Comics Roundup for 8/5/09

Short roundup for this week (and judging by the solicits, next week will probably only be a bit bigger). Perhaps my goal of cutting back on titles is working now that I've committed myself to writing a little something about each book I get.

Captain America: Reborn #2 of 5 - Again, my only complaint is that I don't see why this couldn't have just been a story in the regular monthly, but so long as it's as entertaining as this, I can't really get too upset about it. Also, the higher price tag isn't so bad, as it has about seven pages more than the average comic. Anyway, the whole "stuck in time" situation is starting to make a little more sense, as Cap continues to relive the defining moments of his life without being able to do anything to affect the outcome. Also, Norman Osborn seems to be the main bad guy in this series, just as he is in pretty much every Marvel book right now. I'm eagerly looking forward to Cap, Iron Man, and Thor finally reuniting and bringing down the "Dark Reign", but hopefully that can set up an equally interesting status quo.

Hulk #13 - Wait a second, wasn't the issue that preceded this Incredible Hulk #600? How is this #13 then? The best thing to do is to not ask questions, just read the damn book and shut up. Numbering strangeness aside, I find this to be as entertaining a read as the entire series has been. It has had a tendency to be a bit over-the-top, and it continues to do so, but this issue sets up an interesting storyline where Banner has been freed of the Hulk, but I have a feeling that he's going to start to miss it. Oh, and guess who the main antagonist is? Norman Osborn, of course.

The Amazing Spider-Man #601 - Well, at least this numbering makes sense. Hey! Mary Jane's back! After more than a year of skipping around the issue, the series finally gets around to dealing with what happened to their marriage. Seems like it still "never happened" as a result of the deal with Mephisto, but not much else has changed. According to Peter, they almost got married and lived together for some time. So, all those issues of a married Peter still count if you take out words like "wife" and "husband". Anyway, this has pissed off countless of fans, but I remain in favor of keeping him single. At the same time, Mary Jane's a great character, so it's nice to see her back - and it's good to see that she still SPOILER WARNING knows his secret. And is it just me, but is she acting more like the real Mary Jane in this issue than she has in over a decade? Her speech/thought patterns reminded me more of the Lee/Romita days than anything since I started reading the book.

Astro City: The Dark Age - Book Three #4 of 4 - Crazy-ass-long title. I'm going to sit down and read the whole series in one sitting. This storyline is too complex to do it any other way.

Oh, and not only have I dropped all the Superman books for the time being, but I also dropped Wednesday Comics this week. But haven't I been praising it? Sure have, but when I looked at how much space each issue takes up, I realized that this is going to be better in whatever collected edition they will inevitably put it in. I'm hoping for something remiscent of the tabloid-sized comics from the 70s (like the Star Wars adaptation that many folks from my generation once owned).

I'm looking forward to next week, as the next issue of Blackest Night is due. Here's hoping it lives up to everything that's been set up so far!