Ultimates 2 #12

Well, I don't guess I was really expecting anything different. Just like issue 12 of the first Ultimates series, this is the "team beats the ever-living piss out of the bad guys" issue. And a lot of it is admittedly satisfying, like the Hulk beating the Abomination while taunting him for being smart. The art is pretty, too. But the lead-up to this was just so much better. Millar seems to be a lot better at creating conflicts than resolving them. Still, this had a lot of great moments, even though it took me a minute to process the fact that the Ultimates were just killing the hell out of everybody. Rating: Heh.

Justice League of America #2

I...I just don't get it. Maybe the big DC fans are all having a collective orgasm over this, but I just can't get into it. Now, I'm the first to admit I probably know less about DC continuity than any respectable comics fan, but I do know these things: 1) Vixen is a dumb character. 2) Red Tornado is annoying, which makes more than one Red Tornado all the worse. 3) Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman sitting around and looking at pictures for like, three days, is not terribly entertaining. Add to that a plot that mostly consists of Green Lantern, Black Canary and Arsenal standing around for a long time and Black Lightning being kind of stupid, and you've pretty much lost me entirely. Rating: Bleh.

Daredevil #89

A while back, when Bendis was still writing this title, I remember making pronouncements like, "There probably won't be another Daredevil run this good in a long time." Well, clearly I was an idiot back then, because holy shit if Ed Brubaker's Daredevil isn't as good if not better. Let me just sum it up here for you: In this issue, Matt Murdock goes to Monaco and has to fight a shit-crazy matador. There's only one word to describe that: Yes. Rating: Yeah!

Amazing Spider-Man #535

You know, I really kind of liked this issue compared to a lot of the other Civil War tie-in stuff that Marvel has been putting out. JMS does a good job of getting inside Peter's head and actually gives Reed Richards a semi-plausible reason for being a dick, even though it by no means excuses him (and ostensibly makes Reed Richards like, 60 years old). If it weren't for the screaming, beat-me-over-the head symbolism of "the prison in this issue is Guantanamo Bay!" I would have loved it, but it got to be just a little too much at some points. Rating: Heh.

52 Week 21

I'll be honest, I kind of snoozed through this one. After two straight weeks of what my be my favorite storyline in the series -- the Adam Strange/Animal Man/Starfire one -- we go back to the Lex Luthor superhero team story that I kind of forgot existed. It's cool to see Luthor basically controlling what happens with the team like a reality show director, but I just can't seem to find myself caring about the characters. Doesn't help that Joe Bennett's pencils seemed a little rushed. Here's hoping we'll see the return of the Question and Montoya (my other favorite storyline) next week. Rating: Meh.

She-Hulk #12

Well, if Dan Slott hasn't gone ahead and written the best issue of this series yet. And that's saying a lot, considering its consistent high quality. There are two huge, really satisfying reveals this issue, one of which I didn't even see coming and totally explains a classic Marvel character's motivations pitch-perfectly. And even with that, this issue still managed to get me to laugh out loud a couple times. So yeah, just another issue of She-Hulk. Rating: Yeah!

The Punisher #38

Well, it's the second part of a five-part Garth Ennis Punisher story, so that means that lots of stuff was set up so that people can be killed later. I dunno. Maybe I'm tired of it? I can't really tell. There were things I liked, I think. Honestly I can barely recall much of anything that happened. I just kind of zombied through. There was a British guy, I remember that. Oh well. I'll still buy the next one. Rating: Eh?

Civil War: Front Line #6

You know, this series has been really well written for the most part and this issue is no exception, but man, there is stuff in here that just bugs the hell out of me. For one thing, the historical allusions just do not fit at all. Honestly, what does anything have to do with the Kennedy assasination? I don't see it at all. Also, things just don't jibe between titles. How a character dies in the main series is entirely different from how he dies here. The prison in Amazing Spider-Man is depicted in a very different manner from the way the same prison is depicted in this issue. I blame it more on editorial lapses than writer Paul Jenkins, but no matter where the fault lies, it's just distracting and ultimately diminishes the story. Which is too bad, because three out of four of these stories are actually pretty good.
Rating: Eh?

Civil War: Young Avengers and Runaways #3

The title teams in this book have two of my favorite Marvel books being published right now. A featured character was the star of a ridiculously good Grant Morrison mini-series several years ago ("Marvel Boy," go read it). So why, then, is it so boring and terrible? I don't know, but I want my $2.99 back. Rating: Bleh.

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