Picks of the Week


DMZ #12
Just in case the world this book is set in didn't feel real before, Brian Wood (both writing and penciling on this issue) does an outstanding job of making his New York City a real, tangible place. Told in a a documentary style, this book lays out the status quo of the DMZ. The reader is treated to a guide book that includes Central Park, Chinatown, Ground Zero, and more. Also, brief statements (a sentence or two each) from the characters living in the DMZ reveal a disparate group of people that somehow all survive in what should probably be a no man's land. There's no real plot here; there's no story beyond the description of this universe. But this book sells the reality of this world probably more than any issue before it.

Pellet Reviews

52 #23
Only two stories in this week's book: The first, seen briefly, reveals that all of those missing scientists are on some crazy resort island. They've been given unlimited funding to do whatever they want. Since the book describes all of the scientists as "evil," I can only imagine that the mysterious beneficiary isn't interested in perfecting humanity's existence. The other story sees Isis' brother rescued and then imbued with some of Black Adam's power as Adam sets about to create his own Shazam-style family. Neither of these threads have been all that compelling for me (nor did this week's plodding along help much), and I spent a lot of issues wondering what was going on with all those other characters I do care about.

Annihilation #3
Picking up immediately after the second issue left off, this book is a good example of why it can always get worse. Long story short, Nova's United Front loses the war as the various minions of Annihilus decimate the people before Galactus is forced to destroy the planet. The chaos of the battle is kept coherent through both an effective log-style narration and crisp dialog (both thanks to Keith Giffen) as well minute detail in art made possible by Andrea Di Vito's penciling. So fast is the pace of the story that when the Super Skrull comes back to life, the reader buys Nova's explanation that in the heat of the moment, nobody thought to ask how it happened. With the war over, the main characters go their own way to fight their own battles.

Civil War: Front Line #7
I suppose it's only some strange need to stay up on all the Civil War tie-ins that keeps me buying this book. Now I love the Civil War storyline and the main mini-series. I've enjoyed just about every tie-in book so far. The Front Line series, though, always comes off as uneven. I suppose part of that is the fact that so many stories are jammed into this one book and, as a result, the plots of each move interminably slowly. So far, the Speedball story has been by far the most compelling, and this week is no exception. There's some other cloak and dagger events involving Norman Osborne, but so little is known about it thus far that it's difficult to care. In short, unless you really, really want the complete Civil War story, this book can stay on the shelf.

Ultimate Power #1 (of 9)
After a short fight where a piece of the Thing's rocky exterior actually breaks off, Reed Richards tries to redouble his efforts to find a way to undo his friend's condition. This leads him to send probes into alternate worlds (against the orders of SHIELD). The characters from JMS' Supremeverse arrive on the last page. This issue serves as all set-up. The opening fight has some nice action and very good humor. And Reed's characters starts out in an almost desperate place, so it can't possible get any better later. But otherwise, there's very little to say about it.

Ultimate X-Men #75
Somebody (I believe it was the book's writer Robert Kirkman, but I could be wrong) said this issue would be a good jumping-on point. But with so much of character interation in the issue's opening pages referring to past issues (recent though they may be), it may not be the friendliest of jumping-points. Once Ultimate Cable shows up, though, it's all fighting and craziness. There's no attempt at an explanation here, which works since Cable hoped to get in, accomplish his mission, and get out. The end serves up a nice surprise as to who Cable is (and it has nothing at all to do with that other Cable in the Marvel universe). All in all, a good setup issue that hints to a good arc. If you've at all wanted to give the book a try, this might be the one to take a chance on.

Uncanny X-Men #479
Ed Brubaker's involved space drama continues as a Shiar warrior is sent to kill Rachel Summers, the Phoenix, only to change his mind after being telepathically linked to her in combat. The other big plot point is the apparent kidnapping of Xavier by two other Shiar. These action beats seem to take up relatively little space, though, as much of the book is spent with nice character moments between Xavier and Rachel, Warpath and Nightcrawler, and Warpath and Darwin. Even the Shiar warrior is given a proper introduction in the opening pages (which is appropriate as he looks to be around for a little while). Billy Tan's pencils handle these subtleties of character well as he gets a range of expression from everyone. And Brubaker has brought back much of what has made the X-Men great over the years: the big action missions combined with the intense character dynamic. Good reading even if you're not an X-fan.

Wolverine: Origins #7
Yes, by now you're thinking I'm a complete X-fiend and that's all I will review. Actually, this book is getting a trial run. In the second part of the arc I'm sampling, writer Daniel Way offers a very nice explanation for how Wolverine's memories were tampered with and even provides the origin of the phrase: "I'm the best there is at what I do." The story in the present is somewhat formulaic and serves as little more than an excuse for a flashback. The biggest detraction for this book seems to be penciler Steve Dillon. While the art is good, the cleaner, almost cartoon style detracts from what should probably be a down and dirty Wolverine story. If you really like Wolverine, this promises a long-term whodunit type mystery. Otherwise, eminently passable.

So here's the introduction:

This blog/journal/column will review some new issues each week. From time to time, it may examine back issues or complete story arcs. And along the way, the reviewer may offer his own thoughts on anything he feels warrants them.