52 Week Seventeen
DC Comics
Writers: Johns, Rucka, Waid, Morrison
Artists: Giffen and Batista
This week in the missing year, the Lex-men (copyright and patents pending) get a bit more build-up, the space exiles move a bit further towards the shores of home, and an android awakes in a world that never made him. This week’s issue also guest stars Lobo, but readers don’t have to listen to a word he says. This segment of the story feels much slower and deliberate than the last few weeks of the series, despite the explosion of innards it involves. Maybe the switch from terrestrial to extraterrestrial settings is to blame, maybe it’s just the story’s second act approaching, but the drag is noticeable. Still, there’s enough action and humor to justify the weekly price, and the art still is some of the most efficient and yet striking in serial fiction today.
Score: C
X-Factor #8
Marvel Comics
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Dennis Calero
This past issue of X-Factor, the first of two Civil War tie-ins, doesn’t really involve the crossover much at all. It’s mostly fall-out from the last big mutant event, Decimation. That’s well enough, as readers learn a bit more about Quicksilver’s new status quo without having to dig up his whole miniseries. Between that, some more oddball Layla goodness, and a guest spot by the red and yellow Spider-Man, this issue has a lot going on. Certain revelations are made; new questions result from them. There’s some sly humor and an action scene or two. It’s a good but not great issue, made a bit less palatable by the heavily inked art. The penciling of this series really has improved, the settings and characters are much more distinct and unique, but there’s so much black ink it might not be readable in low light!
Score: B
She-Hulk #11
Marvel Comics
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Rick Burchett
This series has been puttering along, peripheral to Civil War, but more wrapped up in its own soap opera love geometry. (An aside, once the love triangle and the love quadrangle are exhausted as options, what do you call it? The love pentacle?) The unnatural infatuations come to a screeching halt this issue and it should mean funnier, wackier, more engaging tomfoolery ahead. It’s been too long since this series had some courtroom craziness, and hopefully it will get back to that soon, and without a shoehorned reference to the imprint event du jour! The art this issue is more cartoony than modern, with Pug looking tough yet not handsome, which is as it should be. This issue is a bit slow, but it shows progress and respects the series’ fundamentals.
Score: B
X-Factor #10
Marvel Comics
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Renato Arlem
The latest issue of the series shows the results of telling the rest of the imprint to bugger off. The lead character wakes up from his well-deserved bender and walks straight into his own unintentional love triangle. The origin of the series nemesis is revealed. Pietro’s motivations post-Decimation are laid bare. There’s a shocking violent plot twist. And lots and lots of jokes. It’s another well rounded Peter David effort. The art is an improvement over issue eight, having a wider color palette and more judicious amount of ink.
Score: B
