crew of Presenters: Writer: Mark Rahner, Artist: Sergio Fernandez Davila, Colorist: Santosh Kumar Rath, Letterer: Simon Bowland, Editor: Joseph Rybandt

All-Star Summary for Choice: I’m a regular reader of this book and the first thing I noticed is that Sergio Fernandez should be the regular artist. His work is simply spectacular and added a whole other level of enjoyment to my reading experience.

   Tarzan is captured and hauled away for a fight club debut. In the period where this story takes place, Tarzan has learned to speak very well...and is very educated. This helps develop the story and builds the animosity between Tarzan and his antagonist, Sykes. The banter between the two is entertaining...but with a deadly undertone as Sykes has a total disregard for life, making Tarzan feel the same way for him.

   The payoff comes when it’s time for the fight. Tarzan’s opponent, Starker the Superlative, is not unlike the man mountains we saw in Ong Bak...huge and muscular to the point that small cars doing thirty miles per hour would simply bounce off him. He boasts an undefeated record. Nobody asked Tarzan what his record was...and they should have! Needless to say...this is a must read moment.

All-Star Quote of the Book: “You killed that German bastard in front of ten thousand people! That isn’t exactly in the rule book.”