Quick Reviews for 10 Jul 2008

1. Captain America: White #0 (of 6) — Mostly just a harmless retelling of the origin of Bucky.  I’m not sure this issue was really necessary, but Loeb hasn’t screwed anything up yet.  I guess we’ll see when we get to the real series.  B
2. Dead, She Said #2 (of 3) — This series continues the supernatural detective story.  Good stuff.  A
3. Detective Comics #846 — While there’s nothing wrong with the story, I can’t for the life of me figure out how this is supposed to connect with the R.I.P. running in the main title.  It just seems like Dini is off telling his own story. I guess I’ll wait and see.  B
4. Final Crisis: Requiem #1 (one-shot) — A lot of people were complaining about J’onn J’onzz being killed off-camera.  This issue shows his last moments in a very touching way.  As a fan of the Martian Manhunter, I was glad to see his send-off handled in a respectable fashion. A
5. Hack/Slash #13 — The final part of the Bump tie-in, which isn’t really a tie-in since the original property was killed.  Still, it’s the usual mix of horror and humor you’ve come to expect from this series.  B
6. Red Sonja #35 — We’re creating a new origin for Sonja, one I’m not particularly fond of, especially since we pretty much know how it’s going to play out.  I really wonder if this angle was truly necessary. Geovani’s art is a little rough around the edges, but it’s perfectly serviceable.  I guess we’ll see what happens.  C
7. Secret Invasion #4 (of 8 ) — Fury and his new team show up to kick some Skrull ass.  Black Widow saves Tony’s ass.  My two favorite Marvel characters show up on the last page to hopefully kick some ass of their own.  Dare I say this event might actually be good?  A
8. SPOOKS Omega Team #1 — I like what Hama is trying to accomplish here, but there’s way too many one-liners and other bad-assitude going on, and it detracts from the story.  Don’t think I’m interested enough to keep picking this one up.  B
9. Trinity #6 (of 52) — This is getting a bye for another week.  Some good character analysis going on in this issue, plus some connection to other plot elements.  We’ll see what happens, I suppose.  B
10. Ultimate Origins #2 (of 5) — The origin of Ultimate Cap, which is more or less exactly like his Earth-616 origin.  Why was this necessary?  C
11. Wonder Woman #22 — Aha… Perhaps I spoke too soon.  Simone starts connecting some dots, and the plot takes an interesting twist.  Could’ve done without the Nemesis and apes scenes, though.  B

First “Suck It!”, Now “STFU!”…

I found this over on IGN:

Jeph Loeb, I hate you.

Hulk #2 [Apr 2008]

How bad does a book have to be where last month’s C.S.I. take-off was actually good by comparison?

Somehow, the now-red Hulk manages to sneak aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and cause all sorts of havoc. Yes… the Hulk… all 1,000+ pounds of him… colored bright red… boards the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier… undetected.

Do editors not have to do anything any more? Who reads this crap and says, “Great idea, Jeph”? Look, I don’t care which TV shows and movies you’ve worked on (especially Teen Wolf, which I still say sucked), crap is still crap.

Ultimates 3 #2 [Mar 2008]

You have got to be kidding me. Apparently, Jeph Loeb can wipe his ass, send the soiled paper to Marvel, and they publish it.

Yeah, #1 wasn’t that great, but I was hoping it was just the new creative team trying to get their voice for the series. Besides, we had a nice shocker of an ending, so I thought I’d give #2 a shot.

Boy, was I wrong.

Hulk #1 [Mar 2008]

New series! New direction! Mystery! Action! Guest stars galore! Wow… With all of that this issue could only be missing one thing.

The freakin’ Hulk.

Yeah. All the hype and we don’t even see the Green Red Goliath. Instead, we get CSI: Marvel starring Doc Samson, She-Hulk, General Ross, Commander Hill, and Iron Man trying to determine who killed the Abomination and how. This gets interrupted (for no discernible reason at all) to start a pointless slugfest with the new Winter Guard.