Best to Worst of Last Week

This was a good week of comics and for me I ended up reading everything a lot earlier then normal as I was participating in the Cosmic Comics Conversation and we taped on Friday. That caused me to read almost every book before Friday at 7PM and I do have a day job. For anyone who regularly reads this blog I happy to say that we are managing to get some preview issues of books and will have some interviews with creators of those comics as time goes by. I was really happy with our review of Archibald Saves Christmas. Both creators Dwight McPherson and Grant Bond have been very generous in giving their time to answer and answering our e-mails. So go check out the links and buy their books, support some up and coming creators and future comic super stars.

Green Lantern #24 – The Sinestro War kicks up another notch as the Sinestro Corps attacks earth and Kyle and Hal defeat Parallax with the help of John Stewart and Guy Gardner. Earth’s four GL’s are reunited and ready for a showdown with the Sinestro Corps.
Black Adam The Dark Age #3 (of 6) – Great mini-series. Black Adam is shown to be one of the most layered and complex villains every created. The battle between him and Hawkman was terrific.
Black Summer #3 (of 7) – I’m really enjoying Warren Ellis’ exploration of what happens what a super hero decides that the right thing to do is kill the corrupt leader of the government. At this point I’m buying the trade or hard cover.
Exterminators #22 – The Mayan Hissers are the biggest and baddest cockroaches on the planet and the Bug Bee boys are hip dip in the fight. The series is really hitting on all cylinders.
Nova #7 – This series has just been flat out good each and every issue. Loved how Richard and the Nova force (super computer mind thing) fought off the Phalanx. Also enjoyed how they have not destroyed it, but caused it to be in remission.
Green Arrow/Black Canary #1 – Great first issue, we resolve what happened to Ollie in the first issue. Judd Winick did a great job of keeping the JLA guset stars in characters. Cliff Chiang’s art looked great. This looks to be a continuation of Judd’s great run on Green Arrow.
X-Factor #24 – Peter David continues to make this series be the best in continuity X-Book on the stands. Loved how the villain is driven by a personal and physical need and not some power grab, greed or ego mania thing.
Booster Gold #3 – Another good issue, this book just continues to be entertaining and can go where ever they want to take it. A lighter book that is fun, yet still is telling a complex story.
Deadlander #1 (of 4) – A little over written, but all in all a great effort by Kevin Ferrara who was artist and writer on this book. Should be a very good series and this is a talent to watch.
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Suicide Squad Raise the Flag #2 (of 8) – I’m really enjoying this story and I wonder if it will all be set in the past. This issue focused on how Rick Flagg survived his obvious death from the original series.
Simon Dark #1 – Nice opening introducing Simon Dark into the DCU. He appears to be a Frankenstein type creature and it will be fascinating to see how they fit him into Gotham. Steve Niles and Scott Hampton are the creators and did a nice job.
Sorrow #2 (of 4) – A really good creepy story about a group of younger 20 somethings being caught in a town that has a lot of crazy and strange sh*t happening. Great art by Francesco Francavilla.
Stormwatch PHD #12 – Final issue, which is a shame this was the best Wildstorm book and all 12 issues were well written and very entertaining.
Heroes for Hire #14 – Zeb Wells continues to make this a very compelling read and the changes they are putting Humbug through are incredible. Looking forward to the conclusion of this story.
Drafted #2 – This book continues to be a slow build and if the scope is as big as they are foreshadowing, then it is the right way to go. Biggest mistake this series will make is not to have an ending. It can be a 50 issue story but it needs an ending. We have enough wars in real life that have no end.
Graveslinger #1 (of 4) – Nice start, this book had a cool feel to it and definitely has Jeff Mariotte’s (co-writer) touch to it as it is a supernatural tale set in the America West.
Superman #668 – The start of the search for the third Kryptonian story line. Thought it was funny how they had to explain away all the other Kryptonians on Earth so the third made any sense. Good opening and nice touch with Superman playing Dad to Chris Kent.
Grimm Fairy Tales #17 – The cover as almost always is ridiculous but the story was decent and they are building up the story about Sela, who was initially just a framing device.
Batman Confidential #10 – The Joker becomes the Joker in this issue. This book is really out of continuity but DC does not present it as out of continuity. Still a good origin of the Joker if you take it as an Elseworlds book, or maybe it is Earth 33.
Infinity Inc. #2 – This is an interesting book as we learning about the problems the group of people who were part of Lex Luthor’s everyman program are dealing with. Not really a group book, more a story about the after effects of the everyman program at this point.
Atomic Robo #1 (of 6) – A fun start to what looks to be a fun series about an intelligent robot that was created by Nicholas Telsa (the guy who was Thomas Edison’s rival and by most accounts a greater inventive genius.) A light hearted and enjoyable book.
Hiding in Time #3 (of 4) – The artwork was a little weak, but the story played out and was fun. It was solicited as 3 of 4, but this felt like the last issue to me.
JLA Classified #44 – Continuing the Martian Manhunter arc and this issue started to get into the crux of what the story is about. The best of the arc so far and now it is getting interesting.
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Fantastic Four #550 – The FF plus 2 save the universe with Dr. Strange’s help in the most over the top save the Universe story I have read in a long time. I think it was supposed to be a homage to some of the old Lee/Kirby FF stories, but almost became an unintentional parody book.
Countdown #29 – Best issue is a while, hope that the Jokester isn’t really dead already. The book is picking up.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24 – One More Day Part 2 (of 4)- Just a waste of an issue and dragging on for what is sure to be a really stupid deus ex machine type ending to rid Peter of being married to Mary Jane.
Wonder Woman #13 – Total fill in issue, really added nothing, but still it was well written and had decent art, but DC could have just skipped a month.
Grimm Fairy Tales Annual #1 – The framing device was funny, but the actual stories were the most misogynistic stuff I have ever read. I really have gotten concerned as the book always has this overt good girl covers, but almost every story was about hacking up a woman. The regular series has never crossed the line like the annual, just wrong on some levels.
New Avengers #35 – The issue read poorly, I don’t like Leinil Yu’s art for this book and it was all about the Hood and more misogamy. Blechh.

All in all an entertaining week of books and if nothing else provoked me enough to do what I hope is a decent rant for Sunday’s post of this week. No books got the axe this week and all the new start ups passed the first issue test.

The sales numbers came out recently and DC is only slightly behind Marvel again in sales. So maybe the huge gap was an abberation. I'll be curious to see how that plays out with the big "X" event coming out and then Final Crisis facing off against "Who Do You Trust" in 2008.

Side note for anyone still reading Ron Paul (hopefully our next President) is trying to raise $12 million in the fourth quarter, so hit the link and donate $20, $50 or $100 bucks. He shocked the world with $5 million in the third quarter so I hope he can shock the world and have enough money to get past the major media almost blacking him out.