It’s a mix of comics this week, from some super hero’s to more cerebral fair.  We’ll have all of our reviews completed by late Sunday night.

Monthly Comics

Barack the Barbarian #4 – Great political satire wrapped up in a mockery of Conan the Barbarian (the President has said Conan is a comic series he collects).  Our heroes have made it up the tower, but what lies ahead of them and how will they deal with Boosh?  Very entertaining and a fun read, my only issue is it’s clearly biased towards one side, and it’d be nice to see the series from the other sides perspective.

Story: 8 Art: 6 Overall: 7

Batman: the Widening Gyre #4 – Kevin Smith continues his tale of Batman examing his relationship with various individuals from Dick Grayson to Silver to Catwoman and the new vigilante in town, Baphomet.  I can’t help but wonder where the series is going and if there’s anything new to say.  The series has been entertaining and a decent read, but I can’t help say we’ve seen this all before, and seen it done better.

Story: 6.75 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.75

Black Panther #12 – The group heads out to take on those that attacked T’Challa who has a plan of his own as a coup hits Wakanda.  This of course is all just a prelude to the upcoming event DoomWar.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Cinderella: From Fabeltown With Love #3 – Cinderella and Aladdin up the flirting and sexual tension as they wait and see where they need to head to next.  I have a feeling this is a series that would read much better as a collected trade paperback instead of individual issues.  It’s entertaining though.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Dark X-Men #3 – Nate Grey heads to Avenger’s Tower and takes on the Dark Avengers as the Dark X-Men decide to sit on the side and watch what’s going on.  The writing and art are really good and the series so far has risen well above my expectations.

Story: 8 Art: 7.75 Overall: 8

Daytripper #2 – The first issue of the series left me wondering where the story would go in it’s second.  The second issue is an introspection of the meaning of life and what defines who we are.  The story is of Brás de Oliva Domingos’ visit to Salvador in time for a celebration.  An amazing second issue in what might be the series of the year.

Story: 10 Art: 9 Overall: 9.5

Die Hard: Year One #4 – In what’s supposed the be a prequel for John McClane this issue is the end of the first story arc.  McClane deals with the pirates in a story that seems a little over the top for a movie but at the same time sort of works in the comic page.  The story is a bit silly and we don’t quite get the smart ass/kick-ass action we’re expecting, but the 4 issue arc is entertaining enough.

Story: 6.75 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.75

DMZ #49 – People must deal with their actions.  Matty must take responsibility for his role in the DMZ and Parco continues to deal with his nuclear ambition as a decision is made that could totally change the DMZ.

Story: 9 Art: 7.75 Overall: 8.75

the Invincible Iron Man #22 – Stark: Disassembled continues as everyone stands around wondering why Tony hasn’t woken up and Tony attempts to remember who he is in his subconscious.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

the Marvels Project #5 – Ed Brubaker continues his walk through Marvel’s history as this issue focuses on the American symbol Captain America.  It’s a new era as masks and symbols continue to grow in importance.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.25

Nation X #2 – Four more stories looking at life concerning Utopia.  The four stories involve Jubliee, Martha Johansson, Northstar and Gambit.  The first and second story are ok, the third story is poor art and story telling, and the fourth is a decent story with so-so art.  The issue isn’t vital, and nothing rises as must-reads.  All in all, I’d skip the issue and save the $4, the cover is the best part.

Story: 6.5 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.5

Psylocke #3 – Psylocke continues her pursuit of Matsu’o as we learn why he wants her to pursue him.  She also fights Jinn a lot.  There’s not much depth to the series, but it’s entertaining.

Story: 6.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.25

Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #3 – The Starjammers continue their search of the cancer world as Gladiator tries to deal with his new role.  The series so far is the highlight of the Realm of Kings storyline.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Secret Six #17 – The series’ Blackest Night tie-in that sees the team being attacked.  I seem to have missed part 1 somewhere.  But as with most of the other Blackest Night tie-ins, it’s not needed and doesn’t add anything.  The team fights a lot, dead people rise, just get us back to “regular” programming soon please?

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

the Unwritten #9 – Tommy attempts to escape the prison as all hell breaks loose and a hit squad draws nearer.  It turns out that Tommy’s story is a children’s tale but a full blown tragedy.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8 Overall: 8.75

X-Men: Forever #15 – Chris Claremont gives us this alternative X-Men universe not constrained by continuity, where he can truly change up the status-quo and anything can happen.  The latest issue picks up on what happened to the alternative Storm.  She’s fled to Wakanda and the story goes in a completely different direction than I expected.  Again, the weakness of the series isn’t in Claremont’s story telling, but the art which seems to come off as second tier.  The twice a month release schedule doesn’t help either.

Story: 7 Art: 5.5 Overall: 6.25