Quick Reviews for 30 Jul – 13 Aug 2008

I was busy a few of these weekends, so I’m way behind on reviewing.  Also, I somehow missed Secret Invasion #5 this week.  Oh well, I’m sure there’ll be a few issues left next week.  On to the reviews:

1. Batman #679 — Morrison starts pulling things together.  I’m liking this. A
2. Contract #1 — Some okay stuff here. Kind of derivative of Firefly. Not sure if I’ll buy any more, but it’s perfectly fine for what it’s trying to accomplish. B
3. Criminal #4 — Do you need to ask? Awesome as always. A
4. Crossed #0 — I already saw this.  It was called 28 Days Later. Pass. D
5. Detective Comics #847 — Again, I’m not sure why this is part of “R.I.P.” when it’s going down a completely different road. It also seems a bit straightforward, so I’m enjoying Morrison’s arc more.  B
6. Echo #5 — The action picks up a bit in this issue, which supposedly closes the first arc of the story.  If I continue to get this, it’ll be in TPB form. B
7. Fantastic Four #559 — Okay, Millar, you’ve piqued my interest with the last few pages of this issue.  I’ll give you another chance.  B
8. Fantastic Four: True Story #1 — Maybe I need to re-read this, but it came across as confusing, pretentious, and self-referential.  I’m probably not going to buy any more of this mini. C
9. Final Crisis #3 — Um.  Wow.  Er.  Yike!  A
10. Frank Frazetta’s Creatures #1 — A fun little jaunt very similar to Hellboy.  B
11. Frank Frazetta’s Dracula Meets the Wolfman #1 — Probably the weakest of the Frazetta comics to come out so far.  The story is so straightforward, you know exactly what’s going to happen before it does. C
12. Hack/Slash #14 — More of the same from this series.  Either you like it, or you don’t. B
13. Hellboy: The Crooked Man #2 — Mignola and Corben create some really creepy imagery in this issue.  Good stuff. A
14. Mercy Sparx #0 — Sorry, but this reeks of the whole Chaos/bad girl phase of the mid-1990s.  Blaylock’s going to have to pull something amazing out of the story to make it stand out against all the other supernatural hunter-chicks. C
15. Ms. Marvel #29 — Mostly just another all-fight issue. I’m hoping this series starts going somewhere again once “Secret Invasion” is over. C
16. Northlanders #8 — Not the ending I was expecting, but one that makes a lot of sense. Very good stuff you should pick up in TPB if you didn’t get the individual issues. A
17. Pilot Season: The Core #1 — This reminded me a lot of one of my favorite TV shows of all time, Farscape.  And there’s a surprise towards the end to boot. I’d definitely like to see more of this series, especially if they can keep Rocafort on art duties. A
18. Project Superpowers #5 — People and events start coming together in this issue, which was my major complaint with the series up until now.  B
19. Red Sonja #36 — Well, the inevitable finally happens, and Sonja is set on her new/old path. I’m giving this a couple more issues, but this whole “reboot” seemed like a waste of 3–4 issues. C
20. Rest #0 — If this is supposed to be a teaser issue, it failed miserably.  There isn’t enough story here to hook the reader onto the main plot.  It’s mostly just the backgrounds of the two main characters, neither of which was particularly interesting. D
21. Secret Invasion: Thor #1 — If JMS ever leaves the main series, they have to get Fraction next.  Hell, I’m not so sure I don’t like Fraction better. A
22. Simon Dark #11 — At least the story beings to pick up some.  I’m still done with this title once this storyline ends, which’ll probably be next issue. B
23. Sparks #3 — I’m really liking this blend of noir and superheroes. A
24. Special Forces #3 — Okay, this series has been over-the-top since moment one, but this issue just goes off the deep end. Typically I love Baker’s stuff, but this isn’t working for me. C
25. Thor #10 — I love how JMS is handling Loki. Strong stuff all around. A
26. Trinity #9–11 — Okay, the story’s beginning to falter again, which you wouldn’t think with the action building up.  Aside from Superman, I’m not seeing the big personality changes that are supposedly happening to the Trinity, and that’s only because Superman’s change is like a ball peen hammer to the forehead. I’m becoming more and more convinced on the padding of this series. C
27. Ultimate Origins #3 — Magneto’s turn.  Why is this series necessary again? C
28. Wolverine #67 — Again, I’m not sure why we’re telling this story in the main title, but it’s good nonetheless. A
29. Wolverine: Origins #27 — One of the better issues of this series.  We’ll see if Way can pull something good out of it. B
30. Wonder Woman #23 — Kind of a no-brainer after last issue’s twist.  Next issue looks to be more of Simone’s forté.  B

Pilot Season: Genius #1 [Jun 2008]

Rarely does a comic book inspire me to rage like this one did.  No, it’s not the bang-your-head-on-the-table rage that comes from retcons like “Ghost Rider is actually an angel, and he always has been.”  Rather, this is the kind of rage caused by the despicable nature of the book itself.

A police detective sort of figures out that “every generation has one, Lou. Hannibal, Alexander, Washington, Patton. We just might be dealing with the greatest military mind of our time. A goddamned… genius.” Only in this case, the genius is 17 year-old Destiny, who decides she wants to take over the law enforcement in her neighborhood all by herself.