Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis;  Art: David Lafuente Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 — Writer: Mark Millar;  Penciler: Carlos Pacheco;  Inker: Danny Miki First, a complaint about the trade dress/logos: the “Ultimate” part of each title is so pale that it’s almost invisible. Maybe that’s Marvel acknowledging that the Ultimate brand isn’t a big attraction any more, but it also meant that I was actively looking for “Ultimate Spider-Man,” and “Ultimate Avengers,” and almost didn’t get these because, at first glance, they looked like some regular Spidey or Avengers mini-series. So, how are the books? USM is … Continue reading →

Blackest Night: Batman #1 (of 3) — Writer: Peter J. Tomasi;  Penciller: Ardian Syaf;  Inkers: John Dell and Vicente Cifuentes Green Lantern Corps #39 — Writer: Peter J. Tomasi;  Penciller: Patrick Gleason;  Inkers: Rebecca Buchman and Tom Nguyen I don’t usually bother with spinoffs of main events (actually, anymore, I don’t usually bother with main events, but this one has been so high-concept, so gleeful in its fannish use of character resurrection and destruction, that it’s been impossible to resist), and these two are no exception. However, they’re well done — although they aren’t by Johns, Tomasi, the regular writer … Continue reading →

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 →