Weekly Crisis Comic Book Reviews for 06/04/08 - Updated

It's New Comic Books Day today and that means another edition of the Weekly Crisis Comic Book Reviews! I feel obligated, despite numerous posts and the regulars probably getting a little tired of hearing about it by now, to mention that the Atomic Robo Vol 1 TPB Giveaway Contest is still open and accepting entries to all residents of Canada and the continental United States. Atomic Robo is a great book and I hope the contest helps build some awareness for it and at least a few people decide to give the title a try when Volume 2 comes out later this summer.

Another thing I'd like to point out to people is the new poll on the right. After a healthy turn out for the very brief, day and a half long Final Crisis #1 test poll, I've updated with a new one for Secret Invasion #3. Like the Final Crisis poll, you can choose between the various verdicts I use in my reviews or opt to say you didn't read the title. I'll post the final Final Crisis #1 results later this week with a fancy little graph for those that missed the final tally.

On the review side of things, this is just a quick batch of reviews and I'm going to be updating in about an hour or two (after the hockey game) with another two or three reviews, so, if you're reading this early, make sure to check back later. And, as always, be back tomorrow for the rest of the week's reviews with my Final Crisis Comic Book Reviews.

Hit the jump for all of the reviews.

UPDATE - Added Manhunter and Detective Comics reviews.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #561
Written by Dan Slott
Art by Marcos Martin

For my Amazing Spider-Man #561 review, see yesterday's advance review.

Verdict - Check It











DETECTIVE COMICS #845
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs

This issue didn't turn out exactly as I had expected. After the previews, I expected Catwoman and Batman to team up, shoot the shit and solve the murder mystery together.

While the Catwoman / Batman meeting was fun and they do touch on Salvation Run (no details given though, wouldn't want to ruin such a "great" story before it comes out), it was mostly just Catwoman getting jealous of his Jezebel Jet and Zatanna romances (it's sad that the Zatanna "romance" subplot is more developed than Jezebel's given what happens in Morrison's title). It's appropriately "catty" and a fun, yet brief, exchange between the two.

Despite my preconceived notions being scattered to the wind, the issue actually turned out extremely well. There's a great done-in-one murder mystery and I loved the "chat room detectives" section where Batman, Bo, the detective chimp from Shadowpact, Riddler and what looked like Oracle and a random person as the anonymous chatroom detectives discussing this murder mystery that has Batman stumped. I'm not positive on Oracle, as she's never referenced and the art is a little weak in that section.

It seems Batman and Bo know each other's aliases on the chatroom and they both know that Riddler is one of the frequent chatroom goers, always feeding off other, supposedly, anonymous users' knowledge to help him solve cases. Nothing really came from this, in terms of the actual case, but it was a fun section and I like seeing the alternative sources for Batman's crusade on crime outside the all-knowing Oracle deus ex that just gives him the information he needs whenever he wants it.

The murder mystery ends up being related to the Riddler's former evil doing days when one of his goons killed a random girl in a restaurant. The surviving husband is seeking revenge and committed the crimes simply to lure out the "star" detective Riddler and succeeds in doing so after a public announcement by Riddler to solve the case.

This leads the killer to sending an anonymous tip to Riddler concerning the case, which he jumps at. Batman tracked down the same killer and learned his identity based on a rather logical train of thought and elegant solution to the case. He realizes Riddler is the target and finds him through a tracking device he planted on Riddler's car to keep tabs on him and his exploits as a "good guy".

Riddler was eventually captured by the killer and Batman, appropriately, saves the day. It's not a clear cut "good guy wins, bad guy loses", though. The killer commits suicide before being captured. Batman leaves the Riddler to free himself from the ropes with the nearby knife, telling him he'd better hurry if he wishes to free himself before the killer's dogs, which Batman knocked out earlier, return in a few minutes. It's a great ending and shows that while Batman puts up with the Riddler's good guy days, he doesn't agree with his methods and attitude and isn't above something as petty as leaving Riddler tied up. That may come back to bite him in the rear if he pushes him too far, but bad guys can't stay good forever, right?

Verdict - Must Read. A great done-in-one that any Batman fan should be able to enjoy. It wasn't what I was expecting when I originally picked up the issue, but it turned out great in the end, so no complaints on this one from me.


JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #16
Written by Geoff Johns and Alex Ross
Art by Dale Eaglesham

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this issue, despite the fact it was basically just a talking heads issue after months of what amounted to filler in my eyes and having the rug pulled out from under us last month (more like a couple weeks wasn't it?) with the non-fight from Alan Scott, in Kingdom Come Green Lantern armour, Obsidian and the fake Gog. As you can guess, I've been less than impressed by the snail's pace Johns has employed on this Thy Kingdom Come arc, as if he was milking it for all its worth.

But this review is about the current issue and my former misgivings have no bearing on how good this issue was, and it was damn good, and the real Gog is one creepy Third World New God. That smile of his gives me the creeps everytime I see it.

He spends the majority of this issue delivering on his promise that he comes in peace, going so far as to cure a village rife with disease from water pollution and, by issue's end, he even restores Damage's disfigured face, another sign of goodwill to one of the more outspoken protestors to the supposedly peaceful Gog.

If you came in expecting head cracking and god slaying or more Kingdom Come references, you'll find very little of that here. I don't think a single puch was thrown this issue outside a flashback to Damage's father. It's very much the talking heads issue I describe it as and my favourite scenes were with Mr Terrific attempting to communicate with Gog and Gog completely ignores him.

Amazing Man steps in, claiming Mr Terrific is a man of science talking to a god and he should let someone with a little more faith speak to him. Mr T is incredulous of the suggestion, but relents and, as if on cue, Gog responds to Amazing Man. They have a few scenes making jokes about Mr Terrific's lack of faith and Gog's responses that were some of the highlights of the issue for me.

Finally, the best part of the issue, for me at least, was the return of Black Adam! He was laying in an open coffin in the Tomb of Isis as some would-be grave robbers came looking for treasure. Adam grabs one by the throat and shouts Shazam. Johns spares us the gruesome death scenes I had grown accustomed to in Black Adam's recent mini-series, but he does go on to try and explain why he gave Mary Marvel his powers, which was an attempt to have her 'change' his powers through her use of them, hopeful they would change in a way to help him revive Isis, knowing full well she would eventually reject them. Unfortunately for him, the powers returned to him unchanged and he's been left in despair.

Verdict - Must Read. Very enjoyable issue and this Gog story has taken a strange twist that has me wanting to find out more. Obviously, this Gog must be faking his goodwill, but why and what's it all leading to, outside the rebirth of Magog? Oh, and did I mention Black Adam was in this? Yeah, that almost makes it a Must Read by itself. The rest is just gravy.


KICK-ASS #3
Written by Mark Millar
Art by John Romita Jr

After the merely average Kick-Ass #2 and the rather hefty delay for this issue, I was just about ready to write this series off as another Mark Millar "all hype, no substance" story and prepare to drop it.

Some may still think of it as all hype and no actual substance, but I thoroughly enjoyed this month's offering and couldn't help but smile like a kid with a new toy at just about every page and then get totally blown away in the final pages as the series takes a drastic shift in tone with the introduction of a new "super hero".

But I'm skipping ahead a bit here. We start this issue off with Dave Lizewski (no offense to Dave, the guy that won the charity auction to have his name immortalized in this comic, but goddamn that's impossible to remember how to spell and I have to look it up every damn time) basking in the glory of his 15 minutes of fame as the real life super hero as a video of his beating of the muggers from last issue spreads across the internet and media like wildfire.

There's a quick hint, early on, of what I assume is the groundwork of Millar's One-Man Event, which he claims will link Kick-Ass, Marvel 1985, Old Man Logan and his Fantastic Four run together. A man named Mister Genovese is informed about the news of this super hero and all he can do is say, "Oh Jesus, not another one.". Whether this relates to that Wyncham character Millar's been hyping up or if there's some other super hero that just hasn't made the news is left unanswered.

When Dave finally suits up again to go on patrol, we find out he's finally taken the name, Kick-Ass, as his super hero identity. He quickly sets out to do some comic book rooftop jumping before finding out, in one of the funnier scenes this week, that buildings are actually spaced out much farther apart than comic books typically show. He hilariously decides to simply walk and ends the scene with the line, "F*** this. I'm walking.". Look for it in the Moments of the Week on Friday.

We then follow Kick-Ass as he walks through the streets, random people cheering and calling out to him and even a girl flashing her breasts at him as they see him. Dave quickly lets us in on his new MySpace page (Sally Floyd must love this guy) and how people have sent him tips and requests for help already. He's on his way to talk to a girl's ex-boyfriend who has been harrassing and calling her all the time.

What he walks into is not the prettiest scene. Expecting the guy to be completely alone, he's seen with his entire gang and, as expected, the shit hits the fan pretty quick as Kick-Ass pepper sprays the guy and his friends all grab him and prepare to tear him a new one.

Just as we expect Dave to end up back in the hospital, the guy gets skewered through the chest from behind by a little girl, in full super hero costume, holding a katana. It was completely unexpected and she even goes on to decapitate one fellow before ending the issue with
a splash page of the girl, covered and dripping with blood, telling the rest of them to bring it on.

Verdict - Must Read. The book has really kicked it up a notch this month and, while it looked like it was going to turn into a generic "real world super hero" story, it's quickly distanced itself from that in the final pages of this issue and I can't wait to see more of this.


MANHUNTER #31
Written by Marc Andreyko
Art by Michael Gaydos

While I haven't exactly been a longtime fan of Manhunter, I make up for it with enthusiasm. Manhunter is easily one of the best DC titles on the market and I'm sure longtime fans have been eagerly awaiting this issue, which marks the return from a lengthy hiatus for the title.

You can read my review of the first two tradepaper backs if you want to know what I thought of the opening arc or to get acclimated with the book if you opted not to pick it up right away, but there's a nice two page recap that fills in all the pertinent information for new and old fans alike. I literally just finished reading the last of the trades for the book last night, so it was of little use for me, but it gets the job done and you shouldn't let the scary #31 act as a barrier to picking up a great series like this one.

For reference, I rank this title up with my love for Blue Beetle, Catwoman, Immortal Iron Fist, Captain America and so on. The series is that damn good and I implore you to take a chance on this issue if you can spare $3 this week. Enough gushing, let's start with the actual review.

As I said, we start off with a quick two page recap of the last thirty issues of Manhunter. It's short and sweet and is an excellent refresher and / or primer for the readers after the hiatus. I'll start off by talking about the new artist, Michael Gaydos. To be frank, I haven't really enjoyed his work since Alias ended and I'm not sure if there are multiple inkers on this issue or not, but it varies from Alias good to bad alla the recent New Avengers issue he did. It's not a bad fit, stylewise, for the book, but the consistency is a bit off and I'm hoping they can fix that in the future, whether it is the inkers fault or if he was rushed or what have you.

As befitting of a soft relaunch, our story is a bit of a new meets old. We get introductions to the main character and her supporting cast, told what her job is, the problems she's put up with relating to her father and other Manhunter-related issues and, for the new, we start a new storyline that's pretty much unrelated to what came before in the form of a murder mystery at the Mexican border. There's also a short fight with the Atomic Skull early in the issue that acts as a shot of adrenaline to the plot to get the blood pumping and shows us Manhunter in action for the uninitiated.

One scene, in particular, that stood out for me was with Kate Spencer's defacto tech guy, Dylan Battles. He's currently dating Cameron Chase, an old 90's character you may or may not remember. While talking on the phone, Dylan notices a package was dropped on his doorstep and jokes about it being a gift from Chase. She denies it and, after opening it, he lets out a scream as the box ends up being a jack-in-the-box. Nothing worth screaming over, right? Well, this one is from the Joker and has a severed head for the "jack" and a picture of Joker and Dylan from when he used to be a goon for hire for super villains and a thoughtful "miss you" card from Mr. J. Not something one would want to receive and a nice subplot to look forward to in the future.

The final major development in this issue comes with the trip to the Mexican border to find a missing girl for Kate's assistant at her law office. After finding a pile of dead bodies and severed human body parts, Kate realizes this simple kidnapping is far more serious than she first thought. Before she can do anything about it, though, there's some blue coloured targetting screens on her and text boxes assessing the threat. I immediately though, "No way, it can't be.", but, yes, Andreyko has managed to blend not one, but two of my favourite characters into one book. Yes, Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle, shows up at the end of this issue in a nerdgasm of a cliffhanger.

Verdict - Must Read. All in all, it's a great return and there's elements of what came before and enough new stuff to make this "first" issue great for new and returning readers. Add the Blue Beetle to the mix and this kicks off a great return for Manhunter and is a definite must read for anyone interested in good comics.


NOVA #14
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art by Wellinton Alves

This has to be the best issue of the Nova series to date. Alves has managed to draw the absolute best rendition of Galactus that I have ever seen (I love the space / cosmos-like effects in the cracks in his armour and surrounding him. He looks like a cosmic entity and something that would be the death of your world instead of a giant man in a purple suit) and the battle with the Silver Surfer was as spectacular as you'd expect. On top of that, Abnett and Lanning manage to finish up the exodus of the planet and leave us with a jaw dropping conclusion that has me dying to be back here next month for the follow up.

Last month, we ended with Nova attempting to ask for a stay of execution, if only for a few hours, for the planet so they population could fix their ship engines and get the hell out of dodge. Galactus didn't even acknowledge Nova and we were left with an amazing shot of the Surfer dragging Nova off with his hand at his throat.

Picking up right where we left off, Nova is left scrambling trying to figure out what the hell is going on as he is up against, and seriously outclassed by, the Silver Surfer. The Surfer refuses to answer any of Nova's plees to stop and just opens up on Nova. Nova eventually makes his way to Galactus' location in hopes the Surfer will stop fighting if they are too close to his master and, unfortunately for Nova, it doesn't work as the Surfer just latches onto him and flies him down to the planet's surface.

Thankfully, the Surfer hasn't complete lost it and he actually brought him down to the planet to be out of earshot of Galactus. He gets right to business and asks Nova what he wants and, after listening to his plee, especially after hearing he doesn't want him to stop and only to give them a few hours to fix their ship engines, the Surfer blinks and, with the aid of the Power Cosmic, instantly fixes their ships and sternly tells Nova to leave now or face the consequences.

Nova and the World Mind have some great dialogue during this whole sequence of events and DnA have a great handle on their dynamic and, especially, on the Surfer's new role and personality as the herald of Galactus, unlike a certain Black Panther arm-locking Fantastic Four issue I won't mention.

With things relatively good to go, Nova goes to claim Harrow, the pyschic entity he captured last issue, from his holding cell and transport him away for trial. Unfortunately, Harrow escaped last issue and has slaughtered all the people looking after him while Nova was away. Nova, unwilling to let that monster go free and against the World Mind's urging to leave before the planet explodes and they are unable to escape, goes after the escaped creature and finds it slaughtering the last of the evacuees as they make their way to the final ship.

Nova attempts to capture Harrow in another gravity field, but it has learned to adjust to them and escapes with ease and continues its killings. Nova holds him while the last of the refugees escape and the ship takes off, but not before the ship's engines fry Harrow's current host, and most likely Harrow, itself, and knocks out Nova with the blast.

We end the issue with Nova awakening to World Mind's warnings as Galactus decends on the planet. Nova is informed they cannot leave or create any kind of gravimetric field with the electromagnetic interference and that they are trapped on the doomed world.

Verdict - Must Read. The Silver Surfer fight delivered and we got to see some heroic action from Nova as he helps the last of the refugees escape and "sacrifices" so they can escape as he holds Harrow back. The last two issues have been the best of the series, if you ask me, and Nova remains one of the best books, month in and month out. A must read for everyone.



SECRET INVASION #3
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Leinil Francis Yu

After a lackluster and generic fight in the Savage Land last issue (oh looky here, a t-rex showed up!), we're treated to a no holds barred look at the Skrull invasion in downtown New York as well as reactions from the remaining heroes around the country. If you're looking for action, this issue is very similar to the previous two issues in that it's got a lot of it, but none of it really matters all that much.

The issue actually started off with a trip to the Bermuda Triangle, where the downed SHIELD Helicarrier, which was recently seen above New York, sparking the question of how the hell it crashed there in the first place, is currently afloat in the middle of the ocean.

Maria Hill mirrors my sentiments when she makes note of the absurdity of the helicarrier falling "out of the sky every other Thursday" and the remaining SHIELD members begin doing a head count on the wounded and initiating repairs while Hill heads topside to see where they are and what's going on. There she finds none other than Jarvis, the intrepid butler, and current Skrull agent, asking for their unconditional surrender. There are no other Skrulls and he doesn't talk about Skrulls or clarify that he isn't really Jarvis, which makes me wonder if he's trying to frame the Avengers here or if there just wasn't enough time to show the rest of the scene.

After the rather slow start, we jump right into action with Captain Marvel's attack on Thunderbolt Mountain. It's a short fight and all we see is Venom flying out of the mountain and the rest of the team already defeated as Norman Osborn attempts to sit down and have a nice chat with Marvel.

In the last of the setup pages, we get the sitrep for anyone that missed the first two issues from the Avengers: The Initiative team. They tell us of the invasion in New York, Starknet going down and the heroes disappearance before Hank Pym, who is a Skrull, tells them they have to take all the untrained recruits and head to New York to try and stop them now.

Queue fight scenes. The Super Skrulls that were warped in at the end of last issue are tearing downtown New York apart and killing everyone in sight with only the Young Avengers team trying to stop them. Thankfully, the Initiative shows up in time, heralded by an awesome scene of Gauntlet punching a hole in the Giant Man Skrull's head.

We get one last interlude that features Spider-Woman, who is the Skrull Queen, attacking and, apparently, killing Echo in the Savage Land and then confronting Iron Man and congratulating him on his excellent service to the empire and telling him that he has served his Queen and their people admirably and will go down as the Skrull's greatest hero. She implies the Skrulls engineered Civil War and set up this Skrull Iron Man as the most powerful man on Earth to further their cause. Tony can only deny it over and over as the scene fades out.

From here, we get several pages of back and forth action that culminates with the Skrulls unleashing some kind of ray that incapacitates all of assembled heroes, locking them in place, as the Skrulls proceed to blow the Vision's head off and kill Proton, who I am unfamiliar with and assume is just Random Initiative Recruit #1083.

The issue ends with a Rob Liefeld inspired shot of Nick Fury and his new Howling Commandos crying havok and letting slip the dogs of war in a confusing scene with some weird special affects to simulate an earthquake in downtown New York, caused by special agent Daisy, and then the Skrull holding all the heroes in place spontaneously exploding, either caused by Daisy's micro-earthquake inside its body or Nick Fury's 10 foot tall gun blowing him apart. It was really difficult to tell what happened there, but it was another dramatic cliffhanger for this title.

Verdict - Must Read. Personally, I didn't care for it all that much and found the action rather stilted and all the danger and excitement felt manufactured. Nothing felt all that real. However, this entire event just isn't gelling with me and I can recognize that this has all the trappings of a great comic and should be at least treated as such. It was definitely better than the first two issues, in my opinion, and I think most will see this as a Must Read. However, if you share my opinion on Secret Invasion, this is probably a Check It at best.

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