Invincible Iron Man #16 — Writer: Matt Fraction;  Artist: Salvador Larroca Fraction continues to do the impossible, by making Tony Stark into a sympathetic character again; he’s stripping him of everything, purifying him, and revealing the decency at his core. Few writers today are as good, or as confident, at figuring out what makes their subjects worth reading about, and  here it’s all about the Tony/Pepper relationship, and about dealing with the “hero” part of “superhero,” and making it work; this is one of the better mainstream books on the stands right now. Amazing Spider-Man #601 — Writer: Mark Waid;  … Continue reading →

Mayhem #1 — Writers: Tyrese Gibson, Mike Le and William Wilson;  Art: Tone Rodriguez It would be easy to be a hater here, but let’s at least acknowledge that Gibson is a legitimate comics fan, and that should count for something. However, this isn’t good: it’s what a moderately-talented 18-year-old who’d read a lot of early-’90s Image comics would produce: an urban avenger with big guns and a penchant for violence. To give you an idea of its problems, there’s a scene where Mayhem has taken seven shots at the bad guys (a helpful “bam!” marking each one), and one … Continue reading →

Amazing Spider-Man #600 — (Main Story/62 pgs.) — Writer: Dan Slott; Penciler: John Romita, Jr.;  Inker: Klaus Janson; (2nd Story/12 pgs.) — Writer: Stan Lee;  Art: Marcos Martin;  (3rd Story/5 pgs.) — Writer: Mark Waid;  Art: Coleen Doran;  (4th story/5 pgs.) — Writer: Bob Gale;  Art: Mario Alberti;  (5th Story/5 pgs.) — Writer: Marc Guggenheim;  Art: Mitch Breitweiser;  (6th Story/5 pgs.) — Writer: Zeb Wells;  Art: Derec Donovan;  (7th Story/5 pgs.) — Writer: Joe Kelly;  Pencils: Fiumara;  Inks: Chuckry Throw in a couple of “Spidey covers you’ll never see,” and that’s over 100 pages of materials for $4.99, even more … Continue reading →

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #3 (of 5) — Writer: Paul Cornell;  Penciller: Mark Brooks;  Inkers: Mark Morales and Walden Wong Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-Man #2 (of 4) — Writer: Brian Reed;  Pencils: Chris Bachalo with Rob Disalvo;  Inkers: Townsend, Mendoza, Sibal and Disalvo Dark Reign: The Hood #3 (of 5) — Writer: Jeff Parker;  Art: Kyle Hotz Dark Reign: Hawkeye #4 (of 5) — Writer: Andy Diggle;  Penciler: Tom Raney;  Inker: Scott Hanna Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2 (of 3) — (Cloak and Dagger) — Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk;  (Weapon Omega) — Marc Bernardin/Adam Freeman and Michel Lacombe; (Daken) … Continue reading →