Here 'tis. Honestly, haven’t gotten to mine yet… soon…
GLX-Mas #1: Squirrel Girl is the biggest badass in the Marvel Universe. Yup. It’s canon and everything. No take backs.
JLA #123: Much improved over the previous couple of issues, but neverthe less spinning wheels while Infinite Crisis does the real heavy lifting here.
Teen Titans #30: Man. They really aren’t letting anyone escape from the Crisis unscathed. Never thought I’d see a grim and gritty Captain Carrot. I do like the “comic within a comic” Watchman thing going on. As for the real plot, I’m a bit underwhelmed. I don’t know the undead Titans, and I’m growing tired of seeing Connor sulk in Smallville.
Aquman #37: The Sprectre has a fearsome presence here that I think he was lacking in Day of Vengeance. Very well done. They’re really setting things up or perhaps tearing things down for Sword of Atlantis. Aquaman has used the events of Crisis better than any other title save perhaps Wonder Woman. But how did Ocean Master know what was happening in Atlantis.
But where’s my Infinite Crisis?
Secret War #5 Sure would’ve been better, like, a year ago. I had to break out my seldom-used reading glasses for the tiny type, and the much-vaunted artwork was surprisingly muddy throughout.
Still, the wait was preferable to, say, getting Essad Ribic or someone like that to paint it. Looks like it’ll be a while before we see Col. Fury again, which is odd because there’s at least one monthly title out now with his name on the logo.
With this long-delayed project, plus the whole underwhelming House of M, I think Marvel needs to be a little more selective about which high-profile characters they let Bendis commandeer for long periods of time.
JLA #123 The story’s okay. Not spectacular–and there’ve been some spectacular writers on this book over the past decade, but no real complaints. The art is more wooden than it’s been since Dick Dillin was alive. And that’s a shame, because the covers are so incredibly gorgeous. It’s such a tease when the covers are this good and the interior art is this mediocre. I really wish they had someone on the level of, say, Chris Sprouse or Jerry Ordway drawing it, or whoever the artists on Final Night were.
Teen Titans #30 All this gushing blood imagery… Wonder if Mia’s HIV will figure into the plotline? Or if she really wants the “door between life and death” shut completely?
Teen Titans and GLX-Mas were my favorites this week. GLX-Mas was brilliant! And I was very pleased to see the Zoo Crew back in action, after a fashion.
As for JLA - I liked the interior art, and despised the cover entirely. Weird.
I picked up Action, which is a one-off featuring the Queen of Fables and has nothing to do with Infinite Crisis… I got What If Captain America Had Fought in the Civil War? which was not bad at all. Cable and Deadpool and Fables were both excellent as usual. The next issue of C&D promises Deadpool v. Spider-Man, which should solidly rock.
The new X-Factor series starts off with some interesting stuff… I love the way Peter David writes.
I picked up Firestorm, which has a one-panel cameo of Professor Stein as Firestorm apparently suffers from the Nuclear Man equivalent of a brainfart. Animal Man is used to good effect here.
I liked Action. (It was the second of a two-parter.)
JLX was good, but Dan Slott always is.
I also picked up Green Arrow this week, to see how Dr. Light is messing with Ollie - not bad, might be interested enough to buy the next one; I got Majestic, which continues to entertain; Captain Atom : Armageddon - in which Cap’s disgust with the heroes of the Wildstorm U deepens, Cap finds a catch-22, and we get the first hints of the Authority’s impending appearance. Nightwing is excellent, as Dick ends his flirtation with the dark side, having outmaneuvered Deathstroke masterfully, and apparently revealing his goal : a Bludhaven free from costumed types, both villain and hero.
I believe that Nightwing bit ties in with Wizard’s spoilerific multiple-choice quiz about the aftermath of Infinite Crisis - I saw it posted somewhere, maybe I can find it again.
New Thunderbolts was interesting as usual.
One thing I really liked that came out this week was the first volume of the NEXUS archives! Steve Rude, Mike Barron, Judah (The Hammer) Macabee, etc.
I could make a case that it was one of the best 3 independent U.S comics of the 1980s (Grimjack and Mage are the other two, with Cerebus (up to a point), ZOT! and several others following closely behind.)
One major bummer though: the first three issues of Nexus were magazine sized and issue 2 had one of those “record-albums printed on thin plastic” thingies inside–IIRC it had ‘mood music’ or “Music to read Nexus by”. I think they should have included it as a CD single or something. Hell, or even as one of those thin flexible plastic records, even if the set of the intersection between “comics fans” and “people who still listen to vinyl record albums” is, pretty much, well, me. 
Ooh, I’d be very interested in reading that if you find it.
I’ve only read a few from this week’s stack so far, and I still have a few left from last week. I went to Butt-Numb-a-Thon this weekend, where we saw V for Vendetta. The print we saw is supposed to be the only complete one in existence right now. The movie is amazing; it’s a splendid, powerful adaptation and I think it will rattle a lot of cages when it gets released.
I know what my Halloween costume will be next year. All I need is a Guy Fawkes mask and a Bettie Page wig.
Captain Atom Armegeddon #3 - Not a whole lot to say. Some hints towards Authority involvement…Cap’s problems get worse…About what one would expect.
But what really struck me is completely unrelated to the book itself…this is the second time in the past couple weeks I’ve seen a comic book panel clearly based on Hopper’s Nighthawks.
Teen Titans #30 - Huzzah for Captain Carrot…even if apparently Earth-C’s gone to pot since the 80s. Interresting that Hawk’s with Blood’s Titans, I think, since he wasn’t Hawk any longer when he bought it. I recognise the rest of Blood’s Titans, but who’s the big guy behind Kole? (Mennochio - the others are Omen (killed in Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day), Kole (Killed in Crisis on Infinite Earths), Aquagirl (Ditto), Hawk I and Dove I (I can’t remember the circumstances behind Dove’s death, but Hawk (Extant at the time) was murdered/executed by Atom Smasher and Metron in JSA some time back).)
Jonah Hex #2 - Good issue, in all…although the second to last page bugged me - it clearly got flipped at some point, putting Hex’s scarring on the left side of his face instead of the right.
Jingle Belle from Dark Horse. Santa’s ADD daughter raises holiday cain, as usual. Quite fun, really.
Twilight X from Antarctica Press. A lot o back story to catch up on, but more army toys than GI Joe, & cute girls, too.
Wait…a new X-Factor comic by David?
Tell me more!
Lifted from another forum:
-
Which one of these superheroes will give birth in 06?
a) Wonder Woman
b) Power Girl
c) Catwoman
d) Oracle -
Which one of these heroes will be stripped of their powers?
a) Superman
b) Wonder Woman
c) Supergirl
d) GL (Hal) -
Who will become mayor of their crime riddled city?
a) Wally West
b) Dick Grayson
c) Bruce Wayne
d) Oliver Queen -
Who will have amnesia and become unable to tell friend from foe?
a) Martian Manhunter
b) Aquaman
c) The Atom
d) Elongated Man -
Who will take the mantle as the most powerful hero in the DCU?
a) Booster Gold
b) Animal Man
c) GL (Kyle)
d) Earth-2 Superman
6)Which hero will become a criminal in the eyes of the world?
a) GL (hal)
b) Superman
c) The Flash
d) Shazam
-
Which one of these heroes is THE ONLY ONE who’ll be around after Infinite Crisis?
a) Wally West
b) Conner Kent
c) Guy Gardener
d) Dick Grayson -
Which superteam doesnt survive Infinite Crisis?
a) JLA
b) JLA
c) JLA
d) JLA -
Who’s about to become the US Military’s secret weapon?
a) Cyborg
b) Wonder Woman
c) Red Tornado
d) GL (Stewart) -
Which villain will destroy an entire country and kill millions in 2006?
a) Brainiac
b) Sinestro
c) Black Adam
d) Vandal Savage
Thanks, cckerberos. I know the answer to a couple of those (#8 for sure!). 
Spill, woman, spill!
2 and 3 were answered by the March solicits.
The two Karas are going to Kandor (where they become Nightwing and Flamebird) and Ollie’s mayorship of Star City is mentioned.
Anyway, a few more books down…
JLA #123 - OK story. Batman admits he screwed up. It’s a miracle. But Superheroes need a swift kick in the nuts when they start being surprised when others start coming to life.
Lookingglass Wars: Hatter M #1 - A pretty interesting, if repetative story. Templesmith’s art was an unfortunate choice, I think. It looks good, but it’s not the easiest to follow, sometimes. Still, I’ll be here for the next issue in February.
Was that new this week? I may have to yell at my local comic store guy if it was, because he was supposed to order it for me…
New Books for 12-15-05.
DC
As mentioned earlier, Wil Pfieffer’s script for “Blaze of Glory: the Fuse”, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #198 takes the viewpoint of a vengeful killer, an Erik Webber, who could be an aging version of the killer who starred in Arthur Ransom’s great 2000 AD series, “Button Man” back in the early '80’s (Least I think it was the early '80’s). Webber is prematurely dying, a result of a then slight injury at the Batman’s hands, who put him in prison for seven years. Webber is out of prison, intelligent, well traiined, wealthy and has nothing else to live for than to destroy the Batman.
It’s a familiar story for Batman readers. What differs here is the point of view, the ingenuity of the hunter, and how well Pfieffer & Weston tell the tale. Yet, however well (even sympathetically) Pfieffer writes Webber, it’s really Chris Weston’s art that makes the story work for me. Weston’s style combines Gulacy’s hyper-detailed props and settings, Arthur Ransom’s realistic eye, and Bolland’s eccentric figuration. (For instance, without the mask, his Bruce Wayne looks like a severe, buff version of Sherlock Holmes.) The inks are even crisper this issue than the last, and even his oddly large heads seem to work really well this issue. It isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste, but the art def. makes this arc worth a look. 7/10.
I can’t say I care too much for Tony Daniels elongated figures and plain layout style, but otherwise he and Geoff Johns give us a decent enough follow up to yet another Brother Blood storyarc in Teen Titans #30. I must say I love the “Captain Carrot” framing device, which parallels what I assume will be the story of Connnor Kent’s return to duty, and reminds me of similar effects Alan Moore pulled off in Watchmen and V for Vendetta. I’m looking forward to how this experiment plays out. I just wish I liked the art better. 5/10
Marvel
Brubaker and Raimondi’s Books of Doom #2 was an engrossing read. They do a nice job of filling in the gaps in the university phase of Doom’s origin story, and tracing his early “fall” from arrogance to near despair. I wonder if Ed will manage to work Doom’s other failed attempts to free his mother, including his ad hoc alliance with Dr. Strange, and his temporary team ups with Namor (all of which ended badly). … def. enjoying this a lot… 7/10.
I can see how people might complain not a lot happens in Ghost Rider #4, but I think the time generally well spent: we get to see how ruthless Ruth is, how popular the Demon is in hell, and watch as Hoss carefully worms his way, into Johnny Blaze’s, confidence. However, I also agree that the art was overdark in places, as though shadows were being used to cover rushed work (sometiimes I wonder if this wasn’t the case in Bachalo’s work on Ult. Xmen. But overall, the issue worked for me. 6/10.
Oh boy. Bachalo’s getting hard to read again in Uncanny Xmen #467. The biggest problem: he always seem to get this way during big action scenes, where clarity should be at a premium, not an after thought. That was disappointing, and marred an otherwise suspenseful (and tragic) ambush scene. It this keeps up, I won’t finish the arc. I didn’t pay $2.50 to get annoyed.
PAD and Sook’s X-Factor #1 pretty much picks off where RAD and Raimondi’s Madrox miniseries left off, and represents a very good start to the new title, noir-ish narration and all. I’m looking forward to learning more about Guido, and M (a uninteresting character I never got a handle on back in Generation X) over the next few issues. Fun stuff. 7/10.
**Vertigo & Indies: **
I liked DMZ #2 a lot better than the first issue, though you know, after that grand tour, something horrible going to come down on the young medic’s community. Somebody upstair’s making hay off this conflict, and they won’t like their applecarts threatened by unbiased dispatches from the front. (That’s assuming anyone is listening, of course. The disconnect between the front and the cocoon like comfortable world outside - a common convention of this kind of fiction (see The Resistance, Brave New World, Battle Angel Alita, Deadenders, 20/20 Vsions just for a few examples)- is all too real. Witness the reaction (or lack of it) to the increasingly deteriorating situation in Iraq. 6/10
Local #2 was cool too. While the tale works as a one shot, evoking a palpable sense of hopeful anticipation, there are times you wanna’ see more of what follows, and this is one of those times. Fun Stuff. 6/10
I have to agree with those who found 100 Bullets #67 a bit odd. What is the point of that game Dizzy and Wylie were playing in the desert anyway? Is this delayed fall out from Shepard’s death? Or some kind of courting ritual for ex-gangbangers? Like Victor, Lono, Kid Hughes and Cole the Wolf keep busy, Dizzy and Wylie need to get out there and start killing rich people. 5/10.