Avengers: The Initiative Special #1

This was a pretty sad little story. Long-time readers of The Initiative have known about new-hero Hardball's ties to Hyda, but just like his girlfriend Komodo, we all probably thought he had a good heart and was just in a rough spot. Hardball really shows his true colors this issue. We get some nice character moments with the Heavy Hitters and the Desert Stars, the heroes of Nevada and Arizona, with most of the time spent on Hardball and Komodo. I think the character intriguing me the most right now is Super Max, the Apache-Chief style growing hero who attempts to wrassle Zzzax in this issue (never a good idea). I'm wondering if this was written more by Christos Gage than Dan Slott, since we don't get a lot of Two Gun Kid, and I always thought he was a fave of Slott's. In any case, the book provides a neat glimpse in to the headquarters and operations of two of the Initiative teams. I'd love to see more of these.

However, the art is another story. I'm not a fan of Steve Uy's art. I don't like the soft pencil-look or the washed out colors we get here. All of the faces he draws are oddly puffy and small-eyed, to the point it detracts from the story. If series regular Stefano Caselli drew this, I could have easily bumped it up a grade. As it is, I kind of had to force myself to read it. So a decent story bogged down by art that isn't my style makes this comic nowhere near as good as a regular issue of the Initiative.

Average

Young Liars #1-9

David Lapham is insane. Or I am. Either way, I don't entirely understand anything that happens in this comic, but I love it. The mad ideas, the almost random plot, Lapham is writing a book that any fan of Grant Morrison should check out. When this series started I feared it was just a gathering of stereotypes, but in the 9 issues so far, the characters have gone so bonkers I don't think you can say that anymore. The story is insane, with the Earth possibly invaded by spider-aliens, or not. Midget Pinkertons are searching for the missing daughter of a big box billionare pervert. The narrator had his equipment chopped off. I mean, this book is nuts! But good nuts! We may just be following a group of neurotic New Yorkers, or we could be watching a battle to save the world.

Young Liars should be the headliner of Vertigo. (Maybe #2 after Fables.) If you are looking for the madness of Preacher but not finding it, check this book out. I'm following it in trades and loving it! Honestly, I can barely do a description justice, that's how full of crazy and interesting ideas this title is. Be warned, there is a fair amount of mature material here, the perversion of the villains is pretty expansively portrayed.

Lapham's art is still kinetic and fascinating. I've loved his work since his Valiant days. He's one of the best writer-artists in the business, and I don't think anyone else could channel this crazy story the way he can.

Excellent

Final Crisis: Resist #1

I'm kind of torn on this one. While I did enjoy it, especially the cool use of Cheetah and Mr. Terrific, this comic did also feature OMACs, which usually means an automatic fail. So I guess I'll mark it down as a pleasant surprise. The issue shows the last remnants of Checkmate (Mr. Terrific, Snapper Carr, Thinker, and Taleb Beni Khalid) as they try to fight back at Darkseid's takeover while trapped in a bunker at a Checkmate installation. I did enjoy the super-quick turnaround as the anti-life equation rippled through the ranks of the Checkmate operatives. Things seem really desperate at this point. I loved Cheetah hooking up with Snapper, that was a fun little pairing, and she's a neat character to have hanging out with the heroes of Final Crisis. I am a bit curious how the other DCU books will reflect the anti-meta particles in the air that shut down Snapper though, that seems pretty freaking powerful. I also don't really understand what is going on with the OMACs. Are they going to go back to killing metas? Or do they answer to Mr. Terrific? I was pretty unclear on exactly how that will shake out. I'm also wondering if we will ever see any repercussion of Mr. Terrific loosing all that malicious AI out into the DCU. Probably not, since Checkmate is cancelled. This is the way to wrap up that title though, not with the Chimera weirdness.

Why the heck don't we see more out of Ryan Sook? He's a great artist, and his work in this issue is stellar. His turned heroes look horrifying when viewed out of the bunker, and I also liked his take on Cheetah. Her facial expressions practically oozed personality.

Good

She-Hulk #35

Too bad that Peter David really got into his groove on this title so late. This story has been a fun one. She-Hulk and the Lady Liberators (Sue Storm, Thundra, Valkrie, and Jazinda) have travelled to an earthquake-ravaged country where the corrupt government won't hand out relief supplies. The heroines plan to distribute aid themselves until the Soviet Winter Guard arrive. We have the same Winter Guard as in War Machine (Red Guardian, Ursa Major, a new Darkstar, and Crimson Dynamo. No word on the others.) Just like in War Machine, after a few pages of beatdowns, the Guard changes sides and starts assisting She-Hulk in helping the ravaged population. The narration gets a bit heavy handed at times, and that slows down the issue a bit. I've never really taken to David's mopey She-Hulk, and we still have too much of it here. I've read how he was trying to make her work through her problems, but I just don't think the character is as fun when she's complaining and struggling to rationalize her every move. I enjoyed the super-brawling of this issue, but it could move faster. I think the inclusion of the other heroes is genius, She-Hulk comes close to her old fun-levels when interacting with these other characters, especially Thundra.

The story is solid, and better than the last few stories, but still not quite what I look for in a She-Hulk comic. (My perfect She-Hulk comic would be like the tiny prison story that Slott and Pelletier did at the end of their first volume. Super-bads and fun She-Hulk kicking butt.)

GG Studios handles the art again this issue, but last issue's penciller, Vincenzo Cucca is credited as an inker this time. A few panels really stick out that he spent a lot of time on, as the characters look the same as last month, but some the pages look a little less detailed. It seems Cucca likes Valkrie, as she usually is one of the most rendered characters every time she appears. In general, the art is a bit uneven in this one.

Fair

Iron Man: Director of SHIELD #35

Dang. Another fantastic issue. It is amusing reading this in the same sitting as the newest issue of She-Hulk, since both books feature the Winter Guard coming around and helping each series' protagonist. At least we're getting fairly consistent charicterization. Again, I don't know who the new Red Guardian or Darkstar are though, and what happened to Perun, Vostok, and Vanguard? And didn't they have a sorceress type on the team too?

This issue has more great War Machine action, with him using all sorts of weaponry to blow the Skrulls out of the sky. Suzi Endo is a pretty fun sidekick, and having her operate from orbit in a War Machine-based satellite is a pretty cool idea. The main thrust of this story is to drill in how Rhodey is a man of principles. As far as core concepts go, it's not Earth-shattering, but I think it is strong enough for me to follow him into his new ongoing series. Heck, I bought the awful 90s series where he was in the alien parasite armor, so of course I'll read his new one in his cool suit. As I've said before, I hope we get the gigantic evil War Machine showing up fairly soon. Christos Gage really set up Rhodey as a great hero in these few issues, these are some great Marvel comics.

Sean Chen's artwork is out of this world. He is one of my favorite artists to start with, but he draws Iron Man better than almost everyone else. I'd say only Bob Layton can give him a run for the money drawing shell-head (or War Machine, of course).

Excellent

Nova #19

DnA keep writing comics just for me. I knew from the opening scene where the new Nova corps went after the freaking Serpent Society that I'd be pleased. Sure, I would have liked them to be a little tougher, but man, it was great just seeing them used! I do wonder at Black Mamba's appearance since I thought she had been working with the B.A.D. Girls and sort of turning good. In any case, the new Nova Corps gets some exposure this issue, and while none of them really stick out for me yet except, they do have some neat backgrounds. The young female dragon (Fin Fang Foom's cousin!) is probably the neatest idea in there. That's just fun! Darkhawk gets some more time to mope and compare himself to Nova, and he finds an envy-buddy in Richard's brother. It would be hard to measure up against a cosmic hero brother! I love the cliffhanger with an even more expanded corps. Is that the whole staff of Project Pegasus turned into heroes? Fun! I will also point out I can't wait for Dr. Necker to actually invent Death's Head. You know she's going to!

Wellington Alves' art is solid. He's no Paul Pelletier, but who is? He does a good job on Darkhawk especially, he looks pretty cool here. Just look at that list. Project Pegasus, Sepent Society, Darkhawk, Death's Head, Fin Fang Foom, add in Quasar and Director Gruenwald, and man, this is my perfect comic.

Excellent

Dark Reign Solicits

There's a ton of Dark Reign material hitting the web, and I'm here to help you sort through it with what you really want to know.

Here's the ones I'm buying.

• Mighty Avengers - written by Dan Slott with Khoi Pham on art will feature Iron Man, Hulk, Hank Pym, Jocasta, Hercules, Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Stature. I predict this book will be awesome.
• New Avengers - written by Brian Michael Bendis with Billy Tan on art will feature Winter Cap, Spidey, Wolverine, Ronin, Spider-Woman, and Ms. Marvel. That's a pretty good lineup, maybe we'll get Mockingbird too. I think this book actually has some potential, I'm buying it.
  
• War Machine - written by Greg Pak with Leonardo Manco on art. The creative team says it all, plus he fights Ares in issue 3!
• Avengers: The Initiative - written by Christos Gage with Humberto Ramos on art (at least to start). I don't know what's going on after the first story, but they fight Clor, so I have high hopes! I'm sure this will be excellent.
• Thunderbolts - written by Andy Diggle with Roberto De La Torre on art, this will feature Black Widow II, The Ghost, and a host of bad ass looking characters doing something. I don't know much, but I know I'll collect it.
  
• Agents of Atlas - written by Jeff Parker with art by Carlo Pagulayan, I'll be getting this in trade, just like the last Agents series. I'm hoping Parker can still do his own thing and not get too bogged down in the overall Marvel U.
• Dark Avengers - written by Brian Michael Bendis with Mike Deodato on art, this seems to be Norman Osbourne's evil Avengers lineup. We've got a lot of mystery players, here's my take on who they are: Iron Patriot (Osbourne), Ms. Marvel (Moonstone), Wolverine (Daken), Spider-Man (Venom), Ares and Sentry. I love those two powerhouses being added to the team. If this is 2.99 an issue, I'll collect it.
  

I'll be passing on:

• Deadpool - written by Daniel Way with Paco Medina on art, even with Bob, Agent of Hydra returning, I just can't do it. Way writes Origins...
• Wolverine Origins - written by Daniel Way with Doug Braithwaite on art. Not a Way fan, sorry.
  
• Ms. Marvel - written by Brian Reed with various artists, Carol will be out to get the CIA. I'll be passing because while Reed seems to have decent high concepts, I usually don't like his execution.
  
• Secret Warriors - written by Jonathan Hickman w/ Bendis with Stefano Caselli on art. I'm passing because I think this will be 3.99, and I actually don't really like the real jerk Fury has turned into. I may be convinced to buy it by a 2.99 price tag and fantastic reviews.
• Black Panther - written by Reggie Hudlin with Ken Lashley on art. Well, a female Black Panther would keep me away. As would Reggie Hudlin's writing. Lashley is decent but not great. I have many reasons to skip this.
• Punisher - written by Rick Remender with Jerome Opena on art. I haven't loved Remender's work, and while I like the concept of Punisher trying to take out Osbourne's administration, I just don't care for the Punisher in the whole super-hero context.
  

So the final tally is

• Monthlies: 5, maybe 6 (if Dark Avengers is 2.99)
• Trades: 1
• Skips: 6