MONDOmagazine

Amazing Spider-Man #615
Fred Van Lente (w), Javier Pulido (a), Javier Rodriguez (c). Marvel Comics.

This is a great issue — the beginning has a cool little mystery with some super-powered CSI, as well as the perfect voice for both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Two voices which are, of course, pretty important to my enjoying of the book. In fact, the last time I was this satisfied with the dialogue fitting with the characters feels like the Spider-Man vs. Shocker two parter that introduced Jonah Jameson Senior. Spidey’s got a web hang glider made out of the teeny thread like webs — my favourite! If that doesn’t please you, there’s a veritable snowman army, which will conjure pleasant remembrances of Calvin and Hobbes. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 4.5 out of 5

Astonishing X-Men # 33
Warren Ellis (w), Phil Jimenez (p), Andy Lanning (i), Frank D’Amata (c). Marvel Comics.

I would like to take back my critique of last issue. Well, just the part about how the timing of the issue makes it irrelevant. That’s not a valid complaint. I should be reviewing the comic in front of me and how well it’s doing whatever it’s trying to do. So, Mr. Ellis, I’m sorry, that was wrong of me. So, how is this comic? You know, it’s fine. The art is the winning factor in this book. With the exception of one panel where Jimenez and Lanning totally miss the intended expression — like they miss it so bad it’s comical — the art is flawless. I just wish the writing had more to it. A lot of the elements are things that other X-Men books are — or have — done in recent years, so the ideas don’t come off as fresh even if they have that signature Ellis insanity to them. And Cyclops blasting a large object on his lawn? Yeah, I saw that in this same book when it was better and Joss Whedon was writing it. I said that I wanted to review this book based on what it’s trying to do — and I think that’s the problem with this title now. Ellis doesn’t have anything he wants to with the X-Men. It’s just an adventure he could have written in Planetary or Authority or Fantastic Four or whatever else he’s done. All he wants to do is collect the pay cheque. — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 2.5 out of 5

Batman: Streets of Gotham #7
Paul Dini, Marc Andreyko (w), Dustin Nguyen, Cliff Richards (p), Derek Fridolfs, Art Thibert (i), John Kalisz, Nick Filardi (c). DC Comics.

The Batman story is classic stuff courtesy of Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen, probably my favourite Bat-creative team when they’re at the top of their game. Like right in this issue. The Manhunter backup was okay — I thought it was beautifully drawn, but the very last page has Batman and Robin show up incredibly off model. Yes, off model as to what their costumes should look like, but also off when compared to human anatomy. I didn’t realize Robin was the son of a hunchback and the Elephant Man, but there it is. Learn something new every day. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5

Brave and the Bold #30
J. Michael Straczynski (w), Jesus Saiz (a), Brian Miller (c). DC Comics.

This comic follows the events immediately following Justice League International #7, which has to be a twenty year old comic by now, and that is awesome to me. Could Straczynski be using continuity in his stories now? I’m far too harsh on him, it’s just that whole Gwen Stacy out of “Sin’s Past” thing… okay, no I’m not harsh enough. Anyways — the pairing of Dr. Fate and Green Lantern was built for the fate versus free will thing, and although it’s pretty forced, some touching moments come across. It’s different, but I’m really enjoying this run on Brave and the Bold. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5

Captain America: Reborn #5
Ed Brubaker (w), Bryan Hitch (p), Butch Guice (i), Marvel Comics

You know, I don’t want to give off the impression that I don’t like Ed Brubaker (because I do), but I wonder if all the (justified) praise he has received for his Captain America run has gone to his head. I simply don’t understand why we needed four issues of Steve Rogers trapped in time. Of course a sixth issue had to be added on to this miniseries! Here we are at the fifth issue, after four issues of treading water, and just now are we getting to the meat of this story! I can’t help but be frustrated with a comic like this: one that is quite good, but wasted so much time in getting here. So yeah, I liked this issue on its own merits, I’ve just been frustrated with this miniseries as a whole.  – Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 3.5 out of 5

Daredevil #503
Andy Diggle (w), Roberto De La Torre & Marco Checchetto (a), Matt Hollingsworth (c). Marvel Comics.

Oh Daredevil, how empty my life feels without your gloomy presence. Hell’s Kitchen is in shambles. The line between the good and bad guys are blurred and even Daredevil is having a hard time figuring out why. Even without him in their lives, Foggy and Dakota are still feeling the consequences of Daredevil’s actions. I’m really starting to get into the groove of Diggle’s writing and the loss of Brubaker doesn’t seem to be as great anymore. He’s taking Daredevil to new places and I’m curious to see what it’ll reveal. —Sandra Yao

Sandra’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Dark Avengers #12
Brian Michael Bendis (w), Mike Deodato and Greg Horn (a), Marvel Comics

I don’t feel like repeating my thoughts about this title right now, so instead I want to voice a concern I have. What is going to happen to Dark Avengers is over? I imagine it’s either going to get a massive overhaul in concept, get cancelled or get handed over to a lower-profile team and eventually fade out of existence. Personally, I hope they just end the title with a satisfying wrap-up, I always find it awkward when an event spin-off comic lives past its purpose (see Avengers: The Initiative). So yeah, another issue I very much liked. — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 4 out of 5

Green Lantern Corps #43
Check out the review in the crossover corner

Incorruptible #1
Mark Waid (w), Jean Diaz (a). BOOM! Studios.

Max Damage is a man a mission, on a mission for good. Once a feared criminal, the Plutonian’s recent flip to the dark side has Max wondering if the path he was on was the right one. I like the concept. The idea of having a criminal gone good doesn’t surprise me, but it certainly works in tandem with the storyline from Irredeemable. I mean, it adds another dimension to the story and lets us see how the crime world was affected from the addition of one of the most powerful people on earth to their side. This first issue didn’t blow me away, but it certainly has me hoping to see more happen. — Sandra Yao

Sandra’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Justice League of America #40
James Robinson (w), Mark Bagley (p), Rob Hunter (i), DC Comics

I kind of hate myself for buying this. At this point James Robinson is running out of the massive amount of goodwill he has earned with me for writing one of my favourite comics of all time. I’m hoping that he can turn this book around with his planned overhaul next month, but it’s hard to keep the faith. It breaks my heart to see Robinson fall into the trap of lazy characterization (Dr. Light sure does love to rape). James Robinson… the guy that created Jack Knight… if you need me I’ll be crying in the corner. — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 2 out of 5

The Marvelous Land of Oz #2 (of 8)
Eric Shanower (w), Skottie Young (a), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (c). Marvel Comics.

My sentiments about this comic book are the same as last week. It hurts my heart to read it because it’s so cute. The story is written in a very whimsical style and the art just matches it perfectly. Continuing on his adventure, Tip finds a way to bring life a wooden horse thus adding another companion to their group. He’s a great addition to the traveling group and his simple mindset has me falling in love. Due to some miscommunication, Tip is lost on their way to Emerald City and Pumpkinhead is left alone to face Scarecrow. The interaction between these two characters is just so well written and thought out. I couldn’t help but chuckle the whole way through. I adore it, absolutely adore it. — Sandra Yao

Sandra’a Rating: 4 out of 5

The Mighty Avengers # 32
Dan Slott (w), Khoi Pham (p), Craig Yeung (i), John Rauch (c). Marvel Comics.

Woah, Dan Slott is tying together every element of the Marvel universe into one book and making it look easy. He brought in elements of his The List: Spider-Man issue, Fraction’s Utopia crossover, and Bendis’ Siege The Cabal and all builds it all nicely into his story so that it doesn’t miss a beat — all this while he’s setting up Marvel’s next crossover. He’s getting it all to make sense in the smaller and larger contexts of the Marvel universe. And, what’s better is that you don’t even need a recap for this stuff. If this was the first Marvel comic you ever bought you would be able to understand enough to enjoy the story and be interested in reading about the other stuff regardless if it was any good or not. The only thing not working for me on this issue is Pham’s artwork. I’ve complained about it before, but this was not a good issue for him. He even had two months to get it done and it still looks incredibly rushed at the end. On the last page Ms. Marvel and Cassie Lang have the same face in the same panel. It’s dreadful. He’s killing my buzz. — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 3.5 out of 5

Nomad Girl Without a World #4
Sean McKeever (w), David Baldeon (a), Chris Sotomayor (c). Marvel Comics.

After being capture and taken advantage of, Nomad, with the help of Young Avengers, is back to kick some ass and take some names. This certainly an action-packed issue, but it isn’t anything too special. It helps to tie up some of the lose ends in the story and deals with some of the characters that could have proved to be trouble some in the future. But it leaves Nomad in a position to be able to fully integrate herself into the current Marvel universe. This was a series that was about a girl trying to find herself a place in this environment and in the end, she does. — Sandra Yao

Sandra’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Power Girl #7
Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (w), Amanda Conner (a), DC Comics

The creative team on this comic has a great sense of humour. Sometimes that’s evident in the art (such as the wonderfully expressive faces on Amanda Conner’s characters), sometimes it’s evident in the story (such as Power Girl taking Terra to her first scary movie a few issues ago) and in the case of this issue it’s in the characterization. Vartox is a man from another planet who decides that Power Girl is his ideal mate and comes to Earth to woo her, with hilarious (and maybe dangerous?) results. If that plot sounds like fun to you then you should buy this book, because it’s exactly as awesome as it sounds. — Owen Craig.

Owen’s rating: 3.5 out of 5

Spider-Man: The Clone Saga #4
Tom DeFalco, Howard Mackie (w), Todd Nauck (p), Victor Olazaba (i), Javier Tartaglia (c). Marvel Comics.

What is this, 1995? The tribulations of a rookie Spider-Man against an experienced Dr. Octopus… okay, that didn’t exactly happen in 1995, but the tone was ever present — this is a Spidey at a huge disadvantage, who has to live up to a legacy of awesomeness. It’s very satisfying when this Spidey wins out, but you guys know that. There are a couple rough spots with Naucks pencils, something I’ve been worried about since he started the series — but that said it isn’t as bad as all that, and Naucks excellent work the first three issues has earned him a bit of a reprieve. Just keep it together man; you’ve only got two more issues to go! — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 4 out of 5

Supergirl #48
Sterling Gates (w), Fernando Dagnino (p), Raúl Fernandez (i), DC Comics

One of the hardest things for me is reviewing books that are “pretty good”. This issue of Supergirl didn’t blow me away, but I still had fun reading it. Nothing annoyed me about it, but nothing especially stands out, either. I don’t know if it’s the lack of affection I have for the character of Supergirl, but I just can’t get myself pumped for this book. Still, though, Gates keeps me coming back for more, so he’s doing something right. (Side note: Josh Middleton draws some of the best teenagers in comics. Seriously! When he draws her, Supergirl actually looks like a teenager!) — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 3 out of 5

Thunderbolts # 139
Jeff Parker (w), Miguel Sepulveda (a), Frank Martin (c). Marvel Comics.

As much as I love the Agents of Atlas, their inclusion in this issue really doesn’t fit.  I want it to. I really do. I was pretty excited to read this, but I feel it fell a little flat. There are times when Parker’s dialogue come off clunky — which is rare for him. Like, seriously, Mr. X explains his powers to Namora. He’s basically saying, “Oh, yeah, I’d like to announce to you how you can beat me based on the obvious flaw in my power set.” Sepulveda’s art jumps between excellence and mediocrity. For every good page or panel, there’s a bad one. And, honestly, Parker, guy, I think you’ve just lost all the old Thunderbolts fans because your cliffhanger only matters to your Agents of Atlas fans. The Thunderbolts fans are going to be pleased, but bored. — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 2 out of 5

Uncle Scrooge #386
Erik Hedman (w), Wanda Gattino (a), Boom Studios

As far as I’m concerned Uncle Scrooge has been the greatest long-running kids comic ever. In your face, Archie, Scrooge McDuck is where it’s at. That’s why I’m so overjoyed that Boom is doing such a good job with the title. The thing is, they GET Scrooge. The manic pace, the history, the geography, it’s all here. Sure, maybe now that they’ve found their feet I could do with the book slowing down a bit (only once in a while, not too much), but without question this book is a huge success. I can’t imagine that this book wouldn’t make a Scrooge fan smile. — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 4 out of 5

Underground # 4
Jeff Parker (w), Steve Lieber (a), Ron Chan (c). Image Comics.

Wow, did Lieber ever bring his a-game to this issue. A lot of this issue was about our two protagonists struggling through a tight part of the caves to escape their perusers. They are stuck in cold water, traversing through narrow passages, with no room to breathe — and Lieber makes you feel it. You see how scared they look, you feel how tight it is with his panel layouts and tight shots. And it looks so gorgeous. For the writing, this issue is a difficult transative issue between the last confrontation and next issue’s climax — which is a tricky issue. Parker is setting things up, but not a lot happens in this issue. But, you know, that art really wins me over. — Miles Baker

Miles rating: 4 out of 5

X-Factor #200
Peter David (w), Bing Cansino & Marco Santucci (p), Marco Santucci & Patrick Piaazzalunga (i), Jeromy Cox (c). Marvel Comics.

If you live in the city of New York and need some investigating to be done, call your friendly neighbourhood X-Factor. No longer in exile in Detroit, the team is back in New York and ready for some action. It’s a good thing. This allows the characters to interact with other characters of the Marvel Universe and seen in this issue. Valeria and Franklin Richards call the team out to help them solve the mys disappearance of their mother Sue Richards. I personally have never been a fan of the Fantastic 4, so maybe this is a chance for me to get to know them. This issue is a breath of fresh air as it starts to stray away from the grim storyline and throws in some humour lighten things up. My personal favourite moment was the little cameo from Deadpool, but that’s just because I’m just a tiny bit biased. –Sandra Yao

Sandra’s Rating: 4 out of 5

X-Men: Legacy # 230
Mike Carey (w), Daniel Acuna with Mirco Piefederici (a). Marvel Comics.

Brief aside: I love Steve Dillion’s art — but what is up with these “A Girl Called Hope” back ups? It’s like he’s drawing them at a smaller size and they’re blowing them up. The art looks almost pixelated. Also, they’re kind of lame. There’s a reason I dropped Cable — and that reason is Duane Swierczynski’s writing. Aside over.

I’m basically going to address this to Owen and other people who might have dropped X-Men Legacy because they found it too continuity heavy during the Xavier-led days — buy this when it comes out in trade. Heck, just pick up the issues. It’s great. This Rogue story didn’t reference events from the 80s or 90s. Well, it kinda did. But they didn’t really matter. It wasn’t the point of this. The point was “Rogue is awesome, she’s going to do some awesome stuff.” And there’s nothing wrong with that. — Miles Baker

Miles rating: 4 out of 5

Green Lantern Corps #43
Peter J. Tomasi (w), Patrick Gleason (p), Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen, Patrick Gleason (i), Randy Mayor (c). DC Comics.

A completely subjective review. As awesome as it is to see Guy Gardner run riot as a Red Lantern (there are some art inconsistencies, surely courtesy of the different inkers on the book, but it doesn’t even matter, it’s like getting a bunch of collectible Guy Gardner’s cards by different artists who all succeed in making him look awesome) the best thing ever is that Kyle didn’t die last issue. It was a close one, I mean, the swarms of Black Lantern rings suggested otherwise, put he came through — and I was super happy. Like, SUPER happy. It’s embarrassing now that I think about it. But there it is. Obviously, your own mileage may vary. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 4.5 out of 5. Crossover Rating: Eh, doesn’t add much