Week of 2/7

The Road To Civil War TPB (Marvel) - The "New Illuminati" story sucked me in, and it's an interesting idea, although the other two parts of the story (FF and ASM) are pretty weak, especially since the Fantastic Four bit has no real resolution - the Spider-Man segment at least leads you directly up to Civil War #1

Batman: Year One TBP (DC) - I had gotten this out of the library years ago, but a new printing is a good reason to buy it. This is the Batman I love - full of doubt, yet absolutely sure of his methods. Conflicted, but not confused. No one does Bats better than Miller.

Nightwing #129 (DC) - Part 1 of the "Bride and Groom" story arc - An intriguing opening, and I am curious to see where it goes.

Sargon the Sorcerer - The Helmet of Fate Special (DC) - Enjoyable little tale, but I am trying and failing to figure out how it fits in with 52. Scott Hampton's art looks like he's auditioning for a Sandman revival.

The Other Side #5 (DC/Vertigo) - I want to give this story to some of my students who are considering the military. The multiple perspective storytelling gets old with this issue, but the story wraps up appropriately, if not happily.

Detective Comics #828 (DC) - I think enough has been said about Bruce Wayne kicking a shark for one week.


The Incredible Hulk #103 (Marvel) - Worth it for the cover alone. Part 4 of the "Allegiance" arc of the "Planet Hulk" story. A nice cliffhanger at the end, but I am curious to see how this will all lead to the WWHulk even that Marvel has planned.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider Man #17 (Marvel) - I understand timing the "Back in Black" event to put spidey in the black costume for the movie, but I think the Civil War delays are beginning to take their toll on other titles. WHY is Spider Man in the black costume? Where's MJ? Where's May?

Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears #1 (Marvel) - Marvel tries to do Vertigo. I always enjoy Garth Ennis, but they could have cut this issue in half and spent the second half ACTUALLY USING GR somehow. Is this going to be a re-imagining of the origin of Ghost Rider's powers?

Spider-Man: Reign #3 (Marvel) - I'm not sold on this one yet. It feels like "The Dark Spidey Returns," and I understand that on some level it's meant to be an homage, but the tone and the art feel too similar for that - it just feels like a copycat.

Scalped #2 (DC/Vertigo) - the jury is still out on this one. I like the story so far, and the art is OUTSTANDING, but two issues is too soon for me to make a definite decision.

Loveless #15 (DC/Vertigo) - a tough read this week, on a few levels. The language is enough to make a sailor blush, especially the repeated use of the N-word, and the story is getting more and more convoluted, but I plan to stick with this for a while longer.

New Avengers #27 (Marvel) - I'm curious who Ronin is, and I loved the message for Elektra, but overall this was not a totally enjoyable read: the "Email" format was annoying - great cover though! Can't beat ninjas!

X-Men Annual #1 (Marvel) - I'm hoping the Rogue/Mystique storyline wraps up soon. I know it's a fundamental part of each of their characters (their interaction with one another) but I feel as though the potential for that characterization has run its course.

Uncanny X-Men #483 (Marvel) - The weakest of the "Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire" arc. The "all-Vulcan" interludes are lackluster to begin with, but I can't understand why he'd break character so easily. He has been driven by revenge and solely revenge. He wants nothing more than to kill D'Ken, and he is stopped because he's got the hots for Deathbird???

52 Week 40 - The culmination (?) of the Steel/Luthor/Natasha/Everyman story. It's nice to see some resolution, but I can't help but wonder how the other stories will be cleaned up in the next few weeks. Looking at the previews for next week's cover is particularly intriguing, as I have enjoyed the space travellers' story most of all.

That was just a taste of what I buy. Most weeks I will probably post reviews for the two to four books I thought were most significant, with brief blurbs about several others. And I'm off!