Comics Roundup for 10/27/10

Captain America #611 - We're gearing up for another intriguing story, as Bucky finally has to deal with the world's reaction to him having once been an assassin for the Commies (albeit he was brainwashed). I'm curious as to how this is all going to end up, not so much based on what went on this issue, but what was mentioned in The Avengers. (I'll get to that later.) Also, it was nice to see Daniel Acuna on the art chores; I hope he'll stick around.

The Avengers #5 - It's a time-travel story, and the Hulk and Tony Stark of the future speak of a fate for Bucky Barnes, and The Hulk says that he "gets what's coming" to him (and also calls him a "son of a bitch".) I wonder what that's all about and if it's going to play out in what's going on in Cap's regular title. Anyway, other than that, this was a solid closer to the first storyarc. Looks like the Red Hulk will be joining next issue. Does that mean that Killraven and Captain Marvel won't be on board?

Steven Rogers: Super Soldier #4 (of 4) - This was a satisfying conclusion to a pretty good miniseries. It also seems to be setting things up for the future, which makes this not feel like a disposable story.

Secret Avengers #5 - This is a good series, but it's not really much of a team book. It's more like an extension of the Captain America regular title. Maybe it should have been called Steve Rogers' Secret Avengers. That way, it's understandable when the other team members aren't in the book.

Kick-Ass 2 #1 - I saw the film recently, and while I was entertained, I ultimately didn't feel like it worked as well as a movie as it did as a comic book. Anyway, this was pretty good, and it takes things to the next logical step. First you get superheroes in a realistic world, now it's time for the superhero team. Should be interesting.

The Amazing Spider-Man #646 - Glad to see that Norman Osborn doesn't get the last laugh, as the child of Menace isn't his but his son's. Hopefully Dan Slott will do something with that when he takes over as the only writer of the series when it goes into the "Big Time" storyarc.

Batman and Robin #15 - The Black Hand has finally outsmarted Batman! Only you can't outsmart Batman, and it looks like Bruce Wayne is back! But how did he return? We don't know. Like most of Grant Morrison's stuff, you have to wait until the story is complete to see how it all works out.

Hellboy/Beasts of Burden: Sacrifice - I had never heard of Beast of Burden before, but I like Hellboy, and the artwork seemed pretty spiffy. Also, I like the gag with the vampire who tries to run away from Hellboy on the first page. Anyway, I enjoyed this, but I don't think that I'll look into any of the regular Beasts of Burden stuff beyond this.

Olympians: Zeus - King of the Gods - I enjoyed the volume with Athena so much that I just had to check this one out as well. I wish that I had a class set of this stuff to teach Greek Mythology. It's certainly a more dynamic way of learning about these stories than that lousy book by Edith Hamilton, which completely sucks the life out of a bunch of exciting stories. George O'Connor stays pretty true to the myths while only taking a few understandable liberties here and there. Also, his artwork is expressive and lively, and I look forward to the next book in this series.