Kevin's So-So Saturday Reviews

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52 Week Twenty-Six
DC Comics
Writers: Waid, Rucka, Morrison and Johns
Artists: Giffen, Olliffe

This series shines when it involves itself in pure plot and sort of chugs away during transitions from either arc to arc or from act to act. This is another transition issue and both the pace and drama suffer a bit for it. The Question and Montoya have left Khandaq for the middle of nowhere. The new arrival at the Island of Misfit Scientists â„¢ is causing quite a stir. The Irons’ clan has a confrontation on prime time television. And the Black Adam Family and the Sivana family share a turkey dinner that gets interrupted by a surprise diner. It doesn’t seem to interconnect with any of the previous storylines weaved into the series, even if it’s not as boring as it reads here. Combine that with a much more subdued palette for the first third of the issue, and this installment had almost no zing!

Score: C


She-Hulk #13
Marvel Comics
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Rick Burchett

This book has seemingly recovered from the evil that is the Civil War crossover. The Starfox mental influence plot finally came to a close, with Starfox absolved and one of the greatest schemers of the Marvel Universe held responsible (or at least an acceptable replica of him). The close of the trial jump-starts the soap opera plots that make this title more fun than almost any other mainstream Marvel book. Jen’s married to a Man-Wolf she doesn’t love while the distraught gentleman in the wings just took a potion to stop his heartache. The next issue ought to be interesting. The cartoony art suits the title’s style better during its more personal moments, but the battle scenes rendered here are also acceptable. This book seems to be fording its own path once again, and it certainly improves the product.

Score: B


Nightwing #126
DC Comics
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artists: Juegens, Rapmund

This issue continues the odd battlesuit plot of the new creative team. It’s not a completely lackluster idea, but it just seems a bit too staid for one of the best lead characters of the DC imprint. The interludes (one with the man under his own house arrest, one with a boy on a flying trapeze, and one with a grieving widow) all seem more genuine and substantial than the main plot. This certainly isn’t Nightwing written badly, more like an unenthusiastic story with Nightwing in it, which is still a vast improvement for this series. The art still veers a bit too close to ‘90’s Fantastic Four Paul Ryan for me. Considering both the noir elements inherent in an urban vigilante as well as the current tale’s science fiction plot, a more dramatic or even less cheerful art team would have sold this story much more easily.

Score: C


Outsiders #42
DC Comics
Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Ron Randall, Pop Mhan

This issue, the second one this week involving mad scientists and the Sivanas, has one of the weirdest science fiction hooks ever: a bomb results in the disruption of all machinery as well as the memories of the residents of an entire city. That’s just a nutty premise brimming with potential! That readers don’t really get to see the results this issue is either great pacing or bad delivery, and there’s no way to tell this early in the plot. The team elects to visit the mad genius responsible instead of doing triage, and the brief conflict that occurs is by the numbers. The final page revelation (if true) threatens to turn this whole series on its ear. So this issue was a nice ride, well-illustrated.

Score: B


Blue Beetle #8
DC Comics
Writer: Keith Giffen
Artists: Hamner and Jones

Hey wait, other than the promised reference to a place that’s delightfully tacky yet unrefined everything else will be in my long review tomorrow. It’ll be worth the wait.