"These reviews are based on the Sneak Peek
titles sent out by Marvel, DC & Image. It's not everything that's shipping for
the week, but it is a real good cross-section of this weeks releases. Check the
bottom of the page (after you read my reviews) for a link to some SNEAKY PEEKIES
of future titles"
MARVEL ROUND UP… X-Factor
#10 begins with a flashback (drawn by Son of M’s Roy Martinez) to the early life
of Mr.Tryp (who is much older than he looks) before Jamie Madrox wakes up and
discovers that he had a very special night with some of his team members. The
arc that begins here involves a doctor on the payroll of Singularity
Investigations who has been working on something that isn’t good for mutants at
all. But that isn’t the only story we get because Rictor pays a visit to Pietro
about getting back his lost powers (where we also get an rationale about why the
return of powers to mutants by Quicksilver don’t exactly work as they should)
right before Peter David shocks the hell out of us with the reveal of the
identity of the traitor on the team...All New Handbook of the Marvel Universe #8
(of 12) ships and it covers Nekra to Quoi…Marvel Spotlight covers the Uncanny
X-Men team of Billy Tan and Ed Brubaker…X-Men: Fairy Tales #4 (of 4) has a
gorgeous cover that leads into a Rogue/Gambit/Mystique story that is just as
gorgeous. The story takes place in New Orleans where Bishop and Gambit are cops
as Rogue and Mystique are a family. We also have a White Queen appearance as she
is needed to bring in the Cinderella element. I can’t say that this limited
series was a success but the stories told were at least entertaining…She-Hulk
#11 continues the adjustment period between She-Hulk and Man-Wolf (yes, they
have a hyphenated relationship) while the secret behind all this loving that has
been going on finally gets revealed. The fun level is high as is the great
characterization of all involved. We are also continuing with the nice Rick
Burchett art that makes the story even better. The book is a perfect match of
action and cool other stuff…Black Panther #19 has the newly married couple of
Storm and the Panther paying a visit to Latveria after honeymooning on a private
island given for them to use by Namor. The effects of Civil War are in play here
as the duo will travel from region to region to see how things are going but
here we simply see two of the greatest minds in the Marvel Universe chat for a
bit then get a little physical……X-Men #190 has one of the most amazing covers
you will ever see and the cover image is just a start of a great issue. The
assault on the mansion is in full force by Northstar and Aurora and Mike Carey
tells the details in a marvelous fashion. Cable makes his appearance finally as
Bobby Drake learns a new usage of his powers. We learn the identities of the
people that have been hunting Sabretooth in a tense sequence with Cable then
watch as the ghost girl decides to play a game with Sam Guthrie.
DC
ROUND UP…
American Way #7 (of 8) prepares us for the end of the limited series and the
consequences of the murder of Hellbent. When the issue begins Jason is on the
run as the team debates whether they should save him as the whole world is
watching the hunt and aftermath. Secrets are leaked here about the CDC and we
are left at a moment of decision that suggests a major battle in the last
issue…Man-Bat #5 (of 5) completes the limited series and places Man-Bat in a
different place than he was when the series began. The issue has Batman finding
the results of a slaughter by who may have been MB but could have been someone
else. We learn a lot about what has been going on with Kirk Langstrom and his
struggle with the creature inside himself but the conclusion of the story does
ark a new path for one of them…Solo #12 is the last issue for the series and is
a clear reason why the book didn’t last. The art here is by British creator
Brendan McCarthy of 2000 AD fame and inside we see seven tales of varying
degrees of strangeness. The point behind the series was to have noted creators
tell a collection of stories from different genres using different characters
but in order for the series to have worked you needed more issues from creators
who had great track records (Howard Chaykin, Tim Sale) and less from folks like
McCarthy who has a great following inside the industry but doesn’t sell a lick
to anyone who isn’t on a comp list…Teen Titans Go #34 is a story involving a
race between kid Flash and Mas Y Menos if you care at all…Uncle Sam and the
Freedom Fighters #2 (of 8) makes the title of the limited series make sense
since last issue the team was sent out to capture him. We see here what Sam’s
powers are and understand why some would want him stopped. We also get an
assault on the SHADE headquarters and some interesting dialogue between Phantom
Lady and Firebrand that give us great insight into her character as the behind
the scenes games continue on the political front…JLA Classified #26 begins a
Howard Chaykin/Killian Plunkett arc. The arc has the team getting involved in
the political dealings of a small nation under conflict as the UN watches from
afar. The arc also guest-stars a former President (which tells you when this
story takes place) and has the return of Faith. I do wonder how some fans are
going to take this because it comes off more like an arc of the limited series
Justice League Elite and we all know how well fans reacted to that. The opening
is paced like a movie and since Chaykin has dabbled in Hollywood that makes
sense…The Trials of Shazam #1 (of 12) takes up where the events of Brave New
World left off. Now for those of you who have seen Howard Porter’s work before I
will warn you that he is using a different style here that is denser but
workable so don’t say you weren’t warned. Since Infinite Crisis the rules of
magic have changed and here we see some of the effects as we watch the new
status of Billy Batson/Captain Marvel. The Judd Winick script is a lot more
adult orientated than some fans of the classic version of Captain Marvel may
like but sales have shown that the light hearted version isn’t one that fans
care for. There isn’t any cursing or sexual situations but the book is serious.
We are left here at a crisis point that will be resolved in the next issue where
we will also meet up with CM3, Freddie Freeman.
IMAGE ROUND UP…
Image shipped Strange Girl #10 but I have no idea if it is really shipping and
since I could care less about the title I am strangely unaffected.
"See, I told you I'd be
down here. We've got a bunch of SNEAKY PEEKIES of future
MARVEL, DC and IMAGE titles right
HERE"
X-Factor
#10 begins with a flashback (drawn by Son of M’s Roy Martinez) to the early life
of Mr.Tryp (who is much older than he looks) before Jamie Madrox wakes up and
discovers that he had a very special night with some of his team members. The
arc that begins here involves a doctor on the payroll of Singularity
Investigations who has been working on something that isn’t good for mutants at
all. But that isn’t the only story we get because Rictor pays a visit to Pietro
about getting back his lost powers (where we also get an rationale about why the
return of powers to mutants by Quicksilver don’t exactly work as they should)
right before Peter David shocks the hell out of us with the reveal of the
identity of the traitor on the team...All New Handbook of the Marvel Universe #8
(of 12) ships and it covers Nekra to Quoi…Marvel Spotlight covers the Uncanny
X-Men team of Billy Tan and Ed Brubaker…X-Men: Fairy Tales #4 (of 4) has a
gorgeous cover that leads into a Rogue/Gambit/Mystique story that is just as
gorgeous. The story takes place in New Orleans where Bishop and Gambit are cops
as Rogue and Mystique are a family. We also have a White Queen appearance as she
is needed to bring in the Cinderella element. I can’t say that this limited
series was a success but the stories told were at least entertaining…She-Hulk
#11 continues the adjustment period between She-Hulk and Man-Wolf (yes, they
have a hyphenated relationship) while the secret behind all this loving that has
been going on finally gets revealed. The fun level is high as is the great
characterization of all involved. We are also continuing with the nice Rick
Burchett art that makes the story even better. The book is a perfect match of
action and cool other stuff…Black Panther #19 has the newly married couple of
Storm and the Panther paying a visit to Latveria after honeymooning on a private
island given for them to use by Namor. The effects of Civil War are in play here
as the duo will travel from region to region to see how things are going but
here we simply see two of the greatest minds in the Marvel Universe chat for a
bit then get a little physical……X-Men #190 has one of the most amazing covers
you will ever see and the cover image is just a start of a great issue. The
assault on the mansion is in full force by Northstar and Aurora and Mike Carey
tells the details in a marvelous fashion. Cable makes his appearance finally as
Bobby Drake learns a new usage of his powers. We learn the identities of the
people that have been hunting Sabretooth in a tense sequence with Cable then
watch as the ghost girl decides to play a game with Sam Guthrie.
