Every Wednesday to geeks like me across the country is the best day of the week. Being able to go through a long day of school or work and then coming home to read adventures of your favorite heroes and villains is a reward in and of itself. It only makes sense that every Thursday, then, we have a weekly article talking about what we’ve read that week. While I can’t speak for the other writers of this site, I, your humble host, will most definitely be writing every Thursday my impressions of the books I’ve been reading.
For the record, I usually spend about $30-$60 on comics a week, so forgive me if I am a little slow. I promise I will always deliver, though. I’ll just have to do it in small bits and pieces and write as I read. So without further ado,
Fantastic 4 #566 (MATT RECOMMENDED BOOK OF THE WEEK)
Behold! The Master of Doom! Bryan Hitch and Mark Millar are at it again in the next arc of their epic run on Fantastic 4. A lot of people pan Millar and Hitch because of the way they choose to do things, but I personally think they are one of the best duos in Marvel right now. I really enjoyed Ultimates and Ultimates 2, and everything else in their F4 run has been great. Now we get to an arc I’ve been really looking forward to ever since Reed Richards and Dr Doom had their coy chat through prison plexiglass (that and, of course, 1985). This issue did not let me down at all. The opening was shocking, the timing was well paced. there was so much Doom in it I could cry with joy, and the art… oh, the art. Hitch really excels and using both pages to create truly beautiful work. However, as I got to the end of the issue, my jaw dropped, I threw the book down, started shouting “NO!” and proceeded to produce an actual physical brick from my rear end, which just led to more shock. See, I love Millar and Hitch, but I loathe this ending more than anything else. While I refuse to spoil anything, all I can say is that Millar better have a damn good explanation for what he just did, and Fantastic 4 #567 can not come soon enough, if only because it will decide if I have to drive to Marvel and force Joe Quesada to fire Mark Millar at gun point before I proceed to then go and black list him from every writing institution on the globe. Some might think that I’m overreacting, and as I thought about I thought that there could easily be a plausible explanation for what happened. The point is, however, that even though this is definitely my favorite book this week and I’m sure there will be a nice explanation with a ribbon and a bow tied around it, Mark Millar still tried something no one is allowed to try. No. One. I don’t care how much I love his work – this was just not allowed. So. Your move, Millar. Hope you’ve chosen wisely.
The Battle For The Cowl #3
And just like that, the Battle for the Cowl was over. Without giving away any spoilers, I would like to say one thing: to those that believe that DC tells better stories than other comic book companies, I’d like to hand you all a copy of all of the Battle For The Cowl and just say one word – “No.” Sure, it’s entertaining. Sure, it is clearly a ‘stable’ bridge in between the Batman of Bruce Wayne and the new Batman. But was this story actually worth it? For all it’s tie-ins and press, was the ending of the story satisfying? No. In fact, for people that hadn’t been reading Batman on a regular basis, I feel very bad for them because this is clearly geared to people who had been reading Batman books and will continue reading 5 new Batman books, because in the end that’s all this is: a set up. There is clearly plenty of room for all the different authors of all the new Batman stories to go in, each of them tackling one of the single plot lines left open by the end. The thing is, though, for hardcore Batman fans and comic book readers, the story leaves us with nothing. I was so excited for the possibility that the ending might surprise me, but I was let down. I welcome a new era of Batman because I think it’s long over due, and I’m really looking forward to a couple of the new titles (Batman And Robin by Grant Morisson and Frank Quietly especially). I just wish that there was a better segue into it than this.
Captain America #50
Mmm, Captain America. This is one of my favorite series right now and I always get excited when I am rewarded with an issue of this after a long hard day of work. With this issue… not so much. Look, I love Steve Rogers as much as the next guy, and if I could have had him never get shot after Civil War, I would totally take that. But we have Bucky as Captain America now and… well, I’m kind of sick of re-hashing the fact Steve is dead. The whole issue serves as Bucky remembering the fact that he’s never had a birthday party due to his involvement with Captain America and being the Winter Soldier as he is hunted by people who hate him because he’s not Steve. With this issue, the previous issue, and the next issue, I’m just kind of sick of being in mourning of Steve Rogers. I understand that a mini-series is coming out involving Captain America called “Reborn,” and who knows what that’s about, but can we take a break from the mourning and get on with exploring Bucky as Cap? We had a good arc where a villain from his past came back and tried to steal Toro, and Bucky and Namor teamed up. I liked that arc a lot. Can we just stick to that stuff, please? I understand Cap makes appearances in other books so there is plenty of time to flesh out Bucky as Cap, but in his own title I just wish we’d spend less time focusing on the dead Steve Rogers and more time focusing on the live Bucky Barnes. I would trust Ed Brubaker with a nuclear bomb, so I’m sure he’s going somewhere with all of this… I just wish it didn’t take so long to get there.
Uncanny X-Men #510
After Messiah Complex, I got very drawn back into the X-Men world after years of staying away. Uncanny X-Men has been my favorite X-Men title so far, and with Greg Land doing the artwork, can anyone really disagree? However, this issue didn’t strike me as all that great. I don’t know why, but there’s just something in the air today and I guess I’m being really nitpicky with all the comics I’m reading. But as I read it, not only did I really end up just calling this current “arc” confusing, but by the end of the issue when part of the mystery was explained, I responded with a mixture of “Ohhhh” and “This again? Really?” Again, no spoilers as to what happens at the end, but I think fans of the series have had a general understanding of where the series was headed, and this issue confirmed it. I just kind of have to wonder, is this a story line that really needs re-hashing? I know that in comic books, “dead” is a subjective term, but I just think there are certain elements that need to stay in the grave. While I only have a guess as to what the endgame is for the Sisterhood, I just wish it was something different than what I thought. This issue does explain a lot that Marvel has been hinting at, but after I finished I just kinda frowned and said, “Well, at least the art is great.” We’ll see how it goes, but I’m not really a fan of this issue.
Jack Of Fables #34
Oy. Remember last issue of the Great Fables Crossover I did, in which I expressed how I didn’t think “great” was an appropriate adjective for the story? Well, this continues that tradition. It appears that they got their titles mixed up seeing as the previous issue of Fables was all about Jack, and this issue of Jack Of Fables is all about the regular cast of Fables on their journey to talk to/kill Kevin Thorn. Bigby is now a monkey and, where once we had a good serious story that had humorous moments, we now have a silly story with a lack of seriousness. I find myself confused as to the direction this is all going in, what Willingham and Sturges are attempting to do with this arc. Granted, I would still call Fables one of my top books right now, and that includes it’s whole universe with Jack and the Literals, but all things considered I’m not really enjoying the Great Fables Crossover. I think the reason for this is because I would be MUCH happier with them continuing their arc with Mr. Dark (or as Gil calls him, the Tooth Fairy). That was a great new character to bring in after the Adversary stopped being the main focal point of evil, and all of this stuff with the Literals and breaking the fourth wall just seems… well, let me put it this way – when Jack left the Fables book, I was very happy because he was my least favorite character. I didn’t read Jack of Fables until I heard about the Crossover, because I like to be educated on what I read. As far as I’m concerned, I just wish the books would stay separate. Who knows, the very end of this story might impress me greatly. I liked issue 1 of the Literals as it brought back a character I didn’t want to have gone in the first place and introduced an interesting aspect to the idea of Literals, but if I could, I would just ask Vertigo and DC to rush out all the final issues in this arc so we could put it behind us and go back to the normal Fables story already.
Amazing Spider-Man #594
I know I’m in the minority, but I wasn’t a big fan of Character Assassination or New Ways To Die or any of the recent big arcs in Spider-Man. I’m a big Spidey fan, so it’s with a heavy heart that I admit that, but it doesn’t make it any less true. However, Mark Waid has made me absolutely fall in love with the book again. As I praised the last few issues, so do I praise this recent issue. In the closing issue of the “24/7” arc, we finally have our segue into Dark Reign, as well as a connecting point between Character Assassination and how that ties into American Son. It might seem that I am describing this issue as filler but that is not my purpose at all. I think it’s a great arc that wraps up very nicely what it began and works as a great middle point to Spider-Man once again taking on Norman Osborn by himself. While I do think that the new Vulture is a little under used, I would only say that in the fact he is not very well explained. Sometimes you don’t need to explain a villain in order to make him terrifying, and I think that that statement works with the new Vulture. But on the other hand, they offer up a “maybe” origin to him and then move on. I would’ve liked to know a little bit more about him, such as who he was, where he came from, where he got all his fancy gadgets, etc. But that’s a very minor complaint. Mark Waid handled this story very well for three issues, moving the plot exactly where it needed to go as we gear up for something big in issue #600. To say I’m excited for the next issue is to put it very, very, very lightly.
Wolverine: Weapon X #2
Before this title started, my response to it was, “Do we really need another Wolverine book?” Once the title started, my response to it was, “Ok, this is pretty good for a first issue, but do we really need another Wolverine book?” After the last issue of Wolverine, the one with the two stories in it, my response to Jason Aaron was, “I think I need to re-read Weapon X!” And now, with issue 2, my response is, “Ok, I’d like this series to stay a little while.” While I do contend to the fact that we don’t need another Wolverine story, and this doesn’t necessarily give us anything we couldn’t get from the other books, especially Origins (yet), it is very well written for new-comer Jason Aaron. First off, I love any excuse to put Wolvie in his X-Force outfit and have him kill people, because X-Force is phenomenal. Secondly, I love the fact Wolverine is going up against a group of people who make his “I’m the best at what I do” quote seem unimportant. While Wolvie may the best still, a group of people with a successful clone of his powers fighting him? Now that’s a cool fight. Now, I will once again point out the fact that in general, we don’t need this story. I don’t really feel the need to once again re-hash the events of Weapon X and how it was all a big conspiracy, and Romulus Romulus Romulus. I understand that now that Wolverine has his memories back, it’s more important for him to go around dealing with that in his solo titles rather than have him being trapezing off on his own adventures while being part of every super hero team in the Marvel Universe. But there are certain stories that have been so well done that working on it any more might just leave the meat burnt (see what I did there?). Weapon X is one of them, and while I do enjoy the story greatly for the action it holds, I can’t say I find it necessary. So while this review might seem confusing as to if I like this book or not, I’ll put it plain in one sentence: I like the book because it’s fun, but I know I don’t need it.
The Punisher #5
I’ll be honest: the main reason I’m reading this book is because of the Hood. I love the character and love to see him used, and I think it’s a great fight to set up, him and the Punisher. In this issue, we finally get to see the Punisher’s first failed strike against the Hood, and it’s really clever. I know I wasn’t the only one thinking “Why does the Punisher have Ant Man tech?” in the last issue, and this issue showed us why in true Punisher fashion. I actually had to go back and re-read the first couple of pages because I wasn’t sure if I had seen what I thought I just saw. Now, while I eagerly anticipate the Hood and the Punisher trading bullets, I do understand that we can’t spoil the best part of the meal right at the beginning. We need something to whet the appetite, to keep us coming back for more. And while I think the big “twist” reveal of last issue was lost on a lot of people, this issue goes to remind us who Microchip was. It also goes to further the mystical properties of the Hood, who we just learned gets his power from Dormamu. So everything not involving the Punisher is great. But what about the Punisher himself? Is he true to form in this book, now that we’re five issues in? The answer is a very easy yes. While I will always miss the days of Garth Ennis or even Matt Fraction, Rick Remender is showing, ever since issue 1, that he knows who the Punisher is and he aims to remind us as well. The only issue I really had a problem with was the first, where the Punisher took on the Sentry, but other than that I feel that every issue has been a hit (no pun intended). Jerome Opena’s artwork is really great as well, matching beautifully the story Remender is trying to tell. Simply put, this new Punisher series is a great read, and probably my second favorite of the new titles that came out of Dark Reign (behind Secret Warriors, which you can remind more about in David’s article previous to this one).
Thunderbolts #132
I like Andy Diggle a lot. I feel that he has a good grip on villainous characters who are put into situations where they are required to do the opposite of what they want. While he doesn’t quite hit the heights that Warren Ellis’ run on the series hit, he is shaping up to create a very good and very dark read. The problem, however, is that he’s taking so long to get there. Right as we met the new group of Thunderbolts, we were given little introductions for the team members – but not all of the team members. Norman couldn’t recruit everyone he wanted right off the bat. So although each issue of Thunderbolts has been showing us the team on the cover, the issues inside don’t contain the same characters. This issue of Thunderbolts brings us only 1 more villain to the team, and while he is very cool and a very great addition to this hit squad, where are the actual hits? So far all we’ve had is an extended introduction and in between the opening set of issues and this one, we had Magnum Opus which set everything off kilter. See, I figured that after Magnum Opus, we had our team of Thunderbolts and they would recruit members as they go and do certain black ops missions. A sort of, “Wow, it was great fighting with you, want a job?” But that’s not the case at all. With Magnum Opus, it only went to show that our team wasn’t ready (or that Deadpool is just too insane to beat) and that we need the rest of the team here to round up our crew. But I’m getting a little tired of waiting to see what Norman is going to have them do. I figure this series will be like X-Force, where Cyclops sends the team to do certain things the X-Men can’t be seen doing in public. That’s what I want out of this series, and that’s just not what I’m getting. While I do love Diggle’s writing style, and the art to go with it is just amazing to look at, I wish they would move the story along already so we can see the terror behind the scenes in Norman Osborn’s world.
Wolverine Noir #2
I was, and am, a big supporter of the Noir series by Marvel. I highly enjoy noir as is, so the concept seemed like a good idea to me. As I’ve said in the past, I loved Daredevil Noir. Well, it appears Marvel releases Noir titles in twos, and Daredevil’s partner is Wolverine. Yes, another Wolverine book on the market. Surprised? Well, this one’s not half bad. As far as noir goes, it’s nothing special. I like the idea of Wolverine as a detective helping out a dame, but the thing that gets to me as I read this issue is in it’s choice of characters. See, we start with Logan and Dog, and there are references to Rose throughout. You read this and say, “Ok, we’re going with the characters from Origin.” But in this issue, we see a new character – Victor Creed. Now, I know that this isn’t the case, but wasn’t it always strongly implied that Dog essentially was Creed? Granted, this is an alternate story, but the bases of the two characters are deeply tied to one another to the point that if you have one, you don’t need the other. In this story, Dog is a bit of a mental case, and Creed is a… well, that’s unclear. But he’s the central villain, that much I believe is clear. And the noir Creed stays true to elements of the real Creed, as we can see on the final page of this issue. I guess when you compare this story to the other noir titles, it beats X-Men and Spider-Man, but it just doesn’t impress me the way Daredevil did. It has a lot of the right ideaas, but there’s something missing. I haven’t put my finger on what that is just quite yet, but at the end of the issue I didn’t feel any more overly drawn to the series than I was after the first issue.
Dark Reign: Fantastic 4 #3
Two Fantastic 4 books in one week! How lucky are we fans? While it’s odd that a title this big would get it’s own spin-off Dark Reign book, it makes sense considering they want to let Mark Millar do his own thing (which I’ve already properly ranted on). What makes this title worth it is that it’s written by Secret Warriors scribe Jonathan Hickman. After all the work he has done in that title, I decided it was a no brainer to be picking this up. But here lies the rub: while I think it’s a well written title, I don’t quite… well, “get” it. The art is great, and it’s a creative story to which I understand the central plot: Norman Osborn wants to deal with the Fantastic 4 and Reed, using a device that traverses the multiverse, wants to understand why things have gotten as bad as they have gotten. The thing is, this issue plays out mostly in the multiverse, and it hops through multiverses and time periods, dragging along with it F4 renditions who are being dragged along for… well, I don’t know why. That’s the thing. This issue leaves me with more questions then answers and then proceeds to throw in an ending that will supposedly be the main event of the next issue, which throws the story compeltely off kilter for me. I’m beginning to question if I really do get the basic plot to this mini in the first place, because as enjoyable a read as it is, I wish I had a better idea of what is going on. I suppose, however, that this simply goes to build my intrigue, as I trust Hickman with the title and am reasonably sure he won’t let me down.
Supergirl #41
Supergirl is best title in the Superman world right now (boy, those are words I never thought I’d write…). In the wake of New Krypton, we were left with a bunch of new stories, but “Who Is Superwoman?” was definitely the best. And now we finally have the finale. After the previous issues reveal of Superwoman being none other than Lois Lane’s sister, Lucy, we finally get the showdown we’ve been waiting for. I must say, as much as I don’t really care about Superman or Supergirl, I really enjoyed this issue. We’re left with enough questions to make room for a good epilogue issue while finally seeing what Superwoman has had coming to her for so long. While I am not a fan of still having this many questions after the “finale,” knowing that the next issue is an epilogue to tie things up makes it easier for me to just sit back and accept the story as what it needs to be presented as: a huge ass kicking. Supergirl pummels and is pummeled by Superwoman, and it’s awesome. Reactron appears for a brief moment to try and tip the scales, but not well enough. We have a triumphant Supergirl and one final plot twist before the story ends to make for an all around entertaining read. While this isn’t a book I get excited for or anticipate, I must say I am looking forward to the wrap up in the next issue, if only to see the answers for certain questions and to see where Supergirl goes from here.
The Boys: Herogasm #1
Well, well, well, a Boys tie-in. It was only a matter of time before this happened, I suppose, as Ennis has been shown to do this in the past in order to flesh out certain aspects of the story. And this tie-in is… well, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s pretty much superhero porn. The majority of the issue is superhero parodies engaged in sex acts with one another. There is little to no plot development, and as I read this in my office, I can’t help but think that the issue needs NSFW stamped on every page, just about on every panel. So while I’ve never been a huge fan of The Boys (I find it entertaining and I like reading it, but it’s no Preacher), I can’t say I got much out of this. The only real plot is at the very end, which is in regards to the Boys and not the heroes, and that makes me ask, “What’s the point?” I mean, I think it’s a very funny issue, and I’m sure someone out there is sitting next to it with a box of tissues, but as of the first installment I wonder if we need it. The Boys itself was filled with supes engaged in sex. I figure the only reason for this is that Ennis has a story to tell and considers it less important than the one he wants to tell in the main book. We’ve got about another 30 or so issues to go (or so he says), so it’s understandable to want to take something and put it on the sidelines like this. They’ve mentioned Herogasm before, and if anything it makes us root for the “bad guy” more than we did before. So I appreciate the humor of it all and the jabs at the supes we all know and love, but I guess after the end of the issue I didn’t get much out of it other than a bunch of cartoon nipples and vulgar commentary. It might be because I’m not into the Boys like other people are, but I feel I could’ve done without Herogasm.
Planet Skaar: Prologue
I did not follow Hulk when he was in space. I only really followed him when he came back to Earth in order to make life miserable for everyone and take revenge on the Illuminati. To say I’m not really familiar with Skaar is to put it lightly. I’m not really familiar with anything that happened on Sakarr except for what they reference. As far as this goes, I’m interested but not intrigued. See, it’s very easy to get me interested in a comic story, especially something being tagged as an event. I like to know what’s going on in my universe. There’s nothing here that would make me want to stay if I wasn’t already reading most titles, though. So Skaar has come to Earth and is seeking the Hulk. Ok, but why should I really care? Skaar, while being angry, doesn’t seem like someone who is going to really disrupt anyone’s lunch that doesn’t have green skin. I could be biased against the Hulk due to the current Jeph Loeb series, and again I’ve never read Skaar’s series, but I’m not overly excited about this. I think it’s well written, and I think it could become an interesting story with the involvement of Hercules, Loki, and Osborn, but as for now I figure Pak can take as much time as he wants in between issues of this story because I’m not really running out to the comic store to get back issues and trades of Skaar, Son Of The Hulk.
Killapalooza #1
I had higher hopes for this mini. The concept sounded good enough. It stars a rock band who moonlights as a black ops hit squad with superhuman powers. What could possibly go wrong, right? Well, everything. The art was sloppy, the writing was poor, and I feel no need to go back for a second issue. This issue just didn’t offer me anything that I felt was substantial enough to keep going. I kept reading in order to give the first issue the respect any fledgling first issue deserves, but it was hard. My interest was not reached even once. This is probably my poorest reviewed comic of the week, but I just can’t recommend anyone get this issue, even with that good of a concept. The story might turn out brilliantly for all I know, but I won’t be going back to see how it ends.
Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #1
The third of the FCA series, Dance doesn’t really offer you anything unless you’re a big fan of the Super Young Team. While I think it was fun to see them in Final Crisis, that was good enough for me. Grant’s inclusion of the Super Young Team (and most of the others who appeared in FC) was just to show the effect that the crisis had on the entire multiverse and not just the Earth where all our heroes reside, and in that I felt it worked. While Final Crisis may have been hard to grasp and rather messy, there’s no doubt that it’s effects were shown. But after that, does anyone really care about the Super young Team? Now, I will contest that the way they are handled is quite well. It’s an interesting take on the commercialism of a superhero and selling an image versus actually going out and saving lives (this is where the dance fits in), but I find that it’s kind of misguided. The Super Young Team doesn’t want to be just noticed for their young age and modern sensibilities, yet through out the whole thing, we have thought boxes in the form of Twitter updates. Does that seem contradicting to anyone else? And of course towards the end of the issue, there is a “twist” in which we see it’s all a big conspiracy to cover up what happened to Japan when the bad guys took over Earth. Great. Look, DC – Final Crisis is over, and you still haven’t finished all the tie-ins that don’t have the word “Aftermath” in them! Let’s just cool it with all these additional tie-ins that don’t really do anything for anyone, ok? All that being said, I am looking forward to reading Ink next week because I love the concept, but we’ll see how that goes.
Vigilante #6
With this week’s issue of Vigilante, we finally are treated to the end of Deathtrap, a cross over event that has been high in action but still mostly mild. I’m still unsure why Vigilante needed to be a part of this, but this issue was satsifying, if only for the final pages of it. Most of the rest of the story just fizzled out though. The Deathstroke/Jericho was pretty unsatisfying/not shown, and the final reveals of the twist didn’t leave me all that rewarded. For an arc called “Deathtrap”, you would’ve expect at least someone of note to have died, but the end wraps up with the Titans “no kill” policy, and Vigilante retreats into the shadows. While I do like Jericho and Vigilante, the whole story ultimately is a disappointment. Certain issues were strong, like the previous issue, but at the end of it I’m just kind of wondering what was the point. A lot of crossovers fail to actually utilize all the characters made available by a crossover, and this is definitely one of those. This felt like a story that could have stayed in the Titans while Vigilante went on it’s normal route and just gave him an appearance in their story since he really wasn’t that big of a role. I’m much more interested in the new Vigilante than I was in the story they told, and the set up they made for the future of Vigilante at the end reminds me why I started reading the book (besides Marv Wolfman’s name attached), so I’m just glad the crossover is over and I can get back to my regularly scheduled DC equivalent to the Punisher.
Hulk #12
Oh, Jeph Loeb. Remember that time you invented Hush and I used to sing your praises? Then you had to go ahead and do this. I read an interview where Jeph Loeb responded to his critics and said, “I just write the best stories that I can.” Well, if this is one of them, then maybe you need to attend some kind of writer’s summit already, Jeph, because this is just getting worse as it goes on. Now, one reading this might think, “Matt, if you’re so anti-Rulk, why do you keep reading?” Well, because at this point I just have to know who he is. This is the only thing the series has going for it right now, and supposedly Rulk will finally be revealed next issue in the big #600. Jeph Loeb just has this wonderful way of building up interest in something that is quite subpar using little to no character development but mild clues and hints to string the reader along. Rulk is not a terrible creation as far as new characters go, but Loeb just does a terrible job in writing stories about him. See, I’m not anti-Rulk. At least, not 100%. Most of my dislike of the character merely comes from Loeb’s writing style as of late, which is unfortunate because Jeph Loeb used to be a name to associate with good writing. Remember The Long Halloween and his color books (Daredevil: Yellow, Hulk: Grey, Spider-Man: Blue)? Now we have this, Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum. It’s kind of depressing. I’m just glad to finally see it almost over.
Air #9
Air is a book that I feel I should love so much more than I do. It gets great reviews from all the right people, it’s an intriguing mystery/thriller story compared to LOST, and it’s a Vertigo comic. For some reason, though, I’m just not that attached to it after 9 issues. This issue especially as it is not part of any arc but simply a midway point between the last one and the next one. There are a lot of interesting ideas in this book that I’m waiting to see flourish, and that’s why I keep reading. It’s kind of a shame how slow this is taking off for me, considering how filled the previous issues have been with plot development. But when it came to reveals in the past arc, I felt it was highly underwhelming. There was no reason for me to want to pick up the next issue, I just did out of habit. It’s quite possible that I’m missing something that everyone else sees as is occasionally the situation, but the comic just doesn’t stand up in the way other books by the publisher do. While this issue was really useless in my mind, I’m hoping that by the end of the next arc I’ll have nicer things to say.
Fantastic Force #2
The Fantastic Force introduced by Mark Millar was a high point in the previous arc of Fantastic 4, and is yet another Millar creation/re-invention to get it’s own spin-off series. However, just like the previous one, I’m not impressed by what came out at all. On the one hand, I do like the continuation of their story. On the other, as I read it I am just wondering, “Come on. What the hell?” The return of Harpy? And what the heck was with that ending? The Fantastic Force is just another one of those things that worked great in how they were first presented, but afterwards we don’t need to see them anymore. While we may want to, what we get is usually disappointing. I think the best thing about this issue was when we got to see into the Hooded Man (aka Wolverine)’s mind, with the one shot of him stabbing himself in the eyes. That whole set up was pretty twisted, and I thought worked really well. Other than that, the whole thing seemed like kind of a mess and if you’ve been passing this up so far, don’t worry. You’re missing as much in this as you were when you skipped over Marvel Zombies and all it’s sequels.
Skull Kill Krew #2
The Skull Kill Krew was originally something penned by Mark Millar, so of course it’s something that I will ultimately endorse. That and the fact I am doing my best to read all aspects of Dark Reign (except Agents of Atlas…). The Skull Kill Krew, while ultimately nothing special at all, is a very amusing read for fans of the Kill Krew in the first place. These aren’t characters that we see very often, and they aren’t characters that we have to work too hard to take seriously, so the fact that this comic serves more as a comical read than a serious addition to the world of Dark Reign is pretty perfect. It also is allowing us to have a little bit more depth into the characters, which is something we basically don’t see at all. I enjoy this book for it’s humorous addition to my otherwise very serious comic reading life. I must admit though that it is a complete throw away. If you don’t read it, you won’t miss anything at all. It’s a limited series that will most likely hold no bigger grounds in the rest of the Marvel universe, so don’t worry about it. This is just a read for fans of the characters who are looking for a fun little Skrull shoot-em-up. And cows.
