What I Bought 10/10/07

I just saw, not five minutes ago, an advertisement for Saw 4. Why won't it end? Is this my fault, for letting Alex convince me to go see it, even though I know he likes horrible movies? No, no, it's his fault, because he'd already gone to see it once before then! He's the one encouraging them! I guess I'll just turn to comics to console myself.

Amazing Spider-Girl #13 - I like that cover. I know it's been done a lot before, but it's kind of clever, though I'm not sure why Hobgoblin is moving Spider-Girl; she wouldn't be one of his pieces. His brother or the cop would be more apt.

A lot of this issue is May feeling distressed over various things that are going wrong in her life. And there are a lot of things going wrong in her life right now. It's actually a bit too much for my tastes. In other news, the Hobgoblin is preparing for war against the Black Tarantula's criminal empire, and in his mind, that includes Spider-Girl. It's interesting to see how Hobgoblin thinks of his adversary, and his comment about her probably being in her mid-20s raised a thought in my mind: How old do most people think Spider-Girl is? For awhile there in the previous series, it seemed like Black Tarantula was actually courting Spider-Girl (he was definitely trying to get her to ally with him), even though he's been around since before May was born.

I don't know what else to say. Something happened that makes May sad, but I'm happy about it (except for the part where it makes her sad), but it felt flat. It needed more kicking and punching. And the "Winkler Device"? A quick Internet search confirms this has been around for some time, but what a name. 2.4 out of 5.

Nova #7 - Can Granov give us some more action-packed covers? It's always just someone standing? It looks pretty, but it isn't exciting.

It's the end of the Annihilation: Conquest tie-ins! And I guess it explains why I haven't seen any sign of Nova in anything I've seen about the actual big Conquest mini. There were three artists on this month's book, and I can't really understand some of the reasons for why a certain artist draws a certain sequence. Brian Denham draws a sequence inside Rich's mind, but there isn't really anything about it that suggests it wouldn't have worked just as well if Sean Chen had drawn it. It doesn't seem like how Immortal Iron Fist uses different artists ,with distinctly different styles, to exhibit a shift in the story . After that Denham sequence, Chen/Scott Hanna draw one page of a getaway sequence, Denham draws the next two, then it goes back to Chen/Hanna the rest of the way. I'm lost as to what was the point of it. I do like the panel on page 4 where Richard's pupils show through that static effect they're using to demonstrate being part of the Phalanx. That was a nice touch.

Also, it appears I may have been wrong last month, when I insisted that Ko-Rel wasn't dead. Sure seems like she is, if the discussion in Nova's head counts for anything. Crap. That seems unnecessary. Anyway, by the end of this issue, the Phalanx aren't really Nova's problem anymore. They sort of are, but there's other concerns as well. I think he's landed in Sector 3601, or something like that. I think the seemingly random shifting of artists hurts the book, plus at this point, it feels like Nova got mixed up in Conquest for no real reason (he hasn't really accomplished anything thus far), but we'll see where Abnett & Lanning go next, I suppose. 3.1 out of 5.

The Punisher #51 - That is a damn creepy cover. Is that barracuda's shadow in the back, or Frank's? Because the pose seems like Cuda, but the lighting doesn't seem right. Nitpicky bastard, that's me.

It's about damn time. In this issue, Frank spends time in a hospital bed, trying to piece together what happened to him to put him in this situation. It's highly entertaining flashback for us, conjecture for Frank, with lines such as 'But my left wrist is broken and the other's badly lacerated so I'm guessing I went insane and snapped the handcuffs.' He's so matter of fact about it, it makes it funny somehow. Which may not be what Ennis is shooting for, but it's what he gets from me.

Anyway, after that initial burst of violence, our two principal characters try to get ready for Round 2 (or is this technically Round 3, after the fight in Florida?). 'Cuda needs psychological fixing more than physical, because I think he's got doubts. As for Frank, well he's getting help from the doctor who wants him out of the hospital, and from his own stubbornness. I have no idea where they're going to meet up. They both seem to have decided on the same place independently, but aren't cluing us in. 4.2 out of 5.

X-Factor #24 - It's a nice cover, isn't it? And yes, I do intend to start discussing the covers more often now. It must be the shading, but it looks like Rahne's bleeding on to the snow. It's probably just supposed to be a reflection of her skin being burned by the wind. And really, Guido ought to be more cold resistant. He's bigger, should retain more heat, even with almost no hair.

I don't quite know what to say about this issue. We learn the connection between Huber and Nicole, see something interesting happen with Rictor, and, um, well I don't really want to say more because I'm trying to avoid spoiling the details. Suffice it to say, Huber's plan seems to have fallen through.

It's not a bad issue, but it doesn't seem to resonate with me, a trend I'm noticing with my comics more frequently. Bummer. Maybe it would have worked better with more focus on one location, instead of jumping around between the different team members, I don't know. I know Raimondi did not seem to draw a Huber that looks like John Cena this month, and he does draw a very wicked looking Layla Miller. It's really the sort of look I'd expect from Kang, or maybe a Luthor, as they crush their overconfident enemy. That was kind of nice. And I think we've learned that Layla Miller doesn't believe in luck, if her 'penny' comment is to be believed (which is always an issue with Ms. Miller). 3.4 out of 5.

I had a couple of other books come in this week, but I set them aside for next week, which looks like slim pickings right now. What is Marvel doing with schedule for these Conquest mini-series? They're all out of whack. And what is with this Michael Keaton movie FX is showing? If ghosts really want to talk with us, they ought to be a little more clear about it, instead of dicking around with static and phone lines and such.