Comic book reviews for the week of Sept 9, 2010

Weird week this week since comics were delayed by the Labor Day holiday meaning that about half my books are still in transit (i.e. the mail)....

Daytripper #10 - (Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba) - This wrapped up the Brazilian brother's much acclaimed miniseries. And what a nice final issue. The subtlety of both their script and art as they tell the final chapter of the life of Bras. What great series about life, home and family! Definitely not a comic to miss and share with people who think comics are just about men in spandex. 8.5/10 [Note....I have a full review of this pending at Weekly Comic Book Review, but as of this second, my editor hasn't posted it yet.)

Invincible Iron Man #30 - (Matt Fraction & Salvadore Larroca) - This story is finally starting to get out of its own way as we see Tony Stark attacked by one of the Hammer ladies in an unexpected way that brings back an old nemesis of Tony's. Bonus points for Pepper Potts getting to finally use her new armor suit in a real situation. And more bonus points for Larroca's art that was quite good in this issue. 7.6/10

X-Men #3 - (Victor Gischler & Paco Medina) - Just unplug the "thinks too hard" part of your brain and enjoy this comic about the X-Men fighting vampires. I'm really enjoying the new vampire world that Marvel seems to be creating. This also features a one-man Wolverine rescue mission to save a friend, and those are always good. Medina's art is mostly good, but I wish he'd vary the thickness of his line more. 7.5/10

X-Force: Sex + Violence #3 - (Craig Kyle, Chris Yost & Gabriele Dell'Otto) - This miniseries wraps up in a very fun way. I'm not sure if this was in continuity with the other X-Men stories, but it was fun and the whole thing was almost just an excuse to see Dell'Otto's lovely painted art. I'd love to see more of this style in the future. As for the story, there is none of the promised "sex", but there is LOTS of violence with some unexpected folks coming to save Wolverine and Domino's bacon. 7.5/10

New Avengers #4 - (Brian Michael Bendis & Stuart Immonen) - This magic based story with magical demons invading NYC to try to take over our dimension soldiers along. I didn't hate this, but didn't love it either. It's just kinda there. A very average superhero comic. Even Immonen's art was a little less exciting than normal. 7.0/10

Amazing Spider-Man #642 - (Mark Waid & Paul Azaceta) - At least this issue puts that dreadful One Moment In Time crap behind us (more on that below). And this is a pretty good, garden-variety Spidey comic featuring Doc Ock kidnapping a Goblin baby. Surprisingly, this was held back by Azaceta's art and odd coloring. Azaceta is usually really strong, so I expect the next issue will be better. 6.9/10

Daredevil #510 - (Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston) - With this issue, we're hitting the middle of the Shadowland story. That story is kinda shaping up to be a bust and this is a middle issue, so I didn't expect great things and wasn't pleasantly surprised. I do like Johnston's art, though. 6.8/10

Thor #614 - (Kieron Gillen & Doug Braithwaite) - I get the feeling that this story arc might have been more fun for people who are steeping in Thor-lore, but I'm not and I just found it confusing. Honestly, if Matt Fraction were not coming on this title (next issue, I think) I'd be dropping Thor. 6.6/10

PunisherMax: Hot Rods of Death One-Shot - (Charlie Huston & Shawn Martinbrough) - I didn't much care for this story of Frank Castle helping an old Vietnam buddy settle a score with some thugs. I just don't really need to see Frank killing people with cars.....that isn't why I read Punisher. Martinbrough's art is neat in a heavily altered photo-realism way. Very dark, but it can't save what I thought was a boring story. 6.4/10

Amazing Spider-Man #641 - (Joe Quesada & Paolo Rivera) - What a shitty comic and story arc this was! At least it is over. If you want to read my in-depth making fun of this pile o' crap click the link to my full review. Bad art, bad dialog. 5.0/10