Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST.There are probably some minor SPOILERS herein.
Editor's Note: I didn't buy (or read) David Lapham's final issue of Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility this week, but I did pick it up in the store and skip to the end and was shocked by the twist ending. Without giving anything away, did anyone suspect that this was going to be a "What If?" story?
Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day: Extra!! gets an A from Albo
As if three issues of ASM a month weren't enough, here's a one-shot teasing what you can expect from the book this fall (after the advertised Slott/Romita Jr. Venom story!!!). While Kelly and Bacholo's Hammerhead story is a bit muddled, the other two tales are great little Spidey nuggets. One has him starting a fight with some snobs making fun of Harry, and the other has him defending himself in a court of law with Matt Murdock at his side. Lots of sharp dialogue in both these stories, and I continue to think Marcos Martis is the best of the current Spidey artist crop (though that will probably fall out the window when [did I already mention this?] Romita Jr. comes in to illustrate a Dan Slott Venom story!!!).
Reviews for The Lost Ones, Wolverine #67, Locke & Key #6, and True Believers #1 after the jump!
The Lost Ones gets an A from Albo
Does it bother me that the writing is sloppy in places? Does it bother me that sometimes the art ain't so great? No way. And why not? 'Cause this bastard was FREE. It's a big, handsome trade paperback collection of a Steve Niles story illustrated by four alternative artists that was originally published online somewhere. And now it's in my hands and it's FREE. This thing would cost like $20 normally. But instead it's FREE. Oh, the story is a really cool time travel dealie and some of the art is honestly out of this world.
Wolverine #67 gets an A from Albo
Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's post-apocalyptic "Old Man Logan" story continues. I'm loving it, and not just because I'd enjoy freaking Family Circus if it had McNiven drawing it. Millar's vision of Marvel's future is fresh, not the police states of 2099 or Days of Future Past, but something somehow infinitely more interesting--a world not in which the powers that be have turned bad, but in which the bad have turned into the powers that be. It's somehow a more optimistic view, because there is such a clear enemy. An enemy with a face that can be dealt with by way of a serious ass kicking. Too bad our hero is a pacifist.
Locke & Key #6 gets a B from Albo
This book has been so good to me since issue one, and now here we are at the end of the miniseries. The only fault that can be applied to this issue is that it wraps things up a bit too quickly, but with an ongoing series coming in the Fall I don't feel all that cheated. This book came out of nowhere (you may have noticed that you were never able to find the early issues because your store under-ordered BIG TIME) to become one of my favorite reads of '08. Definitely pick up the inevitable trade when it comes out, then flood my inbox with thank you letters.
True Believers #1 gets a B from Albo
A tentative B. This issue had just enough new ideas to excite me about the potential of upcoming stories, but not enough blatant quality to assure me that it will live up to that potential. The story is about a team of superpowered folks who've taken on the duty of uncovering corruption and scandal among the elite, both superpowered and otherwise. They are very advanced technologically, so much so that even S.H.I.E.L.D. can't draw a bead on them. Honestly, I probably won't pick up the next issue unless there isn't much else out that week, but as blind buys go it was completely inoffensive.
