Capsule Reviews, 2/18/09 and 2/25/09

Capsules, Reviews

Avengers: The Initiative #22 – Huge fight comics are really fun with a proper build. Clone Thor versus the New Warriors and the Initiative is awesome just handled awesomely. Thor is nearly unbeatable and only stops because he decides real Thor isn’t worth the name, so he should go get him. The MVP/Scarlett Spiders’ are awesome and again given a major plot point, becoming more than just cannon fodder in the process. 8/10 – Great

Blue Beetle #36 – Blue Beetle stops yet another scarab fueled invasion in the last issue, costing himself serious injuries and one friend. Now that this book is gone, I’m happy I’ll get to read about the Beetle in the Titans, should I keep reading that anyway, but sad that his well-developed supporting cast will be given no room to shine. The care with which they were developed certainly deserved better. 7/10 – Good

Captain America #47 – The return of the Winter Soldier as he and Namor try desperately to save the remains of the Human Torch from a villain who turned the Torch’s power into a fire virus…Winter Soldier/Bucky/Captain America remains an incredibly compelling character, as his ruthless spy attitude is so often at odds with what Captain America symbolizes, his remorse and atonement are all that make him worthy of the name. That same atonement is the issue here and it carries the book as an ill-conceived plan shows just how far Bucky still has to go before he can be anything like Steve Rogers. It’s a good thing Bucky left that uniform at home. 8/10 – Great

Green Lantern #38 – Twists and turns galore showcased as Hal, Carol, Sinestro and other’s lives are irrevocably changed during an epic battle. Blackest Night is set to be an epic, amazing adventure and nearly all the players are in place now… except for Agent Orange who turns up next month. For now, the war for control of the Yellow Lanterns, the Incantation of the Red, the new recruit of violet, the potential new leader of blue and the new status for Hal all make this one of the best, most eventful books on the stands. 9/10 – Excellent

Guardians of the Galaxy #10 – The Guardians free Star-Lord and gain a new member in the process, while reforming to be ready for War of the Kings. Their handling of Earth heroes is particularly awesome, while Adam Warlock continues his quest to rule the Church of Truth, casually decided to again save the cosmos to prove himself. The Marvel space comics are utterly badass and picking up War of the Kings should be a must for people who enjoy great, epic storytelling and huge fights with awesome heroes and villains. 9/10 – Excellent

The Incredible Hercules #126 – Here we get the origin story of Hercules for $4.00. Since most readers have a basic idea about his origin, I can’t help but feel a bit ripped off of yet another re-telling of his youth. It’s solidly presented with good storytelling, but an unneeded aside that came with a price hike. 4/10 – Below Average

Invincible #59 – A random girl lost her life in Invincible’s fight with Omni-Man and now her brother wants revenge. This is a very good look at why a good man would go bad and eventually even mad, blaming the wrong person and causing yet more tragedy. Kirkman is a master at this and if you want to care about a new hero without any strings or continuity attached, Invincible is must-read. 8/10 – Great

Justice Society of America # 24 – In Johns final run of his decade plus on the title, he is forced to spend much of this issue recapping the history of Black Adam and Isis, and the Marvel Family. This slowed the issue down a lot and was redundant for me, but since this hearkens back to plot points not discussed in this book for several years, it at least makes sense to sum them up again for such a major arc. Adam and Isis are confronted here, but are far more than a match for the unprepared JSA. This is a middle-arc fight where the heroes get walloped and need a plan to somehow turn the tide and is perfectly solid at that role. 6/10 – Solid

The Mighty Avengers #22 – Two issues into the new run and Slott has emasculated his favorite Avenger, Hank Pym, as Iron Man randomly stops a rampaging Hulk and saves the day from the dread sorcerer. With Cho as a background character thus far and Stature and Vision being really annoying, I wish these were all left to their own books (if Young Avengers is ever published again anyway). This is, thus far, Slott’s weakest Marvel work with too big of a so far ill conceived cast doing far too little. 4/10 – Below Average

Nova #22 – Richard Ryder, Nova no more, finally figures out what the World Mind is up to, but too late as he can’t get anyone to believe him, a huge space war (of the Kings) is about to break out, and he may be mad or dying. All around, things are rough for one of the greatest heroes in the cosmos. Of course since he killed Annihilus and got rid of the Phalanx mostly through force of will, he’ll figure something out. This is still one of the best books on the stands and easily, along with Captain America, consistently the very tops. 9/10 – Excellent

Outsiders #15 – The first Tomasi book I’ve ever read that I didn’t like. The Outsiders are being united by Alfred to fight a secret war against a villain that even Batman doesn’t know and has been manipulating them from the start. So, basically, it’s Romulus from Wolverine: Origins all over again, and just as ill conceived that every horrible thing that occurred is the result of one man who we’ve somehow managed to never even hear a whisper of. The rest of the plot and characterization are fine, but the premise here is terrible. 3/10 – Poor

Robin #183 – Damn, this is good. Robin prepares to face death and face down Lady Shiva, the world’s deadliest assassin, knowing he may not survive. The manner in which Tim steps up makes this absolutely great as does the fact that he suggests that the new Batman will be the obvious choice, Dick. Great characterization that really sets a strong tone for Robin to be a major player, more like Batman than ever, but still unique, heading off this book’s last issue and into Battle for the Cowl. 9/10

Runaways #7 – The kids are trying to become heroes again, but Chase is too tied up in his new job with a Howard Stern stand in to really be of use… of course that this shock jock wants a zombie army changes matters, but still, not a lot is happening and this seems a major step backward from Chase’s character post Gert. No one else is really given enough time to be endearing. As much as I love Terry Moore, superheroes apparently aren’t for him. 3/10 – Poor

Teen Tians #68 – This book has been in the process of being dropped for ages, but Grey convinced me to try this issue out. This issue Kid Devil and Kid Eternity go to hell to figure out what’s costing Kid Devil’s problems. While there, Eternity is remade into something that will fit a regular continuity comic regularly and Kid Devil loses his angst and his powers. Apparently the tighter focus suited McKeever because while this is nothing special, it’s good, focused character work. A marked improvement. 7/10 – Good

Thunderbolts #129 – Osborn’s black ops Avengers foil a plot on President Obama’s life… that was orchestrated by them. This is a fairly clever way to get the new president’s trust. Of course, with a team of unrepentant villains, there is very little here to sympathize with, so we’re expected to be satisfied by cleverness and Obama’s presence. It didn’t hold my interest with just that, but next month we get Deadpool in a crossover, which sounds fun enough to keep this on my pull list. 4/10 – Below Average

Uncanny X-Men #506 – The Science Team gets a new member in time to face Godzilla, but the real story here is Dr. Nemesis remains the most fun non-Warren Ellis Warren Ellis creation ever. Meanwhile Colossus saves some slaves and Cyclops addresses the current situation throughout the X-titles. Still, the real fun is the Science Team, who are such an awesome concept it’s amazing so little has been done with this kind of idea in the past. 7/10 – Good

Glazer is a former senior editor at Pulse Wrestling and editor and reviewer at The Comics Nexus.