OK, really late this week. I blame the weather. Monsoons just make me depressed and lazy. Fortunately, this week's comics didn't.
52 Week 49: The JSA have come to Mad Scientist Island to rescue Black Adam. Will Magnus has recreated the Metal Men and I don't think that all the king's horses and all the king's men could put Egg Fu back together again. Also, Atom Smasher really didn't want to believe that Black Adam killed an entire nation's population. Too bad it's true. I'm still on Black Adam's side though, even now that World War III is going to start because of him. What do I care about the people of Bialya. It's fictional, and I know zilch about it. On the other hand, the image of poor Osiris getting eaten is still burnt into my memory. Perhaps Black Adam should just show Atom Smasher that issue. This was a pretty exciting issue. I don't think I'm going to pick up the World War III miniseries (I'll judge whether it's worth the expense on the reviews), but I am interested to see how it ends up. This issue also brings up something that I've never seen dealt with before (though it might be old to people who know the DCU better than I), and I think it's interesting. If your super team has America in it's name, you really should expect that other countries are going to think you are in some way representative of America.
Wonder Woman #7: Well, I thought this was better. The opening fight with Circe was decent, and it was cool to see Diana get pissed off. Some of the humor this time around was actually funny. I liked when she dropped Nemesis on his ass after his "desert toppings" comment, and for some reason, Nemesis' willingness to eat dog biscuits makes me like him more. Best of all, Diana's inner monologue is no longer annoyingly repetitive. It still has a lot of problems. The pacing is off, and I really think Picoult is out of her depth in the medium. I think there's a lot of really interesting stuff going on that's not being served as well as it should be. Still, we've now got the reason why the Amazons are going to be attacking in the near future, which is something I'm looking forward to, and the reasons why Wonder Woman is wanted for questioning, even after being cleared in the World Court, is becoming clear. I do, however, wonder if Diana will be spending the next four issues being held captive by a Nick Fury wannabe and a bunch of Shield rejects.
Fables #60: This is more like it. You can just tell that some huge things are coming up. My heart breaks for Flycatcher, and I thought Ride was way too harsh on him, but I guess that was what he needed. It looks like a lot of interesting secrets are about to come out as well. I love the way Willingham turned around what was an amusing little subplot about Bufkin so that it ultimately is going to have a much bigger impact. That's the sort of thing that is what really makes this such a wonderful series. There's so much going on, and the characters are so rich that you never really know what seemingly minor thing could turn out to be something majorly important. Actually, the fact that we are now getting an entire arc about Flycatcher probably exemplifies that better than anything. Also, Beauty is a lousy interrogator, and I feel stupid because I never even thought of the fact that Frau Totenkinder is still killing kids in some way or another. She makes an interesting references to all her investments being legal though. I wonder what that's all about. I can tell already that this arc is going to be awesome.
The Loners #1: I picked this one up for a few reasons, the first being that I really enjoyed the appearance of Excelsior (now just a nameless support group for former teenage superheroes due to the fact that Stan Lee has a copyright on "Excelsior") in the first volume of Runaways. I thought it was a really great idea, and really did want to read more with those characters. Also, I have liked Moline's art since his work on Whedon's Fray, and Penance from Generation X is supposed to show up at some point. (That's the real Penance, not the former Speedball Penance, who has that crappy, emo, self-cutter costume with the no eye holes. Dumb.) Anyway, this is a really promising start. Moline's art is great, and I love the Breakfast Club inspired cover. The support group set up is a clever conceit to the fact that readers are going to need an re-introduction to a lot of these characters, and Cebulski is pretty adept at giving them little moments that help give a feel for their personalities. There's nothing earth shattering here, but it's entertaining, and despite the fact that it's about characters facing their demons and their pasts, has a nice, light tone. I do have some questions about the group's standing in light of the post-Civil War MU, and what happened to them since their Runaways appearance, since things seem markedly different than they were left off. It's only the first issue though, and there's time for all that, and ultimately, if the story's good, I don't know if I will care if those questions are answered or not. No Penance in this one though. (Why the hell hasn't Generation X been collected in trades yet?)
The New Avengers #29: You know who owns this issue? A friggin' lawyer, that's who owns this issue (and if you knew me, you would know how hard it is for me to say anything nice about a lawyer). Danny Rand's lawyer completely shuts down the Mighty Avengers in this issue. (Too bad the whole exchange just got me wondering why none of the superheroes who have outed secret identities but oppose registration haven't fought the law in the courts. Honestly, if they are going to expect me to view the current Marvel Universe as more like the real world, then I'm going to do just that. As far as most Marvel books go, I have no more suspension of disbelief.) Dr. Strange was fairly awesome too, just not as awesome as when he's being written by Brian K. Vaughn. Still, making all Mighty Avengers confront their worst fears is a nifty trick. I can't help but think that the fact that Iron Man's worst fear is a zombie Captain America is significant, and possibly foreshadowing something to come. There have been an awful lot of zombies at Marvel lately, and he is a futurist. Anyway, the Mighty Avengers eventually track the New Avengers down to Dr. Strange's place and that's when they decided to beat a hasty retreat to Japan and rescue the former Ronin. I assume that Jessica, the baby and Wong are back on the plane, because they couldn't have just left them in New York, though it's possible that one of them is the new Ronin. Am I the only one who thinks it would be cool if Wong were Ronin? Probably. There's also ninja stuff and Elektra's crotch. It's an OK issue. I'm still pissed about the whole Spider-Man thing I talked about last week, so that didn't really help my enjoyment. (ETA: Maybe Ronin is Zombie Cap. It could totally happen.)
Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #1: I really liked this. Much like Parker's X-Men First Class series, it's just fun. Not surprisingly, it's either out of continuity, or set at some point in the past, because it is impossible to right a fun, exciting story with these characters actually acting like superheroes for a change in current continuity. The Spidey angst isn't of the extra strength variety. Mr. Fantastic isn't going on about the joys of McCarthyism. It's nice. Also, there are aliens, and Mr. Impossible, and a story that looks like its going to be pretty cool.
Hmmm...happy news? I think I'm going to hold on to that for now, since it's late and I want to go to bed, but look how pretty. (Well, modern Peter isn't pretty. He looks like he has a soul patch, and modern Mary Jane is pretty, but looks a little to much like Liv Tyler for my liking. Everything else is really pretty though.) I don't normally read Sensational Spider-Man, but I am excited to pick up this annual. I'm such a sucker for flashback stories.
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