No Hero #5

No Hero #5
Josh is in a pretty bad way but at least he does now have superpowers; mindbending nightmares and deformity are small things in exchange for superpowers right? The art style is growing on me, it certainly shows horror quite well. The Front Line becomes more and more sinster, excellent stuff.

Walking Dead #60

Walking Dead #60
Walking dead is one of the best ongoing series ongoing these days, written by Robert Kirkman (of 'Invincible' fame); it is a zombie movie that doesn't end. I'm avoiding spoilers here, but the group is currently travelling across the country and have encountered huge herd of undead. Characters become more and more bitter but this is a comparable lull in the series of horrific things that happen to the survivors. Pick up the previous trades for this series, they are reasonably priced and well worth it (I'll be writing a special review for all the trades to date at the start of next month).

Battle for the Cowl - Arkham Asylum

Battle for the Cowl - Arkham Asylum
A surprisingly good one shot under the Battle for the Cowl crossover, but nothing to do with it. Some original non violent inmates of Arkham and the descendant of Amadeus Arkham reclaim the burnt out shell of the Asylum. Pity it's only a one shot, hopefully we will see some of these interesting characters again.

Incognito #3

Incognito #3
An ex-super villain is in a witness protection program; stifled and drugged (to suppress his powers) his normal life is smothering him. He turns to fighting crime, under the radar so to speak, to relieve the tension. The art is impressive, the writing is splendid; there is nothing not to like in this title. This kind of reminds me of Fight Club for some reason. This issue chugs along nicely as we see some other super villains to compare and contrast.

Green Lantern Corps #35

Green Lantern Corps #35
All hell breaks loose from the cells in Oa and Daxam's lost son returns to his shitty home planet. The art remains great, with the world sized snake Sinstro Lantern is my favourite image. This issue is less about the plot and more about the light based slugfests, which is no harm. If this is a taste of the war a light to come the Corps are not as prepared as they think.

Timestorm 2009-2099 #1

Timestorm 2009-2099 #1
A psycho from the future, Spider-Man thrust into a dark future with re-imagined heroes; it’s all a bit bland. It has a feel of the later episodes of the animated Spider-Man and of Batman Beyond; except all quite average. It’s all about spotting where Marvel superheroes made their mark on the future (cap selling addictive softdrinks). I wouldn’t suggest this unless you want something not too taxing on the brain.

House of Mystery #12

House of Mystery #12
Holy shit things are going well with House of Mystery, some great answers that just lead to more questions (defiantly pick up the first and second volumes, if you can). The book remains original, esoteric and dark; without becoming confusing. The little one off story is excellent and the main plot moves quite a bit.

Secret Six #8

Secret Six #8
This month a fun little departure from the usual with date night, where Deadshot and co attempt not to kill anyone for one night. Also in the issue, a look into ragdoll’s childlike brain. This book continues to be the amusing bad guys as anti-heroes DC title. Nothing to brain melting, just entertaining.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 8 - Volume 2

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 8 - Volume 2

Well Buffy, before I start a word about the show. It had great dialogue and some really memorable characters; but until the later series’ I don’t think it got into its own. It was good but I preferred Josh Wheedon’s other work the darker Angel or the western in space fun of Firefly. But still Buffy was the breeding ground of good unexpected characters (Spike is a great example). The comic books by Dark Horse are pitched as the 8th season of the finished show, the first book penned by Josh Whedon. This second book of the “season” is written by Brian K. Vaughan, best known for Y the Last Man.

The story mostly concerns the other slayer Faith (a far more interesting character). Faith is the bad girl of the Buffyverse, originally a pawn of a major villain and then just off the rails. Faith is given a way out of the whole slayer thing by Giles, now pretty much in charge of the Watchers. She has to kill a slayer who’s made the same mistakes she’s made and is skating on the edge of pure evil. All the while there is recurrent and sinister group or individual manipulating events; represented by the symbol of a red setting sun and star in the sky.

Vaughan has got the tone of the show just right and kept intact the sense of humour and characters that had built up over the seasons. The plot is better than your usual Buffy season. The art is just slightly off, constrained by the fact that the artist has to base his models on actors. I did not read this in single issues but after reading this I’ll be picking up the rest and probably following Season 8.

The Destroyer #1

The Destroyer #1

Robert Kirkman writes a five issue mini series for Marvel MAX (the more adult stuff), where an old superhero decides to close up and clean up shop. The first thing you notice is the splashy use of gore and the second thing is Kirkman's dialogue (if you read Brit or Invincible you'll know what to expect). The mini series has a good premise to start with, but the only thing that bugged me while reading was the design of Destroyer’s costume (he kind of looks like a skrull).

The Flash: Rebirth #1

The Flash: Rebirth #1 (of 5)
So Barry Allen back after his death in 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths and penned by Geoff Johns. First issue means an explanation of who the current Flash people are and where Barry has been. The art is attractive and a lot of information is imparted in this one issue. A good start, but remains to be seen if a good Flash plot can be carried through to completion.

Battle For The Cowl: Man-Bat

Battle For The Cowl: Man-Bat
Kirk Langstrom must control his Man-Bat / Jekyll and Hyde urges. Seems like an excuse to have two Batman villains face off, the plot is a bit poo. The dialogue is decidedly average; also there is an equally average preview of the new Powergirl run.