No Excuses That I Know

Okay, let's get to it!


Cable & Deadpool #30

Deadpool decides to hire himself out to the government to nab unregistered heroes. To demonstrate his usefulness at this he takes on the Great Lakes Avengers...err, Champions? Hell I don't know. Turns out they're already registered, hilarity ensues. This book has been a constant roller coaster of good and bad, but if there's one thing it handles well it's those damn cross over plotlines. Fabes takes a potential disaster and at least makes it funny and entertaining, which is all I ask of this book. Dear God how awful are thos Civil War covers though?

X-Factor #9

This marks the end of my monthly X-Factor reading, I'm hopping on the trades/HCs. I enjoy the hell out of it, and like Fabes, Peter David has a knack for handling the cross over junk brilliantly, I just can't keep up with what all is going on in the book. Quicksilver made a return this ish and the gang kicked the X-Men out of Mutant Town, which was cool as hell, but the overall plot has felt convoluted as of late, especially with Layla. Here's to one cohesive story, cheers.


X-Men #188-189

I haven't bought a regular X-Men title since Morrison left. (No, Astonishing doesn't really count.) What the hell have I missed? Seeing Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo as the creative team perked my interest, but only after I saw that my very favorite mutie was making an appearence (Ahem, Cable...). So I picked up the first part of this Supernovas arc. No Cable and some villains I apparently don't know. Second ish, still no Cable and even more confusing plot elements. What the hell man? Bachalo has not gotten greater with age, his art seems more confusing now than when he was on a regular X-book. Of course the shitty coloring job could have something to do with that too. Carey isn't bad, but the story reminds me of whe Calremont returned and brought those new bad guys with him. It was confusing as hell when it wasn't downright boring. Sabretooth was cool though.

Eternals #1

This seemed like a no brainer. Gaiman and Romita Jr, shoudl be a winner. And really, it's got potential, but this ish required so much exposition that there's no room at all for the character development. Understandable really, because how many people are boned up on their Celestial knowledge? Not me. Romit invokes Kirby while still keeping the book his own and Gaiman seems to have a solid story to tell if he can get past all the explaining. I'll be waiting patiently for the collection.


Batman #655

I really hoped that picking up another DC book after the whole Crisis thing wouldn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. Looks like I picked a good one this time. Been awhile since I picked up a book starring Bats. At least a book set in continuity. The multi-issue, multi-book million part plot lines became a huge headache, not just Crisis, which I didn't even read. I'm talking about the Hush story, the Bruse Wayne Murderer arc, the Cataclysm, I could go back for years. It was just all too much and I sincerely hope DC's done with that, at least until Morrison leaves. Maybe one of the best Batman stories I've read ever...or at least a great beginning to what I hope will be such. Kubert is fine on the art chores, one need look no further than the second page spread to see how great he can be, but what really made the book stand out was how expertly Morrison captured the characters. It's not All-Star Superman, and it is a multi-issue storyline, but it looks to be a damn good one.

Detective Comics #821-822

Haven't bought a Bat book in years and I've picked up three in less than a month.With #821 Paul dini of Batman:The Animated Series fame takes over writing chores with what I suppose is a rotating art team, telling stories that are essentially one-offs, no multi issue arcs here! Both issues have Bats going up against knew villians, so to speak. Dini focus is mostly on the detective aspect of the character, something very, very few writers have been able to pull off. He does it possibly better than anyone. The firs issue he faces down a costumed creep named Facade. Nothing major or character altering, just a good old-fashioned mysterythat ends in a good old-fashioned ass whooping. The second issue is definitely the best of the two. Apparently Riddler has decided to become a detective himself, and evolution of character that makes so much damn sense I can't for the life of me figure out why it hasn't happened sooner. Riddler and Bats end up investigating the same murder, and while Riddler seems contempt to settle for the obvious solution, Bats digs deeper and finds out the truth, one-upping his former nemesis. It's ingenious and I hope they keep him on this track, he makes a much better foil this way. Add to it the beautiful covers of Simone Bianchi and you've got two excellent Bat-tales.

American Virgin #5

I really hope that this doesn't turn into Y, the Last Man, teasing us with the real reason behind Cassie's death until the book's conclusion. This issue feels like filler, holding the story between major plot twists. The funeral sex scene was downright creepy thanks to the uber-talented BeckyCcloonan. Here's hoping the story picks up a bit next ish.

Sidekick #1

I generally enjoy Paul Jenkins work. Or, I thought I did. Apparently when left to his own devices he's pretty humdrum. Sidekick is the story of a sidekick, pretty inventive, huh? Think The Tick told from Arthur's POV, only with vulgarit galore. No, it's not horrible, but Jenkins is, I think, a much better writer than this.

Elephantmen #1

If you're unfamiliar with the world of Hip Flask then this book would be likely wasted on you. Well, outside of the great art. I was hoping for something a bit more focused on the world that Starkings has created, but the stories here are mainly character pieces meant to give you an every day look into life in Mystery City. Good stuff though.

X Isle #1

Forced to abandon their boat, a group of people wash ashore an island apparently inhabited by monsters. None of that is exactly an original concept, but it's such a great mish-mash of concepts, on top of being well written and illustrated, that I was hooked by issue's end. What the hell are those Tremor-looking things and is anyone gonna die? Can't wait for the next one.

Jeremiah Harm #4

Jeremiah and the gang take care of one of Dak's thugs while he opens a portal to another realm. Not much I can say about this book that I haven't been saying. It really makes me want a new Lobo series though.

The Black Plague

Not really sure why they went with a one-shot that leads into a series, but it's a damn good read. A retired superhero and his former archenemy play chess in the park while someone else takes on the mantle of said villain, the Black Plague. Can't wait to see where this leads. It's like Batman Beyond for the villainous crowd. Plus it'll be nice to be reading a Joe Casey capes book again.

Second Wave #5

The group barely survives an encounter with some crazy townfolk as a pod lands nearby. Eh, not ever a bad read, there's just not much going on.

Dark Horse: 20 Years

Brilliant idea: Gather your talent, assign them to work on characters someone other than they created. Result: Hellboy by Adam Hughes, Aliens by Cary Nord, Conan by Sergio Aragones, The Goon by Matt Wagner, Groo by Paul Chadwick, Star Wars by Eric Powell, Sin City by Stan Sakai, Emily the Strange by Joss Whedon and Usagi Yojimbo by Frank Miller. There's more, and yeah it's just a pin-up book. But, damn does it rok. And dig that Mignola cover too!

Tales of Leonardo #2

Splinter leaves a blind Leo in the woods to find his way home, hallucinations ensue, important character traits are learned. Nice, just nothing worth writing home about.

Virgin Comics #0

Points for trying some originality, and I'm definitely checking out the Garth Ennis/John Woo project, but I couldn't make heads or tales of the two stories here. Glad it was free.

Whew...maybe you'll get some movies tomorrow!

-L