Why I Love Comics

A Short Week

The comic rundown for July 16th, 2008

Hello readers! Welcome to this week's Why I Love Comics. It was a very short week for the comics which surprised me. For a guy who reads up to 130 titles a month, I was expecting more or at least a trade or two.

This week had the conclusion of Omega the Unknown, a new Bird of Prey, a very special guest star in Moon Knight and yet another skrull reveal in Mighty Avengers. So, lets flip through the funny books shall we?

Speaking of Omega the Unknown, #10 hit shops this week. Sadly, I find myself extremely disappointed by the ending. I like when comics are open ended. Heck, I even like some of the 'nuff said issues of Marvel Comics a few years ago.

Technically, this was wrapping up the story. Really Jon? There was, at best, one page that had dialogue on it and the rest of the issue was silent relying on the art to tell the story. I honestly didn't have a clue what was going on through much of the issue. It was incredibly disappointing and I felt there was too much, in the end, not explained to the readers. I really loved the entirety of the series so for this issue to be like it was, it just felt like a huge slap in the face for me. Here's hoping they decide to do a second miniseries because Jon needs to continue writing this series to, hopefully, flesh out where its going.

Moon Knight #20 saw an appearance by Werewolf by Night. For those comics fans who don't know the small obscure facts about the character, the original Werewolf by Night series actually played host to the first appearance by Marc and his alter ego Moon Knight. Deodato becomes the artist on the series with this issue following his fan favorite run on Thunderbolts. It's turns out to be a good thing as someone of his caliber really shines on a title like this one. The story for most of the issue is a flashback to the early 90's as Marc attempts to bust up a lycanthrope fight club.

After the last arc, I think an issue like this was needed. It proves to be a fun little done-in-one horror story showing just how far Spector can be pushed. It's also interesting to see him without a certain god trying to get him to do his bidding. Twenty issues in and Moon Knight really has hit its stride. I'd personally love for the series to continue in this direction with a more horror movie vibe. It's definitely a strong issue and the title is back to what made it great at the start.

Flash #242 brings the arc that's gone on for way too long to its second to last chapter. Wally sounds a bit off, Iris goes through some changes and Gorilla City is visited. There were a lot of hit and misses with this issue. Edwar Martinez origin story is really fleshed out and he gives the flash a gift before he meets his fate. This proved both a sweet and touching moment. Nzame, the prized monkey from Gorilla City, kind of bothered me if only for the fact that he felt like a huge reset button for any problems that could occur.

Here, I like the kids, I like the kids a lot but if what happened to Iris stays true, I may have to drop the book out of sheer, poor taste. The Flash threatening to kill anyone... anyone at all is just wrong. That's not Wally or Barry. The other Flash book this week was far superior, but I will get to that soon.

Birds of Prey #120 introduces us to a new bird and a visit by a very old member of the team. Both were great. Any appearance of Dinah by a writer that can actually write her is a welcomed treat. Tony Bedard, as usual, is a strong writer who's work I have been enjoying since before his run on Exiles. Manhunter and Black Canary's fight is finished with it being very obvious who would have won the entire time. Let me just say that the final page has me very excited for things to come. I'm not a big fan of the way the character is drawn, but hopefully we get an amazing confrontation between him and Oracle.

1985 #3 continues the story of Toby. The real world has to deal with the bad guys escaping the comics into reality. The only hero we've seen so far was the Hulk and that was issue #1. I don't really mind this but it seems to leave the pacing of the book feeling very slow. Toby and his father are easily relatable and definitely easy to like. Some of the bigger named villains really steal the show. Ultron murdering an entire neighborhood, Fin Fang Foom being his royal self and Modok in one of the creepiest things I've ever laid my eyes on. I definitely can't wait to see what happens next.

Mighty Avengers #16 has the story of the skrull who replaced Elektra and reveals just how they pulled it off. Our girl puts up a very big fight and proved a threat that they apparently needed to take out. Fans of Elektra will be pleased to know that she was replaced right after the Wolverine arc so there's no worry about character assassination.

What I'm extremely curious about... Was this issue supposed to come out before the Hank Pym issue? At the end the tease is "THE TRUTH ABOUT HANK PYM" would lead me to believe that someone screwed up here. Pham's art is beautiful and i'm glad to know that the new artist on the title is proving to be so strong.

Hellblazer #246 is the second part of the two-parter about John's old band. This one was written by fan favorite writer Jason Aaron who, as of late, is getting some very big projects under his belt. As for the story, this is the John Constantine I know and love. He's kind of a prick but at the end of the day he still gets his job done. The art here is top notch as Sean Murphy's pencils are beautiful. I'd say that this is officially on my list of favorite all time Hellblazer stories and definitely worth the read. Can't wait to see where the title is heading next.

Spike: After the Fall #1 takes place right before Angel: After the Fall. Let me start off by saying that Xander and Spike are probably my favorite characters from the Buffy/Angel universe. Whenever Spike gets a new miniseries, it makes me a happy fanboy. What sells this mini so well is the fact that Lynch understands the character so incredibly well and weaves in such a fun story. The supporting cast of characters new to the universe are fun as Jerry (who's real name Spike can never get right) is a fun foil to Spike's attitude. We know Spike and Illyeria make it out of this mini, but here's hoping there are a few surprises in store for us along the way.

X-factor #33 is the big tie in to secret invasion and also serves as the tie in to PAD's other big big... She-hulk. I'm not entirely sure what I think of the art on the book. It's solid but it's just not fitting the story? I put a question mark because i'm not quite sure about this myself.

The story, on the other hand, brings in some interesting and fun stuff. Darwin and Longshot are brought into the fold but this Longshot isn't exactly the droid we were looking for. Hopefully, the skrull revealed here will end with their real counterpart alive and well and standing nearby. Oh, that last page... bad things are in store for x-factor right now. She's very very angry.

Amazing Spider-Man #566 continues the Kraven story with a very fun moment between Peter and Matt Murdock (along the lines of a costume fix). Pete's roommate continues to be face to face with a very angry female kraven who believes that the officer is in fact Spider-Man. It's a decent issue and it builds the proper suspense where needed though it would have been nice to get a "will be continued" at the end of the issue. I wanted confirmation that it was the final page. It's offsetting turning the page and getting a letter's page when you're thinking there was at least 1 more page to enjoy. It's just a minor complaint. What I did like was that Pete finally references his past with MJ once again.

Incredible Hercules #119 has the god squad being betrayed from the inside. For those of you who read the last issue, you should not be surprised by the betrayal. It leads to the team getting attacked by a huge number of foes and one of them making a big sacrifice to push them toward their goal. My only complaint here is that I didn't have a clear picture of what was going on during the fight scene. Van Lente's artwork is typically great and this is the first time I'd had any major difficulty with it. In terms of the story, I'm liking it a lot but this issue by itself was not the strongest one seen from the series. I'm hoping for something stronger with the next issue.

Captain America #40 has the drag out, nothing to lose brawl of the Captain America's. I really, really dug this fight a lot. Bucky was intimidated throughout the brawl and almost dropped his guard completely. He discovers far too late who the Captain America in front of him is and drops the ball on getting the capture. Elsewhere, Sharon is fighting for her life to escape the Red Skull's base. Sadly, the skull's daughter had other plans which led to the biggest shocker in the issue. The shocker in question leaves me with a very bad taste in my mouth and it worries me, just a little, that Brubaker would push it this far.

Finally, for this week's book of the week... Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge #1! This issue has our rogues returning to Keystone and sets a lot up along the way. This feels like a thick comic and it should at 40 pages. So much happens and so much is hinted at within these pages.

Here, a certain villain escapes his horrible fate, the Piper returns and the rogues decide on a possible early retirement. I really don't want to spoil anything here but fan favorite creative team Geoff Johns and Scott Kollins are hitting this thing right out of the park. We've had two of the Final Crisis tie-ins debut and they were both good. This issue is definitely worth picking up and I can't wait to see where this is all heading.

Well, that's it for this week... sadly. I told you it was a small week. Join me next week as some very big books come out (yes, I'm looking at you Proof #10 and Invincible #51).

Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching dvd's, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice.