Comics for the week of 01/23/2013

DC COMICS

JSA: The Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull #2 - The first issue of this did NOT hook me at all. Its a shame because I lived both of the previous Liberty Files minis. Part of the problem is probably the title character of The Whistling Skull. He was originally planned to be a creator owned property who has somehow gotten folded into the Liberty Files line. He's really not working for me, and since he's the focus of the first issue it didn't work for me. I'm hoping issue 2 will bring more of the characters I enjoyed from the first two minis back.

Legion of Super-Heroes #16 - I still haven't gotten caught up with my Legion reading. I think that'll be a project for the weekend if I have a few free hours.

Nightwing #16 - It seems like I'm alone in my feelings on Death of the Family. I think its boring as hell. I'm otherwise enjoying Kyle Higgens Nightwing run. He's been focusing on Dick's circus past and his interactions with the Daughter of Tony Zucco, his parents killer. I'd like to see more of that and less tie ins.

Wonder Woman #16 - Brain Azzarello did the impossible twice for me on this book. First he got me  interested in reading a Wonder Woman ongoing. The second was to portray the Greek Gods in a manner that I can get behind. Normally they're done more cartoonish when used. Instead he focuses on the laundry list of flaws that define each of the Gods making them infinity more relatable. And while I'm not normally an "Art Guy" I just marvel at what Cliff Chiang does on this book. His character designs are perfect. They tell you so much about the character before they ever say a word.


Image Comics

Bedlam #3 -  After being jerked around by Morning Glories for twenty some issues and finding Thunder Agents to lack any kind of direction I had written off Nick Spencer. I picked this up solely on the recommendation of James Tynion IV. And I'm glad I did because its creepy as all hell. We've got a psychotic unwillingly trying to turn his life around and doing a terrible job of it. I just hope it can hold itself together instead of spiraling out into nothing like Morning Glories did.

Marvel Comics

Avengers #3 - I loved the first issue of Avengers. It was everything I want in what should be Marvel's flagship title. It had an epic feel to it that the so called event books never seem to capture. The secnd issue took a step back and gave us all of the new members a character moments. Both ended in the same place and I'm anxious to see how it comes together.

Deadpool #4 - I'd say about half of the jokes in this comic land. I doubt I'll be reading much past the current Dead Presidents storyline. Maybe if they keep the ghost of Ben Franklin around as a sidekick...

Uncanny Avengers #3 - This was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Marvel NOW launch and it might have been if it had shipped on time. Rick Remender is a writer who I've been paying a lot more attention to lately. I remember him doing the podcast circuit pretty hard about 5 or so years ago talking up creator owned books hard. Its a little odd for me to see him on so many company owned comics now. He's destroying them though, so I'm not going to complain. In a really odd twist John Cassaday's art might be the weakest part of this title. It might be a symptom of trying to meet his deadline but his art hasn't had the usual WOW factor on this that I've come to associate with him.

Uncanny X-Force #1 - So I just finished Remender's run on Uncanny X-Force a week or so ago and it was fantastic. Which means no matter how good this is it'll likely be disappointing because  its going to be compared to the last run. I'm still not even sure that I'm picking it up. I've yet to read anything by Sam Humphries so I don't know what to expect there. I might end up getting it just to see what the deal with Fantomex is going to be. I've got a soft spot for faux Frenchmen.

Wolverine and the X-Men #24 - Well I'm glad the last arc is over. The Frankenstein story was an issue too long and didn't do much of anything with the main cast. It seemed to serve nothing more than to make a change to one of the villains of this run. Despite that the Hellfire Club still hasn't gotten a whole lot of screen time here. I think if Aaron wants to keep shifting the focus onto them we need to get a proper arc with our students dealing with them instead of indirect moves and Wolverine grumping.