comics 23 janvier

Grendel Behold the Devil 3 is a must-read as are all Grendel tales.

2000 AD seriously lacks new ideas. The best two strips are Dredd and Strontium Dog and they are the oldest ones.

Countdown Special New Gods is just a reprint of Forever People 1, Mister Miracle 1 and New Gods 7 (The Pact). Why? Dunno.

ASM 548 continues to create a setup from 1972, with Carlie and Lily replacing Gwen and MJ and Mr. Negative replacing Dr. Octopus in his war against Hammerhead of the Maggia.

She-Hulk 25 is an anniversary issue with extras. Peter David's scripts are strong but the art is
average. I still can't understand why he doesn't get top artists.

I wasn't going to buy Young Avengers Presents until I saw it was by Brubaker and had a cover with classic Captain America shots. It's a good story with Bucky Barnes telling the new Patriot about patriotism and the first Patriot.

I hadn't read Illuminati 5 when it came out but picked it because it's part of the Skrull invasion. At least this Skrull infimtration is a good way to fix the inconsistencies and mischaracterisations that have plagued Bendis' titles but whether it does achieve that remains to be seen.

Marvel Zombies has gotten repetitive.

Iron Man 25 kicks off the celebration 45th anniversary. The main story features the classic design while the Mandarin makes his move. There is a recap of his origin by Goodwin and Colan from 1968, a feature on the film, a feature on his armors previewing future collections by Layton, a feature on the upcoming Omnibus and a preview of a story by Favreau and Adi Granov.

X-Men First Class 8 has very good art and a fair story but Dr. Conners has his two arms and he should have only one. The Man-Thing is not a contemporary of the early X-Men. Not a big deal.

Wonder Woman 16 reads well but that character lacks in interest.

X-Men 207, end of Messiah Complex.

Countdown to Mystery 5 has the kind of story only Gerber can think up, a psychoanalysis of a
character based on a comic book she wrote.

Superman Confidential 11 wraps us the story from 1-5 by Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale.

JLA Classified 51 has a story from the Justice League of the Silver Age by Byrne and Stern.

Punisher 54 is the ultra-violent finish between Barracuda and the Punisher, the swan song by Ennis who leaves after the next storyline.

Legion of Super-Heroes 38 has a good plot and interesting dialogue and characterisation. Jim Shooter may just achieve what Mark Waid didn't.

Astonishing X-Men 24 is not the end of Whedon and Cassaday's title as the finale will be in a Giant-Size issue. Their issues are a classic and I hope they get collected in an Omnibus collection fast.

Army at Love 11 remains strong issue after issue.

Dan Dare 3 has a strong military tone, which is understandable given Ennis' liking of war stories.

Damage Control is a comedic series set in the Marvel Universe, something we should see more often.