Legen-wait-for it-dary Comic Book Highlights of the Week 7/15/09

Cover of the Week: New Mutants #3 (50s Variant)

Overall Marvel has done an excellent job with all of these 50s/60s/70s covers that they have been releasing as variants. And I like this New Mutants #3 50s cover as reminiscent of the style of that time period.

Amazing Spider-Man #599 Highlights

Aw, some brotherly love.

I got to say I really enjoyed the whole fight between Harry and Norman. And I like how great the armor of both characters looked great throughout the issue, even with a artist by committee.

Damn, that is freaking harsh Norman. Screwing and impregnating your son's ex-fiance is not cool. Not cool at all Norman!

Holy crap! Aunt May not only has a Twitter but also a Facebook. This has to be one of the signs of the apocalypse.

How much you want to bet as soon as Lily gives birth to Norman's new son that Norman will kill Lily?

Batman: Streets of Gotham #2 Highlights

I guess all that build up to Black Mask's return as a big player in Gotham during Battle for the Cowl was for nothing as he got pwned by Firefly in this issue.

No one likes back seat drivers Batman, especially Firefly! To bad Batman didn't get that note as he takes control of Firefly's suit and flies him into a Penguin billboard.

That is one super generous donation by a Hush impersanting Bruce Wayne. Will be interesting seeing how Dick deals with yet another problem that is added to the mountain of problems he is dealing as Batman.

This is from the Manhunter back-up to this issue and I am interested to see were this story between Manhunter and Jane Doe goes down.

Blackest Night #1 Highlights

Even with all of the problems with Blackest Night the one thing I could not complain about was Ivan Reis artwork. His artwork was phenomenal. And this page was both awesome and sick with the Black Lantern rings flying out to find host and Black Hand licking Bruce Wayne's skull.

A great spread of the four characters that should be the stars of Blackest Night.

No Fear huh? Well we will how much bravery the people of Earth show when the dead rise from the grave.

See what happens when you are away from the DCU for a few years. You miss out on so many deaths.

This and one other small panel is all we get to show us that the War of Lights has actually started. Johns better place more of a focus on the War of Lights in the next issue.

WOW! Scar goes cannibal on all of her fellow Guardians.

Can you name all of the dead characters seen on this spread page?

I got to admit that I like this new look for Martian Manhunter. It is so much more bad ass than when he was alive.

Thank you Ralph and Sue. I couldn't take any more of the will they, won't they crap between Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

Captain America #601 Highlights

Even though there were parts in the issue that I did not like on the art side of things I really like this quick origin story that the legendary Gene Colan drew.

Gene Colan did a great job making all of the action in this WWII setting look both dark and creepy.

Superman/Batman #62 Highlights

Man, you do not want to go sightseeing with Supergirl.

Paging Dr. Joker your help is need in room 2B.

This is one tea party you do not want to be a part of.

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 7/15/09

Just as a quick mention, if you haven't already, be sure to read my reviews for Batman #688, Red Robin #2, and The Spectacular Spider-Man Episodes 17 and 18 posted now over at the Rokk's Comic Book Revolution. As a bit of warning my review for Blackest Night may contain more spoilers than my average reviews. You've been warned. Now onto this week's reviews:

Batman: Streets of Gotham #2

Creative Team
Writer: Paul Dini (Streets of Gotham) & Marc Andreyko (Manhunter back-up)
Artist: Dustin Nguyen (Streets of Gotham) & Georges Jeanty (Manhunter back-up)
Inker: Derek Fridolfs (Streets of Gotham) & Dexter Vines (Manhunter back-up)
Colorist: John Kalisz (Streets of Gotham) & Nick Filadi (Manhunter back-up)

Story – City on Fire; Who in the Hell is "Jane Doe"

Review
Originally I wasn't going to pick up Batman: Streets of Gotham but after getting it recommend to me by fellow blogger and Revolution member Andrenn I decided to pick it up. Even with all the different Batbooks out right now Paul Dini is able to make Batman: Streets of Gotham stand out on its own as a more grounded book than Batman and Robin, which contains some of Morrison over the top ideas, and Batman, were Winnick is focusing on the emotional aspect of Dick being Batman.

Over these two issues Dini has done a very good job laying out the mission statement of Streets of Gotham having a much wider scope by focusing on the Gotham City Police Department, the aftermath of the Heart of Hush storyline, and the Black Mask storyline from Battle for the Cowl along with placing a focus on Dick, Damien, and Alfred. Dini does a good job capturing the true chaos going around in Gotham now that Dick is Batman. This chaotic feel to Gotham presents a good challenge for the new Dark Knight to face.

Even though Gotham City has had similar things happen to it in the past this time around it feels like it is a bit more chaotic because it is not Bruce under the cowl this time around to deal with the problems but someone "new." And Dustin Nguyen, while artwork doesn't fit my tastes, does do a good job capturing the chaos going on in Gotham.

What I like that Dini is making, along with Morrison and Winnick in the other two Batbooks, Dick's transition into being Batman a huge challenge as he has no time to ease into the role and is instead thrust into all of these big problems going around Gotham. While I understand why some fans don't really like this change to Dick being Batman since it is believe to be only for a short period I think stories like the one going on here in Streets of Gotham, as well as in Batman and in Batman and Robin, wouldn't work with Bruce under the cowl. These type of stories have been told a hundred times while Bruce was Batman but now with Dick under the cowl these stories feel somehow new, even if they are a rehash of old stories, which at this point is what most if not all stories in comics are anyways.

edit - I forgot to mention something about the Manhunter back-up for this issue. As far as back- ups go Marc Andreyko and Georges Jeanty combine to tell a good gritty story that looks to get better with future issues. For now it is hard to judge how good the story is until we get more of it in the future but still it looks like a good solid story.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.7/10 – Paul Dini does an excellent job with all of the dialogue in this issue and keeps the pace of this book moving without there being a slow moment.
Art: 7.5/10 – While I have never been a big fan of Dustin Nguyen artwork he does a good job capturing the chaotic feel of Gotham. Though there are some rough and inconsistent spots in his artwork that can be overlooked because of the story being told.
Overall: 8.1/10 – Batman: Streets of Gotham #2 was a very good read and offers something different that make it stand out within all the Batbooks. I definitely recommend giving this comic book a try to any Batman fan as Dini and Nguyen are able to capture what Gotham is like with someone other than Bruce under the cowl.

Blackest Night #1

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
Inker: Oclair Albert
Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Story – RISE!

Review
Finally after years of build up the story that began all the way back when Green Lantern: Rebirth happened Blackest Night is finally here. After all the hype this event has gotten to this point Geoff Johns did a very good job launching this event with its first issue. And Ivan Reis provided the necessary artwork to give this issue, and the rest of the series, the proper epic feel that it deserves

Unlike almost all of Johns work over the past year Blackest Night #1 moved at a very quick pace that immedietly introduced the concept of the War of Lights and who the Black Lanterns are. Even though there is still some mystery behind everything that the Black Lantern Rings can do Johns was able to do a very good job showing why the Black Lanterns may pose the biggest threat out of all the Lantern Corps.

Just like in any zombie flick it looks like the Black Lanterns are unable to be hurt because they are all dead characters and have all the same powers that the dead bodies the rings posses have if not more. What makes the concept of the Black Lanterns interesting is that the rings seem to have brought out all the evil that those who possess a Black Lantern Ring, whether good or bad, have within them. Also the concept that the Black Lanterns get more power the more they kill is something I did not expect out of the Black Lantern Corps and I wonder what actually happens when they get full power. Also since we only saw the how the dead heroes act with the Black Lantern Rings it will be interesting to see in future issues is how these rings affect the dead DCU villains.

The most interesting aspect of these Black Lanterns was the obsession Black Hand, the leader of the Black Lantern Corp, had with Bruce Wayne's skull. Johns placed a big emphasis on that somehow Bruce's corpse, specifically his skull, is more important than any other. This is probably the most interesting aspect to come out of this issue.

Now while the Black Lanterns were rightfully the stars of this first issue I did like how Johns emphasized how important all the dead characters are to the DCU characters. It helps reaffirm the weight of how much seeing all these dead characters back will be on the heroes and villains in the DCU.

What was also good is that Johns did a good job showing that the four Green Lanterns of Earth are sort of seen as the stars of the Green Lantern Corps, especially Hal. All the attention and adoration Hal, Kyle, John, and Guy got in the memorial at Coast City really helps to put these four above other Lanterns and gives the reader, both new and old, the idea that all four will have an important part to play in the War of Light. And with the set up Johns did by reminding/informing the reader about all of Hal, Kyle, John and Guy's love interest it will be interesting to see what happens if they have to face them in the War of Lights.

And as a big fan of Peter Tomasi's run on Nightwing I was glad to see Johns use the underground cemetery the Justice League have under their headquarters that Tomasi set up during his run on Nightwing. The idea the Justice League moved all of the dead villains' corpses to the safest location they could think of was a very interesting concept. With how it looks like all these dead corpses will become Black Lanterns it will make the moment the dead villains get Black Lantern Rings even more dramatic as they will end up blowing one of the symbols the people on Earth view as being impenetrable. It should make for an awesome splash that Ivan Reis, as he showed here in this issue and all of his previous work, will end up drawing.

The thing that was most surprising in this issue was that Johns ended up having the Guardians of the Galaxy be the first casualties of this war. While I expected them to be one of the casualties of this war I did not think they would die in the first issue. But again Johns did a very good job with the scene and it helps to build up Scar, the evil Guardian working for the Black Lanterns, as even more evil and vicious.

With all that said there were a couple problems with this issue. The first thing was that Johns did not really show us that the War of Lights has actually started. All this issue did was set up the Black Lanterns as the bad guys. The reader really never gets the sense that an actual war is taking place in the universe. The war is only mentioned briefly in this issue. Even though I'm sure this problem will be rectified in the following issues I think this first issue actually brings up the question if Johns will be able to handle juggling such a massive cast of characters in this series. It will be something to watch out for as Johns will be seemingly focusing on not just the all the Lantern Corps but also all of the heroes on Earth.

The second problem I had with this issue is that although the issue had a quick pace for most of the issue, especially the beginning, it was all a rehash of information and scenes we have gotten in previous issues of Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, and even parts of Flash: Rebirth. While it is fine for readers who have not been reading either titles before this series it is something as someone reading both titles I found to be annoying. At points it actually felt like there wasn't really much plot development in this issue other than learning more about the Black Lanterns.

The final problem I had with this issue is the obsession Johns has with Hawkman and Hawkgirl as he dedicates ten pages to the two characters love problems. Personally I am not a fan of either character. It is not that I don't like them as it is more that I have never found them very appealing. It felt as though Johns used this issue as an opportunity to try and rectify the fact neither character has gotten their own series since Infinite Crisis. And because of that it makes it look like Johns was trying to waste panel space that could have honestly been better used to build up the War of Lights and some of the characters initial reactions to seeing their dead loved ones brought back to life.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.1/10 – Geoff Johns tells a very good story with great dialogue and pacing. Though for a reader that has been reading Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps some of the dialogue felt like it was recycled from those series.
Art: 9.6/10 – What can you say about Ivan Reis artwork that hasn't been said. Reis artwork was flat out phenomenal. He gives Blackest Night the epic feel it deserves.
Overall: 8.85/10 – While there were some problems with this issue (rehashing of old dialogue, not showing the War of Lights beginning, and page wasting with Hawkman and Hawkgirl) Blackest Night #1 was everything I expected it to be (and that's a good thing). What will be interesting to see is if Johns will be able to handle the massive cast he has in this event or crumble because of it. Still for this issue I will give kudos to Johns and Reis for providing an excellent start to what should be one wild ride.

Captain America #601

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Gene Colan
Colorist: Dean White

Story – Red, White, & Blue-Blood

Review
With how much attention Captain America: Reborn has been getting one of the things as a Ed Brubaker Captain America fan I have been interested in is how his work on that mini-series will affect his work on Captain America. And from the first issue of Captain America since the announcement that Steve is coming back I can say I was disappointed that a comic that has always been one of the best comics on the stands since the start of the series over suffered in quality due to an event that looks to disappoint. Now I am not going to say that Captain America #601 was bad but it felt like to much of a filler issue and a waste of the $3.99 cover price. Even though this issue had the legendary artwork of Gene Colan behind it the issue still did not feel right as it didn't have that gritty feel that has been provided by Epting and Guice.

Now I will say that for a story as just a standalone story was not half bad. It provided some more insight on the team of Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Bucky. Brubaker did a good job showing that this team had a Batman and Robin type dynamic as they work very well to stop the bad guys in this issue. If nothing else it gives the reader an idea why Steve and Bucky are held in such high regards as a team within the Marvel Universe.

Still with that said this issue would have been better served as a one-shot and not part of the Captain America series. One of the things that has been so great about this series is how Brubaker has been able to go between the past and present in Captain America's history in such a seamless manner that enhances the story as a whole. But because this issue is completely focused on telling a lost tale of Captain America and Bucky I never felt like the story had an overall impact on what is currently going on for both characters.

Issue Rating
Story: 6.3/10 – As always Brubaker provides solid dialogue but the story falls flat as it is nothing more than filler.
Art: 7/10 – While I understand that Gene Colan is a legendary artist I felt his art was a bit too rough and does not fit the overall feel that this book has had when Epting or Guice are on art duties. But I am biased as I am used to Epting and Guice's artwork and I though Colan still provide some good artwork.
Overall: 6.65/10 – Captain America #601 was nothing more than filler as Brubaker focus most of his energy on Captain America: Reborn. Hopefully Brubaker gives a much better effort next month with #602.

Superman/Batman #62

Creative Team
Writers: Michael Green & Mike Johnson
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Colorist: David Baron

Story – Sidekicked

Review
Thinking about how long the new Supergirl (Kara) has been around I can't really think of a time where I have read her and Robin (Tim Drake) have much interaction. Even when they were both on Teen Titans Supergirl mostly interacted with Wonder Girl. So it was cool seeing the first team up between both characters.

Michael Green and Mike Johnson do a great job showing us the first interaction between the two. I like how they begun the issue by showing that the characters are very good friends now and that Supergirl has really become more like a regular person on Earth. The scene at the diner between Kara and Tim actually felt like friends hanging out and not just some superheroes forced to spend time together to fight a bad guy. It was just good honest friends hanging out and catching up.

Also Green and Johnson do a good job capturing how Supergirl was an overconfident superhero when she first appeared. And it was good to see Supergirls reaction to the insanity going on in Arkham Asylum. While for Robin and the reader the stuff that goes on there is normal stuff you expect out of a place filled with psycho we forget that Arkham is really a scary place to be in.

My favorite scene was the "tea party" all of Batman Rogues were having with the employees of Arkham. It was a very funny/creepy scene and I like how both Robin and Supergirl just took out all of the Rogues.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.5/10 – Green and Johnson provide a story that was pure fun and the dialogue between Tim and Kara was spot on.
Art: 8.3/10 – Rafael Albuquerque provided some great artwork that showed a range to fit both the light and dark moments of this issue. I especially loved all of the facial reactions he gave all of the characters.
Overall: 8.4/10 – Superman/Batman #62 was a fun read and a great story of two friends reminiscing about their first meeting with each other. If you have some extra cash I definitely recommend picking this issue up as it is a great one and done story.

Legen--wait for it---dary Comic Book Highlight for 6/17/09

Check out my reviews for last weeks comic book cartoons, Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem #1 and Invincible Iron Man #14 over at Rokk's Comic Book Revolution. Also I posted a new poll here on the Legacy to see if I should change the day of when I post the Highlights of the Week or keep them on the same day. So let me know what you think by voting on which day I should post them. Now on to the highlights of this week.

Cover of the Week: Captain America #600 (Alex Ross variant)

Even though I am not a big fan of Alex Ross's interior artwork I always love his cover's. He always knocks it out of the ballpark with his covers and this one for Cap #600 is no difference. Wouldn't mind having this as a poster in my room.

Captain America #600 Highlights

Nothing like seeing the original Avengers team to remind you how good the Avengers used to be as a team and not a group of individuals.

Got to wonder what this gun actually did to Steve: Did it transport him to an alternate world? Into the past? Future? Or something else?

Nothing like some good old training with some friends.

Well Red Skull we will find out starting next week during Captain America: Reborn.

Bump...Bump...Bump!

Nice to see how Steve touch people outside of the superhero community.

Rich people like to collect things to.

Invincible Iron Man #14 Highlights

Nothing like returning to the old reliable suit when on the run from the US government.

And the award for lamest superhero name goes to: Pepper Potts and her superhero name of 'Rescue.' Congrats Pepper! You just became 5x less interesting.

Maria Hill sure knows how to be subtle when trying to get someone's attention.

Madame Masque was a able to use her "Masque Senses" to locate Tony. At least that is the explanation that Fraction gave us.

Superman/Batman #61 Highlights

Nothing like some good old fashion superhero summer cleaning!

A nice moment for Bruce/Zatanna (Bratanna?) shippers before it is taken away.

Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem #1

To really see how bad the Ultimatum disaster was you Ultimate Spider-Man has been the place to see it not the actual Ultimatum event title.

'Counterintuitive'? I barely knew 4 syllable words in high school. Gotta be impressed with MJ's interview skills at the young age of 16.

Good to see that Bendis does actual know that Tony is a superhero. Now only if he realized this about the 616 version of the character.

I feel ya Pete, tuition is a bitch to get and pay.

After finally admitting that Spider-Man is a hero Jonah learns that CNN is reporting the Spider-Man is dead. Talk about irony!

Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 6/17/09

Captain America #600

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker (main story); Paul Dini, Roger Stern, Mark Waid, Joe Simon, and Stan Lee (back-up stories)
Artists: Butch Guice with Howard Chaykin, Rafael Albuquerque, David Aja, and Mitch Breitweiser (main story); Alex Ross, Kalman Andrasofszky, Dale Eaglesham, and Al Alivison (back-up stories)

Story - Captain America Origin (Reprint), One Year Later (main story), In Memorium (back-up), The Persistence of Memorabilia (back-up), My Bulletin Board (letter), and Red Skull's Deadly Revenge (Reprint)

Review
After all the build-up for this issue Marvel didn't do themselves any favors by allowing spoilers for the issue to come out on Monday when most comic shops, mine included, did not get the issue till today, due to extra shipping cost being to high for one-day shipping. Most of the excitement for this issue was really taken away do to the spoilers all over the Internet.

Still in any case Captain America #600 was a good read that would have been much better if we did not get the spoilers so soon. The best part of the issue was the main story that Ed Brubaker wrote. It was a well told story that let us catch up with all of the main cast, both hero and villain, of this book. The thing that hurt the main story was the artist by committee used for some of the character spotlights which did not mesh well with Butch Guice's main artwork. Still the main story did a good job telling us were all these characters are One Year Later and build the mystery of the "return" of Steve Rogers.

For the back-ups they where each okay stories but were not very interesting as they only served as a way to let old Captain America writers to write a story. The stories did not add anything to the overall story Brubaker is telling in the book but did not detract from it either which I guess is all a person can ask for back-up stories.

The extra's of Dini and Ross reprint of the Captain America (Steve Rogers) Origin story, Joe Simon's letter, Stan Lee and Al Avision old WWII Red Skull reprint, and the 600 cover gallery were all nice little extras that I'm sure older Captain America fans will enjoy but I did not find all too interesting.

Issue Rating
Story(s): 7.8/10 - The main story that Brubaker wrote was just as good as the rest of the series has been but the back-up stories just weren't as interesting as Brubaker's story.
Art: 6.4/10 - The artist by committee really hurt the flow of some of the issue which is the first time that it has happened to this series.
Overall: 7.1/10 - As far as anniversary issues go Captain America #600 was not bad and loaded with a bunch of extra content. But Cap #600 was hurt by the early spoilers that where leaked a few days before this issue was released to most comic shops.

Superman/Batman #61

Creative Team
Writers: Michael Green & Mike Johnson
Artist: Francis Manapul
Colorist: Brian Buccellato

Story- Mash-Up Part 2

Review
The first issue of this two-part story was entertaining but not really a story with much depth. The second, and final, part of this "Mash-Up" story falls under the same boat. But as far as quick two-part elseworld stories go this wasn't bad. This issue starts by introducing us to the villain amalgams (BrainyCat, Penguello, Jimmy Two-Face, The Ventrilomaker, Lana Quinn) along with Doomstroke and Lex Joker who we meet in the last issue. Also unsurprisingly the Terra (Terranato) from this world is also a traitor working for Doomstroke.

From there we get a brawl between the Justice Titans and the Brotherhood of Injustice which is beautifully illustrated by Francis Manapul. Manapul's artwork in this issue was even better than in the last issue and has me thinking of getting Adventure Comics just for his art.

Anyways the twist that Green and Johnson was not all that surprising but, not going to spoil it here, it was nice to see the villain back in comics again as it has been a while since I have seen the character involved in a storyline.

My favorite part of this issue was the little dream sequence involving Bruce and Zatanna. It was a little bit of a sad moment that Green and Johnson were able to inject into the story that makes you feel bad for both characters. And I'm sure that the Bruce/Zatanna fans will enjoy.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.5/10 - Green and Johnson do a solid job with this two part story and were able to give us a nice touching scene in the issue.
Art: 9/10 - Manapul's artwork was just awesome in this story and his art alone is a reason to pick up this two-part story.
Overall: 8.25/10 - "Mash-Up" was a good elseworld story that will probably be enjoyed by fans like me who have not read to many elseworld stories than does that have. But in any case this was a nice quick story that is worth the read as both writers and artist do a solid job with.

Legen-wait-for it-dary Comic Book Highlights of the Week 5/21/09

While I was able to review Battle for the Cowl #3, Bleach, and Code Geass here at the Legacy and post reviews for the Comic Book Cartoons and Superman/Batman #60 over at the Rokk's Comic Book Revolution I wasn't able to find time the past few days to post reviews here for the other comics I got this past week. I've been busy working on this redevelopment project the past few days so I haven't found the time to do much blogging after Memorial Day. Still I thought I would post the weekly comic book highlights of the week though I should be able to post reviews next week and I'm thinking of reviewing the first part of "American Son" from Amazing Spider-Man. Also before going into the highlights for the week I thought I share a cool thing I saw yesterday while driving home: Optimus Prime on the Luxor Casino.

I was a bit surprising seeing Optimus their promoting the upcoming movie as it was the first time I saw it and I just wondering how long its been up their for. Anyways here are the comic book highlights for this week:

Cover of the Week: Superman/Batman #60

I really like Francis Manapul work and I thought he did a great job with this cover and I like the little touch of Batman's cape having Gothropolis on it.

Amazing Spider-Man #594 Highlights

Spider-Man pulls of his best Daredevil impersonation as he allows his Spider-Sense let him know were the new Vulture will attack from.

I guess this is the marriage that is being advertised in the future issues of Amazing Spider-Man. I wonder since Aunt May has always been like a mother to Peter doesn't this marriage make Peter and J. Jonah Jameson Jr. brothers now? I hope the marriage does happen just to see how Peter and JJJ Jr. interact as brothers.

I am really excited for "American Son" and can't wait to see Spider-Man finally tackle his number one villain now in control of all of the security for the United States.

Battle for the Cowl #3 Highlights

Hm, so with so many heavy hitters they still can't fight off a gang war that is against mostly villains and gangs with no superpowers.

This dialogue was probably the best dialogue Tony Daniel provided in the whole mini-series.

I still don't get why it wasn't Two-Face or Penguin who blew up Gotham City as Black Mask didn't appear much for supposedly being the villain of the series, or at least second villain.

Even though I still question the move to make Daniel the writer of the series I love all of his artwork for this series and that is one of the things I would not question is the man art abilities.

So I guess this is were the Robin mantle switches hands right.

Here it is three issues to get to the outcome most, if not all, Batman fans predicted: Dick Grayson as the new Batman and Damien Wayne as the new Robin.

Captain America #50 Highlights

What better way to spend your birthday than being chased by guys on rocket packs while shooting rockets at you.....

how about being attacked by Nazis on your 18th birthday.

Even though this was mostly a filler issue it was nice to see Bucky get a nice moment with his new family.

Just an example of the phenomenal work by Marcos Martin. Marvel needs to put Martin on the Avengers or another Spider-Man story.

Superman/Batman #60

Interesting combinations to create the Justice Titans.

Well at least we learn their names, to bad other than Night Lantern the Justice Titans weren't given much dialogue in this issue.

It was obvious we would see an amalgam of Lex Luthor and Joker but Manapul does great work with the character design.

Wolverine: Weapon X #2 Highlights

Even in the Marvel Universe Wolverine is the most overexposed superhero. That's saying something.

Ron Garney did a great job illustrating this fight sequence between Wolverine and the Adamantium men. It should be one of the fights of the year.

While this is an overused splash page I can't wait to see how Wolverine is able to take each one down in the next issue.