Writer: Brian Reed
Artist: Chris Samnee
Color Artist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer & Production: VC’s Rus Wooton
Cover: Adi Granov
Editor: Lauren Sankovitch
Executive Editor: Tom Brevoort
Published by: Marvel Comics

I think I read the first couple issues of Civil War: Frontline, and while I snagged an issue or two from a quarter bin somewhere, I don’t believe I’ve read any of the World War Hulk: Frontline. I also hate the $3.99 price point, but after growing so weary of even just the phrase “Dark Reign” and seeing that on comics on the shelves. That Marvel would actually do a 4-issue event in Siege seemed astonishing to me, and I’d decided to compromise my principles and buy the core issues despite the $3.99 tag–at least it was an ‘event book’ and not just another standard, monthly issue of an ongoing title. With the Origins of Siege freebie the week prior, and a small week of new issues, I decided to give Siege a bit more of a shot than I would otherwise, and not only bought SiegeEmbedded #1, but also picked up #1…and while I was at it, snagged the cabal one-shot from December.

With the second issue of both Siege and Siege: Embedded out this week, I again went ahead and snagged both.

This issue continues the journey of Ben Urich, his travel buddy Will, and Volstagg, in the wake of the “inciting incident” that allowed Norman Osborne the excuse to invade Asgard. Urich is interviewing people during the journey while stopped at gas stations, while his buddy tries to keep Volstagg from being noticed. When the group hits a traffic jam, things get bad pretty quick as Osborne’s people lock onto Volstagg’s Asgardian properties. While he fights the would-be captors, Urich and Will wind up in less than ideal conditions, where they must rely on one another without their Asgardian friend.

The issue’s art seems rather simplistic in a way…not really in a grim and gritty way, but just some stylistic thing. It’s not bad–but it’s nothing wonderful, either.

The story itself seems to have virtually nothing to do with Siege itself, other than Volstagg’s presence/situation. Siege sets the “environment,” but other than that, this doesn’t seem to add anything to the main title’s story. This is just its own story set within the event. I’m somewhat enjoying this story as–while it involves super-beings–the main character(s) are not themselves super-heroes/villains. They’re just people who live in a world populated by super-beings.

As said–this really adds nothing yet to Siege itself. But if you’re looking for a larger experience than just the main Siege book, this is worth getting, as it is also a 4-issue mini-series, and there’s the chance it’s not going to get you hooked on another ongoing title that just ties in to Siege.

Ultimately, a solid issue, but kinda take-it-or-leave-it. I’ll be interested to see how the series is collected–it’d be great to see this collected WITH Siege itself, though I’d be shocked to see that actually happen.

Story: 7/10
Art: 4.5/10
Overall: 6/10

By: Brian Reed (writer), Sana Takeda (artist)

The Story: Ms. Marvel is on the trail of Mystique and she’s pounding the crap out of a flunky to catch her prey. In the meantime, Captain Marvel is going through some really messed up moments and does more than a little violence to his own church and followers. Mystique’s hand is in his madness.

What’s Good: This is my first real exposure to Takeda’s art and I found it works well here. He has a style you don’t see elsewhere. He’s doing comic book superhero, but with a slight anime flavor (check out the poses and motions in the scuffle between Ms. Marvel and ‘Beardo’ if you’d like an example of the anime flavoring), but textures, lighting and the dynamism of the movements are all solid. The textures, in fact, are really good, especially when Takeda does the panel close-up on the face of a garbage-foraging-lady, or the concierge at the hotel desk where Carol picks up Mystique’s trail again.

On writing, I’ve been a Brian Reed fan for a while, and enjoyed this book, even though I jumped in mid-arc. The story and the conflicts are clear enough for me to follow with only a few contextual nods on Reed’s part. The voices of the characters were also great. Reed manages to put tones of maliciousness (Mystique), uncertainly (Carol), anger (Ms. Marvel) and hillbilly (‘beardo’) into the words of each character so that in the end, they sound like different people. This is the mark of a skilled writer.

What’s Not So Good: This issue went by a bit quickly. It was a lot of action, with very little reveal, so it felt like a light snack instead of something more substantial. I’m going to pick up the next issue where I’m sure more explanation and revelation will be happening.

Conclusion: A solid Marvel offering for fans of Ms. Marvel or Brian Reed, but nothing memorable.

Grade: C

-DS Arsenault

     Although people tend to forget it, few villains have had a greater effect on Ms. Marvel than Mystique.  Actually, none have.  And to end Brian Reed’s long run on Carol, she gets to face off against her old enemy once more.  For some reason, someone who looks like Captain Marvel has been attacking the Church of Hala across the United States.  Ms. Marvel talks to one of the church’s more prominent members, who was injured in one of the attacks, to get some information.  She sets up a meeting with Essential, the technological being who helped her previously, and meets her old friend Rick Mason (who was actually an pre-existing character before his appreance in Ms. Marvel) as well.  Upon viewing footage of Captain Marvel’s attacks, Carol realizes that it’s really Mystique.  Thanks to Essential, she tracks Mystique, or at least who she believes is Mystique, in Idaho.  When she confronts “Mystique,” a massive explosion goes off.

     I have not been a fan of this series since it finished its second year, mostly because, rather than capitalize on any of the threads he started at the beginning, Brian Reed has seen fit to instad toss Carol around for no apparent reason in stupid story after stupid story (War of the Marvels).  As such, not only has she not grown as a character, but she does not seem to have accumulated the crucial supporting cast that most big books have.  Personally, I think she also needs a serious costume revamp, since it’s rather… awful.  I hate that so many female superheroes’ costumes have to involve the shirt/top part ending in a thong with at least partially shown legs, as it’s totally unnecessary in a costume and is blatantly sexual in nature.  And Sana Takeda’s art is still way too odd-looking for this book, especially with her ridiculously pastely coloring.  So, with this series ending, all I see is missed opportunities.  I just hope Carol won’t rot in some corner of the Marvel Universe after this.  I do expect her to be one of the members of the re-established Avengers after Siege.  But hey, at least Reed is going back to Carol’s roots with the final arc.

Plot: 6.3      Art: 5.7      Dialogue: 6.5      Overall: 6.0

     So, already, the “epic” Ms. Marvel storyline, War of the Marvels, is over.  Somehow Lily Hollister managed to stop Ms. Marvel from attacking her, and Norman Osborn takes Carol into custody.  Catherine Donovan, concerned about the weird stuff that’s been going on with her and Ms. Marvel, comes to New York to get help from the Dark Avengers.  Instead, she’s taken hostage by the Dark Avengers, since she looks exactly like Ms. Marvel.  And Ms. Marvel herself suddenly gets a power boost.  Osborn figures out that it’s Donovan’s proximity to Ms. Marvel that increases her powers, but when Moonstone tries to kill Donovan, Ms. Marvel interferes.  Donovan manages to elude a bunch of H.A.M.M.E.R. agents, but she gets caught by Osborn and killed.  Then, the Storytellers, who apparently tried to give Carol both a life as a normal person and as Ms. Marvel by separating her into Donovan and her superhero persona (that’s right, Donovan wasn’t real), send Donovan’s consciousness into Moonstone.  As Donovan takes over Moonstone’s mind, Moonstone is tormented by a vision of her mother, prompting her to reclaim her former villainous identity.  Carol gets fused again with Donovan’s psyche and becomes whole, and she takes one of Moonstone’s moonstones.  In an attempt to redeem Moonstone, Carol dries to get her to realize what made her a monster, so she can get back her life and help fight against Osborn.  Instead, Moonstone takes back her moonstone and smashes her mother’s headstone, proving that it’s hard to teach an old dog, or in this case, young, villainous woman, new tricks.  And in a silly little epilogue, Carol goes on that date she promised to go on with Spider-Man, and they get attacked by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents.

     At this point, I think I’ve said everything bad about this story that I possibly could.  Ms. Marvel has already been seen in New Avengers alive and well, so War of the Marvels and her death was entirely unimportant.  We knew she was going to come back fine somehow, and the whole Storyteller thing is just so freaking ridiculous.  Rather than use the interesting character of the original Storyteller, Brian Reed came up with some M.O.D.O.K. rejects to just make everything seem more contrived.  He manages to ruin Moonstone by trying to make her seem sympathetic (she’s not, trust me), and he continues to keep Ms. Marvel from growing into the superb superhero she could be.  By the way, the series is getting cancelled at #50, in three more issues.  Bad writing plus subpar art on a character who hasn’t exactly found a fanbase yet gets you just that.  Sana Takeda’s work is still rather funky, though at least her anatomy has improved.  Manga-style artwork just doesn’t fit with American comic books.  I have no idea how Philippe Briones’ art is, since the coloring of Ikari Studios is so spastic that it’s hard to tell where  the division is between one person’s hair and shading.  And of course Mike McKone’s art is beautiful, almost better than this title deserves, Rob Disalva’s art is decent, if a tad unpolished, and Derec Donovan’s three pages are too cartoony.  I stopped caring about this series a while ago, even though I hoped that War of the Marvels would rejuvenate it.  Brian Michael Bendis writes Carol better, and in three issues, this title will go the way of the dodo anyway.  Poor Ms. Marvel just can’t get a lasting solo comic book.

Plot: 2.3      Art: 5.6 (Takeda), 4.2 (Briones), 9.0 (McKone)     Dialogue: 3.5      Overall: 2.8

Ich hab bei meinem vorhergehenden Artikel geschrieben, dass Ms. Marvel mit der #50 gecancelled wird, den Satz aber wieder abgeändert da ich keine offizielle Bestätigung gefunden habe. Fakt ist auch, dass dieses Gerücht schon seit Jahren über der Serie schwebt und Brian Reed es bis jetzt auch immer bestritten hat.

Nu steht aber in den Solis für den Februar 2010 bei Ms. Marvel #50 folgendes:

Over-sized final issue! It’s Ms. Marvel and Mystique in a fight to the finish—and the ending will rock the world of Carol Danvers!

Also doch die Final Issue! Aber irgendwie auch nicht denn Brian Reed sagt in einem Interview mit Newsarama:

NRAMA: Now wait a minute, though. You said this is all building toward Issue #50. So… Issue #50 isn’t the end of Ms. Marvel, is it?

REED: Hmmm.

NRAMA: “Hmmm???” What does that mean?

REED: Let’s just say there are big things coming that I can’t talk about now. There’s a change coming that I don’t think people are expecting. Keep reading, and you’ll see this story continue to build. If you thought things were really crazy in the last few issues, just wait.

Was heißt das jetzt? Mini-Serien? Relaunch? Aber eigentlich eh egal, denn solange Brian Reed am Ruder sitzt, schließe ich mich dem Kommentar eines Newsarama Posters an, der trocken meinte:

who cares....

Ich habe gerade auf Graphische Novellen die Review des Batwoman Arcs “Elegy” (Detective Comics #854-856) gelesen, welche mich zu ein paar Gedanken bezüglich homosexueller Comic-Helden/Heldinnen angeregt hat.

Nachdem die Autorin – nennt sich „irgendeine-Userin“ aber ich glaube es handelt sich hier eh um die ComicLeserin – Greg Ruckas Arbeit schon vor dem Lesen Rosen gestreut hat, überrascht mich weniger, dass sie den Arc positiv beurteilt hat, sondern viel mehr die Argumentation weshalb ihr dieser Arc so gefallen hat.

(Zur Erinnerung: In diesem Arg ging es um Batwomans Comeback und ihre Fehde mit Alice. Während das Artwork von J.H. Williams III abgefeiert wurde, bekam Ruckas Story verhaltene Reaktionen. Auch hier von mir…)

Im Gegensatz zur allgemeinen Meinung meint irgendeine-Userin nun:

Batwoman ist erstens eine Frau.
Zweitens ist sie eine Lesbe!

Im Mainstream der Superheldengeschichten sticht allein dies schon hervor.
Und die Hefte führen ihren Namen im Titel: Batwoman in Detective Comics.

Ich bin ja sonst keine Marktschreierin, aber wenn das nicht außergewöhnlich ist, dann weiß ich nicht…

Ich gebe der ComicLeserin nur bedingt Recht. Vielleicht würde dieses Argument bei jedem anderen Autor zu Recht zutreffen, aber gerade Greg Rucka ist berühmt/berüchtigt für seine starken Frauen die nicht selten auch lesbisch sind.

Auch da sich auch andere Autoren wie Bendis, Dini, Simone etc. schon seit längerem ernsthaft mit weiblichen Charakteren auseinandersetzen und sie nicht nur als Dekoration oder ewiges Opfer einbauen, spricht gegen das Argument, dass eine Heroine alleine schon etwas Besonderes wär. (Auch wenn ich diese Gruppierungen von Heldinnen wie bei „Gotham Sirens“ oder „Marvel Divas“ nicht unbedingt klasse finde…)

Was ihre Homosexualität betrifft: Klar begrüße ich jeden neuen homosexuellen Charakter, besonders wenn es eine prominente Figur wie Batwoman ist, aber ich finde nicht, dass ein lesbischer Haupt-Charakter alleine schon ausreicht um eine Story automatisch gut zu finden. Sollte es auch nicht, denn sonst passiert genau das, was bei Elegy passiert ist. Wir bekommen weibliche/lesbische Charaktere die nur zum Selbstzweck zu existieren scheinen und bei denen es daher ausreicht sie in eine maue Story zu verpacken.

Um dies weiter zu spinnen, wage ich zu prophezeien, dass diese Hefte auf Dauer – vorausgesetzt es läuft wo weiter – niemand kaufen würde und der Verlag die Figur/Serie aus dem Programm verschwinden lässt. Vermutlich noch mit der Vermutung dass die Zeit für eine (lesbische) Superheldin noch nicht reif sei…

Stichwort Ms. Marvel. Carol Danvers hätte so viel Potential und sollte ja eigentlich das feministische Aushängeschild von Marvel sein. Stattdessen wurde sie vergewaltigt (um anschließend mit dem Vergewaltiger zusammen zu leben), wurde eine Alkoholikern, mehrmals entmachtet oder sogar ermordet und für ihre Figur (!!!) beschimpft! Ms. Marvel! Für ihre Figur! Also das man bei den 90-60-90 wirklich noch Lookism einbauen kann topt wirklich alles… (Noch erschüttender ist aber das es Bendis war der Doom so entgleisen lies, der sie in Folge auch als “Whore” bezeichnete)

Besonders die letzten Monate unter Brian Reed hatte ich als Fan gelitten und bin nur dran geblieben weil ich mir eben dachte, dass irgendwer den Scheiß ja kaufen muss damit er im Programm bestehen bleibt.

So gesehen wäre es das Beste wenn Ms. Marvel demnächst eingestellt wird (worüber es ohnehin immer schon Gerüchte gab und gibt), denn vielleicht hat Marvel in ein paar Jahren endlich mal eine starke Autorin in den Reihen die der Superheldin zu einem ordentlichen Relaunch verhilft.

Aber wieder zurück zu den Graphischen Novellen der Review:

Irgendeine-Userin freut sich am Ende dann doch über die durchschnittlichen Reviews die Batwoman erhalten hat:

Aber ist ja schön, dass lesbische Superheldinnen nun zum Standard in den Comics geworden sind, so dass nur noch der Story Arc zu betrachten ist…

Sie hat zwar Recht, doch ist diese Betrachtungsweise schrecklich einseitig. Ja, lesbische Heldinnen sind schon so gut wie im Mainstream angekommen, bzw. werden sie von der männlich dominierten Leserschaft der Comics nicht als störend, sondern als mehr als „sexy“ wahrgenommen. Doch wie sieht es aber mit den schwulen Helden aus?

Auch wenn es im DC Universum mit Achilles unlängst erst ein Outing gegeben hat, ist dieser nur eine Nebenfigur die in keinster Weise Aufregung verursacht hat, ja nicht mal wirklich wahrgenommen wurde. Die queeren Hauptcharaktere schiebt man dann doch lieber aus Vorsicht auf die Wildstorm und Vertigo Imprints ab.

"Of Course not. I would never..."

Dass sie für diesen mutigen Schritt vielleicht zu Recht zu feig sind, zeigte sich unlängst erst mit Shatterstar bei Marvel. Aber auch hier muss ich sagen, dass Peter David sicherlich zurückgepfiffen worden wäre, wenn nicht X-Factor schon seit Ewigkeiten nur von einer kleinen, treuen Stammkundschaft gekauft wird, die sich von Homosexualität nicht abschrecken lassen, ja sie im Gegenteil sogar begrüßt.

Während lesbische Superheldinnen also sicherlich bereits im Mainstream angekommen sind, haben es schwule Helden noch immer schwer um Akzeptanz zu kämpfen.

Fairerweise muss ich dazu sagen dass ich nicht schwul bin und auch keine schwulen Kumpels habe die Comics lesen, während sich Graphische Novellen mehr oder weniger als „lesbischer Comic Blog“ sieht. Es ist nur logisch das queere Leser, sich mit queeren Helden/Heldinnen besser identifizieren können und daher den Batwoman-Arc allgemein positiver reviewen werden als z.b. ich es gemacht habe. Nehme ich zumindest mal an. Wie gesagt, ich habe ich niemanden den/die ich dazu befragen kann.

Zum Abschluss will ich noch etwas Anderes zu dem Thema queere Helden anmerken, was aber nichts mehr mit der Review, aber dennoch mit dem Graphischen Novellen Blog zu tun hat. Die Comic-Leserin merkt nämlich auch an:

… weil nicht immer Lesbe drauf stehen muss, wo Lesbe drin ist.

Dem kann ich nur 100 prozentig zustimmen! Das Schrecklichste was ich mir vorstellen könnte ist, dass ein Mainstream-Superhelden-Comic mit „Queer Comic“ gebrandet wird, so wie es bei den Mangas z.b. ein eigenes Genre von Shonen Ai gibt. (Witzigerweise wird das aber meines Wissens von Frauen für Frauen gemacht…)

Einen Comic den man explizit als „schwul/lesbisch“ bewirbt, halte ich für äußerst kontraproduktiv und würde auch nie die Hetero-Zielgruppe erreichen. Auch wenn Comics schon lange nicht mehr nur von Kids gelesen werden, würden diese niemals ein Comic kaufen von dem jeder weiß dass es einen schwulen Helden hat. Schon alleine aus Angst dass sie von ihren Kollegen gemobbt werden…

Um dem entgegenzuwirken muss ein(e) coole(r) homosexueller Held/Heldin entweder erst langsam in das Universum eingebracht werden (fabelhaft gemacht mit Midnighter bei Stormwatch der ja später auch ne eigene Serie bekam) oder es muss sich eine wirklich wichtiger Charakter outen.

Midnighter im Krieg...

...und in der Liebe

Auf Letzteres können wir aber wahrscheinlich ewig warten, denn seien wir ehrlich, würde Bendis seinen Luke Cage nicht so sehr pushen, hätten wir nicht mal eine schwarze Hauptfigur mit einer zentralen Rolle. (und nicht mal Cage hat einen eigenen Titel sondern mischt nur bei den New Avengers kräftig mit)

Ich glaube auch nicht, dass Batwoman eine große Rolle im DC Universum zu kommen wird und zumindest vorerst mal abgegrenzt vom Rest der Welt laufen wird. Und um hier auf Dauer zu überleben, und danach den Sprung zu einem richtigen Main-Character zu schaffen, braucht das Heft eben auch ne tolle Story die der Heldin erlaubt sich zu entwickeln und den Leser dranbleiben lässt.

Batwoman hat gut begonnen, sackte dann aber enorm ab und es gibt nicht wenige die der (meiner Meinung nach sogar noch schwächere) Question (ebenfalls eine Lesbe) Back-Story den Vorzug gaben.

So gesehen glaube ich also nicht, dass Batwoman der queeren Comic-Community nur irgendwie weiterhilft und sehe die Serie im besten Fall neben dem normalen DC Universum dahintrotten. Und das kann’s ja auch nicht sein…

PS: Sorry, wenn ein paar Formulierungen etwas verschachtelt klingen. Bin gerade krank und lese die Artikel generell nie Korrektur bevor ich sie online stelle…

by Brian Reed (Writer) and Sana Takeda (Artist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Ms. Marvel #46 marks the end of the War of the Marvels arc. While it’s been decent, I have my doubts about whether Brian Reed can pull his strange story together well enough to make it all worth it.

The Story: Catherine Donovan finds herself trapped within Karla Sofen’s mind as Carol Danvers beats the hell out of the mentally disconnected Ms. Marvel.

What’s Good: The conclusion to the War of the Marvels arc features Sana Takeda’s best Ms. Marvel work to date. From the character work and level of emotion on display to the action that manages to be surreal at certain times and hard-hitting at others, Takeda proves that she’s finally gotten the superhero comic stuff down pat. In Ms. Marvel #46, the large panels and characters look fantastic, the two full page scenes are striking, and the storytelling does an admirable job of making sense of a script that’s, to put it lightly, something of a mess. Also worth mentioning is how Takeda’s colors are rich and deep, yet incredibly vibrant at just the right times. It’s especially noticeable when powers are being used throughout the book. In those scenes and the two full-page shots, Takeda’s color choices really shine.

Notice how I lead off the “What’s Good” section by talking about the artwork? That’s because there’s only a couple of good things about the final chapter of the War of the Marvels as far as the story is concerned. In order to talk about those good things, however, I have to read into spoiler territory. So…consider this your SPOILER ALERT!!

The first good thing Brian Reed does by the time The War of the Marvels wraps up is reestablish Carol Danvers as not only a badass, but also a true hero. While the conclusion of the story is a bit heavy-handed, it leaves Karla Sofen in a rather interesting place. I just hope it doesn’t lead Sofen down the road to being a hero, because her attitude and deviousness makes her one of my favorite female villains. Another good thing that Reed does is having Danvers put Sofen in her place. Having them fight as equals worked early on considering the story, but I’m glad that it’s eventually established that Moonstone is no Ms. Marvel.

What’s Not So Good: I’m a fan of Ms. Marvel. I’m a fan of Brian Reed. Hell, I’m even a fan of the story that Reed has been telling with the War of the Marvels arc. Regardless though, I cannot possibly act as though the conclusion of War of the Marvels is, in any way, satisfying. While Reed reestablishes Carol Danvers well enough (which I assume was his ultimate goal from the start), so much is left unexplained that, even after reading it three times, I still can’t figure out just what the hell actually happens throughout most of Ms. Marvel #46. Storyteller fetuses, gooey chairs, a cat, Catherine Donovan, and then…Moonstone? While it’s entirely possible that the story will make more sense in the near future when Reed finally gets around to…you know…finishing his story/explaining what exactly happened to Danvers, I doubt that’s going to happen in Ms. Marvel #47 considering that all the ads seem to hyping the date Ms. Marvel owes Spider-Man.

Conclusion: It looks pretty great, but looks can only get a comic so far. Good luck figuring out what’s going on in Ms. Marvel #46. Feel free to educate me if you think you’ve got the War of the Marvels all sorted out.

Grade: D+

-Kyle Posluszny

By Brian Reed (Writer), Chris Bachalo w/ Rob Disalvo (Pencils), Townsend, Disalvo, Sibal, Irwin, Wang, & Mendoza (Inks), and Bachalo w/Fabela & Mossa (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The storyline is a bit basic and the way the artwork is divided up tends to be annoying, but those issues haven’t stopped me from enjoying the hell out of the Sinister Spider-Man mini-series.

The Story: Mayor Jameson’s Big Apple Festival is in big trouble. The Redeemer’s there, the two rivals gangs are there, and, worst of all, Bullseye and Wolverine’s kid are there as well. Does that mean Spider-Man is in trouble as well? You better believe it.

What’s Good: Now that’s more like it! Sinister Spider-Man #4 manages to recapture everything that made the first issue of the mini-series so great. It’s funny as hell, the manic artwork kicks ass, and the story finishes in a way that’s so crazy it actually winds up being quite satisfying.

Brian Reed’s hilarious script elevates a fairly generic bad guy acting like a good guy story into something more. What makes it work so well is that Reed writes Mac Gargan (A.K.A. Sinister Spider-Man) as an asshole through and through. A funny, likeable asshole, but an asshole nonetheless. By doing so, Reed’s able to make you root for Gargan while loving every bit of chaos that erupts as a result of what he’s done throughout the mini-series. It must be said, however, that Reed’s script wouldn’t work nearly as well if the artist handling the craziest parts of it didn’t completely embrace the writers vision. Thankfully, Chris Bachalo does.

Right from the opening “What the **** is this **** all about?” splash page (that features, among other things, flying panties, gangsters, a poodle, and corn dogs), Bachalo establishes that the Sinister Spider-Man series is going to finish on one heck of a high note. Now I’m well aware that Bachalo’s kinetic style isn’t for everyone, but it’s hard to argue how fitting it is for the story being told and the action that takes place. I never thought I’d see both corn dogs and a “yap dog” being used as projectile weapons, yet there they are. The few pages Rob Disalvo contributes are solid as expected, though I can’t help but wonder why Marvel didn’t just give Bachalo another week or two to finish the book. It’s not like the whole Dark Reign thing is ending next week.

What’s Not So Good: The only real big negative about Sinister Spider-Man #4 is that occasionally Chris Bachalo’s artwork is too hectic. There’s a lot of stuff going on and sometimes it doesn’t come together all that well on the page. And that’s either due to small panel size or the amount of action being crammed into a scene.

Conclusion: Sinister Spider-Man #4 rocks pretty hard. Be sure to pick up the inevitable trade if you haven’t been following the Dark Reign mini-series.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Show Notes:

We’re back…and just in time for the conclusion of Old Man Logan, No Hero, and the Batwoman Elegy arc!

THE LIST:

Mainstream:

[01:13] Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1
[10:35] New Avengers
[13:18] Dark X-Men: The Confession (One Shot)
[15:50] Uncanny X-Men #515
[22:21] Incredible Hercules #135
[23:20] Ms. Marvel #45
[27:40] Spider-Woman #1
[30:53] Detective Comics #857
[36:53] Superman Secret Origin #1 (of 6)
[42:29] Blackest Night Superman #2 (of 3)

Indies
[45:21] No Hero #7 (of 7)
[50:04] Underground #1 (of 4)

By Brian Reed (Writer), Philippe Briones (Artist), and Ikari Studios (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The War of the Marvels has been entertaining enough so far, but a part of me wishes that Brian Reed had let Karla Sofen truly take over the series for a couple more issues.

The Story: Karla Sofen and Carol Danvers throw down one more time. Meanwhile, Catherine Donovan tries to figure out just what the hell is going on as her physical abilities amplify depending on the situation.

What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: Ms. Marvel #45 is all about two things: The mystery that surrounds Catherine Donovan and the fight between the Marvels. Both parts have some positives, but unfortunately, they also have some pretty big negatives that threaten to overpower the good stuff. Allow me to explain.

As the War of the Marvels begins to draw to a close, Brian Reed throws in a twist that is sure to divide his audience. On the surface, it seems like a huge deus ex machina. And while it could definitely be considered to be one, it does sort of work in a strange way because it brings some dangling plot threads back to the forefront. The main problem is that the Catherine Donovan reveal is so weird, so bizarre that it’s pretty hard to really accept. That, my friends, is why the deus ex machina charge holds weight.

The big fight scene is something of a mess. While I like Philippe Briones style and the unique color work by Ikari Studios, the fight, as a whole, is poorly executed. Body proportions seem out of whack, faces are inconsistent, and the various poses do not tell the story or flow of the battle all that well. In addition, the banter written by Brian Reed just isn’t up to par. While some of it is enjoyable, it makes you think that Reed might be running out of banter dialogue (“fat Ms. Marvel” – Really?!).

Truth be told, the artwork is actually problematic throughout the entire comic. And for the same reasons it’s problematic during the action scenes. That said, it’s not all bad. Briones delivers one hell of a cool Iron Patriot and there is an impressive level of detail to a few scenes.

Conclusion: Ms. Marvel #45 is the weakest chapter of the War of the Marvels so far. The twist is something of a “wtf” moment and the artwork, though it has its merits, is pretty rough.

Grade: C-

-Kyle Posluszny

By Brian Reed (Writer) and Sana Takeda (Art)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: While the artist changes are quite annoying, The War of the Marvels has been pretty interesting so far. I just hope that Brian Reed pulls it all together because, let’s face it, the series has been a bit odd since Karla Sofen took over the Ms. Marvel name.

The Story: Carol Danvers (the real Ms. Marvel) is in custody… Sr is she? And who is Catherine Donovan?

What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: The latest chapter in the War of the Marvels arc is, quite frankly, a lot like the others. That’s a good thing in the sense that it means that the twisting story continues to intrigue. But that’s a bad thing in the sense that the story continues to be pretty strange and a problem for something like New Avengers, which features Carol Danvers rather prominently.

If taken as though it’s taking place in a continuity-less vacuum, Brian Reed’s War of the Marvels storyline is pretty cool, especially the stuff that takes place in Ms. Marvel #44. “Dark” Ms. Marvel (Karla Sofen) is given a number of great lines (“I hit her in the face with a car. Repeatedly.”), the Carol Danvers/Catherine Donovan gets a bit crazier, and Ms. Marvel (both of them) continues to get re-established as one of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel Universe as far as power level is concerned. I’m pleased with all that.

What I’m not pleased with is how it seems as though nothing really fits in with everything else going on in the Marvel U. When is the story actually taking place? Who’s with the New Avengers? Shouldn’t Wolverine been able to tell something was up when he was around? I have questions (more than I’ve ever had about the series) and needless to say, I’m beginning to think that they aren’t going to be addressed. I know I may be sounding like the worst kind of comic fan here, but the continuity issues are really distracting because the War of the Marvels doesn’t really seem to “fit” anywhere comfortably. Now with that off of my chest…

The artwork by Sana Takeda in Ms. Marvel #44, while not for everyone, is quite stunning most of the time and makes quite an impression (especially the full page images). The colors are lush, the action is well executed, and the character work is pretty impressive (the Marvels are very attractive and the Iron Patriot armor looks awesome). I did say “most of the time” for a reason, however. A few panels look quite “off” (the pumpkin bomb to the face for example) and a few faces are downright ugly (Osborn’s and Catherine Donovan’s at times). Also, I absolutely have to mention how ridiculous the breasts given to the TITular Marvels look. I don’t care how powerful they are… They shouldn’t even be able to walk with those things…

Conclusion: Ms. Marvel #44 scores the grade it does because the positives barely outweigh the negatives. The artwork, while absolutely worth checking out (it makes one hell of a first impression), is a bit flawed and the story, while interesting and full of action, is problematic from a continuity standpoint.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

By Brian Reed (Writer), Chris Bachalo (Pencils & Colors), Rob Disalvo (Pencils & Inks), Tim Townsend w/ Mendoza & Sibal (Inks), and Andres Mossa w/ Fabela (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Note to Marvel: I demand a Brian Reed/Chris Bachalo Sinister Spider-Man ongoing series. It’d compliment the twisted Daniel Way/Paco Medina Deadpool series quite nicely.

The Story: The Sinister Spider-Man continues to stir sh*t up for J. Jonah Jameson as he prepares for the first annual Big Apple festival. Meanwhile, The Redeemer and his crew call in a nuclear bomb threat in order to get Spidey’s attention…

What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: Simply put, writer Brian Reed gives Sinister Spider-Man just the right tone to make it work incredibly well. It’s mean, violent, silly, and damned funny all at the same time. The one-liners alone are almost worth the price of the book. Reed’s approach to the series goes a long way towards making up for a story that, while a lot of fun, isn’t exactly mind-blowing.

The artwork in Sinister Spider-Man #3 is divided (rather unevenly) between Rob Disalvo and Chris Bachalo. That could easily be a bad thing; but thankfully, it’s not, here.

Bachalo handles the one big action scene and, as expected, it’s stylish and wildly chaotic. And while it definitely has a “wow” factor to it (as Bachalo’s work usually does), it’s hard to ignore how hard the action is to follow at times because Bachalo’s style simply doesn’t work all that well in small panels (and there’s quite a few). It adds to the insanity of the fight, that’s for sure. But that’s not necessarily a good thing in this case.

In Sinister Spider-Man #2, Rob Disalvo’s few pages were a bit jarring. In the third Sinister Spider-Man, Disalvo pretty much takes center stage and, therefore, doesn’t disturb the book in any way (if anyone does, it’s Bachalo). While his work doesn’t pack nearly the punch that Bachalo’s does, it’s clean, expressive, and solid as can be. In addition, most importantly, it tells the story effectively. Also, I’ve got to mention the full credit page shot of Gargan vomiting up a rabid squirrel (yep, it’s that kind of book). It’s easily the highlight of what Disalvo does.

Conclusion: The Sinister Spider-Man mini-series continues to rock pretty hard. It brings the funny and features some slick artwork.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

     The War of the Marvels rages on in Ms. Marvel.  Except that it doesn’t really feel much like a war.  It’s more like a series of random events.  The Moonstone Ms. Marvel beats some random supervillains, saves a civilian, and then drops him in midair.  On purpose.  Norman Osborn’s weapon chaches are being attacked by someone, and he talks to that delightful product of Spider-Man’s Brand New Day, Lily Hollister, who is carrying his baby.  The woman who seems to be the real Ms. Marvel babbles about warrior stuff and generally acts out of character (that’s a plot point, though, so don’t worry), and Catherine Donovan worries about her own identity.  By the way, she has Carol’s cat.  She goes to New York to try and figure things out.  The Dark Avengers deal with more random supervillains that look the same as the last batch, and another of Osborn’s caches is attacked.  By Ms. Marvel.  And somehow, the pregnant Hollister defeated her.

     Another delightfully meh issue.  From what I can tell, both the costumed Ms. Marvel and Catherine Donovan are Carol Danvers.  One is Carol the superhero, and the other is Carol the person.  It’s more than a bit too reminiscent of Mantis, but whatever.  Not like we can, at this point, expect Brian Reed to come up with something original.  I’m all for Moonstone being evil, but tossing a civilian like that is not something she would do.  She would somehow use reverse psychology to make him want to jump.  It’s a very blatant mishandling of the character.  And don’t get me started about Hollister.  She’s a bad character, and it’s ludicrous that we have to deal with her in a non-Amazing Spider-Man series.  Also, there is no way that someone who is pregnant and whose only superpowers are superhuman strength and the ability to change her shape could beat Ms. Marvel.  That’s ridiculous.  Also, Sergio Ariño’s pencils are mediocre, and Ikari Studios make them look even more pastely than Sana Takeda’s.  All in all, it’s another unsatisfying edition of a lackluster series.

Plot: 3.7      Art: 5.6      Dialogue: 4.2      Overall: 3.9

Show Notes:

Singles
DC COMICS
Adventure Comics #1 [01:13]
Blackest Night #2 (of 8)  [06:17]
Blackest Night Batman #1 (of 3) [11:22]
Green Lantern Corps #39 [17:28]
MARVEL COMICS
Incredible Hercules #132 [20:36]
Marvels Project #1 (of 8)[25:21]
Ms. Marvel #43 [28:44]
Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 [37:15]
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 [53:15]
Uncanny X-Men #514 [1:02:45]

Trades
Walking Dead Vol.10 [1:08:13]
Fahrenheit 451 [1:13:10]

By Brian Reed (Writer), Sergio Arino (Art), and Ikari Studios (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The War of the Marvels has gotten off to a pretty good start. As long as things don’t get too convoluted (as has happened with a Ms. Marvel story or two in the past), the War could go down as one of the better arcs of the series.

The Story: Norman Osborn tries to figure out who keeps attacking his secret Goblin weapon caches. Spider-Man tries to figure out what’s up with the no longer deceased Ms. Marvel. Meanwhile, a woman named Catherine Donovan tries to make sense of her recent thoughts…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: One of the best things about the latest chapter in the War of the Marvels is that it’s clear that Brian Reed is building toward, well, something. While a lot of the plot elements are a bit vague at this point and things seem to be moving rather slowly, there’s a general…weirdness…to the storyline that, surprisingly, works in it’s favor. By the time I had finished reading Ms. Marvel #43, my head was swirling with questions: What’s the deal with Ms. Marvel’s ‘tude? What’s the deal with Catherine Donovan? Is Reed’s story eventually going to make sense?

In short, Brian Reed’s dialogue and storytelling choices have me hooked. Am I entirely optimistic about the story because of that? Well, no. The “Ascension” arc left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth because it got too convoluted for its own good, and simply put, I worry that the War of the Marvels will do the same.

Sergio Arino’s artwork in Ms. Marvel #43 is pretty slick. It looks significantly better than the artwork done for Ms. Marvel #41, so much so that I can say that nearly every complaint I had has been addressed in some way. The unique color work by Ikari Studios, while occasionally a bit overpowering, is far more complimentary than the work done by Emily Warren and Christina Strain. In addition, Ms. Marvel is drawn much more consistently. My only real complaint about the artwork is that Arino’s characters tend to have a pose-heavy stiffness about them that is noticeable in a number of panels.

Conclusion: It’s a bit too early to say whether Ms. Marvel readers will be the winners after The War of the Marvels is over. It could go either way at this point and Ms. Marvel #43 does little to make me think otherwise.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

I wanted to let ya’ll know about a pretty SWEET new series we kicked off this past Sunday!  We took this from a series that Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL did.  We wanted to focus on something dealing with relationships and this fell right in line with what we wanted.  So some stuff is “borrowed” from them and some is all our own doing.  The series is called:   “WITH”

By the way all the graphics and design stuff has come from my GREAT FRIEND BRIAN REED who is a graphic designer in the Wilmington, NC area.  He is a great guy and does pretty SWEET work – so if you are ever looking for someone to do some graphic design stuff then contact me and I can put you in touch with him.

So the main idea or question for the series is “WHO ARE YOU WITH?” – you see we are all “WITH” something or somebody (even if it is ONLY our selves).  Take a humorous look at this idea from a video Community Christian put together:

Our first week we simply asked the question “WHO ARE YOU WITH?” – if you wanna check out the sermon audio then dip over to our MEDIA PAGE and you can listen online or download the sermon from 8/9/09.

The rest of the weeks go a lil like this:

So keep check on our website for the sermons or even back here as I may post a lil more about each specific week!  Also to share some sweet videos that we have to show!

By Brian Reed (Writer), Chris Bachalo w/ Rob Disalvo (Pencils), Tim Townsend, Mendoza, Sibal, and Disalvo (Inks), and Bachalo w/ Mossa and Fabela (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I liked the first issue of Sinister Spider-Man a whole hell of a lot. Mean, hilarious, and absolutely awesome to look at, Sinister Spider-Man #1 might actually be one of my favorite single issues of the year. I wonder if Sinister Spider-Man #2 can live up to the high standard set by the first chapter of the Dark Reign mini?

The Story: Mac Gargan (Spider-Man) starts off a huge gang war in order to keep Mayor J. Jonah Jameson’s life as difficult as possible. Meanwhile, The Redeemer holds a group therapy session for villains that have been wronged by Spider-Man.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: The second Sinister Spider-Man issue is a lot like the first. The visuals by Chris Bachalo look fantastic (each page feels loaded with energy, even when nothing significant is happening), the dark humor by Brian Reed is spot on (who knew squirrels taste like “squirmy popcorn?!”), and the storyline is a perfect fit for a mini-series like Sinister Spider-Man. Sounds like another “A” right? Well, not quite… Two things keep Sinister Spider-Man #2 from reaching the heights of the previous Sinister Spidey issue: the visuals by Rob Disalvo and the nagging feeling that absolutely nothing of consequence is going to have happened when all is said and done.

Simply put, the change from Chris Bachalo to Rob Disalvo is downright jarring. It’s not because their styles are different, but because they are so similar. There’s one big problem though: Disalvo’s work looks incredibly weak compared to Chris Bachalo’s. While I’m sure a full book by Disalvo would look pretty cool, his few pages do not stand up well in comparison to the rest of Sinister Spider-Man #2.

The problem I have with Brian Reed’s storyline pops up at the very end of Sinister Spider-Man #2. It looks as though a major character may be as good as dead far sooner than later, but it’s EXTREMELY unlikely that the character would die in what is, ultimately, just another Marvel tie-in mini-series. The fact that the character is unlikely to die in a mini-series like Sinister Spidey definitely takes away from the overall effect the storyline being developed has.

Conclusion: While it’s got a few flaws, Sinister Spider-Man #2 is still one hell of a fun comic book. Most of the visuals are incredibly stylish and edgy, the dark humor works extremely well, and the overall personality the book has makes it easy to overlook some of the problems I mention in the review.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

     So, the long-solicited War of the Marvels begins in the latest Ms. Marvel issues.  The mysterious energy beings come together, and they reveal to Wolverine and Spider-Man that they are, in fact, Ms. Marvel.  And by that, I mean the real Ms. Marvel, not Moonstone.  Norman Osborn yells at Moonstone about Deadpool’s attack on Thunderbolts Mountain, and she chases Deadpool, leading to a somewhat lame fight in Los Angeles.  Moonstone tosses Deadpool away and stumbles upon the New Avengers and the Ms. Marvel energy beings fighting in an A.I.M. base.  Then, according to the Storytellers’ instructions, Spider-Man sets up something that reconsitutes Ms. Marvel as a single being.  Then, she and Moonstone throw it down in a huge way, trashing a lot of Los Angeles.  Ms. Marvel yells at Moonstone for being nothing more than a fake and a murderer, and Moonstone claims that the mantle of Ms. Marvel is hers now.  In the end, Moonstone tosses Ms. Marvel into an airplane’s propellers, and there’s an explosion.  Sentry saves the plane and relays Osborn’s orders for Moonstone to head back to New York.  Elsewhere, a woman named Catherine Donovan, which is a former alias of Ms. Marvel’s, claims that she is the real Ms. Marvel.

     Ultimately, the Storytellers are nothing more than a massive deus ex machina with no other purpose than to bring Ms. Marvel back from the dead.  Or maybe she’s not Ms. Marvel.  It’s not really clear, though that’s Brian Reed’s purpose in introducing Catherine Donovan.  However, Moonstone is still the hero of this book, and Reed has yet to make her a sympathetic character at all.  Now, as people like Gail Simone and Warren Ellis have proven, it’s not actually impossible to make a complete and total asshole a sympathetic and interesting character.  It’s very possible.  But Brian Reed is just such a mediocre writer that even his best efforts fall flat.  The dialogue is pretty bad, since it is often nothing more than, “I’m Ms. Marvel, not you!” or “It would explain your weak-ass attack.”  My favorite is “go be dead some more.”  It sounds like we’re supposed to find it funny, but it’s while Moonstone and Ms. Marvel beat the crap out of each other.  Not very appropriate.  And the Wolverine, Deadpool, and Spider-Man cameos were absolutely pointless, as I said before.  Instead of feeling natural, they feel like attempts to increase readership.  Both Sergio Ariño and Sana Takeda are mediocre artists, though the former is definitely better than the latter.  As you can see on one of Sana’s covers, Wolverine’s muscle is so big that he just looks misshapen.  Don’t get me wrong.  This is a somewhat readable series.  This work is even a tad better than what we’ve gotten recently from the title.  But if you’re looking for anything satisfying, anything other than something good for a long trip or a quick bit of entertainment, this is not your series.

Plot: 4.9      Art: 5.6      Dialogue: 3.5      Overall: 4.6

By Brian Reed (Writer) and Sana Takeda (Artist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: For as much as I’ve enjoyed the last few issues of Ms. Marvel, I’m more than ready for the War of the Marvels to be over.

The Story: Ms. Marvel battles Ms. Marvel throughout Los Angeles. There’s lots of violence and trash talk.

What’s Good: As an all-out action comic, Ms. Marvel #42 is a hell of a lot of fun. The catfight between the two Ms. Marvels is surprisingly brutal, visually engaging, and full of the type of trash talk that makes superhero fights so entertaining. Also worth noting is how Brian Reed and Sana Takeda successfully give the battle a true sense of scale by having Karla and Carol punch, kick, and blast through a number of locations. It seems like there isn’t a place in L.A. that is safe from the two Ms. Marvels.

What’s Not So Good: While Sana Takeda’s work is quite stunning most of the time, it occasionally looks cluttered and confusing. Simply put, there is far too much going on in certain panels. Couple that with the fact that some panels are oddly shaped and you have a situation that breaks the flow of the action in a way that proves to be quite distracting.

My biggest complaint about the writing is that the trash talk heads into “camp” territory far too often. It’s fun in small doses, but small doses is not what Brian Reed delivers. Try not to roll your eyes at some of the dialogue. I dare you!

Conclusion: Ms. Marvel #42 is all about two blondes in LA, talking smack while trading blows throughout the city. There really isn’t much more to it than that. Sound like your cup of tea? Then be sure to check it out.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

By Brian Reed (Writer), Sergio Ariño (Artist), and Emily Warren w/Christina Strain (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Yeah, it’s weird… But I’m digging the current Ms. Marvel arc quite a bit. A deceitful, morally shady “hero” that’s standing in for the real hero? Storyteller jar babies? Colorful cosmic looking entities that may or may not be parts of a “dead” hero?! That’s good stuff people!

The Story: Everyone (as in Deadpool, Ms. Marvel, the New Avengers, and the multi-colored cosmic entities) wants to get to the M.O.D.O.K./Storyteller babies.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Frantic, funny, clever, and full of action, Ms. Marvel #41 delivers in ways that matter most as the series heads into the War of the Marvels arc. Brian Reed, who has been setting up the pieces and building momentum for the return of Carol Danvers, brings everything to a head in a way that makes great use of nearly every aspect of the story he’s been weaving. If I have any complaint about the way Ms. Marvel #41 plays out, it’s because Deadpool’s appearance feels rather tacked on and somewhat unnecessary. The Merc, as expected, has some entertaining lines, but there just isn’t a whole lot for the character to do.

The artwork in the latest issue of Ms. Marvel is something of a mixed bag. While the vibrant, striking color work by Emily Warren and Christina Strain compliments Sergio Ariño’s work well, it tends to overpower what Ariño does from time to time. Also, Ariño seems to have a bit of trouble with Ms. Marvel, as she looks inconsistent or awkward at times. Thankfully though, Ms. Marvel is really the only character I have any complaint about. Ariño’s Spider-Man looks great and his Wolverine looks impressive as well.

Conclusion: It’s always nice to see a series gain and maintain positive momentum heading into a major arc. Bring on the War of the Marvels!

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

Batman and Robin #4. I was really hoping that the art by Phillip Tan in this issue would not get in the way of the story Grant Morrison has been telling in this series. After all, Morrison has so often been shackled with bad artists, from the numerous weak artists who drew his Invisibles stories, to the all-too-frequent fill in artists on New X-Men. For the most part, I think Morrison’s work shines through weak visuals, but I do think the story suffers in this issue. There is some really good dialogue, but the action scenes are weak. Tan is especially weak at conveying good action, as evidenced by his recent run on Green Lantern (issues 39-42), which is too bad because was one of Frank Quietly’s strengths in the first three issues of this series.

Blackest Night #3 (of 8). Another solid issue. Here we are introduced to the as yet unseen Indigo tribe, who show up at just the right time. Really, I won’t spoil it but with everyone dying and with all the black rings flying around, for a minute I was sure a certain DC C-list character was going to buy the farm when bam! Here comes the Indigo tribe! Good action and equally good (and needed) exposition in this issue. In the War of Light, what are you feeling? Fear? Hope? Rage? We’ll need them all to beat back the Blackest Night that threatens to engulf the DCU.

 Wednesday Comics #11. In anticipation of next week’s final issue, the art here just crackles and leaps off the page. I can’t emphasize how awesome this series has been, I love it.

Amazing Spider-Man #605. For some reason, this was a really long issue, with three chapters. The first two, written by Fred Van Lente were okay, but the third by Brian Reed was pretty fun I thought. The next story arc features Black Cat, which is pretty cool, but is written by Joe Kelly, who I sort of hate. Part of the game with this weekly Spider-Man format has been to wait out stories you don’t like and jumping in on the good ones, so I guess I’ll be taking a spider-breather until one of the creative teams I like returns to the series. Also, did you know they’re going to re-launch Web of Spider-Man? You (probably) heard it here first!

 Captain America Reborn #3 (of 5). I wish the first two issues of this series were as good as this one. I’ve been pretty pissed about this return of Steve Rogers story, not so much because he’s returning, but because it has derailed the steady, purposeful pace that Ed Brubaker has set for his entire run on Captain America. First we jumped from Captain America Vol. 5 after fifty issues back to Vol. 1 with issue #600, and now we have the return of Rogers in this five issue mini. Well, the dust has settled a little and this series seems to have found its groove. Slowly but surely, we see what really happened to Rogers, what the Red Skull is up to, and while I’m still not entirely sure where this is all going, I’m feeling a lot better about this whole storyline than I did at the beginning of this mini. Let’s hope for a good ending. As for the art, my anger has faded a little since the unsatisfying end to the Millar/Hitch Fantastic Four run so I can enjoy Bryan Hitch’s art a little more in this issue. Time heals all wounds I guess, plus the art here is a lot better than the FF run, much more detailed, and I think Hitch was born to draw Captain America and the Avengers. There’s an excellent flashback scene where we see Cap, Thor and Goliath all in action. It’s like the Ultimates all over again. I think after all is said and done, Rogers’ return will be reasonably well handled and we’ll continue to enjoy what has been Brubaker’s best mainstream comic coming out right now.

Dark Wolverine #78. This run is stirring up some real intrigue. It would be all to easy to dismiss the son of Wolverine here, but Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu are writing a cool comic here.

X-Factor #48. The best X-book there is, what more could you ask for?

 Next Week:

 Wednesday Comics #12.

 Detective Comics #857.

 Fantastic Four #571.

 Uncanny X-Men #515, Nation X.

Giant-Size Wolverine, Old Man Logan #1.

Until then,

Ronald Rosebud.