Chris' Reviews 5/24

Definitely not one for the books this week, as most everything was shockingly mediocre or predictably bad. Massive Spoilers and all that.

IRON MAN #8 --- Tony continues to go off the rails, as we see him grab Cap by the throat, challenge Wolverine to a fight, nearly kill Graviton, and apparently assassinate a drug lord. There's a fair amount of hint-dropping that perhaps Stark really has gone insane and decided to just kill people whenever he sees fit. Decent action, nice art, and I'm still interested. Also, Spider-Woman gets a scene here that's actually pretty neat and is 150 times better than anything Bendis ever wrote for her, althought the fact that the fight scene that occurs is yet another breakout from Arkham Asylum the Raft is a litte tiring. CBG: 3/5.

X-FACTOR #7 --- Pretty good (and creepily sad) moments that deal with Cyclops showing up to tell Siryn that her dad Banshee ate the X-Jet over in X-Men: Deadly Genesis, and my goodness, she's either absolutely right in her reaction or in a ton of denial, and either way it's fascinating. The other stuff with Jamie confronting Singularity Investigations? Less so. Still a quality read, although the Ariel Olivetti art is a jarring departure. CBG: 3/5.

BATMAN #653 --- Harvey Dent gets to monologue to himself and his alter ego in a motel room, as we learn via flashback how and why Batman left him in charge of Gotham, and no it's not very convincing. At the end, Welcome Back Two-Face! The first misstep in the story arc so far, as it's a tad dull and we all saw the return of Two-Face coming anyway, but still worthy of your time if you've read this far. CBG: 2/5.

HAWKGIRL #52 --- It is with sadness that I bid adieu to my beloved Hawks for awhile, as this issue convinces me to drop Hawkgirl at least until Chaykin leaves, and possible until after Simonson leaves. Another meandering, directionless issue with too many vague hints, incomprehensible dream sequences, and generally boring exposition (and one guest appearance from Bruce Wayne). I am so disappointed. Oh, and the art sucks with a capital "suck". CBG: 1/5.

GREEN LANTERN #11 --- Hal and Guy defy Oa's orders and go off to sector 3601 (that's Manhunter territory) because Hal's feeling guilty over the GLs he killed as Parallax, and now evidence indicates they might be alive. Their rescue mission ends with the appearance of... (sigh)... Cyborg Superman. Listen, I'm a fan of what Johns has done with Hal so far, but at some point he needs to quit wallowing in continuity and get on with the new stuff. CBG: 3/5.

CHECKMATE #2 --- Nice surprise here, as a very dense issue filled with dialogue and scheming sets things up nicely despite the lack of actual action. Rucka does a good job setting up the pieces (heh), and there's less of the silly chess lingo being bandied about and more personality. Wasn't sure at all I'd be sticking with this one, but I may have changed my mind now. Although I continue to hate the way Jesus Saiz makes every single character look pouty. P.S. Rucka, if you're reading this, please put Cameron Chase in this book ASAP. CBG: 3/5.

SECRET SIX #1 --- Beginning of a new mission (sort of), as the Six scramble to get their affairs in order as Dr. Psycho enacts his strange vendetta. Mad Hatter shows up at the end too, because, you know, we didn't have ENOUGH crazy people in this cast. Not the most exciting issue to start things off, but Simone has lifetime credit with me when writing these folks, so I'm still on board. Plus, the character moments are absolutely priceless. CBG: 3/5.

52 #3 --- I think I've realized why I can't wait to drop this comic. After the last two years of Infinite Crisis-ing and having most all of DC's comics read like Kafka on downers, I need a little light in the DCU, and I need to leave that dark, grim, serious tone behind. It's just too much. Give me something with a sense of humor, just a little bit! Oh, and the "History of the DCU" backup is worthless. Anyway, in this issue, more timestream follies, more Black Adam gore, and Lex Luthor shows up to do something with a body. Snore. CBG: 1/5.

ANNIHILATION: RONAN #2 --- Ronan fights some people, Gamora fights Ronan, and some dude who shapes worlds watches from the shadows going "mwah hah hah". Not as good as I'd hoped, but not terrible, and I still have no clue who most of these people are. So far I'd rank this below Nova and Super-Skrull. CBG: 2/5.

NEW AVENGERS #19 --- While Iron Man and The Sentry keep the Collective busy in space, SHIELD interrogates Spidey, who lets slip about the whole House of M incident, then the Collective lands in Genosha. Passing references are made to the events of Civil War. Are we done yet? CBG: 2/5.