Here’s this weeks reviews of comics.  A few debuts and the continuation of Second Coming.  How do they hold up?  Read the reviews below.

Weekly Comics

American Vampire #2 – I can’t say I’m blown away by the second issue of the series, much like the first issue it just doesn’t live up to the hype and expectations.  That’s not to say it’s bad in any way, there’s just very little that’s new and exciting.  It’s familiar material and that’s both good and bad.  Easy to get into, but that also makes me long for something to make it stand out.  The second issue is much like the first broken up into two parts.  The first part is the “present” and deals with two vampire factions.  The second part presents history in how we got to the first part.  If you’re a huge vampire fan, this might be for you but for me, something just doesn’t click.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25

Deathlok: the Demolisher #6 – It’s the second to last issue to this excellent mini series.  Deathlok has made it home, and must deal with what defines being a man, let alone a person.  At the same time Roxxon launches another assault on two fronts against Deathlok.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

Doomwar #3 – It’s the half way point of the event no one is talking about.  We learn the motives behind Doom’s attack and plan and how he passed the purity test.  This is the sleeper event everyone should be checking out.  Some great stuff.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

Green Lantern #53 – The Blackest Night is over and the Brightest Day has begun.  It’s a whole new status-quo as the various Corps. must deal with the fall out of the event.  It’s very interesting and a lot is unexpected.  Now’s the perfect time to check out the series everyone is talking about.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

Guardians of the Galaxy #25 – The time stream plot is picked up again as the Guardians of the present go up against a returned Thanos.  All of this leads into the next event Thanos Imperitive.  The issue lacks the usual humor, but it’s still a solid read.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Joe the Barbarian #4 – This is Grant Morrison’s take on the fantasy adventures that have come before it including Alice in Wonderland, the Neverending Story and even Time Bandits.  He takes liberally from the stories we know and love into a mashup that still fantastical and makes you feel like a kid again.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Marvelous Land of Oz #5 – Yeah, I’m still behind….

Story: ? Art: ? Overall: ?

Siege: Spider-man – The spotlight in this one shot is Spider-man vs. Venom and brings up what Venom’s been doing under the Spider-man guise.  Ms. Marvel is dragged into the mix with some interesting plots started.  We’ll see if those go anywhere once Siege is over.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

the Spirit #1 – The Spirit is a classic and iconic character that it’s hard to present a new take on him.  The First Wave line of comics is an attempt to take various DC characters and put a noir spin on them.  The problem is, that’s already the Spirit character and story.  So, really it’s just a new series staring the character.  It’s not bad, it’s also not great, it’s a familiar character and property.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25

Turf #1 – I can say I’m very happy the folks at Big Planet comics in DC were able to dig out a copy of this new series for me.  I’ve read a lot about the buzz and praise and it lives up to it.  Taking place during prohibition, there’s a mix of old school gangster movies but add in a fresh take on vampires and aliens and you have a great mix of genres.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

Dark Wolverine #85 – Siege isn’t over and this series has moved on from whatever happens in the mini-event.  Wolverine wants to take out Romulus and needs Daken to help.  The issue seems to come out of left field and rolls over into Wolverine: Origins to conclude the story.  It’s rather jarring and feels like a throwaway.  Definitely an issue I’d skip.

Story: 6.75 Art: 8 Overall: 7

X-Factor #204 – X-Factor’s part of Second Coming is entitled Revelations and is a side story from the main event running through the rest of the “X” books.  Usually a tie-in like this that interrupts the ongoing storyline don’t hold up to the regular series, but under Peter David’s brilliant writing there’s no case of that there.  This could be a self contained arc even without it’s involvement in the event.  Just a jaw dropping issue.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5

X-Men: Legacy #235 – It’s the fourth part of Second Coming and the New Mutants deal with Hodge while Logan and his team keep going for Cable and Hope.  The pace keeps up with the feel of a great action movie.  It’s four issues and and so far, so good.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5