Amazing Spider-Man Annual #38 - (6/10) Annual issues are often hit-or-miss...the latter more often than not. This was certainly no exception. The story started out decent enough, as I'm always a sucker for alternate worlds, but it began to fall apart the further I went on. Everything felt forced, from the jokes to the plot. Deadpool was thrown in because he's Deadpool and that's what Marvel does, but his reason worked well enough, but the Hulk had no reason to be there. He's pretty much justified with one throwaway line. The alternate world where Peter Parker is a billionaire and the world's greatest (and apparently only) superhero sounded promising, but made little sense. NITPICKING: His name change to "The Amazing Spider" is fine, but the costume (mostly the cape) is stupid. And his status as pretty much Batman works. The problem comes with the rest of the world. (SUPER-NITPICKING:) We encounter some familiar villains, all with the same names/costumes, and even in his batcave (sorry, "The Web") we see trophy cases with souvenirs like Mysterio and Electro's masks. But Deadpool and Dr. Doom are just color swaps. I need consistency. If you want to change things up slightly with names and costumes, do it with everyone. Don't just do "The Spider" and "Deathwish", and then everything else is the same. Plus the "twist" at the end was not just stupid, but insulting. The Spider ends up looking like an easily influenced idiot, and Uncle Ben is just evil. I have more whining, but I really should stop. Will I pick up Part 2 in Deadpool Annual? I don't know. Perhaps. Ugh. Moving on.
Avengers: The Children's Crusade #5 - (8/10) Man, it feels like forever since the last issue came out, ignoring the one-shot thing a few weeks back. I really needed that recap on the first page. That said, I did really enjoy this series. I'm having trouble seeing how this could affect much outside of the title once it ends, but I'm at least having a blast reading it and seeing the characters I enjoyed so much once again. The art is beautiful as usual. The writing was fun, and dialogue is often well-done, but some lines come off too..."cutesy". Like Whedon-lite. Still, it's a fun series, but I guess I wouldn't have missed it if I waited for a trade collection to go with the rest of my Young Avengers.
Brightest Day #23 - (7/10) Man, I just don't know. Part of me is glad that Brightest Day is almost done. Pieces start falling into place this issue, but much of it felt incredibly forced. The White Lantern's elemental avatars, while kind of neat, were more ridiculous than anything else. I kept thinking Captain Planet. The two big reveals are interesting, but I'm not so sure how much sense they made. I'm pretty sure the swamp Alec died in wasn't in the middle of Star City, was it? I will say this though, there was one panel that made me chuckle out loud. At the beginning when there are tornadoes and what-not, there's a panel of Superman and Wonder Woman saving some people. A voice-over from a news reporter says that many would have died if Superman (specifically just him) hadn't helped. I couldn't help but see this as mocking the currently storyline in his own title about him wandering around America being useless. And if so, that's funny.
Chew #18 - (8/10) Chew is an odd series, but a funny one as well. This issue hits all the right notes and I found myself snickering occasionally. However, the ending was almost too ridiculous. Not a bad thing, as it was by far the funniest part, but the final line was delivered in such a goofy way that it knocked me out of the story and kept me from taking it seriously even a tiny bit. I don't know how to say that in a way that doesn't sound so negative, especially since it was really funny.
First Wave Special - (4/10) If I had bothered to look at the credits before picking this up, I would not have grabbed it. First Wave was a fun miniseries, but towards the end it kind of fell apart for me. The entire thing was still worth reading, and despite its flaws, it was clear Brian Azzarello knew what he was doing and was having fun with it. I thought another self-contained one-shot like the first with Batman and Doc Savage would be fun. Unfortunately, this was not written by Azzarello. The story is sloppy and abysmally paced, the moral compass is nonexistant, and the art is sub-par (Doc Savage looks like he's wearing an oddly-shaped and discolored bald cap). Despite all my whining about the Spidey Annual, this was my big regret of the week.
Nonplayer #1 - (8/10) This new book has been getting a lot of hype lately, so I thought I'd see what it was all about. I don't see exactly why everyone seems to be creaming their pants over it, but I found it to be a fun introductory issue. Nothing super special, but definitely above average. I had some minor complaints, but I'll let them slide for now because it is just the first issue. It felt more concerned with setup than plot. The art, however, is gorgeous. Overall, it was a fun, enjoyable read. Whether it'll earn all its hype remains to be seen, but I'll definitely tune in for #2.
Ozma of Oz #5 - (7/10) The Oz series are weird for me. Every issue issue the last thing I read that week, and I often find myself not wanting to. Then I do and I enjoy it, but I keep feeling like I shouldn't have bothered. I guess part of the problem comes from the fact that I'm reading just a portion of a book a month. While comics are made to be episodic, I feel like each issue ends in a specific way to feel contained and to keep you interested in the next installment. Each issue of Oz just kind of...ends. And then picks up next month. I feel that they'd read better all at once in a collection. If a fourth series starts once Ozma ends, I wont be picking it up. At least, not until I get the rest in trade.
Sweet Tooth #20 - (8/10) This series gets better every month. It's a slow burn and it took a long time before I realized how much I enjoyed it. But now I can't get enough, much like everything else under the Vertigo line. Lemire's artwork has certainly grown on me as much as his story. New characters and plot developments are introduced and I can't wait to see them play out. (Can you tell I'm getting tired and running out of review steam?)
I have nothing else to talk about this week because God hates me and Pokémon: Black hasn't arrived yet.
Nonplayer #1
While I haven't seen it earn its praise just yet, I thought the series looked like a lot of fun. It shows a lot of promise, despite echoing .hack heavily. And it doesn't hurt that the art is real purty. Real purty.
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