EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of July 25, 2012

Three days of work down. Two to go. This whole 'work five days in a row' thing is insane. Also, preparations for the fifth Blogathon have begun. This one is going to be insane. You have no idea. You may think you do. But you don't.

Batman, Incorporated #3: If anyone at DC or Diamond is upset that I got to purchase a copy of this today, let me assure you that I'm not the sort to be offended by coincidence. I just dig me some Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham Batman comics. This one included. (I figured I'd keep this spoiler-free given some people won't be getting this for a month, theoretically.) [****]

Captain America #15: So... the dude's complaint is that Captain America is only one man and can't be in many different places at once? And people take that as a legitimate complaint about how good Captain America is at his job? I can't tell if that's bad writing or exactly like the real world. I really can't. [***1/2]

Haunt #25: Another fill-in artist, another tangent. An entertaining one. I'd like to see more comics with prostitutes dressed up in leather pony suits as men ride their backs. Well, not that specifically. It's just rare to see and I'm not sure that that's a good thing. [***1/2]

The Manhattan Projects #5: So... there's a plot to this book. Hmmmm? [Hmmmm!]

The Mighty Thor #17: Oh, Donald Blake... you get your rest now until someone decides to dust off your disembodied head and attach it to the Destroyer or something. Also: Thor hates his ex-girlfriend. That's a surprise. Because he seems like the sort of guy who would want to stay friends. Just like Seinfeld. I guess Amora ain't no Sif. [*1/2]

Ghost Whisperer National Comics: Eternity #1: At least Cully Hamner's art looks good. [And at least Jennifer Love Hewitt had breasts.]

Prophet #27: Die Hard! Die Hard? Die... Hard... That sort of took me aback. It makes sense of course. I guess I never expected that particularly Liefeld character to pop up. I didn't expect any to pop up. This may be a 'continuation' of a Liefeld comic, but it's so divorced from what we think of that sort of comic that a tangible reminder that, yeah, this is just the future of that world, is a little shocking. Meanwhile, this universe gets more expansive and strange with every page. Insane. [****]

Secret Avengers #29: You could really just pull those Avengers vs. X-Men issues out and not miss a beat going from issue 25 to 29. Not a single beat. That's the smart way to approach a book like this. I'm a little surprised that it bothered to get involved at all. Sales bump? And the chance to bring back Mar-Vell for no real reason? Anyway, the Shadow Council is back and that's fine. Plus, lots of supervillains. And, yeah. I liked this. It was fine. [***1/4]

Spaceman #8: It's weird to think that there's only one issue left. It doesn't feel like we're at the end of the story yet. Oh, maybe the end of the 'Tara kidnapped' plot, but that's not the story. Is it? Azzarello has said that this is only the first story in a larger work that, hopefully, he and Risso will return to after doing some other things. The Mars stuff seems more like a dream... something fake. But, is it? It's so detailed... I just enjoy the hell out of reading this comic when it comes out. And, soon, it's over. Damn, man. [****]

The Ultimates #13: What am I supposed to do with this? Am I supposed to pretend that the last 12 issues didn't happen? Am I supposed to forget about Hickman and Ribic and White and act like this is the same fucking comic? Because it's not. The slow shift to this point has been happening for the past few issues and, here we are: a mediocre, fine superhero comic that exists within a larger, interesting framework... and it doesn't feel like anything new or noteworthy is being done. I don't know. Part of me wants to simply drop it. Make a clean break and pretend that the series ended. Part of me wants to give Sam Humphries and his line-up of Vastly Inferior To Esad Ribic aritsts a chance to maybe make me like this comic despite being something quite different. After the City, the Children, the People, Reed Richards, and the rest... what the fuck does Captain America bring to the table? That's what I want to know. [**3/4]

Winter Soldier #8: It's kind of a shame that the Black Widow can't permanently become Bucky's arch-nemesis because of her role in other comics. That would be interesting. Her brainwashed and moving against him. A giant black ops game between a guy who loves a woman, and that woman trying to kill him. Or maybe that wouldn't be great. I think Brubaker could make it work. He's making this work and, on paper, this doesn't sound much better. But, that's why we like Brubaker, right? [***3/4]

X-Treme X-Men #1: I dig alternate reality comics and, yeah, I didn't like this. A messy, convoluted thing that gave me no reason to care about anything that's happening. I don't really know what it's about. Something about the multiverse being broken? Maybe? Somehow? And these random people are going to save it? It's like a less organised Exiles and that comic was nothing but a disappointment time and time again. I gave it a shot. [You only get $2.99 from me once]

Later

CBR Review: Alpha Flight #1

I recently reviewed Alpha Flight #1 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Part of the problem is that Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente have too many balls in the air. It’s great that they have subplots for all of the characters, the country, and the larger Marvel universe, but none of them really mesh. Instead of creating a cohesive story, all of the various subplots clash with one another and give the comic a disjointed 'And now here’s something about Sasquatch! And now here’s something about Guardian! Etc...' feeling. Oddly, despite being the center of the issue, Nerkkod’s attack feels like an afterthought, some random occurrence that provides an excuse for the characters to do something and advance the political subplot, but really could have been anything."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: Incredible Hercules #133

I recently reviewed Incredible Hercules #133 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "This method of providing Amadeus’ past works quite well since it doesn’t feel forced that these details come out —- despite the book itself being a contrivance, though it doesn’t feel like one. It’s a neat trick that Van Lente and Pak pull off. Beyond that, Amadeus’s journey to discover the truth about his parents’ death and the whereabouts of his sister gets moving rather quickly as he visits Excello, Utah, a city where objects and buildings only exist when your senses tell you that they exist."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: Incredible Hercules #132

I recently reviewed Incredible Hercules #132 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "For over a year now, people have been telling me that I’ve got to check out Incredible Hercules. Every time a list of books that no one is reading but everyone should be reading crops up, there’s Incredible Hercules, staring me in the face, reminding me that I haven’t picked an issue up yet. Well, I have finally read an issue and it was okay."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: Skaar: Son of Hulk #11

I recently reviewed Skaar: Son of Hulk #11 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Following a well-worn path is both a positive and negative here as it allows Pak to play with expectations and demonstrate how Skaar is different from his father. The confidence that Skaar exhibits in his human form is striking when you think back to the number of times Bruce Banner has cowered and sulked. That this child is so willing to sacrifice his own life to save others shows that there’s a lot of potential in this character to be another type of Hulk character rather than a simple copy."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: War Machine #3

I recently reviewed War Machine #3 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "There are two reasons for buying War Machine #3: Leonardo Manco’s art, and the insane glee and reckless abandon Ares has in fighting War Machine. There are several reasons for not buying War Machine #3: the clunky writing, the convoluted plot, the lame and so-bad-it’s-cliché bad guy, and the overwrought dialogue as James Rhodes confronts his violent tendencies."

You can read the rest HERE!

(As well, out of curiosity, do you people prefer the smaller pics of covers I've been using lately or the larger ones that I used to use?)