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. 5/5I 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!
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