Comics Roundup for 5/19/10

I'm going to start this one off with the title that I was looking forward to the most:

Avengers #1 - One thing that I was concerned about with this new series was that we were going to get a long build-up before the new team was established, and that wouldn't finally be in place until issue number four or five. Well, it only took up until page eight to see the new team assembled. It's part classic Avengers with Captain America (albeit the Bucky Cap), Thor, Hawkeye, and Iron Man and part New Avengers with Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, and Wolverine. By this point, it makes sense to have guys like Spidey and Wolverine on the team, considering everything that went down in the last series. Unlike New Avengers, this also felt more like a classic superhero story, and I mean that in the good sense. We have Kang, time travel, and something involving what looks like The Maestro (a future version of The Hulk). There were also some neat team dynamic bits, and I hope that we continue to get a good mixture of all that in the issues to come. Oh, and it's good to see that Steve Rogers, although not in his Captain America gear, is having a huge part to play in this series. In fact, it makes even more sense now why he's not wearing the uniform, and I'm quite content to keep the Bucky Cap for the time being.

The Invincible Iron Man #26 - There's not much to say about this issue, as it's mainly just setting things up for a new storyline. Still, I can say that I find the character's current predicament to be pretty interesting. Basically, Tony Stark has rocketed to the top and gone crashing down to the bottom. He's on his way back up now, and there are a lot of interesting dramatic possibilities.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #12 - I was a little disappointed at first with this story's direction. Basically, it involves a former Mad Hatter henchmen about whom I don't really care. However, I quickly found myself getting into it as it has all sorts of neat twists and turns. Also, there's just enough Batman in it to show that Dick Grayson is filling the cowl rather nicely.

Brightest Day #2 - Even though none of the characters on which this issue focused I could call one of my favorites, there sure were a lot of interesting bits with Firestorm, the Martian Manhunter, and Hawkman. I'm hoping that the next issue will get a little bit more into Aquaman and why he's only able to talk to dead sea creatures now.

Kill Shakespeare #2 - Meh. I loved the idea of this, but I think I'm done. I'm buying too much stuff, and there are a lot of interesting new series coming out, so I don't want to waste my time with something like this. The thing is, maybe I'm just some kind of Shakespeare nerd, but Hamlet just doesn't feel like the Hamlet that I know. I suppose my first sign of this was when in the last issue he was still palling around with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Keep in mind that this was after he had been banished to England, which is right around the time when (in the play) he had no problem sending them to their death, claiming that "They are not near my conscience." This issue has Iago, and he's just a generic villain here. Plus, I have a bad feeling about what they're going to do with Juliet. Yeah, this is probably an about-face from my enthusiasm after reading the first issue, but I think that I was more in love with the idea of the whole thing. Now that it, and a second issue, have sunk in, I think I've lost interest. I'd rather see this artist do a straight-ahead adaptation of one of Shakespeare's works.

Zatanna #1 - Here's a good reason to support a series starring Zatanna: If she gets popular enough, they'll have to make a movie with her. And if they make a movie, they'll have to find an actress who looks like her, and they'll put her in that costume. Nah, that's not really the reason why I bought this, but it sure doesn't hurt. I bought it because Paul Dini is writing it. So far, I like what I've read. Magical characters are tricky, as they have to be able to do some amazing things, but they can't be seen as being able to get out of any given situation or you don't feel like there's any threat. So far, so good.

The Astounding Wolf-Man #23 - Blah blah...fun issue...blah blah...too bad the series is ending...blah blah...wonder where this is all going...blah blah...nothing new to say...blah blah...still really like it...