03.07.2007 Reviews

52 WEEK #44

ALL NEW ATOM #9 - Who hasn't gotten beat up at least a little when they were young? Simone does an excellent job of making Ryan seem like a human being while retaining the fantasy elements of the Atom's world. I suspect that a lot of readers see their own childhood experiences in this.

DETECTIVE COMICS #829 - I still need to read this.

HELMET OF FATE ZAURIEL #1 - This story's premise just didn't pique my interest -- it's probably the weakest of all of the issues in the "Helmet of Fate" series. Given that this writer is the one that will be writing the Doctor Fate ongoing, that doesn't bode well. Still, I'm willing to give the new Doctor Fate a chance.

JONAH HEX #17

MANHUNTER #29 - With Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman in this story arc, I have a feeling that all of the cameos in this book are to help push sales. Luckily, their involvement is plausible and they are portrayed true to character, so I'm not complaining much. Can't wait to see how it all ends up.

NIGHTWING #130 - Bride and Groom is a well-crafted storyline, but nothing unique or earth-shattering. Now that Wolfman knows that he's staying longer than one storyarc, maybe he'll be able to develop a location and supporting cast that we care about. Personally, I think it would be cool to have Dick run Haley's Circus as his day job, and travel from town to town.

SHAZAM THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #2 (OF 4) - Except for 52, I'm pretty unfamiliar with Captain Marvel's history and even recent storylines involving the Marvel family. This series is just fun, especially for readers like me who may be unfamiliar with the Captain Marvel franchise. I much prefer this interpretation over other interpretations of the Marvel family that I've seen in the DCU.

The visuals are stunning, too. Some of those last sequences after Mary Marvel gets her powers feel like they're animated. This series has an innocence and lightheartedness to it that is sorely lacking in modern comics, and is probably my favorite of the week.

WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #4 - This kind of reminds me of Fables, where a rich new universe is unveiled to us through a murder mystery. Vibrant characters,

DYNAMO 5 #1 - Maybe I'd been looking at too many interviews and preview art about this, because actually reading it was anti-climactic. The concept is fantastic but the execution (particularly the dialogue) feels a little stale. Now that the concept has been introduced to readers, hopefully that will change.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #106 - After the Clone Saga Epilogue, I was worried that Bendis would just throw Peter and MJ back together without considering the ramifications of Peter's relationship with Kitty. I'm glad to see that Bendis is a better writer than that: Peter both feels guilty about the way he treated Kitty and wants to make it right. Although I enjoyed the Clone Saga, this series is at its best when it focuses heavily on Peter Parker's life and friendships. In that sense, loved the twist at the end -- for readers of Ultimate X-Men, it gives them a sense that they are reading about a cohesive universe. Still, reading UXM isn't required knowledge, which is the way it should be.

Oh, and the Daredevil moments were just cool. I'm glad this series is getting back to being fun.