Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Week of June 14th- June 20th, 2009

Captain America #600
They lucked out with the numbering. Last issue was #50 and now they're on #600. That was fast, right? Ed Brubaker has seemed a little burnt out on this book. It's almost as if: will Steve Rogers return already? This issue brings forth the shocking revelation that the gun used to kill him wasn't a real gun. Uh...okay. I do like the way this issue is set up, though. It's in parts, each drawn by a different artist. There's the fake Captain America getting his truck stolen. There's the rally for the one-year anniversary of Captain America's death. There's Sin and Cross Bones in prison. There's a strange chapter with a girl from another world. & there's Sharon Carter unraveling the truth. That part is good. Like Erik Larsen's “big” issues, this one is chock full of back-up stories that suck. There's an awful old one written by Stan Lee. Then there's all six-hundred covers shown. This book was called Tales of Suspense for awhile. Then it was Tales of Suspense featuring Iron Man and Captain America. Then it became Captain America. So it's cheating a little bit, although there was a Captain America published before Marvel got a hold of it. This book is continued in two weeks in Reborn, an Ed Brubaker/Bryan Hitch book. So what's going to happen when Steve Rogers does come back? Will Brubaker leave? Will the book fall into disarray once again? We'll have to see. **1/2

Incognito #4
Now that the shock of how good this book is has worn off, nothing new has arisen. It's still enjoyable. It's still thrilling. It's still one of the best books on the market. But...I think it needs something new. A new twist. A new surprise. Something. In this issue, Zack Overkill, is caught by the “good guys.” They take away his power and send him back to his dead end job. Ava Destruction, the blonde-haired, murdering pixie shows up to save Zack and take him away from the white-collar, office world. He agrees to go with her. Meanwhile...there's bad guys aplenty planning and plotting to get revenge. This is a terrific book, but this issue is basically more of the same. I can't wait for the big, epic, final showdown, though between Zack and the evil, behind-the-scenes villainous doctor. ***

Hellblazer #256
This book has had the greatest writers in comics work on it over the years. Alan Moore created the character and Garth Ennis and Warren Ellis went on to write it. Andy Diggle got so famous for his stint on the book that he's now at Marvel writing Daredevil and Thunderbolts. I have no idea who Peter Milligan, the current writer, is. His first storyline started off interesting but didn't have a good climactic punch to really nail it. I skipped his second storyline but figured I'd give this new three-parter a try. It's glorious. The art is cartoony but fantastic (Guiseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini did the pencils and inks). The story has John Constantine in the dumps. His girlfriend dumped him. He buys a love potion. It works. Also, a demon-girl sells him balm for his scab (the scab he got from Milligan's first storyline) and he gets addicted and has to help her out. John slips the demon-girl the love potion, too. Can we say that he's up shit creek? The issue closes with Constantine looking at himself in the bathroom mirror and thinking, “All right, Constantine. It's time to find out just how much of a bastard you really are.” Terrific stuff. The story here brings forth a wealth of possibilities. I can't wait to see how it unfolds. ***1/2


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