New Comix - Week of 7/13/11

Green Lantern #67
The War of the Green Lanterns has been going on for 12 issues spanning 3 different GL titles. It's been pretty good. Quick synopsis…The rogue Guardian, Krona, has defeated the other Guardians and has taken control of every GL except for the 4 from Earth. The 4 Earth Lanterns have to put on rings from the other color spectrums to fight back; Guy goes Red, John goes Purple, Hal goes Yellow, and Kyle goes Blue. They manage to thwart the rogue Guardian and release all of the Green Lanterns from his hypnotic clutches. Now it's all the GLs versus Krona and the still mind-controlled Guardians. During the fight, Sinestro (of all people) is selected by a green ring to become a Green Lantern once again. In the end it simply comes down to Hal Jordan shooting a green beam of light and shattering Krona's previously unbeatable defenses and blowing a hole through him.

First off, I expected a "smarter" ending than "Hal Jordan just overpowers the bad guy". Krona was an unstoppable force of nature! And Hal just wins because…why? And after he saves the day the Guardians thank him by berating him for killing a Guardian, take his ring, and send him back to Earth….WHAT?!? I don't get it. I enjoyed the series, but the ending left me a little cold. Not sure if I will continue with this title when it restarts in September with a new #1 issue starring Green Lantern Sinestro.

Despite it's lackluster ending, there were some really great action sequences.



Green Lantern Corps #61
This story picks up right after the events of Green Lantern #67. The Green Lantern Corps comic has been focusing on Green Lanterns John Stewart and Kyle Rayner, both of Earth. This issue is all about John Stewart though, who I could care less about. He goes off with a new recruit to help her deal with a civil war on a planet in her sector. This wasn't terribly interesting and the art wasn't anything special. I would pass on this one if I were you.





Avengers VS New Ultimates #6
This issue finishes off a six issue miniseries that saw the 2 teams of the Ultimate Universe Avengers both believing the other to be traitors so they start beating each other up for 6 issues while over in Queens, Ultimate Spider-Man was being beaten to death outside Aunt May's house by the Sinister 6. I have to admit, this story had me guessing. I really wasn't sure who was the traitor until right before it was revealed. Turns out it was Tony Starks' older brother, Greg, who had been helping SHIELD. In the end the teams have to team up to take him down. Tony uses an EMP to shut down all tech in the area (which is where both he and Greg get their powers) and Thor proceeds to hit him with a lightning bold in the chest and fry him to a crisp. Tony's response is, "Thor! What the Hell?!?" He thought they would knock out Greg or something…Thor didn't get the memo.

Like I said, this is all happening while the Green Goblin's team of villains are killing Spidey over in Queens. The Avengers don't know any of that is happening until it's already over. It's too bad. Ultimate Spiderman is probably the best book I've been reading this year. I'll talk more on that in the next review.

Pretty good story mixed with good art.



Ultimate Fallout #1
This is the first issue following Peter's death in Ultimate Spider-Man #160. That was such a great comic and the story of his death was so well done it was gut-wrenching to read. Ultimate Spidey is the ultimate hero. The only reason the Goblin was able to take him out was because he had already been shot in the gut by the time he got there. They are relaunching the series in September with a new Spiderman. I hope it is half as good as this series has been.

But I digress…as good as that last issue was, this one seems very forced. Over half of the issue is just showing the supporting characters and how they are responding to Peter's death. After a while it gets kind of silly. The best part to me was when Captain America comes up to Aunt May at the funeral and apologizes because he feels like it's his fault Peter died. Overall not that strong a story. I'm going to give it one more issue to pick up. If it's more forced emotions, I'm dropping it.





Batman The Dark Knight #3
This is a series written and illustrated by the awesomely talented David Finch. His artwork is dark and gritty and perfect for Batman. This story isn't anything special, but this book is worth buying for the artwork alone. It's great. Seriously.





Captain America #1
I wasn't planning on buying this issue when I went to the comic store, but when I saw Steve McNiven was the artist, I had to get it. That guy is maybe the best in the business right now. I'm so glad I got this book! Not only is the art superb, but the story is compelling and rich and the whole experience was just an unexpected treat. I've always like the good Captain, but I have never read a story of his that showed this much promise. There's mystery, action, blasts from the past…I just can't say enough. I can't wait for the next issue!

- Pick of the Week!!!