My pull list is way, way too long and every week there are a few titles that don’t get the full review treatment by me or my colleagues here at WCBR, but they still deserve a mention of some sort…
Thunderbolts #150 – Sheesh! Is Jeff Parker on a can’t miss string right now, or what? This is my pick of the week in a pretty strong week of Bat-books. I love the bastardized team-up between Avengers and Tbolts that leads to a duel of sorts in some alternate universe with talking frogs. And….we get to see Captain Steve smash the All New Crossbones (with heat vision)! How great is that?!? Kev Walker’s art is just perfect for this title too. My only criticism is that Marvel could spare me the Wikipedia entry on the history of the Tbolts and I always hate getting these old reprints in the back of my issues. I never even bother to read them and hate paying the extra buck. Grade: A-
Superior #2 – Mark Millar can do feel-good story telling! This comic is really Big with superpowers. This issue was just a blast as we watched this kid learn how to use his new powers. Ever wonder precisely HOW Superman goes about flying or shooting lasers from his eyes? Well, this at least shows you what it’s like the first time you try those tricks. Can’t wait to see what happens when the space monkey comes back! It goes without saying that Yu’s art was very good and I love the championship belt in his costume. Grade: B+
Elephantmen #28 – This was a much more coherent issue of Elephantmen than we’ve had the last few issues where the spotty release schedule was playing havoc with my ability to remember the plot. It helped that this issue was pretty basic: Ebony Hide, Hip Flask and Lt. Blackthorn against a bunch of Crocodiles. On a non-action level, they are still really exploring whether the Elephantmen will ever be allowed to live in peace or whether they will always be pawns of some madman. Grade: B
Supergirl #58 – I’m completely new to Supergirl, but have been picking it up in anticipation of Nick Spencer and Bernard Chang. Those two should be AWESOME on a book like this, but I wanted to get slightly up to speed. This was a fun little story of Supergirl and some cheeky reporter dueling with killer robots. That might be a little campy, but I found the story to be enjoyable and the art to be nice. Grade: B-
Phoenix Without Ashes #4 – This IDW adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s old story is a good read if you like interstellar sci-fi. I hate to spoil the hook for those who haven’t read it, but it has to do with a massive colony ship from Earth where some things have gone horribly wrong. Not wild about the art, but it isn’t bad either. Also not wild about the pricing on IDW’s books. When are they going to roll back to $2.99? Grade: C+
X-23 #3 – I really like X-23 as a character and anyone who follows my reviews know I love comics about teenage girls growing up, but I think this title is getting dropped from the pull list until I hear some very positive things about it. It isn’t so much that the writing is bad or the art is unbearable, but this story of X in hell (kinda) just isn’t interesting enough to stick around for when your pull list has ~70 comics/month. Grade: C-
– Dean Stell
Grade
Conclusion