2011 Comics In Review - Part 4

It's rare DC wreaks more havoc on my pull list then Marvel. 'Course, it's also rare they cancel and relaunch their entire line. Usually my pull list dwindles slowly, due to the steady attrition of Marvel canceling something I'm buying every few months.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #24-28: I think this was actually canceled to make room for all the Flashpoint garbage, but a cancelation is a cancelation. The only real story was the revenge of Starro the Conqueror, who fell a bit short, largely because he's terrible at employee relations. Tony Bedard wrote all 5 issues, and Claude St. Aubin drew most of it, except for 10 pages HDR (is it H? I keep thinking it might be KDR, the font isn't terribly clear) drew in #26.

High Point: The back and forth between Starfire and her sister was entertaining, and Lobo and Smite deciding they liked fighting and drinking together too much to kill each other was a nice turn of events. The tone of the book in general wasn't overly serious, which I appreciated.

Low Point: There isn't much that stands out. Not because it was a great book, but it was a solid one. Not ground-breaking, but getting the little things right. Except for that bit in the last issue where some of the pages were stapled in the wrong order.

Resurrection Man #1-4: Mitch Shelly tries to figure out his life while avoiding people from his old job, as well as some very determined otherworldly soul collectors. More DnA writing, with Fernando Dagnino as penciler, Santi Arcas as colorist, and Rob Leigh as letterer.

High Point: I'm really enjoying the idea of the afterlife realms being after Mitch, even if there are aspects of it that don't make sense to me. The Body Doubles have been more fun than I found them last time, and Dagnini's art channels Gene Colan occasionally. Not always, but sometimes when it's appropriate, that's what it reminds me of, and that's never a bad thing.

Low Point: I was a little disappointed the Transhuman wasn't really an old man assassin.

Rocketeer Adventures #1-4: Anthology series are always dicey. I mentioned that last year with Girl Comics, but the stuff I like is over too soon, to make room for stories I may not like. This was definitely a mixed bag, but I'll still give the next round a try.

High Point: The John Cassaday story that led off issue 1, and the one Darwyn Cooke did in issue 2 as sort of a movie serial where Betty saved Cliff.

Low Point: Lowell Francis and Gene Ha's story where Cliff tries to retake some over flight prototype, with the broadcast of a prize fight mixed in. The boxing match aspect of how the story was presented that bugged me. Ryan Sook's offering was a bit overdone. Oh, how awful Cliff saved Betty and everyone in the theater from being robbed at gunpoint!

Secret Six #29-36: The Six survived working for Luthor, squabbled with the Doom Patrol, went to Hell, and tried to destroy Batman's family. They failed at the last one, though Bane seemed sastified with disentangling himself from the rest of them. Gail Simone wrote all the issues, J. Calafiore drew 30-36, Marcos Marz drew issue 29.

High Point: I liked the Doom Patrol match-up. Couple of oddball teams, with oddball bosses. I'll have to get around to getting the second part of it one day. Bane's trip to the carnival with Spencer was amusing in its awkwardness. I must say, Spencer was remarkably open-minded about Bane's life. King Shark's version of Hell. Clearly I like the book best when it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Low Point: Catman trying to threaten Etrigan was a bit ridiculous, to the point I wouldn't have minded the Demon handing Blake his entrails. The Luthor match-up did nothing for me. I don't care about the pissing match between Vandal and Lex, and I already knew Vandal was a terrible father.

She-Hulks#3, 4: This book kind of caught a bad break. Changed to a mini-series before it even really got going. Jen and Lyra continued to capture Intellegencia members, only for the Wizard to use what he received as bribes for helping to escape and attack Lyra at the prom. Which outed her as a Hulk and ruined her life. Funny, I thought things went better for the ladies, and it was the guy Hulks who had all the bad luck and hated being Hulks? Harrison Wilcox wrote a fine story and Ryan Stegman drew it well, with an assist from his inker Michael Babinski. Guru eFX helped make everything bright and clear (I really prefer books with bright color schemes. Maybe because so many books are dull and murky these days).

Suicide Squad #1-3: Ugh, do I have to? Fine. It's the last book I tried coming straight out of the relaunch. Adam Glass writes it. Federico Dallocchio drew part of issues 1 and 2. ransom Getty drew the other half of issue 1, Andrei Bressan the other part of issue 2. Cliff Richards drew all of issue 3. While Alex loved the first 3 issues when he read them, I hated them. The sex and violence don't seem to have a purpose other than to be edgy or mature, and the way the characters behave not keeps butting up against how I think they ought to act.

High Point: Captain Boomerang didn't have a bad entrance. Getty's art wasn't bad.

Low Point; Everything else.

Thanos Imperative: Devastation: The one-shot that outlined certain aspects of the post-Thanos Imperative status quo, and assembled the Annihilators for their mini-series. Still more Abnett and Lanning, this time with Miguel Sepulveda as artist.

Villains for Hire #0.1, 1: Purple Man escaped from prison during H4H's Fear Itself tie-in. Since Misty had taken control of what was originally his idea, he's started up a separate enterprise, using villains to do his dirty work, rather than heroes. Which is probably safer, if less personally satisfying. His problem is that Misty has her own crew of villains working against his. The last thing we'll touch on written by DnA, with Renato Arlem on art chores, and Jay David Ramos as colorist.

Wolverine and the Black Cat - Claws II #1-3: Arcade and the White rabbit find a friendly alien, steal some of her weapons, and send the heroes into the future where they team-up with Killraven until they rescue that same alien, who helps them travel back to their time. Jimmy Pamiotti and Justin Gray wrote it, and Joseph Michael Linsner drew it. I was hoping for a lot more Arcade, personally.

I'm just going to skip "High Point, Low Point" for that one. Which brings us to the end of the comics. All that's left is lists made according to my arbitrary standards.