Comic reviews from the week of July 21, 2010

The New Avengers #2 - (Brian Michael Bendis & Stuart Immonen) - This was a really well written comic. I'm still not entirely sure what is going on with the demonic possessions and the appearance of Dr. Strange, but it was a LOT of fun watching the team trying to grab the Eye of Agamotto and also keep it away a possessed Luke Cage. The highlight was the banter between Spider-Man and Wolverine. The art is mostly quite good, but gets a little dodgy in a few places. Dodgy enough that you pause on a panel and think, "What the hell is up with his face in this panel?". Still, very good: 7.9/10

Neonomicon #1 - (Alan Moore & Jacen Burrows) - It is pretty much always a good idea to get an Alan Moore comic when they come out. The guy's a living legend in comics and everything he does is at least "good" and sometimes is really something special (Watchmen). This is the story of FBI agents on the trail of a serial killer who may be connected to some larger plot. With a name like Neonomicon I'm sure we've got some "larger plot" coming up. :) This is very well written. I actually understood everything, which is sometimes a challenge in an Alan Moore comic. And, the art is good. 8.0/10

Meta 4 #2 - (Ted McKeever) - I was confused by the first issue of this "5-issue Allegorical Series" but it did have the saving grace of a fight between an amnesiac astronaut, a hooker, a pimp and a muscle lady in a Santa suit in a public restroom. This issue doesn't have any of that. Our astronaut is starting to get his memory back and the muscle lady is starting to have more of a personality, but the whole thing still doesn't make much sense to me and I'm certainly not sure what it is an allegory for (aren't they all the Bible at the end of the day?). Still...for some reason I like this, so I'm going to hang in there and see what happens. 6.8/10

Age of Heroes #3 - (Various) - Marvel's new anthology series that also serves to pimp a few new ongoing and mini-series is out with its third issue. In this issue we get a story about Crusher Creel busting into the Avengers Tower when only Sharon Carter, Victoria Hand and Maria Hill are home (all the superheroes are out fighting villains). So, the girls have to take him down themselves, which they do in a rather clever way. I enjoyed this part of the issue. I'll take a BIG pass on the Blue Marvel. I appreciate Marvel's commitment to diversity and they don't have enough black heroes, but it is annoying when they make up black heroes and shovel them in front of you. I'll pass. Finally, we get a tease for the Taskmaster miniseries coming out in a few months and a one pager about Squirrel Girl (for those missing the Great Lakes Avengers). 7.3/10

The Avengers #3 - (Brian Michael Bendis & John Romita, Jr.) - This story of the "new" Avengers dealing with a screwed up timeline continues to be fun as the team learns that Apocalypse (who showed up last issue) is just as much a victim of events as they are. I'm eager to see Bendis get back to the Kang/Future Hulk part of the story. Pretty good art. 7.4/10

Dark Wolverine #88 - (Daniel Way, Marjorie Liu, Stephen Segovia & Paco Diaz) - I really enjoyed this rematch of Daken and Punisher/Franken-Castle. For those who missed it, Daken chopped Frank Castle to bits back in Dark Reign: The List - Punisher is a GREAT issue. It was one of those things where there was no way he wasn't dead because Daken chopped him into about 20 pieces. Well, Frank got reanimated by the League of Monsters and now he's got his own superpowers and is out for some payback. This was just a really good issue that isn't trying to have any kind of deep plot. This is going to be a 4-part story crossing between Dark Wolverine and Franken-Castle. 8.5/10

Thunderbolts #146 - (Jeff Parker & Dev Walker) - I really enjoyed this. This is only our 3rd issue with the "new" Thunderbolts team and already they are finished with their first mission and into their second. It reminds me of how comics were as a kid when they were not written in 6 issue arcs for collection in a trade paperback. So, in this issue we get resolution to who the girl was who was hanging out with the trolls and see the Tbolts go on their next mission. There doesn't seem to be a bit of global importance to what they're doing, but that is appropriate. These are super-villains hoping to work off their jail sentence; they aren't going to get the "save the universe" jobs. That's what the Avengers are for. My only complaint is that the art god screwy in this issue, including a very screwed up looking Valkyrie. 8.4/10

Atlas #3 - (Jeff Parker & Gabriel Hardman) - It figures that I'd get to enjoying the Agents of Atlas right when it is D-E-A-D. Marvel announced that they're killing this series after issue #5 and this looks to be for good (i.e. they aren't letting Jeff Parker just redo it with another #1 issue). What a shame..... Still, this is a pretty good issue that makes a character I don't care for (the 3D man) more interesting than he has any right to be and has some cool alien/demonic possession stuff going on. Hardman's art is just awesome. In related news, Parker/Hardman are taking their act to Hulk in the next few months which annoys me to no end because it might result in me actually buying a Hulk comic. :) 7.6/10

Batman Beyond #2 - (Adam Beechen & Ryan Benjamin) - File this under "I just don't care". This isn't a bad story and it is well drawn, BUT........I just don't need another Batman title especially when DC announced a few new Bat-titles at the San Diego Comic Con this week. This comic continues the story of a future Batman who has an elderly Bruce Wayne as his mentor. There just isn't enough here for me to keep hanging onto this series. 6.0/10