It was a long weekend and week and I took my time with last week’s reviews.  It was a pretty thick stack of books though.  Here’s what was worth the purchase and what should have been left on the shelf.  Expect another edition this Sunday for this week’s releases.

American Vampire #15 – The battle against the new breed of vampires rages on in this excellent war meets vampire story arc.  What’s the secret of the island and why are these vampires so different?  We’re slowly learning the secrets in this excellently paced comic story.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #6 – The story didn’t always make sense, but at the same time it was a hell of a lot of fun.  Spider-Man and Wolverine’s adventure through time is over in a rather convoluted sort of way.  It was definitely fun and an entertaining read.  Here’s hoping we get a second volume of this.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8

Booster Gold #44 – There was a lot of buzz about this comic book that came out last week.  It was definitely entertaining and I can understand why folks enjoyed it, but generally the humor wasn’t for me.  But I see this being the sleeper of the the entire Flashpoint storyline.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Captain America #618 – The mystery of why Bucky has been sent to Russia deepens as it turns out to be a bigger conspiracy than expected.  There’s rumors swirling as to what will happen to Bucky and it’s clear Steve Rogers is returning to the red, white and blue, and this leads up to it all.  A new cap series launches soon with this one switching it’s focus.  An interesting ride so far.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Daken: Dark Wolverine #9.1 – Daken has been a character who lives in the shadow of his father Wolverine.  That’s true in the story and in the eyes of comic book fans.  This point one comic gives him a fresh start wrapping up the previous arc and charting him on his unique path.  The character has so much potential and hopefully we’re finally seeing it.  No matter what though, this is a fantastic comic.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Deadpool #37 – Deadpool is on a mission to get killed and the action is over the top and missing the usual that makes Deadpool so much fun.  This series has dipped quite a bit, falling more into the slapstick end of things.  Give me the depiction in X-Force any day, it’s far superior.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

FF #4 – While the council still decides what to do with the Reeds, Susan, Spider-Man and Alex head to the other Atlantis.  Hickman has had a vision that’s still ongoing and I have no idea what the end game is going to be.  The series is solid, and deserves the renewed attention it’s gotten.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

G.I. Joe: Cobra #1 – Another G.I. Joe comic debuts and like the previous two, it ties into the search for a new Cobra Commander, this time from Cobra’s perspective.  Like the previous two, the first issue is beyond solid and makes me wish I had been following all the lead up.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Green Lantern #66 – It’s part seven of the War of the Green Lanterns and Jordan and Gardner are having some issues as the corrupted guardians run amok.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.75

Green Lantern Corps. #60 – I’ve been waiting for that holy shit moment and it’s the eighth part of the War of the Green Lanterns that delivers it.  Rayner and Stewart are on a mission to stop Mogo and what’s done to achieve that is shocking.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #10 – The battle and War of the Green Lanterns continues.  With the impending shift at DC, it’ll be interesting to see how much of this remains vital, what’s used and what’s disregarded.

Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

Hellraiser #2 – Unless you’re familiar with the Hellraiser series, it’s hard to care about or figure out what’s going on.  I’m not familiar with the characters and the story is ok, but not enough to make me want to continue as a new reader.  Please, please, please explain more in upcoming issues.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.75

Incorruptible #18 – Max continues his road to redemption and attempts to recruit a politician to help, but as you’d expect things aren’t exactly as they seem.  Meanwhile others conspire to gain control of the damaged city as it attempts to rebuild.  The ending is a bit predictable, but it still doesn’t hurt the issue overall.  Mark Waid has done amazing things with this series and it’s sister comic Incorruptible.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Iron Man 2.0 #5 – A Fear Itself tie-in that is all set up and little substance.  Sadly, I have a feeling this side step and distraction of an event is going to kill the great momentum the series had.  The story is blah and art so-so.

Story: 6.5 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.5

Kirby: Genesis #0 – I liked the beginning of the issue and overall this is a tribute to Jack Kirby’s genius.  It’s familiar and riffs off of all the work he’s known for and some that didn’t see the light of day.  It’s impressive his style can be copied and the issue feels like Kirby did it himself.  Overall though, the issue is for those who appreciate the legend.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

The Mighty Thor #2 – A certain cosmic being is headed towards Asgard and Thor versus him should be pretty damn interesting.  The issue is all lead up and setting up what’s to come, but it’s pretty decent.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Namor: The First Mutant #10 – The series still is struggling to find it’s foot hold.  Instead of just focusing on Namor’s rule and separatists/terrorists, we get distractions of time travel and other crap.  Keep it simple and the series would be excellent.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.75

Onslaught Unleashed #4 – An interesting ending and I’m not quite sure what to think.  Mostly because I’m not sure exactly what it means.  The art continues it’s interesting style as the battle against Onslaught concludes.  I can’t imagine this is the end, and hopefully someone picks up the story from here.

Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

Planet of the Apes #2 – Much like Hellraiser the series is written for those familiar with the material, but broken down, the story is really a search for an assassin, not much more.  Sadly, overall the issue isn’t as inviting to new readers not familiar with the material as you’d hope it’d be.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Power Man and Iron Fist #5 – Wait, what!?  What started as a great C-list exploitation comic turned into a nonsensical story.  Seriously, what the hell did I read?

Story: 5.5 Art: 7 Overall: 5.75

Secret Avengers #13 – A Fear Itself tie-in that tries to tell a decent story focused on a member of Congress, but overall the story makes no sense and falls so short.  There’s some interesting moments, but as a whole, wtf?!  It was kind of cool to see a comic artist’s take on where I live though.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6

Secret Warriors #27 – Hickman brings in back to the politics and shows us again how much of a badass Nick Fury is.  Such a good comic, it’s sad to see there’s only one issue left.  Here’s hoping we’ll get more of this in the future.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

Uncanny X-Men #537 – The Breakworld story continues and I roll my eyes.  I’m just not into this story at all.  It’s not bad, but as I haven’t read the lead up, I just don’t care.

Story: 7 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.25

Venom #3 – The fight continues as Venom’s adventure in the Savage Land continues.  The series is a pleasant surprise, but there’s somethings in this issue I wish was kept for a later date.  Still, it’s very entertaining.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

The Walking Dead #85 – So where can writer Robert Kirkman take this series that he hasn’t so far?  We get a look at the long term and begin to ponder what a new civilization would be like.  As usual, the comic is more about the emotional impact and human interactions than the zombies.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

Wolverine #9 – The silliness of this issue just gets out of hand.  Guns that can shoot through the planet?  A gun fight for what seems to be no reason whatsoever?  Wow has this series just crapped out.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75

X-Men: Legacy #249 – It’s impressive how much a series can bounce back with one issue.  This is the prelude to the new team the series will focus on and it looks like it’s going to be really interesting.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5