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Taking a Look at Another Stack of Comics

Welcome to another edition of the Why I Love column, where I, Eric Ratcliffe, pick something I've read, played, listened to or watched to discuss with you fair readers. This week we have the Avengers assembling, the start of the career of a horror television host, Dr. Nemesis being unpredictable, Dazzler gaining a new perspective on life and the Legion returning under Paul Levitz. So without further ado...here we go!

The Anchor #8 is the conclusion of the series. I'm a bit sad about that but overall it's an extremely satisfying ending. The Anchor comes face to face with his soul as they face an enemy that has been building since the opening of the season. We also get a conclusion to Hoffi's character arc and some mysteries stand revealed.

Being a fan of Phil's work for a while now it was great to see something creator owned from him again. Churilla's artwork was beyond beautiful and the fight scenes in this issue were pretty damn strong. I also really loved the Anchor doing his best to protect his granddaughter while being in the underworld.

Verdict: If you don't buy the series when it's released in trade then honestly...you're missing out on an extremely unique book. It's original, fun and was never predictable. Definitely giving this a pick up the trade!

Book of the Week #1! Rob Zombie's Whatever happened to Baron Von Shock #1 which is all about the career of a late night horror movie host whose career starts very oddly. My favorite stuff in this issue is just the dialogue, the people feel real to me. Rob's work can be incredibly polarizing to audiences (don't ever bring up house of a 1000 corpses ending to me, like ever) but here Rob creates an everyman and sets him up in this crazy position.

When an average guy gains fame of any kind, we really get a character study of what he starts to do with it. Of course we have no idea what has caused the first few pages but I'm certain we will find out as the pieces all start to fit in.

Verdict: It's a horror book that feels like it's straight out of a B movie with a likable crew of characters and solid art; I'll be looking forward to every new issue of this. Definitely a buy.

Second Coming Revelations: X-Men: Blind Science one-shot gives us a spotlight on Dr. Nemesis, Kavita Rao and Madison Jeffries the X-club and possibly the best thing Matt Fraction has done with his run so far. Basically our team is shunted into the future where all hell has broken loose...or so it appears. Kavita is our central character (for those that don't know she created the "cure" for the X-Gene in Whedon's Astonishing X-Men) as we experience the horrific future that our team is sent too. We rely on her for motivation and what she's feeling throughout the story.

Overall this is an incredibly strong tie in to Second Coming which has been strong in itself (Second Coming is something I want to spotlight in itself, so I've been not talking about the crossover a lot here. Sorry about that, readers). Nemesis steals the show for most of the story and the conclusion leads right into Mike Carey's X-Men: Legacy where the science team meets the New Avengers team.

Verdict: Some strong character study and plenty of the X-Club to keep fans happy. I am not sure if it will be collected with everything so I'd say try and hunt it down for yourself!

Book of the Week #2! Brian Reed's American Son #1, which is a miniseries starring Harry Osborn...don't you dare skip to the next book. I saw that. Harry is seemingly posing as the American Son and doing his best to juggle 2 lives, all while having Peter and MJ worry about him and that last page was one hell of a shocker.

I'm really enjoying Brian's Marvel work and think this was his strongest first issue to date. We see eye to eye with Harry easily (even if he may have a drug problem again) and there are a lot of questions that are posed right from the start.

Verdict: It's Osborn vs. Osborn next issue and this has really surprised me as something to watch out for - is Harry truly a hero? Find out throughout the mini. Buy!

Dazzler one-shot was actually a pretty strong read. I've never been a huge Alison fan but Jim McCann manages to pull me in and make me like her a lot. My main complaint comes from Cyclops being a dick again but the rest of this issue is a strong read.

Dazzler has to find her sister who has at this point gone flat out crazy. Eventually she's led into a trap set by Arcade which leads to the coolest scene in the book as she's forced to fight robots of every villain she's ever tangled with. We get full references to everything in her past and even see her relationship with her a mother a little.

Verdict: This is a fun book that is packed with content. Jim McCann gives you a refresher course in a character who even if you don't know what she's about beforehand you will be a fan by the last few pages. Buy!

Enter the Heroic Age one-shot has 5 stories that lead in or add to launching ongoing series. Jim McCann, Christos Gage, Jeff Parker and Kelly Sue DeConnick all write the stories in the book. The stories in question feature Black Widow, Luke Cage and the Thunderbolts, Hawkeye/Mockingbird/The Agents of Atlas and Reptil of the Avengers Academy.

Basically each story is either a vignette or a lead in to each ongoing, doing its own thing while giving you a little taste of what to expect in the book. Jeff steals the show with two separate stories while Jim gives us a fun "date" between Clint and Bobbi and Tasha attempts to help save a woman who is being turned into a super spy.

Verdict: All in all if you are interested in any of these titles, check this out as you will get a good taste of where the Heroic Age is heading!

Age of Heroes #1 is an anthology miniseries about certain characters through the Heroic Age. Paul Cornell brings the MI13 to America, there is a short Spidey story by Dan Slott, Kurt Busiek writes J. Jonah Jameson and Rick Remender has Voodoo attempting to go on a date.

Kurt steals the show with that JJJ story easily. He nails the characterization (as it's been a while since Busiek wrote the character) and shows his motivations as the current mayor of New York. Rick hits it out of the park with his Voodoo story and makes you really want new stories with the current Sorcerer Supreme. Dan's story is nothing new and overall skippable though. Oh, and Paul gives long term Avengers fans something that hasn't happened in a long time, Steve and Brian together in a really surprising ending which I hope leads to big things down the line.

Verdict: I'm a sucker for these anthology series so I'm going to definitely say it's a buy.

Thunderbolts #144 starts the book in a new direction and shows that Brian Michael Bendis isn't the only one with love for Luke Cage. Jeff Parker nails everything in this issue, from Luke recruiting his team to the Fixer, Mach 5 and Songbird all being there this issue really is packed. I loved the use of Man-Thing and even a guest appearance from Hank Pym. And that last page? I didn't see that coming.

Jeff manages to nail each characters voice and add some new levels to existing characters like Ghost. I really enjoy seeing Luke shown as the competent leader and to a certain extent he's what Gauntlet should have been in the Initiative.

Verdict: Beautiful artwork, Luke Cage, Juggernaut and the Ghost make this a must have.

Thanos Imperative picks up right after the last issues of Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy as things go from bad to worse for our cosmic heroes. This is some really great tension building [story], and just like DnA do for all their events. The villain stands revealed at the end of the issue and it's one hell of a doozy.

The bad guys really do seem to have an edge up on our heroes right now. The whole entirety of planets that followed the church was flat out destroyed and even the Magus seems to be possibly dead by the end of the issue. The fault seems completely ripped open and Thanos may or may not crush Peter Quill's head.

Verdict: Seriously the best stuff at Marvel. Cosmic Marvel is where it's at. Definitely a buy.

Atlas #1 has our new 3-D Man doing his best to find the Atlas team which we've been following for some time now. Of course he's dating a shallow actress who only cars about her career. I am going to say something crazy here and hopefully some of you see what I'm saying. Does Jeff Parker's Atlas material remind anyone else of James Robinson's Starman? At least in tone? I was reading that issue thinking just that.

Anyways, all in all a great new relaunch for the title. Finally adding 3-D Man to the cast will definitely be interesting. The issue itself is packed, giving you a full history of 3-D Man, a "transcript" of a conversation the original 3-D Men have with a radio host and a fun back up story with jimmy and crew in the past.

Verdict: Seriously a series that more people need to read with a great cast and out there stories that are just fun to delve into. A buy of the highest order!

Book of the Week #3 Secret Avengers #1 written by Ed Brubaker. Mind you, that right there is the selling point of the book. Have you heard of the team though? Moon Knight, Black Widow, War Machine, Ant-Man, Beast, Nova, and Valkyrie. That is one hell of a team if you ask me. Steve Rogers is the leader of this group and they seem to be investigating the darker stuff in the Marvel U.

Bru also brings over Sharon Carter to help Steve with this team and watch over his other Avengers leaders. Deodato's artwork is fantastic and he's truly at the top of his game.

Verdict: Steve Rogers, Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato?! How can you not read this!

Book of the Week #4 goes to Avengers #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr is exactly what I've wanted in an Avengers book for a long time now. Clint Barton being Hawkeye, Kang and just a classic feel that we haven't had in a while. Brian really is working on all cylinders here and you can tell.

From the epic Thor/Kang "fight" to the entirety of Clint and Peter's conversation about him returning to his Hawkeye costume there is a lot to love about this issue. People will probably be surprised by who Steve leaves in charge of the team and Wonder Man's weird hell turn, but overall this is exactly what the Avengers should be.

Verdict: I love this book a lot and I think others will too. Definitely a buy of the highest order!

Justice League: Generation Lost #2 shows our leads are the only ones to remember Max Lord and everyone else's memories have been corrupted by Max's mind control. Sadly this leads to trouble for Captain Atom and there is some heartbreak for both Ice and Booster. Booster definitely had some of the best moments in the book when he's told a lie about what happened to Ted Kord, it's truly heartbreaking which both the art and writing show.

Ice has an interesting scene with Guy where he thinks the last time he saw her she tried to kill (after Blackest Night), which is rather odd. Oh, and of course Captain Atom's scene with the military is interesting as well.

Verdict: This series is 2 issues in and easily the best of any of the Brightest Day material. Next issue we get Jaime joining in on the chaos.

Legion of Superheroes #1 is a fun read and has a pretty shocking ending. I really like everything that Paul Levitz is doing. I mean I'm a newer Legion fan (was big on Mark Waid's material and loved Legion of 3 Worlds). Overall it's a pretty thick read, but you don't need to know everything about the Legion to get it.

Verdict: The Legion is back and in the hands of a man who it can be trusted with! Check it out and see if you enjoy it!

Zatanna #1 is made of pure awesomeness. Z is one of the best characters in the DCU and it's about time she got some limelight again. She's a master magician so seeing her use her powers here was a blast. The villains she faced were scary and imposing and it's going to be interesting to see how they play in the book.

Z really doesn't put up with crap from anyone either so seeing her take down the bad guys was a really fun moment. You can tell she has fun no matter what she does and doesn't really back down from a fight.

Verdict: Paul Dini writes an incredibly fun female lead who you actually really find yourself routing for! Besides it's Zatanna! Everyone should love her.

Power Girl #12 is sadly the last issue by the fan favorite creative team of Palmiotti, Gray and Amanda Connor and it's a great ending for a team I am going to miss a lot. We are given closure on a lot of the things that were set up throughout the run and the guys left Judd plenty to use in the future.

Verdict: I hope there's an omnibus of some kind collected for these 12 issues as this is some great comic reading. Definitely highly recommend seeking it out!

Well that does it for this edition, dear readers. Join us next time as we discuss Hawkeye/Mockingbird and Avengers Prime!

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 DVDs, 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. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!