Avengers: The Initiative #27

Christos Gage is fantastic at delving into the obscure history of the Marvel U. This issue focuses on Johnny Guitar, a forgotten villain from Dazzler back in the 80s. Johnny is a very sympathetic character here; it is easy to identify with the guy's reasoning on how he fell down the path of becoming a super criminal. I particularly enjoyed that Johnny and Dr. Sax viewed the Trapster as a top-level criminal. That a low-rent whipping boy like Trapster could have guys looking up to him was great. Johnny's story has the predictable ending, but I loved how he removed his partner from the danger of being on the new Shadow Initiative. The Shadow Initiative is now a neat mix of low powered fodder like Johnny and the Ringer and a few competent but low-powered heroes like Bengal and Bat Boy.

I actually broke down and bought the Tigra cover for this issue. I didn't have any of the 70th Anniversary covers, but I wanted to have at least one. It came down to this or Hank Pym and I decided Tigra looked cooler. Her subplot in this title is going to be a lot of fun, especially since it doesn't seem Gage is going to have her killing anyone. She'll hand out well-justified beat-downs instead.

Rafa Sandoval's art is nice and detailed. He handles the multitude of heroes and villains very nicely. His faces can still be a bit lumpy, but he's getting better each issue.

Good

Invincible Iron Man #17

I think this book would read better in trade. Matt Fraction is weaving a fascinating tale documenting the fall of Tony Stark, but not a lot happens each issue. In fact, whole issues pass (like this one) with no real conflict. This is more an espionage book than a super-hero comic at this point, so I'm not sure I'm reading it the right way.

I guess Madame Masque defeated Pepper Potts in her Rescue armor last issue, because she turns over the armor to Norman Osborn, who adds it to his Iron Patriot armory. Of course, I suspect that Pepper Potts is actually dressed like Masque, and Masque is unconscious in the Rescue armor. Fraction has Tony right a nice little email filled with typos and mistakes where he expresses his concern for Maria Hill. Tony totally gives up the email code developed earlier in the story arc, and he signs his email with an uncharacteristic "Love, Tony." Stark is almost totally gone, folks. I'm betting we'll get some new armor after this story though, so I'm looking forward to that.

Salvador LaRocca does a great job with the talking heads, but I'd love to see him drawing more action. Even when HAMMER shows up to arrest Black Widow and Mariah Hill, there is very little conflict. There's a nice shot of Bucky Cap watching them get caught, so maybe this is a plan, but there is just about no fighting. Maybe we'll get more when Bucky Cap gets more involved next issue.

Fair

Magog #1

Maybe I'm mellowing out as I get older. Back when Kingdom Come originally came out, I was a big fan of Magog. I liked his ridiculous look, I liked his "rebellious" attitude towards the older heroes, and I liked that he killed the Joker in that alternate history story. But now that we have Magog showing up in the current DCU, I think he's kind of a jerk.

Keith Giffen does a nice job fleshing out David Reid/Magog in the first issue. Magog knows who he is, at least. He knows he's a hard-edged hero that will do more than what other heroes will do, both morally and politically. I admire the self-awareness he shows when he comments that he knows there is no way he can last in the JSA. He also lies to Alan Scott about trying not to kill people, another funny bit showing that Magog knows exactly what kind of hero he is. My problem is how dismissive Magog seems to be towards the attitudes of other heroes. He makes a few comments about still respecting GL, but not enough. The core plot involves someone selling low-end meta tech to criminals around the world, sort of a low-tech Intergang. The concept is ok, but the book needs a real antagonist fast or I'm afraid I will lose interest.

Howard Porter sure enjoys drawing teeth breaking. Twice in the first issue Magog busts up someone's dental work, and then we have 3 or 4 guys getting their skin blasted off too. I think I'd prefer a more "comicy" take on Magog's energy blasts. With his beams looking like they are searing folks to death, Magog comes off as a bit of a sadist.

Fair

Teen Titans #74

Bryan Miller has only written a handful of comics that I know of, but he's already fitting in nicely at DC. He's already killed a Teen Titan (everyone is doing it!) This time it is Eddie Bloomberg, Kid Devil, who died saving San Francisco from a nuke-powered villain set up as a weapon of mass destruction. I will give Miller some props for at least featuring Eddie pretty strongly in this 3 part story. Eddie had good dialogue and some nice center-stage action, in addition to him actually having a heroic death. While this certainly adds to the general dead-ish ways of the DCU, at least Miller spent some time developing the character he was killing.

The new savage take on the Fearsome Five is pretty interesting. Shimmer is immensely popular, something I often forget. During the battle with the Titans, she transforms a building into water, dropping bystanders down to the street. I enjoyed seeing Wonder Girl and Aquagirl handle crowd control while Traci 13, Blue Beetle, Static, and Bombshell took on the villains. Miller did a nice job setting up the conflicts. The Five seemed like powerful foes, but I believed the Titans had the ability to beat them too. I'm not sure what's going on with Kid Eternity and the Calculator at the end, but it is spooky for certain.

Joe Bennett has really made this book his own. While Wonder Girl is the only headliner on the team, the rest of the lineup is pretty striking and inspiring looking. I'd love to see Bennett drawing Superboy or Robin again.

Fair

Nova #28

I'm pleased that DnA took the path they did in the newest issue of Nova. Last issue, the book ended with the cliffhanger that Strontian, Gladiator's cousin, had killed Nova's brother. It turns out that the younger Ryder actually survived his battle. It's odd, I'm glad DnA took that option, but at the same time, it definitely took a little of the drama out of the conflict. It is also nice to see the new status quo with the Nova Corps reforming. Having a regular group for Nova to bounce off of is essential, and casting him as the teaching veteran is a fun concept.

I'm kind of amused at how much I like Nova as a character. He's getting more and more confident, and using his head to solve more problems. He defuses a confrontation with "King" Blastaar this issue in a pretty neat way. I've realized that Nova is essentially a modern version of Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern in the late 90s. No wonder I like him so much.

Andrea DeVito is as consistent and entertaining as always. I really like how he's drawing the powers of the Nova centurions differently depending on their specialties.

Good

Power Girl #4

This book is just good enough to keep me coming back for more. There is nothing riveting about Palmiotti and Gray's super-book, but darn if they aren't making PG a pretty darn fun character to keep up with. She's down to Earth and seems to know herself pretty well. The parts of the issue dealing with PG's civilian life are fine enough, but when she and Terra have to face off against magical trolls and dragons, PG tells Terra to handle saving folks while she goes off and punches things. I love that simple approach. Usually guy characters have that kind of attitude, so it is really quite fun to see PG in the headstrong bruiser role.

Having PG help out the misguided villain is unique too. It's a smart idea, surely more villains could be turned if a hero gave them a break the first time they fought (I always liked that aspect of the current Blizzard in Iron Man too). I will admit I'm worried about the party-girl alien story coming up next, it seems like it might be too easy to dumb the comic down, but Palmiotti and Gray have earned the chance to prove me wrong. I suppose with the quick pacing this title offers, even if I don't like the arc it will be over in an issue or two.

Amanda Conner's artwork is always so fun. She gets details and facial expressions that very few others can capture. The background bit with PG's cat pooping on her assistant's jacket was fantastic and I have to wonder if that was in the script or not.

Good

Transformers: Escalation TPB

I recently picked up a ton of IDW Transformers trades and they're quite entertaining. I was unimpressed when IDW got the license since the first two issues of Infiltration were so boring and human-filled, but that isn't really a problem in Escalation. The humans now play a small supporting role, but in this trade they've got Ratchet and Iron Hide around, so there are still Cybertronians around to capture my interest.

In fact, Simon Furman is juggling a ton of plots here, making this the most complicated Transformers I think I've read. The main plot has Megatron's Decepticons ramping up the "Escalation" phase of their conquest of Earth, with Prime and his team of Autobots trying to stop them. Then there are at least two factions of humans trying to get control of the Transformers technology. One group has captured Sunstreaker and created an army of clones of him, while the other has captured Ravage, Laser Beak, and has just uncovered the Dinobots and Shockwave out in the American Southwest. That's a helluva lot of plot. Furman actually wraps up a good confrontation with a souped up Megatron and his squad (Astrotrain, Blitzwing, Thundercracker, and Skywarp) against Prime and his crew (Jazz, Prowl, Wheeljack, Hot Rod, and Hard Head).
Part of what makes this series so interesting is the gradual way we're getting characters introduced. There are a ton of Transformers in use here, and with the Spotlights giving us additional time with both peripheral and main characters, there's a lot of panel time for everyone.

E.J. Su's art is pretty strong. The bots look fantastic, and I really like the way Su has the different guns' blasts looking unique. Note how Prowl's blasters shoot little disks while Jazz and Wheeljack shoot more conventional looking cannons. Su's humans don't look too good though, they're a little blocky and generic. Fortunately, their clothes are distinctive enough to make it easy to recognize the main players.

Good