Terra #1
While I'm a huge fan of the New Teen Titans, I wasn't particularly excited about this book aside from Gray/Palmiotti/Conner. So I was rather surprised when the book not only contained great art, but lots of interesting things involving creatures residing in the under belly of the Earth. Terra seems to be quite familiar with these characters, implying she's been residing sub-surface for some time. A good start to the mini, and I'll be looking forward to more.
Gigantic #1
I was quite surprised with this one. I like Remender alright, and I have really come to like Ngyuen's artwork, but the plot is much more involved and interesting than "OMG GIANT ROBOT." There is one problem I have with this issue is that the storyline harkens alot to the Southpark episode a while back where the Earth was a reality show that got cancelled.
Sandman: The Dream Hunters #1
Like an idiot, I've never read the original Dream Hunters prose. But I'm going to change that very soon if it's anything like P. Craig Russell's comic adaptation here. The art is very clean and tells the story well, and the writing is quite clever (though obviously owes much to Gaiman in that regard).
Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #1
The last of Gray and Palmiotti's offering that I'll cover for this week, we have a story involving Superman and Supergirl which seems to be pre-Final Crisis. Apokolips is still as it was, before even Starlin's messing around with it. The third star of this, Maelstrom, longs for the love of Darkseid, if you can imagine someone desiring such a thing. The writing? Great. The art? Looks nice, but here is where I had my major issue with this... issue. The artwork, while looking pretty, did not convey the story very well, and rarely contained the emotions of the characters.
Ultimatum #1
Let me start by expressing what I like about this issue: David Finch's artwork. Yay. Everything else? Ugh. Random characters dying off, Magneto suddenly far more powerful than he had been before, Thor still talks dumb, and apparently Doctor Doom suddenly looks just like he does in the normal 616. In fact, that seems to be the major problem with Loeb's take on the Ultimate universe (beside writing terrible dialogue). For the most part, Loeb's characters in the Ultimate universe act almost exactly as they do in the normal Marvel universe. Which, kind of defeats the purpose entirely. I continue to torture myself by reading this stuff because honestly, I do want to know what happens. Which I guess warrants some merit.
Cable #8
The reason I'm mentioning this issue (and I guess should mention the last issue as well) is because I was somewhat concerned after the first arc as to where this series would go. While interesting, the idea of Bishop chasing Cable through time FOREVER seemed rather limited. So I was very pleased to see not only some aging on the child's part, but also something other than Bishop for Cable to have to deal with. And Bishop is still prominent in the book, cementing his place as supporting cast as opposed to just Cable's arch-nemesis.
El Diablo #3
This book has been one of the bigger surprises for me. I didn't expect much from it, especially after Nitz's lackluster issue of Blue Beetle. However, introducing El Diablo into current continuity with a new carrier of the curse, as well as still having Lazarus Lane hanging around, has worked rather well. I admit, there are some similarities to Ghost Rider, but the story stands on it's own, especially with Phil Hester's fantastic artwork.
Final Crisis: Resist
Oh, how I've longed for a good Checkmate story again. And here it is! Morrison gives us a great story of Checkmate being reduced to guerilla tactics, solely consisting of Mister Terrific, Thinker, Snapper Carr, and for a bit, Cheetah. Ultimately what it comes down to is the return of the OMACs. There is a separate mood of this, which is why it wasn't given to us in Final Crisis proper, but is very important to the story, I think.
Punisher War Journal Annual #1
Honestly, I think this could have been done better. I don't really feel like Spurrier has a great grasp on the Punisher's character, and the idea of the Punisher hallucinating a child's dreams (or hallucinating in any respect) is a great and amusing idea, but didn't seem to come out as well as I'd hoped here.
Sub-Mariner: The Depths #3
I wasn't sure how exactly this story was going to play out. One thing I have noticed is that lately, Peter Milligan has been writing about people's psychological behaviors, and the changes they go through under particular conditions. What he has done here is explore how the mind is affected by the isolation and claustrophobic nature of being in a submarine in the deepest, darkest recesses of the ocean. And one of the neater things, in my opinion: We still have not really seen Namor.
Terror Titans #2
Very, VERY slowly, Sean McKeever's run on the Teen Titans and his dealings with the Terror Titans are growing on me. And really, he seems to get the Terror Titans much better. This issue moves very quickly, and mostly what I am excited about is the Clock King's quick takeover of the Darkside Club. It seems that Boss Darkside himself is out of commission or dead (maybe part of Final Crisis?), and Vunderbarr, Desaad, and . What really helped this issue is the artwork. Joe Bennett's layouts and the paneling are done amazingly well, and he makes the Clock King less creepy (as he was in Teen Titans) and more likeable as a villain like him can be. Also, Young Frankenstein! But just briefly.
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