Rating System: 0 to 1.5 stars = save your money unless you are just mindlessly collecting the title. 2 to 3.5 = worth a shot if you are up to trying something new or wanting to get back into a title. 4 to 5 = a must buy for any comic reader.
FANTASTIC FOUR #573 – Jonathan Hickman has really started something special with his run on Fantastic Four. We saw in last issue that as Ben and Johnny were heading for a quick vacation on Nu-Earth, Franklin and Val stowed-away in the Fantasti-Car. When the four arrive on Nu-Earth, they discover that while the Fantastic Four last visited Nu-Earth a couple of weeks ago, eight years had passed for the inhabitants of Nu-Earth. During that time, a black hole opened up within view of the planet and the heroes took over the planet. They join up with the two creators of the world to fight to free the populace. Even with all the action in this issue, the part scene was the reveal that Val is already smarter than Reed and is trying to keep him from finding out. Hickman is quickly creating one of the greatest runs on Fantastic Four – putting him in the lofty company of Walt Simonson and John Byrne.
Undercover Fanboy Rating: 
WALT DISNEY’S COMICS & STORIES #700
and MICKEY MOUSE & FRIENDS #297 – I’m lumping these two comic together. Not because they both are easy to review, but because both are great books for kids and are beginning to steadily bring new kids into comics. BOOM Kids! has taken a very genius approach to revitalizing the Disney characters. Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories seems to have taken a very super-heroic turn, placing most of the main Disney characters into different versions of famous heroes. Mickey Mouse & Friends is trying to tap into the 
Lord of the Rings/World of Warcraft crowd by making Mickey, Donald and Goofy wandering magicians (with their pet baby dragon…) as they look for ways to earn money and learn more magic. At this point, I’m hoping that Disney doesn’t take the comic license away from BOOM Studios! – they’re just doing too good of a job.
Undercover Fanboy Rating: 
HULK #17 – I’m tired of complaining about this title’s lack of direction. Ian Churchill’s art in place of Ed McGuiness is a shining point in a dull story. I just wish is Jeph Loeb could tap into the coolness of his Superman/Batman run. We do find out that neither Elektra nor Domino is Red She-Hulk. Oh… before I forget: WHO CARES WHO RULK IS AT THIS POINT!
Undercover Fanboy Rating:
SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN #3 – I don’t understand how Geoff Johns is doing it at this point… he’s managing to write some of the top comics in the industry right now and Superman: Secret Origin is too good to be flying under the radar. Sure, we’ve been inundated with Superman origin stories over the years, but Johns has managed to combine the young, insecure feel of the Smallville series with the Superboy stories from the 1950’s and the popular bits over the years all together. Artist Gary Frank is doing some of the best stuff of his career (though I wish Jon Sibal wasn’t the inker – Sibal needs to be on another book with a less talented artist…), he’s actually able to capture that mystique that made Christopher Reeve the Superman for a generation. You know it’s a good comic when it’s rehashing old stuff and the true fanboys still buy it…
Undercover Fanboy Rating: 
DARK AVENGERS: ARES #2 – Now that Ares has trained his “Shades,” they have set out to collect Ares’ son based on a location given to him by Ares’ mother, Hera. As they enter a long abandoned Hydra base, Ares realizes that he’s been set up by his mother. Confronted by his first son who means to claim his title and godhood, Ares covers the escape of his Shades while he fights wave after wave of reanimated Hydra corpses. Kieron Gillen will be on to bigger and better things after this and the always good Manuel Garcia’s art is so well suited for this title that it’s scary. Too bad there’s only one issue left… but I have to wonder what’s going to happen to the men he trained after this series…
Undercover Fanboy Rating:
IMAGE UNITED #1 – Wow, what an egocentric series. I had 
forgotten how much I don’t care about most of the Image founders anymore. Even the Robert Kirkman story seems forced. Rob Liefeld’s pencils have improved (way to adapt your style and evolve, dude…), Marc Silvestri’s art is as great as always, but the art by Jim Valentino, Erik Larsen, and Whilce Portacio hasn’t changed a bit. As in: at all. And other than Spawn and Savage Dragon – who really knows the rest of the characters anyway? McFarlane did manage to pull off a coup in this issue. We’ve all thought for months that Al Simmons was dead and no longer Spawn; but in this issue, Simmons returned to enlist the help of the current Spawn to take over everything as Omega Spawn. Guess ol’ Al finally caved to all that “hellish” pressure to rule. Other than that, this looks to be the Image founder’s version of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I’d really like to see Youngblood do well (especially with rumors of a movie in the works…), but Liefeld is going to have to reinvent the looks of Youngblood to not make them look so stuck in the ‘90’s. Lose some of the pockets, pads and headbands and let’s give a couple of these guys new haircuts. Other than that – with a decent “name” writer and “poof” – you’ve got a top ten comic again. But… just draw it. Let the writer write…
Undercover Fanboy Rating:
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