Countdown #51: I have no idea why I allowed myself to get sucked into another weekly comic, but I'm fairly certain it had something to do with the name Paul Dini, Darkseid, DC's clever ad campaign, and instant gratification. Anyway, I was completely confused during this issue. Isn't Red Hood a bad guy? Where did all these Monitor guys come from? Didn't there used to just be the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor? And didn't they both die or something during Crisis on Infinite Earths? I'm guessing the whole bit about the monitors will be explained. I'm not so sure about Red Hood. I did like that the book opened up with Darkseid and his minion playing with DC Heroclix though (not really, but that's what it looked like). I'm going to give this book a couple more weeks before I make my final decision.
Green Arrow #74: I bought this book because of Black Canary and the lead up to next issue's proposal. I picked up the last issue as well, because it was part one of the storyline. I liked it. I can't attest to characterization or anything like that, because I know nothing about these characters besides liking Green Arrow a hell of a lot on JLU, but there was good humor and action and character stuff that I thought was interesting and came together nicely. I didn't feel completely lost as a new reader, which is something I have grown to really appreciate. I didn't like this issue as much. Ollie and Dinah apparently spend 40 hours having sex, which is fine, if a little weird considering how much is going on, but then they get all conversational. That's when it gets not so good, specifically when Dinah starts gushing about how much Ollie has changed. I can see her appreciating the changes he's made, especially when it comes to Roy, but it gets way too sappy. This whole thing just reads like the editorial mandate, and far too rushed. I kind of hope that when he proposes, she says no, just stretch it out a bit and make it seem more natural.
Amazing Spider-Man #540: I'm having trouble buying this story. Spider-Man is throwing people out windows and talking about how he's going to kill the person responsible, but it's pretty obvious that's not going to happen. He's going to come to the realization that he's not a murderer and Aunt May wouldn't want him to be come one, etc., etc. Haven't we been there before, maybe not with Aunt May specifically, but just in general? It certainly feels like we have. It shouldn't take Peter this long to think of that. MJ being all, "You go bash in some heads, honey. I'm totally supportive of that" seems way off too. The story seems rather contrived and cliche as well. On a more nit picky note, no one in Manhattan just says "the train station." It's Penn Station or Grand Central. How did Spider-Man know which one to go to? He figured it out though, since he went to Grand Central and managed to track down the sniper there. Then there's the fact that Spidey is just standing around in Grand Central, letting his spider-sense seek the sniper out, or whatever. That seriously bugged me. Spider-Man is supposed to be a wanted criminal. New York City's train stations are crawling with cops and National Guard and nobody notices the guy in the black costume with the big white spider on his chest and calls in Shield's cape killers? I call bullshit. It wouldn't have bothered me a year ago, but if Marvel Comics insists on taking a "realistic" approach to superheroes, then they have to actually deal with the realities of the world we live in.
The New Avengers #30: Never being an Avengers reader, I have no real prior exposure to Clint Barton, but now having met him, I think I love him. He's almost as awesome as that lawyer that was in the last issue. (It still would have been cooler if Ronin was Zombie Cap though.) The most interesting thing about this issue though is Luke Cage bringing up the idea of some sort of conspiracy going on, which was one of the interesting concepts that Bendis was playing with when the series started, but then got ignored. There's also a crazy purity spell that made no sense and Doctor Strange getting killed by some ninjas. I'm betting it won't take.
Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #2: I love this book. It's so much fun. Sure it's completely superficial and the alien threat is barely worth caring about, but the characterization is great. Also, I love how polite the aliens are, and how they retain a certain amount of personality. When the people are assimilated, they don't just become Borg wannabes. I thought that was a pretty clever take on a fairly average alien assimilation story, and it fits much better with the light hearted tone of the series. Anyway, with Reed going off on a fact finding mission in space, Spidey's the team's science guy for the time being. It should be fun to see the remaining members of the Fantastic Four completely flout his authority. One thing I don't understand is why this book has an "Adult" rating. I think it could easily be an "All Ages" or at least "Teen" title, as could X-Men: First Class, which also carries and "Adult" rating. I just don't see what grounds there is for this story to carry the same rating as one where Spider-Man threatens to kill people and Doctor Strange gets gutted by a ninja.
OK, that's the end of that. I know it's already halfway through the month and I haven't done any of the Spider-Man Month things I said I was going to do, but I promise I will get to it, and hey, there were two Spidey books in this week's reviews, so that counts for something. Doesn't it? Oh, and I decided that for the season finale of Smallville, I am going to blog my reactions as I watch it. Based on spoilers, I thought it would be fun. We'll see.
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