Panel Discussion: Scans From Blackest Night, Detective Comics, New Avengers, and More

Click the pix for high res. No real spoilers this week, but still tread with caution if you're not up on your books.

Worst Splash Panel - Blackest Night #4
Now is the time to come clean; just about everyone on the Gnerd staff hates Blackest Night. So many splash panels like this. A sea of obscure characters made even more obscure by the fact that they're wearing stripped down black versions of their costumes. I LOVE zombies, I do, but splash pages likes this are so cluttered they're not scary, they're not shocking, they're just ill-defined and unpleasant. That's how I feel about Blackest Night as a whole, really.

Arkham gets a facelift, thugs get kicked in the face, and Jean Loring is awesome even in death, after the jump...



Most Unfortunate Remodeling - Arkham Reborn #1
So as you may or may not know, Arkham Asylum recently got destroyed for the, I don't know, 6th time? and some hotshot young doctor is trying to rebuild it as a more enlightened healing facility. Perhaps he will find out ideals are no so easily applied to reality in Gotham! But all that aside, I have to say making the entry way look like a giant mouth is probably not the sort of visual metaphor that is going to soothe the criminally disturbed mind. Not that it matters, I'm sure this building will be blown up or burnt down or frozen or eaten by a giant plant before the scaffolding comes down.

Signature Move - Detective Comics #858
In the past, I may have made light of Renee Montoya's fighting style, which mostly consists of kicks to the face. But I've reconsidered. Renee is a lady, a non-superpowered lady, and as any female member of a varsity crew team will tell you, women pack most of their power in their legs.

So I guess what I'm saying is, Montoya has found a move that works for her, and she's sticking with it. I respect that.


Most Triumphant Return - Blackest Night #4
Okay, so maybe my attachment to Jean Loring stems entirely from this fanfic/parody/deranged piece of performance art, but let's look at the facts; she shrank herself and stepped on someone's brain, and then proceeded to go crazy and became a god and spent a long time orbiting the sun trapped in a space diamond. She's pretty badass. I was saddened to learn that unlike every other comic book character, when she fell into shark infested waters and was presumed dead, she actually died! But on the plus side, Jean's status as deceased means she can come back as a Black Lantern and punch people's hearts out of their chest, like that guy in Indiana Jones. Ray, how did you ever let this one get away?


Best Visual Foreshadowing - Detective Comics #858
As we learned in the last issue of Detective (SPOILER ALERT!), the creepy Alice in Wonderland villain who faced off against Batwoman in the previous arc was in fact BW's own twin sister. Suspension of disbelief powers, activate! Writer Greg Rucka is now giving us some good childhood backstory, where we see the Kane twins growing up like normal military brats, except for a horribly traumatic kidnapping ordeal.

It's pretty hard to tell the two apart for the first part of the story, but when we get to this scene, all is made clear. Little Kate's winter gear mirrors Batwoman's costume, right down to the red boots, and Beth's pink and white ensemble foreshadows her psychedelic babydoll Alice outfit. With an art team of J.H. Williams and Dave Stewart, you expect these sorts of cool visual touches, but it's still nice to take a minute and savor them.


Best Arial Stunts - World's Finest #1 and New Avengers #58
I'm a sucker for when people are launched from moving vehicles by a sudden stop in momentum. Robin handles it a lot better than Motorcycle guy. I have to admit the Red Robin costume is finally starting to grow on me.

Meanwhile, here we have a classic case of unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. They bounce off each other with a resounding KTANG, leaving bystanders dumbstruck and gasping out censored curse words.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Mercy Sparx, Black Lightning Year One, and Detective Comics

Best Art - Black Lighting Year One #1
Blue Beetle is no more, but artist Cully Hammer lives on, bringing another less-than-popular minority superhero to life with kinetic energy and gorgeous urban backdrops. This is just one particularly beautiful panel from a good old fashioned foot chase scene, no superpowers, no lasers, just men in motion and trash cans getting knocked over. Good stuff.

Most Courteous Death - Detective Comics #852
I know my Panels have been kind of a Hush lovefest for the last several months, but dammit, I just can't get over how Dini made him into such a great villain so quickly! In this issue we hear more of his inner voice, and his "gentleman psychopath" persona is nicely displayed in this quartet of panels where Hush ponders how best to get rid of a ladyfriend. He goes with poison, so as to spare both his victim and the boat's upholstery any unnecessary bloodshed.

Burn of the Week - Mercy Sparx #2The part I really like here is the act of tossing someone out the window and saying, "Later, Whore!" It's just really hard to come back from something like that.

Downer of the Week - Black Lightning Year One #1
This is like the forth season of The Wire on crack. Jefferson Pierce is trying to be an awesome principal in the ghetto of Metropolis, and as soon as he starts to get through to one of his thuggish students, the other kids essentially crucify the poor kid to the school's trophy case. Where did they even get those big wooden stakes?! This is all in issue one, by the way. Jeesh.

Fun Size Panel Discussion: Scans From Detective Comics #850

Every Monday, we at Geekanerd rip panels from last Wednesday's comics and post the best, the worst, and the weirdest. This edition is short and extremely sweet.

Beatdown Of The Week - Detective Comics, #850
Dayyyum!

Lately in the BatBooks, it seems that Alfred has taken over the Robin's role of most popular hostage. In 'Tec #850, he gets his revenge.

That's Hush disguised as Bruce Wayne, who comes to Wayne Manor intending to fool Alfred into revealing the Bat Cave. Not so fast, Bandage Boy; you're dealing with ex-black ops agent Pennyworth from the Queen's Royal Service! Or something like that. The point is, this is awesome, and if Alfred had aimed just a little higher with his first palm strike, Bruce's rouges gallery would now be reviewing resumes.

Snap Judgements: Detective Comics #850, Cleaners #1, Batman Cacophony #1

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


Detective Comics #850 gets an A from AHR

This was one of the best Batman stories I've read in over a year. The ending resolves every storyline with an emotional gut-punch and a few surprises as well. Dini has weaved Hush and Ventriloquist II so well into the fabric of the Batman universe, I'm dying to see where they'll turn up next.

Cleaners #1 gets a B from AHR

If there's anything that my film school writing classes taught me, it's that people LOVE a procedural drama. This story explains the largely unexlored world of trauma scene cleanup, and that subject alone will keep your attention in a Discovery Channel sort of way. But the characters are also subtly written, which is a nice change in a storytellng medium that tends to rely so heavily on over-the-top archtypes. There's also some really horrific indications of the things to come, which leaves you feeling so anxious I feel almost obligated to get the next issue. Well played.

Batman Cacophony #1 gets a C from AHR

Dude writers like Kevin Smith and Judd Winick really love writing the Joker with lots of gay jokes. Objectively, this is fine (all's fair in love and Joker characterizations) but at a certain point this issue, it feels like Smith is using gay-sex jokes not just for cheap laughs, but as a shorthand for perversion. Plus I think we all know that the Joker is only gay for Batman. Anyway. This issue is mostly just cartoonishly violent, low-calorie fun. Low points include a weakly characterized Deadshot and a new villain that has a lot of 'splainin to do if Smith means for us to take him seriously.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Detective Comics #849, The Walking Dead #53, The Man Who Loved Breasts, and More

Beatdown of the Week - Detective Comics #849

Here's one of the most brutal Bat-interrogation scenes I've ever seen, and it's not even in a Frank Miller book!

Scarecrow has made the mistake of coming between Batman and the secret to saving Catwoman's life, and Batman takes his questioning techniques out of the realm of "intimidation" and into the realm of "black ops torture". As this splash panel illustrates (get it? SPLASH panel? Sorry.), Batman dunks Crane's head in a toilet along with a live electrical wire for some highly unorthodox shock therapy. This gruesome display impresses even the king of electrical torture himself, the Joker. Those two are really just soul mates at heart.

Production placement, zombies, and awkward tastes in porn, after the jump...

Product Placement Alert - Final Crisis: Revelations #3
Oh noes! The citizens of Gotham are driven to such nihilistic despair by the Anti-Life equation, they'll even stomp all over the new pink iPod shuffle! God, why?

Bad Idea Jeans - Walking Dead #53
This also fits into the "Best Use of a Repeated Panel" category.

For those not in the loop, for the past few years worth of issues Rick and his band of survivors have been doing battle with a town full of crazy murderous hicks, and were eventually driven from their safe house, with Rick and his son being the only survivors. Now Rick realizes that if he'd just stayed put with another group of folks he decided to split with back at the beginning, everyone (including his wife and baby daughter) would be safe and sound. What's that crushing regret taste like, Ricky Boy?

Something Horrible Is About to Happen - Crossed #1
This poor bastard got it in his mind that zombies (or whatever these guys are) hate salt, so when his wife breaks her ankle while on the run and tearfully BEGS him to shoot her and save their daughter he just makes a little salt circle and insists "It's going to be all right." The double page spread that follows is one of the most upsetting I've ever seen. We've posted some gory stuff here on G'nerd, but I just couldn't bring myself to post a picture of... the weak stomached should move on to the next panel... a woman being raped, the skin falling off of her scalp, cursing her husband ("Stupid c***sucker f***ing ***hole look what you did mother****er look what you f***ing did"), who is also being raped while his entrails are shown to him, and above it all their young daughter being pulled to pieces. Yeah, apparently zombies don't mind a little salt with their meat. It's more than a little much, even for Garth Ennis.

How Can I Put This... - The Man Who Loved Breasts
Classic sketch comedy, this guy is trying to tactfully explain to a sperm bank employee that he prefers amputee porn.

Movie Moment - Detective Comics #849
In the grand tradition of Luke's Failure At The Cave, Batman has met the enemy, and it is him. HUSH IS BRUCE WAYNE!

jk jk lol, it's still Tommy Elliot, just with some facial reconstruction to make him look like Bruce. But when I first saw this page, I actually exclaimed, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!". And that's really the kind of reaction I look to get out of comics.

Snap Judgments: Reviews for Crossed, Detective Comics, Final Crisis and More

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

Detective Comics #849 gets an A+ from Degan and an A from AHR
Man, Dini knows how to write a Batman story. Despite having the least to do with the "overall" (if there is one) R.I.P. story, this has been favorite of the bunch. Breathing life into a dull, manufactured character, Dini has not just made Hush tolerable, but actually intriguing. And Nguyen is quickly becoming one of my favorite current artists. To top it all off, the story ends with one of the most genuine "hows-he-gonna-get-outta-this-one" cliffhangers I've read in a while. -Degan

I continue to love this series. Hush's backstory gets more satisfying with every issue, and the extent to which this issue connects to long past issues in Dini's run of Detective is spellbinding. There's also a ridiculously cracked out Joker scene, even if it only amounts to a cameo. Teaser: Batman busts into Joker's cell at Arkham, pushes him on to the bed and handcuffs him to a pipe. I think I read a fanfic like that once. Um, just kidding? Sorry everyone, but they say context is for the weak. Anyway. This is a great issue in a great story, and it's going to make an even better trade. Can't wait for the conclusion. -AHR

Reviews for Pulp Tales, Crossed, Final Crisis Revelations, Green Arrow and Black Canary, Walking Dead and Young Liars after the jump...

Pulp Tales: Josh Medor Benefit Comic gets an A from Albo
Pulp adventure for those with short attention spans, this book is made up of five four-page standalone stories. And they are tasty little nuggets of pulpy goodness for sure. I want to read more from every one of these universes. The real crown jewel here, though (and the reason I picked the book up in the first place), is a short story by Steve Niles that has more meat than the others. Because while they say a picture is worth a thousand words, four pages of prose sure can pack in a lot more story than four pages of comics.

Green Arrow and Black Canary #13 gets an A- from Degan
This book has been one of my surprise favorites from the start. Each week I'm pleasantly surprised-and this issue is no exception. It does suffer from the usual cathartic first-issue-after-major-story-arc problems... but even then the catharsis was well deserved and well appreciated. Winick continues to make the bizarre arrow family humorously dysfunctional-and this issue even has an "I have HIV" moment that doesn't come off too very-special-episode.

Final Crisis Revelations #3 gets a B from Degan and a B from AHR
Like almost all of these Final Crisis books, I like this story-but it leaves me with no understanding of what's actually happening in the crisis. Like the other titles, this book seems to make reference to events from other titles... but for the life of me I don't know when and where they happened! And I've been reading every Final Crisis title! WTF?! To make matters worse, the art was downright confusing at times, leaving me to carefully analyze certain panels to understand what happened. Aside from all that (like that's not a big deal) I actually really like this story-the Spectre, the Question, Vandal Savage as Cain... pretty awesome story. Too bad there doesn't seem to be a bigger picture. -Degan

This book is loco! Speaking as one who ISN'T reading any other Final Crisis titles, I can just about understand what's going on, despite Rucka's best attempts to confuse me by loading the story up with scripture (both biblical and imagined) at every turn. But despite some mildly heavy-handed theologizing, for the most part this look at the nature of God's mercy through the eyes of a bunch of DC supes is genuinely interesting, and a little heart-wrenching if you were a fan of Gotham Central and the old MCU team. I can't imagine how this book ties into the DC universe at large, since it's basically suggesting the entire world except Montoya and three nun-killers have become scary anti-life demons, but continuity aside, it's heady apocalyptic fun. -AHR

The Man Who Loved Breasts gets a B from Albo
Three short comics from Robert Goodin, the first about a man in the 50s who was told to "do what he loves" so he becomes a custom brassiere maker. Things take a turn for the worse in the 60s, unfortunately. The second is about a guy trying to tactfully ask for amputee porn at a sperm bank, and the last is a conversation between a modern day geek and King Arthur. The last is a great little idea that I've pondered before--if I went back in time, I could tell all the people about all the wonderful things to come, but could I replicate them? Or even explain them? No way! As much as they'd love to hear about cars or gunpowder or antibiotics or radio, it would all be a bunch of talk. Goodin proves he's a skilled cartoonist and an excellent storyteller with this little book.

Walking Dead #53 gets a B from AHR
Wow, something actually happened in this book! I hate to be one of those fans who complains about the slower issues used to build dramatic tension but...I was really starting to get a little tired of the lonely adventures of Sick Depressed Man and Son. Here Rick meets up with old friends, and realizes a major decision he made in his self-proclaimed role as leader was majorly wrong. I've always felt a little antagonistic towards Rick; decent as he is, his alpha-maleness always seemed to come too easy. It's a great choice to take him out of his role as leader, if only for a little while.

Crossed #1 gets a C from Albo
Is there room for another zombie book on the shelves when Kirkman's Walking Dead is still so good? Moments of extreme shock value are the only thing that make this book stand out.

Young Liars #8 gets a D from Albo
I stood by you for eight issues, David Lapham, but I can't do a ninth. I still just don't care what happens to these people, due in no small part to the scattered storytelling style you've slapped on the book. Please go back to Stray Bullets!

Snap Judgments, "And We're Back!" Edition: Amazing Spider-Man, Buffy Season Eight, Secret Six and More

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

HOO, that was one INTENSE labor day weekend! Also, we've been moving into a new Geekanerd HQ, and you know, these things take quite a bit out of you. And by you I mean us.

Amazing Spider-Man #570 gets an A from Albo
Good old fashioned comic-booking from Dan Slott and John Romita, Jr. Nothing's being reinvented here, no concepts of what a comic can be challenged... Just a great lookin' story about Spider dealing with two Venoms. Seeing Eddie Brock getting into action again sure is exciting, and hints about Menace's real "deal" and an imminent showdown with Bullseye guarantee I'll be hanging on until this story is up and Slott/JRJR get swapped out for a lesser team (no offense to the next team, I haven't actually looked up who it's going to be.)

Detective Comics #848 gets an A from AHR
I can't believe I'm so excited about a Hush "event" story, but Dini's made him such an engaging character. More pieces of his slightly Norman Batesy past come to light, and we finally get a chance to see him put that medical degree to some truly horrific use. Throw in a surprising link to one of Dini's rising star villians, and this is a serious page-turner with great art to boot.

Secret Six #1 gets a A- from AHR
I loved the last series of this title with a passion, and this issue promises to continue the fun. Great setup for a wacky roadtrip plotline, a new gross and awesome villian, and a Batman tie-in! All the pieces are here for a kickass run, though I personally was hoping for a few more hillarious scenes with between the six (or four, as the case may be.). Simone also nobly
tries to give some resolution to Knockout's clumsily handled death scene, though I wish more time could have been devoted to settling what was my favorite relationship in DC comics. Maybe more of that is coming. A girl can dream.

Buffy Season Eight #18 gets a B+ from AHR
Lesbian sex! Lesbian sex! All of these comics have lesbian sex! Not that I'm complaining. This is a really fun issue, and the future plotline gets more engaging as Buffy meets some sort of alternate version of herself. And of course we get a little more Dark Willow, and who doesn't love Dark Willow? Honestly. Next month's cover appears to be suitable for framing.

Sub-Mariner: The Depths #1 gets a B from Albo
Recasting Namor as mythological sea terror in an submarine horror story is a stroke of genius. The art from Esad Ribic is really something unique as well, giving a soft pastel cast to a dark tale. Could become a great series, we'll see about that second issue.

Fringe #1 gets a D from Albo
Bargh. What a schmuck I am. I see the word "Whedon" on the cover and I jump, thinking I'm snagging some underpublicized Joss Whedon-does-JJ Abrams brilliance. Instead it's not Joss but Zack that greets me with half of this dull rag. There are two stories here, both about mind-swapping. And... Well, yeah. It's a prequel for the show.

Marvel Apes #1 gets a D from Albo
Zombies these are not.

Snap Judgments: Reviews for Buffy, Detective Comics, NYX and More

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

There are probably some minor SPOILERS herein.

King-Size Spider-Man Summer Special gets an A from Albo
I used to LOVE these 80-page Summer specials when I was a kid. Turns out I still do! Kinda. What we have here is a really great Spidey-less story about a bunch of Marvel Girls facing the Enchantress, a really awful Spidey/Falcon team up story where the the latter gives the former a bunch of unwarranted race relation scoldings, and a sub par story of mini-Spidey and mini-Venom competing for a paper route. Still worth it for that first one by Paul Tobin with really cute, clean art by Colleen Coover.

Reviews for Detective Comics #847, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #17, Special Forces #3, NYX: No Way Home #1, and Army @ Love: The Art of War #1 after the jump!

Detective Comics #847 gets an A- from AHR
I get it now! "Hush" fits into the cannon of Batman villains because his evil pathology is a Norman Batesesque mama's boy gone homicidal trip. And "Hush" is probably a hush-little-baby thing. I wonder if any of this was planned ahead of time or if Paul Dini in his wisdom just filled in the backstory to give this silly "event" character some substance. Either way, it's fun to see the pieces come together, and Dustin Nyguin's art shows no signs of becoming any less fun and surprising.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #17 gets a B from AHR
Did you enjoy the way the future punks spoke in The Dark Knight Returns? I didn't. Joss's future-speak in this arc of Buffy sounds even more tinny and labored than Miller's, but it does at least give rise to one really good gag in which Buffy bemoans how this perversion of the English language may be partly due to her own Whedonesque speaking patterns. I'm still not quite sold on the Fray arc, but the heavily foreshadowed cliffhanger of this issue guarantees my continued readership.

Special Forces #3 gets a B from Albo
This book is astonishingly amateur. It's really quite sloppy, but in a way that feels more like uncapped creativity than poor storytelling. Kyle Baker is constantly ALMOST going too far, and while the series hasn't quite lived up to the amazing first issue, it's still chock full of absurd, thought-provoking stuff. Bonus "reality" section in the back brings real world context to the issues Baker is dealing with in the book--including photos of real mutant babies with ironic word balloons. Like I said, this guy really pushes the boundaries of good taste.

NYX: No Way Home #1 gets a C from Albo
This first issue looks nice, but doesn't do much to get me interested in the characters. 'Nuff said?

Army @ Love: The Art of War gets a D from Albo
Very unfriendly to the new reader (me). If you want to see lots of cartoon boobs, this book is for you. If you want a clear story or a funny joke or some good drama leave this one on the shelf.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Secret Invasion, Final Crisis, Young Liars, 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 the pics for high res goodness!

Skrull "Humanity" - Secret Invasion #3

Two separate scenes in this issue of Secret Invasion featured Skrulls who really didn't seem to be all that into the mission at hand. The first, above, appears to be some sort of priest or something, and he looks pretty distressed about old whatsherface getting a gun pointed at her.
The second is the Skrull S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the lest of the above frame backing up Skrull Jarvis. He looks positively distraught about pointing a gun at Maria Hill. I like to think that during his time posing as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent he grew a certain fondness for Ms. Hill. These two frames alone really make me want to see a "Frontlines" style story about the Invasion from the Skrull POV. I want to know what's going through these non-agressive Skrulls' heads. So c'mon--where's my Secret Invasion: Behind Enemy Lines?

Worst Dialogue - Green Arrow Black Canary #10
When in need of a snappy banter, steal from 300.

Clearest Example of Batman's Insanity - Final Crisis: Requiem #1
I think these panels speak for themselves, so I'll just comment on the great use of "Hnnn".

Best Custom Contract Job - Secret Invasion #3

I love that some team of lowly Skrull contractors were hired to design and construct this giant room that serves only one purpose: stretch Mr. Fantastic out so much he can't wiggle out.

Banana Randomizer Award for Achievement in WTF - Detective Comics #846
So, we knew that as a child, Hush cut the brakes on his parents car, killing his dad and almost killing his mom. What we did NOT know is that he based his whole bandaged-face supervillian costume on the memory of his hospitalized mother, who of course was hospitalized because of his unsuccessful murder attempt. That...that's messed up.

Most Horrific Villain - Young Liars #5
Just looking at this section of the book again to post it makes me a little squemish. This crazy little man ambushes these poor bastards during sexy time, removes our protagonist's "Mr. Johnson" (Lapham's phrase, not mine) and proceeds to do some really bad things to his companion. Thankfully they "cut to black" right after that unsightly unzipping panel, but the absence of illustration might actually just make it worse. There's a taste of satisfaction when the little bastard gets a toothbrush to the eye courtesy of his female victim, but he jumps out the window and gets away. Which just means he'll show up later, even more grotesque than before with an eyepatch and a taste for revenge. Shivers.

Snap Judgments: Reviews for Dead, She Said #2, Secret Invasion #3, Final Crisis: Requiem and More!

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

There are probably some minor SPOILERS herein.

Dead, She Said #2 gets an A from Albo
I'm so happy that the second issue of this series kept up everything I enjoyed about the first. Many detective stories will put their protagonist through a lot of pain before the story wraps up, systematically degrading the private dick's body and thus emphasizing their eventual triumph as a result of superior intellect and sheer force of will rather than brute strength. Steve Niles has decided to cut to the chase in this tale, where our lonely detective's body is actually decomposing rapidly due to a little condition called death. Everyone's complaints about the smell aren't keeping him from investigating his own murder, though. It's a really handsome book with fun storytelling, and I really can't recommend it enough to fans of detective stories or horror. Or giant ants (here's looking at you, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull lovers!).

Detective Comics #846 gets a B+ from AHR
Hush is back! *crickets* Oh well, some more details on his origin remind readers why they should care, and all in all this is as clever and satisfying an issue of 'Tec as I've come to expect from Dini.

Reviews for Detective Comics #846, Secret Invasion #3, Final Crisis Requiem, I Hate Giants #1, and Ultimate Origins #2 after the jump!

Young Liars #5 gets a B from Albo
It seems that Young Liars' "Curse of the Sucky Odd Numbered Issues" is finally over! After a miserable #1 and #3 (and a great #2 and #4), this issue came as a huge relief. I can't say it was perfect, since the story as a whole still has me pretty befuddled as to the whys and wherefores, but the scenes within this book were strong enough to make me overlook such vital silly points. It's pretty awesome that we're only in issue five and already there are some major consequences hitting this group of unlikeable protagonists. Oh yeah, that's a problem isn't it? I HATE these people. Even when I like this book I hate it. What's a fanboy to do?

Final Crisis: Requiem gets a C+ from AHR
Funny and sad character moments in the first half, but the second half is a dry, dry history lesson on Martian Manhunter. Big fans of the character might enjoy, I wouldn't know. I do know that DC should have bought the rights to use the brand "Oreo" for this final send off.

I Hate Giants #1 gets a C+ from AHR
High school nerd angst. And not very deep angst at that. Fun art saves it from the discard pile.

Secret Invasion #3 gets a C from Albo
Beautiful to look at, but nothing nothing nothing happens happens happens. Last issue ended with Nick Fury showing up to the fistfight with a big glock, and this issue shows him firing it. This issue ends with SPOILER Captain America and Thor showing up to the fistfight, and I bet next issue will show them punching things. Snorlax. But like I said, Leinil Francis Yu's art is, as always, something to behold.

Ultimate Origins #2 gets an F from Albo
F for who the F cares. F for why waste an Fing issue of your big Fing Ultimate event on a story (Captain America's origin) that we've all read a million Fing times. F for I have so many more bad things to say about this book but I've already wasted too much Fing time on it.

Snap Judgments: Reviews for Trinity #1, Ultimate Origins #1, Buffy #15 and More

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

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 #15 gets an A from AHR
Oh noes! Here endeth the Buffy/Satsu storyline, aka the ship that launched a thousand fics. I'll certainly miss the lesbian jokes, but this issue wraps up with excellent action sequences, heartwarming and heartwrenching drama, and a satisfying resolution that still opens up a few doors. Also lots of lesbian jokes.

Detective Comics #845 gets an A from AHR
Too much fun. Batman and Detective Chimp sitting at their computers IMing each other may top out some people's tolerance for silliness, but i found it delightful.

Reviews for H.P. Lovecraft's Haunt of Horrors #1, Omega: The Unknown #9, Secret Invasion #3, Trinity #1, Ultimate Origins #1 and House of Mystery #2 after the jump...

H.P. Lovecraft's Haunt of Horrors #1 gets an A from Albo
Kind of a weird idea. Celebrated underground artist Richard Corben does graphic adaptations (and expansions) of H.P. Lovecraft short stories and poems, and includes the original source text after each story. This works really well when the source is a vague poem that he has built an interesting narrative around, but when the source is a short story with more evocative imagery than the adaptation, things become a little less satisfying. He did the same thing with Poe, but I haven't gotten the chance to read those. All told, a cool experiment and a welcome serving of Corben's unique art.

Omega: The Unknown #9 gets a B from Albo
This book is so consistently good that for some reason it hardly excites me anymore. That sounds cynical, right? But I'm sitting here flipping through it and thinking "that's great, that's great, that's good too" but I know that when I was reading it I was a little bored. What's the deal? Well, in my heart I know this is a classic story that I'll be re-reading for years to come. The end is near!

Secret Invasion #3 gets a B from Albo
Ho hum. Very skeletal storytelling. Feels like an outline for tie-in issues to elaborate on, a very Marvel storytelling method I strongly disapprove of. Yu's art is still amazing, though, and the confrontation between Skrullica Drew and Tony Stark is pretty exciting though I'm pretty sure it's just some Skrullian mind games.

Trinity #1 gets an A+F=C+ from AHR
Wow. The first half of this book, in which Bruce, Diana, and Clark meet up for lunch and talk about a spooky dream they had, is awesome. I love any time attention is drawn to how insane Batman's "Bruce Wayne" persona is, and here Wondy actually calls him on it. But the second part of this book is a droning mish-mash of expository detritus featuring characters and situations that I have zero interest in, and after spending a fun lunch with my oldest DC pals I have no desire to jump into a red and green space land full of proselytizing god/alien creatures. Perhaps the writers are trying to set up two bands of alien/god creatures, since that description extends to the titular trinity, with the intention of showing us how much more interesting the group who act like humans are. These two very segmented stories are perfect examples of what I love and hate about DC.

Ultimate Origins #1 gets a C from Albo
There's nothing outright bad about the first issue of this major Ultimate event, but it just doesn't make enough of a statement right off the bat to justify its existence. You can hardly blame Bendis, though. I mean, how many universes can he be expected to turn upside down at once?

House of Mystery #2 gets a C- from AHR
Bleh. Reads like second rate Neil Gaiman, with really self-conscious and over-stated fantastical dialogue. It's brightened up by some fun touches (lady pirate bouncer) and a few pages of Jill Thompson's moody cartoon art, but what a let down after such a gripping and disturbing first issue.

Panel Discussion: Scans from Detective #844, Buffy Season Eight #14, Secret Invasion #2, 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 HUGE SPOILERS, including character-death related panels for a few of these issues!

Click the pics for high res goodness!

Emotion Without a Face - Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #1
It's always been a problem showing emotion with fully masked characters. Spider-Man bends reality by having his eye shapes change around, Dr. Doom often has metal eyebrows that furrow with anger. But artist Adi Granov goes old school with good ole SURPRISE LINES!!! - Albo

Death scenes, a return to mid-90s fanboy hell, X-Factor jailbait and more, after the jump...

Making Light of a Bad Situation - Secret Invasion #2
Amid all the double hero scuffling going on in this issue, these two Spider-Men find some common ground. -Albo

Best Death - The Ventriloquist II, Batman #844

No sooner do we discover the second Ventriloquist's tragic origin story then do we see her meet an untimely end, mourned only by Scarface himself...

Chilling. No one can make fractured personalities seem quite as poignant as Paul Dini. Of course no villain has really ever died from a falling/drowning death, so here's hoping we see Sugar/Peyton again. -AHR

Worst Skrull Invader Design - Secret Invasion #2
Oh man, Wolvercyclopollus here is swimming in a sea of 90s cheese. I used to design guys that looked just like this all the time... When I was nine. -Albo

Visual Foreshadowing Alert - Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season Eight #14
Oh these two lovebirds are so adorable, but my goodness Xander is certainly doing a lot of gesticulating with those knives. I mean I know they're getting ready for battle here, but it's like knives a-go-go up in this joint, and specifically pointed at Renee. Could this be...visual foreshadowing?
...that's a yep. But Is She Dead? As mentioned earlier, it's premature to characterize a comic character as dead unless you see them with their head cut off or have a panel in which someone cradles the victim in their arms and says "....she's dead....". But there is a lot of precedent in the Buffy cannon for killing off characters, particularly love interests, in abrupt and shocking ways. Renee is (THEORETICAL SPOILER ALERT) on the next issue's variant cover, though Tara had her first appearance in the show's opening credits in the episode she died in (HAHA, Joss, hilarious), so that doesn't necessarily prove anything. I'd give it about 3 to 1 odds she's actually dead. Anyone think otherwise? -AHR

Jailbait! - Mighty Avengers #13
Isn't Layla Miller supposed to be like... 12? At most 16? This is some risque attire for a young lady to run around X-Factor HQ in. I don't trust that Strong Guy guy. -Albo

I saw that panel and I thought, "Who's the hottie in boyshorts? Layla Miller...why does that sound familiar...AHH! Unclean!" I don't think her age has been stated in the books, but I feel like it was always implied that she was like, EARLY teens. Pretty sketchy, Marvel. -AHR

Greatest Supporting Character - Omega: The Unknown #8
Nowhere Man really steals the show in this issue of Omega. He's only there for a couple pages, but the surreal awesomeness of his scenes is so so so great. -Albo

Panel Discussion: Scans from Secret Invasion #1, Detective Comics #843, Buffy #10 and More

Every week Geekanerd brings you the best, worst and weirdest panels from our week in comics. If you didn't read your books, there will be giant SPOILERS. Click the images for high res action!

Best Moves - Detective Comics #843

AHR: Zatanna kicks ass in this issue. So she's hanging out with Bruce at a party, and someone asks if they're an item, and he's all, "NO WAI!" And she's like, "O RLY?"
Man, how are you going to be that cavalier about asking out Batman? Do the words severe dissociative disorder mean anything to her? But seriously, Dini's run on Detective has featured a lot of great work on recovering relationship between these two, so I buy it. And there's a nice visual touch in the first panel - instead of asking Bruce to hand her a glass of water, she levitates it over to herself. Pretty cool customer.

More Zatanna, plus a racist vampire, an awesome comic cover and more after the jump!

Best Comeback - Zatanna, Detective Comics #843
AHR: This is just a good line any time someone tries to stick you with a label. I'm gonna remember it. Although it probably doesn't pack as much of a punch if one of the other things you are isn't a magician who can zap people's brains if she feels like it.

Coolest Development - Secret Invasion #1
Albo: The only interesting thing that really happened in the first issue of Marvel's newest big event was this panel--a Skrull ship crash lands on Earth, and when Luke Cage pries it open a bunch of throwback heroes flow out saying things like "At last we're back!" Are they Skrulls? Are they the real deal and their counterparts the Skrulls? Or are they time-displaced heroes destined to team up with their current time counterparts against a massive Skrullian menace? Who the heck knows, but I can't wait to find out. (Ooh, I hope they're the real deal)

Best Acting - Xander and Renee, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8: #10

AHR: When Xander and his slayer GF Renee go to visit Dracula, it quickly devolves into a melange of awkwardness. Dracula calls Renee a "moor", which is what they're reacting to in this first panel. Wonderful facial expressions here, also great nervous hand gesture from Xander.
Before long Xander is back under Dracula's ledgendary thrall, as Renee facepalms...This next panel is the height of comedy as far as I'm concerned...
Xander's blithe expression and Renee's goggle-eyed take are absolutely perfect.

And much later, as Dracula learns of some Japanese vamps stealing his powers...
Facepalm again! I love when artists use dot-eyes for really silly gags. Let's hear it for Georges Jeanty!

Sweetest Cover - Omega: The Unknown #7
Albo: Gary Panter really comes through in his artist guest spot, not only contributing a sweet ass comic within a comic but also the best cover of the series... Or any series in recent memory, for that matter.

Most Horrific Plot Development - The Walking Dead #48
AHR: For all the hemming and hawing over at Marvel about how Secret Invasion "CHANGES EVERYTHING", the developments of Walking Dead #48 make all the stuff at Marvel seem like small potatoes. For the last several years, The Walking Dead has been a story about a band of families, lovers and strangers, forced together by the need to survive. After this issue, in which about half of the cast dies including the hero's wife and new baby, I have to believe much of the rest of this book is going to be about grief.

Most Effective Small Talk Killer - American Splendor #1
Albo: Can't say the guy's off base. If anyone needs a little perspective it's Harvey Pekar.