Pellet Comic Reviews for December 15

or, "May All Your Christmases be Green (Lanterns)"

Amazing Spider-Man #650 - This was an issue I both loved (Black Cat, Milk Bath, New Hobgoblin) and hated (New Suit hijinx, MJ, Pete's New Job, the back up.) Essentially, what works for this book works extremely well and what doesn't doesn't. Slott choosing to focus on Peter helping Felicia become a hero is a great angle, and he nails the chemistry between the two. On the other hand, the chemistry between Peter and "New Girlfriend" is fairly dull. The fact that MJ appears for 5 panels and Peter can react off of her speaks to something behind the scenes. The reason I label MJ a negative of this issue is that the scene and circumstances she's in are so absolutely contrived. As well, I continue to loathe the terrible plot convenient job Pete has. It's good on paper, but it sticks out as a sore thumb to me how it just fits so easily into stories. "Oh it's okay, I can work whatever hours I want..." There is a good bit of "physical" comedy that comes out of his changing costume at work though. This issue was a solid 4/3.5 until I read the gods awful back up to this issue. It features the worst rendering of Mach V I've ever seen and has a pointless double reveal in less than one page! And the reveal isn't noticeable the first time it happens, because the character is off-model. Alas, I'm still on board "Big Time" but the seams are showing it seems. 3/5

Batman and Robin #18 - Definitely a step up from last issue both in story and art. It seems Cornell and McDaniel had a lot more time to work on this one. On the art front, things are clearer and Dick and Damian are the proper heights. Absence is an interesting character, and I like the idea that Hush created this villain while posing as Bruce. It's good, but it's not great. 3/5

Brightest Day #16 - We're finally getting to the meat of this series with the focus shifting to Aquaman and Aqualad in the lead story and Firestorm in the B-story of the issue. The art continues to be a strong point of this series, the transitions seeming far more polished than previous issues. Getting to know Aqualad's backstory is interesting, especially with the contrasts against Aquamn's history. I wish we could get a little more out of the Firestorm story, it does seem a little stalled, but it's not too bad, like some of the other stories in this book. I'm really liking Aqualad so far. His costume reveal this issue is pretty badass. 4/5

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #5 - This book is hitting its stride. It still feels like it should be a little farther along then it is. A more action oriented issue, we take a break from the focus on Sodam Yat and follow Guy's story. Tomasi is nailing the characterizations for Guy, Arisa and Kilowog. He certainly gets these characters and it's nice to see him using them in his own sandbox, though references are made to the greater Green Lantern mythos Tomasi helped Johns create. 4/5

Green Lantern/Plastic Man: Weapons of Mass Deception - I wasn't actually aware this was coming out until the other day and I picked this up on a lark. It was fairly fun in a Silver/Bronze Age-y way. The art was a little sketchy, but well suited to the tale. There's certainly a very Joe Staton look to Hal going on here. 3.5/5

Supergirl #59 - This issue makes the end of the Sterling Gates/Jamal Igle run on Supergirl which began with #34. In that time, this team has turned in the best ongoing Superman family title I've read in a long time, as well as the first time I've cared about Kara Zor-El in a long time. This was a nice end cap to the series, bringing things full circle. The nice thing though, is that there's a sense of future to the end of this run, which sometimes doesn't happen. You'll have writers place their characters in a place they can't really come back from. What we get here is a hopeful message of Cat Grant accepting Supergirl for who she is as well as Kara accepting her place in the world. Great stuff. I'll miss this book and team. 4/5

Thunderbolts #151 - A great, slow issue that explores the backstory of Ghost, one of my favorite villains in the Marvel U. The framing story also offers some great characterizations for the Thunderbolts team, as well as the reveal of the new teammate. Kev Walker's art continues to amaze and there is some wonderful panneling on the pages here. All around a great package and a book I love to read each month. 5/5

Uncanny X-Force #3 - A book that I wasn't planning on picking up has turned out to be a fairly good read so far. This issue featured a fight between X-Force and the Final Horsemen. The Horsemen are a really interesting set of villains with interesting powers and histories. The dynamics that play off of Wolverine and Warren being involved directly in the fight are also well used. It's a book that uses both Fantomex and Deadpool and uses them expertly and without annoyance. A really solid book that leaves me curious to see where it goes each month. 4/5

X-Factor #212 - In recent months, I've been pretty down on this title, and parts of this story arc in particular. This issue, though, was quite enjoyable. Peter David is a master at using his characters against each other and off each other and that's really the treat of the issue. To be fair, the fight scenes are really nice, but guest star Thor just sort of disappears as a speaking character halfway through the issue and really serves no discernible story purpose. Still really good reading, especially the slow build up on the Rahne story arc. 4/5

And my pick of the week....

Green Lantern #60 - Since the end of Blackest Night, the main GL book has been a little "here-and-there" last issue, we finally got some focus back into the title. This issue capitalizes on that focus and brings us into the next step of the GL story Geoff Johns has been spinning these nearly 6 years. Para-Flash was a nice reveal last issue and the fight that ensues this issue is a great bit of character work between Barry and Hal, it has implications for both books as well. Fantastic stuff here. However, there is a reveal at the end of the issue that I've been talking about since the beginning of Blackest Night. He's a villain with a long history in GL and working with the color spectrum. I'm excited it finally came to light. This issue also sees Keith Champagne come onboard to handling inking chores. Champagne has a history of working with Geoff Johns. Champagne is a solid inker whose style stands out, but also shows off the original pencils. I hope he sticks around as he think his style fits well with Mahnke. 5/5

I don't normally pick up variant covers, but this DC 75th Anniversary Frank Quitely homage cover was too nice to pass up at the LCS!

Pellet Comic Reviews for December 8

or, "Adventures in Squirrelsitting"

Batgirl #16 - I absolutely love Stephanie Brown. I always liked her as Spoiler, but I adore her Batgirl. Bryan Q. Miller is doing some fantastic writing, giving Stephanie a unique, maturing voice as she comes into her own as bot an adult and a superhero. This issue sees Steph's secret life and college life colliding together and it's fantastically engaging - especially her relationship with "Detective McCute Schtick." Dustin Nguyen continues to impress with his pencils, fantastic flow in panels and some fun playing with page design. Recommended reading. 4/5

DC Universe Holiday Special 2010 - A rather interesting collection of 6 holiday stories from around the DCU. The stand outs were the Jonah Hex Chanukkah story and Spectre story which focused on the Persian/Iranian holiday of Nououz. I was surprised by the multicultural bent of the issue and the focus away from Christmas. In all a very good anthology of stories. The only one I didn't like was the Anthro story, just wasn't engaged by it. 3/5

The Flash #7 - I was a big fan of Geoff Johns' previous "Rogue Profile" issues during his previous Flash run, and this first during his new run continues the tradition. This story serves as a really nice reintroduction to Digger Harkness that also serves to move the story forward. The Rogues have been my favorite group of villains in comics. They always seemed to have legitimate rationales for attacking their heroes, as opposed to "I want things!" Digger first challenges the Flash because he thinks he can sell more boomerangs if he beats the flash. Scott Kolins amazes on art, even with his new style. It's always nice seeing him back on the Flash. 5/5

Justice League: Generation Lost #15 - And the best Justice League book in probably the past 10 years continues to be awesome. Judd Winick has a great grasp on the personalities of all the JLI characters he's using and can pay them well off each other. There's a fantastically written scene between Booster Gold and Captain Atom where you can see Atom actually reaizing Booster as a real leader. Wonderful. The issue has two different artists but their styles are divided well over the issue. A fantastic book that is a joy to read every other week! 5/5

Knight & Squire #3 - Paul Cornell's fantastic take on Knight and Squire continues in all it's Brit-ophilia glory. This issue is a history and Shakespeare buff's dream as King Richard III is brought back from the grave. He uses his wile to bring other unfavored monarchs back from the grave to overthrow the Queen! Only the Knight can save the realm. A great issue chock full of references to England and literature. Jimmy Broxton is also jamming his panels with visual references (Revenge of the Cidermen!) and gags as well as story points. Great balancing act. 4/5

Mystery Society #5 - I've loved this book since the first issue, it's a fantastic mix of great, saucy writing from Steve Niles and amazing art from Ashley Wood and Fiona Staples. It's hard to talk about this book, it's pure fun in comic form with zany ideas, smooth talking leads and a steampunk Jule Verne Robot! I mean come on? Apparently this issue is the last of the series, which makes me sad as I'll miss this monthly douse of awesome. If you haven't checked it out, it seems the trade is being rushed to print within the next two weeks. 4/5

Nortlanders #35 - This book has been my Vertigo mainstay over the past few years, along with Sweet Tooth it's the only monthly Vertigo book I buy in issues. (Fables being my tradewaiting series) I simply love the tone of the book and the focus on pagans. It's a great look and each arc introduces some new aspect and era to the book. This issue features some particularly moody art from Becky Cloonan. I'll say, her style really fits with the tone of this story, but also through coloring matches the series as it has been for three years. I would have liked a bit more story from this first half, but this book is always a consistent read. 4/5

Red Robin #18 - I think this is my third attempt at this book and this one seems the most likely to keep me interested. Fabian Nicieza is my favorite "B" writer. He might not be the strongest writer, but he writes consistently decent books. I didn't absolutely love this issue, despite being the first part of a story arc I felt like I was missing a little information. I do worry Tim is too Bruce-like for my tastes. 3/5

Superboy #2 - This book was so close to being my Pick. A fantastic cover, a really great story, and solid interior art from Pier Gallo. Lemire's Superboy is exactly in my conception of the character. Part small town boy, part trying to fill his "Fathers' " shoes, part charmer. The idea that Poison Ivy would be hitting on him made me laugh. Just really fun, light fare that's written so well. Loved this book. 5/5

Thor: The Mighty Avenger #7 - Me? Reading a Romance book? Starring Thor? This is a lovely book that is so much fun to read and soak in the art. I'll be sad to see this book canceled with the next issue, but it promises to go out on a high note. Please be sure to check out the trade of the first 4 issues, you'll be doing yourself a huge favor. 4/5

And my Pick of the Week for this week is...

New Avengers #7 - Brian Michael Bendis is a writer I both love and hate. He walks a line with me that can fall too much into writing scenes where everyone sounds exactly the same spouting lines that he finds funny. This issue happened to fall into this trap, but excelled at it by playing it all for comedy. Essentially, nothing happens other than adding Doctor Strange to the team, but we get some fantastic characterizations along the way. I absolutely love any scenes with Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Fantastic interplay there, one of the best couples in comics. Stuart Immonen was on fire this issue, doing facial expressions and the 26 panel interview page which resulted in one of the best moments of the issue. As well, I was unaware SG and Wolverine had a history. Another fantastic scene. There's not too much I can say other that this is, in my mind, the strongest Avengers book going (that isn't Thunderbolts!) and I'm glad to be back on board the New Avengers team! 5/5

Pellet Comic Reviews for December 2

or, "The Uncanny Luthor of Oz"

So this week, I hope to start reviewing my comics on this blog instead of clogging my twitter feed with 140 character reviews of the books I read each week. I intend to have short reviews to give you a sense of what I feel about my weekly haul of books.

I'm playing catch up right now, I'm a week behind. I should be able to swing the rest of my stack tomorrow or saturday. This was an odd week. A small-ish haul, made up mostly of limited series or things I'm thinking of dropping. Without further ado... COMICS

Action Comics Annual (2010) #13 - Paul Cornell's reinvention/redefinition of Lex Luthor continues in this solid annual. We're given Luthor's first encounters with two of DC's other iconic villains: Darkseid and Ra's Al Ghul. The Darkseid story is a solid effort, Darkseid having some fantastic lines, and has some fantastic layout work from Marco Rudy. That said, Rudy's line art was a little shaky, some characters were hard to follow through the story. Some of that was also the fault of the colorist, at times its hard to discern the difference between Perry White and the head of Intergang. The Ra's story is told in the style of a legend/fairytale and its coupled with some of the most mature Ed Benes art I've seen. It's nice take on the relationship between the two, while having a very nice style. Both stories are great editions to Cornell's overall Luthor mythos. 4/5

Adventure Comics #521 - This isn't a book I generally pick up, but I thought the premise of rebuilding the Green Lantern Corps. in the future of the Legion of Super-Heroes might be fun. While I didn't enjoy the issue - it seemed focused on character work I wasn't look for base don the cover - I thought it was decent and the reveal at the end could be interesting. I just wasn't sold on this series. 2/5

Astonishing Thor #1 - This was another book I picked up on a lark. I wasn't particularly drawn to it, but I had heard a few good things scattered across the Internet. Mike Choi's art is pretty solid across the issue, though some faces look odd at times. The story is fairly weak, with some clunky dialogue. I admit, the last time I read a Rob Rodi script was 10 years ago in Codename: Knockout, but I remembered liking it. Nothing here was working for me, sadly. 2/5

Brightest Day #15 - Now that we're past the midway point of this series, I had expected to see some threads coming together. Instead, we're treated to a 20-page long alternate timeline in the Martian Manhunter's mind. It's not a bad one, and there are some insightful characterizations but the issue just felt flat and like so much padding to get the story to 26 issues. Clark and Gleason worked really well together here, so it's not all bad! 3/5

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #39 - I really just don't know what to say about this book at this point. It felt like a jumble of gobbeldy-guck to get to the end of the story. The book just doesn't have the luster it did 2 years ago when it all started. Count me out for Buffy Season 9. 1/5

Freedom Fighters #4 - This is a writing team I've loved, and whose previous work with these characters was fantastic. But this latest effort just lacks the energy of previous installments. I can't even place why I'm not liking this issue. I just don't feel anything for this book. Sadly, I'll be departing the book with this issue. I still love this issue's fantastic minimalist cover. 2/5

Generation Hope #2 - I was a little leery after last issue, but liked it well enough to continue. This issue really doesn't move us too forward in terms of plot, however there are some great moments of characterization for the "Lights." That said, I found this issue to be a little wanting. It was certainly better than run of the mill, but a step down from the first issue. As a sidenote, I picked up the wonderful Women of Marvel variant cover for this issue, featuring Hope Summers. 3.5/5

Sweet Tooth #16 - Sweet Tooth is a book that I have loved since issue 1. It's also one of those books that it becomes tiring to talk about because it's so good. I had been a little down on the book of late, not because it was getting bad but because I just felt a little distant. Lemire is doing fantastic things with this book. There were some great layouts and art choices this issue. As well, I got a sense of forward momentum from the plot which really energized the book for me. A great read. 4/5

Vertigo Resurrected: Winter's Edge - The second in a collection of Vertigo shorts and lost stories. I was really intrigued by the first special which presented a mixed collection of stories vaguely premised on being gun/war based stories. This special recollects the three Winter's Edge one-shots released in the late 90s. They present stories featuring Vertigo mainstays with a winter theme. Most of them, for obvious reasons, deal with death (and Death) and present some great morality tales therein. However, there are two stories that deal with Desire that sparks the idea that the Solstice was the celebration of the Unconquerable Sun, when spring and life come back to the world. A fantastic read, though I would say I found a few more misses that hits in this collection as opposed to the first. It still presents some of the best material around and is worth picking up. 5/5

And my Pick of the Week for December 2, 2010:


Ozma of Oz #2 - I've loved the previous Oz collaborations between Eric Shanower and Skottie Young. Shanower does a great job of working Baum's stories into a comic format, but Young's pencils shine as you can see in his design for the Wheelers to the right. I've loved Ozma of Oz ever since I saw Disney's Return to Oz which combines some minor plot points from Marvelous Land of Oz with the overall story of Ozma. This issue brings us fully into the story I'm used to. Dorthory has woken up on the distant shore of a fairy land. With her talking hen, Billina, she begins to investigate the area whilst avoiding the Wheelers and she stumbles upon Tik-Tok the Clockwork Man. Tik-Tok is my favorite Oz character and Young's redesign of him is fantastic! He has a copper mustache and he has three seperate keyholes to wind his thinking, speaking and "action" independent of each other! The comic takes us through his origin and we start to move deeper into the land of Ev. Fantastic things are being done in this book and I'm glad to be supporting it. I love handing these things off to my nieces and nephews. 5/5