Catching up slowly with reviews….

Animal Man #5 – The rot is spreading and Animal Man and his family must fight it.  The series art has dipped a little, but story is Vertigo meets mainstream DC.  Solid work and I can’t wait to see where it goes….

Story: 8 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

The Avengers Annual #1 – Remember when Wonder Man and a team attacked the Avengers mansion?  Yeah… so if you wondered whatever happened to that story, it gets wrapped up in this issue.  It’s interesting and sets up a lot of potential, but it’s been so long since that first part you have to wonder why it’s taken so damn long.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Avengers Academy #24 – Hmm, kind of torn on this issue.  The art is just ok, and the time travel/traitor story has been done, but there’s something interesting about it all.  It’s not “A” level, but getting better than it’s been.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Avengers: X-Sanction #2 – Cable continues to fight the Avengers as more hints towards the why are given.  Cable slips between the present and future in decent story telling, the art I’m iffy on over it.  The story is intriguing, just not totally sold.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Batman: Detective Comics #5 – The main story is ok, Batman chases some guy as people protest Batman.  The back-up story is a jumble of a mess.  I’d rather have a longer main story or something else, cause the quality is just not good.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Batwing #5 – Anyone else think it’s odd that Batwing has to call in the white Batman to help?  No message there?  The issue is decent and has some character depth added for Batwing and the art is fantastic.  The series is one of the bright spots for the DC relaunch.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

The Defenders #2 – The series second issue is a bit better than the first.  There’s a tone and pacing that’s different and entertaining to it.  The blurbs at the bottom are interesting too.  I can’t say this is a huge hit and must read series, but it’s getting better in my opinion.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Fatale #1 – So much hype surrounding the series and while it’s interesting, it’s not as good as Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ previous work.  The noir meets Lovecraft series is not as good as what they’ve done, but that makes it better than most everything else.  My gut says the series will be a better read in one sitting instead of individual issues.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5

Fear Itself: The Fearless #6 – What happened to Crossbone’s new ability?  That seemed to go away… The event spin-off hasn’t gotten much better and I’m not seeing the point.  I’m reading it in hopes it leads to something.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

The Punisher #7 – I really liked this issue.  On the way to the massacre from the last issue, two detectives talk about the Punisher and what he does and how that differs from what the police and law do.  I solid issue that really gets you to think about justice and who decides and dispenses it.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Rachel Rising #4 – The state of Rachel is starting to be noticed as more bodies are dumped.  The series is weird and a very slow creepy burn to it.  It’s so good though showing why horror was my pick of genre of the year last year.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Red Lanterns #5 – A bunch of the Lanterns get smarter as they look for Krona.  Earth gets it’s own Red Lantern.  Overall an ok story that’s getting somewhere, just not sure where.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Stormwatch #5 – Um, what the hell did I read?  I am so confused by this series.  There’s a bunch I like and then again, this is just not a friendly series for new readers. What. The. Hell?

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25

Swamp Thing #5 – The rot continues to get stronger while the green attempts to fight back.  The series is colliding with Animal Man and damn it’s good.  There’s just this great horror feel to it all and it’s easy to get into, even with such material that’s come before.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Thunderbolts #168 – Luke Cage is going after escaped convicts from the Raft as Mockingbird and Mach V deal with the committe that oversees the program.  At the same time the other Thunderbolts are on the run still and did Ghost reach them?  Lots going on here in an interesting issue that’s pretty solid.  Not bade, but not great either.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5

Uncanny X-Force #19.1 – We get a preview of what to expect when the Age of Apocalypse comes back as an ongoing series.  The preview is crazy and entertaining, but I wonder what the big game plan it is for the series.  There has to be something.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

Uncanny X-Men #4 – A story of the Phalanx and it’s interesting.  There’s a slight tie-in with Sinister which seems a bit stretched.  A lot I like and some I don’t.  Pretty decent read though.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Villains for Hire #2 – Purple Man is on the move to find his rival and it’s a shocker as to who it is, but that ending just made my jaw drop.  I have no idea what is happening next, but this series is very entertaining.  I can’t wait to see what it leads to.

Story: 8 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.75

X-Men #23 – Yay, we get a semi-mission/point for this team, other than leaving weapons of mass destruction lying around.  What an anti-climatic ending to the story…

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Wolverine & the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #1 – Quentin Quire decides to get his revenge on Wolverine for sending him to Westchester.  Sadly, the story isn’t needed and really adds nothing so far.  The art is just ok and doesn’t live up to the cool cover.  Overall, no idea why this is being done.

Story: 6.75 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.75

X-23 #20 – Laura and Jubilee have a night out and Laura gets an offer as to where she should go next.  The story is ok, but really could have had a much more emotional impact.  The sub-par art didn’t help at all as well.

Story: 6.5 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.5

It’s Friday!!!!!

Around the Blogs:

Marvel – Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark App Arrives – It’s an interactive app.  You get injured while walking around and not paying attention.

Bleeding Cool – The Ethics Of Before Watchmen – An interesting read.

Around the Tubes Reviews:

CBR – Animal Man #6

CBR – Swamp Thing #6

MTV Geek – Yo Joe, and Geronimo! Advance Reviews Of IDW’s G.I. Joe and Doctor Who Comics

IGN – Comic Book Reviews for 2/1/12

Unleash the Fanboy – Weekly Comic Reviews: 2/1

There’s a lot of interesting comics coming out this week, but I’m fascinated to see what happens next in Avengers: X-Sanction #2.  The first issue had Cable picking off the Avengers one by one to prevent some future disaster and we know the Avengers and X-Men clash in a few months.  This is the prelude that leads into all of that and I have no idea what to expect.

• Avengers: X-Sanction #2 – see above
• Fatale #1 – I read the first issue and while it’s not as solid as Brubakers and Philips’ last team-ups, the comic is solid as expected.
• Animal Man #5/Swamp Thing #5 – What happens with the Red and the Green next!?  I want to know!
  
• Nowhere Man #1 – Marc Guggenheim’s latest. It just looks cool.
  
• Peanuts #1 – I love me some Peanuts.

Tomorrow is new comic book day, what’s everyone getting?

Around the Blogs:

CBLDF – CBLDF & ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Speak Out In Defense of Comic Facing Removal From School Library – Have you given some money to this great organization?  Well, you should.

Around the Tubes Reviews:

CBR – Animal Man #4

CBR – Moon Knight #8

It’s a think stack of books this week as we head into the last month of the year.  What company is going out with a bang and making the case to be the publisher of year?  Find out below!

Animal Man #4 – We learn what the Rot is and what they want, sort of.  It’s also laid out as to what’s been pretty obvious, we’ll be getting a crossover pretty soon with Swamp Thing, because nothing says simplifying a comic universe like interconnected stories and crossovers.

Story: 8 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Avenging Spider-Man #2 – Lots of action, great art and enough to get me to laugh quite a few times.  This series is exactly what comics should be, fun and easy to get into.  So entertaining, I highly recommend it, and this is from someone who has never been a big Spider-Man fan.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Batman: Detective Comics #4 – Batman continues to fight the Dollmaker to a rather unsatisfying conclusion.  Really, nothing is resolved here and it all gets pushed off for another story arc.  This is definitely the weakest of the Batman books.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5

Batwing #4 – We get the origin of Batwing and while there’s so much to mine, the fact it’s told so quickly without much depth makes it all shallow.  There’s a lot here to work with, but the first steps just doesn’t go into the depth it deserves.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.5

Chew #22 – Tony is on a mission to find his daughter as he winds up getting into trouble himself.  The issue isn’t as solid as the series usually is, but was still entertaining.  An even ok issue of Chew is better than the majority of books out there.

Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

the Defenders #1 – The team is gathered by Hulk to take on the Breaker of Worlds, and I yawn, a lot.  The series first issue just didn’t do it for me at all.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.75

Fear Itself: the Fearless #4 – The Fear Itself follow up is as bad as the series that it’s spun out of.  Someone needs to go and see what blood looks like in water and the story is just plodding and boring.  Get to the action quicker, because this race to get all of the hammers is pretty damn boring.

Story: 6 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6

Jennifer Blood #7 – After Jennifer has taken care of her targets, I’ve been wondering where the series would go from here, but we now get an idea.  The over the top violently funny series continues it’s depraved streak as various new plot threads are weaved that all promise to continue the entertaining sickness of the series.  This “female Punisher” looks like it’s finally getting an identity of it’s own.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Mega Man #8 – Mega Man’s second battle with Dr. Wiley comes to an end and the comic is still great for all ages.  It’s a lot of similar events as the first one with some small twists here and there, but hopefully the third story arc will transcend the predictable plot of the video game it’s based on.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Moon Knight #8 – Lots of Moon Knight and Echo action here as they take on Count Nefaria and Moon Knight as deals with a certain detective.  The series is fantastic, not just in it’s writing, but also the art.  This is easily one of the best comic book series Marvel is putting out and one of the best out there period.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.5

the Punisher #6 – Frank and Rachel meet as they both go after their targets.  There’s a very interesting dual narrative going on, one with a white motif and the other black.  A lot is working for the comic, in it’s simple execution it’s actually pretty damn deep.  The art is a little off, but overall, the execution is solid.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.25

Red Lanterns #4 – Writer Peter Milligan continues to shuffle up these one note characters.  Depth is attempting to be given and it’s working only a little.  There’s a pretty big hurtle that he has to overcome in getting this series to really justify it existing on it’s own and it’s getting there, just very slowly.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5

Stormwatch #4 – Hmmm, I’m still torn on the series and it’s not until this issue it starts to really find it’s voice and not seem so jumbled.  The art is decent and characters interesting, but still something doesn’t totally click.  I’ll keep going for now, but the series teeters on the edge of being dropped by me.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5

Swamp Thing #4 – And we get the Green’s take on the battle with the Rot.  The series is great with it’s companion series Animal Man and like that series stands on it’s own, but I can’t help but think how complicated a story the two are telling when part of the point of the DCnU was to simplify it all.  Overall though, the two put together a compelling tale.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles: Micro-Series Raphael – A pretty decent one-shot that adds to the main TMNT comic book series.  Raphael is out on patrol with Casey Jones and meets a new mutated creature.  Some pretty cool stuff that will leave fans of the cartoon or previous comic iterations with a smile on their face.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Venom #10 – Some old acquaintances come calling for Venom as Captain America comes to shut the program down.  It’s an interesting start to the post Spider-Island direction.  I liked the series before, so here’s hoping it quickly gets back on it’s feet and gives us the same quality as before.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Villains for Hire #1 – Huh, not what I was expecting but very good.  It looks like this is a bridge from Heroes for Hire into something else, and I can’t wait to see what.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

X-Club #1 – And the point of this limited series is?

Story: 6.5 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

X-Factor #228 – Interesting.  Now we know the secret between Layla and Guido.  Not sure I particularly like that revelation, but interesting.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

X-Men #22 – This team of X-Men have a lot of Sentinels to take on.  The story is interesting and art has it’s moments, but the series is still fresh and doesn’t have enough yet to really stand out on it’s own.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5

X-23 #18 – Amazing art but schizophrenic story.

Story: 6.75 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7

The week is chugging along and previews for this week’s releases are starting to role in.  And while you wait for all of that, here’s the news you might have missed.

Around the Blogs:

The ComiChron – Records abound in October sales; reboot titles held sales levels – Talk to me four months from now, we’re still in a bubble.

The Mary Sue – Susie Cagle Gives Personal Account of Occupy Oakland Arrest And It’s Not Pretty – Such shit on so many levels.

The Beat – iVerse gets $4 million in private equity funding for Comics+ – Um, congrats?

Con Coverage:

MTV Geek – Ejen Chuang’s Awesome Cosplay Photos From Comikaze 2011

Around the Tubes Reviews:

CBR – Animal Man #3

Toonzone – Hellboy: House Of The Living Dead

CBR – O.M.A.C. #3

ICv2 – Psyren Vol. 1

Novel Society – Twilight Graphic Novel Volume 2

The pile of new comics has started to dwindle as I’m figuring out the comics from DC’s relaunch I’m keeping and what’s just not making the cut.  Will things get cut this week?  Find out below!

American Vampire #20 – The lead up to the origin of Skinner continues as we learn more about how his maker became a vampire and there’s hints why the “American vampire” is different than it’s European cousins, though that’s not completely laid out.  The story is entertaining and it’s fun to see a western mashed up with a good ole horror tale.  Snyder continues to put out a solid product here.

Story: 8.25 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8

Animal Man #3 – Vertigo is in full effect in the DCU.  This comic is so out there and so crazy and at the same time so entertaining.  Animal Man and his daughter head into The Red and we learn a bit about the origin of Animal Man.  Meanwhile the rest of their family are attacked too.  The series is so crazy and “out horrors” the rest of DC dark.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Avengers Academy #21 – I haven’t been the biggest fan of the series, much preferring it’s incarnation as the “Initiative,” but this issue kicks off it’s new direction with a lot of new characters and one hell of an ending.  I’m still a bit skeptical due to the past, but this first issue has piqued my interest.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Batman: Detective Comics #3 – So, we finally get to find out who the Dollmaker is, but something about this issue just doesn’t quite seem right.  It might be because it’s predictable.  It might be that the whole schtick for this bad guy doesn’t quite make sense.  Out of the three main Bat-titles, this is the weakest of the bunch.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5

Batwing #3 – Huh.  The politics is very subtle so far, but this issue delves a little into that with The Kingdom, but mostly the issue is Batwing getting his ass kicked and we get to see a bit of his past that adds a whole lot of depth about him.  The series is interesting and surprisingly good.  The art is solid and stands out.  Overall, it’s a welcome addition to the Bat-family and DC comics.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Dark Shadows #1 – All I know of Dark Shadows is that it’s a former television show involving a vampire that has a cult following and is highly regarded.  So, I went into the first issue as a blank slate and I came out pretty impressed.  The issue focuses on the individuals giving enough for new readers to figure out who everyone is and what their deal is and I’m sure fans will have a lot more to go on.  The story is interesting and I can’t quite tell if this is a horror soap opera or a straight up horror story.  There’s enough to make me come back for a second issue.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Fear Itself #7.1: Captain America – The first of three epilogue’s for Fear Itself reveals the fate of Bucky who’ll get his own series starting in January (I’d say that’s a spoiler, but it’s been all over).  It’s funny that this comic is so much better than the event in spun out of, but it really feels like a lead up and pitch for a new series as opposed to closure to Marvel’s sub-par event.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Fear Itself: The Fearless #2 – The series is focused on Valkyrie’s and Crossbone’s attempts to regain the hammers.  Valkyrie’s story is a bit of a stretch as it attempts to flesh out her background and Crossbone’s seems to avoid the change that happened to him in Thunderbolts.  The first issue was entertaining, but this second one quickly has fallen into issues that Fear Itself had.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Huntress #1 – I’ve had a lot of people recommend this comic that came out a few weeks ago, so I decided to give it a shot.  Huntress heads to Naples and takes on a smuggler of women and guns.  The series is pretty solid, but I don’t quite get why it doesn’t take place in the new DCU.  The Huntress is a solid, strong, female lead which is great to see.  She kicks a lot of ass and the bad guy is down to Earth in that, he doesn’t have super powers sort of way.  The series could have a hell of a message if the writer wanted, but as it stands it’s an entertaining read.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Moon Knight #7 – Moon Knight deals with the fact that he was snitched on and the Avengers were called.  He also hatches a plan to find out who the bad guy behind it all is.  Those around him also begin to deal with the fact the man is clearly nuts.  The series is fantastic with amazing art, and some great action.  The interaction between everyone is top notch as well.  This is one of the best comics Marvel is putting out right now.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

New Mutants #33 – The split is done and the team must decide who they’re sticking with and what their role in the “X” world will be.  The art I think is still off and there’s some parts of the story I liked, but overall something is still off about the series.  It seems that they’ll be playing a more integrated role with human society in Cyclop’s world and their first mission seems interesting, but there’s a lot of talk in this issue that doesn’t shed a lot of depth on the characters.  It is a decent hopping on point for new readers.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Red Lantern #3 – Writer Peter Milligan is attempting to give depth to characters who have been one note up until now.  His direction has them being the Ghost Riders of rage and so far it’s been ok.  But, the characters have been mindless beasts for the most part driven by rage.  Next up to get the fleshed out treatment is Bleez whose mind is cleared and becomes the second in command.  But, with that promotion there’s also hints there’s more to it.  Not the best issue, but Milligan is doing what he can with what he’s been given.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5

Stormwatch #3 – This is supposed to be one of the pillars of the new DCU but the comic has been a bit hard to sift through and figure out everything that’s going on.  We’ve been thrown into the action without much of an explanation and while it’s all quirky and somewhat entertaining, I can’t yet declare it an “A” list series.  I’m giving it the first arc, then I’ll make my decision.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5

Swamp Thing #3 – We’re starting to get a clearer picture as to what the big baddie Swamp Thing will face.  I also get a sense that this same bad guy is also who Animal Man will deal with.  It’s interesting that these two series are relying on colors as much as Green Lantern mythos does.  The horror feel is still present and the two books are definitely Vertigo come to DC.  Snyder is always slow to start with his series, that’s his style, but when it’s still so good, who cares.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5

Uncanny X-Men #1 – The good is they’ve finally thrown it out there and equated mutant powers as a deterrent and Utopia as a nation with one.  They’ve been hinting at it for quite a while, but never just laid it out there.  It’s some interesting logic thrown around and hopefully we finally get to see what was promised, the focus on a true mutant nation and what that really means as well as what it takes to pull that off.  The action itself revolves around the Dreaming Celestial and Mr. Sinister, that’s all off.  If anything, this first issue shows a lot of potential, but doesn’t quite excite.

Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.25

Villains for Hire #0.1 – We’ve seen the heroes, but this point one issue sets up the villains out there looking to be hired to pull off jobs.  The first issue is interesting, but doesn’t quite set up the series to come enough.  Instead it focuses a lot more on the heroes stopping the villains, not what brought them together.  Together the two series should be fun and here’s hoping it has the exploitation movie feel like it’s sister series.  But, this “first issue” doesn’t quite excite me enough.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

X-Men #20 – Hmmm.  The team is interesting and first issue of it’s direction much like Uncanny has potential.  I don’t dig the overused good guys versus good guys over a misunderstanding before they team up schtick.  But, the story continues the whole proliferation of Sentinels story, so that’s cool.  But, overall, meh.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

X-23 #16 – Um, yeah.  Can’t say I dig the Captain Universe thing.

Story: 6.5 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.5

Animal Man is one of the messed up and weird series from DC.  It definitely draws it’s roots more from Vertigo than the happy go-lucky DC universe of the past.  The mix of hero and family man is fantastic and it’s one of the leaders of DC horror right now.  An amazing series that seems to tie into Swamp Thing which also is on the list.  A creepy series that I’m drawn to as a must read.  I’ve expanded the pick list this week because there’s some great stuff.

• Animal Man #3 – see above
• Swamp Thing #3/American Vampire #20 – Scott Snyder is one of the best writers out there right now and the man knocks it out of the park.  I lumped these two together because they’re both by him and both fantastic.
• The Last of the Greats #2 – Machiavelli done super hero.
• Cold War #2 – It’s a James Bond/Cold War/Spy Thriller, aka awesome.
• Peanuts #0 – It’s Peanuts!  How can you not be excited by this.
• Our Love is Real  – I read it and holy shit is it weird.
• Uncanny X-Men #1 – The first issue of Wolverine’s team last week was awesome.  I expect nothing less from this series.
• The Rinse #3 - I love crime comics and noir, this one isn’t the best, but very entertaining.

This week was the first big test for DC as the first wave of second issues hit the stands and the X-Men’s event wraps up setting them upon a relaunch of their own…

Animal Man #2 – Um, yeah… the second issue of the series goes of the deep end into Vertigo territory with a straight up horror story.  It’s beyond weird and I feel like I should drop some LSD while reading it.  But, it looks like what we saw in the first issue of Swamp Thing might be tied into this series, which is interesting.  The second issue is still very solid, but maybe not for everyone.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Batman: Detective Comics #2 – This is for teens?  The series continues it’s gruesome ways at Batman gets closer to the Dollmaker who has an interesting group of folks hanging around him.  There’s a lot interesting here, but it feels like a more gruesome, by the numbers Batman story.  It’s not bad in any way and pretty entertaining, but with two other Batman comics out there, this isn’t the best of the bunch.

Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

Batwing #2 – The bad guy going around killing retired heroes is called Massacre and this issue’s focus is to show how tough Batwing is.  It’s an ok story, but the art is what makes it stand out.  Not as solid as the first issue, but for a series trying to find it’s legs (or wings in this case) it’s not too bad.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Blood Red Dragon #0 – The lead up between the much hyped new series from Stan Lee and Yoshiki.  The series is a big yawn, been there done that.  Mechanized demons want to take over the world, but a champion in the form of a pop star is there to stop them.  It’s very anime influenced, but just feels like a bad knock off.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

Chew #21 – One of the most entertaining comics on the market shakes it up by firing Tony Chu, well really transfering him.  The story is funny and beyond fun as expected.  There’s a lot of plot threads that are out there, but each issue is such a pleasure to read, I don’t mind how long it takes to get to any of them.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Men of War #2 – Two stories again, neither really hold up.  Sgt. Rock continues his mission to grab a Senator held hostage while some weirdness goes on.  Then there’s a back up story of another squad.  Neither work very well and all together it’s a jumbled mess.  I said I’d give the series another chance with the second issue, but it heads to the chopping block for me.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.5

Moon Knight #6 – Such a good series.  Moon Knight and Echo make up and there’s some great play on the fact that Moon Knight has been seeing folks.  The art is fantastic, story pacing is solid and interaction and dialogue really great as well.  This is a definite must read series and one of the best Marvel is putting out right now.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Red Lantern #2 – Atrocitus is still figuring out his Corps.’ role in the universe, but really it’s the DC version of Ghost Rider.  He’ll enact revenge on those who can’t do it themselves.  It’s not bad and there’s something poetic to the writing, but the series and the character has a long way to go to make it stand out on it’s own.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.75

Spider-Island: Heroes for Hire – I didn’t pay enough attention and thought I was grabbing a new issue of Heroes for Hire, but instead it’s a one shot.  The story is ok and there’s development of the characters, but being tied into yet another event isn’t helping the series.  A yawner and not needed unless you’re really into the Spider-Island story line.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.75

Stormwatch #2 – I wasn’t very familiar with the series before reading last month’s first issue, but this is just out there.  I’m still torn as to what to think about it, but will give it the first arc to play out before I really make my final decision.  Overall though it’s not quite as easy to follow as it probably should be,

Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7

Superior #5 – That other “Mark Millar book” takes a look at what happens when a super hero is real and what he’ll do to keep the power he has.  It’s a much better series than that other one with some great moments and feel to it.  Hopefully it can start coming out on time again.

Story: 8 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8

Swamp Thing #2 – A very interesting second issue that seems to tie in a lot with Animal Man.  The series explained really what’s up with Alec Holland and his time as Swamp Thing.  It’s a lot of rewriting of history (I think) but it puts the series in it’s own place.  A solid read that cements DC as a go to company for horror.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Thunderbolts #164 – There’s lots of talk about changing history and it’s all good.  Not the best the series has been, but I’m interested in seeing where it goes.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

The Walking Dead #89 – Rick has been having some doubts about his leadership and by the end of the issue there’s no doubt the bad ass is back in charge.  Just a great issue that really focuses on the human aspect of it all.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

X-Men #19 – A pretty meh story arc, but the best part was the interaction between Magneto and Doom.  I’d love to see more of them together debating the line between villainy and heroism.

Story: 7 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7

X-Men: Schism #5 – The first half of the comic was very blah, but the second half was solid.  The debate between Cyclops and Wolverine was fantastic and that last page gave me chills.  The line of “X” comics has needed a shake up and it looks like this is exactly the thing to do it.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

X-23 #15 – So bad, so very very bad….

Story: 6 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.25

The weekend is here and it’s a long weekend!  Yay!  To kill some time, here’s news you might have missed.

Around the Blogs:

Death & Taxes – Do Rick Perry and Superman Have the Same Swagger? – Does that make Romney Bizzaro Superman?

ComiChron – DC reboot boosts September 2011 unit sales – Anyone shocked about this?

The Mary Sue – Netflix Strikes Exclusive Deal For AMC’s The Walking Dead – Ok, maybe I won’t give up my Netflix.

The New York Times – Barnes & Noble in Graphic Novel Dispute – Having talked to publishers stores like Barnes and Noble sell magnitudes more in graphic novels compared to comic book stores.

Con Coverage:

The Beat – Dont forget: this weekend is GeekGirl Con in Seattle

Around the Tubes Reviews:

CBR – Animal Man #2

ICv2 – Gon Vol. 1

USA Today – Holy Terror

MTV Geek – Snarked #1

MTV Geek – Solatorobo: Red The Hunter

CBR – The Walking Dead #89