Comics Roundup for 7/29/09

The New Avengers #55 - I was really pleased to see that Stuart Immonen has taken over the penciling duties on this book, as I didn't care for the art that much over the last story arc. This was a solid issue with a lot of good dramatic character development and interactions. I even like the bit where Bucky/Captain America is getting tired of everybody leaving a mess in his place. That said, I'm not sure that I buy Clint Barton/Ronin lethal force against Norman Osborne. Now, I'm not a long-time Avengers fan, so maybe this is keeping with his character. Seems to me like it's more of an argument that Wolverine would make, but he was pretty much absent this issue. (Shoot - even Bucky could have suggested it, considering his history as an assasin and all.)

Star Wars: Legacy #38 - This was a step-up from the last issue. Cade Skywalker continues to be an interesting character, but this series needs to find some momentum again. After the revelation of who Darth Krayt was and the subsequent inititation/confrontation with the Dark Side, it doesn't quite seem to be going in any particular direction. Hopefully something big's coming to shake things up. Personally, I'd like to see more with those Imperial Knights, who aren't quite Jedi but definitely aren't Sith. That's probably the most interesting concept to come out of this series.

Detective Comics #855 - Just like last issue, this one looks gorgeous with the combination of JH Williams III's art and Dave Stewart's colors. That said, I still don't find myself caring that much about this character. I've avoided mentioning that she's a lesbian, and I didn't want them to exploit that as a cheap story gimmick. However, I'm starting to feel that they're avoiding the issue so much that she's wound up being rather bland. I doubt that I'll get the next issue.

Fantastic Four #569 - One of the big points of discussion when Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch took over this series was whether they would be able to keep up with the deadlines. As far as I know, this book has shipped on time. At least, I don't remember any long waits between issues. This is the final issue, and it's disappointing to see that Hitch didn't do the artwork on it. Personally, I blame Marvel's editorial, because he did do A book last month and this month, namely Captain America: Reborn, but I would have preferred to see him finish out this particular story arc. That said, the fill-in artists did a serviceable job, and it was a satisfying conclusion. Millar managed to shake things up and put everything back in place for the next writer to come on board for the most part. That, and he proved once again that Dr. Doom is the ultimate villain, which reminds me of how badly they screwed him up in the movie.

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #2 & #3 (of 3) - As I've stated before, I'm somewhat wary of the fact that when there's a new crossover event, a lot of filler issues that are related to the event like to fill up shelf space (and take away money from my pocket.) I've been pretty good about avoiding all that lately, but I had no problem picking these up. For the most part, they really don't add much to the larger story. That said, they're some pretty solid little short stories that deal with various supporting and background characters. Some of these remind me of those old "Strange Tales" kinds of things that were popular before superheroes made their resurgence in the Silver Age. I also didn't mind the black and white "director's cut" reprint of Blackest Night #0 at the end of issue #3.

Wednesday Comics #4 (of 12) - part of me is wishing that I waited for the eventual collected editions. That said, I'm already 1/4 of the way through this, so I might as well stick it out. Again, I just flipped through it, and again, it looked awesome.