Comics Roundup for 11/18/09

Dark Reign - The List: The Amazing Spider-Man - This was a fun issue, and I think that it's the first time that I've ever seen a Kubert draw Spider-Man. It looks pretty good, even though I was expecting Andy, not Adam Kubert for some reason. Hopefully they can get him to draw some more. Anyway, it's good to see that Spidey's playing a major role in this whole "Dark Reign" saga and that Norman Osborn hasn't forgotten who the biggest thorn in his side has been all this time.



Spider-Woman #3 - I think that I'm just picking this up because whenever I flip through it, I'm really impressed with Alex Maleev's art. Storywise? It's not bad, but it's nothing great either. Still, there are enough twists and turns to keep this interesting, but I think that anybody who buys the book hoping to actually see Jessica Drew as, you know, Spider-Woman, is going to be disappointed. I don't think she's worn her costume once.



Batman: Streets of Gotham #6 - I enjoyed the last issue so much that I didn't even notice that it had a guest writer; although I did wonder why suddenly the story was focusing on The Huntress. This issue wraps up that story, and it was a pretty solid read. Chris Yost brought his story to a satisfying conclusion. Not only that, but I'm now caught up with all the "Manhunter" backup stories, and I've been enjoying those as well.

The Flash: REbirth #5 (of 6) - This series is really taking its time coming out, and I thin that I'll need to reread it all in one sitting to give my final impression on how good it is or isn't. I'm really curious as to what the new status quo will be, as the DC Universe sure has a lot of guys who run fast - and only three of them are called The Flash. Maybe some of them need to go into retirement.



The Amazing Spider-Man #612 - Once again I'm disappointed with the art in this book. While this isn't the major crapfest of last issue, it's just not up to the standards that were set in the beginning when the series went thrice monthly. At least it's not a confusing jumbled mess like last issue, but it's pretty wooden. With that said though, I still really enjoyed the issue as it features one of my favorite writers (Mark Waid) and one of my favorite villains (Electro). It also has a setup that I've never seen before, and it does a good job of weaving in some of the current sentiments of this country. (Electro gains the support of the people by going after a rich guy who benefited from a government bailout.)

Dark Avengers #11 - While I don't normally like these "let's see inside your soul!" types of scenarios, this one was pretty good. Basically, Osborn is up against a villain that can control reality, so he's pretty out of his depth. The last panel was pretty good too, and I'm eager to find out how not only this particular arc is resolved but how everything's eventually going to come crumbling down on Osborn.

Adventure Comics #4 - I'm not even going to attempt to explain what happens in this one. Let's just say that it involves all that crazy DC Multiverse mumbo jumbo and the breaking of the fourth wall. If you described that to me, I'd be shocked to find out that I still wound up enjoying this issue though.

Echo #16 - I'm always glad to see this, one of the few non-Marvel/DC comics I pick up, on the stands. Things are definitely getting more interesting, and not only does this reveal new aspects of the supporting cast, but it brings up a lot of new questions about exactly what's happening. (I was going to go into details - just pick up the first trade if you're interested. You won't be disappointed.)