Comics Roundup for 4/27/11

As usual, the last week of the month had a lot to offer, so I'll try to keep these brief:

The Mighty Thor #1 - I quit reading Thor a while ago, and I didn't bother to pick it up again when Matt Fraction came on board. I figured that this would be a good place to get back on board, especially considering that Olivier Copiel was back on the artistic duties. I have to say though that if Marvel was hoping that this would be a good jumping-on point for new readers who just saw the movie, they didn't handle it quite right. I feel like I've been dumped in the middle of a story, and if I had no idea who Galactus was, I'd be really confused about his appearance. I'll flip through the next issue at the store, but I'm not sure if I'll be getting it.

The Flash #11 - As always, a fun, enjoyable series. Too bad it's coming to an end soon though, huh?

FF #2 - Speaking of being dropped into stories, I'm really regretting not reading Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four run. This is good stuff, don't get me wrong, but I'm not entirely sure why Mr. Fantastic feels the need to restore Doctor Doom's mind. I'm also not sure of why Spider-Man is on the team other than a marketing gimmick.

The Amazing Spider-Man #659 - Actually, Spidey's solo book is putting his membership on the team to better use. This was a fun issue, and I'm glad to see that all those subplots with the Sinister Six are finally going to pay off.

The Avengers #12.1 - Yeah, I'm not the only one who doesn't quite see the point of all these "point one" issues, but so long as they make for a good read, then I don't mind so much. This was all set-up for the next big story arc, and it did a good job of that, I suppose. Bryan Hitch's artwork is looking better than it has been lately.

Venom #2 - Am I the only one who thinks that Tony Moore's art looks better in black and white? Anyway, I suppose I'd keep up with this series if I didn't already feel like I'm buying too much, but there just isn't enough that's interesting to keep me reading this series. It's not bad, but it's not good enough either.

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #9 - I don't mind buying all the extra GL books so long as the story moves along, and that's what happens here. Looks like I'm in it for another month, which is okay with me so long as it's entertaining stuff.

Captain America #617 - Another solid installment with a Steve Rogers: Super Soldier backup instead of some lame Nomad stuff. That's definitely a smart move.

Secret Avengers #12 & #12.1 - Issue twelve marks Ed Brubaker's last issue on the series, and I just know that I'd get some flak for this if I'd post this on the wrong message forum, but I actually liked Nick Spencer's issue a bit better. As I've always said, this has been a fine series, but it's never felt like much of a team book. With Spencer's issue, it finally feels like that without straying from the series concept at all. Too bad he's only going to be around for a few issues, but Warren Ellis will be on board for about six issues after that, so I'll probably stick around for at least that long.

Batman: Detective Comics #876 - This continues to be a great, probably overlooked, series. It does a nice job of focusing on Dick Grayson and how he's different from Bruce Wayne, yet we get to see some actual "Detective" work going on in the series. Still, I'm wondering how Commissioner Gordon hasn't figured out that Dick is the new Batman. Or maybe he knows and he just doesn't want to say anything?

Batman Incorporated #5 - While this issue was enjoyable on its own, I'm realizing that I should probably go back and re-read the entire series, as it hearkened back to some stuff that happened a few issues ago that aren't exactly fresh in my memory.