MONDOmagazine

Amazing Spider-Man #606
Joe Kelly (w), Mike McKone (p), Andy Lanning (i), Marvel Comics

Oh, good. Another Spider-Man comic with a cover so gross I feel embarrassed to read it on the subway. Thank you, J. Scott Campbell for reinforcing negative stereotypes about comics. After a great few issues written by Fred VanLente we’re back to the middle-of-the-road stuff here. It’s not bad, the scene where Spidey is pissed about all the girls in his life getting mad at him and he takes it out on a mugger was fun, but the stuff with Black Cat didn’t grab me. Plus, one of my big pet-peeves took place in this issue: please don’t turn the last page of a comic into the cover (see Fables #88). It really ruins the climax of the book. — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 2.5 out of 5 (it would be a 3, but I’m docking a half point for that cover)
Miles’ rating: 3 out of 5
Isaac’s rating: 2.5 out of 5

Blackest Night: Superman #2
Check out the full review of this comic in our Crossover Corner below.

Dark Reign: The List – X-Men #1
Matt Fraction (w), Alan Davis (p), Mark Farmer (i), Nathan Fairbairn (c). Marvel Comics.

Warning: apparently Miles is grumpy this week and hates everything, you’ll see a trend in the following reviews. This is the lesser of Matt Fraction’s X-Men comics this week. It’s not that bad, but it’s saved in great part by Alan Davis’ always amazing artwork. Norman Osborne decides to get a little payback on Namor and does so by exploiting long-forgotten continuity. The best part is the fight scene, the worst part is the extremely abrupt ending. It’s a hard one to rate. As a really cool bonus they include Matt Fraction’s first work at Marvel, a Wolverine story drawn by Sam Kieth. How cool must that been for him, “oh, yeah, I just got a little job at Marvel and it’s drawn by Sam ‘motherfucking maker of Maxx and Sandman’ Kieth.” — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 2.5 out of 5

Dark X-Men: The Confession #1
Craig Kyle & Chris Yost (w), Bing Cansino (p), Roland Paris (i), Edgar Delado with Brian Reber (c). Marvel Comics

This was like standing in line behind a couple saying “no, I love you more” for hours. Not only are you standing in line, bored out of your skull, you have to deal with this saccharine shit. It’s kinda precious at first but the longer it goes on the more you want to strangle everyone involved. I can now, officially, call Yost and Kyle “hit or miss” writers. I like a lot of thier work but I read a couple of real stinkers by them recently. Messiah War was a disaster and this is, maybe, the worst X-Men comic since the 90s. Oh, except maybe some of Loeb’s stuff that I didn’t read. Yeah, this is Loeb bad. Basically, Cyclops and Emma Frost give you a recap of all the shady stuff they’ve done lately, and then spend several pages explaining to each other in awkwardly put together sentences how much they love each other. As a fan of Emma Frost, I’m fucking pissed at this comic. She’s a strong and independent woman, usually, but for some reason they have her spouting out the most cliche, resolution-of-a-romantic-comedy bullshit like “Through all of this… everything I’ve done.. my biggest fear was losing you.” Barf. — Miles Baker

Miles rating: 0.5 out of 5

Detective Comics #857
Greg Rucka (w), J.H. Williams III (a), Dave Stewart (c). DC Comics.

There is a simplicity to Greg Rucka’s writing that has been working really well with the debut of Batwoman. This final installment of the 4-part arc called  “Elegy” has me holding onto the pages wanting for more. Rucka’s been great at giving Kate a personality unlike other female superheroes and really makes the effort to make her stand out as a strong character. There is little I can say about J.H. Williams’ art besides that it is absolutely gorgeous. The dynamic page use moves the story along at a great pace, although I must say I’ve don’t think I’ve ever comes across an issue that was composed of so many two-page spreads. I also have to give Dave Stewart a nod for his colouring. Without great colouring, I’m sure even Williams pencils wouldn’t be able to quite make the same impression. — Sandra Yao

Sandra’s rating: 4.5 out of 5
Miles’ rating: 4.5 out of

Fantastic Four #571
Jonathan Hickman (w), Dale Eaglesham (p), (i), Marvel Comics

Jonathan Hickman is Marvel’s next superstar in the making. That much is clear. Matt Fraction and Jason Aaron will have to make room at their table, because Fantastic Four has shown that Hickman is a force to be reckoned with. Of course, he has help. Eaglesham’s art is fantastic. His character work is compelling, his details are fascinating and the stylistic touches really pop. With this issue the mysterious group setting out to “solve everything” is fleshed out a little more as Reed sees their good and bad sides and then has to make a decision about whether or not to join them. Oh, and the Richards family plans Franklin’s birthday party. Great book, best of the week. — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 4 out of 5

Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #5
Joe Casey (w), Eduardo Pansica (p), Sandro Ribeiro (i), Snakebite (c). DC Comics.

If this comic made sense, it would be laid out in a different sequence. I really like the line “You’ve got the wrong idea about hypocrisy, old man, some of us revel in it.” It fits these guys perfectly, but then the moment is ruined by the interior monologue twitter account that I used to enjoy before it became really overused. Well-Spoken Sonic Lightning Flash mentions the Flash by his secret identity, something which is a secret, and that he wouldn’t know, and all of a sudden I hate this book. One more issue for things to get together. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 2.5 out of 5

The Incredible Hercules #135
Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (w), Rodney Buchemi (a), Guru-EFX & Emily Warren (c). Marvel Comics.

So maybe I hopped onto this series at a not so good part. I spent a lot of the issue confused and trying to understand what was going on. What I have gathered is that Cho and Pythagoras are existing simultaneously in different realities. Pythagoras creates realities in which, no matter what Cho does, he dies. Nevertheless through a long explanations of quantum mumbo jumbo, Cho is able to figure out that he can think beyond the rules of Pythagoras as find the truth. Despite the confusion, I still really liked the issue. Mostly because it takes me back to the long nights spent with my friends playing paper and pen RPGs. The story definitely has its moments and the art does a great job of complimenting it. Now excuse me as I go and search for a D12, I have a sudden urge to play Dungeons and Dragons. — Sandra Yao

Sandra’s rating: 4 out of 5
Owen’s rating: 4 out of 5

The Muppet Show: The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #3
Roger Langridge (w), Roger Langridge (a), Boom Studios

While this issue didn’t have any awesome penguins like last issue this was still good stuff. I wouldn’t say I found it as laugh-out-loud funny as some other issues, but there was enough stuff in there that I enjoyed that I’ll be back for the next issue. Favourite things this issue: the back story of Peg Leg Wilson and the Gilbert & Sullivan sequence. — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 3 out of 5

New Avengers #57
Brian Michael Bendis (w), Stuart Immonen (p), Wade von Grawbadger (i), Dave McCaig (c). Marvel Comics.

I’m not one to usually talk colours, but McCaig makes some really odd choices in this issue. Some of them are awesome, totally awesome, but there’s an establishing shot that is supposed to be night (as we picked up from last issue’s cliffhanger) but comes off as Mad Max at sundown. A few pages later he remembers it’s night and colours it accordingly, but it’s more than a little odd. As for the comic, I don’t know. At least the New Avengers don’t watch TV this episode. — Miles Baker

Miles rating: 2.5 out of 5

Nova #29
Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning (w), Kevin Sharpe (p), Nelson Pereira (i), Bruno Hang (c). Marvel Comics.

New uniforms! Well, okay, just a colour change for the new recruits from blue to red, it helps keep Nova distinguished from everyone else, but it’s weird, I kept waiting on that one throwaway line about why they made the change (I apologize if it happened last issue and I’m just forgetting). Those kinds of lines, explaining something completely obvious that we the reader could easily figure out for ourselves — I always groan when they arrive, but I find myself missing it when it’s skipped over here. Yup, quite an aesthetic I’ve got here. Speaking of my aesthetic, even I’m not a fan of the purple-blue-striped monstrosity that is the outfit of “Monark Starstalker”. Weird, seems like the kind of thing I’d like. Then again, he’s a snotty bounty hunter jerk. I hate how bounty hunters are foisted on us as the epitome of cool. Boba Fett notwithstanding, bounty hunters aren’t intrinsically cool. Or, to put it another way, “Bounty hunters — we don’t need those scum.” — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3.5 out of 5

Power Girl #5
Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (w), Amanda Conner (a), DC Comics

As a comics reader who tends to follow writers much more than he follows artists, I’ve always wondered what it would take for me to buy a book just for the art. The answer, apparently, is Amanda Conner. This is not to imply that Palmiotti and Gray aren’t doing good work here, it’s certainly intriguing, I’m just finding it hard to really dig into. An issue after three alien girls land I have no idea who they are, what they want or why I should be interested in them. I’m probably being impatient and I’m sure all will be revealed next issue, I just can’t say that I’m eagerly anticipating it. Rest assured, though, that as long as Conner is there next issue I will be, too. — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 3 out of 5

Sonic Universe #8
Ian Flynn (w), Tracy Yardley (p), Jim Amash (i), Jason Jensen (c). Archie Comics.

The final issue of the “30 years in the possible future” storyline and there’s very little focus for my taste. We get a lot alluded to about the potential in these characters, but we’re given nothing substantial for any of the issue. Maybe the focus is on King Sonic? He’s running up to save the day against a monster similar to the final boss of the Sonic Adventure 1 game (which was awesome) but, oh, no he gets smacked aside and a second later his two annoying kids zip up and cherry pick the winning shot. Where’d that come from? There are a couple points raised about the paradox’s of time travel, and it’s good that the writer addresses that fact instead of letting the fans write in and complain about such and such a thing — but if you’re already aware of these problems, maybe an explanation a little better (and less cutesy) than, “wow, time travel’s crazy, amiright?” — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5

Spider-Woman #1
Brian Michael Bendis (w), Alex Maleev (a). Marvel Comics.

Well, I finally did see the motion comic at Fan Expo, as well as for free on marvel.com. It’s alright, not as bad as I feared not as good as I hoped. After reading this the work clearly works better as a comic. The art works better still and timeless than with some moving backgrounds and temporal limitations. What this does enforce is that there are many inherent problems with the material, regardless of the form it’s in. The Jessica’s captions are overdramatic and seemingly out of character. She sounds more like a crappy Jessica Jones than Jessica Drew. I just don’t buy that a half britsh half hydra terrorist spy would say or be worried about cooties or make a Goodfellas reference. When would she have had time to watch Goodfellas? — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 3.5 out of 5

Uncanny X-Men #515
Matt Fraction (w), Greg Land (p), Jay Leisten (i), Marvel Comics

Another Greg Land issue? Nooooo! Much like Amanda Conner can make otherwise bland comics quite fun to read, Greg Land can suck the goodness out of even the awesomest of writers’ work. Maybe this was a great Matt Fraction script, but it’s hard to tell under all of Land’s plastic-y, big-chested mannequins. Another comic this week that I was hoping nobody would see me read. Thanks, Land. – Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 2 out of 5
Miles’ rating: 4.5 out of 5

Underground #1
Jeff Parker (w), Steve Lieber (a), Ron Chan (c). Image Comics.

This comic is a victim of my high expectations. It’s good, and the score will address that, but I was expecting the greatest comic ever crafted. The biggest problem I have is that, with the set up, I feel like I’ve read this story before: Hero activist is up against big development and big dollars, just as something criminal happens that will eventually reveal to be related to big development, good will triumph. However, the details are great. Parker introduces some great characters, especially his heroine who is the right mix of confident and not-confident. Lieber’s art turns in some really amazing pages, especially the dream sequence that opens the issue. Go forth, and buy something new. — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 4 out of 5

Crossover Corner

Blackest Night: Superman #2
James Robinson (w), Eddy Barrows (p), Ruy Jose, Julio Ferreira (i), Rod Reis (c). DC Comics.

Some really iffy art moments in this book, but I’m negatively predisposed to Barrows for some of his Titans work, so I’m not really an objective observer on this one. The first page is a silly intro to some citizens of Smallville that we’ll see later, but with only this one page of introduction it doesn’t accomplish anything, while also having a serious blunder in the “word bubbles connected to correct mouths” department. The whole issue would have been much better without this page. The addition of the reanimated Psycho Pirate is a really clever idea for all the Blackest Night stuff; he could actually be a major character throughout the series. Whether or not that gets capitalized on, at least his showing up in the Superman book is good in that it’s the book with the most other Crisis on Infinite Earths characters so far, so it can mean something when these characters interact. Ma Kent is getting ready to throw down with Black Lantern Earth 2 Lois Lane, so place your bets people. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5. Crossover rating: Take it or leave it