I think there is potential in this book, but there are small changes that would help the reader make sense of the story. I also wonder if this book would be better told in a graphic novel format, as after the first issue, the reader is not left with a lot of reasons to like any of the characters, or even to root for them. Maybe that will improve with time.

All Nighter #1Posted: Thursday, June 30, 2011By: Christopher Power David HahnDavid HahnImage David Hahn is one of those artists that I absolutely adore, in particular his work on Bite Club. He has sharp lines, great anatomy and a fantastic feel for environments. In All Nighter, all of these strengths are apparent, and with an added bonus of being in ink sans color so you can see clearly all of the detail that he puts into the panels. Right from gritty cement beams to rubbish on the floor of a diner, you can almost feel the world that he is drawing.

I may give this a try again next month. There feels like there is something really good in this book, and I really love the Old Republic universe. Hopefully, the next one will fill in a few gaps in the story that were missing in this one.

Aside from the odd choices made in the story telling, there isn't anything terribly wrong with this book. Unfortunately, the discordant notes in the story could drive readers to distraction while a large number of readers will happily drool over the idea of Emma Frost as a stripper called the Ice Princess.

Finally, I would like to comment about how much this issue reminds me of one of my favourite books of all time, the re-launch of The Spectre in the mid-1980s after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Mystical detective work--mundane crimes mixed with mystical elements--made for a very compelling reading. The style, pacing and feel of Zatanna #1 reminds me very much of those Spectre stories. If it continues this way, Dini has a regular reader in me.

However, if you are just looking for good tight storytelling, the decompressed nature of this title may put you off and you should wait for the trades.

Overall, I am most impressed with this outing of Toy Story as a comic book. I was sceptical if it would transition from celluloid to floppy page, but I must admit, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I look forward to seeing how Buzz gets rescued (again).

This comic is thoroughly entertaining and fast-paced, and I don't think I could really call it "a girl comic." Yeah, it has a female protagonist, but it's outside the girly box--so to all the guys out there who might be apprehensive about buying this miniseries because it's a girl comic, it's definitely no Wonder Woman. It's a sure hit for Psylocke fans, and a definite take-a-look for anyone in need of some amusement.

I am pleased that this series is continuing, and I am enjoying it as much as I did Manhunter. While the two series are entirely different in their style of story, Power Girl has the same kind of strength and care in character presentation.

It is really a shame that these items detracted from the story. I can feel that there is something good in this book. The writer gets a lot of the presentations of the Romans and their soldiers correct. I also think there is an interesting story to tell, showing British Roman society blended with the fantastical. Unfortunately, the first issue leaves a bit to be desired.

Overall, the book is above average in general, and very good for the current crop of DC titles on the shelves currently. It is does not match the outstanding work done in issue #44, but certainly keeping with the quality of Blackest Night overall. This mini-series could be a real legacy for Johns if the quality continues at this level all the way to the end.

In the last month we have had an offhand slanderous remark about Huntress and Lady Blackhawk in James Robinson's Cry for Justice, and Oracle seems to be on a road that is extremely unfortunate. If no one has approved this, then the editors need to start taking control of this situation now before it continues.

**Note for Legion newcomers, there is an error in the lettering. Shadow Lass is labelled as Night Girl, and vice versa.

Overall, this book is not as strong as Tomasi's other entries into the Blackest Night story; Green Lantern Corps outshines it. Hopefully the following issues will result in a satisfying series.

When you look at the number of books he was writing during Infinite Crisis, I think it can be argued that it must have had an effect on the final products. I am hoping this series will not suffer the same fate--mainly because I'm really enjoying Green Lantern right now.

I will close this review by thanking Tomasi for returning some of the fire to Arisia, one of my favourite Green Lanterns from my youth. In this issue she shows not only passion, but her experience and maturity as a member of an intergalactic police force. Well done.

I had similar problems with the lettering as I had in the first story. Red sans-serif font on a black background leads to this section of the book being very difficult for me to read.

Overall, not much happens in this issue. It starts up a story line about quantum teleportation and does so in a convincing way. I am interested to see where the story leads and what key themes Waid is going to explore.

I very much enjoyed this book and I will be trying to get my comic shop to carry it if they do not already. Kudos to the team at BOOM! for putting out a good read.

In summary, the book seems complete with Farscape goodness, even a reference to 20th century television from John Crichton. If you are a hardcore fan, I think it is a good opening chapter. For a casual fan, you will struggle. It will be interesting to see what happens in the second issue.

*Although, apparently the Diagnosans do in fact show up in the television series.

*Note, I am biased here. I came back to comics with Uncanny X-Men #338 when I saw Angel's wings return on the cover. I could not afford the book as I was a poor student, so my wife picked it up for me without my knowing. It is still one of my prize pieces of my collection. My one hope is that Fraction will link this story back to that issue where Angel's wings were returned to him as an ominous gift from Apocalypse's servant Ozymandias in a story that ultimately went nowhere.

Next month I will give the second issue a shot, but this is not a good start.

*Interestingly Judd Winick, a former Exiles writer whom I enjoyed, holds that dubious honour.

A final note: the imagery on Man-elephant was amazingly fun.

*Note: Peter David did not personally ask me not to spoil the contents of this comic. Instead, it was David's general comment to all readers.

This book is solid, but not outstanding. I am interested to see where the story goes.

Scott (Cyclops)"And yes, I see Summers feeling it necessary to sign a letter to his son with his call-sign.

I'm looking forward to seeing the next issue. Hopefully more about the Red Queen will be revealed.

I very much want to recommend this book because I think there are interesting things being done in it. However, all of these matters detract from the experience. The book--both story and art--feel rushed out to print, without appropriate editorial reigns being taken to clean up some of the above points.

Overall, I have trouble recommending this book. It is not horrible. In fact, there are some fun moments. However, they are just too few and far between to warrant the money you have to spend to get this book off the shelf.

This is a short and sweet review. I am encouraged to see the Thunderbolts still running along at a breakneck pace. It is one of the best books on the shelves for Marvel, and I would recommend readers to pick up the previous two issues if they want a good side story to the main Secret Invasion story-line.

As an aside, I would like to say right now, that Pixie is an unknown character to me. I have heard complaints from fans that she grew up too fast. Thus far, the character reminds me of the original appearances of Blink, who is one of my more fondly remembered characters. If Fraction and Brubaker can write a solid character for Pixie, I say we give them a chance.

Overall, this was a fun book filed with classic superhero action. I highly recommend it to any X-fan.

***I had several more points that did not fit in this review regarding: the absence of the Guardian of Eternity, the Spectre, Superman's dilemma, the lack of progress in Hal Jordan's story and Diana's lack of lasso use on Marvel Marvel and the introduction of yet another set of young "heroes."

I really want to like this book, and in other contexts, it would be excellent. However, in the context of this series, it is problematic. Perhaps in trade form this one will be better.

Overall, a solid start for the book, hopefully next month Beechen can get into the new story that he wants to tell.

I will leave the review with this thought: This month, for my X-Factor review I was going to start a counter--like the one shown in the Hulk movie--for Peter David. It was going to be "Months since She-Hulk appeared in X-Factor: 4", figuring that with his tenure on the She-Hulk book now in full swing we would see a cross-over eventually. After this issue, that counter goes back to 0.

It is seldom these days that I give comic books perfect ratings. While this book is not pushing the boundaries the way that Final Crisis is in terms of deeper meanings and subtext, it is a beautifully rendered book with powerful moments. Your mileage may vary. I've read the issue several times, and maybe I am being overly sentimental from being back in Canada, but I have enjoyed it very much. Johns managed to take a lot of tired, old ideas about Superman and write them with respect and passion that is rare these days in comic books.

Again, I cannot recommend this series highly enough. It is one of the best surprises tied into Secret Invasion, and there isn't a member of the Illuminati to be found anywhere.

*Interestingly I typed Jean and Scott in my first draft without realizing it. This can be seen as a compliment to the writing team for recreating the old-school X-Men comic dynamic in this issue. Of course, it might also mean that it is time to bring Jean back from the dead.

Really, I'm wondering what the heck the point is of this book. I really think that it should just be canned now. The following should be the results: Cyborg gets into the JLA finally with Roy. Gar returns to Doom Patrol. Donna heads into space to find Kyle. Starfire hangs out with Adam Strange. Raven goes back to the Teen Titans (given that she is a teen again). Nightwing, well, maybe he can become Batman or something.

I am looking forward to this arc, and it has inspired me to pick up the last couple of years of Action in tradevpaperback to give it a read. That in itself is a positive thing for a writer to do these days.

Spoiler is back, and that makes me happy. The sour taste has not been totally washed from the DCU, but having Stephanie back in the universe brings back a certain amount of light, enthusiasm and joy for this reader.

I wanted to like this book, and I will try the second chapter, but this entry just felt unfinished on its own. Perhaps a trade paperback will make this chapter feel more complete.

I'm not happy with everything in this book, but it looks gorgeous, and with already interesting contrasts and a repeated theme of cleansing fire flowing throughout the book, I will read the next issue with a certain amount of hope, but also uncertainty.

My worst fear is what is coming: I am expecting issue after issue of angst about this affair with Wonder Man. Boy I hope not; this was a fun book.

I give this book a 2 bullet because I don't think it was necessary. Better to provide good trades with linking information; I don't feel that this packaging did justice to what is good content.

At the end of the issue it looks like the X-Factor team is in for more changes, I'll be here for the next issue.

After a promising start, this book went the way I expected it to originally -- right to the lowest common denominator. That is perhaps the greatest disappointment; after 10 years of waiting my favorite team is in pretty sad straights at the moment.

I cannot say enough good things about the whole process that DDP is doing with the books of my childhood. I look forward to reading more of it, and picking up the trades of Chronicles and the Dark Elf Trilogy.

Time will tell. I look forward to the second issue after this pleasant surprise.

People not pictured I want to be Skrulls: Cyclops.

Overall, the whole book is pretty lackluster and feels like everyone wants to get to Skrully type business. Hopefully the next issues are a little clearer in the plot line.

If you are a Serenity fan, this may be for you. However, I actually found the book a little bit off-putting as I think it could be much better.

Postscript: We can add Claremont to the list of writers writers who now use thought bubbles.

Overall, not a lot happens in this book, but it opens a ton of great possibilities. I will be picking up the entire trade to find out the rest of the story. It feels as if there is a deep, powerful story emerging in this dusty backdrop of an old western countryside.

Cable has a new start, and while there is nothing really new and revolutionary about this book in terms of story, it is solid story telling getting new readers up to speed relatively quickly on the current happenings in the mutant world of Marvel. I hope the team moves the story a little faster in the next book, but overall, this is a solid start.

As a Highlander fan, I enjoyed this book. There are quibbles here and there, but that is really what they are: quibbles. The writing and the art captures the immersive quality that is the Highlander universe, something I appreciate greatly.

After what was an anticlimactic end to the "Messiah CompleX", Peter David and his team keep everything fresh and moving forward in the not-so-brand-new-world that the mutants are in. Well done all.

Why do Wolverine and Sabertooth start to get into it? Please, just let it go. It is not mandatory that these guys hate each other across time and space.Overall, a good issue, and one that is making me want to see more. I think Claremont is at his best when he can tell the story he wants and not be hampered by continuity, and the Exiles are perfect for that type of storytelling.

All of my comments about the need to close the story more firmly, I think that "Messiah CompleX" was a clever and satisfying read. For the first time in 10 years I am excited to be an X-Men fan, and I feel like a whole new world of stories has been opened for me. I look forward to the Cable series (I was a fan of the old one as well. One of the few). I am looking forward to X-Force, the new militant arm of the X-Men. Surprisingly, I am most looking forward to reading about the new Young X-Men, who are cleverly designed and written characters who are being picked up by scribe Marc Guggenheim.

Kudos to all of the authors in this book, and to the editors for the characterizations in all of the X-titles right now. Keeping such close tabs on the continuity of a collection of characters with muddled histories, especially Gambit, Cable, Cyclops and Bishop, is to be commended and noted by the industry. It makes for a satisfying read.

Well, next up, we finally see Predator X in action. I had forgotten about the pup in all the hub-bub. It also looks like we are in for an old school scrap with the classic remaining X-Men up against classic Marauders. Bring on chapter 12.

Overall, I love this book. Clevinger has managed to create a character and series that is reminiscent of Hellboy, which is high praise indeed, but takes it and makes it his own with a unique style and voice.

Messiah CompleX keeps delivering outstandingly good comic tales every week. Give me the oversized collectors edition hardback gold gilded pages of this one.

The plan for getting food is perhaps one of the worst plans Ive ever read. You know that place where we got owned last time? Lets go back and do it again! That and the revelation of what did happen the last time held no resonance what-so-ever because you had no idea who Astonishman was talking about because you have never had people introduced with a common naming system. (Who is Nick? Why, he is Soldier America of course! Keep up, reader!)I think 10 points are enough. There is very little redeeming in this book. There was the odd very cool drawing, with decent pencils and nice inks, but they just got lost in the mess that was the execution of this book.

I am afraid that the DC universe is beginning to try my patience. There are just too many books that I am reading from them that read like the description above.

Overall, this first issue is a strong entry, with a lot of fun attached to it. I look forward to more of this, as I remember that I used to read Iron Man for the hero that he can be.

My thanks to my pal Stanton Daries for a productive set of conversations regarding WWH which helped me explore many of the above themes.

I think I will wait for the trade on this one. It just didnt keep my interest.

Overall, the book is worth it for the Dr. Fate story. I now very much want to collect the rest of the series.

I would like to personally thank Ed Brubaker and his team for making me interested in the X-Universe again. Im intrigued, and cannot wait to see where this is all going.

If you are tired of continuity clashing tales of the mainstream Marvel and would like a throw away tale that fleshes out what could be an interesting universe to explore, then I would recommend this book.

I highly recommend this issue for what is looking to be a big big throw down between the Injustice League Unlimited (stupid name not-withstanding) and a super Justice League lineup.

Poor Robin. DC just doesnt want to give this kid a break.