Justice League #1: 52 Thoughts on the First Book of the New 52!

It's finally here! As of today, DC's The New 52 begins with the release of Justice League #1 from Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. So here I am wondering what I'll do with this since everybody else on the internet already seems to have read this issue and reviewed it already. Instead, I'm going to reread it and post up 52 things I find interesting about this issue. Let's get to it!

1: It's already been said that this takes place in the early days of the DCU, so it's kind of cool to see this series beginning with Batman getting chased down by the GCPD.

2: The second page is a nice big splash page. Almost makes me want to go reread Batman: Hush. Keyword there: almost.

3: Thought I'd get a better look at the details of Batman's new threads here. Outside of the bat gauntlets, no dice.

4: While I'm on the topic of Batman's costume, I'm kind of steamed that they got rid of the Batman Incorporated costume so quickly. I was really enjoying that look. It feels like it's been squandered.

4: There we go; a nicer look at Batman's new costume! It looks a bit similar to the Arkham Asylum costume.

5: Also, holy crap, batman's got tiny little rockets in his glove. Nice.

6: Bwoof is an odd sound for a helicopter to make.

7: First time I read this, I thought that was Killer Croc in the cloak.

8: Yes Batman, fire your grappling hook through his calf muscle!

9: Bwoooooooshhhhhhh is probably an appropriate sound for whatever this thing is to make.

10: Look out Batman, it's a robot!

11: Suddenly, Hal Jordan! With the Fire Truck! On the Rooftop!

12: This scene would be infinitely cooler if this were Killer Croc and Hal was throwing a green rock at him.

13: It'd be a pretty big rock...

14: Hal is surprised that Batman's real. Yep. The space cop thought Batman couldn't be real.

15: Also, Hal's shoulder pads look dumb.

16: You'd think the cops would know better than to fire at a someone in glowing green spandex with a magic space ring. Not that they'd know it's a space ring...

17: Looks like this is gonna be a Batman and Hal team-up issue.

16: Seriously, we just got through a Flash and Batman team-up in Flashpoint. Has Geoff Johns been watching a lot of Batman: The Brave and the Bold lately?

15: It also almost makes me want to reread All-Star Batman and Robin because Batman and Hal meeting was the basis of the single best issue of that series. Keyword there: almost.

16: Uh-oh, the robot isn't quite dead.

17: Man, no wonder Gotham cops are so corrupt; they don't have a great track record with staying alive, so they might as well make as much as possible why they live.

18: Dammit, it's "CRASH" not "KRASH"!

19: And the robot gets away as by turning into a spider looking thingy.

20: Okay Hal, just shut up. That's not what a transformer looks like and that's not what a dog looks like. Your track record with describing things is terrible. Remember Larfleeze? You called him Gonzo when he clearly looked like Alf. How are you this dumb?

21: And now Batman's mocking Hal. Stupid Hal.

22: Y'know, on the one hand, nice to see that Hal's helping out, but on the other, leave some of those fires to the fire fighters. That's their JOB.

23: Actually, can green lantern construct water to take out the fire? Does that mean there's going to be green construct puddles after all of this?

24: "...Green Lanten can handle anything." Geez Hal. Ego much?

25: Batman has a power Hal. It's called endless wealth. Also, he's Batman.

26: Oh look, a NEW 52 checklist. I'm seriously only buying about 1/4 of these books at best.

27: Just like ASBAR, Batman totally stole Hal's power ring. Now Hal's angry.

28: And they found the "dog" it looks like it's vomiting kirby dots.

29: Oh look, the "dog" is fusing a box to a wall. huh.

30: "For Darkseid!" Hmmmm? I wonder what THAT could mean.

31: And the "dog" blew itself up, probably because Hal called it a dog.

32: Darkseid: a band, a death cry, or an evil space god? YOU DECIDE!

33: Yes, this box must be related to Superman! I mean, they're both from space, right?

34: Batman: "Let's be careful around Superman. He seems pretty dangerous." Hal: "Pfft, screw that! I'm the Green Lantern!" Yep. This is gonna end poorly.

35: Meanwhile, at a Highscool football game... wait, what?

36: Oh, right. Cyborg's origin story. He's really good at foot ball.

37: Aw, his dad didn't show up to the game. Nothing is sadder than an athlete looking to see that reserved seat empty.

38: And everyone wants a piece of Vic Stone. In fact, the only way for him to not make it into college is if he ends up getting turned into a crime fighting cyborg. Oh, wait...

39: "Hustle, Hit, Never it!" Varsity tag?

40: Poor Vic just wants his dad to see him win the big game.

41: Also, why the hell is he using a payphone? Is this set back far enough that cellphones weren't widespread yet?

42: Also, what the hell Vic's dad? Your kid's future as a pro is at stake and you can't take off for one night to sit down and help him figure out which college to sign him up with? You suck at being a parent.

43: "Man, Look at him, Vic's got it made." Yeah, what with the neglectful father, not even showing up to his game or taking the time to help him sort out his future.

44: It's a bird! No it's a plane! Wait, yes. It's a plane!

45: Man, Green Lantern really sucks at being inconspicuous.

46: "Well, you can't fly..." Yes, Hal. You have a point. I mean, it's not like a guy who can afford an impressive costume like that would have the money for his own jet or anything.

47: Oh hey, they're at a Lexcorp building and there's a hole in the side. It's either Superman or one of the countless monsters that Lex Luthor keeps making to kill Superman.

48: "I can handle this!" PUNCH! THOOM!

49: Hey, it's Superman! And he's looking and acting really cocky. Oh boy.

50: And the issue is over! Next issue: Batman vs. Superman!

51: Not a bad issue, really, but not something I'm gonna come back to month after month. It's decompressed to the level of a Bendis Avengers book. I'll wait for the trade to read more.

52: Oh hey, bonus art! Man, the Green Lantern outfit looks worse here. Superman, on the other hand, looks much better. Those red gauntlets add a lot of needed red to the outfit and the cape attaching directly to the big S-shield is pretty cool. The final product is pretty lame in comparison. Aquaman isn't too shabby, either.

And, that's it! 52 thoughts for the first of the New 52! Not sure if I'm going to do this every week, but I thought it'd be an interesting thing to do instead of just a straight up review. Like I said, the issue isn't bad at all, but if every issue is this decompressed, then I'll stick to the trades. Still, I am looking forward to Batman, Action Comics, All-Star Western, and Blue Beetle. Hopefully the good titles get to stick around.

The 2010 Round-Up: Piggy's Favorite Things! Part One: Comics

So it's December and the end of the year is here. 2010 was a heck of a year for comics as the big two look on the bright side with "Brightest Day" and "Heroic Age" banners showing up on their titles. Meanwhile, Batman was lost in time, Atomic Robo's roster of bad guys shot up, a cop with an axe brought out everyone's inner child, and so much more happened. So here's my list of my favorite stuff from this year in comic.

Favorite Marvel Books:

Atlas and Thunderbolts by Jeff Parker:

If there's one thing that the Heroic Age taught me, it's that Jeff Parker is great at writing team books. In Atlas, he gave us a team the literal revels in it's comic book-y-ness as a Chinese man, a Martian, a Goddess, an Atlantean, a Robot, and a Gorilla teamed up with the 3-D man to kick ass. Unfortunately, it was cancelled, but it got a proper ending and maybe we'll see them again some day. Of course, Mr. Parker did find success with the Thunderbolts, where he made Luke Cage the leader of Marvel's rotating hero team of villains. Month in and month out the book is a genuine joy to read and it's only getting better from here. If any issue in particular takes the cake, it's easily the 150th issue; heroes clashed, a frog guy made me laugh, Iron Man and Captain Rogers got to settle things with their would be killers (Ghost and Crossbones), and Luke Cage learned that maybe this team isn't as bad off as it could be. So with the future in site, I'm glad to say that I'm sticking with this series for the long run.

Amazing Spider-Man by Dan Slott, Fred Van Lente, Mark Waid, Zeb Wells, and Joe Kelly

Amazing Spider-Man has been a damn good book since late 2008, but for me the book really hit a high this year as "The Gauntlet" came out and showed us just how awesome Spider-Man's gallery of bad guys can be. Stories that stand out the most include Joe Kelly's heart breaking Rhino story as well as his unbelievably awesome "Grim Hunt" story that brought back Kraven the Hunter and held several twists and turns that just blew me away. And of course there was the ending to Brand New Day, "Origin of Species" in which Mark Waid told a tale of Spider-Man fighting to protect the child of Lilly Hollister, otherwise known as "Menace". But perhaps the best story arc of the bunch is Zeb Wells fantastic "SHED" storyline, where the Lizard showed us just how scary he can truly be. Together he and Chris Bachalo showed us just how savage and chilling Kurt Connor's inner beast could be. And of course there's Dan Slott, who's taking charge of the book now with "Big Time" which promises to take the web slinger higher and farther than ever before. If you want to jump on and enjoy the Wall crawler, then now is a better time than ever, because the next year is looking to be truly great.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Robert Langridge and Chris Samnee

If you aren't reading Thor: The Mighty Avenger, than you really suck at choosing which comics to read. You're also not alone, because a whole lot of people aren't reading it and that's a damn shame. See Marve's "God of Thunder" got a revamp from Langridge and Samnee and it's actually the best book the company has put out this year. It's also selling so poorly that it's getting cancelled just 4 issues short of completing the full story that the team had initially set out to tell. But enough about that, let's talk about how awesome this book was. Thor: TMA is a book that is made of pure love and joy and it's such a good read every time it comes out. Thor himself is a young, headstrong god struggling to understand why he's been banished, but learning to love the world he's been exiled to through his relationship with Jane Foster. It's a story of love in the guise of a super hero book, unfortunately it's also one that's doomed to have a tragically untold ending. Meanwhile Deadpool has six goddamned comic book on the shelves right now; what the hell does that say?

Assault on New Olympus, Hercules: Fall of an Avenger, Prince of Power, and Chaos War by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente

As this year began, Hercules was left for dead on an alternate earth by his sister Athena so that Amadeus Cho could become her champion. Amadeus Cho then decided that he wasn't going to accept that and set out the bring the big guy back. He succeeded, but then the Chaos King decided to wipe out all of existence. With all the heroes left helpless, Herc has assembled a God Squad to take down the Chaos King and save all of existence. So how was your year again? Yes, Mr. Pak and Mr. Van Lente have had quite a year writing the Hell out of there books and with each one they manage to one up the awesome factor of the story that came before it. Sure, you could read Mr. Pak's Hulk, but this is really where it's all at. Although I'm sure Mr. Pak wouldn't mind if you read his Hulk anyway.

Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis

If you read any of Bendis' books this year that isn't Scarlet, then read Ultimate Spider-Man, because the man is still tearing it up on this book. And this year he hit the 150 mark. 150 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man and the man's still not done yet. This year the wall crawler has had friends move in, he's had to help Rick Jones come to term with his newly gained powers, and he's met twin Chameleons who have torn apart the great image he's had ever since he managed to survive the Ultimatum Wave. As this year ends, he's finding out that he's going to be receiving training from various members of the Ultimates so that he can learn to do superhero-ing the proper way. And coming up in the next year is "The Death of Spider-Man" storyline that hopefully doesn't kill off the Ultimate version of the web slinger and will be pitting the Ultimates against the Ultimate Avengers. I'd be more nervous about this story, but it's an Ultimate book being written by Bendis and Millar, so we could be doing worse.

Favorite DC Books:

Justice League: Generation Lost by Judd Winick

If you told me a year ago that I'd be in love with a book by Judd Winick, I'd laugh at you, but Justice League: Generation Lost has me eating a slice of humble pie. Winick has reunited the JLI and set them against Max Lord who has in return set the World against the JLI. From truly cool stuff, such as Captain Atom taking trips to a nightmarish future and Booster Gold taking a step into the leadership position, to the hilarious new Rocket Red, this is the Justice League book that everyone should be reading.

Action Comics and Knight and Squire by Paul Cornell

Paul Cornell wasn't a name that made me buy comics before this year, but now it's a name that will make me read anything. It all started when he began writing Action Comics, a title I hadn't read at all before he hopped on, but with the premise of a book about Lex Luthor tickling my fancy I had to give the title a shot. Now, about six issues and an annual later, this might just be my favorite book from DC this year. From wild dream battles with Mr. Mind, to Lex brushing off a frustrated Vandal Savage who wants to trap and kill Luthor, to Gorilla Grodd fighting with a giant spoon, Mr. Cornell has turned the insanity and fun up to 11 and made this book the must read book of the Superman title.

Of course Action Comics isn't the only title Mr. Cornell is writing, as he's currently writing both Knight and Squire and Batman and Robin, but since I'm going to be writing about Batman and Robin later, Knight and Squire will have to do for right now. Knight and Squire is what happens when you take a concept and have fun with it; Mr. Cornell has taken this British version of Batman and Robin and turned them into the BBC version of the Adam West/Burt Ward team from the old TV show. This book is silly, fun, funny, and also a little informative. Sure it's hard to understand what they're saying half the time, but that's just part of the charm. Yes, between these two books, there is no way you're not having fun in the DCU!

Batman 700-702,Batman and Robin, and Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison

This year, Grant Morrison wrapped up the huge Batman epic that he's spent the last 4 years telling. He took on the ultimate evil and won, then he got lost in time, then his predecessor turned his evil assassin son into the new Robin, and then he managed to come back from being lost in time just in time to help the new Dynamic Duo take out the ultimate evil, again. Grant's been a busy guy telling the story he has to tell and it's payed off in all the right ways. Bruce Wayne has been a cave man, a pirate, a witch hunter, and even the detective trying to solve his own death. He even became a weapon that Darkseid had planned to use to to destroy time itself, but he managed to undo that. Dr. Hurt faced him at multiple points in time, but again and again Bruce bested him, setting a trap for him that even Hurt couldn't see coming. He showed us why he's one of DC's big three and he did so in such a satisfying way. If you haven't been reading Morrison's Batbooks, than you're insane because they're just that damn good. And with Batman Incorporated just starting up, it's not too late to jump on and see why everyone loses their mind every time these titles come out.

Secret Six by Gail Simone

Secret Six is a title that doesn't stand out that much as a comic book. It isn't the book everyone raves about or the title that everyone tells you to read. That being said, it's a book that you should be reading. Much like the T-Bolts, this is a team composed to bad guys trying to do good things. Not at all like the T-Bolts, this team is led by someone who isn't necessarily a hero. No, this is a team of broken, crazy, complex characters led by Bane, that character that went from being a mastermind Batman villain to a shadow of his former self in the 90s. The fact that Bane is such a great character in this book is just one of the reasons that Gail Simone's Secret Six is one of the best comics that DC is putting out right now.

And it isn't just Bane that's written well; Catman, Scandal Savage, Ragdoll, Jeanette, Deadshot, and Black Alice are all fantastically written characters that keep me coming back each and every issue wanting to see what they team's got in store for me next. Two issues in particular (both one-shots) stand out in particular as really great issues; one has the team captured and sent to an island to face off against some rich jerks and the other has the team re-imagined in the old west preparing to face off against Ragdoll's sister and Slade Wilson. Both are fantastic issues that will be able to sell anyone on this series. And then there's the recently run story where the team has split into two and end up having to face each other in an alternate dimension resembling Marvel's Savage Land where they fight each other wearing loin clothes and riding on Dinosaurs. Yes, it's that awesome.

Favorite Books From Everyone Else:

Darkwing Duck (Boom!Kids) by Ian Brill and James Silvani

Boom!Kids is the little line that could, which is to say that it's the best thing to happen to all ages comics in the last decade. Every book is awesome and the best of the bunch is Darkwing Duck. This book successfully brings the "Disney Afternoon" character back in all of his duck glory. With writer Ian Brill nailing the wit, heart, and joy of the character and artist James Silvani brings art that is so good that you'll never want to look away. This is easily the best looking book that this line has put out and it's easily one of the top 5 best looking books of this year, period. Actually, it's easily one of my top 5 favorite books, period.

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour (OniPress) by Bryan Lee O'Malley

The story of Scott Pilgrim came to an end this year with the 6th and final book in the series and it's easily one of my favorite books of the year. Scott starts this volume out alone and broken after Ramona left him and he was forced to move into his own apartment by himself. He quickly finds himself revisiting each of his past loves and finding out that maybe he wasn't the best boyfriend in the world, let alone a good person in general. Plots are resolved, secrets are revealed, and Gideon Graves finally gets what he's got coming. This is a story about love that's a little more mature than it seems and it ends with two people learning that they're going to have to work together to make it work out.

Atomic Robo Volume 4 (Red5 Studio) by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener

Okay, if you know me at all than this selection shouldn't be any sort of surprise. Atomic Robo is easily my favorite comic book being printed today and I find myself giddy like a school girl for each and every new issue as they come out. That's why I'm glad to say that Volume 4 is the best volume in the series yet. The story revolves around 4 different one-shot issues that all take place within a span of a week, but each and every consecutive incident involves yet another strange foe that highlights just how crazy and wonderful this book is. From Vampires from a different dimension, to a giant Japanese monster not unlike something out of a Kaiju movie, to other enemies such as Dr. Dinosaur and the ghost of Thomas Edison. Each issue stands alone fantastically on it's own, but together it does wield a fantastic story that builds upon the world of Robo in one way or another. It also successfully highlights why I love this book; it's a fantastically hilarious sci-fi action comedy book that takes place in a wonderful world of action science, talking dinoaurs, and just about anything the imagination can think of.

Axe Cop (Axecop.com/Dark Horse) by Ethan and Malachai Nicolle

At the tail end of last year, Axe Cop popped up out of nowhere and took the internet by storm; this comic, made by the brothers Nicolle (Ethan (age 29) and Malachai (age 6)) who have crafted one of the most insanely comics of this year. The process of making this comic is simple: Malachai comes up with a bunch of randomly awesome details and plot points and Ethan puts it all together in a coherent enough fashion and draws it all so that he may put it up on the internet. Almost overnight the whole thing became a huge hit, with everyone falling in love with the genuinely childish nature of the book. Axe Cop is comic book equivalent of how you used to play with your action figures when you were a young child and for that I love it. And I'm not alone, as the title has gained enough fame that Ethan himself is putting off the release of the comic he had originally intended to put out in favor of working on this and Dark Horse Comics has decided to work with Ethan in order to publish the web series as well as publishing a completely original 3 issue mini series. If you aren't reading this, go now. It's free on the web and it features a T-Rex with Gatling guns for arms. Seriously, go read it. Now.

Sweet Tooth (Veritgo) by Jeff Lemire

Sweet Tooth is easily one of the best comics coming out right now, and though I've currently dropped the ongoing in favor of trades, I haven't given up on this title. This story of a young Deer boy and his protector in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is almost wiped out is a fantastic book. Jeff Lemire has crafted a dark sad world where people must lie, steal, cheat, and maybe even kill to survive, where young animal children are hated for existing and find themselves being experimented on in the name of science. It's a great read, though, an it's definitely something anyone looking for a darker, more mature comic out there to read that isn't just a bunch of muscle riddled jerks flying around and punching each other.

The Unwritten (Vertigo) by Mike Carey and Peter Gross

The Unwritten is another Vertigo book that I'm reading exclusively in trade. It's also a fantastic story about a boy who's father turned into an internationally famous character in a series of Harry Potter like books. The story starts as a mystery about whether Thomas is actually the Tommy Taylor from the famous books or not, but quickly turns into a terrific journey throughout all of literature in general. The first two volumes are out now with the third coming next march, though it your feeling up to it, you can also pick it up in individual issues so that you're not left waiting too long for your fix.

So there we go, folks. That's my pics for my favorite comics of the year. Each one is a fantastic read in it's own right, so do yourself a favor and read them all. You won't be sorry. For part two, I'm going to be covering my favorite animated stuff from the last year, which includes cartoons from TV, movies, anime, and everything in between. Part three is going to be Movies and TV. Part Four will probably come in the new year and it will be Video Games. It's going to take that long so that I can get all my Christmas games played enough that I can actually talk about them with some experience under my belt. I might even do a Part 1.5 where I highlight individual one-shot issues that I loved and just what's so great about them as well as a Part 5 about Podcasts and music that I've come to enjoy this year. So look out for all of that coming soon. When the New Year hits I'm going to try and find some other things to talk about before I get back to doing weekly comic reviews. I really want to wait for some newer stuff to hit before I do more reviews. I'll definitely be reviewing the next volume of Fullmetal Alchemist when that comes out. So there. I've put all this out there, let's hope I can get all of this out.

The (Very Late) Weekly Round-Up: 11/10/10

Hey there loyal readers! I had a wedding to help prepare for and then go to last week, so I wasn't going to do last week's Weekly Round-Up. Then I got my comics for this week and holy crap was there some awesome stuff. Not talking about everything this week, but I will cover the 4-way tie for my issue of the week. Each one is a great book and each one is worth the cover price on the front.

If I had to pick one book of the four, I think Amazing Spider-Man #648 would take the spot for various reasons. For one thing, It's a huge comic: the main story is 39 pages with an 8 page back-up to go along with it. For $4 there aren't many other comics that pack that much of a value. And it's not just a great value, it's easily the best one-shot Spider-Man story of the year. And that's counting those Rhino issues ( #617 and #626 if I remember correctly) which were both amazing issues.

The main story is actually two stories in one, but each one centers around the idea of Peter Parker (in both personas) going "Big Time". The first half centers around Spider-Man and the his teammates from the Avengers working together to face off against Doctor Octopus' army of "Macro-Octobots" from destroying New York City. The next part focuses on Pete's non-heroing life, with his roomate Michele moving back to Chicago and Pete looking to get his living arrangements figure out. While the second half isn't nearly as action packed as the first, it does a great job of introducing us to the supporting cast of the book.

For people staying on the book it's nothing major, but for people just hopping on, there's a lot that's changed since Brand New Day began and there are a few more changes that happen by the end of the story. One big change is Pete's new job as a scientist at Horizon Labs, which is described as both an Apple Store and Willy Wonka's Factory mixed togther and "Pixar meets The Baxter Building". The overall story also does a great job of building on upcoming plotlines, such as the reformed Sinister Six (Doc Ock, Rhino, Mysterio, Electro, Chameleon, and Sandman) putting a huge plan together and the Kingpin hiring the Hobgoblin to steal an experimental replacement for Vibranium being made by Horizon Labs. Combine all of this with the delicious art stylings of Humberto Ramos and you've got one hell of an issue, with a nice back-up featuring Spider-Girl, who's about to get an ongoing of her own. This is a hell of an issue and easily a must read for fans of Spidey.

Atomic Robo is also out this week, with the first issue of the 5th volume of the series "Atomic Robo and the Dangerous Art of Science". This issue takes us back to the 1930's, where Robo is still living with Tesla. What's awesome about this issue is we get to see a very different Robo than the one we're used to: in the first four volumes, we've gotten to know the Robo who was an "Action Scientist" who takes on Nazis, Lovecraftian monsters, and talking genius Raptors. Here, we get to see a younger Robo who's not nearly as focused. His fanboyish naivety over getting to see a masked man taking on mobsters is comedy gold. We're also going to see a bit more of the feud between Robo and his greatest enemy, Thomas Edison, which will be so awesome. It's a bit of a surprise to have it back so soon, I'm used to having almost a year between volumes, but it's good to have it back on my stack and I'm looking forward to seeing what Clevinger and Wegener have in store for us in the next few issues. And as usual, there's a few of those delicious Robo pin-ups from other artists that usually populate the back of the issue, though I'm sad to see the lack of a cool back-up story. Those are usually really fun to have.

Knight and Squire #2 is also out this week and it's a great read. If I had to describe this title, I think the best way is like this: Knight and Squire is what you'd get if the BBC had mad the old Adam West Batman show from the 60's. This issue we has the Dynamic Duo of the UK facing off against The Morris Men, a group of men looking to make England a place for the wealthy, straight, white man. The issue is a blast, with a mix of British charm and campy goodness that mix together just right. Now, I do have to warn you: if you aren't very familiar with British people talking, you're not going to understand a third of the dialog in this book. Cornell does a good job of explaining a good bit of it all with a short entry in the back explaining most of it for those who aren't familiar with Morris Men and even point out a few of the inspirations for some of the things going on in the issue itself. And for what you miss in dialog, the book makes up for in humor. One moment in particular, where Knight and Squire steal some disguises off of a pair of guards had me laughing out loud until my ribs hurt. If you're even remotely a fan of Batman and the idea of the Club of Heroes, then definitely pick this issue up.

And lastly, the 4th book tying for my "issue of the week" is Justice League: Generation Lost. This issue was the first thing I read this week and it's still the one that hit me the hardest. This issue has Magog facing off against Captain Atom in one huge smack down. It's one hell of a showdown with an ending that made me say "Oh $#!%" before putting down the book to take in what just happened. Before this series I was skeptical of Winick. After this issue I can now say that I take back anything I may have said about the man's writing. This is a fantastic read and a chilling issue. Max Lord is back and Judd Winick is showing us just how much of a crazy, evil, magnificent bastard he is. If you're looking for a Justice League book to read, this is the one you should be reading. This is the best new series from DC this year and if you haven't begun reading it yet, then go pick up the back issues or preorder the trades, because no one should be missing this.

And that's it for this week. 4 books that you should be reading, each one earning my choice as "issue of the week". Come back tomorrow or Thursday for this week's books, because Batman Incorporated is starting up and it's gonna be awesome!

The Weekly Round-Up: 10/6-13/10

Hey there, people who actually read my my reviews! Looks like I missed last week's reviews. I'd apologize, but I missed it so I could watch Doc Halladay throw a no-hitter in his first post-season game, so suck it! Still, I guess I could talk about last week's comics along with this week's because that's just the kind of guy I am. So let's get started with what I read and liked (or maybe even didn't like) from the last two weeks!

First up is Shadowland: Spider-Man by Dan Slott and Paulo Siquera. Now, I gave up on Shadowland about a month or two ago because I just could not care less about it. Still, when I saw this I couldn't help but pick it up because Spider-Man and Shang Chi teaming up is totally awesome. The story centers around Spider-man and Shang-Chi facing off against Mr. Negative and his gang of unkillable demon gangster. Seems Negative decided that he'd take advantage of Daredevil's crazy Shadowland crap and make his territory bigger. Our heroes follow and decide to get into the mix-up between Negative's gang and DD's Hand Ninja. Honestly, I don't think this one-shot even NEEDS the Shadowland name on it because you could take out all the Shadowland elements here and it would still work as well as it does. This could have just been the "Spider-man and Shan-Chi One-Shot", which might have made it even better because it would mean I wouldn't have to buy into ANYTHING Shadowland related. Hell, this could have just been a one off issue of Amazing Spider-Man and it would do just as well. Anyway, if you're looking for some good ol' fashioned Marvel Team-Up-ing, then give this one a shot (see what I did there?)

Next up is Amazing Spider-Man: Back in Quack by Stuart Moore, Mark Brooks, Ray Height, and Joe Suitor, with a cover by Scottie Young. The best thing about this issue is the cover by Scottie Young. The actual issue itself isn't very good; the story centers around Howard the Duck and his lovely lady Bev being brainwashed by a company called "S.O.O.Ph.I." (which stands for "The Service Organization Of Philanthropic Individuals") and Spider-Man having to snap them out of it and stop S.O.O.Ph.I. from turning all of New York into a bunch of cynical sarcastic jerks. The story has a nice little moral about how being cynical doesn't make you cool and witty and how we should always just think for ourselves, which I think is a great message. Unfortunately, it accomplishes this through unfunny, stiff dialogue, a bad "Caturday" reference, a random quote that just comes out of nowhere, and a story that just feels garbled. There's one funny joke in the entire book, which is the "EMAX BLANDITRON" screens that are used for brainwashing. In a book starring Spider-Man and Howard the Duck, you should have more than one successful joke: the book should be stuffed with humor. This is just bad. There's also a Swamp Thing story which isn't too bad, but feels a bit out of place. The overall interior art duties are odd, half of the main story gets split with the second half looking so much better than the first and the Swamp Thing story looking appropriately depressing. Honestly, I can't recommend this to anyone: if you want a really good current Howard the Duck story, Marvel Zombies 5 by Fred Van Lente has him AND Machine Man and is totally awesome. You should go read that. If you want good Spider-Man, Amazing or Ultimate flavors should satisfy you.

Speaking of Amazing Spider-Man, that came out this week! Mark Waid's "Origin of Species" continues as Spider-Man continues to face down an onslaught of bad guys and in this issue he's gotten serious. We've got Spider-Man hunting down each and every masked criminal that has accepted Doc Ock's offer and he's showing them: a) why they call him the AMAZING Spider-Man and b) why you don't mess with him. If you like seeing Spider-Man kick ass for 22 straight pages of comic, then you might want to give this issue a read. Art duties are handled by Paul Azaceta and Matthew Southworth on pencils and the two blend so well together that I didn't even know that there were two different pencilers until I looked at the credits page. Maybe they're that good together of maybe Javier Rodriguez's coloring is that damned good, but either way I enjoyed the art here. There's also Stan Lee and Marcos Martin's back-up, which comes to a close in a way that I didn't quite see coming and that I really enjoyed. It's good to see Stan the man back on one of the books that made him the legend he is today and I hope he and Martin will team-up again some time soon to provide another fun little tale like this!

Meanwhile, at DC, Batman is trapped in time and he's got 5 different books this week: I only bought one of those and that one is BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #5! This is the penultimate issue of Grant Morrison's insanely awesome tale of Batman in time and in this issue he's found himself caught up in an investigation of his own parents' murder. Things aren't quite what they seem though and a few threads that showed up in Batman RIP seem to be coming back. And to top it all off it looks like Red Robin and the Justice League have run out of time in their mission to stop time itself from being destroyed! Grant's writing the hell out of this series and I'm excited to see where this last issue will take us. Art in this book is handled by Ryan Sook and Pere Perez, with Sook providing some amazingly awesome noirish art and Perez taking over for the last 8 pages which include and crazy final page that has me pumped for what the next issue will bring.
Also in the Batman world this week is issue #1 of Paul Cornell's Knight and Squire mini! For those of you who don't know, Knight and Squire are the british Batman and Robin and they're awesome. And it's being written by (as I previously stated) Paul Cornell who is tearing it up on Action Comic right now, doing an amazing job with his Lex Luthor story. This first issue is a great little one-off introducing us to the world of British Super Heroes and Villains, who are all a lot more chill than they're American counter parts. "How much more chill" you ask? Well they all share drinks with each other in a magical truce bar once a month where nobody can fight because it's been magically made to keep fighting from happen. I love this issue and I love the idea of getting to see this awesome side of the DC universe. Jimmy Broxton and Guy Major, the art team on this book, manage to make this book all the better with they're combination of quirky art and awesome coloring. This is just an all around awesome book and if you're looking for another Batman book to pick up that isn't some lame tie-in than this is your book!

What else is awesome from DC? Why, it's Justice League Genereation Lost, issue number 11! What's so awesome about this issue? Well it's got the freaking Metal Men in it, and that's insanely awesome! That's right, Fire, Ice, and Rocket Red must work together to face off with the robot team, who Max Lord has had reprogrammed into thinking they're some magical fantasy world guardians of this princess. And then they combine into that robot thing on the cover and I can only find myself thinking one thing: Max Lord has had the Metal Men reprogrammed into thinking they're VOLTRON! If that's not awesome to you, than you need to find a new reality, because you suck at living in this one. With each and every issue, this series continues to be one of the best damn books I'm reading from DC and I can't wait to see where it goes next, because it's just fantastic. Thank you Judd Winnick for making what is officially THE Justice League book as far as I'm concerned. Now give me an awesome issue of Blue Beetle and I will offer up my unborn child to you as a token of my appreciation.

That's it for me talking about books this week, but this isn't the extent of what I got and enjoyed so here's a list of other titles that I'm enjoying that you should be reading: Invincible Iron Man (Matt Fraction is tearing it up on this book and Stark Resilient just keeps getting better!), Booster Gold (Those of you who miss Ted Kord should be reading this!), Green Lantern Emerald Warriors (It's got Guy Gardner kicking ass!), Green Lantern (The Blue entity shows up!), The New Avengers (It's crazy awesome!). There's also some Thor books, but you'll have to wait for some point this weekend for A THORSDAY REVIEW OF AWESOMENESS! See you then!

The Weekly Round-Up: 09/22/10

Alrighty folks, if there's one thing I've learned from my summer of useless blogging, it's this; I like doing multiple review in one post. Let's face it; I don't review much outside of the stuff I'm already reading. I may occasionally pick up something new, but that only happens every once in a blue moon. Meanwhile I want to talk about what I'm reading and what I'm reading is stuff I've talked about at length multiple times. And since (a) piracy is wrong and (b) I'm not getting any review copies, it seems I'm just stuck writing about the same things over and over. Now then, ONTO THE WANK!

So first up this week is the book that should be the main Justice League book, Justice League: Generation Lost. First off, let's talk about that cover. Goddamn is that a sexy cover. If I ever saw that cover at a bar, I'd buy it a drink and then I'd try to hit on it, only to fail and end up back at home in a puddle of shame. That's how sexy this cover is. If I have one gripe with this cover it's that it's more misleading than the first Bleach Opening-a-majig. Batman appears in this long enough to give us a hint at just how powerful Max's trick is working. It's actually one of the cooler parts of the issue.

As far as the rest of the story in this issue goes: pretty standard. We get the team figuring out what they're going to do next (hunt down all of Max's little bases to see what they can find) and we see what Max is up to (tricking Magog into working for him). Still, there are three really cool moments in this issue: a nice moment between Fire and Ice, the already mentioned scene with Batman, where he and Power Girl show us just how powerful Max's world wide mindfudgery can be, and the final page, which has the appearance of an awesome group of characters that I'm not spoiling for you. Honestly, if you aren't reading this book right now, then you should be, because it's freaking awesome.

Meanwhile, back in Marvel Land, Jonathan Hickman is tearing it up on the Fantastic Four. And this time, he's got STEVE EPTING on art duty, as we start up "Three" which promises to kill one of the FF. Now before I get to what I liked, I do have to say that I'm disappointed in Hickman for doing the whole "Someone dies" story: not only is this a tired cliché, but it's the hook to a story that Mark Millar did on his run on FF, which was the run before this. Still, that being said, this isn't bad for a tired cliché story that the previous writer already covered. We've got a great little scene between Valeria and Doctor Doom, we've got the FF doing their fantastical thing and fighting against fantastical baddies, and we've got hints of something happening involving Doom, Reed, and third guy that I have yet to recognize hooked up to some weird machine. It's all over the place, yet I had no time following what was happening save that part with the weird machine. And much like Justice League, this issue closes with an "OH S#!%" moment, which got me really excited for what's next.

Art wise, Steve Epting is off to a nice start, with the high point being that last page. His art is definitely a big factor in the crazy awesomeness of the last page and his art is just all around good. I look forward to next issue, which will have Ben Grimm de-Thinging, which promises to be heartwarming. (I can't even tell if I'm being sarcastic here)

And while I didn't bother to scan their covers, the Ultimate Universe got it's monthly dose of Bendis with the release of both "Ultimate Mystery #3" and "Ultimate (Comics) Spider-Man #14". Ultimate Mystery continues to be a pretty great Spider-Woman and Fantastic Four tale. We get to see the new Ultimate FF smack down the Ultimate Nova, while Jessica continues her infiltration of Roxxon. We also finally get to meet the guy behind the attacks from Ultimate Enemy, and if it is who I think it is, then holy crap Bendis really pulled one over on me. Still, I can't advise anyone to buy this in issues, because this is just gonna read better in trade. But definitely pick it up in trade, because this is pretty awesome.

Meanwhile, Ultimate Spider-man ends "Tainted Love" and what an ending it is. The (boy)Chameleon faces off against Johnny Storm and Iceman in a fight that does nothing but satisfy. The Creepy Chameleon sibs end up getting their comeuppance, which involves one of the coolest displays of the human torch powers that I've ever seen. Still, the status quo of the Ultimate Spider-man story is once again shaken and it looks like Pete's gonna be single again. Oh, and did I mention that David Lafuente is a beast, because he is.

Finally we've got The Flash #5, which may or may not feature a typo: the chapter title reads "Dastardly Death of the Rogues Part Four", though I do believe this story started in issue #1, which would make this part 5. Again, it may not be, but I'm too lazy to look this type of thing up.

The issue itself is pretty good, with The Rogues and the Renegades facing off over who gets the Flash. There are some really cool Rogues moments here, like Mirror Master escaping an attack from the Flash by hiding in the little wings on his cowl and the reveal of what is hidden in Scudders giant "Break In Case of Flash" mirror. There's also twist I actually did not see coming and it's a big one. And for those of you who either listen to Tom vs. the Flash or are familiar with silver age Flash, there's a reference to the fact that time cops are always dicks who only care about their era.

Much like Lafuente, Francis Manapul is owning the art in this book. While we don't get any huge awesome Flash sequences where we get to see the Flash doing his thing, we do get a full page spread of the Rogues and Renegades fighting, there's the sequence with the Flash getting trapped in Scudder's big trap, and an awesome page where we get to see the Weather Wizard show off his weather wizardry! This may not be the best book DC is putting out at the moment, but it certainly is the best looking book they're putting out right now. (Joe the Barbarian is a very close second!)

Tomorrow (maybe!): I take a look at Thor #615 as I do a THORSDAY REVIEW OF THOR-Y GOODNESS of the first issue of Matt Fraction's run on the book! And (maybe!) then I'll talk about Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet, by two of my favorite Brians: Brian Clevinger and Brian Churilla!

Booster Gold #35 and Justice League: Generation Lost: It's a Good Time to Be a Booster Gold Fan!

About Six months ago, if you had asked me whether or not I'd be sticking on the Booster Gold book for the next year, I'd have told you that I was actually planning to drop the title very soon. Well today, I'm actually reading two different comics where Booster Gold plays a major role and both of those comics happen to be some of the best stuff I'm reading from DC at the moment. Yes, Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Judd Winnick are helping to make me remember why I love Booster so damn much with Booster Gold and Justice League: Generation Lost.

Booster Gold itself is a blast to read lately. It's got just the right balance of joke-y-ness and heart that it brings Booster back to his glory days of the JLI, yet it doesn't just forget the last four years of major developing that the character has gone through. This issue is no different as we get a good old fashioned Blue and Gold adventure thanks to the magic of Booster's time traveling abilities. Oh, and Big Barda and Mr. Miracle are there, too. Seriously, time travel is the best plot device ever.

Still, I really want to see some more of Booster interacting with Rani, the Daxamite girl our hero saved from Darkseid's forces at the start of this run; not only am I intrigued with the idea of Booster as a dad, but Rani's just a fun character in general. Last issue's best moments came thanks to her and "Boppy" Rip Hunter and this issue we get to see some tidbits of her bonding with Booster's sister Michelle. I'm dying to see her and Booster interact more because she and Booster had some of the best moments of the first issue in this run and I feel that there's more to be had here.

Meanwhile, our other book with Booster Gold is Justice League: Generation Lost. This is more a JLI book than a Booster Gold book, but this issue in particular focuses in on our golden boy quite a bit. It's this issue that seems to solidify him as the leader of this group, which is a development that I think fits right in with what Booster's been building up to in the last few years.

Of course we also get some great moments with the rest of the team; seeing Jaime written this well has me excited to be reading the character again, since the only other option outside of back issues is Teen Titans, which is like calling a dip in a septic tank an alternative to bathing. Then there's the new Rocket Red who's just a fun character to read; an admitted Russian hypocrite who want to be with the Justice League despite his anti-western beliefs and Fire plays the perfect straight man for him. Then there's Ice and Captain Atom, who both have a great moment together towards the end of the book.

Finally there's Max, who makes a damn good villain in this book. He's the bad guy who truly believes he's doing the right thing, and he's a real jerk about it, too. I hate him so damn much and it's for all the right reasons. I could explain what makes him so great, but the cover above this paragraph does it so much better. That smug, classy bastard!

Both books have nice art that fit their respective tones perfectly, thanks to Giffen and Chris Batista on Booster Gold, and Aaron Lopresti on Generation Lost. The beginning and end of Booster are a bit wonky looking, but not so much that I hate it. In fact it's that quirky kind of good that I love. It's different and unconventional enough that people are probably going to hate it, but just offbeat enough for me.

Overall, as the title says, it's a good time to be a Booster Gold fan. His own solo title is everything I love about the character and Justice League: Generation Lost is hands down the best Justice League book AND the best Brightest Day book out there. If you aren't reading either of these books, hop on now!