The Sunday Open (on a Thursday!): Fifth Week of April 2008

Wow, April was a long month for comics. And, yeah, I passed my thesis defence. Go me.

Now, short reviews that only make sense to me!

DC Universe #0

They teased me. Teased me hard. Some bits intrigued me. Some didn't. The Batman/Joker scene was fantastic. The Libra scene was good. The rest didn't do much for me. But, whatever, it was fifty cents. Bring on Final Crisis and "Batman RIP."

Glamourpuss #1

I've yet to get into Cerebus, but, fuck you, I'm in on the ground floor of Dave Sim's newest comic! And it's... part fashion shit and part a discussion about Alex Raymond's photorealism style. It should be boring and dry, but it's not. This is a process book and strangely entertaining. Who'd've thunk it?

The Immortal Iron Fist #14

...so no one won the tournament?

Strangely, this left me a bit unsatisfied. It kind of happens and, yeah, there it is. I dunno. I dunno.

Legion of Super-Heroes #41

I got this because Tim and I were thinking of doing it for the Splash Page (which we haven't even begun yet). A decent issue dealing with beaurocracy and other shit. The future sucks, people. And despite being all genius, Brainiac 5 isn't that smart. I dunno, whatever. It wasn't a bad comic, but it also didn't get me wanting any future issues. It was mediocre and not worth further money.

New Avengers #40

Aside from that last page, I already knew all of this because I'm not a moron. I also have read New Avengers: Illuminati, New Avengers and Secret Invasion #1... nothing new is provided here except that last page reveal. The rest was all implied by those comics. So, this is a good issue for someone who hasn't been reading anything pre-Secret Invasion, but for someone like me: three bucks to learn that Spider-Woman is the Queen Skrull. Yeah, and I just gave you that information for free. Fuck. (Oh, don't like spoilers? What does it say at the goddamn top of the page, motherfucker? Yeah. That's right. Shut it now.)

The Order #10

They all didn't die. Fuck. But, bring on Invincible Iron Man or whatever it's called.

Thor: Ages of Thunder

Now, this was a very good comic. Two stories heavily rooted in Norse mythology showcasing Thor's abilities and the stupidity of the gods. Fraction's narration is fantastic here as he strikes a great balance between mythic language and telling the story in an easy-to-read manner. The art was decent, too.

Ultimate Human #4

I liked the earlier issues more.

Youngblood #3

There's some speculation as to whether or not Derec Aucoin is also Derec Donovan, and, if that is true... I liked his work on Adventures of Superman more. Casey's writing isn't that great here, but decent enough. This book is actually more tame and banal than I thought it would be. Weird.

I also bought The Other Side by Jason Aaron and Cameron Stewart, but haven't had a chance to read it yet. Maybe more reviews by the time the weekend is over.