This week saw a rather odd weighting of books. Whilst DC continues with Batman Eternal and Zero Year it serves to confuse me with respect to switching from one time period to another. I appreciate the art is somewhat different but I rely on Bruce wearing Bat rags in Zero Year to differentiate the two. It still becomes painful when considering the new 52 and the past it left behind. Justice League was solid enough, but I realised I barely remember Forever Evil because it has not been out for while and it was slow to begin with. As we move to Marvel the key problem is becoming more obvious; too many X-books. Perhaps it is because there were four of them in one go, together with Wolverine. The new Logan evil dude concept is so weak throughout the X-world that his scar only seems to appear in his solo book. I note that he was in Amazing X-Men as regular Logan and plays a similar role in Wolverine and the X-Men. He was not present in X-Men, as expected but all these roles are not in continuity with Cornell’s book. If this idea is to work then all creators need to be on board, because we are just left with a poor mixture of work. Mystique also highlights this point because she appears in Uncanny, Wolverine and Amazing in completely different plot lines. I find the other stories reasonable but there are no stand out artists except for Bachalo and so I struggle to recommend them. Last and most certainly least was the bitter disappointment that was Superior Spider-Man #31. I have always made the complaint that Slott’s work can be rushed and sloppy at times. Certain events or caveats of plots occur that and we are supposed to believe in with no previous inclination. This irked me when in ASM #700 when Ock suddenly decides to become a superior Spider-Man with no obvious build, and this occurred multiple times throughout the series. One that comes to mind is the rushed idea that Flash needed Venom to be permanently attached to survive, which is completely inconsistent with his solo run. These “ideas” all came into speedy fruition in this final issue as everyone accepted Peter back with open arms, with his explanation being, “I wasn’t myself back there”. It was terrible but at least Ock had a decent exit the issue before, with the realisation that he couldn’t save his true love because he could not make those key decisions. All of a sudden we have Peter back who barely remembers most of the past, having the intuition that Anna Marie can look after herself. Where could that have possibly come from given that her boyfriend Spider-Ock was so concerned about her?She is the one key character to the Superior run because she represents the love that Otto can give. The final page gave a non resolution to the story as Anna Marie simply asks Spider-Man to pass a message onto Peter that she was safe, and that was it. Is this going to be addressed in the next issue? Should it not have resolved in this particular final comic of the Superior run? The only permanent change seems to rely on Christos Gage providing Mary Jane with sensible dialogue that resulted in a change in continuity. Last year I was coerced into reading the end of Amazing because, as a blogger I need to be up to date on the current happenings in comics, despite never liking Slott’s writing or Peter Parker (yes, I know!). I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of Superior because I love villain stories and characters conflicts, but now that is all gone and the writing deteriorated dramatically. It is an upsetting end to a great book, and I summarised my love for it in this review of issue 27 – http://wp.me/p2DUQc-13l. I have decided that I shan’t be reading the return book and am bidding my farewell to Spider-Man, it was a nice little ride but I very much enjoyed reading Otto as opposed to Peter. And I just cannot handle weak writing when it comes to a character I have no love or adoration for to begin with.
DC
Batman #30
As always joyous and wonderful to look at with excellent tension and excitement. I like Snyder’s portrayal of the Riddler and the siege of Gotham which all makes sense. I became very excited at the ending too and it harks back to the first ever issue when you see Bat on a bike.
Batman Eternal #2
This book reads well and looks good. The art is quite dark and gritty which is a perfect fit for the demise of Gordon. Its quite upsetting an arc given the popularity of Jim but I am intrigued to see where it ends plus the reveal of the latest villain was a nice surprise. However I have no idea how it fits at all with Zero Year, given that it actually references it.
Sinestro #1
Now this book was met with trepidation because I thought John’s ended his story amazingly. Bunn has performed well in providing a downbeat Sinestro with no fear and purpose but also he has given him a reason to be again. That is the important hook and I love the Lyssa Drak “costume” change.
Marvel
Uncanny X-Men #20
This is the only X-book I enjoyed this week and I think it is because I love Bachalo’s art and panelling. He has a great way with movement and flow. This issue actually featured a fair amount of momentum as the plot progressed well with decent demonstrations of the X-Men’s powers. It finally featured some underlying motivations for all contingencies.
Thor #21
I jest that it is hard to reconcile the All Father Thor fighting Galactus whilst present time Thor is served with litigation papers, because that is actually happens. Ribic is astounding as always and Aaron has a grip on maintaining interest with a lack lustre commercial appearing opening plot.
Winter Soldier #3
I loved this book because the action sequences were excellently portrayed. As good as it is to portray Bucky as the evil Winter Soldier, it is excellent to see a SHIELD agent trying to tactically outmatch his enemies. All this occurs on a moving train and you can feel the excitement as the pages roll on. A great issue.
Ms Marvel #3
Check my review! http://wp.me/p2DUQc-1c5
Nova #16
This title continually surprises me because I had gone off it. I like how Sam is the aspiring hero making mistakes and trying to learn how to be a good guy despite his naiveté. The arc is well drawn and is quite fun in its appearance and comes to a solid, lessons learnt ending.
Independent
Five Weapons #8
I just love the letter box art and how well the tension is brought out in those death defying moments that Enrique finds himself in. The story is a nice sleuthing story and a lot of fun to read, especially if you have been reading it from the start. It continues to be interesting and keeps you in suspense.
Morning Glories #38
I do not think this book has featured in a while on this list. This issue was less confusing and had less of a character retrospective which is why it was really exciting. The Abraham/Ike relationship become more engrossing and it is great to see the return of a base character long thought gone. Still I have no idea what is happening!
House Of Flying Scalpels 