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.

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 12/16/09

Amazing Spider-Man #615

Creative Team
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Javier Pulido
Colorist: Javier Rodriguez

Story – Keemia's Castle

Review
Amazing Spider-Man #615 was another solid issue from this series that has been very consistent in providing good reads almost all of 2009. There have been very few times I have been disappointed by an issue of Amazing Spider-Man which is great for me as a Spider-Man fan. And what I like about this issue in particular is that Fred Van Lente reminded the reader that Peter does have a science background with Peter using his brain to figure out the mystery of this issue, creating some new web fluid to fight Sandman. Also it was cool seeing Spider-Man using the web parachute that I haven't seen used in a while.

Though the mystery of this story arc is pretty obvious of who did the crime's and is setting up Carlie to take the fall Van Lente did provide a good mystery for Peter having to use his brain instead of just going into different places and punching people to get answers. It has become rare to see Peter actually solving a mystery using his science background and Van Lente did a solid job showing that Peter is a guy with a master's degree in bio-chemistry. I especially liked him using specific web fluid to battle Sandman as it is something that I am surprised is not used more often in all the different situations he is in as Spider-Man.

Also I liked how he Van Lente wrote the various interactions of Peter and his supporting cast in this issue whether he was working or as Spider-Man. The interaction between Spider-Man and Betty as an interesting little development seems to be happening with Betty and her starting her own "newspaper" by using a her own blog and using Bugle old information data banks. It will be interesting to see where this is taken in the long-term for Betty as a character as I originally thought she was just going to join Peter by working at the Frontlines but I am digging this new development for her character.

My favorite interaction for this issue was between JJJ and Robbie. These two always have great interactions with one another and it is always great to see them have scenes together. Van Lente did a solid job in the scene between these two in the aftermath of the Daily Bugle being destroyed.

Javier Pulido provided some very good stylized artwork in this issue. The issue had a more old school look to it with the issue being drawn in a similar style to the early Amazing Spider-Man issues. I especially liked Pulido drawing Spider-Man wearing some winter clothes because of the time of the year. It was a very nice touch to set up the time of the year the story is taken place in.

Issue Rating
Story: 9/10 – Van Lente provided a solid mystery to re-introduce Sandman into the series as well as providing some great character interaction.
Art: 7.7/10 – Pulido gave some very good artwork with this issue having an old-school Amazing Spider-Man look to it.
Overall: 8.45/10 – Amazing Spider-Man #615 was another solid issue of this consistently fun series. If you're an Spider-Man fan this Gauntlet story arc is a great way to get back into the series as the Spidey Brain Trust are doing a solid job so far introducing characters like MJ, Black Cat, Electro, and Sandman back onto the Spider-Man universe.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #7

Creative Team
Writers: Paul Dini and Marc Andreyko
Artists: Dustin Nguyen and Cliff Richards
Inkers: Derik Fridolfs and Art Thibert
Colorists: John Kalisz and Nick Filardi

Story – The Bleak Midwinter; Face Off

Review
Paul Dini returns with this issue after Chris Yost filled in with a good filler two-part story and Dini continues what he was doing with the first story arc by continuing the story arc with Zsasz and the man in the trench coat. Dini just continues to provide his excellent characterization in this issue with Batman (Dick Grayson) and the cast of this series.

And what is shocking about Streets of Gotham is how much emotion is out into this issue. This was a very emotional issue with the scene we get between Batman, Robin, and Humpty. That scene was very touching and revealed a side of Damian we have not seen before. I will even say that Dini gives us the best version of Damian out there.

As has been the case since Dick became Batman the interaction between him and Damian continues to be the standout of every issue where both characters are together on the pages as Batman and Robin. Though the relationship is suppose to have a mentor and protégé feel I like that Dini is adding the fact that both of these characters are brothers and is portraying Damian as the snobby younger brother while Dick is the more experienced and educated big brother. And the scene with Humpty's "orphanage" was great in developing both characters and humanizing Damian especially.

Dustin Nguyen provided some great artwork. While I am not a big fan of Nguyen style I have started to come around and am enjoying his art style on this title much more than I did in the first issue. He does a great job capturing the mood of this title and I especially like how he drew the last few pages that lead up to a very horror-esque image of Zsasz.

The Manhunter back-up to the issue continues the solid job that Marc Andreyko and Cliff Richards have been providing throughout Streets of Gotham. The battle between Manhunter and Two-Face was good and I will be interested to see how Batman and Robin factor into the story.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.6/10 – Dini returns to provide another good issue of Streets of Gotham. Andreyko was also a solid back-up to Dini's story.
Art: 8.1/10 – Nguyen artwork in this issue was great and perfectly captures the mood of the story Dini is writing.
Overall: 8.35/10 – Batman: Streets of Gotham #7 was another great read. If you haven't picked up Streets of Gotham yet than do yourself a favor and pick this series up if you are interested in reading a Batman title as it is the best one on the stands right now.

Daredevil #503

Creative Team
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Roberto De La Torre
Inker: Marco Checchetto
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth

Story – The Devil Laid Low Part 3

Review
For the past year I couldn't think of an ongoing title that has been better than Daredevil. And Andy Diggle is continuing the work done by Smith, Bendis, and Brubaker on this title and just continuously progressing the character to his limits both physically and mentally. Diggle's work so far on this title has been very impressive so far and issue #503 continues that strong start from the previous two issues.

What I am enjoying the most that Diggle is doing is how he is taken a slow burn approach in order to show us the new status quo of Matt. Daredevil is one of those titles you do not need a bunch of action at the beginning and Diggle understands this. Everything he is doing on this title is setting things up for future stories where we will no doubt get a lot of action. And as a long time fan of Daredevil I really appreciate this approach from the new creative team as the changes that have happened to Matt and his whole supporting cast are huge and they need to take time to develop everything.

These first three issues specifically have been a great study of Matt's mentality as he is continuously questioned by those around him how far he is willing to go as the leader of The Hand. Tarantula and White Tiger do a great job presenting both sides of the argument for what Matt should do and you can see that at times being The Hand's leader is taken its toll on Matt. It is great thing to question as it is still unclear where everything is going to go which adds a great suspense to what is going on that does not exist on many titles.

And as always the standout scene of this issue is between Matt and Master Izo. Izo is has really become the standout character of this series as his ominous words to Matt are always great to read. He is a character that you never know what side he is on as he could be manipulating every character in the series and we will not know until the end of the story.

The scene in Kingpin's place was perfect. It is just awesome to see how Wilson Fisk is getting back his empire by manipulating the current situation of Norman Osborn being in control to his gain. Wilson is really going to be a character to watch after Siege because it really seems that Diggle is setting up the character to have a much bigger presence within the Marvel Universe after Dark Reign ends.

Roberto De La Torre artwork continues to improve with each issue. De La Torre is perfectly capturing the noir aspect of this title and Daredevil has never looked better. He is just able to breathe so much life into each scene, whether it is outside in a pier, in Kingpin's office, or The Hand's secret lair, it all looks great.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.4/10 – Diggle continues to be a great follow up to all of his predecessors. The story of Matt being in control of The Hand feels original and fresh while still having the same noir this title has had for a very long time.
Art: 9/10 – De La Torre artwork is just freaking awesome. His art style is just a perfect fit for Daredevil.
Overall: 9.2/10 – Daredevil #503 was another phenomenal read. Diggle and De La Torre continue to make Daredevil one of the best comics on the market. If you haven't given this title a try yet do yourself a favor and pick up this title from #501 as there are some great stories being told on this title.

Green Lantern Corps #43

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

Story – Red Badge of Rage

Review
As has been the case with Green Lantern Corps for the past year this issue continues to explore the concept of the War of Lights and Blackest Night much better than the main title and the main event. In everything Geoff Johns has failed to do with Blackest Night, the main mini-series, Peter Tomasi is able to do with Green Lantern Corps. Reading this issue gives me a great sense of how big this event is and how far it reaches where Blackest Night only makes you believe the even affects the Earth.

Tomasi's continues just to show that characters like Kyle, Guy, Soranik, and others are just so much more interesting than Barry, Mera, Atom, and all the other DCU heroes that are dominating Blackest Night. Guy's transformation into a Red Lantern would have been an awesome moment within the event and Tomasi proves that this development is much more interesting than anything we have gotten over in Blackest Night so far. Seeing Guy tear up the Black Lanterns and the Sinestro Corp member was insanely fun to read and watch. A lot of credit has to go to Patrick Gleason for that scene as it just felt like an epic moment.

And though it feels like it was too quick to bring back Kyle I am glad he is back to lead the charge of all the secondary Lantern Corps members from the other Corps. His return also helps to further validate his relationship with Soranik is not just a quick fling but is a real relationship. I just hope that his return does not mean Guy will not be a Red Lantern anymore as it was a very interesting development and no character better fits in with the Red Lanterns than Guy.

Issue Rating
Story: 9/10 – I don't know what else I can say about Tomasi's writing on GLC that I have not said before. Tomasi is just telling the story of Blackest Night in a far superior way than the main mini-series.
Art: 8.8/10 – Gleason's artwork continues to be superb. He does a good job capturing the big event feel of Blackest Night.
Overall: 8.9/10 – Green Lantern Corps #43 was a phenomenal read. If you are reading Blackest Night GLC is a must read. It has been far superior than the main mini-series that everyone should be reading the great work Tomasi and Gleason are doing on this title.

Realm of Kings: Inhumans #2

Creative Team
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist: Pablo Raimondi
Inker: Andrew Hennessy
Colorist: Adriano Lucas

Story – High and Mighty

Review
Though I have been mixed on Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard I loved the first issue of Realm of Kings: Inhumans. This second issue of Inhumans continues the fantastic story DnA started in the first issue. DnA just understand how the Inhumans tick and giving us a great look at the politics behind the Kree and Inhumans post War of Kings and Black Bolt's disappearance.

And what is great about DnA's writing is that unlike most other writers who become intimidated with a large cast of heroes DnA relish in it and even bring in more heroes to write into their stories. Even though I am not reading Mighty Avengers DnA did a very good job catching me up on why they are in this issue. Having the Avengers appear also help to give the reader a new point of view to show that the Inhumans are not the Inhumans of old. Instead they are a race of powerful people that have more power and control of their lives than they have ever had.

Hercules and Gorgon's interaction at the beginning of the issue in the big brawl did an effective job showing this. Hercules barely recognized Gorgon even pointing out that Gorgon seemed different. And It was fun seeing the two characters busting heads of the attackers of the Kree homeworld.

Another great interaction in this issue was between Crystal and Pietro. The scenes with them added a nice closure to the relationship of the two and showed that Crystal is much happier being with Ronan. It also helps to reinforce the fact that Crystal is not the shy scared woman she used to be and is now a very brave and strong woman. I am interested to see what Luna has to say about her mother as she seemed to want to speak up when she saw her mom and dad talking.

But yet again the standout character of the issue is Medusa. DnA have been doing a great job writing Medusa showing that she is a very powerful and imposing figure. Her interaction with Hank Pym showed that she is not messing around anymore and that Black Bolt's disappearance has affected her in becoming a much more cold character than she was before. Medusa is really becoming my favorite among the Inhumans as she has a lot of things going on in her head than just the cold stare she has been giving everyone. It will be interesting to see her interaction when she finds out the Kree have found a sign that Black Bolt may still be alive in the Fault.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.2/10 –DnA continue to weave an excellent story filled with action, strong characterization, and politics. They are really building up the Inhumans into great A-list feeling characters with the empire they have built for themselves.
Art: 8/10 – Pablo Raimondi artwork was very good in this issue. He provides very consistent art and does a great job with both the action and the talking head moments in this issue.
Overall: 8.6/10 – Realm of Kings: Inhumans #2 was another great read. This title is doing a great job in the aftermath of War of Kings. If you have been enjoying the Marvel cosmic titles than pick this issue up as DnA continue to work their magic on the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe.

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 9/16/09

I already reviewed Batman and Robin #4 over at Rokk's Comic Book Revolution so be sure to read so check out my review. Now time for the rest of this week's review.

Amazing Spider-Man #606

Creative Team
Writer: Fred Van Lente (Story 1 and 2); Brian Reed (story 3)
Artists: Javier Pulido (Story 1); Luke Ross (Story 2); Yanick Paquentte (Story 3)
Inkers: Rick Magyar (Story 2); Mark Framer (Story 3)
Colorists: Javier Rodriguez (Story 1); Rob Schwager (Story 2); Nathan Fairbairn (Story 3)

Stories – The Girl (Story 1); Models Stink (Story 2); Match.Con (Story 3)

Review
If I were to sum up Amazing Spider-Man #606 in a few words it would be that this is just another solid issue of Amazing Spider-Man. I know that a lot of Spider-Man fans were turned off by the whole One More Day and Brand New Day thing, but I am here to say that it is time to forgive Marvel for those two storylines and return to this title. Amazing Spider-Man has really returned to the form it once was back when I first started reading this title as it continues to turn in one good read after another. I would even say that for the past 6 months I have not read one issue of this series that I did not like.

This issue was a nice epilogue to what Fred Van Lente did with The Red Headed Stranger. Van Lente tied up some loose ends with this issue, mainly Peter's relationship with Michele, in the second story which was a nice story of Peter trying to ignore Michele the entire time. I will say that when Peter revealed that it was Chameleon, who was impersonating Peter at the time, that Michele actually made out with was very funny. And it was interesting that Van Lente left the relationship open between the two so that they may end up going out later on.

Also while the Raptor story in this issue was interesting I will say I am going to pass on the "Who is Ben Reilly?" arc that is going to happen after the Black Cat arc since I am not too interested in revisiting the Clone Saga again. And this is one of the nice things about this series right now as I am sure that I can skip this story and pick it up again for the Deadpool one-shot story and The Gauntlet.

The first story also did a nice job with answering some of the questions of what happened between Peter and MJ and what lead to them breaking up. I am glad that the Van Lente showed it wasn't simply the deal Mephesto that broke them up but that it was Peter continuing his life as Spider-Man that was the cause of them breaking up. By doing this it helps make the break up between the two more grounded and realistic as it is belivable that MJ would be frustrated by keeping Peter's secret of being Spider-Man and unable to deal with the constant worry of Peter's disappearances.

Also I liked that MJ got have a heroic moment in this issue as she showed she wasn't just some damsel in distress and was the one to save her then boyfriend. It was cool how Van Lente parallel MJ keeping Peter's secret with her boyfriend asking to keep his addiction to MGH a secret from the cops which lead her to breaking up with him.

The final story was my favorite out of the three. Brian Reed, in his first job as part of the Spider-Man Brain Trust, did a fantastic job mixing some great drama, comedy, and action in this series. And it actually was not an easy thing to do since the final story was yet another story about Peter and Harry's friendship and them trying to get some dates which has been told plenty of times the past year.

What made the story stand out was that it was more of a Peter Parker story than a Spider-Man one as the Spider-Man part of the story played a small part and used to inject some action into the story. It was great seeing Peter luck not working for him as he struggles to get a girlfriend, which nicely parallels his break-up with Michele. Also this nicely sets-up Black Cat's return as she is sure to cause even more trouble in Peter's love life.

Also I got to give Javier Pulido, Luke Ross, Yanick Paquentte for each providing some great artwork for each story. Javier Pulido had a nice Marcos Martin look to his artwork while Luke Ross art felt similar Phil Jimenez Spider-Man artwork. Though the stand out of the three is Paquentte who provide some of the best artwork I have seen from him. It was just great and kudos for all the great artwork the three provided.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.5/10 – Van Lente and Reed did a great job with the writing for their stories. The writing was a great mix of the drama, comedy, and action you expect from an Amazing Spider-Man issue.
Art: 8.8/10 – Pulido, Ross, and Paquentte all provide some great artwork that fit the feel of each story. Hopefully each one of these artist are given an Amazing Spider-Man arc in the future as they are a great fit for this series.
Overall: 8.65/10 – Amazing Spider-Man #606 was another solid read. If you have yet to give Amazing Spider-Man a try I highly recommend picking up this series up as this series has been solid for the past six or so months.

Batgirl #2

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 Two

Review
Just like Red Robin I want to like this series. But unlike Red Robin this Batgirl is not a badly written series. Bryan Q. Miller has a good handle of all the characters involved especially Stephanie. The problem with this series is that the story is just average and it doesn't feel like much is going to happen other than Stephanie becoming and being accepted as the new Batgirl.

Even though Miller tries to show that Stephanie can carry her own series I just don't think Stephanie is that type of characters as she is more of a supporting character than a star of a series. Miller did do a good job trying to give Steph a supporting cast but so far none of them seem to be characters that will stick around.

Also I didn't like that Steph went in not asking any questions after her friend was given spiked punch. Instead Steph just took out her torn up Batgirl costume and took out the guy she thought was the one who drugged her friend without any serious backing to prove he was the person. Instead we see that she was completely wrong and it was Scarecrow who provided the drug. Steph needs to develop more detective skills as she is seriously lacking in that department.

The thing I did like about this issue was Steph and Barbara's conversations throughout the issue. I am starting to like the idea that Barbara has to mentor Steph even though she may not want to risk the life of another teenager. It puts Barbara in an interesting parallel to Dick's current situation with Damian as they both have to mentor someone who does not want to be mentored. I hope that as the series progresses Barbara starts letting people in as this whole distancing herself from people can get annoying, that is if I stay on this title long enough to see it. ;)

Issue Rating
Story: 6.3/10 – Miller provided some solid dialogue but it was nothing that convinced me of the longevity of this series.
Art: 6.7/10 – Lee Garnett provided some good artwork, though it was inconsistent in certain points of the issue.
Overall: 6.5/10 – Batgirl #2 was an average read. While fans of Batgirl and Stephanie specifically will enjoy this issue I am not sure this series has enough to draw in your casual fan yet.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #4

Creative Team
Writer: Paul Dini
Artist: Dustin Nguyen
Inker: Derek Fridolfs
Colorist: John Kalisz

Story – Business

Review
Paul Dini is really showing to be one of the best Batman writers as he has made Streets of Gotham the best out of all the Batman books currently published. Which is what makes it sad that Chris Yost will be filling in with the writing duties in the next issue as it feels like it kills the momentum of this series. But thankfully Dini will be back in December.

As for this issue this was my favorite comic book of the week. Dini continues to show that Batman does not have to be around the whole issue to make a Batman issue interesting. Like Morrison pointed out in this week's Batman and Robin Gotham City is a living, breathing city were something is always happening somewhere in the city. And Dini does a great job exploring this issue as he gives focus to Hush, The Great White Shark, Zsasz, and a new character in The Broker.

Even though Dick did not appear until the end of the issue as Batman it made his appearance in the issue feel more special and keeps to the whole keeping in the shadows thing Batman has going. It was great seeing Batman at the end of the issue to beat the snot out of The Broker to make him know that Batman knows what he is up to. Very good scene to show that Dick is becoming adopting more of the aggressive ways of doing things like Bruce used to do while also making him a different Batman than Bruce was.

All the villain scenes in this issue were great and I especially loved Hush part of the story with the Creeper watching him. They had a great interaction with one another. The only thing I wished was that we got to see Zsasz vision again.

The only real weak part of this issue was the Manhunter back-up. After the last back-up showed that the story had promise I thought this one was just average. I am still hopeful this back-up will get better.

Issue Rating
Story: 9/10 – Paul Dini gave us another excellent issue of Streets of Gotham. Dini does a great job showing the challenges Dick faces now that he is Batman.
Art: 8.2/10 – While I am not a big fan of Dustin Nguyen I have to say he did do a very good job with the main story of this issue. His art did a nice job fleshing out this issue that was mostly a talking heads issue.
Overall: 8.6/10 - Batman: Streets of Gotham #4 was another phenomenal read in what is the best Batman title on the market. If you have yet to pick up this series I recommend picking up this initial arc on trade paperback.

Captain America: Reborn #3

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice
Colorist: Paul Mounts

Story – Reborn part 3

Review
This is the first issue in this mini-series that I actually enjoyed. The first two issue have been okay but they have never been up to the quality that an Ed Brubaker written Captain America. While this issue wasn't at that level yet is was still a fun issue.

What made this issue better than the first two is that was the first time were I felt for Steve and his predicament. I am actually starting to wonder what Steve will do once he reaches the point when he is arrested and is taken to court. It will be an interesting choice that Steve will have to make most likely in the next issue.

Also I really liked everything that happened with Bucky in this issue. They were some nice scenes. I especially liked how Ant-Man got involved. And with the ending things should get interesting for Steve and Bucky.

What made this a good issue was how Brubaker explored some of the major events in Captain America's life during his life as part of the Avengers. What made these scenes great was Bryan Hitch's artwork which was the best it has been in this series. It was just phenomenal artwork that we got in this issue. This issue makes me hope that whenever Marvel has their next big event that they consider Hitch to be the artist as he provided some great artwork for the big Avengers events.

Credit also has to go to Butch Guice who helped give this issue a similar grounded look that Captain America has had throughout Brubaker's run. This issue makes me hope that whenever Marvel has their next big event that they consider Hitch to be the artist as he provided some great artwork for the big Avengers events.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.3/10 – While still having some rough moments Brubaker delivered a much better read in this issue. All the dialogue was really solid in this issue.
Art: 9.5/10 – Hitch and Guice combined to deliver some incredible artwork in this issue. They are giving this mini-series a big event feel to it even though Marvel is saying it isn't.
Overall: 8.4/10 – Captain America: Reborn #3 was a very good issue as the story begins to move and sets things up for the final two issues to be great.

Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #1

Creative Team
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Steve Kurth
Inker: Jeff Huet
Colorist: Guru eFX

Story – Ultimate Armor Wars Part 1

Review
Just as Warren Ellis showed in the Extremis storyline a few years ago he writes a great Tony Stark. And with everything going on with the 616 version of the character it is great to read the Tony I have been reading since I was kid. This is the Tony that is most interesting. I just don't know why 616 Tony can't be like Ultimate Tony because this is the version of the character everyone should be reading.

Now this first issue of the newest Ultimate Comics series, though just a mini-series, was mostly a set-up issue. But Ellis does a fantastic job setting up all the pieces for the story to make this mini-series a fun action packed series. What I liked most about this issue is how Ellis gives this series feel like I am reading a big budget movie and is almost Bond-esque in how it is set-up. We meet the love interest, an enemy is quickly shown, an important artifact is stolen and our hero will save the day while having a drinking martini.

Steve Kurth provides some great artwork in this issue and he makes this feel like an Iron Man book as he does a great job drawing all the tech and the various characters involved in this series. And with this being the first time I see Kurth's artwork he really impressed me with how well he drew everything and am wondering why I've never seen his artwork before. Also credit to his inker and colorist Jeff Huet and Guru eFX, respectively, for giving his artwork a nice clean look to it.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.6/10 – Ellis did a fantastic job setting up the pieces for his story. He writes one of the best Tony Starks around and he really nails the character in this series.
Art: 8.8/10 – Kurth did a great job on the artwork for this issue as he gives this mini-series a big blockbuster feel to it.
Overall: 8.7/10 – Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #1 was a great read. I highly recommend picking this four issue mini-series up as it looks to be a highly entertaining mini-series. Now if only Invincible Iron Man could be this good.

Previewing the Week’s Releases for 9/14/09 – 9/20/09

Comics
Amazing Spider-Man #605 – For the past few months Amazing Spider-Man has been turning in one solid arc after another. The Red Headed Stranger was an above average arc. Fred Van Lente did a solid job with his first arc on this title. Though this is supposed to be an epilogue issue to The Red Headed Stranger but we already got an epilogue at the end of the last issue. Should be interesting what happens in this issue especially with Black Cat around the corner.

Batgirl #2 – The first issue with Stephanie as the new Batgirl was an okay start. I'm still not sold that Stephanie can carry her own ongoing series and if this series belongs on my permanent pull list. But I am willing to see if Bryan Q. Miller can prove me wrong and turn in a good second issue.

Batman and Robin #4 – Morrison has been doing a fantastic job with Batman and Robin so far. This is the most fun I have had with reading a Morrison penned series. I'm interested to see what Morrison has in store for Batman and Robin with the Red Hood making an appearance.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #4 – This has been the best out of all the Batman titles. Dini has been doing a fantastic job with this series. Though I'm sad that he will hand over the writing duties to Chris Yost for the next arc I am glad that he is returning in the arc after that, as Matt Ampersand from Weekly Crisis reported. Looking forward to seeing how Dini ends this Zsaz and Hush arc and if Hush actually believes Dick will go through with his threat from last issue.

Blackest Night #3 – I have been one of the biggest critics of Geoff Johns work on Blackest Night, much to the hate of everyone who is loving this series. While I don't want to give too much away from my review for Green Lantern Corps #40, which should be up tomorrow, I do want to say that I am already sick off the Black Lantern Corps. At this point I have seen more than enough of the Black Lantern Corps but hopefully Johns can work his magic on this third issue and make me start to like this book.

Captain America: Reborn #3 – This has been one strange mini-series involving the return of Steve Rogers. Brubaker is using a lot of sci-fi elements to bring back the character which goes against the more grounded approach this series has been known for. I am hopeful that Brubaker can recover with issue and turn in a quality read.

Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil #1 – Originally I was only going to get the Spider-Man and Wolverine issue of Dark Reign: The List but after Daredevil #500 I decided to give this one-shot a try as it suppose to serve as a continuation of Matt being the leader of The Hand. I'm interest to learn what Andy Diggle has in store for Daredevil with the new status quo for the character Brubaker has left him.

Invincible Iron Man #18 – The last issue of Invincible Iron Man was very disappointing. As an Iron Man fan I am still optimistic that Fraction can turn in a good end to this arc. Hopefully we see these final two parts turns up the action as these past few issues have been lacking any sort of action.

Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #1 – Warren Ellis + Iron Man = More money for Marvel from me. Ellis is always money when it comes to writing Iron Man. And I have enjoyed most of Ellis work so I sure to love this mini-series involving Ultimate Iron Man.

DVD/Blu-rays
Dragon Ball: Season One – While this anime has sort of become a joke within anime fans, specifically DBZ and DBGT, I will admit that Dragon Ball is the series that introduced me to the world of anime and manga. While I did not like the later parts of DBZ I really enjoyed the original Dragon Ball were we followed a young Goku around in his search, along with Bulma and others, for the Dragon Balls. While I would like to get this box set right away I will probably wait a while till I get some more money to buy it. Still if you are a Dragon Ball fan this is a DVD you should pick up.

The Big Bang Theory: Season Two – The Big Bang Theory is one of my favorite shows on TV. This is just an awesome TV show. If you haven't given it a try then do yourselves a favor and pick this show up as it is hilarious nerd comedy.

X-Men: Volume 3 and 4 – While Spider-Man and Batman were the first comic book characters I was exposed to it is the X-Men that started my fanaticism with comics and made me go to the comic shop every week. And the reason for that is the 90s cartoon of the X-Men. For me this was my favorite cartoon as a kid because it had so many interesting characters that I could relate to. This series captured everything that was great about the X-Men and made me want to hunt down every issue of the X-Men, along with Spider-Man and Batman comics, that I could find as I wanted to learn more about these characters. These two DVDs are a must for any fan of this series and the X-Men in general. Personally, I'm looking forward to watching the "Dark Phoenix Saga" again as it was one of my favorite episodes of the series.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – This first movie of Wolverine was a good action summer blockbuster. But nothing more. For the most part this movie while centered around Wolverine was mostly used as a catalyst to start a bunch of X-Men related movies. Will probably get it since I already have the first three X-Men movies. Damn me and my completist nature.

Movies
The Informant – I've always like Matt Damon's movie and this new movie looks like it could be a good one. It should be interesting to see Matt Damon in a comedy role as he has done a lot more series action roles than comedic ones.

Video Games
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 – I enjoyed the first Ultimate Alliance game. I am unsure about this second one though. It looks like it could be a fun game with all the Fusion abilities to play around with but I will probably rent it before buying it just to see how it is.

Legen-wait-for it-dary Comic Book Highlights of the Week 8/19/09

Cover of the Week: Daredevil #500

I just love this cover as it does a great job detailing Daredevil's history and the allies and enemies he has had in his career.

Amazing Spider-Man #603 Highlights

Just like how Chameleon as Peter shut Michelle up by basically saying "Hey, lets f***" without using the words.

Ouch!! Throwing Gwen in MJ's face, your messed up Chameleon.

Love the "Puny Flash." Chameleon is making Peter's life a lot harder upon his return from the acid bath.

Chameleon definitely knows that the Parker Luck isn't as bad as Peter thinks.

Saw this coming. Now we'll see how Peter can fix his life after Chameleon messed it up even more than it already was.

Batgirl #1 Highlights

I like that Dick is quick to figure out how the new Batgirl is and not just have him and Barbara run around like it is a big mystery of who Batgirl is.

Predictable. There was never a mystery of who would be Batgirl as I knew from the beginning Stephanie would be the new Batgirl since her return and her interactions with Tim before this issue.

Barbara knows there is no better stress reliever than beating up some dumbasses that try to mug her.

Stephanie going to college does make her more relatable as I have sat in class like this were I am as bored as heck and just drawing while a bunch of students are on there labtop probably on MySpace or Facebook.

Like the analysis Bryan Q. Miller made of why Cassandra wore the Batgirl costume in the first place.

Someone is in trouble.

Batman Streets of Gotham #3 Highlights

Love Zsavz death vision he had working throughout the Penguin Bar scene.

One group you do not want to mess with Mr. Elliot.

It looks like Damian does have a heart after all as he has a crush on Katana.

Like that we saw a quick conclusion to The Manhunter vs Jane Doe fight and it was not dragged out like I thought it would.

Daredevil #500 Highlights

Owlman is suffering from Wolverine envy and gets a sword slash to the back for his troubles.

Having Matt finally beat Lady Bullseye is great to see after all the hell she is responsible for putting Matt through the year.

Master Izo has quickly become one of my favorite characters and the fat joke to Kingpin cements that.

Being a double crossing snake always comes back to bite you on your ass which is something both Kingpin and Lady Bullseye learned here.

This is a good place to leave off for Brubaker on his run on Daredevil and an interesting place for Andy Diggle to pick up on when he starts his run.

Diggle had a nice handle with his back-up to this issue as it serves as a nice preview to his work on the Dark Reign: The List - Daredevil one-shot and to his run next issue.

See next image.

I liked all the cover/poster images Marvel packed into Daredevil #500 and these two were the standouts for this issue. This cover especially as it makes Daredevil look like Hellboy.

Wolverine: Weapon X #4

Dipping someone in a bunch of wine is one way of interrogating someone.

Not infront of the kids.

This was just one sick battle. The whole fight was beautifully choreographed and I wish we could get more fights that are as fun as this one was.