This Week In Comics: 11-05-2003

[Marc]

Welcome to This Week In Comics for Nov. 5th - Nov. 11th, 2003.

For those who are new: Every week there is a thread titled "This Week In Comics" in the Comic Book Culture Forum. Here, you can discuss the material you've bought (or that you plan on buying), and talk about comics in general (news you've read on comic news sites, the state of the industry in general, upcoming issues you're excited about, etc.). If it's potentially spoilerific, then use your common sense and cover the text with the spoiler code (or provide spoiler space).

If you have any feedback/comments/suggestions... just contact your friendly neighborhood comic moderators!

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Highlights of the Week!

ARROWSMITH #4 (of 6)

Written by Kurt Busiek
Art and Cover by Carlos Pacheco and Jesús Meriño

The fantasy-adventure series by the acclaimed team of Busiek, Pacheco and Meriño (Avengers Forever) takes a dramatic turn! Even if they survive, Fletcher and those he loves will be forever changed! In the thick of battle in the skies over Europe, Fletcher's illusions are shattered. There are two kinds of airmen: those who learn fast and those who die hard. Every day is a struggle against death, and Fletcher’s starting to think it wouldn't be so bad to lose…

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SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT #5 (of 12)

Written by Mark Waid
Art and Cover by Leinil Yu and Gerry Alanguilan

It's Superman vs. the anti-terrorism weapons of Metropolis! Is this strange visitor a bigger danger to the city than Superman himself?

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SUPREME POWER #4

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Cover & Pencils by Gary Frank

Who is the Whizzer and what does he have to do with Hyperion? All this and Nighthawk strikes!

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So...what do you want to talk about this week?

[Jor-El]

HAWKMAN 21 — B-
JSA ALL-STARS 7 — B+
SUPERMAN BIRTHRIGHT 5 — A++ This series gets better with each issue. I'm so glad I'm finally seeing the bigger picture.
TEEN TITANS/OUTSIDERS SECRET FILES — C+

It's nice to have a comic week that's full of such great stuff after two weeks of only getting one book each time.

[Clayface]

My purchases this week:

ARROWSMITH #4 (Of 6) - Fletcher, having seen too much of the horrors of war firsthand, becomes emotionally detached from the world around him. He reunites with a couple of characters we've seen in past issues, which helps raise his spirit, but is quickly faced with the harsh reality of war when he visits his "nemsis" Mitch in the hospital. A particularly brutal new magic spell also makes its debut, and the ending sets up what could be some even more nasty surprises for future issues. I'm still completely enthralled by this title - the art, the writing, everything about it just draws me into the world. Can't say enough good thigns about this book! *****

BATTLE ROYALE VOL 3 GN (Of 5) - Wow. Don't take the parental advisory sticker on the front of this thing lightly! Filled with gorey violence, explicit and sometimes brutal sex scenes, this is not for kids - and maybe not for a lot of adults. I love the story, and I'm all for the violence, but the graphic sex scenes do seem to be a bit gratuitous. Anyway, more students die, as alliances are made and the kids start planning how they can all get revenge on the people responsible for their predicament. ****1/2

CSI: BAD RAP #3 (OF 5)

DARK DAYS #5 (OF 6) - Stella starts a surprising new relationship, and learns something that makes the loss of her husband even more painful to deal with. Not a bad issue, though it felt like not a lot new happened. Next issue is the big showdown between Stella and Lilith! Woo-hoo! *** 1/2

DETECTIVE COMICS #788 - *Sigh* I miss Brubaker already. In this issue, Paul Bolles presents us a rather bland and uninteresting story. A bouncer, who had been convicted of the murder of his wife and sentenced to death, escapes from prison and begins taking out all those responsible for his conviction - seemingly powered by some mystical mumbo-jumbo. Somewhat stiff narration, and art that doesn't really thrill me, this issue just wasn't worth the money. I did enjoy the wrap-up to the "Dogcatcher" back-up story. **1/2

EMPIRE #4 (Of 6) - I''m not sure how to sum this issue up - there's a lot going on here. The issue jumps back and forth between the present - in which Golgoth's chosen few continue to get themselves into trouble - and the past, in which we learn more about the death of Golgoth's wife. I'm loving this mini-series, and I'm definitely going to miss it once its over. ****1/2

G.I. JOE: FRONTLINE #16

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: POWER OF FEAR #1 - A dollar from every copy of this one-shot sold goes to the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. Its He-Man, and it contributes to a good cause - how could anyone pass this issue up? We're given two short stories here. The first reintroduces a character from the original show that we haven't seen in the relaunch yet: Scare Glow. Its sort of an "origin" issue, in which we learn how Scare Glow comes to work for Skeletor. The second story is just an inspirational little thing about hope featuring lots of nice full-page shots of He-Man in action. Overall, well worth the cost. ****

SPIDER-MAN & DR OCTOPUS: NEGATIVE EXPOSURE #2

SUPREME POWER #4

THANOS #2

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #49

WOLVERINE #7 - I love this title! Rucka write Wolverine wonderfully - this is exactly the type of talent this book needed. I love the way Wolverine dispenses justice in this issue - great stuff! And Fernandez's art! Soooo much better than Robertson's neanderthal Wolvie. Its a sight for sore eyes. My only complaint about this issue is the 2 pages of dialgoue in Spanish. Not all of us took Spanish in high school Mr. Rucka! Very, very annoying when I have to go find someone to translate my comic book for me. It loses a half star for that. ****1/2

WOLVERINE THE END #1 (Of 6) - Not a bad start to Wolvie's "final" story. I liked Wolverine's split-personality-style dialogue, and I liked his reaction to a certain enemy's supposed rehabilitation. The ending was interesting, and I'll definitely be back for more, but overall, something about this issue just felt kind of average. Nothing really grabbed me, or made me say "this is going to be such a great story". We'll see if it picks up from here. ***1/2

Y: THE LAST MAN #16

[Funkatron]

Ultimate Spider-man 49: A really cool issue. Especially liked spidey's dinner with Fisk: priceless

[Parallax]

I got:

Catwoman #23
Batman #620
Teen Titans #3
Batman: Detective Comics #787
Batman & Robin: Adentures Annual #1
Web of Spider-Man #90
X-Men The Movie: The Comic Book Adaptation

I'll post comments later.

[Mattashell]

Action #809: Creeping Death: Clark Kent is the only passenger without an alibi when a murder takes place on a cruiseship full of reporters, he was in action as Superman at the time. I'm glad to see the one-shot isn't dead. This little mystery was great fun. ****

Arrowsmith #4: Chapter Four: La Vie en Escadrille: Over time, Fletcher has seen his peers killed and mamed in battle, he becomes detatched. I just can't say enough wonderfull things about Arrowsmith. A beautifaully human fantasy adventure tale that has been a model of perfection so far. ****1/2 Pick of the week!

Detective #788: The Randori Stone Part One: A remarkably strong bouncer is sentenced to death for the murder of his wife and two others. Two years later he breaks out and seeks those who incarcerated him, now seemingly endowed with more than remarkable strength. Detective's winning streak is officially over. This issue is dishearteningly bland, and cursed with an awful third person narration that says rediculous things like

Batman unleashes the most powerful strikes in all the fighting arts.

Generally Batman is poorly portraid, without knowing Eddie Hursts limits, he uses what would be deadly force for an ordinary human. Dogcatcher Part IV: Dogcatcher has been lame from the start, but I did get a smile out of the last few panels. **

Hawkman #21: The Headhunter Part II: Taking Off The Mask:Kendra rescues Carter from a new rougue who calls himself "The Headhunter" when she catches them both in her apartment. It was a good read, but still not up to the par this book set for itself earlier on. I'm interested to find out what heppens. I have a feeling its going to all pay off. ***

Incredible Hulk Vol 1: Return of the Monster (TPB) Bruce Jones is simply amazing in what he's done with The Hulk, giving it a pattented "noir-television feel" and a slow pacing that works for instead of against the book, constantly building suspence and expanding the mystery. Reading this, I noticed that this title works even better as a trade than as a monthly, with no ads, and no wait between chapters. I can't recomend enough, what I feel is, the best ongoing series right now. *****

Wolverine #7: Coyote Crossing Part One: Wolverine finds two men who were smuggling human beings from Mexico and let thier cargo die. He's determined to avenge them. Rucka is losing me. This concept has the potential to be very powerful, but he failed to pull it off, making me come out of this looking at it as so-so. Wolverine has never been a favorite of mine, It's hard for me to admire him, when he has such a disreguard for human life. Since Rucka's run began, Everywhere Logan goes, he's stumbling onto victem's of murder by sheer coincidence, then without much cause he seeks vengence on thier behalf. Kind of hypocritical, don't you think? His interegation scene here makes him seem like Batman, except Batman doesn't kill people. Power and responsibility isn't a theme in ALL Marvel comics. Agent Lathrop, really should have access to more info on Logan than she's found. All things considered, the government MUST have a file on him. Though much of it would be classified, she should have access to at least some info. I mean, He's connected to the, now outed, Xavier School, he's served in the armed forces, he's murdered a lot of people, he's connected to Alpha Flight, and then there's all that Weapon X busines. **

[wonderfly]

I got:

Supreme Power #4: This intriguing origin story continues, and continues...and continues...I'm wondering if the urban vigilante, (Nighthawk, I think his name was) is being set up to be the villian of the story, or this Supreme Squadrons' version of Batman. There's some great writing here, Stracynski is at his best, but as this is nothing more than an Adult JLA, I still wonder if it's all going to be worth it in the end. Grade: A


Wolverine #7: Well, I like the way in which Wolvie deals out justice, but other than that, this storyline is starting out much like the last one. Is Wolvie going to stumble across all of his plots? How about him going searching for something, like his origin? Wait, they did that... Grade: B-

Wolverine: The End #1: A fascinating look at what Marvel's most popular mutant would be like in the distant future, as he approaches his final days. It's too early to tell how well this storyline is going to pay off, but Jenkins does provide a fresh script. Most intriguing part: Seeing a paranoid and delusional Logan, a senile old man who's not playing with a full set of marbles in his head. Still, this title has a 'wait and see' aspect to it... Grade: A-


Kinda a small week, so I bought some back issues, such as:

Wolverine #188 and #189:

And, as mentioned yesterday, I got:

Flash#201 and 202: Hmmmm...this is the first Flash books I've ever picked up, and it was interesting, as this story is somewhat of a typical "Amnesiac" storyline...except in many ways, I'm just as much an amnesiac as Wally West is...I hear Howard Porter is coming on as artist in a few months. That'll be interesting...I loved the dialogue and subtle hints in the conversation between West and Captain Cold, (or whatever his name is) in #201...Johns is indeed a clever writer, but I'll wait and see if this book is worth picking up month after month...Grade: B-

Heh, guess it turned into Wolverine Week almost!

Reviews to follow as I read them...

[Conekiller]

Alex Ross DC Artbook :Mythologies

[gddiehl]

Small week,I got

• Exiles #37
• Ultimate Spiderman #49
• Wolverine The End #1

[Joker85]

I got Harley Quinn #38. It was the final issue, and, not surprisingly, this comic went out with a wimper, instead of a bang. It's been declining in quality since about issue #19 and this last one was a weak swan song for Harley. Sad really, but I'm sure we'll see her pop up eventually in other DC comics.

[Antiyonder]

Alpha Flight #-1 Flashback Issue

Marvel 1998 Annual Starring
Cable And Machine Man

Marvel 1998 Annual Starring
Machine Man And Bastion

Justice League Adventures #25

Spider-Girl #66

[Hatter]

Picked up...

• DETECTIVE COMICS #788
• JSA: ALL-STARS #7 (OF 8)
• JLA-Z #2 (OF 3)
• WOLVERINE #7
• WOLVERINE: THE END #1 (OF 6)

[Mattashell]

It's Friday night, and my comments are already up. Woohoo! Now let's go drink.

[Eddie G.]

Ultimate Spiderman#49
Great fun issue. A+

Supreme Power #4
Not as good as last month, and it kind of jumped around. B+

THE END: Wolverine
It shows promise, and the art was good. A-

[Parallax]

Heh. I'll post my comments tommorow, but I have to show everyone this pic from Web of Spider-Man #90.

http://www.deviantart.com/view/3744462/

[wonderfly]

Heh. I'll post my comments tommorow, but I have to show everyone this pic from Web of Spider-Man #90.

http://www.deviantart.com/view/3744462/

Oh, that was wrong on so many levels!

[wonderfly]

Just yesterday, I finally managed to stumble across a copy of:

Superman/Batman #3: I was simply amazed at how much I enjoyed this issue, when there's really not that much to it. But that's the joy: it's a superhero slugfest, with Superman and Batman beating up tons of villians, all of whom want to collect the bounty on Superman and Batman's head. There's fun bits of thought as Supes and Bats think about their relationship towards one another, and some great battle sequences! Ed Mcguinness is truly a fun artist to view, and the action from this issue just had me smiling from ear to ear throughout! Definently a comic that should appeal to the inner fanboy in anyone! Grade: A

[screw on head]

i picked up Batman/Superman #3. I wasn't knocked out by this issue, the cameos galore didn't win me over. the art was beautiful though, go mcguiness.

i picked up Hulk: Gray #'s 1 & 2. i like the story so far, loeb and sale are a quite a pair. the art was the usual quirky sale goodness and the story is moving along.

picked up wizard and there's plenty of interesting articles, including the alex ross Q & A and the sitdown discussion between the comic book movie guys. and then there's good stuff scattered here and there. DC: The New Frontier looks very cool, cannot wait til january.

[Marc]

ARROWSMITH #4 (Of 6) - It's a magical world, and it pulls you in every month. I can't give this title any more praise without sounding like a broken record. Top knotch work by everyone involved. A

AUTHORITY VOL 2 #7

FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 (Of 6) – The cover states "Manga Khan Attacks!"...Manga Kahn ARRIVES is more like it. Kevin Maguire is such a talented artist and he draws the most hilarious facial expressions in the business, but I was hoping for a stronger balance between words and action. But that's not the point of this book. Still, the banter between Ted and Oracle was a treat, as was the return of an old JLA member. That's Justice League Antarctica in case you were wondering. All this, plus J'onn's hooked on the Oreos again. B

SUPERMAN BIRTHRIGHT #5 (Of 12) – HOW does Clark know Lex? From when and where? And most importantly...WHY does Clark know him? This reeks of Smallville's influence. Birthright loses points for that, but gains one for the "diseased maniac" line. There may be hope for this kid yet. C+

SAVAGE DRAGON #112

SUPREME POWER #4 - Nighthawk makes his shockingly violent debut, and it's a memorable one. I cannot wait until he and Hyperion finally meet. Speaking of our "Man of Steel", he continues to play his part as government puppet, and has to deal with a personal tragedy. It's interesting to wonder how much Mark is aware of. There are moments when he seems to be in on the whole act, and others where he seems incredibly naive. Of course, maybe that naivete is all an act? Mark could be waiting to pull the rug out from under his "Masters" feet, and an angry Superman is not a pleasant thing to be around. We also get out first glimpse of the new "Whizzer". This book has already surpassed Rising Stars, and I can easily say this is the most engrossing Superman/JLA re-imagining I've ever read. A+

WOLVERINE THE END #1 (Of 6)

- Cap

[Nick K.]

I bought

Wolverine: The End #1 - Great issue, excited for the next 5!

Teen Titans/ Outsiders: Secret Files 2003

Superman: Birthright #5

and I plan on getting Mythology after i get a free 20 bucks from my comic store. I live in Ny and im going to go meet Alex Ross and have him sign it at Midtown Comics November 22! WOOOOO, this rules!