things i liked this week

Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of our Fathers #2 (Marvel)
Reginald Hudlin/Denys Cowan/Klaus Janson/Pete Pantazis/Joe Sabino

Captain America makes the case for being a wartime ambassador, carefully bringing Wakanda to play on the world stage. and he and the Black Panther need to move quick, because the Red Skull has his secret weapons (starting with the stupidly-named Master Man). by the way, who's this Panther? T'Challa's grampa? man, kids today don't even know WWII. this one's for hardcore fans.

Amazing Spider-Man #630 (Marvel)
Zeb Wells/Chris Bachalo/Tim Townsend/Jaime Mendoza/Joe Caramagna (variant cover: Joe Quinones)
reads like a movie script, especially around the end when the inevitable happens. maybe this should be Spider-Man 4?


Secret Six #21 (DC)
Gail Simone/Jim Calafiore/Jason Wright/Travis Lanham (cover: Daniel Luvisi)

Catman tracks down his son's kidnappers in an efficient manner that would impress Batman, while his teammates are hot on his trail, trying to pull him off the brink of the abyss. but it seems too late, as he's been leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. plus we get a backstory that says it may not be far off for Blake to be a killer anyway. can't wait for the conclusion.

War of the Supermen #1 (DC)
Sterling Gates/James Robinson/Jamal Igle/Jon Sibal/Blond/John J. Hill (cover: Eddy Barrows/J.P. Mayer/Rod Reis; variant cover: Aaron Lopresti/Matt Ryan/Brad Anderson)

this whole screw-it-let's-bring-back-the-Kryptonians thing kind of cheapens the myth of Krypton and Kal's parents sending him out as the only survivor of their doomed planet. the only thing i look forward to (and thus regarding this as the first step) is the eventual demise of everyone (including a painful death for General Zod), leaving Supes again as the only remaining Kryptonian (ok, including Kara and Karen).

Uncanny X-Men #523 (Marvel)
Matt Fraction/Terry Dodson/Rachel Dodson/Justin Ponsor/Joe Caramagna (cover: Adi Granov, variant cover: David Finch/Matt Banning/Peter Steigerwald)
the X-Men take a breather to bury one of their own (Ariel obviously didn't merit several pages), and still oblivious to the internal threat of Donald Pierce. seething emotions rise to the surface, the most obvious ones from Hank, blaming Cyclops for the debacle, and Logan, who can barely contain his anger at losing Kurt, not knowing whether Hope was worth the risk and loss. i don't know what the general consensus is for Second Coming, but personally it ranks high among the better X-crossovers of the past.


Incorruptible #5 (Boom Studios)

Mark Waid/Horacio Domingues/Andrew Dalhouse/Ed Dukeshire (covers: Rafael Albuquerque/Dennis Calero/Jeffrey Spokes)
Max Damage turns his town upside with a decoy Jailbait to find the real Jailbait. unfortunately, he may be too late. Mark Waid has been upping the ante in his Irredeemable universe, and this has the makings of what Invincible ultimately became for Image.


Irredeemable #13 (Boom Studios)
Mark Waid/Diego Barreto/Andrew Dalhouse/Ed Dukeshire (covers: Paul Azaceta/ChrisCross)
the secret of Bete Noir! yes, it doesn't stop at that damn candle wax. looks like she's the only one left to carry on the fight, and with Modeus on the loose, Tony the Plutonian may not be her biggest problem. at the moment.

Brightest Day #1 (DC)

Geoff Johns/Peter Tomasi/Ivan Reis/Patrick Gleason/Ardian Syaf/Scott Clark/Joe Prado/Vicente Cifuentes/Mark Irwin/Oclair Albert/David Beaty/Peter Steigerwald/Rob Clark (cover: David Finch/Scott Williams variant: Reis/Chuck Pires)
an event so huge, it took a million creators to produce it (and basically overloading Blogger's paltry tag limit). why is Aquaman still calling dead fish? is J'onn a murderer? will Ronnie and Jason ever become BFFs? why can't the Hawks ever find peace? is it really the brightest day or is that just the sun piercing my hangover? gaaaahhhhh!

Red Robin #12 (DC)
Christopher Yost/Marcus To/Ray McCarthy/Guy Major/Sal Cipriano
the whole point of the Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul is to position him to kill the rest of the Wayne family. just kidding, but not really. Tim Drake/Wayne checkmates him and ... well, it turns out that may not be totally the case. altogether now, Red Robin ..... yummmmm!


Batman & Robin #12 (DC)
Grant Morrison/Andy Clarke/Scott Hanna/Dustin Nguyen/Alex Sinclair/Patrick Brosseau (cover by Frank Quitely/Clarke)
who is Gotham's king?
Damian no longer Al Ghul.
Sexton is a joke.


The Boys #42 (Dynamite Entertainment)
Garth Ennis/Darick Robertson/Richard P. Clark/Simon Bowland/Tony Aviña

Butcher continues his surreptitious investigation of Wee Hughie, hoping that his worst fears won't come true. Metamorpho Malchemical laughing at Superduper continues to amuse (bad). the pacing's been a bit slow, but it all comes to a head next issue. heh, head.

Hellboy In Mexico (Dark Horse)
Mike Mignola/Richard Corben/Dave Stewart/Clem Robins

an idea that makes so much sense as much as it doesn't: Hellboy teaming up with luchadores to fight supernatural evil. Jack Black may have pushed it toward public consciousness, and Moon Knight and Deadpool may have ramped it up with their team-ups with the Zapata Brothers, but somehow putting Hellboy and festive-costumed Mexican wrestlers together is a lot more intriguing and entertaining. Hellboy 3 subplot?

as bad as i wanna be

drive-by readings

Incorruptible #2 (Boom!) Mark Waid Jean Diaz Belardino Brabo Andrew Dalhouse Ed Dukeshire Joe Caramagna Dennis Calero/Rafael Albuquerque/Jeffrey Spokes (covers) spinning off the success of the excellent Irredeemable, Incorruptible goes the opposite path where a supervillain goes straight. and i don't mean going back to playing for the same team. anyway, Max Damage recruits his policeman nemesis to get his crusade in cleaning up after the now-power mad Plutonian. his Catwoman-like jailbait girlfriend named ... Jailbait ... doesn't like his newfound epiphany although i suspect she'd more or less get on the wagon soon enough. personally, i'd have her betray him at some point. but that's just me. that's why i just write a stupid blog. anyhoo, this series shows signs of having some legs. art-wise, am not too impressed especially with the lack of detail. let's give it a few more issues.

yippee ki-yay, M'F-er!

drive-by readings

Die Hard: Year One #1 (Boom!) Howard Chaykin Stephen Thompson Matthew Wilson Ed Dukeshire Dave Johnson Jock/John Paul Leon (variant covers)

well, well, well. i didn't know they were putting this out. as a fan of the Die Hard series, i feel that its best served on film, not on sequential art. but whatever. until the next movie comes out, this is aimed squarely at the ... well, die-hards.

here our intrepid hero John McClane starts life as rookie cop in mid-70s Big Bad Apple, emphasis on the bad, which today's generation wouldn't really know about. yes, kiddies in those days, you would not want to walk in Times Square, and no, there wasn't any Toys R Us then!

and that's as far as we go. this is primarily a set up issue. we have country bumpkin Rosie Haskell, trying to keep up with life in the big city, becoming a witness to a murder perpetrated by two corrupt cops (and before you say anything, only one of them is white). the vague reason being, the victim, Ira Lewis, wanted more money for something, and the two cops wouldn't budge. so as usual, events beyond his control will engulf McClane and be his first test of fire, honing the skills of getting out of sticky situations, skills that should serve him well in the future.

drive-by readings: Swordsmith Assassin #1

Swordsmith Assassin #1 (Boom!) Andrew Cosby Michael Alan Nelson Ayhan Hayrula Andres Lozano Johnny Lowe John Cassaday/Laura Martin (cover A) Joe Corroney (cover B)

so there's this Japanese swordsmith who spent most of his life learning from his father, a legendary swordmaker of his time, and applying capitalist principles on their craft to enjoy the fruits of their labors. in other words, its also about the money, baby!!! turns out not vetting your customers (like those greedy gun shops) can result in crazy stuff. you know, like somebody coming back to use your own tools on you. which is what happens to Toshiro Ono, current single man, as his family is slain by a thief wielding one of his own swords personally purchased from him. now, surviving his own bumbling attempt at revenge, he makes it his current vocation to track down all his swords and make sure they're never used. kinda like Tony Stark and the first Armor Wars. so what's he doing telling his tale of woe to a German general right smack in the middle of the Franco-Prussian War? is he going to be able to politely take the general's sword without a hitch? or is he going to take on the whole Prussian army to do it?

drive-by readings: Dead Run #2

Dead Run #2 (Boom!) Andrew Cosby Michael Alan Nelson Francesco Biagini Matthew Wilson Marshall Dillon Eric Canete and Andres Lozano (cover)

this title caught my eye in its opening issue, with its Mad Max/futuristic tale of a courier (Nick Masters) forced to go through a "Dead Run", a mythic route thru the wastelands between San Francisco and Los Angeles, to deliver some contraband goods in exchange for his kidnapped sister. tagging along is Becki, the teenage firecracker daughter of the only man who's ever survived the route. Nick and Becki survive the a pack of mutant bikers called drones (who rule the radiated wastelands) thru some quick thinking, but fall prey to a land mine on a diversion road. the bickering pair may follow the cliche of eventually becoming partners, but it works here. i just don't get the monologue Nick has to deliver when he discovers Becki's been taken by the locals. i guess that would work in film.

is Boom! trying to pull a fast one?

apparently, written by one-half of Steely Dan, no less.


did i miss Civil Warrior? Hulk: Warworld? Secrets of War? Conquest or Annihilation?

irredeemable

Mark Waid is allegedly evil. yes, for teaming up with Peter Krause (no, not that dude in Sex, i mean Six Feet Under) in designing an anti-hero who looks a lot like Miracleman and Captain Marvel (no, not that woman from New Orleans!). read it all here [via robot6@ cbr]

Mark knows we're just kidding. we love Empire.