X-Men: Manifest Destiny #4 - Marvel

Surprisingly, I like this book. I mean . . I'm not surprised that I like the characters, but . . with all of the X-Men books out there, and now all of these mini-series coming out . . there's a serious proliferation of the market going on right now. You'd think that the stories would just get repetitive, or tedious. But with the X-Men, they do a good job of keeping things interesting. Even with the overabundance. I still think this book reminds me of Marvel Comics Presents. I think it's the format with the 3 short stories. To me, the best story continues to be the Bobby Drake/Mystique story-line in the front of the book. I'm not sure what Mystique's motivations or goals are for pushing Bobby this hard, but . . she really seems to be testing the limits of his capabilities. Tough love . . if you will. Mike Carey and Michael Ryan are doing a fantastic job with this part of the book. Our second story about Mercury, by CB Cebulski and Andre Coelho was ok. It wasn't as action packed, but it was nice to see Cessily again. She's been out of the picture for a little while . . ever since they made that beast out of her skin. However, I think that with this story . . and her little therapy session with X-23 . . that we may be seeing more of her soon. And finally we get a glimpse at Kurt and how he's dealing with his loss. He's got a couple of problems actually. First he's trying to figure out hope to cope with Kitty, and secondly he's feeling that the 'new' X-Men are younger and stronger. "Pixie has already proven to be a stronger teleporter than myself. And with so few students, my services are hardly required . . .", so right now he's easily distracted . . and not much help in a fight. But I think he's selling himself short. He's going through danger-room scenarios and he's having a hard time keeping focused. But I think when the chips are down . . and someones life is actually on the line . . he's more than proven himself ready and able to step up to the plate and be part of the team. It was a nice little self-reflection story by James Asmus and Takeshi Miyazawa. Like I said, overall I enjoyed the book. I especially liked the Humberto Ramos cover. Fantastic!

Have you hugged someone today?

First of all, I want to say that this isn't a bitch-fest for me. I'm not writing to try to complain, or grovel, or to try to make anyone feel sorry for me. I've just had a lot of stuff go on in the last few weeks and I think, personally, it'll just help me sort it all out if I write it down. I took a vacation last week from work, and ended up spending most of it trying to help my parents move. I'm not complaining. I'm the oldest son, so . . that's what I do. It's just . . the whole situation was rather depressing. Not necessarily for my parents. They're more comfortable now. They're in a home that's better suited for their needs and mobility. This is about the 3rd or 4th time I've helped them move in the last . . . oh, 10 to 12 years. I actually get down about a couple of things. First is my mother's health. She's been fighting a blood disease for about 20, or so, years. It's a very expensive fight and my father has to do everything he can to help her, work with her and comfort her. She has a treatment about every 4 or 5 weeks. The week before she's very susceptible to illness and is especially weak. The week after . . . it takes her about 5 to 7 days to recover. So she gets about 2 weeks a month where she feels almost normal. Therefore whenever they move, they have less and less stuff. Their budget gets tighter every single year. Sometimes every single month. But . . they're fighting. Mom reads constantly, and dad does his best to stay busy. I think so things don't overwhelm him. Anyways, the part about this that gets me down is, obviously, I've seen the progression of their lives for many years now. Whenever I help them move, I'm reminded first how fleeting life really is. It's hard to watch your parents get old. And secondly how the acquisition of money or 'things' really just isn't that important. As we go through our lives we spend different periods of time attempting to acquire something. Whether it's days, weeks, months, years . . . we have a yearning for something that we think we need . . something that will make us whole . . or happier. But we never are more 'whole', or happier. At least not because of something that we 'got'. In fact most of the time when we reach those goals, we just move on to another one. That then becomes the 'important' one. Do you see where I'm going with this? Years from now, the things that we 'want' or strive for today . . . really don't mean diddly. They usually end up on the top shelf of some closet . . or a garage sale. The second thing that really gets me down about this whole thing is that I always wish I could do more for them. Time always seems to be the biggest factor. They live about 40 minutes from me and I do have to work for a living. Unfortunately my job is one that requires my attention pretty much 24/7. I can't leave work at work. I would if I could, but . . I can't. Between that and my wife's job, it's hard to find the time to even visit, let alone spending the day to help them with whatever. I usually try to call and talk to them everyday, but . . it just doesn't seem like enough. I also do whatever I can, whenever I can, but still . . it just doesn't seem like enough. And then of course the holiday season serves to stir everything up and bring all those feelings and emotions to the top of the glass. I'll be spending Christmas day with them. Part of that will be visiting, but then I'll feel like I need to do something. Even if it's just trying to help them organize or put away stuff from their recent move. The problem I have is . . it just never feels like enough. I know a lot of people have a lot of problems out there. Some worse, some not. I guess the point I'm trying to make is . . . spend some time with the people that are important to you. Spend some time, and let them know that they're important to you. Give 'em a hug. And enjoy the moments that you have together. The moments don't last, but . . the memories do. Make some . . while you can.

the Boys #25 - Dynamite Entertainment

I'm not sure what the signifigance of this second cover was, but . . it was ok. In the beginning of this book we see these 2 guys at a diner and they're talking about Vought, the Seven and Godolkin. The one guy is the one from Vought that sits in on all of the Seven's meeting. He's like the super-hero liaison, or something. I assume the other guy is his boss . . whether he's with Vought or the government, I'm not sure. But the ironic part of this whole conversation is the way they talk about people like the Homelander and Godolkin as if they're commodities, or parts in a machine, rather than people. Here's this guy, the Homelander . . one of the most powerful people on the planet, and yet he still has someone he's reporting to . . watching his actions . . scrutinizing his every waking moment. The same goes for Godolkin. Because of what happened with Kincaid, and potentially with Nubia, they feel that he needs to be on a much shorter leash. Anyways, to me, it's just ironic how they're talking about these powerful individuals as if they're sitting down for a quarterly planning session. But the main part of the story was about Hughie, Bagpipe, getting into the G-Men. Basically this issue he begins to meet everyone . . gets familiar with the layout of the mansion, and starts planting the bugs. I also thought it was funny . . ironic funny . . how much fun they poke at their Marvel-ous counterparts this issue. The guy with the 2 red eyes is called 5-O, because he dresses like a cop and the lights look like sirens on his helmet. They have a bestial looking character that kind of looks like Chewbacca with a bite collar on. And they have their own murderous Canadian who doesn't have claws, but mallets instead of hands. Finally, at the end of the issue, Butcher goes after somebodies hard-drive. I'm not sure who he is, or what the signifigance is, but . . that story-line is just rolling out so I'm sure we'll find out more in the near future. It's just funny how he draws the guy out of his apartment . . with a hooker in a wheelchair. Besides the amazing talents of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, what I really love about this book is the way they poke fun at the whole super-hero genre. The way Butcher and his bunch exposes these 'people' as having the same failings as their mortal counterparts. Powers or no powers, they still have the same urges and desires. But with power, they don't feel like they have to follow the same rules as the rest of the cattle. But there's still results and aftermath of their decisions and actions. They're just amplified because of who they are. This continues to be a fantastic book. One of the best on the shelves.

Noble Causes #38 - Image

I have to say, I'm a bit confused about a certain part of this story. I don't seem to remember when Celeste married Colonel Comet. But, I do remember some old coot changing bodies with Doc Noble. I don't remember them changing back, and it seems like it's all but been forgotten. I was thinking that the guy was Comet. I think I was getting confused because Gaia and Celeste look so much alike. So I guess I was thinking that Gaia had stayed with her husband even though he was in a different body. But, even if I misread that part, I still don't recall the whole thing with Celeste and Comet. She was married to Rusty before. And I can understand why that would be difficult. But, then to go to someone who's about 3 times her age? I'm not sure I follow. Which is the perfect segue for the story-line that begins at the end of this issue. It seems that Celeste is questioning their relationship also. Especially considering the recent incursion to their island by Surge's girlfriend. Somehow she's related to Comet, but . . he never had any children. And, he was an only child. So now Celeste wants to reexamine when they first met. She wants to go back to 1955. 1955? Now I'm really confused. Also this issue, Jay Faerber, clears up some of the story-lines swirling about Rusty right now. They include, Cosmic Rae, the wife of the helicopter pilot he killed when he went on his rampage, and his apparent lack of emotion. Is he turning into an actual robot . . . or is he just faking? This is one of my favorite books, just because of the sheer amount of drama and subtext that Jay writes into his stories. This is one of those books that definitely draws more upon the writing talent than the artistic draw. That's not to say I don't like Yildiray Cinar. He's improving every issue. But . . Jay is a master of his craft. He's definitely in my top 10 favorite authors. It's probably hard to find most of the back issues for this anymore. But, everything is put together in TPB. You should check 'em out if you get a chance. But be patient. It's an acquired taste.

the Authority #5 - WildStorm

I'm not really sure where to start with this one. I love this team, and I love these characters. But . . . I just wasn't overly thrilled with this book for some reason. Basically, last issue Angie took some of the refugees out on a scavenger hunt. They're looking for tech. Anyways, somehow, somewhere, one of them came down with the Warhol virus. They call it that because instead of the '15 minutes of fame', they get 15 minutes of power which is mostly driven by a murderous rampage. This is something that happens regularly out in the 'real' world, but not so much on the Carrier. So they've got protocols. Should an outbreak happen, all of the hulls in the infected areas are sealed, locking the contaminants in . . and then they sterilize the area. Angie's a smart cookie. Right? So she's got to know that when the situation arises, the proper steps are going to be taken. No matter who it is that's locked in. So . . . Jack Hawksmoor goes through the necessary steps. But everybody is mad at him for it. He's just looking out for the greater good. Midnighter calls down Apollo to break her out. But in doing so, they may have made an already bad situation worse. During the process Apollo gets bitten by one of the infected. When he goes back up to the sun to recharge it looks like he heals up, but . . I'm guessing this isn't the last we've heard of this. Plus, he never tells anyone else what happens, so you just know it's one of those secrets that's going to come back to bite them all later. Anyways, long story short, they get Angie and the survivors out, but . . now everyone thinks that Jack is an arse. Like I said, it just didn't thrill me. I will say, however, I'm really coming to be impressed by Simon Coleby's art. He's really getting his style down, and it seems like he's got a good grasp of this book and these characters. There's some really sharp looking panels in this issue. The best I can say is . . hopefully next issue will be better. I really do hope so.

Army @ Love: the Art of War #5 - Vertigo

I think this book is fantastic. Rich Veitch is exploring every option he can with this book, and he pushes every stereotype to the it's limits. Since the first incarnation of this book, we've heard about temporal imaging. Supposedly it's a way for the future to send a message back from the future. Apparently the Army was looking in to it hoping that it'll give them an advantage if they can warn their troops about stuff ahead of time. Stelaphane got a message that he thinks is from the future, last issue. However, the reality of it is even more bizarre than we expected. Here's how the message explains things to them, "As you know, the military operates a quantum encryption system as part of Big Finger. It's an unbreakable code that protects our classified information and provides a keen technological edge over our competitors. Quantum physics defines our actual universe as existing in a near infinite sea of potential universes. The system stores information by placing a complete copy of the actual universe inside these pocket dimensions. Each copy runs along merrily, with all it's pseudo-denizens believing that theirs is the actual universe. But of course quantum physics specifies only one reality. The rest are just a mix of possibilities and stored data. If you are viewing this, it means that your reality is not real at all. It's just one of bazillions of copies we made over the years. Which wouldn't be a problem except . . . we relied on the system a little too much. Who'd have thought the near infinite number of possible universes would turn out not to be enough to hold all our classified information? So it's time to clear up our act a little bit. To that end a purging program has been introduced into all copies of Big Finger . . encoded as malware in both Little Speedboat and Gimme Gimme. Which I thought was a nice touch." So they're all standing around inside of Stelaphanes vehicle watching this video over and over again. It turns out they're all being hypnotized. But we don't find out to what end. Between the wiccan charm lady and the she-beast that's transformed by sexual energy, they're going to try to extract the information they need to sort through all of this. The problem is . . . Magoon is the only one that has it. And he's dead. Like I said, just when you can't think of this book getting any more 'out there' . . . the next issue comes out and it outdoes itself completely. I love this book . . if for nothing else, the way that it's explores these outlandish ideas and is always pushing the envelope. Rick Veitch is a genius.

Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade #1 - DC

To tell you the truth, I really didn't expect much from this title. I mean, come on . . . the title says it all. But, I will admit that I was pleasantly surprised. First of all, this book is nowhere near as childish as Tiny Titans or the Super-Friends. This book obviously revolves around Kara, Supergirl, and in this instance she's a teenager. Which is cool. No matter how much of a pain in the ass teenagers are, it's still a fun age. It's when people are full of life. And in this issue, Kara seems to exhibit that quality in abundance. This issue picks up right when she comes to Earth in her rocket. But, rather than being sent here by her father because their city was being destroyed, she came her as a runaway. She wasn't really trying to runaway. Actually, she was just hiding out, but nobody came looking for her. Next thing she knows . . . she's crossed dimensions and has landed on Earth. I think this could be a fun series. I definitely think the kids will like it. Hopefully.

Jonah Hex #38 - DC

This issue was ok. It was more than a bit predictable, but . . . it was still ok. Jordi Bernet seems to be doing something different with his art the last couple of issues. I'm not sure if it's in the inks or the colors, but . . it just seems to be much more vibrant and easy on the eyes. I just think that Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray need to go for something more than just the predictable western tale. I love the genre. It's nice to get a break from the typical super-hero stuff every now and then. But I just don't think that they've reached the potential that this character is capable of. Jonah is a great character. But it seems like he just falls right back into some western stereotype almost every issue. The thing I like about him is that even though he always seems like he's being a heartless bastard . . . he still ends up doing the right thing. Most of the time. Personally, I think we need some more character development. We're watching his escapades and adventures every month, but . . . we really don't know much about the man. I know that's part of his 'thing', but . . . while I respect that, it's hard to get bought in to a character that you know next to nothing about. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's just me. I just think, as much as I enjoy this book . . I could enjoy it more. I'm just sayin'. Maybe?

Vixen: Return of the Lion #3 - DC

I thought this book had a real good feel to it. Vixen has always been one of my favorite characters, but . . she's always been underutilized. They used her a little more in the Detroit Justice League, but . . you just knew that wasn't going to last long. I really think that G Willow Wilson has a good grasp of this character. This story obviously revolves around Kwesi and his threat over Mari's village, and country. We find out from the League this issue that Kwesi has been hired by Intergang. They want him to help them get a foothold on this continent. But really the story is about Mari coming to terms with who and what she is. When she ran out of the village last issue, she ends up in the Shrine of Saint Amica, under the care of Brother Tabo. By the end of the issue, he shows her that she can access the her powers without touching, or having the totem in her possession. It looks like it's just her own mental block. She does when when she takes off without knowing that she's no longer in possession of it. But then when Tabo shows her . . . she immediately loses flight. Somehow he's got to get her past that. Tabo is also claiming that Kwesi has some strong black magic backing him up. That seems even more relevant when the League storms a building where they think Kwesi is holed up. They're hit with some shooting stars with some gunk on them. Come to find out it's Datria, voodoo poison. What's even worse is that even Superman is affected by it. This issue is accentuated even more by the amazing artwork of Cafu. I don't know if he's done other books, but he does a great job on this one. He's got some very crisp clean work. And the coloring is fantastic. I thought this was a pretty good issue, and this whole series is shaping up to be a very enjoyable read. Hopefully Vixen will have a more prominent role afterwards.

Terror Titans #3 - DC

I still think that Ravager is up to something. I don't think that Tim necessarily gave her a mission or anything. If she is trying to undermine or gather intel on Clock King, unfortunately I think she's doing it all of her own volition. First of all, we get a brief history of these Terror Titans in the beginning of each issue. This time they do Elsie Kimble, the Persuader. This issue we see what happens between Dreadolt and his dad, Bolt. Clock King set up a situation where Dreadbolt had to confront his father. His father hadn't known what he had been up to. So I think he was pretty shocked when he saw him in a costume pretty similar to his own. Basically, the Clock King wants Dreadbolt to prove himself by killing Bolt. Later in the issue he returns to the group, and gives the Clock King a brief synopsis of what happened between them. However, I don't think we got the whole story. We see a picture of how Dreadbolt killed his father, but . . I'm thinking in actuality . . it was the other way around. I'm thinking that his father has shown up here in Dreadbolt's costume. The Clock King as introduced him as the new leader of the group . . . Bolt. I assume since he's taken his father's place. But I'm thinking his words are more true than he knows. Ravager has been fighting her way through the ranks of these 'heroes', and has earned herself the right to fight the current Dark Side Club champion . . . Static. He's one of those Milestone characters that are beginning to integrate themselves into the DC Universe, starting with the Justice League book. That should be an interesting fight next issue. Copperhead has been stuck with baby-sitting duty. He's been tasked with monitoring and assisting in TNTeena's recovery. He does so reluctantly. And we also see this issue that the infinity inc characters have somehow found their way into this corral. They're hooked up to some special equipment, but . . I'm not sure why. I think Sean McKeever is doing a great job with this series. And I'm really enjoying Joe Bennett's art. The real question in this series is . . . how is the Ravager going to be able to work her way around the Clock King's powers? Especially when they seem to be so equally matched. "Very interesting!"

Batman #682 - DC

I assume since Grant Morrison is writing this book, and writing Final Crisis, that they are in some way congruent with each other. I would think there has to be some form of time-line. With that said, at the end of last issue . . when Batman went down with the flaming helicopter into the river . . . we don't know what the status of Batman or his body is. All they found was the cowl. And then we get a glimpse of Gotham about 6 months later . . and nobody has seen the Batman since. With this issue, we find out that the Darkside Club has Batman. Well . . I guess I can't say it's the club, but it is these 'gods' from Apokolips that apparently seem to be on Earth now. As we've witnessed in Final Crisis. At the end of this issue, we see that they have Batman locked up in a kind of chamber and apparently they're trying to siphon off his memories, and abilities. It looks like they're trying to funnel them into a Clay-Face type character. Basically . . they have him dreaming. He's dreaming about his life . . mostly as the Batman, but I think as he's going through these dreams and realizing that someone is trying to push him through the motions, that somehow he's altering them. It's almost like he's adjusting his memories. It looks like he's giving them information, but I don't think it's the correct information. At first the issue is confusing. Bruce is dreaming it, and that's how we're seeing it . . in fragments. It's a little difficult to get a grasp of just what's going on. But once you read through the book and know that he's dreaming . . take the time and go through it again. When you do, you'll see what I mean about Bruce changing the flow, and outcomes, in certain situations. There's 2 people working on him . . or monitoring him . . and on the next to the last page they fill us in on what's happening. " . . see how he almost detected the lump's presence in his mind? Now do you understand why his superior physical prowess, his strategic acumen and courage make him unique? These are traits we must steal, duplicate . . . and mass-produce. Perfect copies, driven by a concentrated dose of his intense emotions, his fury, his pain, his drive. With this template we will build a production line army of mindless "Batmen" to fight and pillage and die in the name of our dark empire. That will be his legacy. He'll yeild up all the secrets of his life to the lump, you'll see. And when the lup is done, we'll gut Batman for spare parts, without anasthetic, I should think. And that, Mister Simyan . . . will be that." This all appears to be taking place in some kind of warehouse thats filled with . . . cloning tubes? Could they be in one of the unused Cadmus bunkers? That's where I think I recognize these 2 from . . the various Cadmus stories that occured in the Superman and Superboy titles. So now we have 2 things to look forward to . . . or, ponder. First of all, 'how' and 'if' Batman can get out of this situation. Secondly, if Batman has realized that someone is trying to record or relive his memories, how bad can he mess up those images without them realizing that he's feeding them false information? I thought this was a fantastic issue. Over the years we've seen Batman in, literally, hundreds of death-traps, but we've never seen someone actually try to take advantage of his situation while he's in it. I thought that was a novel idea. But, you can't really expect anything less from Grant. This issue Lee Garbett does the interior art, and it was fantastic. Every panel in this book looked great. I loved the feel of the book. And don't worry, Tony Daniel hasn't gone anywhere. He does the variant cover. While Alex Ross does the main cover. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Justice Society of America #21 - DC

What a fantastic book. This has been an incredible story-arc. Geoff Johns and Alex Ross make a fantastic writing team. I love what they've done with these characters and how they've incorporated the JSA into the Kingdom Come mythos. To me, the best part of this story is the feelings, and emotions that Geoff Johns gives all of these characters. You can feel the yearning from Hank Heywood. A yearning which later turns into contempt. He gets that feeling when he's the only one that can withstand Gog's onslaught. But as he's standing his ground, just barely, he's also watching his friends and teammates being tossed around like so much cannon fodder. You can feel Wildcats frustration when he takes his own son down because he feels that he's standing on the wrong side. You can feel Superman's desperate yearning to be able to reason with those that stand alongside of Gog, without having to fight them. He desperately doesn't want anyone else to suffer. You can feel the pain in each of the heroes as Gog alters their gifts. Jay Garrick is writhing in agony as Gog speeds up his metabolism to make him one with the speed force. He once again blinds Dr Mid-Nite. He sends Thom Kallor back into the abyss of insanity. Sandman once again has to live with his night terrors. And Damage? Damage feels betrayed and lost because he's stood with Gog this whole time . . singing his praises. But because Gog feels the need to punish the rest of the JSA, he also gets his gift taken away. Now he'll have to be a freak again. The question is, does he feel betrayed by Gog . . or by the JSA. And finally there's David. David, who appeared to be Gog's favorite, when he turned him into Magog. But now it seems that he was really just another of his tools. A lost soul willing to follow someone, anyone, because they made him better than he thought he was. But deep down he still has honor and a sense of right and wrong. So when Gog demands that everyone worship him . . that they go down on bended knee and praise him . . David finally has his eyes opened up. So, like the others Gog takes away his gift. But, what does that mean for David. When Gog gave him his gift . . he also brought him back to life. This was an incredible book. The main lesson we learn here is spoken best by Jay . . "You can't help people and demand something in return, Gog. That's not how it works." The art for this book was done by Eaglesham and Ordway. It was perfect. I really can't say enough about this book, or all the chapters in this story-arc. If you didn't get a chance to read it as it came out, you should really pick up the TPB when it comes out and read this story from beginning to end. Also the Kingdom Come story isn't required to understand what's goiing on here, but . . it's such a great story, and you definitely won't be disappointed. Get it. If you can.

Trinity #27 - DC

To be honest with you, when I picked up this book to read, I really thought that I just wanted to hurry up and get through it because . . . the next 3 books in my stack, I can't wait to read. JSA, Batman and Terror Titans . . . what a great pile of books I have waiting in front of me. This book had a good pace to it though. Kurt Busiek . . I think . . is doing a fine job with this title. My only concern is that with everything else going on in the DC Universe right now . . how are they going to be able to explain all of this 'crap' happening at the same time. I almost feel like they told Kurt not to worry about anything else going on. I think he's just supposed to write his story, and then . . later on . . somebody, somewhere, will explain how it's all connected . . or not. But, maybe that's the point. We saw how Tarot is connected to the Worldsoul, and with all the upheavals because of the evil trinity not having the full grasp of their situation yet, everything seems to be in flux . . and changing. We saw last issue how, in Opal City, the reality, or perception, changed almost constantly. Minute by minute, block by block. So maybe, all the stuff that's going on right now . . it's really just all aspects of the same thing, and various views that are happening at the same time. I'm just throwing that out there. 'Green light' mode . . as it were. Anyways, Le Fey and Enigma finally get Konvikt to join there ranks this issue. However, I'm thinking that his noble nature, and strong sense of honor, is somehow going to conflict with Le Fey's hapless disregard for, well . . almost everything. She just wants the world to burn because . . . because she can. In the back-up, Kurt and Fabian put together a tale of ironic woe. The villains that were taken down, when they took out . . A Sun Chained by Ink . . are locked in prison. Michael seems to have reality altering powers. They keep him under control with drugs. But . . he dreams. He dreamed about his friends, and now . . he wants to get them all together and escape. He starts with Primat and Swashbuckler, but then they move on to Mark Richards . . the Tattooed Man. In order to regain their power, they need A Sun Chained by Ink. Mark is the person that can bring him to them. The irony is . . just as they all seem to be assembled and ready to go back out into the 'free' world . . Le Fey decides that the evil trinity needs an army. So she calls on her minions here. "You have had a time to rest, my Dreambound. But you are once again called into the service of Morgaine le Fey. The spells that made you bind you to my will. To my every whim. And what I require of you now, my footsoldiers . . . is an army. There are beings of power all around you. Assemble them. Bring them to me." The irony lies in what they realized next . . "They had thought themselves free. Thought themselves unbound. But no. They are forever bound." I like the way this story is progressing. Some issues move at a faster pace than others, but . . all the issues are a link in the chain. A piece of the puzzle that we haven't yet assembled. Mark Bagley and Scott McDaniel did a great job with the art this issue. We're over the hill and on the back 9 now. We can see the final hole, but . . we're not sure how we're going to get there yet.

Ultimate Spider-man #128 - Marvel

I absolutely love this book. I have since the first day that it came out. This continues to be one of my favorite titles each and every month. I know I haven't really been singing the praises of Brian Bendis lately, but . . on this title . . he's continued to out-do himself each and every issue. Personally, I think this series is a masterpiece. I love seeing Peter Parker's character as a teenager. I love the way that he thinks about problems, and deals with things, during this period of his life. And, I think that Aunt May is dealing pretty well with knowing his secret. I'm sure she worries, but . . I also think she's keeping a pretty level head. This issue dealt mostly with Venom and Gwen Stacey. She's actually Carnage, but . . she/he/it seems to enjoy the Gwen Stacey form. So that's how it spends most of it's time. The creepiest scene in the book is when she's sitting on Peter's attic floor, waiting for him. From head to toe . . she looks like Gwen. But then her hair falls back and . . . she's got the face of Carnage. But then shortly after . . . Eddie Brock comes knocking on Peter's door. Peter comes out to fight him . . thinking that he's here to bring more grief to his life, but actually . . . he's here for Gwen. Eddie's been missing something ever since the symbiote chose Peter over him. But, there's something inside of Gwen that awakens what's inside of Eddie. And it leaves Gwen changed. Later when they all go back to the Triskelion to examine her, Tony explains to Peter and May, "She's clean. She's on every level a regular 16 year old girl. The symbiote originally killed her, it destroyed her host form . . in doing so we would surmise it absorbed her essence. Her DNA, her genetic code sequences. It then, in turn, abandoned those essences and codes for another. Leaving the body. And . . . she's clean. She's, well, she's a molecular copy. But an exact one. There's no difference. On any definable genetic level. So the question is . . if she is biologically Gwen Stacy, and mentally Gwen Stacy . . . who are we to say she's not Gwen Stacy? She's healthier than me." Peter's happy for Gwen, but he's still worried that Eddie is out there somewhere. He is, but . . I don't think he's going to be causing anyone any problems anytime soon. Back on the park-bench, he starts talking to some guy that comes up . . as he's been doing for the previous 2 issues. However, shortly before he can change and eat him . . the guy absorbs him with the armor that hidden under his clothes. Apparently this guy is an agent of Latveria. Who knows where that's going to lead to. Also, as much as I enjoy Brian's stories here . . I am equally as impressed by the tremendous artwork of Stuart Immonen. All around . . this book has a great feel to it. My only complaint? In comparison . . this book makes the Amazing title look pretty inadequate. Sorry!

Wolverine Origins #30 - Marvel

This issue is the conclusion to the Original Sin story-line, but . . . I really don't think we've seen the end of this story yet. We get a whole lot of cool fight scenes in this issue . . between Logan and Daken. The artwork of Mike Deodato Jr is simply tremendous. But to me, the most moving panels, and pages, were those of Logan imagining his comfort spot . . Jasmine Falls. It's where he met Itsu, Daken's mother. But this time when he goes there, I guess because of Charles and Daken's proximity, Daken is pulled into the mental scene also. Charles and Logan are talking about what happened here . . when Itsu was killed. She was killed because of Logan . . . and maybe because of Daken to, but . . it really wasn't either of their faults. It was actually Romulus who hired someone to do the deed . . a mercenary. After they view the event, Logan asks Charles why he had to show it to him. "I'm not showing you, Logan . . . ", and in the shadows, Daken is standing there watching. But, just because he's seen it, doesn't automatically mean that he's going to accept it as the truth. I think that's going to take a little more convincing . . and trust . . from Logan and Charles. He only knows what he knows. And this 'reality' is completely foreign to him. Not to mention, it's not what he's grown up to believe. Through the course of this story, Logan has gotten his son back, Daken has discovered his father, but . . I think the real story here is that when Charles tried to get into Daken's brains, he set off the psychic bombs that had been planted there by accident. It ended up giving Daken his memories back. But, more importantly, I think it'll serve to fix, or at least mend, some of Charles' problems also. We only get some brief glimpses of it this issue, but . . I'm thinking we're going to see some of the ramifications of all of this over in Legacy. My hats off to Daniel Way. I thought he did a tremendous job with this issue . . and this story-line. I think this is a fantastic series. It must be if they have a movie named after it. I can't wait.

X-Force #9 - Marvel

This whole issue is about the team, minus Warpath . . . he's on a spirit quest of some sort . . and Rahne, who's trying to come to terms with her bestial nature by sulking at the aerie . . . anyways, the rest of the team, plus Domino, are after the Vanisher. Well, I guess they're not after him . . since they have him in restraints, but they're after his information. He broke into a lab . . previously one of Sinister's . . to steal a vial of the mutated form of the Legacy Virus. What they hadn't previously known is that while there he was confronted by the Marauders. In his haste to get away, he dropped the vial when he vanished. So now the team isn't left with much of a choice other than going back to the lab and make sure that the vial is destroyed, or doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately when they get there, they find out that Sinister must've had a clone farm there because they run into multiple copies of the various Marauders. And, just when they've found the vial, and they think that they may be able to escape from this mess . . . some orphan-makers show up. "Take the virus. No one gets out alive." I thought the best part of this story is Domino's reaction to this team that she's fallen in with. "I never thought I'd see the day when the X-Men slice open a guy's nose to make him talk . . . apparently, I've missed a few meetings . . . . up is down, black is white. Something tells me I should be worried . . . but then again, I've go luck on my side. Still, I have to say, this is the grimmest bunch of mutants I've seen. Even Cable smiled more than these guys . . . you know what I love about Wolverine? He really know how to release tension . . . I'm just glad we're all on the same team." Apparently Warpath doesn't know what kind of trouble he's fallen in to. He's attacked by the Demon Bear and doesn't have any idea how to fight back. Luckily Johnny Blaze happens to be in the area, and when he gets a scent of the Demon he comes running to assist. "You know nothing of Hell, mutant. Now gather your strength . . because tonight, I am going to show you how to kill a demon." I think Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost are doing a pretty decent job with this book. So far I'm enjoying having these characters together. It's a little gruesome . . . there's a lot of blood . . . but, if nothing else, it's an exciting story. I'm also really diggin' Mike Choi's art. Upset by not having Crain do the art? Mike's a more than adequate fill-in. The book looks fantastic. I can't wait to see how this story is going to wrap up next issue.

HULK #8 - Marvel

I'm sad to say, but . . . I just wasn't overly excited about this issue. The creative talent on this book right now is phenomenal. Jeph Loeb is a fantastic writer, as far as I'm concerned. Art Adams does the art for the initial story, and then Frank Cho does the back-up feature. Although, right now it's a little hard to really tell who the main character is. We have Grulk in the first story, and Rulk in the second. Obviously Bruce Banner was the first, but . . that doesn't necessarily mean the Rulk isn't the draw. And the way both of these artists draw their women . . . it's a little hard to stay focused on the story. Do you remember about 10 years ago, there was all this hype about the difference between the American version of video-games, and the Japanese counterparts? The one that comes to mind with me was a fighting game. I can't really remember the name right now. Anyways, in the Japanese version the women were more 'endowed' . . . aesthetically pleasing , if you will. But, not only did the women look better, . . . their bodies responded to the extreme physical activities in a more noticeable, and natural way. I kind of felt the same way watching Ms Marvel fight the Hulk . . . sorry, Grulk . . in this book. There was a few times I thought she was going to give herself a black eye. To me the best part of this first story . . besides the reemergence of Joe Fixit even though he was only around for the first 2 pages . . . I thought Art did a fantastic job with his rendition of Moon Knight. I'm not really sure that I buy his fall from the stratosphere . . . and then his landing on the Hulk's back, but . . . there has to be some artistic license. Right? And for all the bouncing around that Art had in the first story . . Frank has She-Hulk, Thundra and Valkyrie showing triple the absorbancy in the second feature. And Rulk responded the way any red-blooded American man would in this situation . . . "Come to Daddy! . . . If you two want to come back inside, have a beer with me . . . and play spin the bottle . . . I won't kill your little girlfriend here. . . . .What's it going to be, girls? She-Hulk dies . . . or you two agree to be the bread in a Red Hulk sandwich." And then, at the end of the story . . the girl's back-up arrives. Which is 6 more vuluptuous women . . including Tigra. Tigra? Isn't she dead? Or at least in traction, or in the hospital, or something? I guess I should've said . . I wasn't really excited about the story in this issue. The art on the other hand . . . va-va-voom!!

Wolverine: First Class #9 - Marvel

Any chance to get another Wolverine story on the shelves every month is a good enough excuse for me. But to be honest, I really only started on this series because I enjoyed the X-Men: First Class series as much as I did. I didn't expect it to be the same. Obviously Wolverine is a darker character, but . . I thought it would be interesting to see these earlier unknown adventures. So far I haven't been let down. I think Fred Van Lente is doing a great job with these stories. He's really doing a good job of keeping Wolverine in character and true to his nature. That's really the only thing that worries me about him being so accessible. I'm just afraid that through the sheer number of creators that somewhere along the line he's going to get diluted . . fall out of form. But, right now . . it's a needless worry. Also Francis Portela draws this issue, and personally I think it's a great job. This issue the whole story revolves around Logan and Shang-chi. Logan's tired of getting his ass handed to him everytime he takes on Sabretooth. So this time, while Sabretooth is holding Kitty to bait him . . Logan decides maybe it's time he learns some new moves so he can surprise Creed and possibly get the upper hand. If I had to complain about one thing this issue it would only be that I was disappointed that Kitty didn't have a more active role. We see her in a couple of panels this issue, but it's only as Sabretooth holds her unconscious in a net. I always thought that Logan and Kitty made a great team . . even if it was reluctant on his part. So I was happy to find out that so far this series seems to be revolving around that time period. Anyways, I enjoyed the issue from cover to cover. It just seemed like a classic Wolverine tale to me. Thanks!

Secret Invasion: X-Men #4 - Marvel

I enjoyed this issue. Especially the Terry Dodson cover. But, in the end, it all felt kind of anti-climatic to me. Basically the X-men, specifically Scott and Hank, are wrestling with the decision of whether to take out the Skrulls with the Legacy Virus. Last issue Hank experimented on the Super-Skrull that Scott had brought to him and found out that the virus spread even faster through the Skrulls than it did through mutants. So now they have to decide whether to use it or not. The problem is . . if they do, it'll basically be akin to genocide. Especially if it begins to spread through the whole race. But, they have to decide fast as the Skrulls have captured and dispersed about 50,000 civilians through various office building downtown. They have them locked in and their gun-turrets aimed at them unless the X-Men surrender. Basically, that's what they do, but they cover themselves and their clothes int he virus so that as soon as they're taken to their ships it will spread. Also they split up into smaller groups so they affect more ships. It was a pretty risky plan on Scott's part because he does all of this without the assurance that Hank has developed an antidote. Anyways, in the end the Skrull commander decides that he's not going to be taken down without a fight . . sitting back and waiting for the virus to take it's effects. So instead he decides to scuttle the whole fleet. In the end the X-Men stand victorious, they free the civilians, and they're the heroes of San Francisco. Yippee! Who cares. I mean, you knew in the beginning they were going to win. It was just a matter of how they did it. And the whole thing with the crystal ball that Kurt's been arguing with this entire series was completely ignored this issue. So what did that have to do with anything? Anyways, the series accomplished it's goals, thanks to Mike Carey. But in the end I just felt like, who cares? Also I wasn't overly thrilled with Carey Nord's art. It was all kind of to pastel-ish for me.

Ultimate X-Men #98 - Marvel

Like the previous Ultimate Spider-man book, this issue picks up immediately after the New York City disaster. The a couple of interesting things that come out of this issue are . . Allison and Kurt are dead. Jean confirms it when shes berating Rogue. We knew that they were in town with Hank and Warren, but with everything that happened in Ultimatum #1 their survival was kind of up in the air. Jean is berating Rogue because she doesn't want her involved in their plan to attack Magneto. With her recent Banshee use, they just don't feel like they can trust her. Of course Toad doesn't help when he picks at her afterwards. So she decides to travel to Canada and get her old teammates to help her. Well, at least Vindicator. Whom we find out is actually Wraith. But he does have a plan to take out Magneto, so he and Rogue are going to give it a shot. First they take out Sabretooth and Juggy, but I'm not sure if that is an offensive or defensive move. They take them out pretty fast . . they literally catch them with their pants down . . but they do need a team. So their approach may have been to recruit them. Also, this issue, we watch William Stryker go from a bird watcher to a vengeful activist after his family is killed in the wave. Although I think without the goading of the rednecks, and their sentinel armor that they found, he may have been content with preaching and praying. But at the end of this issue their little rag-tag team makes a direct assault on the mansion. I thought this was a fantastic issue. I know that Aron E Coleite's story has to follow Jeph Loeb's Ultimatum schedule, but I thought he did a fantastic job with the characters in this book. I'm also really enjoying Mark Brooks pencils. He's been on board for a few issues now, but in that short period of time he's really brought some life back into this book. I'm not sure what's going to happen to the Ultimate Universe afte the Ultimatum storyline, but for the first time in a long time I'm really getting excited about this book. So, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

WildCATS #5 - WildStorm

This issue was all about Hadrian. We really see very few of the other team-mates. Basically, with everything that's happened . . not just since the end of the world, but . . right from the beginning of the WildCATS, Lord Emp, Majestic, and all of it . . . with everything that's happened to him over the course of time . . years . . he doesn't really know who he is. He knows who people want him to be. He know how people perceive him. But, he doesn't really know himself. And, if he's going to be the leader of this team . . the salvation to hundreds of thousands of survivors . . he needs to figure that out. I like the story that Christos Gage has been putting together here ever since the world's end. I'm glad that this team is back together. But, as Pris points out this issue . . it's not really a team. It's a group of friends. A family. And they all perform, and aspire to greater things when they do so together rather than separately. And with all of these survivors counting on them . . looking to them for guidance . . they really need to be performing to the best of their abilities. Pete Woods does the art this issue. It's ok. I'm actually a fan of his work. But sometimes . . it's hard to explain, but sometimes . . his work just seems a little 'vanilla' to me. I'm really not trying to be derogatory. It's just a little 'plain' sometimes. Anyways, I like this book and the team. My only complaint about this issue is that we don't really get the chance to see what's going on in the rest of the world. But, I'm sure we'll get back to the post-apocalyptic tale next issue.

Madame Xanadu #6 - Vertigo

This black & white cover by Frank Quitely must have been the first one commissioned for this book. It's what was in the previews a month ago. But on the actual book, we get this color cover by Amy Reeder Hadley. Sometimes this happens, and normally I would just put the actual cover in the blog. But, this cover is by Frank Quitely. I can't just erase that and not share it with anybody else. Right? Anyways, this comic isn't as flamboyant as the last I read, Jack of Fables, but . . it is just as unique. Matt Wagner is weaving a fantastic tale here. I'm starting to wonder who's really reading the Tarot cards, Nimue . . or Matt? You gotta wonder. Anyways, at the end of the last issue our Madame Xanadu was imprisoned in the cellars of the French government. Eventually she would be forgotten, but without her longevity potions, in the short period of time that she's been here . . her age has begun to catch up with her body . . literally hundreds of years in mere weeks. To be released from her imprisonment, and have her youth restored, she has to call up Death herself. And then, she has to best her in a reading of the cards. All of this leads her to the next stop upon her trip, the rise of the British empire. And, another encounter with the Phantom Stranger. This time though she's not as infatuated with his spirit. This time it seems like she's actually agitated with him for his ambivalence. After he watches the Queen beheaded he bids her adieu. "Again. You just up and leave? Stranger. You are a hypocrite at best and a villain at worst! Truthfully, I can't decide which! Whenever our paths shall cross again . . I will do all in my power to disrupt your questionable cause and your crass manipulations! I swear it will be so!" It'll be interesting to see what happens the next time she comes across his presence. Like I said, I really like the tale that Matt is weaving here. But, what's really got me coming back to this book is the artwork of Amy Reeder Hadley. It's very crisp and clean, and . . . I really love the feel that she brings to this book. I have a feeling this is really just the beginning for her.

Jack of Fables #28 - Vertigo

This book is just absurd. It really is. Bookburner is barring down on the Golden Boughs, and Jack has replaced Revise as the Commander in Chief. Revise had to step down because Gary . . the pathetic fallacy . . told him to. And since he is Revise's grand-father . . I guess he's the senior member here. Meanwhile, upon reviewing his troops, Bookburner has told Paul to go ahead and start attacking the Fables magic shielding that surrounds the compound. And Kevin and Priscilla have finally made their way to New York City. They traveled all the way across the country to go to his old apartment and retrieve his pen. Now, they may be able to win the war. Are you feeling a little lost? That's the way every issue of this book is. There's all of this absurd stuff . . that doesn't always make sense, or seem very logical. And there's no way that it should all be connected. But they are. I swear Bill Willingham eats some magic brownies, or something, before he writes this book. Have you ever seen That 70's Show? Well, they always end up in Forman's basement sitting in their 'circle', getting high. The things they talk about, and the ideas they come up with are hilarious. Mostly because they don't make any sense. But to them . . it all fits together. And it sounds perfectly reasonable and plausible. Well that how I feel about this book. When the ideas came up, they probably made sense, and maybe even seemed . . . coherent. But now? Uh . . I don't know. And what's up with Paul's blue Ox? He is definitely stoned or something. "Dash Weinstein, heroic accountant at large, checks his figures on the . . . uh . . . something . . . ok, Wendell Remington, world champion racecar driver stomps on the gas in the big . . . in the big race . . . in an important race . . ok, how about this? Alonzo the cruelty-free pirate orders his men to weigh anchor off the coast of . . . hrrrm . . . . . . damn. I got nothin'." Every issue he goes on this little . . excursion . . off the reservation. I think one of his 'trips' from the 60's is catching up to him. This comic is definitely unique. Although . . a little hard to follow. After reading one of these issues . . I kind of have mixed feelings.

the War that Time Forgot #7 - DC

I've been harsh on Al Barrionuevo's artwork, pretty much this entire series. Which I don't really like doing because I'm a fan. I thought his work on the Martian Manhunter series was great. This issue, however . . . kind of goes to prove my point about certain penciller and inker's styles not really jiving. So far Jimmy Palmiotti has been Al's inker on this series. However, this issue Dan Green does the inks. I think the art on this issue is strides better that the previous ones. I'm not discounting Jimmy's work. I just don't think his and Al's work complimented each other. Al and Dan's work seems to work better together. Anyways I'm taking a lot of time talking about the art, I think, because I don't really have anything really positive to say about the rest of the issue. Overall . . . I thought it was boring. Yes there's action, and adventure, and drama . . . blah, blah, blah . . . but in the end . . who really cares. As a reader I really haven't been able to buy into any of these characters yet. I haven't been able to say 'so and so's my favorite'. Yes I could go through a big 'ol list of these soldiers that have been brought to this island, but . . I'm just following the story. Reading it . . month to month. The problem is . . I'm not really getting in to it. I want to like it. I really do. There's a cool Kevin Nowlan cover this month. And Bruce Jones is the writer. Which led me to believe . . . it would be better. But really . . it's just boring. That's the easiest and politest way I can put it. Sorry!

Legion of Super-heroes #48 - DC

First of all, #50 is the final issue of this series. However, from the description of the story, it looks like we'll probably be going into a mini, or maxi, series after that. I think it'll have something to do with the Universal Annihilation War. I'm also thinking that with this Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds mini, that we're going to have a revamping, or maybe I should say consolidating of the various Legions that we've seen in the last 20 years. I'm guessing that after the Final Crisis arc, and the mini-series, from there we'll probably go into a relaunch of this series . . or I should say, of the Legion. If I had to guess, I'd be willing to bet that we'll see the Legion before they came back in time and recruited Superboy. I don't know why, I just think that we're going to see the Legion before Superboy, or Superman's, influence. Anyways, this story is mostly about the invader planet that recently come into their solar system. Brainiac finds a connection between it and the Destroyers. Basically, the invader planet sends some representatives to Earth. They are using miniaturized versions of the data-rippers that the Destroyers had. With that he's able to make the connection, and jump to the conclusion that the actual enemy is in virtual space. Everything else . . the invader planet, the representatives, the Destroyers . . are all simulacrums, or duplicates. Basically, they are in virtual space playing a game, or fighting a war, in real space. Kind of like us when we play a video game. Now Brainiac just has to figure out what to do about it. Meanwhile, Sun-boy is back. And after a tryout, Gazelle is on the team . . she's the girl that they ran into on Triton. The other cadets . . Turtle, Sizzle and Night Girl . . are not accepted into the Legion, but are used to start a new group, the Legion Reserves. That way they'll still get training, flight rings, and uniforms. I love this series. Actually, what I should say is I love the Legion. They were the first real 'group' book that I got into. I was reading the Legion before the Justice League or the X-Men. To me it's like a big soap opera, but with super-powered characters. I think Jim Shooter is doing an incredible job here. Wherever these characters go from here . . mini, maxi, or continuing series . . I really hope that Jim is involved with the process. I also really like the feel that Francis Manapul has brought to this series. I wasn't sure at first. He's different than any other Legion artist. But, he's really grown on me. I think he's really made these characters his own. I know #50 is the end of this series, but it's definitely not the end of the Legion. I can't wait to see where we go from here. Long Live the Legion!

Reign In Hell #5 - DC

Right now, Hell is like a 'who's who' of the mystical heroes. Well, I guess they couldn't all be considered heroes, but they all are pretty powerful in their own right. Ibis, Sargon, Zatanna and Zatarra have all gotten together on Zatarra's request. It sounds to me like Zatarra wants to keep an eye on all of them. Especially Ibis who is a novice, and . . his power has been diminished because of Black Alice. She's also down here somewhere. Dr Fate is shaking it up with Blaze. He's also a relative novice, but . . he uses the distractions to his advantage. Blue Devil and Etrigan just got done duking it out. In the process they released Lobo from his cage. Apparently he's been here for years. Neron put a duplicate up into the real world so nobody would know he was missing. Now . . he's pissed. Anyways, it looks like Etrigan is taken out of it, but in the process of his recovery he take Danny out by what looks like him taking his soul. Maybe? I'm not quite sure, but . . Danny's done for now. Then we got Shadowpact mucking about also. I'm not sure what they're trying to do, but Rory, Ragman, basically overdoses when his suits starts to feed on all of the tortured souls that are dying around him. It almost consumes him completely. This issue ends with Zatanna coming toe to toe with Lobo. She seems pretty pissed . . she just had to obliterate her father's very essence . . but I don't know if she's ready for this kind of fight. In the back-up story, Dr Occult finally finds his Rose. But I don't think he's getting the answers that he thought he's get. Keith Giffen is doing a fantastic job writing this series. There really is a lot of depth to this story. And, the sheer amount of characters is staggering. Tom Derenick and Bill Sienkiewicz do the art on the opening story, and Chad Hardin does the art on the back-up. Both stories look, and feel, incredible. This is turning out to be a great mini-series, and I think it's going to have a big impact for a long time on the DC Universe. Plus . . . the main man's back . . . Lobo. The one and only!

Blue Beetle #33 - DC

My only question here is . . how did the Blue Beetle and Dr Polaris become such adversaries? It the Dr now part of Jamie's 'Rogues Gallery'? And if so, I'm really at a loss for how that happened. I know Dr Polaris is a new guy now, and I believe he's operating out of the Mexico / Texas area. But does geography now determine nemesis status? As a hero, Jamie is going to fight whatever 'bad-guy' pops up, but . . these 2 really seem to have a hard-on for each other. It just doesn't seem healthy. Anyways, this issue deals with Dr Polaris' attack on San Jose. The town is already up in arms about the immigration situation so he fuels that fire with some specific shots of hatred. He's also got Jaime's allies, and sometimes teammates . . the Teen Titans . . working on a border incursion which includes drugs, money and guns. However, while all of that is going on, he's actually attacking a research facility farther in town. Mariposa, his daughter, informs them of a facility, White Sands, that he's interested in. When Blue Beetle heads up there, he finds out that the Dr is interesting in Monopoles. "I injected myself full of them 10 minutes ago. Controlled by my existing magnetic powers, they can create a nearly invulnerable skin around me. They're super-fluid, superconductive, and they have the ability to catalyze fusion reactions as well." And with that . . he blows Blue Beetle out of the sky. "Host [Jaime] vital signs/status: deceased." First of all . . how can Jaime be dead? Secondly, why do villains feel the need to intricately explain everything before of after they've done it? Who cares? If you're going to do something, just do it! And shut the hell up! Obviously the cliff-hanger of this story is the mortality of Jaime Reyes. I'm enjoying the writing of Matthew Sturges. That is . . unless he's killed Jaime. Then I won't like him so much. Rafael Albuquerque's art is growing on me. I don't know necessarily that I like it any more, but it definitely has created a style for this book. Overall, I'm enjoying this book more and more. However, I am wondering what the status of this book is after issue #36. Go to DC Comics previews and you'll see what I mean.

Teen Titans #65 - DC

First of all I want to say that I think Sean McKeever is doing a good job with this team. Unfortunately he's come into the book at a time when there aren't very many members left. There's always charter members around that are willing to help out in a pinch, but . . the core group, right now, seems to be at the weakest it's been in quite a while. However, I really think he's about to change all that. This issue is all about Cassandra, Wonder-girl. She's been fighting demons for quite a while now. For a while she was Zeus' favored, but . . then somehow she fell in with Ares. The problem was, in order to fully realize the strength that Ares had given her, she needed to be enraged and full of hatred. As much as she wanted the power, that was something she wasn't willing to do. No matter how intoxicating it was when she was mad. So now Ares has sent his new prodigal after her, Lycus. He was a former king of Libya. He was naturally full on anger and hatred so he attracted Ares attention and became his new disciple . . his son. But as I said this story is all about Cassie. During the fight she finally realizes . . "Zeus told me I could only beat you with my own power. I finally realize what he meant. I've always been running on borrowed steam. First from my father, and then from my brother, but now . . . every last bit of rage-fueled strength Ares gave me is yours. For the first time ever . . . the butt-kicking's one hundred percent on me!" So it seems that Cassie has finally found herself and is back to full strength. At the end of this issue she informs her mother that she'll be leaving Georgetown and returning to the Tower full-time. Also don't forget the Bombshell is part of the group now . . whether she wants to be or now. Her father asked them to help protect her. She needs protection from the government, and more specifically from Project Quantum. On the final page we see a soldier interrogating her father. His controller informs him . . "None of it will get out, because we are going to capture, test, kill and then dissect Amy Sue Allen so that Project Quantum may continue. If you have a problem with any of that, soldier . . . I won't have any trouble replacing you. Now try a little waterboarding. See if that shakes Colonel Allen's tongue loose." As disturbing as that sounds, it's even more so because the controller is . . . Amy's mother. Personally, I think Eddy Barrows is doing a fantastic job with the art on this series. He really seems to enjoy drawing characters like Lycus. On his web-site, there's some fantastic sketches that he's got of him. Anyways, as far as the book goes . . I thoroughly enjoyed it. I know there's opinions out there that aren't really happy with the strength, or members, of the group right now. All I can say is . . hang in there. I think that things are about to change. Afterall, that's the constant with this group. Right?

Birds of Prey #124 - DC

Finally, Barbara comes face to face with the Joker. It didn't go exactly how I expected, but . . with the Joker's randomness it's logical that would be the case. Remember the line from that movie, "Never bring a knife to a gun-fight!"? Well with the Joker, you never know what kind of fight it's going to be, and you definitely never know what kind of weapons he's going to bring. Anyways, Babs puts up a good battle and eventually batons Joker's facing crushing his mouth and breaking all of his teeth. This really pisses off the Joker and he nails her with a house-plant and then shove her down the steps. Oh yeah, while this is happening, Babs group of fem-fatales has fallen into a trap with the Syndicate, set up by the Calculator. Long story short, they basically fight to a stalemate, after Ollie and his gang are called in for reinforcements. They both end up retreating, and in the process it looks like the Calculator has joined the ranks of the Syndicate. Misfit runs off the Joker when she returns to the Aerie and informs him that the rest of the group will be returning shortly. I do have a question though. It appears that the Joker hasn't put together the pieces connecting Babs to the Birds. Which would mean that he hasn't figured out that she's Oracle. So, does he just assume that she's moved to the Flats for an office job? I don't think she's seen the last of him yet, and she definitely hasn't seen the last of the Calculator. She's decided that they should leave Platinum Flats, but . . she wants to take down the Syndicate first. I thought Tony Bedard did a great job with this story. My only complaint is that I feel like everything here is overshadowed by a dark cloud because there's only a few issues left. The only silver lining is that the end of this series is immediately followed by a mini-series with Babs. But I'm still going to hate to see the end of this book. It's really one of my favorites. Claude St Aubin was the penciller. It was ok, but nothing really noteworthy. The only thing I really didn't like was his depiction of the Joker. Anyways, I have to enjoy the issues that I have left. Oh yeah . . fantastic cover by Stephane Roux.

Batman - Gotham After Midnight #7 - DC

Right now the best way to explain how I feel about this book is . . . I guess, a jigsaw puzzle. I feel like I've opened a box of pieces, and apparently it's a very large puzzle, but there's no picture on the box. So basically, I'm looking at all of these pieces strewn across the table and I have no idea the picture that they're supposed to create. From reading this book, I know that there's several things in the occurrence of events that are important to the overall tale and it's resolution. However, since there appears to be no connection . . other than that all of the victims are wealthy and seem to have abused their power . . we don't know how or why Midnight is assembling his list. And why does he have to tear these people's hearts out? Last issue the Joker told Batman that Midnight was a police detective, Barry Lucas. But then, by the end of the issue, it appeared that he had been abducted by Killer Croc. Now Batman is trying to find him. He connects the trace evidence around the abduction to a factory on the West side of Gotham. As he enters it from underneath . . from the Gotham River . . he finds the Detective, dead. He also finds and fights Killer Croc. But the biggest piece revealed to him is that this cavern appears to be Midnight's lair. It puzzles him. First of all, why is it under this factory? Secondly, "It looks like a villain lair out of a bad movie. None of the equipment except for the lights seem to work. It's all flash, for show." Also, Batman notes that there appears to be a controlled randomness to the villains actions. Meanwhile, Midnight is topside murdering the Mayor. I like the story. I enjoy the subtle nuances that Steve Niles puts into his scripts. I just wish I had a little better idea of what's going on. Kelley Jones is the perfect artist for this series. Horror stories are definitely his genre. The pages of this book look fantastic. The thing that I like about Jones is that he has a Wrightson-esque feel to him. That's definitely a plus. Overall, I'm enjoying the series. I'm just a little confused.