The long weekend is almost here!

Around the Tubes

The Mary Sue – Marvel Throwdown: Bryan Singer Just Claimed Quicksilver For X-Men, What About His Avengers Role? – Could this link the two comic movie universes?

Around the Tubes Reviews

Comic Vine – Batman, Incorporated #11

ICv2 – Benny Breakiron #1: The Red Taxis HC

Talking Comics – The Bounce #1

Comic Vine – Deadpool #10

Comic Vine – Fantastic Four #8

Comic Vine – The Flash #20

Comic Vine – Green Lantern: New Guardians #20

Comic Vine – The Green Team #1

Comic Vine – Journey into Mystery #652

Comic Vine – Judge Dredd #7

Comic Vine – Justice League #20

Comic Vine – Revival #10

Comic Vine – Scarlet Spider #17

CBR – Sex #3

Comic Vine – Superior Spider-Man #10

Comic Vine – Uncanny Avengers #8AU

CBR – Uncanny X-Men #6

Talking Comics – Young Avengers #5

The Beat – REVIEW: Double Great Art in HELLHEIM #3 & THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

The weekend is almost here and it gets closer to Free Comic Book Day! What are folks up to this weekend?

Around the Tubes

Spinoff Online – Whedon Suggests Avengers 2 Will Feature Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch – Hm.

Comics Alliance – Guillermo Del Toro To Bring ‘Monster’ Manga To HBO – This will be amazing.

The Hollywood Reporter – ‘Peter Panzerfaust’ Producer Options ‘Hoax Hunters’ Comic - Could be a great movie.

Collider – Fox Will Have to Replace 50% of Their Outdoor Campaign for THE WOLVERINE Due to Theft - Wonder if they’ll prosecute as badly as people who steal movies?

Publisher’s Weekly – Digital Comics Are Getting Cheaper - What about print?

Around the Tubes Reviews

CBR – Batman Incorporated #10

Comic Vine – Deadpool #8

Comic Vine – FF #6

Comic Vine – The Flash #19

Comic Vine – I, Vampire #19

Crave Online – Jupiter’s Legacy #1

Comic Vine – Morning Glories #26

The Spectrum – Saga Vol. 1

Comic Vine – Scarlet Spider #16

CBR – Uncanny Avengers #7

It was new comic book day yesterday. There were lots of high profile and great releases. What’d you get? If you haven’t gone to the shop yet, what will you be getting this week?

Around the Tubes

IGN – Telltale’s Fables is Called The Wolf Among Us - Can’t wait to play this.

Noise 11 – Alice Cooper Uses Kickstarter To Fund Comic Books - When will we get the crossover with Gene Simmons?

Around the Tubes Reviews

Comicvine – Age of Ultron #3

Comicvine – Aquaman #18

The Fandom Post – Archer & Armstrong Vol. #1: The Michelangelo Code

Comicvine – Batman, Incorporated #9

Comicvine – Clone #5

Comicvine – Fantastic Four #5au

Comicvine – Guardians of the Galaxy #1

Comicvine – Red Lanterns #18

Comicvine – Savage Skullkickers #1

Comicvine – Scarlet Spider #15

Comicvine – Superior Spider-Man #6au

That’s another week covered.  Slowly catching up and hopefully there’ll be another week reviewed by the end of this one!

America’s Got Powers #1 – Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch’s new series might be the Hunger Games meets superheroes and holy crap is it good.  I kept turning each page with glee.  So solid, words don’t do it justice at all.  This is an absolute buy and will be the mini-series of the Summer.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Avengers Assemble #2 – The Zodiac are gathering devices of amazing power and someone is in the background guiding them.  The story is interesting, but series still seems a bit second class compared to the other Avengers titles.  Still, the story is entertaining enough.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Avenging Spider-Man #6 – Spider-Man, Daredevil and the Punisher team up to protect the Omegadrive and take down five crime syndicates?  Yes please!  This issue combines the best of this series and Waid’s Daredevil with Rucka’s Punisher.  So fantastic.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Batgirl #8 – Barbara deals with one of the Joker’s henchmen that was present when she was shot.  It’s a decent issue that’ll keep me interested in the series that much longer.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Batman and Robin #8 – Bruce must deal wit the after effects of his and Damian’s battle with Nobody.  It’s a fantastic issue that focuses on a father and his son.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

Batwoman #8 – Great art and layout with a confusing and muddled story.  This is a pale comparison of the greatness that this series once saw.  A shame too.

Story: 5 Art: 8 Overall: 6

The Bionic Man #8 – Kevin Smith and Phil Hester’s comic is the big screen movie I want to see.  So much fun.  So much action.  So much entertainment.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Fantastic Four #605 – Reed and his father head through time to see what their recent actions have caused.  The issue is fantastic I think focusing on the heart and relationship of characters.

Story: 9 Art: 8 Overall: 8.75

Fatale #4 – Brubaker’s series is interesting, but not my cup of tea compared to his other previous noir series’.  Something just isn’t clicking for me.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7

Green Lantern #8 – Sinestro and Jordan are prisoners of the Indigo Tribe and it looks like we’re going to learn more about this mysterious Corps.  So far, it’s pretty interesting.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Journey Into Mystery #636 – The final piece of Loki’s plan is revealed and it’s really entertaining.  This series deserves a bigger audience with some fantastic writing.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

Mega Man #12 – The series has taken a familiar formula and made it work.  Luckily that formula changes a bit in the next issue, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a fun read for the whole family.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

The Mighty Thor #12.1 – We get some various tales about Thor that hint at a lot.  If this is to introduce people to Thor, I definitely don’t think it’s interesting enough to hook them.  Again a “point one” fails.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7

The New Avengers #24 – Luke and Jessica have issues to deal with.  We also get a behind the scenes look as Captain America rallies the troops for AVX.  The issue is one giant build up, but it’s solid.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5

Resurrection Man #8 – Shelley’s secrets are being slowly shown and released.  This series is fantastic and one of the best new ones of the DC relaunch.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Saga #2 – Wow, Brian K. Vaughn’s series is amazing.  It’s a sci-fi action adventure that has familiar parts, but in an all new way.  Just beyond fantastic and one of the best series of the year.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

Saucer Country #2 – I love this series.  The X-Files meets West Wing series is just so fresh and so new.  I can’t say I’ve ever read anything like this before.

Story: 10 Art: 8.25 Overall: 9.5

Scarlet Spider #4 – I’m not a Spider-Man fan, but I’m a fan of this series.  There’s something so fresh and so fun about it.  I can’t recommend it enough.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Secret #1 – Hickman’s latest series is one hell of a mystery.  It’s more than enough for me to come back for the second issue, but I can’t say it blows me away like other series of his in the past.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Secret Avengers #25 – The story arc has been interesting, but I didn’t see that ending coming.  It’s so good.  So, so good.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5

the Secret Service #1 – Millar’s latest series in his big push, it’s just not all that solid so far, but it has enough for me to check out the second issue.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Superboy #8 – Dropped!

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6

Suicide Squad #8 – We get a bit more of the story behind Waller and the formation of the squad.  There’s also a secret hinted at that’s really entertaining and builds potential for the series.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Thief of Thieves #3 – Kirkman and Spencer’s series is amazing.  Redmond is a great main character and the fact the series focuses on the individuals and characters is top notch.  An absolute must buy.

Story: 9 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8.5

Ultimate Comics X-Men #10 – Holy shit was that a hell of an ending.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

Uncanny X-Men #10 – There’s a lot of build up and foreshadowing here, but it looks like there’s some stuff that has good potential for future plotlines.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Winter Soldier #4 – Bucky teams up with Doom and it is awesome.

Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

Wolverine #304 – Sabretooth throws a party and I’m irritated in the art constantly switching.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

The family of Bat titles have been leading up to the Night of the Owls storyline, that alone would make Batman #9 a likely pick for the week.  But on top of that buzz worthy event, Greg Capullo‘s art and Scott Snyder‘s writing has made Batman the top tier Bat title and one all the rest are compared to.  I’ve never been a huge Batman fan, but Snyder has won me over.  His writing is beyond amazing, and the art in this series is about as good as it gets.  This will be the storyline everyone will be talking about for a while, just so damn good.

• Batman #9 – see above
• Takio #1 – The all age series from Brian Michael Bendis goes monthly.  I dug the graphic novel, I’m psyched for the series.
  
• Trio #1 – John Byrne’s latest super hero series has this great retro feel to it.
  
• Higher Earth #1 – Out this week or next?  I’m not quite sure, but Sam Humphries’ series from BOOM! has buzz.
  
• Scarlet Spider #5 – I’ve never been a big Spider-Man fan, so the fact this series has me interested is beyond impressive.

Another week down.  Almost getting caught up on reviews.

the Avengers #24 – We now know Osborn’s powers and it’s a bit predictable as to how he’s beaten.  The story’s ending is ok, not quite the long term shake-up you’d expect from this type of story.  Overall, a solid story arc that doesn’t quite end the way you’d hope.  It feels rushed and a bit predictable.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Avengers Assemble #1 – A new Zodiac has formed, but other than the Hulk being in this comic, there’s not a whole lot that makes this series stand out from the other Avengers comics out there.  In fact the art is a bit off and story fairly unexciting.  Not sure this is a comic I want to assemble for.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Batgirl #7 – More of the Barbara Gordon pitty party as she seeks out the Black Canary to spar a bit, then she goes on a mission.  There’s parts where the art is great and other parts, not so much.  The story is just ok.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.5

Batman and Robin #7 – Batman vs. Nobody and the art is solid.  That ending though, I didn’t quite expect.  The comic was simple, but it kept me on my toes as to who would do what in the fight and how they’d deal with Nobody.  Interesting stuff…

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Battle Scars #5 – Hmm, the secret is out and I saw yawn.  The series is an attempt to get the 616 universe more like the movies, which is a bit silly.  Overall, we’ll see what idiocy comes of this.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

Batwoman #7 – The story jumps around, and I’m not sure I know everything that’s going on.  The visuals aren’t quite as amazing as they used to be, but the series is still a solid read with some amazing artwork at times.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Captain America #9 – Steve is still depowered, Sharon makes a deal to save him and Falcon goes after Bravo, I wonder where the comic’s quality has gone.  Just not quite as fund as it used to be.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.25

Daken: Dark Wolverine #22 – Daken continues to lash out and spread terror as he dies.  He’s setting off bombs and generally just causing chaos.  I really hope there’s some long term plan with the character.  I’d hate to see him go to waste.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Fantastic Four #604 – And with that, the end of the battle with the Mad Celestials.  A lot is thrown out there in this issue and I’d imagine it’ll have a lot of repercussions for the Fantastic Four going forward.  It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Green Lantern #7 – The series finally focuses on the Indigo Tribe which we know so little about. Looks pretty interesting so far.

Story: 8 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Journey Into Mystery #635 – Loki, Daimon and Leah continue to fight Nightmare.  Loki does the usual Loki thing and cuts a deal that’s clearly not what it is on the surface.  As usual, the comic is thick with material (aka words), but they’re weaved so well together.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Mega Man #11 – Mega Man takes on Air Man, Metal Man and Flash Man and then gets caught in Dr. Wily’s plan.  The ending is so cool.  I can’t recommend the series enough.  It’s fantastic for kids and parents alike, especially for fans of the video game series.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

The Punisher #9 – The prelude to the crossover with Spider-Man and Daredevil the issue is short and a quick read.  But… looks like Punisher has a new partner and that never seems to go well.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Resurrection Man #7 – On the run in Metropolis, Resurrection Man runs into another super being and gets another power.  He’s finally at the point where he’s going to look for his past and figure out who he is.  It’s a great mystery and one I want to see more of the answer to.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Saga #1 – Brian K. Vaughn’s new series deserves all of the hype.  It’s very familiar, but at the same time, beyond fantastic.  This’ll be a hot series for a long time coming and the usual excellence I expect from such a talented writer.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

Saucer Country #1 – A Governor must deal with her political future as she contemplates running for President of the United States.  Something is wrong though.  Is it something having to do with her ex-husband?  Is it something stranger like aliens?  And what does a college professor have to do with it all?  The first issue is absolutely amazing.  One of the best comics of the year and one of the best political comics in a long time.

Story: 10 Art: 8.75 Overall: 9.5

Scarlet Spider #3 – Kaine’s supporting cast is growing and looks like some decent baddies are coming to town.  I don’t want to ruin it, but the story is solid, interaction great and art is amazing.  I’ve never been a big Spider-Man fan, but this series has me hooked.  So fantastic, I kind of want to find out more about this character and his background.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

Suicide Squad #7 – The search for Harley Quinn continues as a bunch of members of Task Force X storm a police station.  There’s some holy shit moments that show this series leaves it all out there and anything can happen.  The series is pretty decent and it’s draw is more the fact that everything is on the table and anyone can die.  I was not expecting quite a few moments in the story and thats a good thing.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Superboy #7 – Superboy continues to show how much of an arrogant brat he is and gets his butt kicked.  The series is ok, but how it ties into Teen Titans is what keeps me coming back.  If I dropped one, I’d feel like I’d need to drop both, especially since there’s a lot of crossover occurring.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Thief of Thieves #2 – I think the second issue might have outdone the first with a look into Redmond/Conrad’s life.  There’s a lot of looking into his past and his ex-wife.  The comic is fantastic focusing on the characters instead of the action.  I can see why this is being turned into a television series, it’s that damn good.

Story: 9.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9.5

Ultimate Comics X-Men #9 – The news of mutant’s origins hits Camp Angel which doesn’t go over well.  All hell is about to break loose in this series as an oppressed people decide to stand up for themselves.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Wolverine & The X-Men #7 – So much action, so much humor, so much fun.  The series is a kinetic blast that’s all over the place.  There’s just so much to take in, this series is now the best “X” series going right now.  Just beyond fantastic.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

X-Men: Legacy #263 – Exodus is defeated, lots of arguing goes on and something is hinted at.  The story is ok, but plays well as a piece of the bigger picture.  We’ll hopefully see what that is soon.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

X-23 #21 – I think this is it for the series.  In this final and quiet issue, Laura deals with her dual sides, the vicious killer and the human being she wants to be.  It’s an interesting ending, understated and quiet. A nice reflection of a character who hasn’t quite found the leading solo series position she deserves and a character that has a lot more depth than any fan is willing to give her credit for.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Getting closer to catching up with reviews.

Batgirl #6 – The best part of the issue is the quiet moments where Barbara reflects on her being Batgirl and her relationship with Batman.  Other than that, the bad guy isn’t as fleshed out as she should be, but hopefully we’ll get some of that in the future.  The best moments really are when the characters are shown their humanity to the point we can relate.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5

Batman and Robin #6 – The twist is predictable, but Bruce’s emotion when it comes to Damian is something that’s nice to see.  The series is interesting and has it’s place in the rather large amount of Batman books on the market.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Battle Scars #4 – We’re all buying this comic for the same reason.  Doesn’t mean it’s all that good.  Sigh.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

Batwoman #6 – The art is solid as usual, but the story is still off.  Something just isn’t clicking for me when it comes to the plot.  It’s really a comic that survives for the art alone and that’s sad with such amazing characters.

Story: 7 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5

The Bionic Man #6 – Lots of fighting, sadly not much more.  But, somehow the comic is still very fun.  This is a great first arc for the series and makes me interested in a character I’ve never been interested in.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5

Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #529 – That’s a wrap for the series that to few people checked out.  The art bounced around a bit towards the end, but the series played out like an entertaining chess game.  It’s a shame a solid series such as this didn’t find an audience.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Captain America #8 – Yet another story where Cap loses his powers.  It’s cool to see the Reborn mini-series matter, the story itself is just not the quality we’ve seen in the past.  Something is off from the previous magic.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Daken: Dark Wolverine #21 – Daken is dying and he’s decided to go out with a bang.  Another series that was pretty solid at times and there’s times it showed brilliance.  Sadly it also never quite caught on with the audience it should of.  Daken was more than a Wolverine knock-off, more people just never found out how much of an individual he was.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Green Hornet Annual #2 – The Green Hornet takes on slave traders.  I really wish more was shown, but there’s some great stuff in this annual just the same quality of the series.  Usually annuals mean crap, this is the exception to that.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Green Lantern #6 – Sinestro is on a mission and Hal is trying to have a normal life.  Sadly Hal trying to live his life doesn’t get a chance to really explore that before he’s pulled back into being Green Lantern.  Not as solid as it was pre-52 relaunch, but still an entertaining series.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Journey Into Mystery #634 – We now know who the baddie is and what he’s up to.  There’s so much that’s solid here and this is a series that’s growing on me more and more.  There’s a lot of text and the writing is so good, it’s well worth the lengthy (compared to most comics) read.  Just beyond entertaining.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

Mega Man #10 - Mega Man takes on a few more robot masters as he gets pulled into the dark side and let the power go to his head again.  On top of that, he’s taking a beating.  You can feel the pressure building in what is a great adaptation of the video game and the perfect comic for the entire family.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

New Mutants #37 – Amara has her date with the devil and a story I went into rolling my eyes at I came out of with a smile on my face.  It was very cute and well done.  There’s some great humor, writing and entertaining logic throughout.  This version of the devil is pretty fun and entertaining.  I’m actually hoping to see more of him in the series.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Resurrection Man #6 – Wow, so good.  Resurrection Man is in Arkham and no one believes him when he says he has to die.  But, he also stands in the way of a break out and the inmates making it back into Gotham.  So much is so good in this issue.  When of the best to come out of the DC relaunch.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Scarlet Spider #2 – I’ve never been a huge fan of Spider-Man, but there’s something about this series that draws me in.  Maybe it’s the conflicted person at the center, the solid art of entertaining writing.  The combo of the three is great and this is a series that has me interested in what it’ll bring in the future.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Secret Avengers #22 – Huh, an interesting bad guy and can’t say I’ve seen them before, but that ending has me wanting to see more of them.  The new squad has a better focus and a more interesting dynamic.  Here’s hoping Remender’s run is as solid as some of his others.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Suicide Squad #6 – Harley Quinn is on the run and the Suicide Squad is after her.  There’s some I like here, but a lot I didn’t.  Quinn’s origin is fleshed out a bit, but not enough yet to give her motivation or much as far as character.  We’ll see how this goes, but it’s no Secret Six.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Superboy #6 – Superboy meets Supergirl and there’s the expected fighting.  Lots of questions are raised too.  The art is off a bit and something about the story isn’t clicking for me.  But I’ll stick with it to see the growth of the character I expect and you just know he’ll become a Teen Titan at some point.

Story: 7 Art: 6.75 Overall: 7

Thief of Thieves #1 – There’s a lot of series this year so far that have had a lot of hype around them and this series is one of the few that’s lived up to it all.  A thief has to juggle his career and personal life in a series that’s just fantastic on all levels.  That ending is fantastic and the build up and character interaction is just solid.  Can’t wait to see where the series goes.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

Venom #13.1 – Some I liked with this issue but a bunch I didn’t.  The usual result of having some event or crossover derailing a solid issue continues.  The idea of Venom being caught up in a battle with Hell just doesn’t fit the character and there’s some much better material to mine.

Story: 6.75 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.75

Wolverine and the X-Men #5 – The art seems to be off a bit with this issue, but it’s really entertaining mixing some great concepts together.  The series has thrown out the serious tone that’s plagued the X-Men for quite some time, replacing them with fantastical concepts and a great amount of humor.  One of the best “X” books on the market.

Story: 8 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8

Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #2 – Wolverine stuck in the virtual reality thing is entertaining up to a point, but just not quite sure the point or need of the mini-series.  It hasn’t added much to the overall dynamics and we’re not seeing anything new or shocking.

Story: 6.75 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.75

X-Men #24 – Jubilee deals with her vampire side, while the X-Men search for her.  What’s up with the art?!

Story: 6.5 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.5

New comic day is tomorrow, what’s everyone getting?

Around the Blogs:

Bleeding Cool – Did You Create Something On 20th November 2009? You Could Be In Breach Of Twilight Trademark – So weird. People should be able to sue for false take down notices.

Bleeding Cool – Viva Piracy!” Says A Stumped Mark Waid At WonderCon – The headline is a bit sensationalist, but there’s great comic book trivia in here.

PunkNews – Epitaph Records to launch comic distribution company – Very nice.  Look forward to see what comes of this.

Bleeding Cool – Ten Months In Jail For Stealing A Comic Book – I’ll keep my jail jokes to myself.

The Mary Sue – The Wonderful Costumes Of WonderCon – Some great costumes. I’m always impressed at the effort people put in.

Around the Tubes Reviews:

CBR – Scarlet Spider #3

CBR – X-Men: Season One

Your First Look At SCARLET SPIDER #4!

Marvel is proud to present your first look at, Scarlet Spider #4, from the red-hot creative team of Christopher Yost & Ryan Stegman. Kaine aka the Scarlet Spider, prepares for an onslaught unlike any he’s ever faced before! The ruthless Assassins Guild has arrived in Houston with one objective- take down the Scarlet Spider at any cost! Will Kaine’s super-human abilities be enough to outwit the band of murderous assassins gunning for his head? Find out in Scarlet Spider #4, hitting comic shops everywhere and the Marvel Comics app, this April!

SCARLET SPIDER #4 (FEB120564)
Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST
Pencils & Cover by RYAN STEGMAN
Rated T+…$2.99
FOC –3/19/2012, ON SALE – 4/11/2012

Catching up on reviews….

Batgirl #5 - There’s a new villain for Batgirl called Gretel and some weirdness with the number 338.  It’s all ok, but not the quality we know Gail Simone can do.  The best parts of the series are the quiet moments when Barbara is reflecting on her life in and out of the cape.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5

Batman and Robin #5 - Damian has thrown his lot in with Ducard as we get the background between Ducard and Wayne.  The story is ok and somewhat predictable.  The art is changed up a bit too.  Overall, the read is good, but not necessarily great.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Battle Scars #3 - The issue is a lot of fighting as Marcus Johnson continues to try to figure out who is trying to kill him.  This six issue limited series just feels like one long origin story.  Hopefully it pays off.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Batwoman #5 - The series relaunch isn’t as quality as the previous with a supernatural bent to it all.  The story is so-so, but the art is amazing.  It’s a buy just for that reason alone.  Hopefully the story quality ramps up a bit as the series progresses.

Story: 7 Art: 8.75 Overall: 7.5

Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #528 -  The Panther is playing a game of chess with Fisk for the fate of Wakanda.  The story is entertaining enough and this issue has a very different artistic look.  I loved the art and would dig seeing a pulp/noir comic that looks like this.  This is the second to last issue and it’ll be interesting to see how it ends.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8

Brilliant #2 - The second issue of this Kick-Ass wannabe is ok and there’s a lot of interesting stuff in it.  But, the series feels tired and not fresh enough since so many other stories have walked this territory.  It’s not bad, it’s just not great.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Captain America #7 - Captain America keeps reverting and madbombs are being set off.  The story has a camp feel about it, but the art I think is just not as quality as it’s been in the past.  It’s a classic feel of a story, with art that also feels like it’s from the past.  Overall, not as strong as the past story arcs.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Daken: Dark Wolverine #19 - Wow is that a bad ending.  The art is sup-par, the story is a let down.  Overall, not the quality that we’ve seen.  It’s a shame because the character has so much potential.

Story: 6.75 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.75

Green Lantern #5 - What is the Chamber of Shadows and who is the first Lantern?  So many questions are raised here after Jordan and Sinestro’s battle against the Sinestro Corps.  The story is intriguing and I want to see what else is in store that hasn’t been done before.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Journey Into Mystery #633 - A transition issue with some fantastic writing, but the story itself is slow.  The individual words are fantastic though.  Very odd.  There’s a slow fantasy build to it all as Loki has nightmares and the Son of Satan is looking for a demon.  This is just the beginning but really it’s for the hardcore Thor fans.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Mega Man #9 - Much like the video games, this latest ark feels rather similar to what’s come before.  That’s not a bad thing as just with the games, it was all quality.  Hopefully the story arc switches it up just enough, but it’s nostalgic fun for the whole family.  Perfect for kids and their parents who grew up playing the video games.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

The New Avengers #20 - The team takes on Osborn and his crew.  Overall there’s some very interesting stuff here and the usual solid and entertaining writing.  I feel like we’ve seen this story before, but it’s still good.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Resurrection Man #5 – We finally get a sense of Resurrection Man’s origin and it’s actually pretty cool.  The story got very interesting with the latest revelations and that ending.  I’m digging the series which is one of a few that are bringing Vertigo quality and horror to the DCU.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Scarlet Spider #1 - Kaine is in Houston and the story is very fun having a bit of an edgier tone from the Spider-Man comics I’ve read in the past.  The issue is the history of Kaine is so convoluted.  There’s clearly torment there that adds depth to the character, but unless you know it all, there’s a bit lost in the entertainment.  There is a bit at the end about Kaine, sort of, but even that just shows how overly complicated the Spider-Man history is.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Secret Avengers #21 - A mission to take on some weird beings and all I could think of was when Warren Ellis would be off of the series.  It’s not bad, but there’s just not a reason for the series.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Suicide Squad #5 - It’s a jailbreak and the squad is kicking ass.  The series is fun and there’s a lot of solid moments in it.  It’s definitely not Secret Six and is taking a bit to find it’s footing, but the series is entertaining.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.5

Superboy #5 - Superboy is having some issue with Nowhere and Gen-13 is looking like it’s coming more and more to the DC universe.  There’s a lot of hints being dropped in the series which is a slow, but decent build up to…. something.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.5

Ultimate Comics X-Men #6 - Wow is all I can say.  So much going on and so solid.  Is Rogue a traitor?  Was there some plan?  And who is getting her to do everything she’s doing?  That answer is a shocker.  I really need to go back and get caught up on everything.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Wolverine #300 - The situation with the Silver Samurai is finally being taken care of.  Also, what the hell is up with Sabretooth coming back?  So much I liked and so much I didn’t.  But Wolverine is getting back to the decent read it used to be.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Wolverine & the X-Men #4 - Logan is dealing with the fact that he’s now as much of a teacher as he is a murderer.  The issue is great with so many fantastic moments, especially for what it hints might be coming.  This is one of the best “X” books out there right now.

Story: 8.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 8.5

X-Factor #230 - The team is debating Guido having no soul and Jamie is in his weird world.  Wolverine makes a social call and offers up the team to join his side of the split.  This is the beginning of some great things I think.

Story: 8.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 8.25

X-Men: Legacy #260.1 - The series shifts to the new school with some humor mixed into the issue.  The art is ok, but there’s potential here.  I’m interested in seeing how this series stands out.  A bit of an improvement.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5