What I Bought 3/12/08

So many books this week, so I'm going to try and streamline a bit, whatever that winds up meaning, or else I'll never get finished. Take a deep breath, we're going to dive on in.

Amazing Spider-Girl #18 - That cover is actually also a panel in this issue. Not a criticism, since I'd rather have covers that tell us about the comic, personally, just an observation. It's quite the energetic issue. Lots of backstabbing, betrayals, temporary partnerships, surprise entrances, and the like. The end result seems to be that Hobgoblin will be taking a break from his attempts to become the new Kingpin, and he's going to have to recruit some more help.

It's an enjoyable issue, at least in part because it's mostly a big fight scene. Even so, there's a lot of plot threads that get at least temporarily wrapped up. The one thing I wonder about is where DeFalco plans to go for opponents for Spider-Girl for the near future. The solicitations make it look like May plans to rededicate herself to having a life outside the webs, but I'm sure she'll still have some super-villainy to deal with. Have to wait and see I suppose. 4 out of 5.

Annihilation: Conquest #5 - I wonder why Ultron has a bubble on his head on the cover. This issue teaches us what Ultron's plan is, and how he wound up with the Phalanx. It even ties in to Mighty Avengers, which I guess means they knew how that story was going to go well before Cho finished drawing it, depending on how far ahead this was planned out. As far as schemes go, it's not bad, though I still prefer my idea about combining the transmode virus with the very ground around them. Also, the Starlord team gets a bit crazy, and speaking of crazy, Ronan's begun his plan to spare his people from becoming Phalanx. Spare them. . . by killing them.

On the first reading, I couldn't figure out what the Starlord team's plan would accomplish at this stage. I've since figured out at least one thing, and that could make things interesting. I really want to see how Abnett and Lanning draw all these different plots together at the end, assuming they do all come together. Generally, I liked Raney's art, but there were places it looked rushed, the Mighty Avengers flashback for one. Maybe that's just part of his style though. 4 out of 5.

Booster Gold #7 - I know the cover's telling us there are OMACs in front of them, but I keep looking at it and thinking, "Behind you, you fools!" So Rip Hunter is mad at Booster, Booster and Ted are trying to survive an OMAC encounter, Max Lord is a jerk, and the Time Stealers are having a meeting. All in all, things look bad for our heroes, since I'm not even sure where they would need to start trying to set things right.

I can't quite say what it is I like about this book. Maybe it's the fact that since nobody has any idea Booster's out there protecting the time stream, the book doesn't have any effect on other titles, and so it can pretty much do whatever it wants. Zero Hour callback? Sure! Getting drunk with Jonah Hex? Hey, that whiskey saved Superman's life! That kind of thing. And Dan Jurgens is kind of like Ron Frenz in terms of art, not flashy, but definitely not hurting the story, though perspective seems off at times in this issue, such as when Ted fired the Beefeater's staff at the OMAC. Looked like he was shooting past it. 4 out of 5.

Nova #11 - Hey, Maleev drew the Phalanx infection on Rich's face. Just barely, but it is there, in the blue light. Nice touch on an otherwise less than engaging cover. Rich has made it to Kvch, but no one's home. Well, almost no one. Guess who's there, trying to preserve their species? Then the virus starts freaking out in Rich. Anyway, Rich has unfortunately come a long way to not be able to get much help, as it's a matter of priorities for both parties involved, and they have different worries. Meanwhile, Drax and Gamora reach Kvch, and start having a similar reaction to Rich's, except there's no one around to help them, and things start to go downhill from there.

I like the issues that get brought up here. Who do you save, and what sacrifices are permissible to do so? Also, I like what the character that came back (who I don't want to spoil) is trying to do, and how difficult that must be. And Paul Pelletier's artwork is always a good thing from my perspective, although it took me a while to recognize his work. I think Nova is colored a bit darker than what I'm used to from Pelletier's work, so it threw me. I like how he reflects the mood of that character I won't name, though. It's amusing. 5 out of 5.

Punisher #55 - Does Frank look like he's sporting a gut there? The eight generals that Frank screwed over way back in the Mother Russia arc are out to get him, and much of the issue is spent with them debating how to do that while on a golf course. This is interspersed with Nick Fury getting hammered and picking bar fights, excerpts from a book about a battle where Castle was the only survivor, and at the end, a conversation with a special forces colonel. Set-up in its purest form.

Plain and simple, it appears Frank Castle's military past is going to come back and bite him in the ass. Ought to be very interesting to see how Frank handles this issue, especially if those generals have him pegged properly. Not much else to say other than that. It wasn't a particularly engaging issue, but better than I would expect for an issue comprised of people talking about Frank Castle. It would have been a nice breather after last issue's gory final showdown, but with two months in between, just a bit slow. 2 out of 5.

Suicide Squad #7 - It's an alright cover. Last issue, it appeared Eiling had things going his way. That's still somewhat in effect, but the pendulum has begun swinging back the other way, either because people were better prepared than he thought, or they weren't quite as amoral as he thought. Rick Flag is confronted with a ghost of his past, and predictably, doesn't give a crap. And next issue promises blindfolded Deadshot against a dude in powered armor. That ought to be pretty good.

I like how Waller responds to the situation. She's fairly undisturbed by getting smacked in the face, but she's annoyed the traitorous techie got capped. The death of one of the character's disappointed me a little, as I thought Ostrander had set up an interesting dynamic between them and another character last issue. Guess he figures with it just being a mini-series that there wasn't much future in it, so what the hell. I can't figure out why the pages were split up between 3 pencilers the way they were. Granted, each of them is dealing with a different part of the story, but a couple of those parts had been dealt with earlier in the issue as well, and drawn byPina at that point, so why switch artists now. On the plus side, I think they have fairly similar styles, so it's not a jarring shift. 4 out of 5.

The Last Defenders #1 - Jeez, will these reviews ever end? I'm hopeful Nighthawk gets a good treatment in this. I grew fond of him from the Busiek/Larsen Defenders. So Nighthawk wants the Defenders to be part of the 50 State initiative, with him in charge, naturally. Stark grants it, but he picks the roster and the state they get. let me tell ya, it isn't a prize state, and I'm not so sure about the roster either. They quickly get after a Sons of the Serpent group that's up to some mystical thing, and stuff goes wrong.

This team is seriously overbalanced. I get Stark's reasoning behind having considerable power on the team, but there are times a lighter touch is advisable. So much for Tony's claims of being an expert at constructing rosters. I don't have much else to say, except that everyone looks really chunky in this comic. Blazing Skull in particular needs to cut back on sweets. 3 out of 5.

X-Factor #29 - I get what the cover's going for, but the perspective feels wrong. X-Factor is continuing to fragment. Madrox is feeling adrift, unsure if he has a purpose anymore. Within a few panels he demonstrates his attention to detail, and his ability to jump to conclusions. Then things start getting weird. Their building is in space, then it isn't. Then Rictor's gone, and they're chasing him, but he's someplace else entirely. Then Guido gets hit by a rock. That was kind of amusing. I do like this villain, so that should make things fun for awhile, provided Madrox doesn't flip out and starting beating him like we're back in Peter Parker's "I am the Spider!" phase. I don't have anything else. 3 out of 5.

That's more than enough of that. Why the heck can't I get a more even distribution? C'mon Marvel and DC, alter your shipping schedules to accommodate me!