World War Hulk ends the way it began: the equivalent of a hollow, dumb action movie with not a lot to say. Those hoping for a climax that would rocket the story into the league of classic Hulk stories will be sorely disappointed. Unfortunately, a story meant to have me cheering for our "hero" has, in the end, just left my scratching my head as to why the pitch was okayed if it was going to end like this.

I consider myself an avid Daredevil fan, and it's hard for me to admit that this annual was lousy. I can't imagine anyone except Black Tarantula enthusiasts (all three of you) would enjoy it. And even then, with a price point of four bucks, you still wouldn't get much out of it.

I will say that Ed Benes's pencils are as crisp as you'd expect from him. He's a great match for the iconic nature of the book as the Justice League of America: Wedding Special proved, featuring competent-but-not-great pencils from Mike McKone. Benes was born for the Justice League. I'm just not sure that McDuffie was.

I could keep going about the failings of this issue, like the ham-fisted romantic plots, but I'll stop here. I wasn't the biggest advocate of Brad Meltzer's run, but he at least had something to say - a direction other than meaningless fights and corny one-liners. Ed Benes's considerable talents are being wasted and the relaunch momentum is thoroughly gone.

So we're one (three?) issue(s) in and already this storyline gets a shot of bloat with its first filler issue. It doesn't help that it's sharing shelf space with Marvel's "Messiah Complex," an infinitely more intriguing crossover. I can't imagine many outside hardcore Batfans would find much use for this issue.

DC continues to demonstrate its lack of understanding of how a crossover is meant to work. This late in the game, it's not a stretch to say that Detective Comics and Batman are the only important portions of "The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul" while the other two titles are more tie-ins. Unless you're really into these specific characters, Robin #169 isn't worth your time.

This is easily the weakest issue in the crossover so far, as its pages are used primarily to move its players into place for something more interesting to happen later. Collected I'm sure it won't read like such a placeholder, but month-to-month readers will be bored because of the high level of output we've come to expect from this storyline. You might, however, get a laugh out of the suggestion that Mount Rushmore is the center of earth, and therefore the center of the Multiverse. I know I did.

To be fair, I'm just being harsh because it's taken so damn long to come out and the payoff doesn't seem to merit the wait. That aside, there are some pluses to be mentioned. Ms. Marvel has a nice character moment towards the end there, especially in light of her new mandate post-House Of M, and Frank Cho does draw a really great dead body. I know he's to blame for the wait, but this book honestly looks gorgeous. I might not mind as much if the script were a little stronger. It doesn't help that New Avengers has moved along (read: been on time) and basically spoiled the end of this arc (read: the world doesn't end). Also, NA is doing things in its pages that seem to actually matter to the Marvel Universe at large and Mighty is diddling about with a bulbous Jantron. Easily the worst Avengers title out.

I'll continue to say what I've said all along: "Messiah Complex" is turning out to be great. It's kept its momentum throughout and the story is paced perfectly, each issue carrying a sense of importance. A undeniable success so far.

This is the epitome of a skippable issue. Even hardcore X-fans like me will be bored to tears. If you're looking for "Messiah Complex" fallout, there are a number of perfectly acceptable books dealing with it. And even if you're just looking for a good story, Uncanny X-Men doesn't deliver.

In the long term, "Escape From Bizarro World" will be seen as the placeholder between "Last Son" and "Superman & The Legion Of Superheroes," and rightly so. It tells a modest story but never cranks the dial up over an 8. Fans of Bizarro humor will find a lot to love while casual Superman fans can probably steer clear.

I'm not a Superman fan but I do believe he can be used to tell some good stories. From that perspective, Action Comics #858 is actually an enjoyable read. I'm cautiously optimistic about the rest of the arc, too, which says a lot. And best of all, we (presumably) won't have to wait months in between issues. Bonus!

The overall direction of Cable isn't damaged irreparably or anything, this just feels like decompression at its worst. I'm not sure a book like Cable can afford to bore people for multiple issues without finding itself void of a readership.

Not as big a disappointment as Robin, but "The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul" has a ways to go before it'll really impress me. Hopefully with the next two installments in the core Batman titles, the crossover will get the shot of adrenaline it so desperately needs right now.

This installment of the Tales series isn't as miserable to read through as the others were, and actually provides a little mindless entertainment while it's at it. Whether it really adds to the Sinestro Corps mythos in a relevant way remains to be seen, but it definitely doesn't detract from it like previous one-shots have.

So, like I said, probably necessary to catch some stuff that couldn't fit in the obese monthly title, but not really the best effort on character development.

The title of this book (for now) is Incredible Hercules. It's not Rock Me Amadeus, it's not Herc & His Athenian Friends. I think for the length of Herc's tenure as the star, the writers would do well to keep him as the center square with more of a focus on the mythology, similar to J. Michael Straczynski's Thor relaunch. The "Aftersmash" effects and ultimate goal can still remain intact (because, let's face it, this isn't going to stay a Hercules title forever), but it can at least be fun along the way.

It's tough to judge a story based off 1 issue, but it was a solid start for Ryall and Rodriguez. The story is immersive and action packed, although a bit predictable. The art by Rodriguez is nice, but the coloring by Fotos could use more life. All and all the ending has me intrigued and I wanna see where this goes. Definitely worth the pick up.

This storyline is finally picking up steam and it's turned into quite an enjoyable little tale. I'm not convinced it shouldn't have been wholly contained in the pages of Batman, but I find comfort in the knowledge that it's actually going somewhere.

"Messiah Complex" certainly doesn't lose anything from X-Factor #25's involvement, but unfortunately it doesn't gain a whole lot either. Still, fans of the title who couldn't give a damn about the crossover will still find a lot to like here.

Still, overall the crossover is working. It's not as superb as X-Men #205, the obvious benchmark for quality in the story so far, but it's adding in significant ways and provides an enjoyable read.

Ultimate Origins is shaping up to be a damn good time and, if nothing else, it's succeeding in what virtually nothing else in the Ultimate Universe can seem to accomplish: it's making me interested in these characters.

The various pieces of "Messiah Complex" continue to work well, and with the final players at the mansion promising to get down and dirty, from here on out it should be a good time. It's only looking up.

To be 100% honest, two issues of "Brand New Day" have already erased any ill will I harbored to what's come before. I can finally say Amazing Spider-Man is one of the first books I read each week, and it's been a very, very long time since I've been able to say that. I'm going to hold off on crowning it a massive success or anything like that, but for now I'm really enjoying the new direction.

There's pretty much nothing wrong with this title. It's been consistent for three years now and it seems like creative team has the formula down. It doesn't matter whether you're a fan of Captain America or not, this should be in your stack.

Invincible Iron Man is everything an Iron Man book should be. It's got a large-scale, widescreen feel to it and cribs from exactly the right sources. Accessible to new readers but rewarding to longtime fans, it's a very promising beginning to what will undoubtedly be a successful run.

With Invincible Iron Man, Matt Fraction has distilled Tony Stark down to what is vitally cool about the character in 2008 and built a solid foundation with it. It's easily become one of my favorite Marvel books on the stands.

Just to reiterate once again, if you're in any way interested in the coming Secret Invasion, pick this issue up. It's not a Red Skies crossover and it's absolutely worth your time if you care about the Marvel Universe at large.

I haven't enjoyed Fantastic Four this much... maybe ever. They've never been one of my favorite superteams, but Millar and Hitch are seeing to it that they're becoming one of the coolest.

Green Lantern #25, and really the entire "Sinestro Corps War," is about as much bang for your buck as you're probable to find in the market today. The final issue of the crossover succeeds in eclipsing everything that's come before, both in scale and in quality, and easily stakes its claim as the best work to come out of DC all year -- probably all decade. Books like GL #25 are rare gems.