Comics Roundup for 3/23/11

Wow - a lot of really great books this week. Here's what I thought:

FF #1 - Supposedly I've been missing some good stuff when I didn't give Jonathan Hickman's run on the Fantastic Four more than one issue to impress me. I figured that I wouldn't make that mistake again, as this new series is basically the FF - The Human Torch + Spider-Man. This is a pretty good issue that sets up some interesting stuff. Obviously this won't last forever, and Johnny Storm is bound to come back, but it will be interesting while it lasts. Of course, it's always great to see the art of Steve Epting, and I'm interested in seeing interactions between Doctor Doom and Spider-Man.

Captain America #615.1 - Speaking of things that are inevitable, we all know that Steve Rogers is just going to have to be Captain America again. This issue gives us the first hint that we're on the road to just that happening. With Bucky extradited out of the country, and Rogers in his new role, yet another guy steps up as Captain America. Rogers doesn't like that too much, and starts to realize that maybe there really is only one Cap. This was a fantastic issue.

Green Lantern #64 - This was the first part of the "War of the Green Lanterns" storyline that goes through a few different titles. I wonder if it will be like "The Sinestro War" and I can just skip those without really missing anything. Then again, it seems to be a story that only lasts for a month, if I'm reading that ads correctly, so maybe it might be worth it to check out those other titles. Anyway, things continue to build along nicely despite the fact that we're still somewhat fresh off the Blackest Night debacle. Looks like Hal Jordan is once again in trouble with the Guardians of the Universe - can't that guy ever just play by the rules? (That would make for a lame story, actually.)

The Amazing Spider-Man #656 - I actually manage to like that dream-sequence issue from last time even more now, as it has direct consequences in this story. Basically, Peter has decided that "no one dies" anymore, and he means all of New York. What makes it tough is a killer who's killing almost indescriminately and a mayor who wants that killer dead. Oh yeah, and Spidey's also missing his spider-sense. Oh, and Marcos Martin doing art! What's not to like?

Batman: The Dark Knight #2 - Even though it was about a million years ago when the last issue came out, I was pleased as to how easy it was to follow along with what was going on in this issue. David Finch is doing a fine job as a writer, and I feel, just as with last issue, that he really packs a lot of story into one comic. I had forgotten that the intention was to have this title have Batman deal with more of the "magical" world of the DC Universe, and with Etrigan the Demon coming in at the end of the issue, I guess that's certainly going to be the case.

Batman, Inc. #4 - It probably was a good thing that the last issue came out just a few weeks ago, as that story was still relatively fresh in my head. This issue was your usual Grant Morrison wonkiness, but I didn't struggle to figure out who was who. In fact, I like how this one acknowledges the original Batwoman and makes her once again part of the overall mythology. Basically Morrison's intention, ever since taking on the main Batman title several years ago, was to make all of those crazy stories from the 50s and 60s still "count". That's a pretty tough thing to pull off, but it's pretty interesting seeing him try to do it.

Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #5 (of 6) - This series is starting to wind down, and it continues to be a pretty wild ride with all sorts of crazy plot twists. It's definitely entertaining, and I look forward to sitting down and reading all the issues back-to-back.

Comics Roundup for 3/9/11

Batman Incorporated #3 - I think that I've finally discovered what's wrong with Grant Morrison's writing. He does a lousy job of introducing characters and situations. You basically have to figure out who's who and what's going on as though you just walked into a movie about half an hour through. Even with that though, his bold ideas and fun stories make up for it, as it is possible to eventually figure out who's who. I like the superhero from Argentina - dude has a mustache, rides a motorcycle - what's not to like?

Batman and Robin #21 - This issue got off to a slow start, but then it picked up about half way through. Somebody's killing the relatives of Batman's rogues gallery. His M.O. is pretty weird, and it fits in well with the tone that Grant Morrison established at the beginning of this series.

Venom #1 - This was okay, but it felt too heavy on introduction to the concept. I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt like I got all of this intro stuff out of the way in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man. I guess they want to make sure that anybody picking this up can follow along though, and the ending was interesting enough to have me want to check out the next issue. I'm glad that they're still following up on all of the various plot threads about Flash Thompson that have been left dangling over the years.

Green Lantern #63 - I don't have much to say other than that I continue to enjoy this series immensely. Things keep moving along, and I like the bit about how Hal Jordan has become so consumed with being a Green Lantern that he isn't even sure when the last time he took his ring off was. That makes sense considering the events that have been going on in the past few years in this series - I can't ever see him getting much of a break.

The New Avengers #10 - We get to meet the Hella Old Avengers in this issue, as there's a flashback to the first Avengers team that was set up by Nick Fury in the late 1950s. It's kind of interesting to see Sabretooth and Kraven the Hunter on the same team. I'm just not quite sure yet how those flashbacks are going to tie into the main story, but I'm eager to find out.