The Week in Comics for 9/30/09…

This was a slow week in the world of comics…

BUY ‘EM…

WOLVERINE: WEAPON X #5 – It took a little too long for this series to “ramp up” to speed. Sure there was action and Wolvie calling people “bub,” but it just felt forced. Once the fourth issue hit the stands, everything clicked. Someone has leaked the Weapon X files to a corporate source that has used them to create a group of knockoff Wolverines to hire out as security and plans on getting a U.S. government contract to supply them with “soldiers.” After Logan and former Task Force X team member Maverick kill one of them by overloading his healing factor, Wolvie sets off to kill the rest. The best part of this story is Logan reveals what scares him: drowning – the one thing that can easily kill him. I’d like to see Ron Garney’s art on Wolverine: Origins or Dark Wolverine. Do we really need another monthly Wolverine title from Marvel? He’s in about 70% of their books already…

CYBERFORCE/HUNTER-KILLER #2 – I’m going to bottom-line this comic: a great Mark Waid story, the characters of Cyberforce in a good story and Ken Rocafort’s art is amazinng. Really. Pick this one up. Seriously. Now. This will be here when you get back. Go!

THUNDERBOLTS #136 – This is a huge sleeper series from Marvel. Andy Diggle is writing a great story that manages to give us insight to each Thunderbolt’s reason for being on the team – be it duty, money, staying out of prison, access to secrets, etc. Natasha Romanov, aka The Black Widow, is revealed to have been posing as Yelena Belova (Black Widow II) and leading Osborn’s Thunderbolts. When Songbird is recaptured, Romanov sheds her disguise to save her before getting captured herself. Members turn on one another and some original Thunderbolts swoop in to save Romanov and Songbird. I don’t want to give too much away, because this title is too d@mn good. Even the artwork by Pop Mahn and Carlos Rodriguez is phenomenal. I’ve never been a big fan of Mahn’s art, but the combination with Rodriguez steps the art to “Wizard Top 10” status. It’s better than some of the crap that’s hyped just because someone knows someone else. If you are following the Dark Reign crossovers at all, make sure this is one you grab – I have a feeling the revolution could start here…

GREEN LANTERN #46 – As Blackest Night sweeps across the universe, we are shown possible reasons why Sinestro began his fascist lean while he and Star Sapphire (Carol Ferris) battle Black Lanterns on Zamaron. Hal arrives with the Indigo Lanterns in tow to join the fight. As revealed in Blackest Night #3, all of the lights of the various Corps will need to unite to stop Blackest Night with Hal and Sinestro being key to that unification. If you’re not reading this crossover yet, you’re missing out on the best DC “mega-story” since Crisis on Infinite Earths.

X-FORCE #19 – The Black Queen and Bastion are still bringing as many deceased x-villains to life and have actually managed to find Destiny (HOLY $H!T!). All this while X-23 is trying to escape her capture by the group that created her before they are able to replicate her DNA (but looking at issue #20’s cover, it may be too late…). Issue #18 is a great jumping on point for new readers who want to see the X-Men’s “Black-Ops” team in action. Oh, and we continue to march towards Nation X and Necrosha…

SKY PIRATES OF NEO TERRA #1 – This new series from Image Comics is basically manga for the traditional comic crowd. Done in the tradition Japanese art style (not chibi, thank God!) with out of this world painted colors, Sky Pirates focuses on sky racer Billy and his friends. The story isn’t very deep, but if you like watching Avatar, you’ll like this series.

HULK #15 – So we’re not any closer to discovering the identity of the Red Hulk (even though Domino got a pre-transformation peek last ish…) and Rulk has assembled a team to hunt Dom down. Little did he know, she ran right to her friends in X-Force. Big throwdown ensues between X-Force and Rulk’s hired hands (Deadpool, Elektra, Punisher, Thundra and Crimson Dynamo). Wolverine actually manages to blind Rulk in the fight (don’t worry, he’ll heal…) and somewhere unrevealed in the story – it looks like Domino becomes Red She-Hulk. WTF?!? (or it’s Elektra. again – WTF?!?).

SECRET WARRIORS #8 – This series, The Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers overlap this month as Osborn sets his sights on Nick Fury. The absolute best part of this issue is Ares’s son (and Secret Warrior) Phobos grabbing Osborn and telling him not to F with Nick Fury and his friends. Ares is so impressed that he allows the Secret Warriors to get a one minute head start before Osborn and his Dark Avengers chase them to the Secret Warriors’ front door. Fury is still off recruiting for his army to takedown Osborn. Jonathan Hickman is writing a superb spy story with Secret Warriors – I mean – who saw S.H.I.E.L.D. as a front for Hydra?

STAR WARS: LEGACY #40 – As Cade and his imperial half-sister (they don’t know…) Gunner Yage, fight off an attack by Black Sun assassins on Tatooine, Morrigan Corde & Syn arrive to help Cade. Afterwards, Yage finds out that Corde and her mother are the same person and that Corde was secretly married to Kol Skywalker. On the Sith side of things, Darth Wyrlok has ordered Moff Rus, head of the Imperial Mission, to begin spreading the teachings of the Sith throughout the galaxy. This series is consistently one of the best things I read every month. The Skywalker dichotomy, secrecy between the main characters and the tie-ins to Star Wars novel makes Legacy a must for any fan.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #607 – J. Scott Campbell can do a monthly book. I have proof. Why won’t these guys (Campbell, Art Adams, Alex Ross, etc.) just buck up and give us a full issue of art instead of just a cover? New Spider-Writer, Joe Kelly, is off to a good start and reintroduced Black Cat in last issue (much to the dismay of the also newly returned Mary Jane…) who immediately tries to pick up where she left off with Spidey. Kelly really seems to have a good gasp on Spidey’s sarcasm, but penciller Mike McKone needs to go. He sucked on Exiles and he sucks here (hence the rant at the beginning…). Adriana Melo did a few pages at the end of the issue and her art has more potential than McKone’s. Bad art aside, this issue is a buy simply because of Joe Kelly’s story. With the return of MJ and Black Cat, it looks like Peter’s life (and the Spider-Man title…) might be getting back on track from that horrible “One More Day” storyline…

MICKEY MOUSE & FRIENDS #296 – Ok, so I like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, et al… sue me. I hate the evil corporation that Eisner turned Disney into during the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. I remember sitting and watching The Disney Channel back when they showed the old cartoons and TV shows from the 50’s and 60’s (back when Uncle Walt was calling the shots…). I loved them. Now you can hardly find any of the old shows on any of the Disney channels. I was thrilled to see that a more high profile company had secured the Disney characters license. Boom Studios is doing a great job on the Pixar properties and the Muppets. This is the first issue of the “classic” Disney characters, with Duck Tales, Donald Duck and other sure to follow. What I really like it that they have carried over the comic titles from Gemstone Publishing and are also continuing the numbering rather than starting over. I am wondering if Disney will try to buy out the licensing deal from Boom now that they own Marvel. Nothing ground-breaking – just another good comic for little kids to get a start on reading.

NEW MUTANTS #5 – I wish that Adam Kubert was drawing this book and not just the covers. The art on this book has been shaky since issue one. The opening story arc was decent, but not great. This issue reintroduces us to Warlock (last seen in Nova…) and resets the New Mutants team as they get adjusted to life in Nation X. Sam and Dani have a “heart-to-heart” about who will be in charge and we get to see Rogue in full control of her powers as she keeps Legion sedated while the science team reassembles his psyche. I wish Marvel would get away from artists that have painted artwork. Zachary Baldus’ art is just as flat and anti-kinetic as Ariel Olivetti’s. The real reason I picked up this issue is for Warlock and the future return of Doug Ramsey (whose grave is empty…) – this is leading directly into the X-Force “Necrosha” cross-over (also known as we copied Blackest Night…).

IF YOU’VE BOUGHT THEM ALREADY, USE THEM AS “PUPPY PAPERS”…

DARK REIGN: THE SINISTER SPIDER-MAN #4 – Another “look into the life” of one of Osborn’s Dark Avengers. This one had potential just based on artwork by Chris Bachalo. How wrong I was. Mac Gargan/ Venom/ Spider-Man is uninteresting by himself and Bachalo looks like he lost interest in the project two issues ago. Pass. Hard.

G.I. JOE/COBRA SPECIAL – This one shot supposedly deals with the fallout of the G.I. Joe/Cobra mini-series, but winds up as an origin story/bitch fest of the Crimson Twins. Honestly, I couldn’t be less interested in this story. I don’t care about this whiney crap… give me some action! It’s G.I. Joe, not General Hospital! Crap! Crap, I say!

SPIDER-MAN: CLONE SAGA #1 – Ugh. (Yes Tom DeFalco, I was one of the people who thought the Clone Saga almost ruined Spider-Man as a character…). Tom DeFalco and Howard Mackie, two of the writers who brought us the abortion that became the Clone Saga, decided to “clear their names” and tell the Clone Saga the way they had envisioned it, not what they claim the editors at Marvel turned it into. Whatever. Todd Nauck, whose art I normally like when he does Spidey, looks like he tried to crap this out as quick as he could. Either that or inker Victor Olazaba absolutely slaughtered the pencils. If you’re curious about the Clone Saga, don’t be… you didn’t miss anything then and you won’t miss anything now (except two writers who can’t get jobs trying to wipe this turd from their resumes…).