CaptainCanada
Shield of the True North
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2006
- Messages
- 4,608
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 31
Or December 31st, depending on where you were.
Best of the Week:
Captain America #45
"Time's Arrow" concludes, though, in typical Brubaker style, it just flows into the next story. The cast focus has contracted a bit here, resembling #34-36 and the earlier #7-17, with Captain America and Female Partner/Love Interest (both characters having been swapped out, in the latter case); it works well, though I'm impatient to see what Sharon's next move is (Sam as well, though he's never been as involved in this book as the others). The New Cap/Black Widow relationship is one of my favourite current couples in comics. And, as many had predicted, the McGuffin is the body of Jim Hammond, the original Torch, now in the hands of the dastardly Chinese. Luke Ross' art continues to suit the book well; Butch Guice drops in to do a handful of pages at the end, and continues to fit the series like a glove.
Fantastic Four #562
Future Sue is buried, with a bit more hoopla than is often shown to dead AU characters, and Fantastic Force departs for their new home; elsewhere, Millar juggles a couple of new plots. Valeria being a genuis is my favourite development of this run so far; it gives a character who was just "Richards kid #2" and gives her a role to play in stories (even if it necessitates fudging her age a bit, though it's really just the continued downward fudging of Franklin's age that makes this noticeable). Millar ties in with "Dark Reign" by having Doom boast to Reed that he will soon be freed from jail, and threatens the arrival of the "Masters of Doom" that are apparently the big finale of this run; there's been a lot of controversy over the idea of Doom having a 'master', but Millar's generally understood Doom, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. In contrast to the Val plot, Ben's proposal to Debbie doesn't work as well; very little has been done with the character, and, while she's generically nice, it's the sort of development future writers conceivably will feel saddled with.
Green Lantern #36
After what seems like forever, the introduction of the Red Lanterns continues, though the title characters are mostly sidelined here in favour of Ganthet and Sayd's Blue Lantern Corps (I'm kind of disappointed that, apart from the Sinestro Corps and the Star Sapphires, they're just going to slot [Colour] Lantern Corps), the guys based around hope. The previously introduced Saint Walker is the first member; this Christian iconography-heavy character is joined by a Ganesh-lookalike, giving the proceedings a heavy religious overtone. Rather implausibly, Hal is apparently meant to lead the Blue Lanterns; while I can't see him taking the job, it being offered strikes me as a gratuitous expression of love from Johns. That aside, Johns suceeds in making the Blue Lanterns a very compelling bunch, though the Red Lanterns are mostly not, perhaps by design, since their natures make them little more than anger-machines. And it's all wonderfully drawn by Ivan Reis.
The Incredible Hercules #124
My favourite title of the moment (followed by Daredevil), the "Love and War" arc reaches its penultimate issue. Herc and Namora fight Atlas, finally freed from imprisonment; he's presumably a bit rusty after all those centuries, and goes down after getting hit in the nuts and then getting punched by the two of them in the head (Athena sort of flits in and out of the fight; both during the Atlas fight and at the end). Elsewhere, Delphyne turns out not to be dead, which is great, because she's awesome; Cho may have himself a recurring love interest. At the same time, Herc goes so far as to ask Namora to marry him, though finding out that her ultimate fantasy is Namora clearly puts him a bit off (I don't know whether the issue is that he's her cousin or if her ultimate fantasy isn't him, since I can't see a Greek deity being all that discomfitted by the former). This story has had a lot of seeming jabs at "Amazons Attack", but we now seem headed into a new "Age of Apocalypse"/"House of M" for the finale. Henry does most of the art; however, Salva Espin, who's been doing the flashbacks in this and previous stories, kicks in a few final pages; the shift is kind of sudden, but his art is fine. As always, a can't-miss book.
Best of the Week:
Captain America #45
"Time's Arrow" concludes, though, in typical Brubaker style, it just flows into the next story. The cast focus has contracted a bit here, resembling #34-36 and the earlier #7-17, with Captain America and Female Partner/Love Interest (both characters having been swapped out, in the latter case); it works well, though I'm impatient to see what Sharon's next move is (Sam as well, though he's never been as involved in this book as the others). The New Cap/Black Widow relationship is one of my favourite current couples in comics. And, as many had predicted, the McGuffin is the body of Jim Hammond, the original Torch, now in the hands of the dastardly Chinese. Luke Ross' art continues to suit the book well; Butch Guice drops in to do a handful of pages at the end, and continues to fit the series like a glove.
Fantastic Four #562
Future Sue is buried, with a bit more hoopla than is often shown to dead AU characters, and Fantastic Force departs for their new home; elsewhere, Millar juggles a couple of new plots. Valeria being a genuis is my favourite development of this run so far; it gives a character who was just "Richards kid #2" and gives her a role to play in stories (even if it necessitates fudging her age a bit, though it's really just the continued downward fudging of Franklin's age that makes this noticeable). Millar ties in with "Dark Reign" by having Doom boast to Reed that he will soon be freed from jail, and threatens the arrival of the "Masters of Doom" that are apparently the big finale of this run; there's been a lot of controversy over the idea of Doom having a 'master', but Millar's generally understood Doom, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. In contrast to the Val plot, Ben's proposal to Debbie doesn't work as well; very little has been done with the character, and, while she's generically nice, it's the sort of development future writers conceivably will feel saddled with.
Green Lantern #36
After what seems like forever, the introduction of the Red Lanterns continues, though the title characters are mostly sidelined here in favour of Ganthet and Sayd's Blue Lantern Corps (I'm kind of disappointed that, apart from the Sinestro Corps and the Star Sapphires, they're just going to slot [Colour] Lantern Corps), the guys based around hope. The previously introduced Saint Walker is the first member; this Christian iconography-heavy character is joined by a Ganesh-lookalike, giving the proceedings a heavy religious overtone. Rather implausibly, Hal is apparently meant to lead the Blue Lanterns; while I can't see him taking the job, it being offered strikes me as a gratuitous expression of love from Johns. That aside, Johns suceeds in making the Blue Lanterns a very compelling bunch, though the Red Lanterns are mostly not, perhaps by design, since their natures make them little more than anger-machines. And it's all wonderfully drawn by Ivan Reis.
The Incredible Hercules #124
My favourite title of the moment (followed by Daredevil), the "Love and War" arc reaches its penultimate issue. Herc and Namora fight Atlas, finally freed from imprisonment; he's presumably a bit rusty after all those centuries, and goes down after getting hit in the nuts and then getting punched by the two of them in the head (Athena sort of flits in and out of the fight; both during the Atlas fight and at the end). Elsewhere, Delphyne turns out not to be dead, which is great, because she's awesome; Cho may have himself a recurring love interest. At the same time, Herc goes so far as to ask Namora to marry him, though finding out that her ultimate fantasy is Namora clearly puts him a bit off (I don't know whether the issue is that he's her cousin or if her ultimate fantasy isn't him, since I can't see a Greek deity being all that discomfitted by the former). This story has had a lot of seeming jabs at "Amazons Attack", but we now seem headed into a new "Age of Apocalypse"/"House of M" for the finale. Henry does most of the art; however, Salva Espin, who's been doing the flashbacks in this and previous stories, kicks in a few final pages; the shift is kind of sudden, but his art is fine. As always, a can't-miss book.
