Snap Judgements: Ex Machina #39, Thunderbolts #126, Ambush Bug #4 and More

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST. Beware some minor spoilers.

Ex Machina #39 gets an A from DEgan
From the beginning, Ex Machina has been one of the only books to actually give you a sense of "this is what it'd actually be like..." And that's saying alot considering so many books strive to achieve just that. But Ex Machina is the only one to deliver on that promise-and it delivers well. This issue is the conclusion to the "Dirty Tricks" story arc-and gives us one of the most intriguing final showdowns between a "supervillain" and a "superhero"... And that's assuming that Karl Rove wasn't the supervillain of the book. He makes a subtle appearance at the end-they don't say it out right, but he's a white house deputy and looks alot like our favorite turd blossom. His inclusion in the story only furthers the sense that this really happened-and again that's impressive considering one of the characters speaks to machines! If you aren't reading this book, get caught up! Its one of my favorites.

The Flash #246 gets a B+ from DEgan
This issue deals with one of the most genuine and loving relationships in the DCU-Linda Park West is dying and the flash fam is not too happy about it. Considering 6 of the pages are series flashbacks (and still don't convincingly explain how she goes from local reporter to world class scientist)-its impressive I enjoyed it as much as I did. Even the hardened comic book cynic that I am, is still genuinely concerned about the outcome of this story. They've done a great job at making me believe Linda is actually on the brink of death (hell, even the Spectre says its gonna happen...) And if she does die... well I just don't know what I'll do with myself... This book had me feeling it.

Thunderbolts #129 gets a B from AHR
I stopped reading this after Ellis left, but this is the start of a two issue interlude by Andy Diggle, so this is probably a good time as any to get back on. And wouldn't you know it, this issue offers all the good stuff that attracted me to this series in the first place. Norman Osborn acting like a dick, Bullseye being scary, and everyone being mean to poor lil Songbird. This issue also features the scene I've been waiting for a while, in which Moonstone, in full blown evil psychiatrist mode, tears down Penance for a lame and boring character. Yay!

Reviews for Street Fighter II Turbo #2 and Ambush Bug #4, after the jump...

Ambush Bug #4 gets a B- from DEgan
As confusing as this book is, it has me laughing an awful lot. I wasn't privy to the Ambush Bug heyday in the 80's... so there might be alot I'm missing. But there's something about it; I feel like I'm on the outside looking in-but so want to be on the inside! This book is really only for the diehard DC fans-but luckily this issue dealt heavily with 52 (which I followed obsessively) so for once I was half in the loop! The issue begins with Dan Didio suffering an embarrassing death-and follows the inexplicable Argh!Yle (Ambush Bug's nemesis who happens to be a sock) through the pages of 52 as he tracks down the Bug. I particularly enjoyed the 52 parody "time/place" subtitles which were all replaced with "page 9, Panel 2" and so on. Its also good to see Wicker Sue Dibny make a cameo. I dunno... this books to odd to explain. But there's some sick part of me that keeps bringing me back for more. I used the word "but" an awful lot in this review... and that goes to show how torn I am about enjoying this.

Street Fighter II Turbo #2 gets a C from AHR
I loved the first issue of this series because it was just a bunch of crazy fights and character moments. This issue has it's share of crazy fights, but aside from a nice moment of pathos early on, there isn't much else to keep your attention. It also feels really short, because there's an extremely boring backup story about Abel, a new character from Street Fighter IV. On the plus side, Cammie sexily assassinates a politician who looks a lot like George W., which is probably worth the price of admission.

Panel Discussion: Scans from Invincible, War Heroes, Ambush Bug and More

Every week we at Geekanerd rip panels from our comics and put them on display here, recognizing the best, worst, and weirdest moments of the week. Beware some major SPOILERS.

Click these suckas for high res!

Try It, You'll Like It - Invincible #51
Knowing that comic fans are surpassed only by the Amish and conservative talk show hosts in their unwillingness to accept change, Robert Kirkman seems to be directly addressing his audience here through Art the costume tailor. Doesn't really make much of a difference to me though, because I've always found Invincible's look to be extremely generic, he reminds me of the fake, generic superhero suits seen in The Boys.

Scans from Ambush Bug: Year Zero, Avengers: Initiative, CBLDF Presents: Liberty Comics, and War Heroes: Colon after the jump!

Gag Highlight Reel - Ambush Bug: Year Zero #1

Ambush Bug was chock full of gags, but these were my faves:Seeing Women in Refrigerators Syndrome get an extended gag in a comic is pretty sweet.
I always go geek-kneed for this meta shit. (And for those that don't remember it, those checkers appeared at the top of all DC comic covers in a bygone era.)This one is probably a little to easy, but I like the idea of Sandman escaping across the Multiverse (or whatever it's called these days) from the long hand of DC Editors.

Saddest Moment - CBLDF Presents: Liberty Comics
I never thought I liked Mark Millar all that much, but all it takes is one five-page comic about a sad and lonley old vampire to get me completely on his side. This little moment of supermarket weeps is great because it shows how lonely it would be to be a vampire; struggling to keep up with the changing world around you, and getting attatched to things that you outlive by centuries. I also really love three-cheese pizzas, and they are harder to find now. Single tear.

Suggest Much? - Avengers: The Initiative #15
What a line! "Hey foreigner, you've really been "boning up" on American customs... (Howsabout boning up on mine?)"

Just a Great Panel - War Heroes #1

Snap Judgments: Reviews of Invincible, Liberty Comics, War Heroes and More

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST.

There are probably some minor SPOILERS herein.

Liberty Comics: A CBLDF Benefit Book gets an A- from AHR
Mark Millar's tale of Vampire ennui is reason enough to get this book. I've been asking Albo for a while why Mark Millar is considered such hot shit when all I've read by him concerns former-nerd baddasses in rubber suits, but this five page story surprised me. I do wonder why it's the only story in here with nothing to do with censorship. The minus grade is only for the Criminal story, which is as emotionally bloodless and by the numbers as every other issue of Criminal I've ever read.

Ambush Bug: Year None #1 gets a B from Albo
I usually don't like humor books, but this book is full of genuinely funny gags. I'm sure I'd get even more out of it if I wasn't such a Marvel Zombie, because most of the humor is DC in-jokes (Ambush Bug inspiring Jean Loring to kill Sue Dibny, for instance--and even accidentally suggesting the method!). Anyway, some of it is very meta (Ambush Bug wondering why his thoughts don't appear in clouds anymore), which is always exciting to me. Recommended for you DC freaks.

Reviews for Avengers: The Initiative #15, Invincible #51, Two-Face: Year One #1, War Heroes #1, Joker Asylum: Scarecrow #1 and New Avengers #43 after the jump!

Avengers: The Initiative #15 gets a B from Albo
Dan Slott's finding a way to make his Avengers book relevant to Secret Invasion but compelling on its own, something that Bendis isn't quite managing over at Mighty and New. This story, brilliantly titled "The Only Good Skrull..." is about just that--the only good Skrull. It's a little hokey in execution, but somehow I think that's the style Slott's going for. It's like an after school special about a closeted gay teen. Except this one's about a Skrull who's been in hiding and operating as an Earth hero and who worries that the current Skrull invasion might reveal his true colors, at which point it'll be too late to convince the Earthlings he's a good guy. Anyway, far from perfect, but Super-Mega-Colossal-Event tie-ins are so tough to do well that I'm giving it serious props.

Invincible #51 gets a C+ from AHR
"Jump on!" they said. "The new story starts here!" they said. Feh. Only having read a bit of Invincible before, about half of this issue felt like talking heads, and heads that belonged to people I didn't know. The half that followed Invincible and his kid brother, however, was fun enough and the art in this book is appealing enough to get me through. Don't like the new costume though, and I don't even remember what the old one looked like.

Two Face: Year One #1 gets a C from AHR
It's always nice to see some familiar faces from Gotham Central (Maggie Sawyer, GCPD lezforce go!) and it's neat that they integrated the crime boss from Dark Knight, but then they destroy any continuity with the movie by offering the tried and true split-personality acid origin Harvey's always had. Throw in some really strange writing choices in which white-collar characters brush-off random acts of agression by their colleagues like it happens every day, and this feels like a rush-job.

War Heroes #1 gets a C from Albo
I believe I'm getting Millar fatigue. Maybe I still have a bad taste in my mouth from Wanted. I wanted to like the film, some reviews said I would like the film, but... ugh. Anyway, there's been so many Millar books recently (Fantastic Four, Wolverine, 1985, Kick-Ass, on and on and on) and more often than not I like them. But I think I've reached my saturation point, because I found very little to enjoy in War Heroes. Just that same slick Millar attitude with not much below the surface. I might be being too harsh, as it's only the first issue, but... Millar has wowed in the past with first issues (Kick-Ass, for instance). It doesn't help that in the back of the book he spends half a page declaring how awesome he is.

Joker Asylum: Scarecrow #1 gets a C- from AHR
It's really cheesy that all the issues in this miniseries are #1's, even though they're all part of a sequential anthology. Also the plot is like one of those teen horror movies from the mid-90s, except instead of a killer in a black cloak the bad guy is the Scarecrow. What a sad excuse for a spotlight issue. But I couldn't bear to give a book with such awesome art a D. It's chunky and colorful and very web 2.0. Sure it's not very scary, but with a script like this it was never going to be.

New Avengers #43 gets a D from Albo
Bendis, you have really blown it. You spend years setting up the Marvel Universe for one huge event, and then when it's finally time for shit to hit the fan--you hit the pause button. Let's see, what has happened in Secret Invasion thus far? A ship of Skrulls posing as heroes have crashed in the Savage Land and are fighting our heroes. A handful of Skrulls have appeared in Times Square and are fighting our heroes. That's it. Oh, sorry, last issue of Secret Invasion had Nick Fury show up and fight. Bendis' Avengers books, meanwhile, are stuck in the past, telling us all about how we got to this moment but not progressing the "event" in any way. I'm sure this Invasion stuff will make a great hardcover one day, when the stagnancy of it is softened by the absence of month long waits between issues, but for now it's growing more and more fetid.