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I'm here a few days later than the rest of you, but here I am.
As always, my reviews are mirrored at my website with slight edits.
ANGEL #18
Writer: Kelley Armstrong
Penciler: Dave Ross
Publisher: IDW
The fight is over. Los Angeles has been freed from Hell's grasp, and the law firm Wolfram & Hart no longer exists. The events of the past few months have been undone, and all is right with the world. It's time for Angel to gather the old crew, reopen Angel Investigations, and get back to doing what he does best.
Problem is, the people of Los Angeles not only remember their stay in Hell, they remember that Angel is the man who saved him. Now Angel can't walk down the street without getting chased by groupies, and a majority of his cases are false alarms called in by fans who want his autograph or to write his biography. To make matters worse, Angel's old team are unavailable. Spike seems to have wandered off or disappeared; Connor wants to find a regular job to support himself; Gunn needs to "find himself" after becoming a vampire and having said vampirism undone; Lorne is opening a new cafe and (to absolutely no surprise to anyone who watched the final episodes of the TV series) wants no part in Angel's battle against evil. In a surprise twist, Angel is reunited with former LAPD officer Kate Lockley, who ends up being his only ally through this issue. There also appears to be a new enemy brewing, and yet another shadowed organization who haven't yet made their intentions clear.
Angel is technically a continuation of Angel: After the Fall, although the changes are clear across more than just the title. There's a new creative team on this book, and the look and feel is totally different from what Lynch and Urru provided. That turns out to be a good thing, as new author Kelley Armstrong takes the unique new status quo, and somehow makes it feel like an episode from the first two seasons of the old TV series. Dave Ross' art is also a definite upgrade from Franco Urru's, who I was not a fan of. Ross does a good job at making the characters resemble the actors who originally played them, except in the case of Kate, who I did not recognize at all.
If you skipped After the Fall or dropped it due to a lack of interest, you may want to give this particular issue a read. It's the start of an all new story, and new readers won't be any more loss than anyone else.
--------------------
DOCTOR WHO: THE WHISPERING GALLERY
Writer: Leah Moore & John Reppion
Penciler: Ben Templesmith
Publisher: IDW
After publishing two previous Doctor Who miniseries (Agent Provocateur and The Forgotten), IDW is publishing one more original Doctor Who story with the single-issue The Whispering Gallery. Once again, the 10th Doctor and companion Martha Jones are traveling time and space in search for adventure. This time, they've landed on the planet Gratt, inside of an art museum known as the Whispering Gallery. The people of the planet Gratt (known as Grattites) live their lives without showing any emotion. The Doctor compares the showing of emotion on Gratt to dancing naked on a busy street; it's obscene. The gallery, it turns out, is not actual art, but portraits of deceased Grattites with their final thoughts and emotions psychically grafted to the canvass. The Doctor and Martha are wandering the gallery when they notice a portrait of an old Grattite companion the Doctor once had named Grayla. Grayla's final thoughts on her canvass are of how there is no place for emotion on Gratt, which the Doctor finds suspicious since Grayla rebelled against her people by exploring her emotions. It turns out Grayla's untempered emotions awakened a dormant creature on Gratt that feeds off of emotions, and the Grattites' ancestors learned to hide their emotions to keep the creature away. The Doctor and Martha's presence on Gratt awakens the creature again, and it's up to them to find a way to use their emotions to stop it.
This wasn't a particularly exciting issue, but it was heartfelt if it was anything. There was a point where Martha started exploring the gallery and listening to the final thoughts of countless Grattites, and it was beautifully done. We're shown Martha's attitude slowly change, as she first wonders how an entire planet could keep their emotions bottled up, realizes the Grattites aren't so different from humans, and even puts paints two together to respect the untold confessions of love between two people.
If you've ever seen Ben Templesmith's art, you're likely familiar with his blend of realism and stylized graininess. Some people love it, but some hate it. I happen to like it. There are times when the Doctor and Martha look exactly like their respective actors, and others where they look like vaguely detailed cartoon characters. Even when Templesmith goes for the realistic approach to their faces, there's sometimes something slightly off about them; it's as if you're looking at Doctor and Martha lookalikes through a grainy filter. Other times, however, he perfectly captures their faces and emotions, which nicely compliments Moore & Reppion's writing.
--------------------
FANTASTIC 4 #564
Writer: Mark Millar
Penciler: Bryan Hitch
Publisher: Marvel
Month of February be damned, Fantastic 4 is taking a break from the hustle and bustle of saving the world to have a special Christmas issue. This year, Reed is taking the whole family to a small town in Scotland to visit his cousin Hamish's family. Hamish is a minister with a wife and son of his own, with his son being about the same age as Franklin. Ben introduces Hamish to his fiance Not-Alicia (or Debbie, whatever). The Richards and Grimms discover that the quiet town of Iarmailt is pretty much crime free, with an old police officer claiming to have never arrested anyone during his whole career. Of course, this little factoid is more creepy than reassuring when accompanied by a flashback to twenty-five years ago, where a pregnant woman named Rhona tried to run away from a group of men who claim that a "Korgo" wants her baby-- possibly as a sacrifice. The story ends with Franklin and Valeria waking up on Christmas morning to see the new gifts their father has made for them: coats that give them the ability to fly. Reed tells them not to fly past the railway line in town, but Valeria feels brave and flies off on her own, disappearing and worrying Franklin.
The ending scene with Franklin searching for his younger sister made an interesting statement about the characters. Although Val is superhumanly smart and dwarfs her brother's intelligence, Franklin is still noticeably more mature. I suppose it helps that he has more experience with life-threatening situations that arise when he doesn't follow his parents' directions. One thing I found very surprising about this issue was the townspeople's reaction to Ben Grimm. Soon after the Fantastic 4 (& family) arrive in Iarmailt, they encounter an old man who claims to have never heard of them, but isn't the least bit surprised by Ben's appearance. Then again, Millar might have been trying to portray the townspeople as being isolated enough to not immediately recognize the Fantastic 4, but not so far out of the loop that they're not used to strange looking superhumans.
This was a toned down issue if there ever was one, with all of the danger being implied and seeming somewhat minor after Millar & Hitch hyped up the Masters of Doom for the past few issues. If this issue had actually come out in December (a timing issue likely caused by previous art delays), it would feel a little less like a waste of time, and more like a pleasant holiday distraction. It's also obvious in a few places that Hitch rushed his artwork, especially in the last few pages. Overall, this issue wasn't bad, but it felt like a big disappointment, most likely due to its bad timing.
--------------------
THE INCREDIBLE HERCULES #126
Writers: Fred Van Lente & Greg Pak
Pencilers: Rodney Buchemi & Takeshi Miyazawa
Publisher: Marvel
It's a special double-sized issue of Incredible Herc this month, featuring two separate stories. The first story is the origin of Hercules, which basically retells the classic ancient Greek tale with snappy dialogue and an instance or two of Herc's patented "things only go his way by coincidence" style of fighting. Hercules' origin is a good thing to get out of the way, especially for readers who aren't familiar with the character. In fact, this issue makes for an excellent prelude for the upcoming issues that will likely deal with Hercules' family. However, for anyone who already has even basic knowledge of Greek mythology and Hercules' origin, this story felt overall worthless, and fun in only a few places.
The second story is one that centers completely around Herc's current sidekick, Amadeus Cho. This part of the issue is drawn by Miyazawa, who uses more of a manga art style that takes looks like scene from an anime when accompanied by Christina Strain's colors. In this story, Amadeus finally begins looking for his long lost coyote puppy, Kirby. Kirby was replaced with a Skrull impostor some time ago, but Amadeus tagged the real Kirby, and has located him in a dessert not too far from Bruce Banner's current secret hideaway. Amadeus seeks Banner's help, as the dessert area Kirby's inhabiting is within guarded military territory. This story displays Amadeus' biggest flaw: He tries to do the right thing, but doesn't care if he has to use other people or mess with the US military to achieve his goals. In fact, he ends up selling out Bruce Banner to the military, forcing him to turn into the Hulk to escape. In the end, Amadeus discovers his rescue attempt was pointless, as Kirby has grown and found a mate in the wild.
--------------------
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #24
Writers: Geoff Johns & Jerry Ordway
Penciler: Jerry Ordway
Publisher: DC
In a continuation from last month's issue, Billy Batson has just lost his powers and revealed his secret identity to the Justice Society. Black Adam and Isis have taken over the Rock of Eternity. The Justice Society travel with Billy back to the Rock of Eternity to confront Black Adam. They have Atom Smasher in tow, in an attempt to settle this matter peacefully. When they arrive, however, Black Adam warns them to leave shortly before they're attacked by Isis. When Billy and Stargirl get lost in the maze within the Rock of Eternity, they're approached by Billy's sister Mary Marvel, who says that she has joined Black Adam's family, and intend to make Billy like her. Meanwhile, the Flash has gotten lost in the mists outside of the cave, and run into the lost spirit of Billy Batson's father, who needs Flash's help.
Certain things about this issue were more annoying to read than troubling. Mary Marvel, for example, is still evil in this issue. However, at the end of Final Crisis, she was freed from the dark powers that consumed her, and vowed to never use them again. Her appearance as a villain (again) in this issue prompts me to think the writers plotted this story prior to the conclusion of Mary's story in Final Crisis, and then decided to write around that to bring her back as a villain rather than let a bothersome subplot that few people liked in Countdown just die. It was an unnatural, inorganic character progression during Countdown, and it's a forced continuation justified by a single line of dialogue in JSA.
This issue also heavily implied that Isis hasn't simply become cynical after her death, but that she's crossed the line to pure villainy. Her words actually bring a look of shock to Black Adam's face. This upsets me because I was such a huge fan of Isis during 52. Either Johns and Ordway are setting up Isis to be the next big thing in JSA supervillains, or she's simply a pawn in some other villain's plan, which would certainly explain her radically different behavior. However, my issues with Isis' behavior are minor, and could likely be easily overlooked by most readers.
What really brought down my opinion of this issue, other than Mary Marvel's return to senseless villainy, is Ordway's artwork. Ordway has been in the business for a couple of decades, and his art isn't all that bad. However, there's something about the way he draws faces that takes me right out of a story, and right into wondering why Stargirl is saying something tender like "I missed you too" with a look on her face that says "Oh my god, what's that on his face? Just pretend to smile and try not to scream."
--------------------
THE MIGHTY AVENGERS #22
Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Khoi Pham
Publisher: Marvel
If last month's issue was too confusing, this issue shed just enough light to keep things interesting, while holding enough back to make me want more. The characters themselves were equally confused, as evidenced by their reactions to seeing one another at the beginning of this issue. Their immediate responses were violent. Hercules, Amadeus, and Hulk are technically on the lamb, and USAgent works for the government. Scarlet Witch killed Stature's father. Hulk, who seems to have inexplicably lost the intelligence he showed during Planet Hulk, is lashing out at everyone. The Avengers' disorganization is, of course, a disadvantage. Their foe, Mordred the mad mystic, has taken possession of the magical Book of the Darkhold, and is using it to attain great power and unleash a chaotic god named Chthon upon the Earth. The "chaos wave" that's been ravaging the Earth has actually been the body of Quicksilver, possessed by Chthon and leaving magically-induced disaster in his wake as he runs around the planet.
I'm pretty glad this issue was made, as it was an absolute necessity. I have a feeling I wouldn't be enjoying this book nearly as much if I was still as in the dark now as I was with issue #21. The whole beginning of this story happened out of nowhere, and there were just enough explanations mixed with action to prevent me from getting confused. Now, some would say that a story need not explain itself until it's conclusion, but I say not every story need be a mystery. Yes, it was always fun when Agatha Christie gave us a final chapter full of exposition at the end of every Poirot novel, but the Avengers isn't a whodunit book. Now I'll stop before this turns into a review of another comic I'm thinking of.
To absolutely no surprise, Pham turned in an issue full of spectacular artwork. Though Scarlet Witch is clearly involved in this story, her undefined status is only emphasized by her ability to show up in panels with other characters while appearing to be some sort of apparition or detached being. Of course, given that she's just astral projecting, I suppose she really is detached in more than one way.
--------------------
SHE-HULK #38
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Steve Scott
Publisher: Marvel
She-Hulk has been cancelled. Again.
To wrap things up, Peter David has put together a two-issue storyarc that started with issue #37. Jazinda's true Skrull form has been exposed, and now she's been captured by the US military to run experiments on. She-Hulk at first pretends not to know that Jazinda is a Skrull, insisting that she only knew she was a shape-shifter. The man in charge of the experiments being performed on Jazinda is a real bastard who refers to Jaz as an "it" rather than "she." When he discovers that she has the ability to revive herself from death, he creates a whole new set of experiments involving a stopwatch and a new bullet in Jazinda's head every time she gets up. To rescue Jazinda, She-Hulk calls on the Lady Liberators, and is accompanied by her former boss, Mallory Book attorney at law. Despite Mallory giving She-Hulk the opportunity to revive her legal career, She-Hulk decides to throw it all away by fighting the military to get her best friend back. In the end, Jazinda is set free and on the lamb with She-Hulk, but Mallory insists that everything will be fine once she uses her connections to get them all off.
It's upsetting to see this title go out for many reasons, but the main reason was because of all the potential shown in this final issue. The ending was left open enough for the next revival of this comic to continue the bounty hunter theme, move back to the old lawyer theme, parody The Defiant Ones, or start a Lady Liberators book. In fact, I'd love to see a Lady Liberators book. Peter David shines when he has a diverse set of characters to play around with, and the interactions between She-Hulk, Jazinda, Thundra, Valkyrie, and Invisible Woman are almost always priceless. The upcoming Savage She-Hulk doesn't seem all that interesting, so I'll be counting the days until Marvel relaunches a proper She-Hulk comic. Again.
--------------------
WONDER WOMAN #29
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Aaron Lopresti
Publisher: DC
The current storyline, "Rise of the Olympian," has been a mixed bag. It's a story full of good ideas and so-so execution. I certainly don't mind Diana and Tom's relationship, the destruction of the Department of Metahuman Affairs headquarters, or the fact that Sarge Steel has really been Dr. Psycho this whole time. There are some things I've absolutely loved, like the sight of Diana, Donna, and Cassie going into battle in full armor, and the fact that Wonder Woman's lasso is some sort of psychic weapon that's capable of a lot more than forcing people to tell the truth. However, I'm not a fan of new villain Genocide at all. She's a lot like a poor man's Doomsday, who himself was a crappy excuse for a villain.
I understand that Donna's moment of flipping out and vowing to kill Diana was caused by a psychic explosion from the magic lasso, but what I really really don't want to read from DC right now is yet another story where an iconic superhero's remarkably similar and overall likeable sister or sidekick turns evil for completely stupid reasons. It was stupid when Mary Marvel did it. It was stupid when Batgirl did it. It's stupid now that it's happening to Donna Troy. Stop it, DC! Stop it!
On the plus side, I did enjoy the fight between Zeus and Kane Milohai. When the Greek gods abandoned her (with no signs of ever returning), Diana pledged her loyalty to Polynesian god Kane Milohai. I knew there'd eventually be a fallout, but I had no idea it'd result in lightning to the face, lava falling from the sky, and a god's heart getting ripped out of his chest like in an old kung-fu movie.
As always, my reviews are mirrored at my website with slight edits.
ANGEL #18
Writer: Kelley Armstrong
Penciler: Dave Ross
Publisher: IDW
The fight is over. Los Angeles has been freed from Hell's grasp, and the law firm Wolfram & Hart no longer exists. The events of the past few months have been undone, and all is right with the world. It's time for Angel to gather the old crew, reopen Angel Investigations, and get back to doing what he does best.
Problem is, the people of Los Angeles not only remember their stay in Hell, they remember that Angel is the man who saved him. Now Angel can't walk down the street without getting chased by groupies, and a majority of his cases are false alarms called in by fans who want his autograph or to write his biography. To make matters worse, Angel's old team are unavailable. Spike seems to have wandered off or disappeared; Connor wants to find a regular job to support himself; Gunn needs to "find himself" after becoming a vampire and having said vampirism undone; Lorne is opening a new cafe and (to absolutely no surprise to anyone who watched the final episodes of the TV series) wants no part in Angel's battle against evil. In a surprise twist, Angel is reunited with former LAPD officer Kate Lockley, who ends up being his only ally through this issue. There also appears to be a new enemy brewing, and yet another shadowed organization who haven't yet made their intentions clear.
Angel is technically a continuation of Angel: After the Fall, although the changes are clear across more than just the title. There's a new creative team on this book, and the look and feel is totally different from what Lynch and Urru provided. That turns out to be a good thing, as new author Kelley Armstrong takes the unique new status quo, and somehow makes it feel like an episode from the first two seasons of the old TV series. Dave Ross' art is also a definite upgrade from Franco Urru's, who I was not a fan of. Ross does a good job at making the characters resemble the actors who originally played them, except in the case of Kate, who I did not recognize at all.
If you skipped After the Fall or dropped it due to a lack of interest, you may want to give this particular issue a read. It's the start of an all new story, and new readers won't be any more loss than anyone else.
--------------------
DOCTOR WHO: THE WHISPERING GALLERY
Writer: Leah Moore & John Reppion
Penciler: Ben Templesmith
Publisher: IDW
After publishing two previous Doctor Who miniseries (Agent Provocateur and The Forgotten), IDW is publishing one more original Doctor Who story with the single-issue The Whispering Gallery. Once again, the 10th Doctor and companion Martha Jones are traveling time and space in search for adventure. This time, they've landed on the planet Gratt, inside of an art museum known as the Whispering Gallery. The people of the planet Gratt (known as Grattites) live their lives without showing any emotion. The Doctor compares the showing of emotion on Gratt to dancing naked on a busy street; it's obscene. The gallery, it turns out, is not actual art, but portraits of deceased Grattites with their final thoughts and emotions psychically grafted to the canvass. The Doctor and Martha are wandering the gallery when they notice a portrait of an old Grattite companion the Doctor once had named Grayla. Grayla's final thoughts on her canvass are of how there is no place for emotion on Gratt, which the Doctor finds suspicious since Grayla rebelled against her people by exploring her emotions. It turns out Grayla's untempered emotions awakened a dormant creature on Gratt that feeds off of emotions, and the Grattites' ancestors learned to hide their emotions to keep the creature away. The Doctor and Martha's presence on Gratt awakens the creature again, and it's up to them to find a way to use their emotions to stop it.
This wasn't a particularly exciting issue, but it was heartfelt if it was anything. There was a point where Martha started exploring the gallery and listening to the final thoughts of countless Grattites, and it was beautifully done. We're shown Martha's attitude slowly change, as she first wonders how an entire planet could keep their emotions bottled up, realizes the Grattites aren't so different from humans, and even puts paints two together to respect the untold confessions of love between two people.
If you've ever seen Ben Templesmith's art, you're likely familiar with his blend of realism and stylized graininess. Some people love it, but some hate it. I happen to like it. There are times when the Doctor and Martha look exactly like their respective actors, and others where they look like vaguely detailed cartoon characters. Even when Templesmith goes for the realistic approach to their faces, there's sometimes something slightly off about them; it's as if you're looking at Doctor and Martha lookalikes through a grainy filter. Other times, however, he perfectly captures their faces and emotions, which nicely compliments Moore & Reppion's writing.
--------------------
FANTASTIC 4 #564
Writer: Mark Millar
Penciler: Bryan Hitch
Publisher: Marvel
Month of February be damned, Fantastic 4 is taking a break from the hustle and bustle of saving the world to have a special Christmas issue. This year, Reed is taking the whole family to a small town in Scotland to visit his cousin Hamish's family. Hamish is a minister with a wife and son of his own, with his son being about the same age as Franklin. Ben introduces Hamish to his fiance Not-Alicia (or Debbie, whatever). The Richards and Grimms discover that the quiet town of Iarmailt is pretty much crime free, with an old police officer claiming to have never arrested anyone during his whole career. Of course, this little factoid is more creepy than reassuring when accompanied by a flashback to twenty-five years ago, where a pregnant woman named Rhona tried to run away from a group of men who claim that a "Korgo" wants her baby-- possibly as a sacrifice. The story ends with Franklin and Valeria waking up on Christmas morning to see the new gifts their father has made for them: coats that give them the ability to fly. Reed tells them not to fly past the railway line in town, but Valeria feels brave and flies off on her own, disappearing and worrying Franklin.
The ending scene with Franklin searching for his younger sister made an interesting statement about the characters. Although Val is superhumanly smart and dwarfs her brother's intelligence, Franklin is still noticeably more mature. I suppose it helps that he has more experience with life-threatening situations that arise when he doesn't follow his parents' directions. One thing I found very surprising about this issue was the townspeople's reaction to Ben Grimm. Soon after the Fantastic 4 (& family) arrive in Iarmailt, they encounter an old man who claims to have never heard of them, but isn't the least bit surprised by Ben's appearance. Then again, Millar might have been trying to portray the townspeople as being isolated enough to not immediately recognize the Fantastic 4, but not so far out of the loop that they're not used to strange looking superhumans.
This was a toned down issue if there ever was one, with all of the danger being implied and seeming somewhat minor after Millar & Hitch hyped up the Masters of Doom for the past few issues. If this issue had actually come out in December (a timing issue likely caused by previous art delays), it would feel a little less like a waste of time, and more like a pleasant holiday distraction. It's also obvious in a few places that Hitch rushed his artwork, especially in the last few pages. Overall, this issue wasn't bad, but it felt like a big disappointment, most likely due to its bad timing.
--------------------
THE INCREDIBLE HERCULES #126
Writers: Fred Van Lente & Greg Pak
Pencilers: Rodney Buchemi & Takeshi Miyazawa
Publisher: Marvel
It's a special double-sized issue of Incredible Herc this month, featuring two separate stories. The first story is the origin of Hercules, which basically retells the classic ancient Greek tale with snappy dialogue and an instance or two of Herc's patented "things only go his way by coincidence" style of fighting. Hercules' origin is a good thing to get out of the way, especially for readers who aren't familiar with the character. In fact, this issue makes for an excellent prelude for the upcoming issues that will likely deal with Hercules' family. However, for anyone who already has even basic knowledge of Greek mythology and Hercules' origin, this story felt overall worthless, and fun in only a few places.
The second story is one that centers completely around Herc's current sidekick, Amadeus Cho. This part of the issue is drawn by Miyazawa, who uses more of a manga art style that takes looks like scene from an anime when accompanied by Christina Strain's colors. In this story, Amadeus finally begins looking for his long lost coyote puppy, Kirby. Kirby was replaced with a Skrull impostor some time ago, but Amadeus tagged the real Kirby, and has located him in a dessert not too far from Bruce Banner's current secret hideaway. Amadeus seeks Banner's help, as the dessert area Kirby's inhabiting is within guarded military territory. This story displays Amadeus' biggest flaw: He tries to do the right thing, but doesn't care if he has to use other people or mess with the US military to achieve his goals. In fact, he ends up selling out Bruce Banner to the military, forcing him to turn into the Hulk to escape. In the end, Amadeus discovers his rescue attempt was pointless, as Kirby has grown and found a mate in the wild.
--------------------
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #24
Writers: Geoff Johns & Jerry Ordway
Penciler: Jerry Ordway
Publisher: DC
In a continuation from last month's issue, Billy Batson has just lost his powers and revealed his secret identity to the Justice Society. Black Adam and Isis have taken over the Rock of Eternity. The Justice Society travel with Billy back to the Rock of Eternity to confront Black Adam. They have Atom Smasher in tow, in an attempt to settle this matter peacefully. When they arrive, however, Black Adam warns them to leave shortly before they're attacked by Isis. When Billy and Stargirl get lost in the maze within the Rock of Eternity, they're approached by Billy's sister Mary Marvel, who says that she has joined Black Adam's family, and intend to make Billy like her. Meanwhile, the Flash has gotten lost in the mists outside of the cave, and run into the lost spirit of Billy Batson's father, who needs Flash's help.
Certain things about this issue were more annoying to read than troubling. Mary Marvel, for example, is still evil in this issue. However, at the end of Final Crisis, she was freed from the dark powers that consumed her, and vowed to never use them again. Her appearance as a villain (again) in this issue prompts me to think the writers plotted this story prior to the conclusion of Mary's story in Final Crisis, and then decided to write around that to bring her back as a villain rather than let a bothersome subplot that few people liked in Countdown just die. It was an unnatural, inorganic character progression during Countdown, and it's a forced continuation justified by a single line of dialogue in JSA.
This issue also heavily implied that Isis hasn't simply become cynical after her death, but that she's crossed the line to pure villainy. Her words actually bring a look of shock to Black Adam's face. This upsets me because I was such a huge fan of Isis during 52. Either Johns and Ordway are setting up Isis to be the next big thing in JSA supervillains, or she's simply a pawn in some other villain's plan, which would certainly explain her radically different behavior. However, my issues with Isis' behavior are minor, and could likely be easily overlooked by most readers.
What really brought down my opinion of this issue, other than Mary Marvel's return to senseless villainy, is Ordway's artwork. Ordway has been in the business for a couple of decades, and his art isn't all that bad. However, there's something about the way he draws faces that takes me right out of a story, and right into wondering why Stargirl is saying something tender like "I missed you too" with a look on her face that says "Oh my god, what's that on his face? Just pretend to smile and try not to scream."
--------------------
THE MIGHTY AVENGERS #22
Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Khoi Pham
Publisher: Marvel
If last month's issue was too confusing, this issue shed just enough light to keep things interesting, while holding enough back to make me want more. The characters themselves were equally confused, as evidenced by their reactions to seeing one another at the beginning of this issue. Their immediate responses were violent. Hercules, Amadeus, and Hulk are technically on the lamb, and USAgent works for the government. Scarlet Witch killed Stature's father. Hulk, who seems to have inexplicably lost the intelligence he showed during Planet Hulk, is lashing out at everyone. The Avengers' disorganization is, of course, a disadvantage. Their foe, Mordred the mad mystic, has taken possession of the magical Book of the Darkhold, and is using it to attain great power and unleash a chaotic god named Chthon upon the Earth. The "chaos wave" that's been ravaging the Earth has actually been the body of Quicksilver, possessed by Chthon and leaving magically-induced disaster in his wake as he runs around the planet.
I'm pretty glad this issue was made, as it was an absolute necessity. I have a feeling I wouldn't be enjoying this book nearly as much if I was still as in the dark now as I was with issue #21. The whole beginning of this story happened out of nowhere, and there were just enough explanations mixed with action to prevent me from getting confused. Now, some would say that a story need not explain itself until it's conclusion, but I say not every story need be a mystery. Yes, it was always fun when Agatha Christie gave us a final chapter full of exposition at the end of every Poirot novel, but the Avengers isn't a whodunit book. Now I'll stop before this turns into a review of another comic I'm thinking of.
To absolutely no surprise, Pham turned in an issue full of spectacular artwork. Though Scarlet Witch is clearly involved in this story, her undefined status is only emphasized by her ability to show up in panels with other characters while appearing to be some sort of apparition or detached being. Of course, given that she's just astral projecting, I suppose she really is detached in more than one way.
--------------------
SHE-HULK #38
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Steve Scott
Publisher: Marvel
She-Hulk has been cancelled. Again.
To wrap things up, Peter David has put together a two-issue storyarc that started with issue #37. Jazinda's true Skrull form has been exposed, and now she's been captured by the US military to run experiments on. She-Hulk at first pretends not to know that Jazinda is a Skrull, insisting that she only knew she was a shape-shifter. The man in charge of the experiments being performed on Jazinda is a real bastard who refers to Jaz as an "it" rather than "she." When he discovers that she has the ability to revive herself from death, he creates a whole new set of experiments involving a stopwatch and a new bullet in Jazinda's head every time she gets up. To rescue Jazinda, She-Hulk calls on the Lady Liberators, and is accompanied by her former boss, Mallory Book attorney at law. Despite Mallory giving She-Hulk the opportunity to revive her legal career, She-Hulk decides to throw it all away by fighting the military to get her best friend back. In the end, Jazinda is set free and on the lamb with She-Hulk, but Mallory insists that everything will be fine once she uses her connections to get them all off.
It's upsetting to see this title go out for many reasons, but the main reason was because of all the potential shown in this final issue. The ending was left open enough for the next revival of this comic to continue the bounty hunter theme, move back to the old lawyer theme, parody The Defiant Ones, or start a Lady Liberators book. In fact, I'd love to see a Lady Liberators book. Peter David shines when he has a diverse set of characters to play around with, and the interactions between She-Hulk, Jazinda, Thundra, Valkyrie, and Invisible Woman are almost always priceless. The upcoming Savage She-Hulk doesn't seem all that interesting, so I'll be counting the days until Marvel relaunches a proper She-Hulk comic. Again.
--------------------
WONDER WOMAN #29
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Aaron Lopresti
Publisher: DC
The current storyline, "Rise of the Olympian," has been a mixed bag. It's a story full of good ideas and so-so execution. I certainly don't mind Diana and Tom's relationship, the destruction of the Department of Metahuman Affairs headquarters, or the fact that Sarge Steel has really been Dr. Psycho this whole time. There are some things I've absolutely loved, like the sight of Diana, Donna, and Cassie going into battle in full armor, and the fact that Wonder Woman's lasso is some sort of psychic weapon that's capable of a lot more than forcing people to tell the truth. However, I'm not a fan of new villain Genocide at all. She's a lot like a poor man's Doomsday, who himself was a crappy excuse for a villain.
I understand that Donna's moment of flipping out and vowing to kill Diana was caused by a psychic explosion from the magic lasso, but what I really really don't want to read from DC right now is yet another story where an iconic superhero's remarkably similar and overall likeable sister or sidekick turns evil for completely stupid reasons. It was stupid when Mary Marvel did it. It was stupid when Batgirl did it. It's stupid now that it's happening to Donna Troy. Stop it, DC! Stop it!
On the plus side, I did enjoy the fight between Zeus and Kane Milohai. When the Greek gods abandoned her (with no signs of ever returning), Diana pledged her loyalty to Polynesian god Kane Milohai. I knew there'd eventually be a fallout, but I had no idea it'd result in lightning to the face, lava falling from the sky, and a god's heart getting ripped out of his chest like in an old kung-fu movie.
