A few more DC #1’s than last week, Fear Itself limps along, and my first look at the new Ultimate Spider-Man.

Batman and Robin #1: Eh, it was okay. I liked the softer, forward-looking side of Bruce coming out, but it seems a little bit like they’re trying to recapture the Dick/Damian dynamic, and that’s simply not going to work with these characters. Art’s a little hard to follow at times too.

Batwoman #1: Truly excellent stuff. This still feels like a direct sequel to “Elegy” (which of course is how it started out), but there’s enough explained to make this story reboot-friendly as well.

Daredevil #3: Great stuff. Waid and Rivera are kiling it.

Demon Knights #1: Off to a great start; this issue was over too soon for me.

Fear Itself #6: This crossover is positively limping to the finish line. I think the Nazi robots are all gone, the hammer dudes are all gathered together for a final attack, and Odin is poised to step in if the heroes don’t succeed. So we’ve got a clear understanding of the stakes, the Big 3 Avengers are all being suitably badass, and that’s good. We’ve also got Spider-Man learning a lesson about great responsibility again, and that’s a bore.

Green Lantern #1: Not a bad story, with Sinestro trying to figure out what the Guardians are playing at by giving him a green ring, and Hal trying to settle into an ordinary life he’s completely unsuited for. But this is very much Green Lantern #68. Any newcomers who thought the mythology was impenetrable in the Green Lantern movie aren’t going to like this introduction any better.

Grifter #1: I’ll stick with it because I think the concept has legs, but this first issue did not do a great job introducing the main character or the threat.

Legion Lost #1: Like Green Lantern, this is a decent story provided you already know everything about the Legion of Super-Heroes. If you don’t, you better really be able to hit the ground running, because this book does not slow down to introduce any of its many, many concepts.

New Avengers #16: Bendis goes back to having the Avengers respond to internet criticism of his work, and there’s also something about robots in there. I dunno. I’m just waiting for the tie-ins to finish and all the oral history stuff to return to its proper status as supplemental material at the end of the book.

Suicide Squad #1: Be careful with this one, because like the title says, it could easily drive you to take your own life. The few characters who are properly introduced are simplified to the point of blandness, interaction is all but nil, and the action is weak. And Amanda Waller fans, be prepared for a final page so stupid you’d roll your eyes if you saw it in our strip as a parody of such stupidity.

Superboy #1: The art is excellent. The story is…there. Not bad, or anything, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. I just gave the book a shot on the off chance that it would be a return to the fun, carefree Kesel days, but it’s going it’s own way. And that’s fine, I just don’t wanna go with them.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1: I didn’t read Ultimate Fallout, so this is my first introduction to Miles Morales. And…it wasn’t much of one. I learned a lot more about Miles’ father, uncle, and the spider in this issue than I did about the title character. Still and all, I liked what I did see, and think this could turn out to have a very different dynamic than Peter’s status quo. Looking forward to how it develops.

Uncanny X-Force #15: This series is still worlds beyond the previous one, but I gotta say, between all the alternate universes and Apocalypse stuff, this feels more like just another X-Men team than an off-the-books black ops one. But it’s a well-done X-Men team, so it’s still enjoyable.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 15th, 2011 at 6:55 pm by Sean Whitmore and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.