What I Bought 4/2/08

I looked through Secret Invasion #1 today, and I just don't have the energy for this Skrull stuff. Maybe it'll be super awesome, but it feels a bit like a One More Day for the entire Marvel Universe, and that's not something I'm really looking forward to, even as dissatisfied as I am with the current 50 States Initiative Marvel we've got now. For the first time since I dropped the title, I seriously considered buying this week's Amazing Spider-Man. Skimming through it, it seemed entertaining, Wells didn't make Peter seem to be as much of a loser as he'd appeared on skimming through earlier stories, and Bachalo's art didn't feel as confusing as it has when I read X-Men comics he drew. Still, I don't feel I can show financial support for One More Day induced stories, so sorry Messrs. Wells and Bachalo. No knock against either of you. As to what I did purchase, there was nothing new for me this week. There were three books left over from past weeks, so I'll just talk about those instead.

Batman and the Outsiders #5 - That was kind of fun. Breaking into the base, fighting superpowers-for-hire, trying to stop shuttle launches, some friction between the newest team member (Green Arrow) and one of the old guard (Metamorpho). Plus, the Dibnys doing their Boston Brand impersonations. You think their getting this kind of role has anything to do with the Deadman name being on a Vertigo title, since characters that go over tend not to get much play in the DCU? Eh, probably not, and they're having fun with it, so it's all fine with me.

I really like Lopez' artwork. Very pretty, very clean, seems to have a lot of energy to it. I'm still not sure what the grand scheme the Outsiders are trying to stop is, beyond the fact there's some highly advanced weaponry getting launched into space that Batman wishes to stop. I like that the team doesn't feel like much of a team right now. Characters aren't sure they can trust each other, aren't sure why some of the others are on the team, Grace and Thunder don't get why they aren't on the mission, and so on. And it carries over into the fight scenes, which are a bit chaotic because there doesn't seem to be any sort of plan. Everyone is just attacking in their own way, with no apparent strategy behind it. As a final note, I think Geo-Force did more in this issue than during his entire stint in Justice League, for what that's worth. Good for him.

Blue Beetle #25 - You don't really care what I say here, do you? You're all convinced it's beyond awesome, so there's really not much for me to say, right? So Jaime Reyes is very clever, and is fortunate enough to have friends in the caped community to help care for his loved ones while he's out saving the world. I'm curious to see what happens with the relationship between the Scarab and Jaime now that it's, evolved, awoken, whatever. Probably be a little like Nova and the Worldmind, though I doubt the Scarab will get to play cautionary voice of experience as often.

I like that Guy has the 'most powerful weapon in the universe' on his hand, but he chooses to wade right into the middle of the Reach and start punching them instead. I'm not sure what to make of his insistence that the reason the old JLI showed up to help Jaime is the result of Batman doing something. I imagine Batman enjoys making people that paranoid about him, especially Guy Gardner. Albuquerque's art is a bit scruffier (heavier inked?) than I normally prefer, but it works well enough, and Rogers has set up quite the interesting cast of characters over this first, now concluded arc, and it was a good comic. I don't think I love it quite as much as everyone else (story of my life, I think), but I enjoy it a lot all the same.

Ultimate Spider-Man #120 - I have to tell you, the upcoming story arc that's going to tie in to the Ultimate Spider-Man video game has me seriously considering saying farewell to this title. As if the looming specter of Ultimatum hadn't put my mind on that already.

How do you think Magneto feels about people attacking him whenever he show up? Spidey and Iceman don't even let him finish what he was saying before they start attacking and screaming at Liz to run. What he's saying, for the record, is that Liz' dad is one of his people, and he's here to bring her to her father, as he had promised years ago. Which is kind of nice, I guess, though I suppose Magneto's not doing it for her dad as he is because she's a mutant and he wants to Bogart all mutants.

So Liz runs, then screams at her mom, then the X-Men threaten Magneto, then Liz, MJ, and Peter talk, and that's about it. So, will Liz be showing up in Ultimate X-Men? Probably not, but you never know. I really wasn't feeling the end of this arc. On the one hand, I'm glad it didn't degenerate into this huge fight, with massive property damage, leading Liz to hate all the players involved. On the other hand, there was something about the X-Men showing up on Liz' lawn, puffing up their chests at Magneto, and then basically insisting Liz come with them that felt wrong. I don't think she was forced to do anything (although, Jean Grey's been pretty morally ambiguous at times), but it felt a little like they wanted to scare her into coming with them. "Oh, Magneto's so terrible, you can't go with him! But you can't stay here, either! You need to come with us, we'll give you clothes you won't burn up!" All that is probably true (though how many people from the area actually knew Liz was a mutant until Magneto and the X-Men showed up at her house? MJ, Kitty, Torch, Spidey, Kong. Anyone else?)

So, I don't know. Maybe it's time to part ways with the title. Kind of hate to do it, though.

Next week, lots of reviews of comics that are actually new that week. That is, of course, assuming I can get to the store that week!