Lotta books this Week

Why hello all. Crappy day here on my front- hope everyone else's was superior to mine. But, nothing like talking about comics to brighten one's day. Well, and a gin and tonic.

So, I got a bundle of books this week. I was surprised I picked up 11 books, plus read 2 of Chris'.

Full reviews? Nope. Well, just the high opinion books. And snippets on the weak books.

Lets look at the snippets first: And plus, Randy doesn't do spoilers. Or at least very minimal:

This will be from worst, to best, by the way:

X-Men #183
Guess What? I'm done with this book. It has been YANKED off the buy pile. Its not so good. It just seems to jump all around, with no real foundation for plotline.
Overall Rating: 0/5

Warlord #1
I was extremely disappointed. The story was good, the art was really not so good. I just can't get used to white only eyes. It looks way too creepy for me. However, it was an origin issue. Still, if you want swords and sorcery, I recommend Conan by Dark Horse and highly recommend Red Sonja by Dynamite. I don't recommend this book.
Overall Rating: 1/5

Wraithborn #5/6
I don't know. I expected more. Necromancer #4 was by far a better read. At least the whiner finally did something in this book. I will finish out the series though. Promises a nice looking showdown for the final ish.
Overall Rating: 2/5

Fantastic Four #535
OK, we are now at the so-so books. It was a good read, but the Thing/Hulk conversations got rather old. The art was not good. Just take a gander at the cover- man, Invis Woman's legs look like she's been on horseback for 48 straight days. However, it is a good read at least. And, that whole Thor Hammer thing is coming soon. EXCELLENT!!!!
Overall Rating: 2/5

Black Widow #6/6
This mini kinda went out with a whimper. It was good, but it was just kind of haphazard. The end just really didnt' do it for me. I needed more. But I do like the Sienkiewicz.
Overall Rating: 3/5

Wonder Woman #226
Not what I expected. I was both extremely disappointed and kind of glad. It was a nice little overview of her relationship with Supes. The end did have a nice moment though. Looking forward to see what happens in IC with Wonder Woman.
Overall Rating: 3/5

Captain America #15
I borrowed Chris' and read this one. I liked it. I am on board for the next story arc. Yes, it wasn't the most pleasant read, kinda vulgar in parts actually, ergo this book is not for kids, as a fair warning. It sets up the next arc very nicely though.
Overall Rating: 3/5

And now, the top 5 of the week:

Supergirl #5
Supergirls

Don't laugh at me too hard. I liked this book because it gave Supergirl a reason to be here. And its kinda eerie why she is here. When that was revealed, and it was on the first few pages, dang, I just kept thinking about that throughout the book.
The art was immaculate. It always has been in this book. Its very sharp and very crisp, even though the girls in the book look like they all suffer from bulimia.
It has the JLA, the real JLA. The "Trinity" really rocks in this book. Wonder Woman does not suffer from Bulimia in this depiction, which is a good thing.
It is also one big fight scene. It goes from fight, to another fight, to another fight. After the beginning which lays down some history.

And Greg Rucka takes over the series at #6. And that is another very good thing.
Oh, the high price tag? They wanted Loeb off so bad it seems that DC gave him extra pages to finish his arc and be gone. Or not. But it sounded better.

Overall Rating: I'm going to give it a 3/5, but only because I don't do decimal points. That is way too much in depth math for me.


Rising Stars: Untouchable #1
The Smallest Things

Chris said I might like this book. OK, I"ll bite. I like JMS, and even though he didn't write the book, its his basis. I am a Babylon 5 freak, I can admit it. Although no, I don't run around dressing like G'Kar wherever I go.
Anyways, I did like the book. It was great.
The writing was good, although there was a lot of it. The beginning had lots of reading. It picked up as the book went on. So did the action. The art seemed old school. And there is nothing wrong with that.
I will be giving the next ish a try, expecting it to be a step up. This was an origin ish, so it was slower, but regardless, was still worth the read.

Overall Rating: 3/5. A high 3. If issue 2 is like this, it goes on the Buy Pile.


Amazing Spider-Man #529
Mr. Parker Goes to Washington

New suit. Eh, its a plot development piece. I bet it doesn't stick around, unless he keeps it when he knows he's going to war.
However, this was also a great book, agreeing with Chris' review.
Tony Stark- ass. And it was cool.
This will not go so well for Peter. Peter doesn't have that same streak that Tony has. There will be issues, and we all know it.
The bird statue was an excellent little sequence.
The words "Even Steve" are very ominous. I don't like them. This is going to be an ugly event.

Overall Rating: 3/5. Conversation between Tony, Peter and MJ were all very well done. Oh, look, it is JMS. Heh.


Astonishing X-Men #13
Torn

OK, Whedon gets it. Cassaday gets it. This is an X title that I can go for.
I read three other X books: X-Men, Uncanny X-Men and Excalibur. All dogs. This one, this is no dog.
This is a sharply written, great art and all around great book. You want an X book to have some faith in again, I just found it.
Emma Frost. I have read some of the discussions asking why is she here, how useless she is, etc. Wow, she is one creepy, ominous lady. I LIKE it! She is kinda scary here.
Also, please note, I have never been an X-Maniac. I was the Avenger guy, not the X guy. But this- this is damn good reading.
I'm sold.

Overall Rating: 5/5. This book really hit it for me on all cylinders. And Wolverine with all the students in a fight- that, that was really well done. Now, please note that I gave this a very high rating, however, it is not the book of the week for me. Book of the Week:

Catwoman #52

Backward Masking

From the cover, from the get-go, I knew this was going to be a rough book. I will tell you right now- do not skip to the second to last page of this story. Holy shit! So, the previous books had Zatanna zap Selina, informing her she was not always the hero type she has been for awhile now.

Well, Selina sure shows her true colours in this book. Did I already say Holy Sheeot? You know its bad when she asks questions when she knows there will be no answer. I laughed my ass off at that scene. Poetic. Beautifully done. Done before, but wow, it was impressive, because of the almost innocence that she projects during the one-sided discussion.

This story blows up both arcs that had been brewing. Blows them up in a big ass way. Catwoman's though was the most impressive blow up. I just looked at it again and shuddered.

I may just be hooked now on Pfeiffer's writing. This was a riotous last 5 books and he really made an impression on me. I will say that I think OYL may not be great for this book. It is really picking up some steam as Selina is starting to lose it. I would love to see this continue in continuity just to see the immediate fallout.

Overall Rating: This is a 5/5 for me too. This was obviously the conclusion in this book of 5. It has a conclusion alright. One helluva conclusion.