Legen...wait for it...dary Comic Book Highlights of the Week for 12/16/09

Cover of the Week: Green Lantern Corps #43

I always like it when a cover actually gives you a slight preview of what to expect from the issue and this cover for Green Lantern Corps #43 tells you all you need to know about what happens in the issue. Simple but powerful.

Amazing Spider-Man #615 Highlights

I always enjoy scenes between JJJ and Robbie when they start talking about the past and serious current topics. There is just a different air about their conversations that you know it is something important between these two long time friends.

Hey even Spider-Man needs to wear some winter clothes. And how can you not smile at the winter Spider-Man costume.

Javier Pulido artwork was great in this issue as these two pages show he has a very good Steve Ditko and Marcos Martin style in his art while still adding his own style to the artwork.

Batman #694 Highlights

It was good to see that Dick is actually trying to teach Damian something other than fighting and playing nice with others. It actually feels more like a Batman and Robin relationship as Dick is having Damian in the cave doing some detective work.

Things just keep getting worse for Dick in the first few months as Batman. But the bigger the challange the greater the hero Dick will be as he deals with the mountain of problems he faces and overcomes them.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #7 Highlights

Ouch! Felt that burn all the way here.

Will you look at that, Damian is a real boy.

What a great final challange to face.

Manhunter has some explaining to do.

Captain America: Reborn #5 Highlights

See kids Uncle Skull says it is okay to lie. Lying is good.

It is good to see MODOK back. Have not seen MODOK in a while.

While this is a good way to end the comic it is to bad Marvel has spoiled the hell out of this mini-series as we know both Bucky and Steve are alive and are both Captain America.

Daredevil #503 Highlights

Man, Master Izo and Matt never have a civil conversation.

Gotta love Wilson's plan to take back his kingdom and regain his rightful title of Kingpin of Crime.

Green Lantern Corps #43 Highlights

Rage is not your friend kids......

unless you want to kick some serious ass as Guy takes out a bunch of Black Lanterns and, as this image shows, a Sinestro Corp member.

You know things are getting serious when Mogo is ready to kick ass. Time to lay a planet size smackdown on the Black Lanterns.

Realm of Kings: Inhumans #2 Highlights

What better way to catch up with an old friend than bashing a bunch of skulls of an enemy.

It is never easy to talk to your ex. Pietro really stuck his own foot in his mouth in his discussion with Crystal that lead her to say she is much happier with Ronan than she ever was with Pietro.

DnA continue to do an impressive job with Medusa's character. And they did a very good job here with Pym's character.

Legen...wait for it....dary Comic Book Highlights of the Week for 11/11/09

Cover of the Week: Amazing Spider-Man #611

I've said it many times but I love Skottie Young's artwork and his cover art is always great and this cover with Spider-Man and Deadpool is just all kinds of awesome. It is an great preview of the fun you are going to get inside the comic.

Amazing Spider-Man #611 Highlights

Hey at least Marvel tried something new and fun for the recap page of this issue with even Deadpool joining in with the rest of the editors to recap what's been going with Spider-Man.

Gotta love the Looney Tones-esque joke here with Deadpool playing the role of Bugs Bunny and Spider-Man playing the role of the unexpected Elmer Fudd.

I don't think I have to say much about why these two images made the highlights of the week. The image of Spider-Man and Deadpool trading Yo Mama jokes speaks for itself of how awesome this issue was.

Batman #693 Highlights

Helena makes for one heck of a "wingman" especially with what happens in the next image.

Barbara is not going to like that.

Told ya. That is one mean stink eye.

He's back!!!

I dig Dick using different versions of the Batsuit with this version looking like it integrates the Winger-tech from his time as Nightwing.

Batman and Robin #6 Highlights

Batman and Robin tell you to talk too the hand.

What I would like to know is how much of what happened to Bruce during Batman RIP does Dick knows as it seems that maybe he and Bruce talked about Zur-En-Arrh since no one knew about that but Bruce and Black Mask.

Also I want to know why Dick is keeping it a secret he does know Bruce is alive from Tim and everyone.

Daredevil #502 Highlights

As always your exs haunt you in your dreams. There just is no escaping the wrath of your ex.

Yep Izo is okay. Just give him a beer.

Green Lantern Corps #42 Highlights

Just a gorgeous splash page of the Black Lanterns heading towards the Green Lantern Corps main power battery.

If you are going to give a hero a proper death this is how you do it. Kyle was give the proper hero death even though he will probably come back by the end of Blackest Night, if not sooner.

Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #1 Highlights

Now that is how you make an entrance.

If it can't be done right by others than just do it yourself as Gladiator did here.

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 11/11/09

The Top 25 Anime Character countdown is going to be taking a small break. It will be back on Sunday with #11-#15. Instead it is time to review some of this week's comics. This week's reviews I will take a look at Amazing Spider-Man #611, Batman #693, and Green Lantern Corps #42.

Amazing Spider-Man #611

Creative Team
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Eric Canete
Colorist: Andres Mossa

Story – This Man, This (Expletive Deleted)

Review
Though Amazing Spider-Man #611 wasn't as great as I was expecting it to be Joe Kelly still provided a very good issue. This issue makes me wish that Kelly would write a team-up title with Spider-Man and Deadpool or at the very least a mini-series. It is actually incredible that we haven't had more issues with Spider-Man and Deadpool meeting up in the past as it just seems like a natural team-up with how great both character's play off one another.

As Kelly has done anytime he has been penned to write a story on Amazing Spider-Man he just showed why he is one of the best Spidey writers on the Spider-Man Brain Trust. And at the same time he showed a great handle of a character he is long been familiar with. The two characters had a great chemistry. And I really like how Kelly choose to open the first scene between the two with a Looney Toons-type joke. It was really great way to open up the rest of the scenes between the two for the rest of the issue.

Also of note were the jokes about Blackest Night joke and the need for internal monologue. But what really sealed the deal was the yo mama jokes in the basketball courts. Because seriously how can you not laugh at "You mother's so stupid she thinks cheerios are donut seeds," or "Your mother's so fat, Hank Pym had to beat her up in the back of a Quinjet." Great stuff by the two of them as Kelly really did a fantastic job with all the jokes in the issue.

What sort of took steam out of this issue was the artwork. Even though this issue with Spider-Man and Deadpool needed an artist that could draw more in a more cartoony style Eric Canete artwork was just way to inconsistent. There were points in the issue were the characters just look distorted which does take you out of the issue at times. It also seemed that the art was rushed and not much effort was put into this issue.

Also another thing that I did not like was the unnecessary need to tie it into the Gauntlet storyline that is going to start in the next issue. Though we saw that something was going to happen to Maddie with the preview of things to come during ASM #600 it just felt out of place in this issue. It just felt that Kelly forced the Gauntlet storyline in even though he did not need to as we have in this issue which had a very light and humorous tone.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.2/10 – Kelly turned in some great writing with Spider-Man and Deadpool. The only thing that kept it from being a perfectly rated story is the unnecessary insertion of the Gauntlet story line.
Art: 5.7/10 – Though Eric Canete artwork had an interesting cartoony look the inconsistency, which at times lead to characters looking distorted, really hurt this issue's story in certain parts.
Overall: 7.45/10 – Amazing Spider-Man #611 was a fun issue to read. Even though some of the weaknesses of the issue did hurt the story this was still a fun issue to read. If you are a Spider-Man or Deadpool fan I highly recommend picking this issue up as Kelly does a great job writing both characters.

Batman #693

Creative Team
Writer and Artist: Tony Daniel
Inker: Sandu Florea
Colorist: Ian Hannin
Story – Life After Death Part 2: Charades

Review
Though I was not blown away by Tony Daniel's second turn at writing Batman I was impressed with how much his writing improved over his work on Battle for the Cowl. The previous issue of Batman was actually a fun read with my only complaint in that issue was the turn to a Nazi type character that Dr. Death became. Daniel continues in this issue what he did in this issue by giving us another solid issue.

And what was good about this issue is that Daniel placed Dick Grayson in a situation where he really hasn't been in since becoming Batman: a social party with all of Gotham's most well known and richest people. Though it felt Daniel could have milked it a bit but it was a nice change of pace for Dick's character as it is a different situation finds himself in. By being in this type of social situation it kind of takes Dick out of his comfort level of being a performer.

I would like to see him in more similar social situations just as Dick Grayson as it can help evolve his character into really being seen as the heir to Bruce's throne as he not only has to handle wearing the cowl, as he is already doing, but also dealing with Wayne Enterprise which hasn't dealt with much. And these types of situations are made more interesting with the use of Hush still posing as Bruce Wayne.

What made things more interesting was the choice for the wingman that Alfred choose for Dick being Helena, aka Huntress. I don't know but originally I actually thought it was going to be Barbara that Dick was going to go to the event with but the choice of Helena made things much more interesting. Daniel did a very good job building up the love triangle since both Helena and Barbara have had relationships with the former "boy wonder." This is nice sub-plot that I hope continues even after this storyline is over.

Also, it was good to see Daniel had Dick used different versions of the Batsuit to fit the situation Dick was in. His Batsuit he used at the end of the issue looked like it integrated the Winger-tech as it looked very similar to the Wingers Dick used when he was Nightwing. Though I did think the ending was a very cliché ending and did not really hook me for the next issue.

Issue Rating
Story: 8/10 – Daniel provide a solid second issue to his return arc to Batman. He told a very fun story throughout the issue though the ending was a bit to cliché.
Art: 8/10 – As always Daniel provide some great artwork though some of the pages in this issue felt rushed and not the typical Daniel artwork he has done in the past.
Overall: 8/10 – Batman #693 was a solid issue. If you are a Batman fan this is a very good issue to read as there was a good balance between Dick's personal and Batman life. Daniel is building a very good story that is a massive improvement to his work on Battle for the Cowl.

Green Lantern Corps #42

Creative Team
Writer: Peter Tomasi
Artist: Patrick Gleason
Inkers: Rebecca Buchman and Tom Nguyen
Colorists: Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltaeb

Story – Hungry Heart

Review
Green Lantern Corps #42 was another great issue, and as was the case with Green Lantern #47, also showed that the quality between Blackest Night and Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps is incredible. Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps continue to show that there really is a story that Blackest Night has failed to do with the event. Tomasi also continues to show why GLC is really one of DC's premier titles as he just makes this a fun action packed issue with plenty of character development/interactions.

GLC #42 is actually my favorite issue of Blackest Night so far. Tomasi just kicked so much butt with this issue that he really has set the bar high for what he is going to do with the next issue and what I expect from Geoff Johns in Blackest Night and Green Lantern. It was just a fun read from start to finish as he packed this issue with a ton of emotion to go along with all the action that was going on in this issue.

I really liked Kilowog's depressed look on his face as he looked around at what was going on in Oa. It was a very powerful scene as Kilowog has always shown to have a tough exterior as he has been the tank of the Green Lantern Corps. And to see such a warrior with a very depressed look on his face effectively showed the how much emotional weight Blackest Night has to the universe.

What really did it for me in this issue was how Tomasi portrayed Kyle Rayner. Tomasi did an incredible job showing why Kyle has the heart of hero and is seen as one of the best Green Lanterns in the Corps. His intense willpower and bravery to do what is right is second to almost none. The ending with him carry the power battery and taking out most of the Black Lanterns with him was the best scene we have had so far in Blackest Night. And the last page of this issue carries a lot of ramifications for what may happen in Blackest Night.

Patrick Gleason provided plenty of quality artwork with a lot of kudos to his inking and coloring crew. He provided some of his best artwork on this issue. I especially liked his artwork in the last half of the issue was awesome. And those last few issues of Kyle making the ultimate sacrifice were just incredible and will definitely make my Highlights of the Week.

Issue Rating
Story: 10/10 – Tomasi provided an incredible story in GLC #42. He just packed this issue with so much incredible writing that it will be interesting to see how he, and Johns, can top this issue.
Art: 9.2/10 – Patrick Gleason provided some great artwork. His artwork was great for this emotional and action packed issue.
Overall: 9.6/10 – Green Lantern Corps #42 is the best issue of Blackest Night we have had so far. If you are reading the event than do not miss this issue as it was an incredibly well done issue both in the writing and art. This is just a must buy.

Preview of the Week’s Releases for 11/11/09

As I mentioned earlier in my reviews for last week's comics I have been working on a new post and am about done writing it up. And this new post is my own Top 25 Anime Character list. Starting on Thursday I will be posting my list of favorite anime characters by revealing five characters each day, with the top 5 being revealed in their own posts. Also I created this banner for this new post hope everyone likes it.

Now on to preview this week's comic book releases.
Comics
Amazing Spider-Man #611 – After taking a break from Amazing Spider-Man this past month I am back to picking up this title. And this issue with Deadpool is an issue I have been looking forward to reading. We get Spider-Man and Deadpool in the same issue written by Joe Kelly what else would you want. This should be just a fun issue.

Batman #693 – Though the I wasn't blown away by Tony Daniel's first issue I was impressed with how much his writing improved from the work he did in Battle for the Cowl. I am glad that he brought back the Falcone family but at the same time I still am not digging Black Mask. Still, I am looking forward to reading this issue to see if Daniel can give us another solid issue of Batman.

Batman and Robin #6 – The last issue of Batman and Robin was highly disappointing. It was Morrison's worst issue on this title which has so far been enjoyable. Though I am interested to learn about the Flamingo and how Dick and Damien will get themselves out of the situation they have found themselves in last issue.

Daredevil #502 – For the past six or seven months Daredevil has been the comic I look forward to reading the most. This series has been on a role and Andy Diggle did a fantastic job with his first issue on this series. The last few pages from the last issue were freaking awesome and can't wait to see more of Matt as the leader of The Hand.

Green Lantern Corps #42 – The last issue of Green Lantern Corps issue was nothing but popcorn for the brain with some it being completely dominated by the fight between the Green Lantern Corps and Black Lanterns, but I enjoyed it. While I don't expect things to change in this issue Tomasi always provides some solid character work so this should be another fun issue.

Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #1 – I have become a complete sucker for everything related to the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe. And I loved War of Kings. DnA did a fantastic job with that event and I can't wait to see what they have in store with Realm of Kings, though it is weird that Imperial Guard is coming out before the Realm of Kings one-shot.

Previewing the Week’s Releases for 10/28/09

After some light weeks Marvel and DC seem to have decided to release almost all of their books in one week, or at least most of the comics on my pull list. With eleven titles this week this is probably the most comic books that I am getting in one week.

Comics
Batman #692 – Tony Daniel did not impress me with Battle for the Cowl. His work on that mini-series was very amateurish. Still I have been enjoyed the new direction of all the Batbooks and seeing Dick as Batman. And because of that I have a bit more positive outlook to Daniel's story arc that begins with this issue.

Blackest Night #4 – So far Blackest Night has been an utter failure in my eyes. While I have enjoyed the Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps tie-ins to this event Geoff Johns has made me less and less interested with each passing issue. And I hope that the Nekron reveal from a few months ago is not the big secret revealed here as I don't care about that character. Here's hoping Johns can turn things around in this make or break half-way point issue.

Blackest Night: Titans #3 – This mini-series has been surprisingly good. Though I know not much may happen in this issue I am still interested to see how this mini-series ends and how it will be integrated into Blackest Night.

Fantastic Four #572 – Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham have been awesome so far on Fantastic Four. They have brought the fun back to the Fantastic Four. I can't wait to see what Hickman and Eaglesham have up their sleeves with the Reed Richards Corps and how the rest of the Fantastic Four will be involved in this storyline's finale.

Green Lantern #47 – The last issue of Green Lantern freaking rocked. It was the best issue of Blackest Night related material Geoff Johns has written so far for the event. Hopefully the momentum of that last issue will be carried over to this one, and Blackest Night #4.

Guardians of the Galaxy #19 – DnA have been doing a fantastic job on all things cosmic in the Marvel Universe. And Guardians of the Galaxy has been a role with the last few issues. This title just continues to be one of Marvel's best titles.

Nova #30 – See my comment for Guardians of the Galaxy. Great title that is among the best on the shelfs today.

Teen Titans #76 – Felicia Henderson did a solid job in her first issue of Teen Titans. It was nothing impressive but nothing horrible at the same time. Though I am not a big fan of yet another story with Raven and Trigon. Usually makes for a boring read this past decade.

Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #2 – The first issue was just a blast to read. Warren Ellis did a very good job nailing Ultimate Tony Stark's character and setting up a 007-like story in this mini-series. Expecting this to be a fun and fast paced read.

Ultimate Avengers #3 – Ultimate Comics Avengers has been a great read so far. Sure it may be more popcorn for the brain blockbuster movie than a deep and intricate story but it is one fun blockbuster comic. Miller just knows how to write a badass Captain America and love his version of Ultimate Red Skull. Can't wait to see where he takes the story next.

Wolverine: Weapon X #6 – While I am disappointed that Jon Garney is off this title I have to say Yanick Panquette is a great choice as an artist to follow up Garney's work. And the story that Jason Aaron looks to tell in this new story arc feels new ground for a character like Wolverine. Should be another fun entry into the Wolverine: Weapon X series.

Trade Recommendation
Wolverine: Old Man Logan Hardcover – Even with the long wait between issues Old Man Logan was still one of the best Wolverine stories we have had in a very long time. Millar told a fantastic story of an old Logan who has given up his former ways only to go back to the ass kicker we all know and love. If that isn't reason enough to get this hardcover than just get it for Steve McNiven's gorgeous artwork as his artwork in this story was not short of amazing. Truly great stuff from the Miller/McNiven team.

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 10/14/09

Batgirl #3

Creative Team
Writer: Bryan Q. Miller
Artist: Lee Garbett
Inkers: Trevor Scott and Sandra Hope
Colorist: Guy Major

Story – Batgirl Rising: Point of New Origin Part 3

Review
Batgirl #3 is more or less the same as the previous two issues. Bryan Q. Miller is doing a solid job on the writing but it is just not impressive. And most of that falls on Stephanie as a character and not the writing of this series. After three issues it just does not feel that Stephanie as the new Batgirl is enough to carry an ongoing title.

Even inserting Barbara into the title in the mentor role hasn't helped. In many ways this series feels like a Birds of Prey re-launch but with just Batgirl in the group. But it just feels that Stephanie is not enough to keep this title from lasting more than a year since she feels like more of a supporting character than a star of her own book.

As a fan of these characters I think what this series needs is more of a supporting cast to make it more interesting as the Stephanie and Barbara dynamic isn't enough to carry this book. I think this title needs characters like Huntress and Misfit to play recurring roles on this series to give it something extra and keep it from going stale.

Now I will say that Miller does do a solid job with creating a nice master and student dynamic with Barbara and Stephanie. In many ways Stephanie is like how Barbara was in her early days of Batgirl. Miller does a good job paralleling the two characters in this issue, while showing how Barbara has changed.

With her battle with Scarecrow in this issue it is clear Stephanie has a long ways to go before being capable as a solo hero and Barbara should help her become her own character than just being known as Tim's girl. Though I think the whole candle ceremony thing was a bit much and should have just been Bruce and Dick's thing as it was special to the dynamic between Batman and the first Robin.

Issue Rating
Story: 6.6/10 – Miller provides some solid dialogue as he shows he understands both Stephanie and Barbara as characters. But supporting character feel of the star, Stephanie, makes the story feel very average.
Art: 6.7/10 – Lee Garnett again provides some solid artwork but nothing to impressive.
Overall: 6.65/10 – Batgirl #3 was an average read. While I would like to continue to read this series to see if Miller can make this a better read but with things like Realm or Kings and Siege coming up I am dropping this title. Still if you are a fan of Stephanie and Barbara this is the title for you as Miller has done a solid job setting up this title to improve with later storylines.

Blackest Night: Batman #3

Creative Team
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vicente Cifuentes
Colorist: Nei Ruffino

Story – Who Burns Who: Conclusion

Review
In what has so far been the best story of Blackest Night, Peter Tomasi does an excellent job finishing up Blackest Night: Batman with this final issue. The thing that has been killing Blackest Night is that the story has been very thin with every ones reaction to the Black Lanterns has been "Oh no it's my dead friend. What do I do? They are about to kill us if we don't do something." That has been Blackest Night as a whole, save for Green Lantern #46, which has made the story a thin and boring read.

And while that theme is in this issue what really separates this issue and mini-series from Blackest Night is that we are actually seeing the emotional toll it takes on the characters, in this case Dick Grayson and Tim Drake. Tomasi perfectly nails how these characters would react to seeing their parents back alive. It is something that hasn't been shown in Blackest Night as all the characters reactions so far to the Black Lanterns has been the statement I said before.

I like how in the beginning Tim thought seeing his father again was his second shot at saving them and Dick tried to be the voice of reason telling Tim that they weren't his parents. Then when Dick looked into his father's eyes he let himself go in the moment just like Tim and was the twelve year old kid who performed in the circus with his parents again. This paralleling of Dick and Tim is a good reminder how similar these two brothers are and how their history is similar to Bruce's tragic history with his parents.

Then the scene were Dick and Tim come face to face to the ones responsible for the deaths of their parents was great as it is a very different way of having characters reach an emotional breaking point as Dick and Tim were filled with rage. It is much different to how other Blackest Night titles have used to make the characters reach their emotional breaking point.

Adrian Syaf helped make these scenes especially more powerful with his artwork. He showed a great range to illustrate emotion in the scenes with Dick and Tim seeing their parents. This is the first time I am exposed to his Syaf's artwork and he impressed me very much. I hope I see his artwork on something like Batman again as he has a good style to fit with Batman.

It was cool seeing Etrigan involved in this issue as Dick had Deadman go get him for back-up. It was an effective plan and shows that Dick knew that the situation he and Tim were in was not something they could get out of alone. Also we got to learn that there are certain magical creatures that don't register on the Black Lantern radars. Hopefully this means Etrigan plays an integral role in taking down Black Lanterns but he probably won't from how Geoff Johns has been telling the Blackest Night story and the characters he is using.

Also it was good to see Dick take up more of an aggressive approach with Damian as he made Damian listen to him and not try to act on his own. It is a good way to show the master/student relationship the two are having with Dick finally taking the role of the master while trying to make the cocky student, Damian, listen to his instructions.

It was also interesting to see that the Black Lanterns can't see people unless they have some emotion as they could not see Dick and Tim in front of them since they froze themselves. It adds another wrinkle to the Black Lanterns concept as works similarly to how infrared vision works as they need people to show some sort of feelings in order to see them or else they don't see those people, even if they are in front of them. I hope that this means that Batman will play a bigger role in Blackest Night as it would be good to see how Dick as Batman handles the first big Crisis as Batman and stands side-by-side with Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash.

Issue Rating
Story: 9/10 – Tomasi again shows why he should be helming a Batman title as he writes the best version of Dick Grayson and the entire Batfamily. I am hopeful DC wakes up and sees how great a story he wrote here, and with his Nightwing work, and actually gives him a one of the Batman titles starring Dick Grayson as Batman to write.
Art: 8.5/10 – Adrian Syaf provided some great artwork in this mini-series. He did a great job with all the action and the wide range of emotion that the characters in this issue showed.
Overall: 8.75/10 – Blackest Night: Batman #3 was a great issue and ending to this mini-series. This mini-series has so far been the best story from Blackest Night and I hope that with what was learned of the Black Lanterns is used soon in the main series and it is not pushed to the side. If you are looking for a fun action packed story with some emotional depth than I recommend picking up Blackest Night: Batman as it is a solid three issue mini-series by Tomasi and Syaf.

Green Lantern Corps #41

Creative Team
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Patrick Gleason
Inkers: Rebecca Buchman, Keith Champagne and Tom Nguyen
Colorists: Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltaeb

Story – Hungry Heart

Review
In another Tomasi written Blackest Night tie-in Green Lantern Corps #41 continues the current battle between the Green Lanterns and the Black Lanterns on Oa. For the most part Tomasi presents a very well told story. Still there seemed something off about this issue.

Before I get into that I will admit the thing that Tomasi effectively presents here is the chaos that the Black Lanterns appearance has on the War of Lights. In many ways Tomasi shows why the stars of Blackest Night should not be the heroes on Earth but the various Lantern Corps especially the characters we have gotten to know through GL and GLC titles like Kyle, Guy, Killowog, Arisa, and Soranik. Even if we have seen a lot of battles with the Black Lanterns already happen in Blackest Night it feels like the Black Lanterns pose much more of a threat when battling one of the members from one the Lantern Corps.

And similar to what he did in this week's Blackest Night: Batman issue the thing he nailed in this issue is the emotional toll the dead rising from the grave as Black Lanterns. It was great how we were shown Guy, Killowag, and Arisa each overcoming their own battles with the Black Lanterns. It drives home why they are part of the Green Lantern Corps as they push through anything that is thrown at them and have the willpower to overcome even their dead loved ones.

What helped these battles out was Patrick Gleason's great artwork. He continues to do a great job on this title and making each battle feel epic and bounce of the page. And the scene with the Black Lantern children was effectively creepy.

Also I am interested to see were Tomasi takes Kyle and Soranik's relationship after their battle with Black Lantern Jade. It looks like Kyle may be in the dog house after Blackest Night is over.

Now the thing that keeps this issue from being great is that it suffers from the pitfall that has made Blackest Night into a boring read which is that the Black Lanterns are dull and uninteresting villains. This isn't really the fault of Tomasi but more the execution in which the Black Lanterns are presented. Other than being different dead characters all the Black Lanterns are the same. There isn't much of a difference from the dead heroes, villains, and characters loved ones coming back as Black Lanterns. They all have the same personality.

And this is very bad for Blackest Night as we haven't even reached the midway point of the event and the main villains of the series are already becoming stale. It makes me question the choice of making the event eight issues long even more. With how Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps are proving to be important tie-ins to Blackest Night I think the main series should only have been issue long as there isn't enough material to justify eight issues.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.4/10 – Tomasi continues to do a superior job in telling the Blackest Night story than what Johns has been doing over in the main Blackest Night book. With that said the story suffers from the main villains of the story, the Black Lanterns, being dull and uninteresting characters.
Art: 8.2/10 – Gleason along with his inking crew, Rebecca Buchman, Keith Champagne and Tom Nguyen, and colorists, Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltaeb, do a great job presenting the chaotic feel of the Black Lanterns presence in the War of Lights, which had already thrown the universe into chaos.
Overall: 7.8/10 – Green Lantern Corps #41 was a very good read though it suffers from the main villains of the event being very boring. It would have been better if we could have seen other Lantern Corps members involved in this issue other than just the Green and Black Lanterns.

The Marvels Project #3

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Steve Epting
Colorist: Dave Stewart

Story – Chapter 3

Review
In what has been the surprise of the year, Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting continue to tell a very enjoyable and intricate story of the origins of the Marvel Universe. The reason I choose to pick up this mini-series was only because of me being a big fan of Brubaker and Epting's work, specifically Captain America. But I did not expect to enjoy reading the beginning of the hero age in the Marvel Universe as much as I have been.

The big factor that is making The Marvels Project such a wonderful read is that Brubaker and Epting aren't telling a parody story of the early age of the universe that is now filled with super powered individuals. Most of the time that is where most writers do, they try too hard to imitate the way people spoke during that time period making it hard to take the story seriously making it feel like a parody of that time period.

But Brubaker and Epting aren't necessarily trying to imitate the time period. Instead they are taking a serious look at the 1940s and how people acted in a time of uncertainty and fear due to the war and the first super powered individuals appearing out of nowhere. It is really an amazing look as Brubaker nails the tone of that era in our history making this story feel like an extension of the story that he was telling in Captain America.

Brubaker is able to show both the wonder and fear in the people's eyes as they witness the first battle between super powered individuals in Namor and the first Human Torch. That is where Eptings fantastic artwork comes into play as his artwork perfectly captures the mood of the time period and also making the battle between Namor and Human Torch feel like an epic showdown. Even though we have seen similar and even bigger fights happen in both the Marvel and DC Universe this battle feels like it has more of an importance as it is the first recorded battle between two super powered individuals.

And the tone of the time period is not the only thing that Brubaker nails but also all the dialogue in the various scenes we get. Whether it be Human Torch, Namor, Angel, Nick and his crew or the people on the streets all of the dialogue has a natural flow to it. Nothing feels like it being forced in for dramatic effect. It is just great character with the development of the early stages of what shaped what we know now as the Marvel Universe.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.3/10 – Brubaker continues to do a great job building the origins of the Marvel Universe and making me care for characters I had very little knowledge of before this mini-series.
Art: 9/10 – Eptings artwork is continues to be incredible. His artwork for the Namor vs Human Torch scene was especially well done as the inking and coloring for the scene make it stand out from every other scene in the issue.
Overall: 9.15/10 – The Marvels Project #3 was another great read. This mini-series continues to be one of the best written comic book on the market. Brubaker and Epting continue to build a wonderful tale of the beginning of the Marvel Universe. I highly recommend picking up this mini-series when it comes out in trade paperback format as it will read even better in TPB form than in individual issues.