Sorry, Mr. Gates. I'll be happy to give you another shot at some point in the future, but you crapped out this time.

Do we really have to be such dicks about having dicks?

As it stands now, though, Fear Itself has no business being this boring.

I ranted enough about artist Greg Land in last issue's review, so no need to rehash it all here. So, Uncanny X-Men #543 is just a complete disappointment all the way around.

As much as Glass wanted to term this new iteration of the Suicide Squad as "kick-ass," it falls far short of that mark. It's just grating.

CRAVE ONLINE RATING: 4/10

CRAVE ONLINE RATING: 4/10

Sure, Justice League of America #7.1 is actually a one-shot story about some guy with the same name, but the new origin by Matt Kindt (whose work I normally enjoy) assures us once and for all that the guy we used to like under John Ostrander and Gail Simone's pen is gone for good, and in his place is a completely generic and painfully boring lump they're calling Deadshot. The basics are sort of the same " mercenary with really good aim.

At least the art's good. But the time has come to give Geoff Johns nothing to do but Aquaman.

Anyway, I suppose there's a chance that, 20 years from now, somebody could reinvent this guy to be cool, as current Scarlet Spider books are doing with Kaine, but it's going to take a couple of decades to imagine a way to do that. Step 1: Ditch the Butt Cape.

Avengers A.I. #1 is a big letdown – disappointing to read and not all that great visually. Most of what was wrong with it could have been fine and functional if Hank Pym was written like Hank Pym, but instead, he's written like a schmuck, and I suppose he will continue to be for the rest of the year. Joy.

Captain Midnight #1 isn’t bad, but the creative team needs to step it up and give the veteran hero the respect he deserves.

That said, one feels somewhat compelled to see exactly how Sato plans to use Mothra against a crimelord, and any chance that a Godzilla story manages to find a good hook to keep going is a chance that should be taken. Giant monsters are too cool not to try everything you can to utilize properly.

Overall, this book is likely to be off-putting to people who like the character of Bruce Banner, but possibly inviting to those who just like to see the Hulk being a badass. He does beat up gamma sharks... but we know people have a low tolerance for gamma-animals, if the hostile response to Ang Lee's Hulk (or John Frankenheimer's awful The Island of Dr. Moreau, for that matter) is any indication. The fact that Aaron is basing his whole premise around them is a dubious portent of things to come.

For all the misgivings I have about where Aaron's Incredible Hulk is going, I'm not going to get all worked up into a nerd-rage about it - at least not right now with the holiday spirit and all. Here's the bottom line with this and most any run of comics - if it turns out good, hot damn, great. If it turns out crap, then it will eventually end and fade into obscurity as one of those chapters in the character's history we don't talk about. Every iconic character has some of them. Sure, it's annoying as all get-out in the short term when one of your favorite characters is going through a suck phase, or when you think it's a suck phase but everyone else seems to drool over it, but patience is a virtue. This, too, will pass.

While this is a step in the right direction for DC, I'm afraid Insurgent doesn't seem to have much more going for it beyond that. Your mileage may vary.

And let's hope they're not really going to rehash the Voltron/Captain Planet six-kid Shazam-merge from Flashpoint as the official new origin. Please. If this is all a big swerve, and Mary or Darla is going to be the new Captain... er, Shazam, there might be a glimmer of some kind of hope for the story - but again, slim to none for formerly sweet little Billy B.

Guess I'll have to be if I'm going to try to enjoy this new Thunderbolts. It's easy to buy, considering all the big names on the team, but it's hard to buy any of their reasons for being on that team in the first place.

So it seems that Thunderbolts is destined to be a book about a bunch of characters I like guided by creators I sadly don't. Way's writing still feels limp, although that may seem moreso because Dillon's work, while technically sound, feels so staid and lifeless. This just means each new issue is going to be a fresh bit of agony for me.

The net result of all is that Wonder Woman #7, and most of the series, for that matter, hasn't really been a pleasant read. It's been interesting and unique enough to stick with this long, but Diana is trucking in a world that's all ugly underbelly - and she's about to journey into the literal underworld to boot.

If you enjoy watching the creepy be creepy for the sake of creepiness, you may dig Joker's Daughter #1. She takes the place of psychotic Joker groupie that was vacated when Harley Quinn graduated beyond flunkie-dom, taking it to a new level of ick. Some people are into that. If so, knock yourself out, you've got a new book to read. If not, you probably won't dig this book too much.

Maybe, once DeMatteis becomes the sole writer of The Phantom Stranger, it'll go in some interesting directions, but for now, the only potential hook the big Trinity of Sin event will have is whether or not it'll monkey with the reality of the New 52 again, and maybe shake out some of the missteps. Pandora's connection to Flashpoint makes that hope hard to dismiss. In the meantime, we'll endure.

I have enjoyed much of Liss' work before, and I still really want to like this series, but The Spider #4 went off the rails and resorted to clichés and uninspired dialog choices, and it's very disappointing.

That's about all I can muster to say about it. It's just that lifeless.

It will be given a chance, but only one. Black Panther: Man Without Fear has been given many more than that, and it continues to underwhelm. I want to like this book. I really do. But this whole take is just not very intriguing, it's not compelling and it doesn't feel any different from the eight hundred billion other "big city vigilante" books out there today, and that's what Black Panther should always be. Different. Unique.

The drop-off in quality isn't steep by any means with the writer hand-off, but there's some inevitable loss of excitement. We'll have to see if Ciaramella can inject it back into the story before we miss it too badly.

I don't know what it's going to finally take to get me to drop this title. I feel like there's some journalistic need to keep following it, at least until this first 'here's how we got together' arc mercifully ends, but this series isn't good. It's fair to middling, and that's sad, because it's supposed to be the damn flagship.

Overall, Justice League has become forgettable. Kinda the opposite of what it's supposed to be. I almost forgot to review it.

Then again, it could turn out this new Lobo is full of crap, and the "impostor" is going to hand him his ass. Time will tell.

Anyway, if you're jonesing for some kind of JSA fix, Mr. Terrific is the only place to look in the New 52, and despite the new look, he's still pretty close to the Michael Holt you remember. Karen Starr might not be your Power Girl, though, and if that's going to be a problem - just wait a while. You know she'll get a cape eventually, and with any luck, maybe they'll start an underground Justice Society together. Wallace does pretty firmly establish that anything is possible in this high-minded man's life, and that's a decent foundation to build on.

Overall, still not a book I'm interested in reading, but not quite the crapfest I expected this book to be for as long as it lasted. It's okay. It's just not for me.

It was enough to win me over for once, and since it's likely Bay's last entry into the franchise, at least he went out fighting. Transformers: Heart of Darkness, by contrast, went out with a shrug.

So, overall, the plotting is at least interesting, there's plenty going on and there's lots of showing off of mutants and their powers, but the art from Land is occasionally interesting but mostly aggravating, and its the reason for the points knocked off the rating below.

Venom #38 isn't bad. Just kind of rote.

Hopefully, when #3 comes out, the fact that Parademons are attacking will get things down to brass tacks and less... this. It's really weird seeing DC ape the Marvel 'fear and distrust' themes they use for most of their heroes and try to apply them to the Justice League, who have traditionally been much more accepted and respected. It just doesn't feel right. That might just be a factor of newness and it's worth sticking out this first arc to see, but it could also mean the mark is being missed here.

So long, Harvey Dent. You were my favorite Bat-villain, although I'm surprisingly fine with watching you go.

Maybe now, Batwoman will get to punch Owlman in the face at the end of Forever Evil, but I'm not sure her greater involvement in the New 52 at large is worth the loss of Williams & Blackman. If nothing else, though, hopefully Director Bones of the DEO will step up to the plate in a big way, too. It's hard not to root for a cigar-chomping guy with invisible flesh to show up more often.

I want to like Collider, and it's not actively bad, but its first issue didn't bring the excitement I'd hoped for.

In the meantime, let's root for the series we do have to find its footing and make the case for an independent Lois Lane.

Some comic books have enough artistic pizzazz to command you to own them in print form. Great Pacific seems like one of those books you'd rather get digitally " you still want it enough to follow the story, but it's not going to be something you pass on to your kids or anything.

Everything's still very tentative about Harbinger, though (although the Phil Briones art is mostly lamentable when it comes to human faces). It could be interesting, it could be acceptable, it could, it could, it could. But it's six issues in and still all about could. I'd been waiting for Kris to return so I could pass a verdict, but it seems that jury is still out, or maybe they're just hung.

The arc is pretty clear - Billy's been mistreated his whole life, so he's mistreating the world, and when he realizes he's found a home, he might open up and stop being a little piece of crap we want to see get kicked in the junk. Much like the main story, where the Justice League stopped being actively annoying now that they're origin is finished, maybe Shazam won't be so frustrating by the time this story plays out. But so far, this story just feels like it's missing the mark in service of some edict suggesting that being earnest isn't cool enough to properly market this property.

Overall, Justice League of America #3 is not a bad issue, but it just feels a bit awkward, perhaps due to the pressure of deadlines, or perhaps because it's a book still finding its footing. There's no call to count it out just yet. There's a Trinity War coming, after all.

Revolutionary War could turn out to be an interesting revival of a slew of characters that could have been relegated to a bygone era, or it could just turn out to be a short-lived reunion party for the old guard that doesn't mean they'll be back on regular duty anytime soon. Either way, it'll serve as an interesting window into what many of today's British creators probably grew up on.

The Ravagers #1 seems to exist entirely to branch out from the Superboy/Teen Titans storyline and not really to involve new readers. It's just kinda there. Not a yay, not a nay, just a meh.

The lead bad guy in this issue looks like some hipster/stoner dingus, Richard Wentworth himself looks like a 19-year-old poser, and it just feels wrong enough to undercut the effectiveness of any story trying to be told here. Yet, I keep buying it, because I figure it HAS to get cool eventually. That's how much I want to like The Spider.

It's just really weird overall. It's kind of fun on occasion, but it also just doesn't feel right at all. There are team books where dysfunctional character dynamics make for good reading, but you have to be able to accept the reasoning that they'd stay around each other despite their differences. This book almost makes sense, enough so that you can understand why they'd try it, but always has the undercurrent feeling that this is a Team That Should Not Be.

Anyway, Action Comics #4 is all right. It's not great, but there's a bit of fun and cool to it, and some iffy stuff to cast the stink-eye upon. That's mostly what you get with the New 52.

The book isn't awful. It's just as I've said previously - fair to middling at best.

But that's probably just wishful thinking. From the looks of things, Justice Society of America is likely going to end with a shrug, and that's just kind of a shame. Let's hope Guggenheim proves me wrong.

So O.M.A.C. is what it is. If you want to read new comics with an almost religious adherence to Jack Kirby's style, it's the place to be. If seeing other people copy Kirby's style just makes you want to go check out Kirby's actual work instead, it's hard to imagine Giffen and DiDio wouldn't be okay with that result, too. Well, Giffen, maybe. DiDio wants you to buy the new stuff.

So that's pretty much it. The entire second issue of the Uncanny X-Men reboot is the bad guy explaining his plot. Normally, that might feel uninspired, but it serves the purpose here of getting us used to this new take on Sinister's attitude - perhaps this goofy smugness comes from a scientist finally achieving the goal he's worked on for over a century - and it's a fairly interesting plan. Plus, it'll get an angry pitcher-headed space god dropping down to Earth next issue. So it's okay. Not spectacular, not exciting, but it's okay.

So, Uncanny X-Men #5 has a good hook for X-Force fans, but it might not be enough for them to accept the huge trade-down to Land from the amazing stuff of Jerome Opeña.

Regardless, this is Lex Luthor doing what he does, using people as pawns to further his own ambitions, and one can imagine the lack of Superman made him a little more prone to sacrificing those pawns because no one is around who can put him in check. Enjoying his freedoms and all. The art from Raymund Bermudez is solid, and you really get a sense of how cold Luthor is. Depending on what brand of Lex you like, this could be an awesome issue for you, as his eerily calm ruthlessness definitely brings across a feeling of malevolence " and it feeds into what Geoff Johns had Luthor do to Kord in FE #1. It fits well enough. I suppose I just prefer my Lex to be a bit more perversely inspiring. An antithesis of Superman should be able to hit him where it hurts and make him doubt everything about himself by seeming to be absolutely in the right " but apparently, that's being left to Wraith over in Superman Unchained, relegating Luthor to Montgomery Burns-style everyday villainy a

There's certainly a talented and twisted imagination at work here, and if the creepy stuff is your thing, you'll probably enjoy Animal Man #1. It's never really been mine, but your mileage may vary.

So, it's a decent start to the big AvX proceedings. However, as we've seen countless times over the past decade, a good start doesn't always lead to an acceptable finish. Time will tell. Cable would agree with that.

Avengers vs. X-Men VS. #1 is not bad. It's not trying to be this big deal - it's just there for comic book slam-bang fun. That may change as the stakes get higher, it may not. I may be able to remember how to just go 'wheee!' along with a comic book, I may not. Either way, I yam what I yam and it is what it is, and if you dig what it is, who cares what I yam?

As it is, though, Two-Face is little more than a triggerhappy thug with a more striking look than most, and the more masses he murders, the less we seem to give a damn about him or who he used to be, because there's no turning back with this high a body count. Well, there could've been with the New 52 switchout. Too bad nobody thought to do that.

Anyway, Marvel's promising that Marcus Johnson is going to be a hugely important character as the mystery around him unfolds, and Yost has certainly earned enough credit to be allowed to unfold it the way he'd like. Battle Scars #1 isn't anything stunning, but it's just the first chapter in a larger story, and it does manage to remind us a bit about what Fear Itself was actually supposed to be, but failed to become.

You guys couldn't have told us that earlier and spared us all the angry twitching? Ah, well, all is forgiven, now that you've given us legitimate in-story cause to hate the American Panther, and even given us T'Challa pointing at that costume and saying "That was a mistake." We now know that Liss seems to get it. Here's hoping he's got something a little more nuanced to do with it now that he's got it.

Captain America #7 is the beginning of the end of the Dimension Z travails, and it is succeeding in putting the freak Arnim Zola a lot higher on the Steve Rogers Shit List than he's ever been before, as the connection is now a deeply personal hatred. It remains to be seen whether or not we're going to get a much dirtier, more flawed version of Captain America when this is all over and done.

As trite as alternate realities can get these days, it's still pretty cool to have established characters from different points in time like this team up for adventures. Hell, even Bill Clinton did it once, and we all know how much fun that turned out to be. Captain America Corps looks like it's on course to bring us that same kind of "yay, comics!" experience.

The fact that Captain Atom seems a hell of a lot more emotional than Jon Osterman ever did would lend credence to the notion that, yeah, this won't be the same thing we've seen already.

Cafu and Julius Gopez turn in a solid effort. The Captain Atom work has a dream state quality to it, as though we’re inside his thoughts and seeing his memories through his eyes. The panels outside of Captain Atom is harsher, thicker lines, heavier inks, more in your face color work. Cafu and Julius also know how to maximize panel placement. Some of the sweeping two panel action scenes are epic. If the story here is a bit frazzled, the art helps hold it together.

Fantastic Four #5AU leaves things in a weird and sort of interesting place, but I have no idea if it will continue in the next issue or if this is some kind of stand-alone tie-in that's just meant to be a sort of quick gut punch.

Fantomex MAX #1 is okay, but somewhat suspect from the get go. It's certainly weird, it could wind up being fun, but it could also become something gross.

Overall, the artwork DOES look pretty cool, and the elements of the story are fun, but while it's been a pretty solid ride the last few issues, Flash #15 just seems to undercut everything that was crafted so far. It's decent enough, and there's nothing actively bad about it. It's... well, it's just okay.

In the end, Godzilla #1 doesn't do much to blow us away, but it's certainly teeing up for what could be a compelling Sisyphean effort on the part of the most rugged of humankind against the unstoppable tide of destruction.

Still, Great Pacific has enough great ideas in it that I'm on board to see where it goes. Something about the pioneer spirit is engaging, even if it's a mess of complications and nastiness on a trash heap instead of braving the wild west. To be fair, it was a mess of complications and nastiness back then, too - and we're about to see all that echoed in this series. Should be compelling reading.

Overall, some new blood on the GL books may be what they need. They've had their moments, but they haven't seemed to be consistently compelling lately. Maybe a fresh direction will help. Green Lantern #21 might not be a clean enough break, but hope springs eternal. Wait… that's Blue Lanterns…

Thus, there are some mysteries to be revealed that may turn out to be interesting, given Robinson's talent, but He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1 is a bit disappointing.

Overall, it's got some spark with the dialog (something Giffen is good at), but it all feels kind of half-assed. Granted, it's hard to go full-assed at something like He-Man. They have a lobster guy named Clawful, you know, and a guy with a big fist named Fisto. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1 is certainly a step up from the old cartoon as far as characterization, but that's not saying a whole lot.

The Hinterkind #1 may well lead to something good. But it just as easily could lead to nothing particularly special.

The new Marvel NOW version of Iron Man could be really cool if the artwork was anywhere near as engaging as the story beats are. Unfortunately, it's not to be, so the series can't really get much better than noncommittal shrug of acceptance. All is certainly not right with it, but... eh, it's all right.

The jury's still out on Iron Man #11 and these new ideas for Tony's origin. This issue in particular is all talk, but we're just not sure what to believe, and we don't really want to believe what we're being told – and that puts us right in our protagonist's jet-boots, which has to qualify as a success. Not quite enough to overcome trepidation, but maybe it can all work out in the end. Right?

And if the Super Buddies never existed... this book is just going to make fans sad.

Overall, Katana #1 is not a bad issue, really. I'm just not sure if there's enough here to get me to a #2. Your mileage may vary.

Giffen and DeMatteis are in fine form with their freewheeling piss-take on the greed-fueled MINE MINE MINE lantern, holding over the same tone Giffen had in Threshold, although not connecting at all with the fact that over in Green Lantern and GLC, he's apparently launching an all out attack on Oa. Maybe this is after that, maybe this is before that. We ain't know. What we do know is that if we can't have more Threshold, Larfleeze will hold us over for a while. Hopefully, DC won't see fit to meddle with the formula and will allow the veteran writers to carve out their own corner of the DCU this way. They let Scott Lobdell do it, for pete's sake. Maybe we'll get some resolution to The Hunted stories tied in with this book. Let's hope so.

Overall, it functions as pretty much an issue of Previews rather than anything that really needed to exist. New people jumping onto this might be just as confused as ever with all the random jumps to various other characters. It's really nothing more than a meh as a whole, with some bits of intriguing work popping up here and there. I will be checking into all of these books, but this issue is mostly shrug-worthy.

The next issue will likely be the make-or-break for me, but if you're not one to agree with anything I've said above about my reactions to Spider-Men, then go right ahead and pick this up. Bendis has long been a polarizing writer when he's handling big-time superhero shenanigans. Your mileage may vary, as they say.

For me, however, I just don't think it's enough to get me interested in reading about a character named Superboy. Irrational? Entirely. Yet, it's there. The notion of an Young and Evil Superman doesn't do much for me, either. Of course, it won't be that simplistic when the story unfolds - there's enough depth in Superboy #1 to illustrate that - but it's just not exciting. At least not to me. Your mileage may vary.

Lois Lane #1 is solid. While it's not the tone I'd hope for in her own ongoing (should she ever get one), it serves this ambitious story reasonably well.

Dynamite's Lone Ranger stories haven't all been 'gleaming hero saves the day' types of adventures, and given the tragic pall hanging over the characters in The Lone Ranger: The Death of Zorro, this one will likely fall into that category, even if we can't wait to see these bushwhackers get their comeuppance. Despite what few mitigating factors there are for these weary southern soldiers, there ain't no death too gruesome for these bushwhackin' bushwhacker bastards not to deserve.

That's what Parks' story is really about, and despite the troubles with the art and the issues with the pacing of the story, it's still one of those tales that leaves you with a wistful appreciation of an era long gone.

If you like Millar's brand of humor, you'll likely enjoy The Secret Service #1. If you like his dramatic chops, you might be willing to put up with the humor-esque parts to enjoy what Gibbons helps him achieve here, although the whole Mark Hamill thing brings some dread to the notion of where he's going with this. This is the guy who wrote Civil War, after all. He can be impressive or he can be annoying. It's a bit too early to tell which one this is going to turn out to be.

I've enjoyed a lot of the intricate plotting of Uncanny Avengers, and I'm really excited to see Doom 2099 getting involved somehow (even if it's the blue-cloaked version and not the red-cloaked President of America Doom), but this should have been a supremely affecting issue, given the events unfolding that have been built towards since the get-go. Unfortunately, if we don't believe in the motivations of the characters, if their actions don't quite make sense, all you come away from the book feeling is a general sense of head-shaking dismissal.

Besides, if the humans are going to bear down on Utopia like it seems in this Schism stuff, ain't nothing like having a big bunch of alien ass-kickers next door owing you favors.

So it feels like Bendis is still getting his feet wet with X-characters, and perhaps he'll make the proper adjustments soon and find the right rhythm. More likely, though, is that this is just going to be how these characters are now, because that's the way he wants to write them. When he gets to play in a world mostly of his devising, like Ultimate Comics or Daredevil alternate realities, we like him. When he's trying to fit into the mainstream 616, not so much. Well, at least I don't. All y'all kept him writing Avengers comics for a decade, so I'm apparently in the minority here.

The art from Ariel Padilla is pretty solid. Voltron himself looks great and enormous, and the huge-scale destruction really looks catastrophic. His human faces are good and expressive as well, and thankfully, each member of the team is actually wearing the proper colors associated with their respective lions. What exactly is the bond with the lions if Voltron doesn't need them as pilots? We don't know yet. Voltron might actually need them after all, since in this first issue, he not only gets beaten down by the replicating Robeast, but he's even captured... off-panel, for some weird reason, but it's more traction than Zarkon usually gets, and that makes for a compelling reason to check into the next issue.

Paul Pelletier’s art is great when the violence is high. This guy fucking loves blood and guts. He’s right at home in the horror world and when he unleashes the action the work is killer (pun FULLY intended). The few scenes in the Jean Grey School just lay flat on the page and do nothing. They largely feel like Pelletier phoned them in because there wasn’t enough blood and action to excite him. With Wolverine #306, I’m cautiously optimistic that the greatest mutant hero ever could truly become great again.

So far, Zorro Rides Again is a good old-fashioned tale of western justice about to be served. We only hope that tale could be more consistently served by the art.

It's an entertaining enough story on its own, though, and it continues to earn enough good will to give the next issue a chance. The reveal at the end about who Luthor is working with is an interesting one, but it still doesn't feel right. Maybe it's just a matter of time and getting used to all this change after 70-odd years of traditional Superman, but we haven't seen the heart and soul of the mythos yet, and we miss it.

There's not a lot new or unique going on in The Savage Hawkman #1, but the mystery of just what the deal with Nth Metal is going to turn out to be should prove fertile ground for subsequent issues. If you like the look of this severe, pointy-armored hardass enough to want to see him beat things up, you'll likely be satisfied with this series. For others, we may have to give it another issue or two to let us further inside of the head of Carter Hall to figure out why we should find him interesting.

Overall, it's a good start, and I'll certainly make an effort to acquire that taste with #2. Hopefully, it'll be able to differentiate itself from B.P.R.D. enough so as not to feel like a retread. The vampire seems like an entertaining asshole and the werewolf looks badass. It could happen.

There's an "emo" style to Andrew, with the skunk stripe in his black hair, so if you're predisposed to hate that kind of thing, I, Vampire isn't for you. However, I hate vampires, but I kinda liked this, and this was second only to Hawk and Dove as the New 52 book of which I was certain I'd never want the second issue. Fialkov and Sorrentino have got me seriously considering it, and that's about the highest compliment I can give them.

Overall, it'll take some getting used to, thinking that these goofball characters will be able to tell some really good stories instead of being flashy marketing tools, but honestly, some of the best comics involve the ability to swing from ludicrous concepts to surprisingly real moments with ease, and the Ninja Turtles could certainly accomplish that feat. TMNT #1 is a good start in that direction. We'll know more if and when we first see Shredder.

Overall, DnA have given themselves plenty to work with here, and with this level of insanity, they could always work in more guest stars and superjerks and have a good time doing it. Here's hoping they don't drop the ball on Mr. Briedel and give him a cutesy name like Damnbulatory or Alchemica or something.

According to editor Andy Schmidt, the Chaos storyline is hoping to iron out some continuity kinks from all the stops and starts this series has had, but things don't bode well for that when Beachcomber appears alive and well after being nearly lobotomized and deemed nearly unsalvageable by Soundwave's meddling back during the Spotlight: Blaster issue. So let's hope Costa can iron out his own scripting kinks and Chaos will be something as epic as they want it to be.

Might this be a huge new story that will eventually involve the standard Superman, or could we hope this could be a spin-off series of its own? Or will the next several issues of Action Comics be devoted to various other alternate Earths? Who knows? It's Grant Morrison.

That's another reason why Morrison tends to get to do what he wants - good or bad, he's a writer whose next move we never see coming.

Alex + Ada isn't any kind of exciting, action-packed adventure, nor is it a supremely engrossing drama. But it's got an easy comfort to it that doesn't demand much of any suspension of disbelief, and yet it also brings an awkward, real-life sensibility to a situation we all know is something we'll have to face someday soon " perhaps even within our lifetimes.

It certainly doesn't stand alone as a story or anything like that, but if some quick hits are what you're into, Point One will provide a nice little variety pack, and will hopefully turn you on to some books with a lot of potential.

A good alpha issue for Alpha #1. This kid's a wiener. Fialkov's got his work cut out for him, making us like the guy enough to follow his story. So far, it's working.

"Throne Of Atlantis," which stretches between Aquaman and Justice League, looks to cement this new era of the bad ass Aquaman.

For those of us who split the difference, it's going to be one hell of a headache.

Questionable motivations and suspect contrivances make it hard to connect with the story being told, but there are much cooler things happening here than in most summer comic stunts, so we'll take what we can get.

Once again, Avengers vs. X-Men splits the difference between event-book frustration and doing something new and interesting, which means it's just cool enough to keep us reading, and not going off on endless vitriolic Fear Itself/Flashpoint rants like last year.

Hey, it's still sorta fun. And it's not Fear Itself. So let's enjoy what we can. We do like liking things.

Regardless, it still feels like an "oh, by the way" sort of character reboot, though. Harvey Dent deserves an epic, but I fear he might be getting the shaft.

We'll have to see how this shakes out now that everything's coming to a head, but there's not a lot of cause for optimism that the new status quo for Harvey Dent will be anything but lame. However, Erin McKillen makes for an interesting character , so it's up to you to decide whether or not the new blood is worth the sacrifice of the venerable classic.

Anyway, since Liss has proven himself capable of work I like, I'll stick with his Black Panther through the title changeover and see if there's any difference in tone or methodology enough to properly service the uniqueness of T'Challa. This last arc has been interesting at the very least, and hopefully things will start to improve. As they say, hope springs eternal.

Maybe it's just a matter of growing accustomed to different art styles, but I found Captain Marvel #11 to be a pretty enjoyable issue. The characters are engaging, the interplay is fun, and whereas I never really had much stock in Ms. Marvel, I find myself actually caring about Captain Marvel. As in, I'm worried about her getting evicted. When I start to get emotionally attached to characters, you've done your job.

Overall, Catwoman #0 raises a lot of questions and makes us feel some things. It's not really a thrilling new direction for the series, though, but we're not exactly giving it the stink-eye, either. The jury is still out.

The art is okay, mildly unpleasant at times as I'm not a big fan of Ryp's puffy faces, but solid at other points. The energy in this book is great, though, and it's got enough inertia to take us to the next issue.

Acker & Blacker (Bigger & Blackerer?) get points for actually trying to quantify this whole issue canonically, which was really probably just one of Way's writing-style affectations rather than any big plan to have the extra voice in Wade's head mean something. However, they seem to see Wade as more of a surly bastard rather than his trademark wack-a-doodle before the merger, although that might just be to differentiate him from Madcap a bit more, and to make their moody conclusion more resonant. Still, it's a cute, twisted little story that befits an Annual, and they've got good gags " like Thor accidentally killing people and hurriedly claiming "They died warrior's deaths!" " and the art from Evan "Doc" Shaner is suitably balanced between comic booky and cartoony.

Dial H is a really nutty book that will likely read better when collected in trade form, but I love that I never have any idea what to expect from it.

Overall, EGOs #1 is a solidly entertaining start to what could be a pretty cool series.

By the way, there's no mention of the red-and-black outfits, not even some witty aside, and the FF kids are still in the whites. There is a bit of chicanery with the Foundation kids that momentarily breaks up the somber tone of the first issue, but all in all, it's a truly ominous affair. Hickman was able to make this team work by embracing the huge-scale cosmic events this family deals with, while Fraction's run succeeded on its embrace of the gee-whiz fun and interpersonal drama. It remains to be seen what shape the Robinson era will take, but it's probably going to be a bit depressing for a while. Let it settle in.

All in all, Forever Evil is cool, in that same dark, tough-guy tone in which DC seems to be unifying all of their books. Maybe that's why it feels like I've been reading the same thing a lot of the time with DC's stuff – unless it's Larfleeze, it all seems to have the same Dark Knight kind of vibe. It's not a bad vibe, but when it's the only vibe, you can get burnt out.

It's possible ARGUS can emerge as a rock-solid part of the DCU. Team 7 didn't take, but maybe this series will.

So, G.I. Combat #1 is a tale of two tales. One is shrug-worthy, but with potential, and the other is pretty engrossing. It's worth your time.

Overall, there's enough here to build on, and Lemire's proven himself to be a writer to trust. It's worth a few more issues to see if it's going to go pear-shaped or not.

Just a little, though, and if we give them the benefit of that doubt, "Lights Out" is a unique and interesting challenge for the Green Lanterns to face, with every element of their mythos being systematically destroyed. Oa is gone. Their Central Battery is gone. Every use of their power kills their environment and hastens the end of all life, and their leader is a bull-headed jackass who sucks and is bad and is dumb. How do they adapt? Do they adapt at all? I can't wait to find out.

I liked this book at the start, and although Pan makes me nervous, I still want to like Infinity: The Hunt as a spiritual successor to Avengers Academy. Let's hope it earns it.

Iron Man in the Marvel NOW era has managed to be fairly entertaining despite Land and a general feeling of directionlessness, and hopefully, the space-faring fun keeps on keepin' on with it's Trekky self.

Perhaps it's strange that the two marquee Avengers " Iron Man and Captain America " are currently way out of their normal comfort zones in their respective books, but for Shellhead's part, it's still kind of intriguing. It's nothing spectacular or fascinating as yet, but there does seem to be some potential.

Iron Man #17 is all talk, and artist Carlo Pagulayan portrays it completley straightforward, and it's just fine. We still have a lot to digest with this altered perception of the Stark family… and who knows? Maybe Arno will turn out to be evil Iron Man 2020, and this will all be a lot of hooey and malarkey being used to manipulate Tony. I'm sure we'll know the truth in seven years' time.

The backup story gives us a bit more on the Trinity of Sin build-up, as the Wizard's last act is to find Pandora and apologize for the Council of Eternity passing a foolishly extreme judgment on her for simple curiosity - something that makes us wonder if Black Adam might not have had good reason to kill them all. We also get our first glimpse of The Question, fighting street crime and spouting to himself about his search for answers. Still not sure if making Q into this eternally damned immortal is a wise direction, but we'll see.

Anyway, Justice League #3 is finally getting to what we wanted out of this book in the first place. However, it has yet to manage anything completely awesome, even though Wonder Woman's splash page was as close as it's gotten. Hopefully it'll keep getting better from here, and eventually get us jazzed about the heavy hitters again.

Besides, the original Billy Batson would want me to give the new kid a chance and let go of all those bad feelings. That's why he was so great.

There's also the concern that DC is trying to jump through hoops Marvel's already been through, what with having a civil war between superheroes leading to a long reign of bad guys, but the jury's still out on that particular indictment. It's a comic tradition to take familiar concepts in new directions, so we'll let Johns and Co. finish their story before passing judgment on whether this direction is new enough to matter.

Johns co-wrote this story with Andrew Kreisberg, and it's decent enough. Nothing patently offensive, although the names Armando and Francisco still seem a little like... I don't know... swashbuckling Antonio Banderas character names to me. That's just me, though. Otherwise, it's a bit by-the-numbers, but it's fine that way. The art from Pete Woods is solid as well. There's nothing particularly exciting about this book, besides maybe the fact that Waller has a zoo full of botched human experiments and/or people who refused to play ball (including a prior 'Vibe,' a Thunderer of Qward, Pariah, a familiar face in Gypsy and apparently Darkseid's daughter), but hey, it's Vibe. The fact that he has a book at all is remarkable.

This is a seven-part series, so hopefully Willingham has enough time to craft a story that breathes. It's mildly interesting at the moment, but not particularly exciting. Perhaps that will change as the tale develops. We're likely to get Kato action in the next issue, after all, and the recent resurgence of Red Sonja makes me curious as to how she'll fit into a world like the one in Legenderry. Also, the Phantom could be really cool, too. The possibilities are fun to consider, but that goes with just about any reimagining of franchise characters in different settings. Willingham's job will be to make that translate into a good tale, and he may just do it.

So, hey, if you've ever been curious about Magnus: Robot Fighter, and you should have, because it's called Magnus: Robot Fighter, maybe give the new Magnus: Robot Fighter #1 a shot when it comes out next week, and see if it's your bag, man. It's solid sci-fi stuff. Not super exciting as yet, but it has promise.

The jury's still out on Mara overall, though, but it's a #1 issue from Brian Wood. That means it's certainly worth giving a shot.

This story first ran in Dark Horse Presents, and a miniseries is to follow. It's freaky enough to warrant further investigation. Just... come on, writers. You're supposed to know how to conjugate the verb 'suppose.'

The Brent Anderson art is pretty solid, and there's enough here to make us take a look at a second issue next month. It's probably not going to ever be the most scintillating read, but this is likely where all the important stuff about the upcoming "Trinity War" will be revealed, so it'll be crucial. Alas, it's a little hard to shake the notion that defining the Phantom Stranger detracts from how cool he is.

If you want something freaky, Rose & Thorn #1 should do the trick.

The book ends with a quick shot of shenanigans about to go down in London at the hands of Benedict Cumberbatch, which is something we've seen implied from all the trailers – thus making it a direct lead-in to Star Trek: Into Darkness. If you still can't wait for the film, check out our dueling reviews – will you hate it like Bibbs, or love it like Fred?

By the by, the art from Ryan Stegman is odd, because it doesn't seem like the stuff he was doing in Scarlet Spider. Instead, it feels like he's trying to ape Humberto Ramos. That does make for some decent continuity with the old book, but Stegman should really just be Stegman. I mean, Stegman is good.

Superman #0 raises questions that may or may not be answered anytime soon. Lobdell has indicated that he's got a very in-depth plan for what he wants to do with this title, but there's no telling how much editorial influence may be exerted on him to change that. It's The Man of Steel, and there's a movie bearing that name coming out next year and all. I'm curious enough to check back in for the next issue, but I can't say that's not without reservation. How's that for a triple negative?

So it's a decent start, although with some trepidation left to keep from embracing it whole-heartedly. Something about the Night Fox and Robin thing feels too cheap and easy, but Randolph does make a point of revealing that early on, obviously more interested in the actual ramifications of such a thing rather than building it up to be a big revelatory 'ain't I clever and hilarious' joke as many writers would. And "hella" is an expression that makes my skin crawl, so I'm not looking forward to seeing it all the time as somebody's code name. Nitpicks, surely. Supurbia #1 is still certainly worth checking out.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 is a decent start, but it won't blow anybody away. It doesn't seem to be trying to – it's likely a brightening response to Spencer's dark take. It'll be more of an 'oh, hey, these guys. Neat.' sort of response than anything.

Team 7 itself is one of those books that isn't all that interesting on its own, but you know it's going to play a big part in shaping DCnU history so you'll feel compelled to read it just to know what the new deal is. So there you go.

We've still got three more issues to go to see how this all shakes out. Will it be a fond, honorable farewell to one of the best Defenders, or will they flip the script and instead bring the long-dead love that Valkyrie's eager to join in Valhalla back to life and let her find some happiness? Or will Sin wake up the big robot and we'll have to deal with 2 Fear 2 Itself: Fear Itselfer? I don't know, but they've got a hook to bring me back.

Overall, it seems we'll be getting some solid entertainment from Fearless Defenders. Go team!

Superior Spider-Man is so incredibly great, and much more dynamic than we could ever have thought. He works on so many levels and with so many writers, from Dan Slott to Christopher Yost to Robert Rodi " it seems he's refreshing and exciting for everybody who gets their hands on him. Del Mundo's art remains well-suited for spider-action, and it always seems to be moving. This is one more winning entry in the finest hour of Otto Octavius, and both Fulmina and Ren feel like fully idiosyncratic characters from the get-go, and we look forward to seeing more of them.

The Illegitimates is a cute idea, decently executed so far, but time will tell if it has any legs.

So The Massive #15 is a confusing issue, with a sort of anticlimactic 'uh, okay?' ending to a tense story surrounding runaway nukes. I can't rightly say whether or not this is a stumble or just another building block for Wood's world. Garry Brown's artwork is decent, and Jordie Bellaire's colors really help him excel with environments and backgrounds, moods and tones, even if faces aren't always the best. Still, this has been such a solid book so far that it gets the benefit of the doubt.

The art from Freddie Williams II is pretty solid, if also a little murky here and there. Strong where it needs to be. It might take some time and some doing, but there's enough to like about The Movement that we can bear with it during its growing pains.

Overall, though, nothing too exciting or different yet, but The Saviors should make for a leisurely, enjoyable sort of read when it's all said and done.

Scott Kolins' artwork in the backup story fares a bit better than Tom Raney's in the main story simply due to its stylization, but both are solid. Giffen's dialogue is cute and fun, establishing a swashbuckling tone for the proceedings. If you're in for some rip-roaring space adventure, you could do worse than Threshold.

While this issue doesn't have the sheer joy of Transformers greatness that MTMTE usually has, the Dark Cybertron story has potential, and when Roberts gets a hold of the old continuity elements, he remembers to explain them and deal with them as if they're new to the reader. I've read all of the stuff, and I still need a refresher on the plots gone by from time to time. Still looking forward to Shockwave's master plan " it can't simply be in service of an old crackpot despot like Nova Prime.

For me, Uncanny X-Men #18 is only nine pages long. The rest of it is some wheel-spinning malarkey about Scott Summers being bitchy and showing us that, during the big fight in Avengers vs. X-Men #11, Scott and Emma Frost were also having a lovely dinner with each other on the astral plane wherein they were eating steak glazed with human blood. Whatever, yadda yadda, Phoenix Corruptus ad nauseum. It's all rendered very well by artist Ron Garney, but I've had my fill of Cyclops.

Worlds' Finest #1 certainly has potential and room to grow, but there are some red flags that may or may not spell problems in the future. For now, though, optimism wins out, and hopefully the blue-striped track pants are a temporary thing. Please. This ain't the '70s.

Still, Young Avengers #1 is fun for the most part, and it should get better once it finds its footing. It's just unfortunate that the first issue in the new era isn't really any kind of knockout.

So, overall, Young Romance #1 is a cute gimmick with a couple of touching stories, but with little resonance. If you're in the mood for it, read it. If not, you're likely not missing anything.

Overall, Wonder Woman continues to be what it's been for me - decent stuff I like well enough, but nothing I'm ever super excited to read. However, I've got a new perspective on it, and that might help it grab me a bit more in the long run. The symbol of truth, justice and love isn't really there anymore, and she is missed, but it can also be fun to see how a more down-to-earth and mistake-prone Diana deals with her extraordinary circumstances. And maybe this Poseidon thing will bring her into confict with Aquaman, and maybe Azzarello can handle it a hell of a lot better than Flashpoint.

Overall? Justice League #1 does its job in a workmanlike manner rather than with any spectacular flair that we may have hoped for. It sets up a new world where nobody knows each other, it lays the groundwork for a big sinister alien plot as well as an origin story for Cyborg, it gives us decent superhero banter and it has Batman in it. It's not enough to blow us away, but it's just about enough to make us want a little more before we decide whether or not we're down with this whole New 52 thing.

So far, it's interesting enough to check into and see where it goes.

CRAVE ONLINE RATING: 7.9/10

There's enough interesting stuff going on in The Flash #6 that I might jump back on the train and see where it takes me. With any luck, it will eventually take me to Wally West, but I can be patient if The Fastest Man Alive's journey to ginger is a slow one.

Men of War is a good effort in a good direction so far, and here's hoping it works well enough to justify more things like it, such as maybe a Lois Lane book set in the thick of the shit that is the awful American media - it'd be amazing if she could get herself embedded in Rock's unit, too. Fall in, DC.

It's not a kiddie story, though, as Peter is shooting Nazis down and about to kill a few more when the story abruptly ends with a howl. This sudden stoppage made me go 'uh, okay, whatever' at first, but now that I know the truth, I realize it was supposed to be A Moment. Peter's also not actually flying, but he makes a hell of a leap between buildings to inspire the others to do the same, so it looks as though this will be firmly grounded in reality. Wiebe's script is engaging and just cool, though, and Jenkins' art is great at setting the scene and the mood of the tale's contrasting emotions of misery and hope.

CRAVE ONLINE RATING: 7.9/10

Bottom line is that these characters are fun and come from a great era that we never get tired of exploring, especially in comics. Bringing the Rocketeer ahead into the 1940s and the World War II era is just aces, and here's hoping IDW gets the moxie to keep this show on the road.

CRAVE ONLINE RATING: 7.9/10

CRAVE ONLINE RATING: 7.9/10

Overall, The Ray #1 might be a little too self-aware for it's own good, but so far, it's a breezy good time.

Of course, by the end of the issue, she's traded one annoyed god for another, and has to go pull Zola's scrawny non-fat out of the fire once again, although this time, it's the fire of the underworld. Maybe Azzarello's intentionally obscuring things - making his readers do the legwork to figure out what's going on means they have to pay attention and not treat his work as forgettable. Or maybe I'm just dense and slow on the uptake. Either way, Wonder Woman isn't my usual bag, but I'm thinking of making room for a new bag.

Overall, A Voice in the Dark blends the killing of people with the coming of age and the slicing of life. The first issue sets up the players in what's sure to be an unsettling game. It's taking its time unfolding, with a mild undercurrent of tension that's sure to ratchet up quickly as we watch a person who wants to kill people dealing with a caller who wants to kill herself, which is where the first issue leaves us. It could become something very compelling once it gets its legs.

Clark and Lana couldn't be more different, but they share a heart of gold, and you can feel their warmth and sorrow in Action Comics #29. It's good to have a Superman book that makes you feel things again.

Make it happen, Mr. Lapham.

Overall, it's a solid next effort and I'll certainly be reading the rest of this five-issue miniseries. Dancy is a compelling mix of down-home earnestness, savage ferocity and sullen misery, and we still aren't entirely sure what her angle is. Ostensibly, she's a monster-slayer out to protect reg'lar folk, but is she mistaking a demon for an angel in her holy quest, or is there other stuff going on here? Hopefully, we'll find out soon. There's plenty of promise that it'll be a cool revelation when we do.

So how's Gambit? Well, he's certainly not offensive yet. Having Logan run him down like a dumb child helps deflate some of that lame LeBeau "mystique." and making it seem like he's stumbling into something way out of his league also negates that 'too cool for school' malarkey that made him so unappealing. So Peter David and his talent for interesting character work may actually be able to do the unthinkable – make me like a book that stars Gambit. That is some of the highest praise I can offer.

Overall, All-Star Western #9 maintains the entertainment level of the series so far - particularly with Arkham's incredulity at the revelation that someone actually married Hex, and Hex's response at his attempted mockery of it. Also, it was nice to see that Arkham wasn't entirely dead weight, and actually played upon his appearance as dead weight to help pull off the plan. This book is good, and Hex is back in Gotham by the end of it all. Is he gonna remain there for good? Who knows, but if it helps get him in the mix with big-time crossovers, I'm eager to see how it works out.

Let me say that again. Jonah Hex is in Arkham Asylum. That is seriously all you need to know to start reading this book NOW. Never mind the irony that Hex had been reluctantly partnered with Amadeus Arkham himself for a long while back in his own time. Come on now. You have to find out how Jonah Hex will react to the Calendar Man.

So far, I'm enjoying this All-Star Western time warp, although I'm holding out hope that J&J will really deliver some truly great moments in a "Future Hex" story, where they've really only got one chance to do Hex In Modern Gotham right and proper, before shoving him into the modern-day would feel forced. Or even more forced than the series has felt thus far with Hex in Old Gotham instead of out west where he belongs. I have faith.

Amazing Spider-Man #693 is interesting even while being off-putting, and Slott's walking a very tight rope with keeping it that way while featuring a character as annoying as Maguire. Let's hope he keeps it going with Part 3 next time out, because we REALLY want to see this brat learn a lesson or twelve.

The art from Giuseppe Camuncoli is much more realistic than the kinetic, angular work of Humberto Ramos, but it's still solid stuff, bringing the energy when needed. The players in the game here - two different Hobgoblins, the Bugle, the Labs, Stone, Kingpin, Madame Web - are all leading up to something interesting, and Slott, and Gage, for that matter, are the kinds of writers we can believe when they say they've got things cooking that will knock our socks off.

Archer & Armstrong #2 is fun stuff. Nothing super-hilarious, but I am duly entertained. I must clarify that I haven't read the original Valiant Comics, and a reader did point out last time out that this seemed like a rehash of stuff better told in the previous incarnation. I can't speak to that, but I'd be interested in hearing what other old Valiant readers might have to say about it. As a newbie, though, it's a good time.

Astonishing X-Men #50 is a pleasant enough set-up for the big deal next month, even if it's nothing crazy exciting. Get on board, perhaps you'll enjoy the ride.

The much-ballyhooed gay wedding goes off without a hitch. Karma at least waits until after the reception has started before doing... something gross to Ol' Woofie. Having tuned in to check out the hype machine, I'm not sure if I'll continue reading this title now that the big event has happened. It's a good enough book, but aside from being the host series for a social landmark, these last two issues haven't really jazzed me, which may just be a purely aesthetic response on my part. Your mileage may vary, of course. It's a place to get something you don't really get in most other superhero comics. If you dig it, keep on digging it.

Avengers Academy #29 is a great way to tie in with the AvX event without selling out to it. This book is all about characters we like, and if Gage can do with the X-Kids what he does with the AA crew, I may have to start looking into those X-books, too.

WIth Avengers vs. X-Men taking an interesting turn, Avengers Academy #32 takes a step back from lightly satirizing the entire concept and brings us a small-scale personal conflict that certainly serves to illustrate the much larger issue about the Phoenix Five being the absolute arbiters of right and wrong for the entire world. Gage has proven wonderful at this sort of thing, and as always, we look forward to the next issue.

Hickman spends more time getting to the point of the story and less time focusing on forcing square characters into round plot holes to make them fight each other and kind of making us hate them, and thus AvX Round 4 is a step above the rest. Wolverine is cool, Gambit is not, and the Phoenix is finally here so the snotty slap-fighting is hopefully over. If any slap-fighting starts anew, it'll hopefully be more along the lines of extremely intense world-in-the-balance stuff rather than the "humans are so petty... and tiny" style.

Now let's just hope some of the creators involved with Avengers vs. X-Men have read this series and respect its tone and message about what they're about to do before plucking out its characters and plugging them into their fight card. If it feels just as contrived as it sounds, those of us who read Avengers: The Children's Crusade are going to have that much more difficult a time swallowing it. However, considering the pre-sale numbers are going through the roof for AvX, they likely don't care all that much.

It's disappointing that Gillen is managing to make me an X-Men fan just in time to see him stop writing X-Men. Let's hope the Marvel NOW X-books can rise to Gillen's game here.

Jae Lee is back on art duties, so the rejoicing never ends. This is magical stuff, really unique and exciting. Lee has touches of Norman Rockwell and Alex Toth, but never loses his original eye. Dealing with dark subject matter, Lee brings a texture of nightmares to his panels. Things are foreboding, especially with Batman and Huntress, and Superman becomes elemental, almost primal. Nobody works in the way Jae Lee does, which is something you can’t often say about comic book artists.

In essence, Batman: Death By Design feels like the movie serial era of Batman, complete with the old-school Bat-computer with knobs and gauges and the like, and as such, it's really pretty cool that way. Kidd's script does explore some interesting architectural ideas and ramifications while drawing inspiration from reality, but the star of the show is Dave Taylor, as well he should be. The classically styled visuals, the slick look of Exacto, and the very inventive designs bringing Gotham City itself to life will definitely be a treat for your eyes.

Good-bye, good ol' Nicholas J. Fury, you badass, no-bullshit, hard-bitten, stogie-chompin', one-eyed master of espionage, shell games, international intrigue and balls-to-the-wall ass-kicking. It's been a a hell of an adventure, and we couldn't ask for a better pilot through the last 50 years of Marvel Comics.

Batwing is still good stuff. One hopes it doesn't fall by the wayside due to lack of attention.

All in all, if we have to Americanize Batwing in order to keep it around, I suppose I can swallow this. Palmiotti said at Wondercon that the new Batwing was going to be much more international and not confined to one region. While I'll lament the loss of the African focus, an intercontinental effort may still be pretty worthwhile. I think J&J can make that happen.

The main thing to take away from this is, while we'll certainly miss the treat for the eyes that Williams' art is, Reeder is certainly no slouch, and she does a great job of maintaining the mood and tone that has been established with this series. Thus, Batwoman is still good stuff.

Judging from Liss' talk on the letters page, T'Challa won't be returning to Wakanda anytime soon, but at least we can hope that T'Challa will finally start to establish himself once again. Hopefully, somewhere else. Someplace that doesn't have any protectors. Someplace new and unique, like Wakanda once was for him. When he no longer has to balance the governance of an entire nation with his crimefighting activities, he should be able to set up a very impressive dominion over whichever city he chooses. That might be a T'Challa I'll be able to fully embrace again.

Black Widow #1 is a solid start. Let's hope they can find a way to give a supporting cast to a woman who makes a point of supporting herself and no one else.

BlackAcre #1 is a solid start. It remains to be seen if it'll manage to balance the gritty action with interesting social commentary, or if it'll become more of a standard common vs. wealth struggle. It's worth checking out.

BlackAcre has the potential to be a very interesting examination of the dichotomy between the haves and have-nots. Or it could just be the standard kind of post-civilization turf-war fare, but given the opening of the first issue in the re-civilized future, I'm guessing Bordreau is going somewhere specific with all of this, and I'm on board to find out just where that might be.

BlackAcre is an engaging series from Image worth checking out, even if it's a little hard to take a character named Kellogg seriously as a power player. All it does is make you want Frosted Flakes.

It's not Rick Remender's book by any means, but this hearkens back to the origins of X-Force with the big freaky-eyed tactician doing mysterious things and people just glomming into him as he goes about taking care of business. I'm looking forward to finding out the Colossus angle before I offer any final judgment on Cable and X-Force, and in the interim, I hope to hear some entertaining science-bickering between Forge and Nemesis.

Overall, this is a decently entertaining book that seems to be approaching a stride. I'm looking forward to the next insane adventure, and to the fate of Piotr Nikolievitch Rasputin, considering the drastic step he takes at the end of Cable and X-Force #5.

Brubaker had eight years on the book, and had come to define what we expect when we read a Captain America comic. Remender's take is very much NOT that, and it HAD to not be that. It may seem strange to throw Captain America into situations where America doesn't matter in the least and there's no political intrigue to maneuver through, but it's just different enough to have a decent kind of cognitive dissonance about it. Plus, it's about Arnim Zola, and the only way he was going to make a splash is by doing horrible things to Captain America. And it seems like the worst is yet to come, and one can only imagine how weird Remender and Romita are going to get with this. I'm certainly down to find out.

It's fun. It's cool. Soy's art, again, is very hit or miss - sometimes cool, sometimes excessively murky - but it's a good time to be had here with Captain Marvel. I'm stickin' with it.

So... yeah, time travel confusion, and Walsh's art works well, even though it feels like the same style that's in every third book these days. It's cool enough to warrent a look, though. I'll be getting #2.

Then again, we've been led to believe all this time that Wade was going to get hitched to Shiklah, but then a mysterious vampire lady with an umbrella obscuring her face shows up to wrangle the vampire hobos, and it brings to mind the big Issue #27 wedding photo and the obscured face of Wade's bride, so there could be a bridal shell game happening here. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. Deadpool: The Gauntlet has been a fun ride either way, and of course it takes a succubus to find Wade attractive!

Iffy nomenclature or not, it's a volatile mix of questionable personalities - and that's what makes Thunderbolts comics so much fun to read. This one is no exception - especially with the tagline at the end saying "Next: DEATHDEATHDEATHDEATH." Something tells me 'Toxie Doxie's going to run out of moxie.

It's also worth noting that the appearance of this Butler character, who has apparently been randomly harvesting Deadpool's organs for who knows how long, might be a sign of some of that compelling drama coming back as well. Regardless, they were able to make me laugh at a guy getting sacked, which you'd think is the lowest form of humor. But no! It works on so many levels!

Overall, it's an interesting effort from Layman, and certainly a respectable one, but I'm not sure how much confidence I have in Detective Comics going forward.

We never have any idea where this book is going, and it will likely read better if you read collections to get whole story arcs at once. But Dial H is certainly worth your time to experience – and I'm looking forward to seeing if this has any actual effect on Flash comics.

Hop on board the Extermination train, which certainly doesn't sound like something anybody should recommend to anybody, but trust me. It's a fun ride.

Steve Epting's artwork is solid as always, too, as well as his inking team working to make things moody when they need to be, bright when they should be and touching when Ben Grimm gets his groove back. If you're a fan of the classics, you can't go wrong with hopping onto Fantastic Four #601. If you think you're too cool for that, enjoy your gooey murderfaced symbiote. We'll be over here havin' fun.

On the surface, this whole X-Force concept seems like it should fall into the 'dark for the sake of dark' trap, but in both Remender's series and Williams' efforts here, it manages to avoid that sensibility, while certainly maintaining that unrelenting bleakness. It's a strange thing, to still want to read books that bring up really murky feelings of ugliness, but in this day and age, Uncanny X-Force is managing just that.

We won't know until Fantastic Four #604. But we do know that Franklin Richards is a really good-hearted kid, and his character has been developed enough to know that we really care about what happens to this little guy. That, in itself, is an accomplishment, considering he was once completely untouchable.

Fraction's having fun, and this time, unlike his Defenders, it's fun we can all enjoy.

It may be a long time before we see Wally West again, but there is a West who is now a Flash, if that helps. Foreshadowing, maybe?

Overall, this is still a compelling book, where monsters are monsters and they fight other monsters, and sometimes realize all too keenly that they can't really transcend their own monster status. Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. is an inherently cool concept, and there's plenty to like here, especially the lovably gruesome lead character. We'll hope that Matt Kindt has more good ideas when he takes over with #10.

Overall, it looks like some cool adventure awaits in Godzilla: The Half Century War, and it's earned a reprieve from my previous disinclination to keep up with my favorite lizard's stories.

I was uncertain about this series from the get-go, as much as I've liked Godzilla since I was a kid, but Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #4 is the issue that officially hooked me, and I'm in for the full ride.

Two issues left, and we have to believe that the world's governments are out of ideas, and will collapse from here on out. We have no idea how Powell and Marsh are going to end their grand tale of the end of life as we know it, but even if it takes a Cormac McCarthy route, we can be comforted by the knowledge that these two writers are far too fun for this to ever get as depressing as The Road.

It's nice to say I'm on board to keep reading Green Lantern. At least for the short term. Once Baz is shuffled off to Justice League of America, Jordan will likely slip back in and drag everything back to Sucktown.

"Lights Out" is off to an interesting start with plenty of potential. Let's see where it goes.

All in all, the GL/RL #28 stunt was an enjoyable one, if not particularly exciting, giving us a frog lantern and a bit of bitchiness between a ball lantern and a box lantern, as well as dropping a major character into the Red Lantern fray that will hopefully spike its interest levels and get the Reds mixed in with the rest of the DCU.

The "Wrath of the First Lantern" storyline hasn't been the best, but I enjoyed the deep look into the mind and new origins of John Stewart in Green Lantern Corps #18. I'm hoping he'll remain somewhat relevant in the outcome of it all, but it's looking as though All Things Defer To Hal Jordan's Infallible Greatness will be how this all plays out. Yawn.

As of now, it looks like Green Lantern Corps is the book you'll want to check out if you want to read about actual Green Lantern business rather than all the internal bickering and spectrum slapfights. It's not bad.

*bias against Hal Jordan freely admitted. He's just the most boring GL of all time. Yes, I'm including Ch'p.

So far, it's a reasonably good start for the new creative crew handling the Emerald Knights. They're getting back to they're actual damn jobs, they're realizing Hal Jordan is impossible to love, and they're dealing with the fallout of some catastrophic storytelling, even if it's becoming even moreso. Green Lantern: New Guardians #9 is all right by me.

The art from Darick Robertson is pretty solid as well, which makes the contrast between gritty, violent realism and Disney-fied Happy more fun. It's possible this whole concept will cross the line between clever and "clever," but for right now, Happy! #1 is a goofy blend of overblown crime drama with overblown cutesy fun. No telling where Morrison is going to take this one.

Humphries is taking a risk by not giving us the full scoop of his original series, trusting we'll be intrigued enough by the drips and drabs he dishes out and the plight of Heidi that we'll keep on going. So far, it works well enough, but with Heidi being the only likable character so far, it might wear a bit thin if its stretched out too long. It's fairly commonplace for new books to give us the what-for by issue #3, and that's often the threshold new readers will give a new series before deciding whether or not they're going to stick with it, so we'll see what happens then. The first two issues, though, are fairly imaginative with a breathless sort of pace to them, dropping us at the beginning and right in the middle at the same time. Humphries gets a vote of confidence.

The kicker is that this isn't some Elseworlds thing. It's set in the DCnU proper, and next issue even promises some Batman action. This means eventually, we could see Hawkman murdering the crap out of suckheads. How the hell is a horror book and a vampire revolution fit into the New 52 superhero world? It's enough of a question mark to tune in for #4.

I still hate vampires, but in this book, we're supposed to hate vampires, which I suppose is why it still has my attention. I'm looking forward to seeing how Batman responds to this murderous suckhead rebellion in full force.

CRAVE ONLINE RATING: 8/10

Overall, the issue is pretty fun, with a dark swerve at the end that will likely shift the tone drastically. Still, some of us were worried that the Avengers Academy characters wouldn't resurface again without a claustrophobic trauma forcing them to kill each other for quite some time. At least this time, if they get killed, it will be by bad guys.

Iron Man #9 is mostly set-up, with a cute bad-merc story as its basis. The real verdict will have to come when we know what Howard's revelation is really going to be. The preview looks interesting"

Iron Man #10 is pretty solid and intriguing, but trepidations about where Gillen is going with all this are holding me back from fully embracing it.

Perhaps I don't have the proper street cred to be steeped in 2000 A.D. lore (and feel free to condescend to me if you do and you have unkind things to say about this book), but it's a nice start, with a satirical Robocop-esque feel to the Mega City One society - complete with either incompetent or impudent security robots frustrating their owners

Then there's the Shazam backup story that I've been hating on quite a bit, because I strongly disagree with Geoff Johns' notion that Billy Batson was "too perfect" and that he had to turn him into a brat in order to make him compelling. At least the worst of that might be over, because he's now being a jerk to even bigger (and one-dimensional) jerks, even going so far as to protect his foster brother Freddy Freeman from harm. He's still not a character I'm rooting for yet (which is supremely sad to say), but at least the edge is off. That, plus the fact that Black Adam still seems to be the ruthless bastard we remember, with Gary Frank bringing that presence of his to bear with a dark strength, helps make this one of the better issues of Justice League in quite some time.

Overall, Justice League #19 isn't particularly exciting, but it does set the stage for some potentially interesting developments. We'll have to wait and see if they actually develop.

Justice League 3000 #1 is a great way to give a much-beloved creative team free reign to do what they do without having their style crimped by the mandates of the New 52. It could get pretty brutal, as any story where Superman is an unstable jerkwad threatens to be, but I'd guess that Giffen/DeMatteis know that there's more entertainment value to be had in Superman/Batman bickering catfights than in yet another book wherein Superman gets all murder-crazy-go-nuts. That's what will keep this book interesting.

Overall, it's a pretty good new start, and Lemire has more than earned our trust that he'll be doing very cool things with the Justice League Dark - a name he actually introduces in this issue, and a name to which Constantine reacts very badly. That's fun.

Justice League Dark #15 is a pretty fun book, though, as it has complete license to get really, really weird out of nowhere. That's magic, folks.

Hell of a way for JLI to end.

And just a side note – I know comic book costumes went apeshit with the midriff-baring costumes when Britney Spears first came to power and popularized it, giving comic folks a chance to be fleshy without being cleavagey, but doesn't it seem like that style has passed? Why is Stargirl still sporting that? Then again, I guess it's better that than having her holster up a whipped-cream shooting Katy Perry bra.

Not bad. The funky team dynamics and the mystery of the SSV will keep Justice League of America going for a while, likely going places we don't expect – although since the Doctor Light business carries over into Justice League #22, the crossover has already begun. Trinity War's a-tootin'. Put on your seat belts and lets get weirdly metaphysical.

Hutchison's use of the Scarecrow as the magnet for Gale's expository dialog works better here than it did when he was using Toto in that role, and now that most of it's out of the way in the first issue, it's much less prevalent here anyway. Save for the Wicked Witch, but she's doing the villain monologue to her big ugly monkeys, so that's to be expected. There's not a great deal of depth to the story, but it's imaginative, fun, and a refreshing change of pace.

Manning's a proven storyteller, and it's nice to have some confidence in this book again. It's felt a bit blunt and unremarkable at times, but I still enjoyed the core concept enough to stick with it, and now we're focusing on gorillas with wings, which is inherently fantastic. Also, Borges has returned to handle the art for this arc, and he brings some striking visuals to the proceedings as well, bringing a presence to this installment, which is mostly expository set-up. It may only be for a few issues, but I'm certain they'll be issues I enjoy. Anything that invokes Gargoyles so strongly is aces in my book.

It's Mike Mignola and John Arcudi turning in another swift, pulpy yarn that does what it aims to do " be an in-and-out adventure in the dark, murky side of the law. Kevin Nowlan's artwork is fairly bright and clean for a grubby story like this, but it works perfectly, from palooka to his creepy benefactor to the mad scientist to Lobster's scare tactics. The closeups are fantastic. It's a fun read, and although it's quick, I wouldn't call it light, what with all the shootings.

Manifest Destiny so far has been about as pleasant a diversion as a book full of gruesome unpleasantries can be. Time will tell it if unfolds into something more than that. The potential is surely there.

Mighty Avengers is a really fun book, and you should read it if you like awesome super-hero action.

So check into Mighty Avengers, because it's a damn good time featuring a nice mix of very popular characters and folks you don't often see – including a Blue Marvel team-up with Hauptmann Deutschland, The Captain America of Germany. That happens in Mighty Avengers #4. You know you want to see that.

Al Ewing keeps things crackling with dialogue and well-thought-out storytelling, while Valerio Schiti gives us a very impressive look at just how capable White Tiger is as she tears through Power Man, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and She-Hulk with an almost stunning ease and a certainly kinetic look. Mighty Avengers continues to be the place to go for the more traditional, banter-filled, character-based superhero team action while Jonathan Hickman's main Avengers book deal with really heavy world-ending plots. It's a great, fun book and it's worth your time.

Mind The Gap #1 is definitely worth a look-see, and it has plenty of room to grow. No capes, no bombast and no standard comic-book fare, and that's a good thing. Just an interesting trip through the mindscape of a woman lost in the space between.

It's a solid start, and that's coming from a guy who has never really liked vampires all that much. When done properly, though, just about any character can become interesting. Morbius The Living Vampire #1 has done that for its star.

I was a bit disappointed to notice the indication that this is only a one shot, as National Comics' Eternity is a series I'd probably check into for a few more issues, should they ever appear. Maybe it'll circle back again after the rest of the line-up gets their turn at bat.

New Avengers #26 might be worth your time, if you're into the Fisting. Get your minds out of the gutter.

Hickman's writing remains enigmatic and learned, and what it lacks in entertaining dialogue it makes up for with aspiration and heady thought. Simone Bianchi does an admirable job of translating these ideas into a vacillating tone of hope bookeneded with despair. New Avengers is by no means a fun book, but it is darkly compelling, and it makes us fret about what the lasting impact of these soul-staining events will have on our iconic heroes.

Phantom Lady and Doll Man has three more issues to fully find its legs, and with all the exposition out of its way, it's got a pretty good chance of doing that. Added bonus, the story of the Bloody Bender Crime Family of Metropolis stretches back a couple of centuries, including a serial killing spree in Kansas in 1872. How much you wanna bet they eventually show up to give Jonah Hex some hell in All-Star Western? I'm up for it.

We've got murder, mystery, and mounting police pressure, as well as two men in love with the same dead woman trying to avenge her death, while at the same time dealing with their own devastations. It's a solid, involving pulp story well worth checking out.

Of course, the book could always sink back into what it was, given that Dex-Starr the Angry Cat has resuscitated Atrocitus, but so far it seems like Soule knows how this book should work, and it's doubtful that he'll regress. Good news for fans of blood-soaked vengeance.

Revelations #1 is a palatable kind of dark, with characters you can like right away, but it doesn't quite rocket out of the gate – and that's fine. It's got six issues to work with, and not every story has to be a barn-burner. Ain't nothin' wrong with a whodunit.

Either way, "murder by truck" makes for a good comic book.

Rocket Girl is kind of a blast.

We can only hope. In the meantime, we'll have a cool book about space invaders and social crusaders to read. Check out Saucer Country #1.

Yost has kept Scarlet Spider consistently entertaining in its completely reckless anti-heroic action. Artist Khoi Pham isn't quite original SS artist Ryan Stegman, but he's not too shabby when it comes to expressive faces. If you're not on board with this series yet, get there. The impending crossover with Venom will most likely be a wild festival of what not to do when you're trying to be a superhero.

Scarlet Spider has been a very good book about a morally-compromised character trying to fight the good fight anyway. Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that Dan Slott wanted a piece of that action in the flagship book. However, we can't help but feel Superior Spider-Man is biting off too much of Scarlet Spider's niche. Hopefully, they can make it different enough that one won't doom the other.

Scarlet Spider doesn't get a lot of attention " the current massive Otto Octavius stunt draws the focus, and it's well-deserved " but it's a cool little book, separate from everything else and making a go of doing its own thing, much like Flash Thompson was doing as Venom in Philadelphia. Sadly, it's all coming to an end for Kaine with issue #25, canceled right alongside Venom. We'll miss both of these books.

Remender always brings us interesting stories, though, and he does have an eye for canon as well, so it will bear keying into Secret Avengers #27 and beyond to see how this shakes out and eventually leads Carol to become the new Captain Marvel.

While it does feel like it's still finding its legs, as you might expect from a first issue, the tone of Silver Surfer #1 feels fresh and inviting for new readers, and not too far afield from tradition to make it feel wrong. Slott is great at comedy, but he doesn't shy away from drama either, so I don't suspect the classic angsty Surfer is being banished completely " although it's possible Dawn might balance that out somewhat if he veers toward the hand-wringing guilt too much. Slott and Allred seem to be trying to show us that the Surfer can be fun as well as thoughtful, even if Norrin Radd would likely never believe that of himself. I'm all for letting them try to catch a new wave and see if the Surfer can ride it for a long while.

Six-Gun Gorilla promises to kick it up a notch next issue, now that the title character has made his showy entrance by blowing some heads clean off. You might want to get in while the gettin's good.

If Johnson's plan is to reimagine every episode of the original series with new circumstances, it could turn out to be pretty cool and a lot of fun. There's already an interesting conflict developing between Spock's recommendation to kill Mitchell and Kirk's fierce defense of his longtime friend, just as it was in the original. However, how will this new, more emotional Spock behave differently than the more reserved Leonard Nimoy version? That's what we'll keep checking back to find out.

Overall, Star Wars: Agent of the Empire is a cool little series, full of intrigue, high-octane chase sequences and Han Solo. Truth be told, that's what you want out of Star Wars stories more than anything else. Let's get some bounty hunters up in here, and we're set.

So I'm in for at least the next issue, to see how this all plays out. And if Floyd Lawton can be resurrected with his proper look and then get weird powers every time he dies and comes back, that could be very entertaining. But seriously, ditch the everyday boring loser look. GIVE HIM BACK THE STACHE AND THAT BLACK GREASY HAIR. It's amazing how much of a difference a look can make sometimes in keeping characters from feeling generic.

Overall, The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #1 kicks a new, fun series off to a bent-in-the-head sort of start. Given Spencer's talent for intrigue and skullduggery, this could pan out into something stellar.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man is perhaps a bad name for this book, making it seem like a cheap tie-in to the Superior Spider-Man gravy train and maybe mandating that it can't go any longer than that does without some kind of new nomenclature, but the book itself is a nice look into the everyday lives of the colorful criminals of Marvel's New York. We tend to love these guys as concepts, but Spencer is showing us who they are as people… and even though they're fun to watch, they're not all that likable.

Overall, I'm firmly on board with Superior Spider-Man now that the whole creepy vibe has dissipated. I'm really looking forward to Otto taking on big-time Spider-villains.

Yeah, this whole aspect of Superior Spider-Man is the one thing that I have to willfully suspend some disbelief to go along with – but it's not that hard, because the rest of the book has been so entertaining. Things are getting ugly right now, though, as the friends and family of Peter Parker are throwing down the gauntlet, and Otto doesn't ever take that well. Humberto Ramos is going hogwild, as his exaggerated, hyperkinetic art style is perfect for tentacled goo-monsters like Venom. It's hard to gauge the full impact of this issue until we see what Slott and Gage are building to, but I'm optimistic. With the Green Goblin mucking with Hobgoblin's business, Venom rampaging and the Avengers stepping back in, we seem to be leading to a gigantic clusterfudge of epic proportions, and it's time to brace ourselves for more controversy from the Spider-squad. I'm ready for it.

Marco Checchetto does a solid job with capturing all this chaos, but the whole Sun Girl thing was a bit confusing at first. She shows up as a tiny yellow speck, and then a leg getting tackled by Bulldozer, so we don't quite grasp that there's somebody on the scene until Otto mentions a vague memory of punching her once. Also, the introduction of the Wrecking Crew seems a bit awkwardly placed, with Piledriver and Wrecker's intro boxes switched. So it feels like there may have been minor miscommunications going on, but overall, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5 is a lot of good time comic book action.

When it comes down to it, what do you really want out of your fiction? Compelling characters you can invest in, be they stalwart, heroic, conniving or petty. Supurbia's got those, and chances are they're going to get even better as their lives intertwine evermore. Check it out. Once you get past the pitch, you should be able to find some good stuff to enjoy.

I'm thinking Sovereign.

It's not the most exciting issue, but it's cool, and this is certainly a solid foundation for what's to come. I'm just not sure I like the design of the Talon costume. Maybe it'll just take some getting used to, but I'm a vocal opponent of the '90s headwrap, and this is dangerously close.

The Answer #1 has me hooked for the next few. And it's more fun if you imagine Exclamation Point Man's punches make the same sound that exclamations points used to make on The Electric Company.

The result so far is that I'm interested. I can't say I'm excited yet, but I'm interested. Let's see what trick is pulled in Superior Spider-Man #1.

By the end of Avenging Spider-Man #21, we're somehow rooting for Evil Spider-Man to get one over on the good guys, and Yost managing that is a remarkable feat. Go team Spider-Man.

CRAVE ONLINE RATING: 8/10

The Massive is a book that will likely read better when collected, although one imagines you can say that about any comic book series ever. But in this case, it's a lot about tone and mood, and disrupting that on a monthly basis can have a deleterious effect. But when the trades come, check it out.

You won't go wrong if you want to check out The Outliers as well. It's a nice change of pace and a reminder that superheroes aren't everything, and they should never be the only thing.

Overall, this series has had a bright and refreshing tone and pace that's different from a lot of the New 52, and hopefully, this can get an extension to be a full on regular series. It's good, solid entertainment, and that last page of Chanti's makes me hope for another intriguing twist on the traditional role of "love interest for the hero" by the time this all shakes out.

Prince Arthur is the type of bastard that Dylan was castigating in his song. One might then wager that he will turn out to be the man kicking the hell out of Henry in Berlin at the start of the issue, because he illustrates he's got more power than his little brother. The notion that superhumans are like nuclear warheads, and their involvement in a war leads to mutually assured destruction, is not a new one, but it's always an interesting one. The Royals: Masters of War promises to examine what happens when duty clashes with responsibility, and the odds are good that it will be pretty compelling when it all shakes out.

So Ennis and Campbell have hooked me for their first story arc, and in my experience with Ennis, that usually means he'll hook me for a few more.

The Star Wars #1 is a neat little treat. Non-essential, but if you like the property but not so much the franchise, you may have a good time with this.

Now that I can see a general direction, tone and intention for Giffen's Threshold, a sort of cosmic realm that's much like his Annihilation stuff (techincally part of the main continuity, but separate enough from it that those who aren't all that thrilled with the New 52 in general have a place to go within DC to enjoy comics), I'm warming to it more than I did with the first issue, where I couldn't stop hating on the name Jediah Caul. A slight mental adjustment, and I think Threshold is going to be an engaging place to spend some funnybook time.

Anyway, Time Warp #1 overall is a lovely collection of shorts from good people. If you're anything like me, you'll dig it.

That all said, it's fun getting Ye Olden Optimus back into the mix, and seeing the whole gang starting to get back together now that Starscream's actually asking for help. The art from Phil Jimenez and Andrew Griffith is very solid as well " the double-page splash of the Metrotitan erupting out of the very fabric of Cybertron and absolutely dwarfing Bumblebee and the exiled Autobots is actually breathtaking. So it's up to Roberts and Barber to make sure that this exploration of the past doesn't wind up just rehashing old stories " and they've both more than earned enough trust in their work so far that we can rest assured that it won't be. Elements here are great threads to hang a story upon, and Dark Cybertron promises to shake things up considerably for the whole IDW TF universe.

Johnston's story keeps you guessing – you don't really expect things like Arthir getting zapped out of existence, leaving Rascal holding the bloody stump of his arm – and he wastes little time in getting the story in gear. The first issue is a full-on shadow-jerk invasion, after all. If magic and toothy things what go 'boo' in the night trip your trigger, you shan't go wrong with Umbral #1.

Overall, Uncanny X-Force #25 seems to be celebrating the landmark issue by stripping things back down to basics, and shedding some cast members ostensibly to make room for new blood. Remender's corner of the Marvel Universe is still quality stuff, and hopefully he can build back up to something just as epic as The Dark Angel Saga.

So it's a decent start for Uncanny X-Force #1, and it does warrant a few more issues to find its new footing. Humphries does get kudos for bringing Puck onto a non-Canadian team. That's nothing to sneeze at.

It's a good set-up, and there's hope for a good payoff, depending on what Sinister's grand plan turns out to be. I'll certainly check in for the next installment.

All in all, this is a series I'll be sticking with, if Remender can keep from resorting to busting out the slobber-monster every other issue, as the slobber-monster is the least compelling aspect of the current situation. And slobber monsters just feel outdated in comics anyway. Keep the damn tongue in your mouth and tell some good Flash Thompson stories. That's the guy I want to know more about.

Venom #13.3 crystallizes this arc and makes it finally feel like more than just a weird diversion. The art from Julian Tedesco and the colors from Dommo Sanchez Amara really work well together with really creepy demonic imagery and the fiery discomfort of the netherworld. My only problem is Mephisto actually saying that something is "made of awesome and win." I am not ready for that to be actual dialog from a metaphysical demon. Maybe in 20 years, it'll be the norm, but I can't accept that outside of internet memes yet. Stop that.

Overall, it's still the same fun the series has been so far, and it remains to be seen whether or not this will be a segue into making the Villains For Hire operation the actual focus of the series, or if it will split time with Heroes For HIre, or if it'll just be a stunt re-titling for an arc or three.

Overall, X-Force #1 is promising because of Spurrier, who manages to make us care about characters we ordinarily wouldn't – like David Haller in X-Men Legacy. It's a start not without its bumps (a phrase I chose instead of saying 'it's a bit of a Rock-He start,' so be thankful at my restraint), but I'm still on board.

It was a tall order, trying to get people to give a damn about Legion, but Spurrier's done an admirable job with X-Men Legacy #1. The art from Tan Eng Huat is decent as well, if a bit jagged in its expressiveness, and the colors from Jose Villarrubia also really help to differentiate the weird world in David's mind from reality. It's certainly worth checking out to see if you can get into it.

This is one of those books that's likely going to need a lot of support to keep going. Sure, it's got X-Men in the title, but its central character is a really weird one, and we as comic fans tend to like weird characters well enough to enjoy their existence, but we tend not to gravitate toward their books, sadly. Let David Haller be one of the ones to defy that rule.

X-Men Legacy #7 is fun times, folks. Hop aboard this weird-ass space coaster. You get a tale of a young dude trying to find his place in the world mixed with the inner-mind story of a man trying to carve a path to sanity, or at least stability.

But X-Treme X-Men is a horrible name for anything. Much less a comic book we really want to perform well.

Overall, though, there's a lot crackin' over here in Thunderbolts, and we can only hope the hammer nonsense wraps up soon and these creators can get back to their real stories.

If you have doubts, allow me to reiterate: monsters, robots and Goddamned War Wheels.

Shit's going down in the Mignolaverse. Hellboy's dead (he's still dead, right?) and most of the B.P.R.D.is down and out. And I'm back on board to find out what's next.

It's just fun, which is what the Fantastic Four should be.

Overall, it's going to take some effort to get up to speed with FF. It's intellectual and only very subtly emotional. But if you're tired of the same-old same-old, this should be worth that effort for you.

This is just a good, fun adventure in classically-styled crimefighting. Bring on the mystery.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents ain't that lovable, either, but it's a damn sight better. Too bad it's only a 6-issue limited series.

As far as bad guy teams bordering on goodness go, Thunderbolts isn't quite Secret Six for me, but it's not trying to be either. It's still a lot of fun and surprises that'll keep you guessing as to who's going to lean which way each month, and you can't ask for more out of a book than that.

If you can let go of the last 70-odd years of comic history and not bring all that baggage to bear on this new take, it's actually a pretty fun read so far. Maybe the ever-controversial Morrison will go off the rails figuratively in the next few issues, but he did it literally in Action Comics #1 and it turned out pretty exciting. We get inured to the idea that Superman is more powerful than a locomotive after decades of hearing it, but here, we see that it's really damn hard to stop a train with your bare hands. We're back to basics here, and it ain't a bad place to be.

If you'd told me last year that the Kyle Rayner book would be my favorite Green Lantern title, I'd have scoffed. But here we are. Green Lantern: New Guardians #6 - stuff's actually happening, and it's bright and shiny and the most interesting ringslingin' goin' these days.

Overall, X-Club #1 is a fun book that should appeal strongly to those of us who love B-listers, and who will like to watch the pomposity of Marvel's Merry Mutants being satirized to their faces. Aspiring to be Warren Ellis is a noble goal.

We tend to like these kinds of stories that start with 'the heroes have lost and lost hard, and this is how they figure out how to win again.' We didn't particularly enjoy it in Dark Reign, which dominated everything and went on for an interminably long time, but in its own self-contained, quickly-released book like Age of Ultron, it's much more palatable and much more interesting. This is the first event book in quite some time that I've actually enjoyed.

Overall, it's a really good beginning - one that can probably be ascribed to an author adapting her own work to a different medium, knowing how to get the essentials out there to keep readers hooked. Alabaster: Wolves is a five issue series, likely adapting each one of the short stories in the original book. Hopefully, they hang well together as one full tale, and even if they don't, well, Dancy's had her one chance, and she certainly didn't let us down.

All-Star Western #23 helps us settle in to what may be a long haul for Hex in the modern-day… or maybe his connection to Batman will find a way to put him back where he belongs in short order. We'll have to see, but I trust J&J to make it a good time regardless.

Slott writes so densely, and so urgently that he tends to leave you a little breathless, and it's hard to imagine the goofy bits with Mysterio at the beginning are in the same issue as this grisly demise of a cult favorite character like Sable. It's possible he's got a plan to get her out of there, but since he's been building this story for years now, the last great plan of Doc Ock, it had to have a lasting effect somehow, since burning the world is apparently the Phoenix's job over in Avengers vs. X-Men. The art from Stefano Caselli is also top notch, bringing the kinetic energy of Humberto Ramos' work without the distended angles, so it may be a bit more palatable for mainstream appreciation.

All in all, Amazing Spider-Man #692 pretty cool anniversary issue - we get some pathos, some comedy, and a big, thick ol' mess that Spidey's gotten himself into and will have a hard time extracting himself from. It's what Spidey's all about. Let's hope those Marvel NOW goons don't decide to yank Slott from Spidey for the sake of a stunt.

As a swan song to 50 years of Amazing Spider-Man, #700 does delve into a lot of what makes Peter Parker tick, what makes Spidey Spidey, and proves that strong core character is powerful enough to reform a supervillain once they truly understand it. I can't say this issue knocked my socks off, due to all the unanswered questions and my very real concern that an Otto/MJ skeeve-fest is in the offing, but it is a bold effort, a daring move and it will all probalby turn out just fine in the end. It's not a grand finale. It's just a new story arc. Let's roll with it.

It's the Gage story that makes this issue a great read, though. He loves these characters as much as we do, and he likes to use lots of them at the same time. The more, the merrier, I say.

Astro City is a nice place to visit. It's good to see the gates are open once again.

Avengers #18 somehow accomplishes the feat of amplifying the threat level the team is up against while simultaneously letting us breathe a little bit by seeing them get proactive and take the fight to the jerks, even if it doesn't go so well for them. It's only the first issue post-Infinity #1. We didn't expect them to win.

And as usual, the acidic Hazmat has the best summation of the crux of the problem:

If you want some Avengers fun without the complications, look no further. And start with Avengers Assemble #9.

The interactions between heroes are so much more interesting than the big events these days, and important little character pieces like this are what carry us through when we get bogged down by hazy plotting. Guys like Gillen can help us make sense of it all.

Overall, Batgirl #19 is a very strong return with a flourish for Simone, and we're glad to have her back. Perhaps we hadn't appreciated her prior run as much as we should have, but now we've seen how bad it can get, and we'll trust her instincts going forward.

We're past the time when I felt I was reading Batgirl more out of loyalty to Simone than I was out of genuine enjoyment of the book. Batgirl #23 has confirmed that all (or maybe just most) bets are off, and we don't know how far into the rabbit hole we're going to go.

… man, it's really hard to stop doing that. But then again, why should I? You just don't get this kind of rollicking frolicking in comics anymore, so it's a gas when you get a book wherein the last panel of the story involves the Dynamic Duo staring out at the reader, with Robin simply exclaiming "Gosh!" over the congratulations offered him for his fine work. Parker is nailing the dialogue and making us chuckle, chortle and cherish the madcap magic of Batman '66.

Anyway, aside from that and the awful incorporation of the mass murder of young girls stacked in a basement in the continued SVUing of popular culture, Batman: Earth One is a solid read, if a dark and ugly one, with interesting canonical tweaks and the potential for more to arise - with D.A. Harvey Dent and new Mayor Jessica Dent ripe for some new stories. But it's Gary Frank who makes it all work.

As much as I dread what Winick sounds like he's doing with Catwoman, I highly anticipate him doing great things with Batwing. The setting is a breath of fresh air, but it's got enough familiarity working for it to make it easier to get into. Now, it's just up to the world to support it, and it damn well better be ready for a successful book set in Africa. It's about damn time.

Batwoman feels like it's back in the saddle again - not that it was ever really off. It still feels like a breath of fresh air for the series, though, and come on - Batwoman and Wonder Woman. That's gonna be a cool team-up no matter how you slice it.

But it still has to be the Watchmen of an alternate reality to be acceptable. This entire project would likely have been a little better received if they'd conceived it as such, rather than a straight prequel. It would have served the purpose of exploiting these characters without directly trying to change the original story. Sure, Alan Moore still would've thought it sucked, but fans could likely swallow it much more easily.

And I really hope they eventually do something together that's NOT a Watchmen spinoff. I'd like to take the guilt out of this pleasure.

The visceral response to Bloodshot #1 might be what hooks you into the new Valiant. I think it's enough to make me stick with all the books for the near term.

Regardless, thanks to Hopeless and Bunn for maturing Colossus once again after he was torn down to nothingness. Cable and X-Force remains an entertaining read.

Much has been made of Waid's lightening up of Daredevil after the years of needing a stiff drink to cope with reading each miserably dark issue, but DD #16 shows he's not afraid of those depths, either. Samnee and Javier Rodriguez continues the generally brighter look to the series, with clean lines and crisp coloring even when dealing with pitch blackness. They just continue to craft involving stories in this book, and it's well worth all the Eisners it won.

Great little story here, with the potential to turn into a great big story – which seems to be the case with Infinite Comics these days, considering that Deadpool: The Gauntlet (another series you should be reading) is introducing someone Wade Wilson is going to marry. Daredevil: Road Warrior is surely be setting up some things that will come to fruition in the West Coast Daredevil adventures, and you'll want to get on board now – because Infinite Comics are cool, Mark Waid is a good writer, and Daredevil is always a great read.

Here's a swell chance to jump on board the Wade Train once again if you'd checked out for a while. Let the Good Time Charlies roll!

I do like the psychological drama that comes out here, there's something definitely creepy about Butler, and Declan Shalvey's artwork is pretty kinetic and interesting – never a dull moment with this guy. My hopes for a Deadpool revival – a complete one – are ever rising. I'm actually interested in his story and not just waiting around for the next gag. This crew seems to know what's up.

Mike Hawthorne seems to be having a fun time with the art, which serves the story well. His work is very bright and crisp, and sometimes he gets to draw three Deadpools in painter uniforms smacking each other around like the Three Stooges, or Preston as the Virgin Mary to Wade's sombrero-sporting Baby Jesus. Working on a Deadpool book has to got to be a dream job for the artist, and if it ain't, it should be.

Layman may have hooked me onto another Bat-book with Detective Comics #15. Maybe the more I read of him, the more likely I'll be to take another crack at Chew.

If you like the weird stuff like MODOK and the Bi-Beast, you'll probably enjoy the heck out of Dial H.

It's hard to believe something as inherently perplexing as Dial H exists within DC's New 52, but it does, and you should buy it so it will continue to exist there. It may be an acquired taste, but it's well worth the effort so far.

It's a good issue, and sets the stage for something that feels pretty fresh. There are some residual nerves at work, hoping we won't lose some of these beloved characters to that pit of reinvention for its own sake in the Billy Batson Is A Dick vein, but so far, only Joan is in danger of that, and we don't really have enough information to pass judgment on that shift just yet.

What started as a neat concept - what if a superhero and his archenemy were alone in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and had to work together to survive scary monsters - has become a more detailed subversion of the entire superhero genre, while seeming to celebrate some of the more ludicrous conventions at the same time.

Extermination is a very cool book full of action, malarkey and subversive undermining of the whole superhero genre, while at the same time celebrating how fun it can be. Go get it!

Fantastic Four #607 is a very interesting set-up to what I hope is a revitalization of the Black Panther concepts, and thus maybe we can get a spinoff series restarted once again - hey, maybe that's even in the cards for Hickman's future plans once he leaves the FF proper. We can only hope. If anything merits Hickman's high-minded approach to storytelling, it's the legendary, ancient culture of Wakanda.

Matt Fraction is doing entertaining work here " I particularly enjoyed Blarrgh The Unliving " and he's also working with old continuity and keeping it real, which I respect. Putting She-Hulk back in what might be the most real relationship of her life is a nice way to avoid the usual temptation writers have to just play around with her penchant for promiscuity (not that there's anything wrong with promiscuity in general, as long as it's done responsibly). Fraction is having a lot of good old-fashioned yet new-fangled fun in the FF universe. Let's hope he keeps it up.

Of the two FF books, it certainly seems like Fraction has a clearer vision of what to do with this series than the main Four. It's a wild and woolly cast of weirdos, and I really like it that way, dummy! YANCY STREET.

Anyway, once again, I like everything around the Flash, and in Flash #13, even he's all right, because he gets to bounce off the Rogues in a fun team-up. Still waiting, however, to find out what's so great about Barry Allen that he was brought back from the dead. I think I'm still holding Flashpoint against him, since I don't get the Secret Six anymore just because he missed his mommy.

I want to say Flash Annual #1 will get me back into reading The Flash again, and I'll definitely check out Flash #13 if it upholds the promise of Rogues vs. Gorilla City, but I know that, eventually, all of these bad guys will have to exeunt with a flourish, and we'll be back to focusing on Barry Allen. Then, my eyes will glaze over and I'll forget to buy it again. It's not something I blame Manapul and Buccellato for, though. I have no idea what to suggest to them that would make Barry interesting. He's not cool in Justice League and he's not cool in his own book. He's just okay. He's not really fun, and that's what I'd prefer out of a Flash.

Maybe I shouldn't think about it too hard. It's time to watch the new Bad Guy Earth unfold, this time without Axe Cop to save us all.

If you like Godzilla at all, this is the best you're going to get in the comic realm. Check out Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters while there are still a few issues left to go before the complete collapse of civilization.

Harvest is a dark, twisted and interesting tale. A volatile mix of life, death, drugs and powerful people doing very bad things.

Lieberman is constructing a pretty involving story, keeping the kid-angst to an effective minimum and making us come around to liking Dane after the first issue painted him as such a walking catastrophe. It's redemption in progress, and the art from Colin Lorimer is greatly suited to it, with its very subtle colors within a mostly black-and-white look. It's a dark book both in subject matter and moody aesthetic, but Harvest is certainly a story worth your time to check out, should that pique your interest.

Of course, next issue is bringing us Young Avenger Kate Bishop as a potential sidekick, so that might not stick as an idea. Then again, she's just a good archer, too. The lack of powers and lack of punisher-style gunplay could really make this a unique book. We'll just have to see how long this respectable restraint lasts.

The two of them are teaming up to intervene in some shenanigans involving the Ringmaster and a bunch of high-end criminals who are planning to rob other criminals by distracting them with a fancy circus act. While Fraction drops in some amusing bits (like a Daily Bugle headline that reads "EVERYTHING AWFUL Oh God Somebody Do Something"), the first time he's actually made me laugh out loud comes from Barton's perception of Ringmaster's appearance.

But holy crap. Well done on pulling the wool out from under us, Mr. Fialkov, by building up this powerful, compelling, angst-ridden character and then turning him to dust. "Big ups," as the kids were saying 10 years ago.

Infinity #1 isn't something that knocks us out with its first issue, because Hickman isn't that kind of writer. Hickman is a builder himself, and he's letting us see all the threads he's weaving first. Infinity is not a front-loaded book like most event books tend to be. Instead, Hickman is likely orchestrating it so, for once, the last issue of an event series is the one that knocks us out.

Light broke through Hickman's heavy darkness in Infinity #4, and a whole new world of Inhumanity has opened up. Enemies are broken but not beaten. Anything remains possible, but for now, the dead are being Avenged.

Overall, Inhumanity is interesting, it does what it needs to do to catch new readers up to speed, and it has me hooked to see what unfolds, and the first issue has prepared me to accept that the classic version of the Inhumans as created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee back in 1965 is probably gone for good. Now, your pizza guy could be an Inhuman, and oh, what a great point-of-view character he'd make for an Inhumans movie"

The art from Joe Bennett in this issue is top notch. The splash page of Iron Man flying over the remains of Mandarin City is gorgeous, and his fight against the Triads running around with Mandarin tech just looks cool, as does the interruption of the press conference that Tony will have a hard time pardoning. So Iron Man is moving forward, taking the space-baby weirdness of the last arc in stride, and giving us some trade dressing that's going to look great on the shelf. Seriously, the "Iron Metropolitan" logo is wonderful, and that's twice now I've referenced how much I like logos. That ain't par for the course, y'know.  I'm guessing the kudos go to Tim Leong, the designer.

Loki: Agent of Asgard promises to be a very fun book, one where we root for a classic villain determined to recast himself in a different life and shed the trappings of the big horns. You can bet this will also be a blueprint for a future Tom Hiddleston solo film franchise, too.

Manning has made his hay in the short story realm, with books like Nightmare World made up entirely of 8-page stories, each with different artists and of vastly different tones, but given the fact that he had through-lines connecting all of those stories to a greater whole, he proved that you don't have to sacrifice the long arc to keep with self-contained short stories. He has an impressively economical way of getting into your gut and finding buttons to press to get your attention and twist your feelings around. Love Stories (To Die For) is the perfect vehicle for his brand of writing. I'm very much looking forward to more of it.

Manifest Destiny #1 promises to be some really solid storytelling, focusing on a time when the world was still a mystery to those who thought themselves above it, and a world which too often valued the pioneer spirit above basic human decency.

There's nothing inherently cheesy about the world of Eternia - it's a great blend of science and sorcery, a really colorfully interesting fantasy realm. If DC can manage to actually make a Masters of the Universe ongoing series that puts He-Man himself as far in the background as possible, we might just have a really good book on our hands. Even Fisto is cooler than He-Man. Keep that guy off-panel. Make his disappearance a back-burner mystery that Duncan, Mekaneck and Buzz Off occasionally give lip-service to as they struggle in the war against Skeletor's army and Hordak's legions. Masters of the Universe #1 is a great start - let's we can get more like this.

Overall, though, Mighty Avengers is jam packed with entertaining superhero action. Read it, support it, and make sure that nobody can make the dumb argument that non-white characters can't sell a book.

Nowhere Men is still something you can step up to on the ground floor. Get after it, folks. It's going to go to some interesting places, never you fear.

Planetoid #1 is worth checking out, and chances are The Slab is going to kick things up a notch when we get to see that place.

I never had much interest in reading about Red Sonja before, but I do now. A writer you trust can work wonders with characters you once dismissed.

And that brings another 'perhaps' to mind as to why I haven't fully accepted Saga - perhaps it's just that I'm more interested in the ancillary characters than I am in the main protagonists, Marko and Alana. They're cool enough to like, but not quite enough to love. At least not yet. Vaughan has earned all the time I'm going to give him to try and change that.

You shouldn't have that issue. Therefore, if you pick up Saga, you'll probably love it like everybody else does. I'm sure I'll get there eventually. I mean, it's about a goat-guy and a fairy-lady and a ghost babysitter flying a rocket-tree through space and evading TV-headed royal robots and spidery-lady mercenaries who make sex tapes with their merc lovers. And giants with crusty ballsacks. What's not to like, really?

The complexity of this story keeps us guessing, as we never know what we're going to see out of Saga. Fiona Staples will draw anything Vaughan concocts, and she'll go all out doing it.

Vaughan's compelling cast of characters are back in good form, and Saga's return is a welcome one. Sure, it was only a few months, but hey, I missed it and I'm glad it's back.

Stegman's art is also pretty stellar, and manages to make Kaine look like Peter Parker just enough to invoke the spectre of great power and great responsibility, especially while he's looking in the mirror and regretting his evil past. With Stegman knocking the art out of the park and Yost refreshing old concepts and distilling them to their coolest forms, Scarlet Spider is a series to check out - chances are the best is yet to come.

That's why this series works. It's entertainment with a fresh edge.

Anyway, Scarlet Spider is a neat series, and it's not afraid to get dark - and it does so without being simply for the sake of darkness. You should read it.

Anyway, it's not the Secret Avengers you knew thus far, which were pretty cool and who we'll miss, but if you can handle the tonal shift towards high adventure, you're gonna like Warren Ellis' take on the team.

Overall, Remender's one of my go-to scribes in the House of Ideas these days, and while I'm sad he's leaving Venom, Secret Avengers promises to keep up the good work.

Remender always serves up intricate plots with a darkness pervading them - making one wonder if he'll have to lighten things up a little in his upcoming Uncanny Avengers - and his stories are often compelling journeys through the murkiness of moral quandaries. Matteo Scalera's art in this issue leaves some to be desired, feeling rushed in spots while excelling in others. But Secret Avengers is just cool, and promises to get cooler the more it trucks in supervillain society.

Science cults, man. There's a bit of that over in Archer & Armstrong this week, too, where brainiacs obsessed with destroying the universe and leaving a peaceful void form their own cult of nothingness and actually succeed " well, they think they do, anyway. A.I.M. may not be obessed with the absence of all that is, but given Forson's screed against greed, we can see they've got some kind of high-minded agenda and that they won't be bought off.

Shadowman #1 is another solid entry in the Valiant Comics superherouniverse. Go team!

Spider-Men #4 is fun. Let's see if it can be conisistently so.

Starlight #1 is a great start to the Millarworld universe. Let's hope it lives up to the promise.

Storm Dogs is cool. I'm on board to see where this adventure takes me.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man is going to need a new name soon, once Superior Spider-Man gives up the ghost. Maybe they'll become the Amazing Foes of Spider-Man. The Spectacular Foes... the U-Foes, no, wait, that's taken. Okay, I'm taking suggestions, but also suggesting that you should be reading this book if you like morally ambiguous good-time comics.

Perhaps if the people very put out by this whole story arc can start reading here, bypassing all the ick, they might be hooked enough to check in for the long haul. Perhaps.

Slott's story is kind of fascinaSlott's story is kind of fascinating. As much as I miss standard Spidey shenanigans, this is a compelling and unsettling look into the mind of a villain who is doing something villains never do " live the lives of the heroes they hate most.

In the meantime, we get this weird, bizarro-but-brilliant version of Spider-Man that may not technically be superior, but is highly engrossing nonetheless. Also, Giuseppe Camuncoli's Lizard looks amazingly weirdo scaly.

This is good stuff. I have every confience that it will continue to be good stuff to the point of being great stuff.

Superior Spider-Man is the most consistently enjoyable superhero book Marvel's putting out. Two times a month, every month, always a blast. God bless Dan Slott.

Superior Spider-Man may be telegraphing its end, but if you can read it without plugging into the comic book publicity machines, you'll enjoy it even more as it speeds headlong towards its undoubtedly loud, crazy, and messy finale.

See you soon, Otto. Somewhere. And the lessons you've learned here will make you very interesting whenever you resurface.