Fantastic Four #553 — Writer: Dwayne McDuffie; Penciler: Paul Pelletier; Inker: Rick Magyar
McDuffie’s been delivering the best sustained FF since Mark Waid: check out the three-part time-travel tale that concludes here and see, as everyone acts smart and in-character, and the core concepts of the book are attended to with affection and care. Wave goodbye as he makes way for Millar and Hitch (who should hope to do as well), and wish him a long and well-received run on JLA.
Death of the New Gods # 5 ( of 8 ) — Writer/Penciller: Jim Starlin; Inks: Matt Banning and Art Thibert
Rounding into a good series: Everyone (especially those with fond memories of Infinity Gauntlet, let alone Starlin’s earlier stuff) needs to check out this cheerfully cosmic annihilation-in-progress. I still think the Real Murderer’s real identity is painfully obvious, but extra points for Metron’s dialogue with The Source (or half of it, anyway), and for just how enjoyable this has been, when in less-capable hands it could have been so much worse.
Ultimate Spider-Man #118 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Stuart Immonen; Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Good as always, but a special shout-out to cheesy early-’80s cartoon fans, as a beach party involving Bobby Drake, Liz Allen, Johnny Storm, Kitty, Mary Jane and others sets up an Ultimate Spider-Man and his Ultimate Amazing Friends story next issue.
Captain America #34 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Penciler: Steve Epting; Inker: Butch Guice
Not much to say here except what I always say: This is a remarkably smooth piece of storytelling, geared to
snaring new readers and keeping them; considering its combination of sales and quality, I think it was a big candidate for Book of the Year for 2007, and it’s continuing to deliver in 2008 too.
Narcopolis #1 — Writer: Jamie Delano; Art: Jeremy Rock
Worth reading; the Orwellian sci-fi pharmaceutica-speak is a nice touch, but threatens to become annoying. If you like Warren Ellis’s Avatar stuff, give this a try.
New Avengers Annual #2 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Carlo Pagulayan; Inker: Jeff Huet
Pretty good — it’s continued from the regular book, as the Hood and his gang of super-villains raid the New Avengers HQ in Dr. Strange’s groovy Greenwich-Village pad. They namecheck the Masters-of-Evil attack-on-the-mansion plot from around… what, the 270s?, and are aiming for its blend of action, character and Real Consequences (if there were a futures market on Who’s-A-Skrull, I’d be betting big on Dr. Strange right now — but I’m guessing he’s a conflicted Skrull… and the fact that I have spent actual time pondering this is an advertisement for this book’s seductive pull).
Action Comics #861 — Writer: Geoff Johns; Penciller: Gary Frank; Inker: Jon Sibal
Not that much to say here, smack in the middle of the arc, except that the explanation of why Earth’s sun is red is Really Stupid, especially when they try to extend the same explanation to “75% of the United Planets.” “What? How is that possible?” a character inquires. “Someone’s evidently doing it on purpose,” says Brainy, avoiding the question (hey, if he doesn’t know, don’t expect Geoff Johns to be able to answer it…).
Batman #673 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Penciller: Tony Daniel; Inkers: Jonathan Glapion and Sandu Florea
Last issue, Batman got knocked out from a heart attack. This issue, he hallucinates, and Morrison touches on Bruce’s past isolation-chamber meditation experiments, and the time he caught the guy who killed his parents. Next issue, he’ll wake up and the actual plot will rev up again. OK, in a kind of mild what-Batman’s-all-about, treading-water way, although the chopped-up narrative doesn’t help.
Stuff I liked enough to buy, but don’t have anything new to say about, so go look up previous reviews in the archives if you want to know why I liked it:
Madman #6 — Writer/Artist: Michael Allred
Jack of Fables #19 — Writers: Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges; Pencils: Russ Braun; Inks: Andrew Pepoy
Crossing Midnight #15 — Writer: Mike Carey; Pencils: Jim Fern; Digital Inks and Colors: Jose Villarrubia
Badger Saves the World #2 — Writer: Mike Baron; Art: Kevin Caron
Black Summer #5 — Writer: Warren Ellis; Art: Juan Jose Ryp
Daredevil #104 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Artists: Michael Lark, Paul Azaceta, Tom Palmer and Stefano Gaudiano
Mighty Avengers #8 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Mark Bagley; Inkers: Danny Miki, Allen Martinez and Victor Olazaba
