Invincible Iron Man #15

Matt Fraction keeps with the slow burn in the World's Most Wanted story arc. Things are happening, but nothing is really changing, if that makes sense. That said, what we do get here is pretty cool. Tony is losing his smarts by the minute, in one sad scene, he even asks "Who's Happy?" after he forgets his chuaffer and one of his best friends. I was a little surprised at Pepper and Tony hopping in the sack together, for some reason I thought they were in the "unrequited" classification like in the movie, but maybe I'm forgetting something obvious that happened.

Madame Masque seems a lot more like the character I remember from old Iron Man comics. In the Hood and New Avengers books, she comes across as more of a generic mobster moll, which takes away some of her coolness. I'm glad Fraction is using her and Tony's history as a pretty huge plot point. The rest of the issue had Maria Hill and the Black Widow rooftop racing around NYC avoiding HAMMER agents. It seems Black Widow is going to break down and bring Hill to Winter Cap, so maybe we'll see what Tony had hidden in the Controller's base. Having Hill suffer from brain damage after breaking free from the Controller is a neat idea, it makes her brave escape a little harder to duplicate when that villain is used again.

Salvador La Rocca's photo-realistic art works surprisingly well on Madame Masque, she looks like quite the femme fatale throughout the issue. I also dug his HAMMER agents using SHIELD-style glider-chutes.

Good

Final Crisis Aftermath: Run #3

This is the last Final Crisis series standing for me, as I'm not picking up any more of the others. Matt Sturges is winning me over with his crazy pacing and great dialogue. I don't like Human Flame any more than I have in previous issues, but Sturges is so good at dealing with all the surrounding characters that I can't help but get caught up in the action. The Human Flame isn't interested in being a pawn of Immortus, and so he of course busts loose from the gang of losers he was forced to join last issue. Before that happens, there is a great battle sequence with the losers going up against the US Army. Condiment King yelling out mustard-related threats and Imposter in the uniform of another branch of the service were one thing, but Clayface's appearance was awesome. Clayface was a bruising force of nature. It was great watching him mock and threaten the Flame. The high point of the issue is actually when the Army is carting Clayface away and he yells back to the JLAers "See you around Losers! Tell Human Flame I said to eat it!" That casual jerkiness is missing in way too many bad guys these days! I liked Angel Dust too, she's a generic looking character but her manic dialogue was quite fun.

Freddie Williams III has that nice cartoony style that is working well on parts of the story, especially the JLA and the more "heroic" aspects of the book. I'm not sure if the Flame is supposed to be out of shape or not in his new form, since he looks buff but thinks about how he is out of shape.

Good

Green Lantern #43

This prologue to Blackest Night actually feels much like Geoff Johns' old Flash issues that he would spend getting to know the Rogues. This is all Black Hand, all the time, with no Bruce Wayne gravestones actually involved. And while the whole issue spends more time with one villain than on the greater Blackest Night threat, the parts we do get are quite creepy and excellent.

Johns seems to be able to get into the dark minds of his villains in unique ways, and he does it again here. Black Hand is the middle son of a mortician, and he's been fascinated with death his whole life. In fact, we find out here that the first Black Hand suit is actually one of his family's body bags. Death or whatever entity is behind the Black Lantern rings starts speaking to BH, and gives him a flash of all those heroes and villains who have died recently, including some of my faves like Ted Kord, J'onn J'onzz, Maxwell Lord, and Ronnie Raymond. What I found fascinating was that Johns chose to list these characters by their "real" identities, not their more recognizable super-hero IDs. The entity then shows BH those who have escaped death, like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Ice. When Black Hand assumes "death" wants them back, death corrects him "No, I want them all." It's a spooky scene setting up the crossover nicely. After a grisly murder-suicide, BH is set up to be the avatar of death, much like Parallax and Ion. Blackest Night is going to be good folks, Johns is bringing his A game.

Doug Mahnke is a great penciller on whatever he does, but when the subject matter lends itself to his moody and dark pencils, he excels. This book looks so creepy and dark I actually found myself a little concerned at the mental health of the creative team. That's the sign of a well-done scary comic!

Excellent

R.E.B.E.L.S. #6

This book just doesn't fit in with the rest of the DCU. I mean that in a good way! We have players and factions who haven't been a factor since DC's Invasion showing up and playing important parts here. As a fan of that era, I'm thrilled.

Tony Bedard has set up a huge conflict with the new barbarian Starro and his invading army. This issue shows the initial conflict as Starro quickly takes over the Dominion homeworld using the normal face-hugging Starros. It is a neat battle sequence that shows how effective the combination of Starro-types are going to be. The Dominion does send out a warning to the rest of the cosmos, and we get to see the reactions from the space-faring races of the DCU. The Khund, the Citadel, the Gil'Dishpan, Kanjar Ro, the Durlans, and more all react in appropriate ways as they take in the new threat and the new vacuum of power with the fall of the Dominion.

As expected, Vril Dox succeeds in turning the Khund warrior Amon Hakk over to his side, and he adds the Durlan spy Ciji to his group too After retaking control of his LEGION robots, Dox seals off this corner of the galaxy, "setting the board" for his conflict with Starro. Dox declares he's going to need more help to take on the Star Conqueror, and it looks like it is going to be pretty fun. No Omega Men this issue, but lots of great galactic facts keep the transitions moving along nicely.

The art by Claude St. Aubin is nice and detailed. He has quickly mastered drawing the myriad of space-races factoring in to this conflict. I'm excited about this series since it feels more like 90s DC than anything else in their line.

Good

Secret Six #11

The awful moral conflicts that Gail Simone set up last issue sure don't take long to boil over, as the Secret Six come to blows over whether or not to keep working as security for a super-jail in the tropics. As an aside, I'm not sure there is any other super-team in existence with this many inter-team fights this early in the series. I think these guys have fought each other 3 times by now, and that may be low... although Hawkeye used to take swings at his teammates in the Avengers, but that took like 60 issues.

In any case, Scandal, Bane, and Jeannette decide they morally can't go along with the whole slaving idea, while Catman, Deadshot, and Ragdoll are ok with it. What I love about the book is how quickly these alliances can shift too, since I'm reasonably certain the split was different last time. As a Bane fan, I loved seeing him face off against Catman, with Catman saying something like "You never fit in," of course, once Bane starts swinging, Catman isn't quite as confident, is he? The fight is well done, but the real shocker comes with Wonder Woman's arrival at the close of the issue. It seems Artemis, already a prisoner of the slavers, has died from her constant beatings and drugging. Wonder Woman is justifiably ticked, and she's out to find out who's responsible. Is Jeannette more evil than she seems?

Nicola Scott's wonderful facial expressions are on display again here, as she gives both the stars and the guests unique looks. This is a fantastic comic.

Excellent

Trial of Thor #1

Now that JMS is leaving Thor, I'd love to see Peter Milligan take over. He is such an oddball writer, I find myself loving his stuff. He's like a toned-down Grant Morrison, but not so changed that I don't like his stuff almost as much as Morrison's. In this one-shot, Thor is accused of killing random Asgardians. It seems the ongoing war with the frost giants has already driven some heroes to madness, so it is not impossible that Thor, the greatest warrior of them all, would also go crazy. Odin tasks the Warriors Three with finding out if his son is responsible for these murders. The Warriors do a primitive version of CSI, along with some mage-ing to figure out if there are Uru traces on the victims. When there are, a warrant is sent out to take down Thor. I loved seeing the "classic" Asgardians sent to take down Thor. They included Tyr and Karnilla, two background Asgardians who have neat looks, so either Milligan or artist Cary Nord have been flipping through old Marvel Handbooks. The Warriors Three eventually throw in with Thor, even though they think he's a murderer.

Of course, it is all an evil plot from the dwarves and frost giants, so the four heroes go on a kill-spree to clear Thor's name. The actual plot is fairly by-the-numbers and uninspiring, but the characterization and details are excellent. I loved Milligan's take on the "heroes" of Asgard, and his throwaway lines like the one about Valkries screaming themselves hoarse were fantastic at building the fantasy world needed for the story.

Cary Nord's art was perfect for this material. After years honing his barbarians on Dark Horse's Conan title, he is a natural at drawing the brutal Asgardian world. The savagery of combat looked tremendous. His take on the classic Asgardians was fun too, with his Hogun the Grim being especially cool with his bushy moustache.

Good

War of Kings #5

DnA remain a consistent asset to the Marvel U. The newest issue of War of Kings gives us the alternate Inhuman plan that has been hinted at for a few issues now. Black Bolt plans on sacrificing himself to detonate weaponized Terrigen Mists, forcibly evolving the universe, making everyone an "Inhuman" and therefore equal. It seems a little simplistic a plan, and one that I don't think would actually stop the Shi'ar, so I was disappointed to see that the Inhumans actually thought it would work. The rest of the issue deals with some great combat with Gladiator and the Starjammers taking out their frustrations on the Shi'ar Death Commandos. Gladiator is brutal here, ripping people apart and taking his rage out on anyone he can get his hands on. He's going to be in a neat place at the conclusion of this series. Could he join the Starjammers? That might be pretty neat to see. After seeing how Starbolt was portrayed in the War of Kings: Skaar special, I don't think the Imperial Guard is going to be a team of tweeners anymore, they are going to be full-on villains. The high point is of course the final page of the issue, where Vulcan finally confronts Black Bolt. It's about time these two powerhouses met up, and I bet the conclusion of this story will be a doozy.

Paul Pelletier's art shines with this cosmic stuff. From the echo-sentinels to Maximus' new uniform to Gladiator's combat, everything looks wonderful. I'm a big enough fan of Pelletier to say his art actually elevates most of the stories he works on.

Excellent