Thor #603 — Writer: J. Michael Straczynski;  Penciler: Marko Djurdjevic;  Inker: Danny Miki This is Staczynski’s last regular issue of this title (he’s leaving because Marvel’s going to make Thor the linchpin of a Big Event Crossover next year, and he wants no part of it); he’ll resolve the current storyline in one of those Giant-Size Specials next month.  I’m surprisingly sad to see him go; I thought the beginnings of this relaunch were just OK, but he was very careful about laying all the bricks into the overstory’s foundation, one by one, and at this point Chick Loki, Lord … Continue reading →

Dark Reign: Lethal Legion #3 (of 3) — Writer: Frank Tieri;  Art: Mateus Santolouco You’d think I’d have known not to read this book — but, like a victim of trauma or some horrible past abuse, I keep pushing each issue out of my memory, approaching each new one innocently, free of any past preconceptions. I don’t look at the credits, and start scanning it, wondering at the grossly misguided narrative choices (here, the climactic battle the other issues were leading up to is told in disjointed flashbacks, providing no continuity or suspense, just sketchy confusion provided by endless rows … Continue reading →

The Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #15 — Creators: Tim Hensley; Matthew Thurber and Kevin Huizenga; Jordan Crane; Ted May and Sammy Harkham; Will Sweeney; Jon Vermilyea; Ben Jones; John Kerschbaum; Jeffrey Brown; C.F.; Dan Zettwach; Guest Editor: Sammy Harkham Harham is the editor of Kramer’s Ergot, the avant-garde indy comics anthology whose most recent issue was roughly the size of a Mini-Cooper, with a price ($125) to match. One of its contributors was Matt Groening, so it makes a certain kind of cosmic sense that he’d tap Harkham for this year’s Treehouse — it’s developed its own reputation as a … Continue reading →