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Fallen Angel #5 Fantastic Four #506 Gotham Central #13 Green Arrow #32 Invincible #6 Iron Man #74 JSA #54 Nightwing #87 Ruse #25 Fallen Angel #5 Written by Peter David, Art by David Lopez, Fernando Blanco Publisher: DC Comics Synopsis: Lee continues to try to track down the invisible monster, with help from Slate and Asia Minor. She also receives a visit from Theresa's parents. Meanwhile, Black Mariah hooks up with Boxer, and Azmil calls in for reinforcements to get his son from Furors. Good Stuff: While not much happens in this issue, there are a lot of good touches here and there. I appreciated Lee's lack of shyness and verve in dealing with Slate and Asia Minor, and I thought the scene with Theresa's parents--while baffling in many ways--was really well done. Not so Good Stuff: Unfortunately, not much does happen this issue. I would have liked to see a little more action, but I suppose that's a minor quibble. I give this book 8/10. Fantastic Four #506 Written by Mark Waid, Art by Howard Porter, Norm Rapmund Publisher: Marvel Comics Synopsis: Reed manages to remove the rest of the Four from Latveria as the forces of the world ready themselves to mass against him. Good Stuff: It's interesting to see the various Machiavellian manipulations used by Reed to endear the four to the rest of Latveria. The opening scene was quite interesting, as was the one with the Doombots attacking the populace and the Four destroying them, to the adulation of the crowd. Not so Good Stuff: I'm really not sure I like where I think this is heading, as this is ground that has been covered before. However, I'll wait and see how things play out before making a judgment along those lines. I give this book 7/10. Gotham Central #13 Written by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Art by Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano Publisher: DC Comics Synopsis: The fallout of the sniper attacks continues. Tensions are high as the officers squabble with one another, unable to deal with the immensity of dealing with the Joker. Good Stuff: Joker has always been my favorite super villain, and I really appreciate the terror that he is striking within the Major Crimes Unit, as they are well aware that they probably do not have what it takes to combat him. I particularly liked that once Lt. Probson explained that the sniper was the Joker, all concerns for protocol pretty much disappeared. I also appreciate that the appearances of Batman are being kept to a minimum, as one would like to see this title continue to focus on the men and women of the Gotham Police Department. Not so Good Stuff: At this point, I have no complaints. Great stuff. I give this book 10/10. Green Arrow #32 Written by Judd Winick, Art by Manuel Garcia, Steve Bird Publisher: DC Comics Synopsis: Connor and Roy have a night on the town. Good Stuff: It's nice to see the contrasts between Connor and Roy explored within this issue, and I also find it interesting to see how those play out. The two characters do have some philosophical differences and they show up nicely here. I also enjoyed the scene at the end with the final robber--although I did see a similar scene a few months ago in Detective Comics. Not so Good Stuff: It's generally not fun when the art team changes, especially when the style of the new artists is so diametrically opposed to that of the prior art team. While I wouldn't say the work is bad, I wouldn't say it was that good either. I give this book 8/10. Invincible #6 Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Cory Walker Publisher: Image Comics Synopsis: Mark and William visit a college upstate, and William discovers Mark's secret. Robot attempts to join the Guardians of the Globe and disbands the Teen Team. Someone steals a special armor outfit intended to restore the powers of Black Samson. Good Stuff: This is my first issue of Invincible, and I'm glad I picked it up. Kirkman and Walker have done a nice job of making things reasonably simple for a new reader to pick up, and I enjoyed the simple moments between Mark and William, as well as the other moments between Mark's parents. It will be interesting to see how this particular plot plays out. One doesn't always see this plot in comics, and I hope things continue to remain interesting. Not so Good Stuff: This comic has a nice kid-friendly feel to it, and I realize this is nitpicking, but I would have liked to see the relationship between Mark's parents portrayed in a less explicit manner. I give this book 8/10. Iron Man #74 Written by John Jackson Miller, Art by Jorgé Lucas Publisher: Marvel Comics Synopsis: Tony begins to undergo a great deal of public scrutiny as he attempts to become Secretary of Defense. Good Stuff: It was fairly interesting seeing that Tony's nomination isn't going to go as smoothly as he expected. It will continue to be interesting to see how things proceed from here. Not so Good Stuff: I don't particularly like Marvel's habit of incorporating real world people into their comics, and while it's somewhat appropriate here, I could do without seeing characters such as George W. Bush and Colin Powell in my comics. By using real world characters, there are only two choices available to the writer: either make them tremendously bland, which hurts the story by removing interesting characters, or by making them interesting, which eventually just gives leeway to the writer's personal biases-or at least, it gives the appearance of same. I give this book 8/10. JSA #54 Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Don Kramer, Keith Champagne Publisher: DC Comics Synopsis: The JLA and JSA gather for Thanksgiving. Good Stuff: There are some nice character moments, like Star complaining that she has to sit at the kids table. Not so Good Stuff: Unfortunately, the vast majority of this issue just seems like filler. The interruption of the villains at the end was predictable and unnecessary, and I really thought that Power Girl throwing Wildcat out of the window was extremely out of character, nine lives or not. Also, I couldn't see one single reason to revisit the relationship between Black Canary and Dr. Mid-Nite, as it's been over for close to a year. I give this book 5/10. Nightwing #87 Written by Devin Grayson, Art by Patrick Zircher, Andy Owens Publisher: DC Comics Synopsis: Tarantula attacks Dick and Barbara in a restaurant. Barbara seems capable of handling herself, but Dick gets in the way and the Tarantula escapes. Meanwhile, Miss Langlois the reporter continues to investigate Dick, but turns up no damning evidence at all. In a phone conversation with Mr. Westbrook, she infers that she might try investigating Dick from the angle of his employer. Meanwhile, Barbara finally dumps Dick, and the Tarantula is sent on a new mission by Blockbuster. Good Stuff: Okay, we finally get some resolution between Dick and Barbara. I liked the fact that she called him on his obsessive behavior. Also, I liked seeing that Blockbuster is still a formidable physical opponent, and that Barbara can still defend herself against most ordinary foes. Not so Good Stuff: I have to say, I haven't liked nor seen the purpose of Miss Langlois since her introduction, and unless I miss my guess, she may not be around much longer, considering that she intends to go messing around in Blockbuster's business. Also, it seems to me that much of Dick's obsessive and crazy behavior of late has been forced upon him by the writer. Dick's been behaving like an immature adult over the last few issues, and not like someone trained by Batman for ten or more years. I'm just not enjoying this portrayal of Dick Grayson. The gypsy Grandfather isn't working for me either. If this is a pre- existing character, well, why not put him into Dick's life; otherwise, there just doesn't seem to be any reason for him to be there. And why weren't we showed the scene where Dick came home and found this guy on his doorstep? I give this book 6/10. Ruse #25 Written by Scott Beatty, Art by Paul Ryan, Rick Magyar, Jennifer Cross Publisher: CrossGen Entertainment Synopsis: Most of this issue is dedicated to a fanciful "penny-dreadful" style work commissioned by Theophilus Dare in which he plays the role of the great detective and Simon is reduced to his effete assistant. Meanwhile, Simon and Emma are on a journey to dispose of the Enigmatic Prism. Good Stuff: There was an amusing moment or two in the penny-dreadful. Not so Good Stuff: If this book weren't coming to a close shortly, I'd be dropping it like a hot potato. Butch Guice's pencils are sorely missed here, and while Ryan's are a reasonable approximation, it still feels like getting hamburger when one is expecting Filet Mignon. Otherwise, this issue was just disappointing filler to me. I give this book 3/10. -- Randy Jackson http://fourcolorexplosion.com
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